Newborn Hats

Don’t ask me why but I’ve made some newborn hats lately. It’s not like I know anyone who’s having a baby soon. Maybe it was just the need for a quick knit because they sure are fast to complete. One of them was a pattern test knit for a gorgeous little Pumpkin Hat.

There are so many of these pumpkin designs on Ravelry so there’s lots of patterns to select if you wish to make one. I love the top of this hat.

I used Cascade 220 Superwash wool to make my hat. It’s such a lovely wool to knit with.

My second hat is really a premmie size (because of the yarn I used) and it’s called Little Knight Newborn Purple Hat although I made mine in pink.

The yarn I used is Bella Baby Angora Blend (that is actually my yarn in the Ravelry page picture) and it is so soft. I used a round polystyrene ball to give some shape to the hat. I really need to invest in a baby doll to be my model!

And the third hat is this cute little Sheep Hat which I instantly fell in love with.

Even the back of the hat is cute 🙂

I used a combination of Cascade 220 Superwash and Lana Gatto Super Soft. Both incredibly beautiful wools to knit with.

My friend Helen recently visited New Zealand and she brought me back some lovely little sheepy presents. Here’s some of them in this picture indicated by the arrows.

And this lovely little cutie.

Yesterday it was so hot and humid in Brisbane and today’s it’s about seven degrees cooler so I am going to try and attach a new tabletop that I bought yesterday to the table that I am using for my wool combing which is so old the bottom part is flaking off and leaving a mess. I’ve charged the drill and now just need to hope that the carving board I bought can be adapted to a table top. Will keep you informed!

That’s my news for this week. Until next time…

Melanie

My Socksie Slippers

Now that summer is officially over here in Australia and we’re into autumn, I can really start planning some cold (okay cool) weather knitting. Last winter I experimented making some slippers to scuff around in my home. This is my first attempt.

As you can see, they weren’t quite snug enough around the ankle so out came the crochet hook and a few rows of crocheting did the trick.

A different coloured cuff for each slipper. The slippers are made using two strands/balls of Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash which is a 10ply (worsted) 100% wool. The result is a pair of very soft and comfy socksie slippers which I’ve called ‘Autumn’.

This is my second attempt using yellow and brown Ashford Tekapo 8ply 100% wool.

OMG it looks like I have the feet of a hobbit!!

Because this wool is a bit sturdier the slippers sit nicely on their soles which I made a bit wider to cater for my wide foot. I’ve named these slippers ‘Tiger’.

Both pairs of socksie slippers were made using size 6mm needles.

Unfortunately I didn’t write the pattern down straight away and now my notes don’t all make sense. So this means I’ll have to make another pair and write the pattern a bit more clearly as I go so I can share it with you.

Now I just need to wait patiently for winter which isn’t due for another three months 😦 I love winter here in Brisbane.

Before I go I’d like to share my little ‘invention’ with you. I’ve been knitting a scarf from Bambu 7 (purchased from BB Yarn Supplies in Brisbane) which is on a spool. It was very fiddly trying to wind off the bamboo yarn as the spool went everywhere so this is what I came up with!

A nifty use of a cheap plastic basket that I bought from one of those discount stores.

All I did was grab three bamboo skewers, cut off the sharp points, taped the ends together, fed the skewers through the very conveniently placed hole, slipped on the spool, fed the skewers through the other side and then secured each end with a clothes peg. Voila! the spool winds effortlessly and does not go all over the place.

I  can also slip the pattern, knitting, notebook and pencil into the basket and I have  another knitting caddy! I surprise myself at times with my good ideas 🙂 I hope you can also make use of this idea.

Until next time…

Melanie

Not More Yarn!!!!!

This gallery contains 37 photos.

I guess you’re wondering whether I’ve been buying any more yarn recently hey? Well surprise, surprise….I have been stockpiling quite a few new purchases and thought it was about time I showed them to you. I am keeping Australia’s (and … Continue reading →

Weekend Chit Chat and Handy Ideas

I’m on a bit of a roll knitting baby garments and putting them away in my ‘Grandma’s glory box’ for the day when eventually I will be blessed with a grandchild. I was thinking the other day that it would probably be an idea to actually label each garment so I don’t forget (which is easy for me!) what pattern I used, what yarn, what needles etc.

