knittyknit

Coming soon..

to a yarn shop near you (if you happen to live near this yarn shop) are these stash/ project bags. The shop has just gone online and I'm hoping that my stuff will be on there soon. As well as these bags I'm also selling knitting rolls, and boxy needle cases of different lengths (some short enough for crochet hooks, some long enough for 35 and 40cm needles). I have really enjoyed making these bags. It's most satisfying ironing them once I've turned them right-way-round, and finding that all the seams match up nicely! They are available in two different sizes. The larger size is a stash bag - big enough for loads of wool - and with internal pockets on both sides, there's space for a few pattern books and needles too. The smaller bags are great project bags - again with pockets on both sides for patterns and needles. The bags will sit very nicely next to your arm chair and keep all your bits and bobs neat (I think I need to make one for myself!)

Here are also some gratuitous photos of my little cutie Alice. Yes. She's dressed as a boy on purpose for photographic reasons. I made the blanket for a friend whose friend is having a baby boy any day soon. I hope the friend likes it! The cardigan is one I knitted a while back. I wish I'd knitted it in pink or cream, as Alice could do with a cardigan, and I STILL haven't finished the one I started for her before she was born.

 

I'm going on holiday next week to Great yarmouth - or thereabouts. I've never been before, but my mum says they don't sell brown bread there, so I'm a little suspicious. She said the shop assistant said there was no call for it! HA! I'm very much looking forward to it though, especially after the unfortunate incident in the car last year! It'll be great to spend some quality time with Grandma and my sis!

The Arrival!

In true knittyknit style, I've delayed this post far too long! Never-the-less, Alice Jennifer was born on Sunday 9th of August weighing 7lb 9oz. She was speedy to arrive once she got going - 3 hours of contractions and POP! Out she came, half an hour after we arrived at the hospital. The poor student midwife who was helping out didn't know what hit her. Luckily, not literally. Alice was a caulbearer. A term I have never come across before. Alternatively, she was born in a caul, which means to be born with the amniotic sac intact. It's supposed to be very good luck - so they say. Anyway. Here she is!

Waiting and Waiting

Well there is still no sign of baby wanting to make an appearance! I was due on Monday, so it's just a lot of waiting around and pottering really. I have made several large jars of jam to pass the time. Very tasty it is too. Summer fruits - with our own blackcurrants - in this batch. The strawberry batch didn't quite set, but it's still devine on toast. It's gonna slightly melt anyway, when it's on hot toast, right?

 

Here's another cushion made for a little boy's third birthday. I could really get into making cushions in a big way I think. Very satisfying turning them right way out for the final time to see that crisp and plump shape when you put the cushion in! I really enjoyed using felt for the spaceship applique too. I 'stuck' it on with some bondaweb before I satin-stitched the outlines.

The cushion was beautifully wrapped in stripey paper for the spectacular pirate party we had been invited to. At least, we hear it was spectacular. We arrived at the church hall to find it locked up. We'd got completely the wrong time. I was furious with myself to say the least - and mostly because Eleanor was grumpy and tired without the nap that she could have had after the party anyway!

 

Anyway. I'll try and keep you posted re. the imminent arrival and leave you with a final photo of me in my blooming state (with a monkey in tow)!

Back at Last!

 It's been a while. Again. However, I've finally finished work and begun my maternity leave. Heck, it's going to go so quickly! One term off is definitely not enough, but money is a necessary evil I'm afraid.

Here's a little of what I've been up to in the past 6 weeks!

I randomly made butter.

 

Here it is after shaking and shaking until the butter separated from the butter milk.

 

Here is the small but very tasty pat of butter after the milk had been squished out. YUM!

And here is the butter dish, which does occasionally get used, but mainly on special occasions. It was made by my beautiful and talented sister (who IS coming to visit me soon on pain of death) whose work you can see and evidently buy here! She assures me she is going to start to blog, but I fear her new-found interest in Facebook is taking up potential blogging time.

I have finally moved Eleanor into the new nursery (yet haven't taken adequate pictures) so I have a new sewing room! This was one of the first things I made in the new space - a very satisfying cushion for a 3rd birthday boy. I was extremely pleased! This will definitely go on the list of 'quick things to make when you haven't time/ energy to shop for a present'

Birthdays and non-birthdays

  I have yet again gone SEVERAL weeks without blogging. Sincere apologies. What have I been doing?

