Crafty weekend of fun!

 

Another recent event (although it seems long ago now) was a crafty weekend away with some lovely friends to a wonderful retreat just out of Otaki. We arrived on a Friday evening and spent the weekend being well fed, and inspired by all the crafty wonderfulness! I haven't posted any pics of people's faces (in case they don't want to be shown) - and this will probably be picture overload, but here goes:

The venue was lovely and very comfortable, with a cosy fire burning in the very roomy living room in the evenings. We had so much fun and there was much laughter and crafty goodness happening - and very little sleep! The food was awesome, thanks to one of our number who, even though she had a very small baby with her and two at home, managed to plan and shop for all our meal requirements!

We had organised to do a yarn swap while on the weekend, so here are some pics of the swaps.

This is the one I did, using 200gms of 8 ply merino hand dyed and the gift was a craft bag on a swivel base:

This is the one I received - some gorgeous 8 ply BWM Luxury hand dyed in a beautiful red. For my gift I received some groovy fabric, a ball of green bamboo/cotton and two very cool pictures:

And here are some pics of some of the other fabulous swaps:

This weekend saw some fabulous items being created by everyone - there was (of course) much knitting done, but also yarn dyeing:

The first two pictures are of Kate dyeing her yarn, and the following two show all the yarn drying and then mine all hanked up (thanks Kate for doing that!). I will be adding a quick tutorial on my blog for how I dye my yarn, so watch for that in the next few weeks - it's loads of fun!

And, finally, some sewing for and from the weekend. I owed someone a little something for a swap for some yarn, so I made her a wip (work in progress) bag and added some cotton (forgot to take a pic of the cotton):

And, finally, I made a skirt, thanks to the wonderful Jo (Crazy Crafter NZ):

All up we covered many crafts between us. There was knitting, sewing, crocheting, spinning, and I'm sure others, but I've forgotten!

Phew! That's it I think :)

Bloggy slackness

Well, I've been very slack at updating this blog recently. It's amazing how busy life can get at times, which can fully get in the way of interesting blog updates - and then the further behind you get, the harder it is to take the time to update. But here I am, finally.

First up is a test knit I did recently for a friend - a singlet in 4 ply. It's going to last Tessa for quite a long time, as the sizing is fairly generous. I'm happy I did this (and Tess really needed some more woollen singlets for this year) but I think I will steer clear of 4 ply rib knitting for a while!!

A wee plug for Watermellish!

I recently tested some really cute little hearts that can be added as embellishments on knitted garments. Watermellish is the brain child of Tanja Waterman and her designs are beautiful - and so easy to achieve fantastic results, even for a beginner at duplicate stitch like me!  Check out her website as Tanja (aka Possum on Ravelry) will be adding new designs regularly, some of which will be free. You can see one of my attempts at a heart in my header - very simple yet very effective.

Keep a lookout on my knitted garments for more of Tanja's creations, as I have a feeling they'll be addictive - and the perfect way to beautify and personalise custom knits.

Some more custom order items added to my list!

Well, I have been adding a couple more custom order items to my ever growing number of items I am able to knit for sale. I am proud to add Milo Mitts, by designer Sheryl Greenfield. These are really cute fingerless gloves/mittons for children and are available in sizes 1, 2 and 4. These sizes will fit children from about 1 to about 5, or older. They are fantastic for winter, as preschoolers can keep their hands warm, but still have full use of their fingers for playing. The Mitts themselves are really cute - and so practical!

Check out more photos of these cute Mitts on my Ravelry page here.

Another new item I have added to my custom order range is Spring Butterfly by designer Rachel Evans. I love this little top - really cute, practical and versatile. I have yet to knit an example of this, but watch this space!

Please contact me at AliGKnits@gmail.com for more details or to order either of these items.

New Custom Knit Item - Eden by designer Georgie Hallam

I am thrilled to announce that I am now the proud custom license holder for Georgie Hallam's newly released design - Eden. I was lucky enough to test this fabulous pattern for Georgie and am delighted to have been gifted it by Georgie to add to my range of custom knitting patterns. It is an extremely versatile pattern, can be knit as either Eden's Adam (the singlet version) or Eden's Eve (the dress version) and goes from a newborn size right up to a size 10! It can be knit in cotton, cotton/bamboo or wool, and has so many variations and ways to make it as individual as your child.