So I hopped onto Ebay (one of my favourite shopping experiences) and searched for label tags and was inundated with choices. These are the labels I bought….very handy as they came with a separate ball of rustic looking twine.

The twine can be cut to size to suit your needs.

I’ve written as much detail on each label as I think necessary especially whether it’s a wool or acrylic garment.

I just love the colours in this Ice Yarns Dancing Baby yarn.

This gorgeous orange cardigan is made using the Cascade 220 Superwash wool.

And this is the Milo Vest made in Patons Bluebell 5ply crepe wool.

My very first Pebble Vest made with Cleckheaton Country Paintbox 8ply wool.

And my second Pebble Vest made with a handspn 100% Merino wool purchased on Ebay.

Here’s a sneaky peek at my latest Pebble Vest. I’m using 5mm needles with the Ice Yarns baby yarn and this time I cast on 100 stitches to make a larger version.

And now for something completely different. I tend to use quite a few medium sized freezer bags and always have a devil of a job trying to separate them when they’re still in their packaging so I’ve come up with such an easy idea. I simply found the top of the bundle and punched a hole in one corner. Make sure you double check that you’ve got the top opening as it’d be a disaster if you punched a hole in the bottom of the bags which would render them quite useless!

Once you’ve punched a hole just push a large hook through them and voila now it’s so easy to select a bag by simply slipping it off the hook. I’ve got them hanging inside my pantry.

That’s all my chit chat for now….back to more knitting. Until next time…

Melanie

The Cutest Little Baby Cardigans

I spend a lot of time on Ravelry and there are particular knitters whose projects I like to check out to see what they’re knitting at the current time. One of my fave knitters has made this little cardigan quite a few times so I decided to buy the pattern and make it too.

Isn’t it just the cutest little baby cardi you’ve ever seen? The best thing about this pattern is it’s all knitted in the round and in one piece. Yay!! No seams….no joining. All you have to do is sew on the buttons. How easy is that? And it’s all plain and purl knitting so an ideal pattern for a beginner who wants to get a bit daring and start knitting larger items with a bit more detail.

I used one of my all time favourite 10ply (worsted) yarns for this project. It’s Cascade 220 Superwash and it’s fantastic to knit with. This yarn is part of the bulk ‘end of dyelot’ sale I purchased from Yarn Glorious Yarn. I’m so glad I splashed out and bought so many balls as I’m slowly working my way through them knitting all sorts of goodies.

I used this yarn to make my Mock Cable Baby Hat and Ribbed Pumpkin Hat and I’ve just finished knitting some slippers in this yarn as well which I’ll feature soon.

The pattern I used is ‘In Threes: A Baby Cardigan’. This link will take you to some photos of the cardigan with little bodies in it! It’s perfect with a little long sleeved top underneath.

This is the back view of the cardi.

One more pic….

Now because I loved this pattern so much I made two more cardigans! This one is size 18 months and I added another repeat at the bottom and by doing this I used up the whole ball of yarn less a few centimetres.

I’ve called this cardi ‘Beach’ as the colours remind me of the sea, sun, sand and occasional cloud at the beach.

It looks quite long doesn’t it? But hopefully it’ll keep an 18 month old extra warm around its little bottom and the top of the legs.

The yarn I used is Ice Yarns Dancing Baby which is a 100% acrylic DK yarn. I used 4.5mm circular needles. Now I generally only use acrylic for decorations or for items in the home and not for garments, however, I just couldn’t resist the colours in this yarn and being acrylic it will be easier for a mum to maintain although I would still be handwashing any baby items rather than tossing them in the washing machine.

This is the size 0-6 months size. Again, it is just too cute for words.

I called this cardi ‘Sand ‘n’ Sea’ as it reminds me of the sand and the sea.

Yes, you guessed it, this cardi is also made with Ice Yarns Dancing Baby. How can you resist these colours?