1. Painting...

A bookshelf for the new nursery. It will be turned round so it's short and long rather than tall like this. It used to house my fabric.

2. Sewing...

A princess and the pea set for a little girl's third birthday. It came in a pretty bag too, and with a bright green crocheted pea. I was inspired by here and here.  I tried a cloth doll to begin with, but because I was rushing I made a pigs ear of it. I decide I could crochet one just as quickly and make it look how I wanted it more easily.

 

A new cushion for outside. It has a thin double duvet folded up inside. Cunning!

3. Playing...

 Eleanor has taken to climbing into her water tray. Good job Daddy made it nice and strong!

Eleanor turned 2 on Thursday. We got her a little kitchen! She just adores it. My wonderful family got her some of the most amazing accessories; pots, pans, glasses, cutlery, toy food, and beautiful cakes and an egg which splits in two with a little cloth inner part. The kitchen itself was from thewoodenchoice. What can I say? It's a good job Martin is a wizard with wood. It was SO shoddily made, bits were missing, bits didn't fit, the holes drilled for the handles were WAY out, and to top it off it was badly damaged in transit. After recieving a full refund (without having to return) Martin set to work, and it now looks lovely. So. DON'T buy from thewoodenchoice unless you are prepared to spend ages repairing what boils down to a complete lack of quality control and bad workmanship.

4. Eating...

 

Delicious, yet not completely attractive, ice lollies. I have searched for the perfect mould (which achieves a very similar shape to that of a minimilk) and I finally found one at my local cook-shop. I wanted to be able to make a batch, pull them out and store them in order to use the moulds to make more. The ones above are a star mould I found at Morrisons for about £1.99 and the Lakeland moulds which have a special handle with a straw affair so you can sip the melted juice.

 

Birthday cakes! Some have the obligatory chocolate icing, applied with my new icing nozzles. Some are a buttercream with vanilla yoghurt added. TAYSTEEE! And no, someone hasn't stolen one of the pink ones, I just ran out of buttercream.

 

The result: one happy girl full of crisps and cake... one shattered mummy!

Birthday Top

 Technically, I have not written two posts in one day... it's just an illusion. I wrote the first one yesterday but could only muster up the energy to take a photo of the chair today. As well as expending said energy I have also made some summer fruit icecream/ frozen yoghurt, strimmed the lawn (drowning out Eleanor's whimpering and hiding from the strimmer), and made this pretty top. It's for a fourth birthday girl whose party we are attending tomorrow. So. Claire, I hope this fits Abi! I have little or no concept of how big a four year old is. I'll try the top on Eleanor later and hopefully it will be too big for her as a nearly-two-year-old.

 

I've had this flowery cotton lawn for a while and have been meaning to make something pretty with it. I might have to make a dress for Eleanor/ bump with the rest. Or maybe a groovy all-in-one romper affair. Or better still matching outfits for both of them! HA! Am I that cruel? The matching buttons were a fluke I think! I was going to put some at the top near the neck line, but I thought they stuck out better on the red ribbon background.

Next project...floor cushions for the nursery - with a twist. I have seen a few versions of duvets in a cushion and I'm going to make my own! I see it as a good way to make some nice big squishy cushions AND, more importantly, store the duvets! They won't be attached to the cushion cover like I've seen in some shops, but will simply use the duvet as the cushion pad.

Kirsty's 'Handmade' Home - and my little version!

I have watched the first three 'episodes' of Kirsty's Handmade home and I am most underwhelmed... OK. Fair enough, her kitchen did look quite nice when it was finished, and I did like her cream/ yellow bath and sink, but all in all I have not been impressed. I was looking forward to the series because (as I like to think) it's kind of what I'm about and what I'd like to be doing all the time. I wanted to see the handmade items being made and maybe get a little inspiration. However, I have found Kirsty Allsopp patronising and annoying. Even if I wasn't into crafting of that kind, I wouldn't want to be told every five minutes that I could enrol on any number of courses up and down the country to learn to make a cushion or whatever. Surely, most people could figure that out anyway?

Also, she keeps going on about how her handmade items are going to save her loads of money, and we can all do this to make our houses beautiful in these tough times. Somehow I don't think that making your own glass (SINGULAR) is going to even dint the vast amounts of money she is spending on that holiday home. Particularly if you're going to get the glass blower to finish off your set (presumably at a very high cost for bespoke glasses).

