Ban(d)ana Cowl...

I currently have far too many incomplete projects on the sticks & while I do plan on finishing them I really needed a quick knit, enter the Purl Bee Bandana Cowl.

I didn't have a 12ply on hand (& I'm attempting to knit through my stash this year) so I decided to knit with two strands of this beautiful wool I had been gifted & unsure what to do with.

It's far from perfect, but it is so soft & snugly, although I can only just get it over my head because my cast off was too tight!

I'm crazy about this colour, looking forward to breaking up my usually black attire with a bit of yellow this Autumn.

Ravelry.

Make...

Making my first quilt for the year.

Wondering if I'll have a niece or a nephew.

Looking forward to all the joys of a new baby...

without the broken sleep.

Helping....

She's all about the helping at the moment, I hope the novelty of setting the table doesn't wear off too soon...

Berries...

Today we took the kids berry picking.

I had planned (but forgotten) to take the kids this Summer, luckily a friend's visit jogged my memory. Unfortunately after a long drive punctuated by cries of 'are we there yet?', from both the kids & myself, we were greeted by a friendly farmer who informed us that their season had ended & the farm was closed. We were however welcome to wander & pick & eat whatever we could find.






Luckily we found quite a lot & we have lots of beautiful fresh berries to enjoy, while they last...

It's Friday...

I'm in love.

Lucky Hand Warmers...

A pair of very cosy hand warmers made using Bendigo Woollen Mills Alpaca & the Purl Bee pattern.



I used larger ply then the pattern called for, so they are nice & thick & I lengthened them by a few rows for good measure too. A gift for a friend who shared an amusing hand warmer tale with me, I thought it apt.

For all the details check out Ravelry.

Baby Elephant Quilt...

Finished, one cot sized quilt.

I can't completely take the credit for this one, my sister & I worked on the top together, rather impressive for her first quilt I'm sure you'll agree.



























I really like the colour palette, modern, gender neutral & fresh. I even happily parted with a little of my Elephant stash for this quilt. I think I will need to track down some more of the red fabric though, it's a new favourite.





























I used 100% wool batting as I prefer natural fibres & like more loft than the Bamboo provides. I quilted it reasonably close together in organic lines à la Kate, Jacquie & Leslie. I was a bit nervous about trying the organic quilting lines but it didn't take long to get the hang of it & I adore the texture it creates.



The binding is machine stitched on & the quilt is backed with the grey & white polka dots.

All the fabric (bar the Elephants) was from Patchwork on Central Park. Glad this quilt is heading to a special home, I'm a bit sad to farewell it.

Basting...

A sweet little baby quilt, can't wait to finish it.

Wizard Craft...

Harry Potter fever has hit the house & I am quite enjoying starting right back at book number one with the six year old.

 

On the weekend he went to a dress up party as Harry complete with a hand knitted Griffindor scarf. Naturally the scarf was deemed too itchy to be worn for more than 5 minutes, so it would appear to have been knitted in vein, oh well.




He did look rather cute even though I think the glasses made him look like the kid from Jerry Maguire.


























More details over on ravelry.

A Lesson...

In perseverance.



I have cast this cowl on 5 times & frogged it 4. That is over a thousand stitches that I have cast on. In hindsight I am amazed that I kept my cool rather than throwing it up against a wall, but I am very glad I persevered.



As it turns out, that pattern isn't hard, (although quite hard to fix if you make an error, hence the frogging), but it is very slow going. I am completely smitten with the wool which I have loved since a friend used it & I think it is a perfect match for this pattern.




Loving all those teeny tiny fishbones.