And just to finish it off I made this little Ribbed Pumpkin Hat to match the cardi.

All I need now is a grandchild but I don’t think that’s going to happen for quite a while. Although by the time a grandchild does arrive he or she will have a massive knitted wardrobe full of everything imaginable!

So for the moment these cardigans will be going into my ‘Grandma’s glory box’.

This cardigan pattern is definitely a favourite one for me and one I’ll be using quite a few times I imagine.

Until next time…

Melanie

Noosaville Knitting News # 5

Like most days since I’ve been here, it’s dawned rainy and then cleared up during the day so it was a quick trip to the shops this morning followed by a four hour knitting session on the river front. As per the other day, I had people coming up and chatting with me to find out what I was knitting. One woman was also a spinner and an avid knitter too. I mentioned to her that I was considering going to the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo next year which is held in mid July. She was from Melbourne and had actually won prizes at the Show.

Another annual fibre event that I’d like to visit is the Warwick Jumpers and Jazz Festival which is held in Queensland. Unfortunately both events fall at the same time and also at the time that I like to visit Noosaville in July so I will have to take turns maybe.

Now to show you a couple of my knitting projects. The first is a plastic bag holder (of all things I know!) The stitch pattern is feather and fan and I found the pattern for the bag holder in Ravelry when I was doing a free pattern search on ‘feather and fan’. The pattern is called ‘Feather and Fan Bag Bag’.

It’s taking a lot of imagination to try and find interesting places to take my photos as I’m a bit limited inside my unit so have had to resort to taking items outside and hang them off trees. I probably get odd looks from people who walk up and down the river front!

The yarn I used is Cascade 220 Superwash and is part of a bulk lot I purchased from Yarn Glorious Yarn earlier this year when they were having an end of dyelot sale. I managed to get each ball for $9.

Today I started knitting another hat. The pattern is called BAS Relief Hat and it’s in the latest copy of Australian Creative Knitting magazine. You are required to use 2 x 50g balls of Knitalpaca ‘Luxa’ 100% alpaca yarn but I’ve used an 8ply alpaca yarn that I purchased in May last year from Stanmore Park Alpacas at Yatala (south of Brisbane). The weekend was an open day as part of National Alpaca Week. The yarn cost $6 for a 50g ball.

And to finish off…on Monday night I took these photos at dusk as the sky and river looked spectacular. What do you think?

I don’t think I’ve seen such lovely shades of blue before.

And to finish off…I’ve just rushed outside and taken these two photos…the setting sun…

And the view from my unit…lots of families fishing on the river bank…

That’s my news for today. Until next time…

Melanie

A Weekend Yarn Catch Up

You’re probably thinking you’ve not read a post from me for a while about any recent yarn purchases which would logically mean I haven’t bought any yarn. Well the answer is – you’re wrong! How could I not have purchased any yarn I ask you? You should know by now this is one of my weaknesses 🙂

So I’m going to regale you with my stash additions over the last month or so.

We’ll start off with the Canadian Zen Yarn Garden ART WALK Series – The Dream which is the second offering in the new ART WALK Series and features a painting by Pablo Picasso entitled “The Dream” which inspired this colourway. Painted on Serenity 20, Mr. Zen has captured the vividness and subtlety of the colours of the painting. From one medium to the next, artists express their use of colour!

Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) was an artistic virtuoso who co-founded Cubism, and produced an astounding 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures during his brilliant 70-year career. Picasso’s unparalleled body of work was so vast, and its phases so unique, that art historians have divided it into specific periods. A child prodigy, Picasso took advanced classes at the Royal Academy of Art in Barcelona when he was only 15. His revolutionary Cubist works, with their distorted shapes and fragmented forms, established art as a genre that does not need to literally represent reality. Zealously embracing every medium from primitive art to sketches to Surrealism, Picasso had an unrivaled influence upon 20th century art.

Serenity 20 is a 70% superwash merino / 20% cashmere / 10% nylon blend, weighs 100g and contains 400 yards. I purchsased two skeins of this gorgeous yarn and still haven’t decided what to make so of course I always welcome any suggestions from you. Yarn Glorius Yarn is the Australian distributor of Zen Yarn Garden and lucky for me they’re situated in Indooroopilly in the western suburbs of Brisbane.

