Pretty Hands

In this part of the country spring is slow to come. It is getting warmer and more spring-like here but we are not basking in warm sunshine yet! Our mornings and evenings  (and some days) are still a little chilly. Still the season to wear my wristers for my daily walk.

I really enjoyed knitting these, the elephants are so cute!The pattern is Baby Elephant Walk and they are great to knit and they fit perfectly. I like my wristers to come up quite high on my fingers so I can tuck them in if I am cold.

I knit these using a very different type of wool blend yarn. I used woodlands, a Classic Elite yarn. It is a wool/nettles blend and it is really quite nice to work with. It really has a nice halo and they are super warm.

I knit these awhile ago and they are still one of my favourite pair. They are so pretty !! I get a lot of compliments on them.

This pattern is Churchmouse Beaded Gloves. I seem to be knitting a lot of their patterns recently. I really like them as they have such nice classic styles. The patterns are well written and easy to follow.I knit this pair with a silk/merino DK yarn. The silk gives the yarn a nice lustre.And the beads-just a lovely combination!

None of this is helping me to get all the yard work and garden clean up done though-ha ha!! This is a lot more fun.

My New Go to Beret Pattern- Koigu Beaded Beret

Earlier in the year I rediscovered a copy of the Churchmouse Classics Koigu Beaded Beret pattern in my pile of must- do patterns.

I am totally smitten with this pattern! It is a quick easy knit and the finished beret is really cute. It fits well and is very flattering on everyone. The fun part was using different yarns and yarn combos to knit a hat. This hat was knit with  Madtosh Sock in Antler paired with a creamy Kidsilk Haze. It is soooo soft and pretty. It feels like angora.

I knit this one with Koigu Mori in a pretty mauvey thistle colour with Kidsilk Haze in Berry. Lovely. The silk in the Koigu gives it a nice lustre.

This one was knit with Koigu PPPM in a tonal green.

This is knit with a variegated Koigu PPPM. Beautiful colours! It is fun watching the colour palette evolve as you knit.

This last one was knit with a tonal Koigu and beads- yes my  favourite thing - beads!!! Have I finished with this pattern-absolutely not! I plan to knit a few more for gifts over the summer- it is a great take along project. Thanks Rachy!

Elfin Slippers

Sally recently knit these super cute slippers. She knit them both in an evening-can you believe it!

These were knit using an old pattern (I have the same pattern and I bought it decades ago for $1.60!) with some very soft and pretty bulky yarn. Adding a novelty yarn up at the cuff really makes these slippers pop! It is such a great idea and it reminds me to think about adding embellishments or change things up to add some punch to a project.

She also sewed on some suede slipper bottoms which will extend the life of the slippers significantly. I made thrummed slippers for my kids several years ago and they wore out quite quickly, I wish I had put on some slipper bottoms.

These would make a great gift. They are fast and easy to do and everyone would love them.

Here is one of Judith"s adorable baby hats . It is knit with a bulky and frilly yarn. Super cute!!

Judith aka ColourSparks has been designing lots of hats for adults,children and babies. They are super patterns to knit and to wear.                                                                                                                   

Cathy's Pretty Sweaters

Cathy always wears the nicest and prettiest hand knit sweaters. She finds the best sweater patterns that are perfect for layering and can be worn through many seasons. This latest one she knit is Moshup. It is a Berocco pattern. This sweater is knit from the top down and Cathy said it was quite interesting and quick to knit. I love  how the increases are done with yarn overs so a nice eyelet design is created.

Cathy used  Monsoon- a James C. Brett yarn. I love the long colour changes. It really adds a lot of interest to the sweater. It would look equally nice in a tweedy yarn or a yarn this is more tonal, it all depends on the look you want or what you want to wear it with. Needless to stay choosing the button is the most fun part. There are so many great buttons to choose from and they can  really add a punch of colour and interest to a sweater.

Cathy also brought in some of her crocheted vests from the book One Skein Wonders. These were quick and easy to do, She used Taiyo-a Noro yarn. Again, using a long striping yarn really adds a lot to a simple design pattern. Thanks Cathy!

Winter Mitts

We have had a bit of a blast of wintry weather lately. I have wanted to knit these mittens since the holidays. But you know how it goes! With Spring upon us (fingers crossed) I decided I had to get these puppies done. I am a seasonal knitter in many ways and if I didn't get them done soon it would next fall before I would feel inclined to knit them.

J Flood I am not!

This pattern is Maine Woods and Rivers Mittens. The mittens are really warm with the stranding and fit nicely. I really like the outdoorsy theme as it is suitable for anyone. I knit them with Cascade 220. Very nice!

I particularly liked the cuffs. There is an outer cuff that is stranded and a ribbed inner cuff. This provides the wearer with three layers of warmth. I love this feature as I find my wrists can get cold quite easily. The pattern is sized for a larger adult. They are too big for me but they fit Brent perfectly. He is pretty happy about that. He loves anything knit that is functional and involves warmth. It is suggested in the pattern if the mitts are too big to slightly felt or full them. This would work with the Cascade 220. I have a pair of felted mitts and they are super warm. I would just be very careful about felting them.

It is a great pattern to practice some colourwork too.

Hankering for Spring

Spring colour

Even though this has been the winter of a non-winter we are all getting restless for Spring around here. I love these little primulas.They are in grocery stores , nurseries and even some of the big box stores. These were $.99 each!! They don't always last too long in the house as they do like cooler temperatures but they do provided a nice splash of colour. The best part is they can be planted in my garden and most of the time they survive for a few years. Hyacinths are also another favourite.They are so fragrant. Again when they are done they go into the garden and come up again next spring. It is funny but I find spring the most exciting time of the year-flower wise.

Sally has been knitting more pretty little things !!

The  inspiration for these embellishments came from this book. It is a very pretty book just choc-a-block full of different flowers and greenery to both knit and crochet. If you like flowers and like to embellish this is worth checking out. It took considerable restraint to leave this one on the shelf.                                                                                                                                       

 

I recently saw this author interviewed on TV.  The book is called A New Leaf by Merilyn Simonds and it is available in our local library ( I will be returning this copy soon). The book is a collection of short essays (?) about life in her large acreage in Ontario. It is not a book about gardening per se but about her life and her garden as the seasons change. It reminds me of how the Harlot writes about knitting-if that makes any sense. It is a nice book to pick up at the end of the day or whenever a quiet moment presents itself.

Hexipuffs!!!!

Cate aka soletluna brought in her Beekeepers quilt this week. This is one of my favourites! The quilt is composed of knit hexagons that are stuffed and then sewn together. It is so soft and squishy and huggable. It is a great project to use up all your left over sock/fingering yarn.(I just may have a few bags of said yarn squirrelled away) Seriously, what a great project. It could be a long term project -just knit a few in between projects. It can be made large or small. It could be a throw or a table topper.You could do yarn swaps with your friends. Or hexipuff swaps! This could be fun!

 

I just had to give them a try and they are super fun and easy to do. They are so cute! It will be a great project to pack in my take-a-long knitting bag. It will be fun working with all my bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn. It will be like a scrappy quilt- only knit.What a great idea!

Baby owl hat

Julie just finished crocheting this owl hat for her baby. This is her first crochet project-she did a super job! (and it wasn't an easy pattern) The hat is adorable and we are all pretty excited to be with such a lovely mum-to be.