This sort of approach continued into this weeks' programme, where Kirsty was learning to knit. OK - it's great that she learned a wonderful skill but come on! She knitted a tiny rectangle and then handed her project over to Suzie Johnson to finish. I'm sorry, but if I'm making something for my home or my family I want it to be special and something I've put love and care into. Not something I've started and someone else has finished. This is regardless of how long it took me to learn that initial skill. I want to see Kirsty encourage people to learn a task and then stick it out until they have a lovely finished item which means something. What is this approach saying to prospective crafters?

Despite my niggles with the programme, I do think some sections have been worthwhile viewing, and undoubtedly if it encourages people to try new crafts then I'll somewhat forgive its presenter.

Above is my little bit of handmade home. My mum found this little chair in the street, which is a very common thing in London apparently (I guess an alternative to freecycle). I believe it was the chair to one of those highchairs which breaks down into a little table and chair. It was nice enough as it was, if somewhat rickety. The cover was a green gingham vinyl and was a little grubby. Also, there were holes in the tops of the arms where the tray was attached. I dismantled the chair and Martin sanded it, filled the holes, glued the joints and then painted it in several coats of white paint. I sewed the covers, which are removable with a velcro strip where the two meet. In the back of chair I added a layer of cream fleece to soften it (I didn't remove the vinyl, just put the covers straight on top). I wish I had done this with the seat too - as it covered any trace of the green gingham below. I think when the covers get washed for the first time I'll add this (if I can squeeze it in). I actually glued the fleece with Gutermann's fabric glue, as it kept moving around whilst I was trying to put the cover on. I am really pleased with the results, and it should fit nicely in the new nursery (oh the excitement!!)

Ferrero Rocher Diorama

It's again been ages since I posted, but I had to share something cool I saw whilst on holiday in Cornwall. Martin is a real railway nut so we went to 'Model Railway World' near St. Austell. They had many attractive displays including a Thomas the Tank set up and a beautiful fairground/ circus with lots of flashing lights. However, what really inspired me were these mini dioramas in Ferrero Rocher boxes. What a great idea! I suppose they don't have to be railway-related, but maybe living - like a mini greenhouse. I have subsequently bought a 16 box of Ferrero Rocher and am munching my way through them. Obviously it's tempting to just eat them all at once so I can use the box... Perhaps it may be just simpler to transfer them to another container.

This is my favourite. It's called 'Grandad's Latest Project'.

 

This is the junior winner. I'm not sure how old this child/youth was.

Look out for some kind of miniature affair in a Ferrero Rocher box from me. I have a lovely collection of things I found on the beach in Scotland last year which I may incorporate - beautiful colours and textures.

£2.55 well spent!

I bought this pretty top at the British Heart Foundation shop yesterday. I liked the fabric! It was clearly not a purchase for me - it being a size 8 and everything, but I thought I could refashion it somehow...

 

This is what I came up with...

 

It's not a perfect fit - perhaps a dress to wear with a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, but I really like it! The neck line is too low and the shoulders are too wide - I'll measure her next time I think. Also, in hindsight I should have downsized the sleeves a little. They're a bit too poofy! I just need to put some buttons and buttonholes down the back and it's ready to wear in the real world!

For £2.55 you can't go wrong really!

Good news!

Babies are good news, aren't they? Generally? I am so pleased to say that we had a scan yesterday and we're having another girl! I am ridiculously pleased. Not because I wouldn't have loved and adored a little boy, but because I was not-so-secretly-at-all hoping for another girl. He hee!

I carried out my plans and took one side off Eleanor's cot and slightly re-arranged her room. The lovely armchair which used to be behind the door in her room has been re-homed in our bedroom - it'll probably be more use in there than it ever was. I am really pleased with the way it looks now, and hope to recreate the general ambience when we sort the big spare room out for the two sisters!

 

Needless to say, Eleanor is ridiculously happy to be able to jump out of her bed (albeit sleeping-bagged) and grab anything she wants! 'Room', she says... 'Stairs'... as she climbs up quick as a flash to explore. I guess she could always see the things from her cot, but longed to be able to reach it all (she never really spent that much time awake in there until now).

Just to say, I put some cards on Etsy...   

  

 

Look out soon for some lovely knitted/crocheted items I've been meaning to put up for ages.