This is the ‘official’ picture of the yarn.

Dyed by Hand Yarns Tough Stocking is a 75% superwash merino / 25% nylon blend, weighs 100g and contains 423 metres (463 yards). It’s a fingering/sock weight with a 4ply construction. Strong without the scratchy feeling, you don’t notice the nylon in this yarn. Merino wool is well known for its warmth and elasticity, whilst the nylon provides strength. The tight twist means great stitch definition. I can personally guarantee how soft this yarn is. I knitted my In the Limelight socks with Tough Stocking and they are so, so soft.

The following two skeins of yarn are the first offering in this year’s 2013 Simply Sock Club which I discovered while looking through Dyed By Hand Yarn’s website recently. This is how the sock club works: Two skeins of sock yarn are posted out in the last week in March, May and July. Yarns included are 2 x Tough Stocking, 2 x Mother’s Love, 1 x Silk Stocking and 1x Blue Chip Stocking.

What I love about it is that each skein of yarn is dyed in a colour inspired by something Australian. These colours are exclusive to yarn club members for 12 months and custom dyeing of these colours on any yarn base may be ordered by yarn club members for the duration of the club. The following colourway is Spotted Gum and I’m in love with the beautiful blends that are contained in this skein.

They certainly contain those Australian Spotted Gum hues don’t they?

The following colourway is called Vegemite. Julie certainly has a wonderful imagination. Who’d have thought to produce such a colourway. I’m thinking of making a nice shawl with this yarn.

I bet you thought this yarn was initially just black. Well look closely at all those lovely colours throughout the yarn. Gorgeous aren’t they?

I purchased the following yarn during Yay for Yarn’s recent Easter Sale. The first yarn is Pico Accuardi and the limited edition colourway ‘Sneaker Wave’ was produced especially for Yarns on Stage. It’s a 100% superwash merino, weighs 100g, is 347.5 metres (380 yards) in length and is a 4ply yarn. It’s quite different from the usual autumn shades that I usually buy however I was quite taken with these blends of colours.

This yarn is Three Irish Girls Carys BFL – Padraig. It’s a smooth yarn that’s easy to knit with and the long staple length of BFL helps Carys wear well and maintain its shape better than other soft wools. This yarn is made in the UK using wool which is humanely raised in an environmentally consicious manner. A DK/light worsted weight, this yarn may be suitable for projects requiring 8-10ply weight yarns. It’s a 100% Blue Faced Leicester wool that weighs 100g and contains 210 metres (230 yards).

I’m thinking maybe a hat and cowl for winter.

Alchemy Yarns Migration (Meadowlark) is a luxurious blend of wool and silk. Migration is top dyed and spun into a soft single ply DK/8ply weight yarn that moves through subtle gradations of colour. The colourways are inspired by and named after migrating birds and will produce softly blended bands of harmonious shades without a regular repeat. It’s a 30% silk / 70% wool blend, weighs 50g and contains 155 metres (170 yards). I bought two skeins of this yarn. The colours are beautiful!

This Shorn Fibres yarn is a 40% Baby Alpaca / 40% Merino Wool / 20% Silk blend and is Singles DK and weighs 100g. Each skein contains 252 yards.

I only discovered Shorn Fibres last week while I was delving in one of Ravelry’s Groups and just couldn’t resist purchasing some of Angela’s yarn. Angela is an Indie Dyer based in semi rural Queensland (near the Lockyer Valley), Australia. She dyes yarn in small batches using professional grade dyes. I love this Autumn Leaves colourway.

Here’s a different aspect of the colourway…..the wound ball of yarn. That reddish colour is actually more orange…must be a combination of the camera and photographer! The photo above reflects the true colours of the yarn.

I plan to knit a hat and scarf with this yarn in a fairly plain pattern so show off the lovely autumn shades.