I love this pattern, and I know you will too!

Check out some more pictures of this gorgeous pattern on my Ravelry page.

If you would like one of these gorgeous vests/dresses knitted you can email me at: aligknits@gmail.com

Olearia

I have been lucky enough to test knit another of Tikki's (Georgie Hallam) new fabulous patterns - Olearia. This is a fantastic pattern that cones in three forms; the shrug (pictured), a half sleeved cardigan and a full length cardigan. It's a fun pattern and I love the end result - as does Tessa (she gets to keep this one!). It can be knit in a variety of yarns - this one is in Paton's Smoothie, an acrylic cotton-like yarn. I can't wait to knit this up in some other yarns and have fun with colour.

There are some more pics and details of this knit on my Ravelry page.

Sunset Vanilla

I recently completed this Vanilla soaker, by designer Kelly Brooker. The yarn used to knit this soaker is the most gorgeous organic merino yarn, by The Inner Stitch in the Autumn Sunset colourway. The yarn is deliciously soft and the colour is divine!  I struggled to decide what to knit with this yarn, but finally decided on Vanilla as I thought it fitting that since I got the yarn from the lovely Kelly Brooker, I should knit one of her designs with it. I settled on the soaker as I didn't have much trim and wanted to make the most of the yarn. I hope I've done it justice!

This soaker is the first of many items I will be knitting for a craft fair Julia and myself will hopefully be attending in June.

New Look

I have been playing around over the last couple of days with a new look for my blog, thanks to some updates from Blogger. I now have tabs at the top of the page that will make it easy for you to see items for sale, read a bit about me and I'll be adding a gallery page of custom knits I have completed, once I've got a few to display!

Let me know what you think of this new look - I'm keen for feedback!

Fingerless Gloves

Exciting stuff happening here over the next few weeks - watch this space for updates on new designs I have Cottage Licenses to custom knit. I need to actually knit a few up first, but keep checking back as I will be updating here as soon as they're ready.

In the meantime, here are a pair of fingerless gloves I knitted recently for a workmate. I promised him a pair several months ago (before Coco Kids was up and running), but then got sidetracked with other things - and it was summer so there was no rush. Well, I finally got it together and knitted them for him - and here they are. Not exactly an exciting knit, but very practical and warm and perfect for what he needs them for. They're knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury yarn, which is lovely and soft.

Items currently for sale

I have three items available:

A shortsleeved Seamless Kimono Sweater knitted in WOOLganics organic merino wool. This is beautifully soft, ideal for babies. This is a 3 - 6 month size and is ideal for the autumn and winter months, worn with a long sleeved top underneath. $30 plus postage of $3.50.  SOLD

I also have a size 2 Kaia Babydoll swing top knitted in Bendigo Woollen Mills cotton. This was my first ever knit of this adorable pattern and I cast on a little loosely and the neckline rolls a bit more than I'd like. I'm offering this at a sale price of $20 plus postage of $3.50.  SOLD

And, finally, this is a gorgeous wee cardigan I started for my first daughter about 8 1/2 years ago, but it didn't get finished until very recently! It is not part of my custom orders, bit is knitted in lovely, soft 4 ply baby wool. I'd like $20 plus $3.50 postage.


If you are interested in any of these items, or would like me to knit either the kimono top or Kaia Babydoll, or any of my other custom items in the colour and yarn of your choice, please contact me at aligknits@gmail.com,

Twin Paxton Jackets

A lovely friend at work asked me recently to knit her new, but early, twin nieces a cardigan each. I decided the Paxton Jacket by Katherine Oxlade-Knack  as it's such a lovely, simple cardigan that is easy to put/take off and fits small babies perfectly. I really enjoyed knitting up these little cuties, and am looking forward to knitting the pattern again - and maybe having a bit of fun with the yarn colour too (my friend had bought the wool for these and wanted them white or cream).