Cascade 220 Superwash is a 10 ply worsted weight, machine washable, 100% pure wool yarn. It comes in 100 gram balls of 220 yards/201 metres. One ball is enough to make a hat. 1-2 for a childrens cardigan or sweater. Two for a scarf. 4-5 for a baby blanket.

This yarn is also great for making blankets and afghans which is what I am aiming to make…..a crocheted chevron blanket. I have used a bit of this yarn to knit two baby hats which I blogged about here and here. One is the mock cable baby hat and the other is the ribbed pumpkin hat.

I picked up these balls of yarn for $9 each as they’re the end of the dyelot. Another great buy from Yarn Glorious Yarn. I must have been logged onto my computer when the email first arrived advising of the sale as I managed to get all the colours I liked….they certainly didn’t last long!

And now for something completely different to finish off….here’s a mosaic of all the socks I’ve knitted to date. You haven’t seen the last pair (bottom right hand corner) but I will be posting a blog about them very, very soon. There’ll be a photo in that blog that I guarantee will make your mouth water. That will keep you wondering now won’t it?

That’s all for now. I’m off to get some dinner ready…..marinated salmon in sweet chilli and lime and some salad and then finish off another pair of socks I have on the go.

Have a great weekend. Until next time…

Melanie

More Adorable Knitted Baby Hats

I’ve been having so much fun knitting these adorable baby hats. The results are almost instantaneous as they don’t take long to knit up at all. I found all but one of these patterns on Ravelry…..such a wonderful source of patterns for knitters and crocheters alike.

This little hat is from the pattern Three Textured Baby Hats that features three hats of which I have made two. This one is the King Charles Brocade pattern. I used this lovely pink Bella Baby Honey DK yarn which is so incredibly soft and snuggly. The pattern definition is quite striking.

This is the second hat from the same pattern called English Diamond Block. It is knitted from Patons Big Baby 8ply in a lovely mid green colour although the camera has captured the colour as blue. Both these patterns are knitted from the brim up and are so easy once you’ve got the hang of knitting with dpns which I now have.

This intricate looking pattern hat is called Baby Leaves Hat and is designed by Paula Dean Nevison. This pattern took a bit more concentration but if you look closely you can clearly see the leaf design. Very clever I must say. I used Patons Big Baby 8ply in a nice bold red colour which would suit either a baby boy or girl. The hat starts from the crown with 8 stitches – 2 stitches on each of four needles….a bit fiddly to start with.

Because I loved the Mock Cable Baby Hat that I blogged about previously, I decided to make another one using Patons Big Baby 8ply in this lovely soft baby blue colour.

I just love this pattern so I entered the words ‘mock cable’ in the pattern search engine in Ravelry and found this adorable pattern called Mock Cable Baby Socks.

I used the same yarn to make a hat and sock set. I couldn’t believe how quickly each sock knitted up compared to knitting socks for big people!

Now this hat is the pièce de résistance. The pattern is from the ‘Knitting: 100+ Patterns Throughout the Year: 2012 Day-to-Day Calendar’ and is called Ribbed Pumpkin Hat. It’s sized for a toddler so I’ll be giving it to a little boy called Reid who turns one in July this year. Isn’t it just as cute as a button!

The pumpkin hat is made from Cascade 220 Superwash which is a pleasure to knit with……so soft.

I loved this hat so much I decided to adapt the pattern to make a pumpkin hat for a newborn so I cast on 70 stitches (instead of 80) and only knitted the ribbed section for 4.5 inches as opposed to 5.5 inches for the toddler size. I’m so happy at how it has turned out.

I used Patons Big Baby 8ply using pale blue for the main part and white for the top. This hat is sooo easy to make. If you know how to cast on, knit, purl, knit through the back of the loop, knit 2 together and cast off, you can each make this hat. Plus, of course you also need to know how to knit with 5 dpns.

And of course, I had to make a pink and white hat too…

Did you notice the five rings on the brick? If you look closely you’ll see ‘1956’ as well. That’s right this brick was made especially for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games which makes it 57 years old this year!

How about a red and white hat….reminds me a bit of Christmas.

And just to finish off…..here’s a collection of all the baby hats I’ve made so far. I love them all and can’t wait to see them on two little babies.

I probably should make a couple of jackets and finish the baby pram blanket I started but I’m having so much fun knitting these hats. Luckily, I’m knitting for two babies. At the rate I’m going they’ll both have a hat for each day of the week! And that’s exactly how many I have knitted to date!

Talk to you soon. Have a wonderful week….

Melanie

Easter Weekend Knitting Blitz

You know what I really love about having a decent stash, besides the obvious of course, which is having lots of yarn. It’s having lots of yarn you’ve forgotten about and then rediscovering it which is what happened for me this weekend. I have a couple of friends whose daughters are having babies this winter so I thought I’d make a start on knitting some baby items.

I attacked two huge bags of baby yarn in my stash room and found some little treasures, in particular some lovely soft 8ply yarn which was perfect for two of the cutest little patterns for babies’ hats. These patterns come from the most unlikely place….a calendar. In fact, it was the ‘Knitting: 100+ Patterns Throughout the Year: 2012 Day-to-Day Calendar’. The two patterns I particularly like are by Paula Dean Nevison. Paula also has a website where you can download some free patterns. There’s a couple that I am thinking of knitting soon.

The first little hat is the Feather and Fan Baby Hat and I used some gorgeous lime green yarn….Patons Feathersoft 8ply. This yarn has now been discontinued but luckily I managed to get a few balls of the lime green about 18 months ago on Ebay.

Isn’t is just the cutest, most adorable baby hat you’ve ever seen?

And because I loved it so much, I made a white one too.

The white hat is made from Bella Baby Honey DK. Again, another beautifully soft 8ply baby yarn.

The next cute little pattern is the Feather and Fan Rolled Brim Baby Hat which is also made with Bella Baby Honey DK in a beautiful shade of mauve.

I love this close up picture….can’t wait to see this little hat on a baby’s head.

And of course, because I liked it so much, you guessed it, I had to knit another one.

This little blue hat is knitted in Teddy Baby Softspun DK.

This next little hat is one that can also be made in child and adult sizes and it’s made from one of my favourite stitch patterns….mock cable hence the name of the pattern: Mock Cable Baby Hat; it also happens to be a free knitting pattern from Ravelry.

The yarn I used for this little hat is Cascade 220 Superwash. I recently bought a stack of this yarn from Yarn Glorious Yarn when they were having a sale of the discontinued dye lots. I bought 18 balls at $9 each….all in oranges, greens and browns. It’s lovely to knit with…so soft.

The pattern looks so intricate yet it is just so incredibly easy…just four rows repeated.

Now, to some little bootees knitted with Patons Feathersoft 8ply in this gorgeous lime green.

The pattern comes from the multitude of baby knitting pattern books that I have.

Now to something for fun….a little ball for baby to play with.

This ball is made from Heirloom Easy Care 8ply and knitted with a double strand of yarn and using size 5.5mm needles. Again, I bought the yarn on Ebay ages ago and rediscovered it in my stash on the weekend.

And finally, last night I started knitting this Zig and Zag Baby Pram Blanket. Although the pattern calls for using up bits of 4 ply sock yarn, I used Bella Baby Sprinkle which is a DK (8ply) 60% acrylic / 40% wool mix. I bought it recently from Spotlight at a sale for only $1 a ball….what a bargain!

Although this blanket will not have a real zig zag effect because I am using the same yarn and not changing colours, I still think it’s going to look lovely in this colourway of pink, blue and mauve. And what makes it even better is knitting with my new Addi Click Interchangeable circular needles that I bought on sale (what else!) from Yarn Glorious Yarn a couple of weeks. They are fantastic to knit with.

I love the stitch definition.

Well that’s how I spent my Easter…as well as blocking a couple of scarves and uploading all my knitting projects onto my Ravelry page. And of course, eating chocolate, some reading, drinking cups of tea and coffee. Mmmm sounds like a good idea so I’m off to make a cuppa. Hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend filled with lots of crafty and yarnie goodness…..and chocolate of course!

Talk soon…

Melanie