Simplicity

My knitting has seemed painfully slow lately. I think that may be in part due to a two year old tearaway who will not let me knit during the day! The little monkey insists I "put knitting down, Mummy!!". Consequently, I get all my knitting done in the evenings and with me doing a whole lot of extra hours (evenings and weekends) at work recently, that has meant not so much getting done.

Ah, well. Swings and roundabouts I guess - I'm sure with cooler weather on it's Autumnal way I will be getting more inside knitting time.

Anyway, in the meantime, I have been chugging away at a few things, one of which is this really lovely vest/dress pattern designed by the talented Tikki, named Simplicity.

The rest of what I've been working on will have to be shown at another time - when it's all finished!

Lilly Hat #6

I was asked to knit another wee Lilly Hat for a custom order for a baby who will be born soon. I love this wee pattern, and I used some leftover Debbie Bliss yarn I had in my stash (which also helps with some of my Ravelry Shop the Stash challenges!). It turned out pretty cute and I made a crocheted flower to pretty it up a bit. Please excuse the non human model as the baby it is for hasn't been born yet!

This is one of my custom order hats, so if you're interested contact me for more information.

Baby Cable Yoke Jacket and Booties

This is a really cute hooded cardigan that I was asked to knit for a workmate to give to her niece who has just had a baby. It's a 6 - 12 month size knitted in Debbie Bliss Casmerino Aran, which is lovely to knit with. It challenged me a little as it included a few techniques I'd not tried before, so that was interesting, and although I really like the finished product, I would definitely do things differently next time as I think some things could be done more simply. Although it's completely seamless, the amount of picking up stitches that is required overrides the benefit of it being seamless in my opinion.

I also knitted some little Mary-Jane booties to go with the jacket:

It's definitely a cute wee set, and I really hope my friend's niece loves it as much as I do!

Leafy Shrug

As mentioned in a previous post, I am participating in a few challenges for 2010 on Ravelry. One of those challenges is a month by month Knit Along, with a different designer offering up one of their patterns as the challenge of the month. January's KAL was the Leafy Shrug by designer StitchyMama (Katherine) and this is what I created:

It's really cute and is a perfect accompaniment to the Kaia Babydoll I've made as a custom order for a friend's niece. I had originally intended it for Tessa but will give it to my friend as the two items go together too well! I think I may need to knit another Kaia and Shrug for Tessa as she keeps wanting to put them on.

I've also knitted a really cute cabled hoodie cardigan for another friend for her great niece and I'll post pics later when I've attached the buttons and finished the booties that are going with it.

Izzy's 8th birthday

It is Izzy's 8th birthday today and she had a sleepover party last Sunday evening with two of her best friends. I can't quite believe my big girl is 8 - she's growing up so fast!

She lost one of her front teeth the day before this photo and the other one is very wiggly - she thinks she looks like Nanny McPhee!

Holidays

I haven't been on here in a while - in fact January has been a complete write-off! Our lovely summer holiday (all one week of it) in Ohope which followed Christmas, DS 2's 10th birthday and in the midst of the school holidays, left little time for blogging. Well, school's back and so am I! I will post a couple of pics of our holiday away, where we got to see many sightings of Moko the dolphin as he camped out in the sea right in front of our beach house.

The kids all had a ball and it was very relaxing. We had been dreading the drive up and back as last year (when we stayed in the same place) Tess had screamed most of the car journey home and quite a bit on the way up - very stressful. But this year she was wonderful - very chatty and happy, despite not actually sleeping in the car, except for the journey back when she fell asleep 4 minutes from home!!

I am now officially on a yarn buying ban and have joined a shop the stash group on Ravelry. My yarn collection is rather large (see below) and it really needs to be used up before I go buying anymore wool.

(that's a king size bed, by the way)

I think the picture says it all, don't you?!

I have also joined a few other Ravelry challenges this year, namely 10 in 2010 - which is basically knitting 10 of many different things (there are different categories), which should keep me busy and motivated, and will hopefully help with the shopping the stash challenge too :)  I'll take an updated picture of the stash later in the year to help me track my progress.

I have been knitting during my January break from here, but there's not a lot to show for it yet. I'll display the things I've knitted as I go through them. Right, it's pretty late right now so I'll be finishing now and back in the next few days with some items I've knitted recently.