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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

There ARE heroes!

These are based on the free pattern Nurse Mates by Esther Braithwaite and are made for family and friends who are nurses. I feel though that all those in healthcare should be given congratulations – though there’s no way in could make them all a little toy!

In other knitting news, I did something I have never done before – I steeked! For those confused, it’s when you knit an object in the round, secure it, then cut it up the middle to create a cardigan or some such.

Yes. You CUT the knitting. With scissors.

I was driven to this madness as I was knitting myself ‘Forager’ from ‘Doomsday knits’ with a slow change variegated yarn. But as it’s asymmetric, every piece had a different number of stitches, making matching the colour changes impossible.

So steek I did.

The steeking process…

The finished object! I am very pleased with it.

In non knitting news, still in lockdown. I have cracked sourdough bread (hooray) and more or less finished the bulk of ripping up and sorting the front garden (double hooray) but as always there’s plenty more to do, on top of the day to day homeschooling, child wrangling, cleaning and tidying and kitten cuddling…

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 35 (3 this week)
Wool bought – 7
Wool given – 6
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 681

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

I imagine all of us in lock down by now have hit that point where what patience and resilience they felt they had suddenly crumbled. It could of been a casual remark, a glimpse of a news article, unwashed dishes or the expectation to just keep on smiling despite the rising panic and fear inside.

I hit the wall. Hard. Having a shower in the middle of the day so the kids wouldn’t see me cry, hard. As such, I have banned myself from the news and severely restricted my social media to knitted toys and kitty beans.

Ignorance is strength. How the echoes of 1984 seem to be following me… (last week’s blog post ‘sanity is not statictical’ was both a Fallout 3 and 1984 reference.

Anyhow, I normally keep my blog posts light hearted, and fairly impersonal, but I feel that in these times I was going to have to take that wall away. We are all sadly human, capable of love, of friendship, of joy of living, of laughter, of curiosity, of courage, of integrity. We are not hollow. But we are vulnerable.

If I go AWOL in the next few weeks, months, whatever lays ahead with lockdown, it will be because I have decided to further hide in my cocoon with my little family and wait for all this to be over with some form of sanity intact.

That was a somewhat heavy start, so let’s move on to the more light hearted nature of my blog posts – knitting! I have been making gifts, marrying to put forward some good karma. Two more hooded cowls, the Fallout pattern from last week, have fallen off my needles. Some arm warmers too.

Pattern details are again in last week’s post.

Lastly, I made these a good few weeks ago as a present for my nephew’s hamster, he should have been given them this weekend, but the trip to visit my family up north never happened, but I still want to share it.

Little hamster houses! Well, they’re supposed to be for rats so I scaled it down a bit, but still. Free pattern Cosmic Cozy by Susie Gourlay – dead cute and fantastic for using up odds and ends!

As such, with all of the above, I have used a fair bit of wool this week!

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 32 (5 this week)
Wool bought – 7
Wool given – 6
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 684

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Lockdown is getting to me. I keep swaying between the world having turned into some dystopian future, or a strange post apocalyptic landscape, but without the zombies or rad scorpions…

I had best be appropriately attired for when venturing out to the shops then.

The pattern is “Fallout” from the book “Doomsday knits”. Seems apt for the times we live in. (Been asked by two friends to make them one each, good thing it’s a nice easy knit with an interesting construction!)

In marginally more same knitting news, I have been knitting presents!

To complete the Nerfys Law Set theres a Nerf Bag for BIL, and a hat and armwarmers for Rabbie, as she feels the cold real bad. Nerf bag is my standard pattern, the hat is my own concoction and the arm warmers are Girl Gift Mitts by Debbie Meiklejohn.

In non knitting news I have been kept busy with Felix’s homeschooling and child wrangling in general. There’s been lots of baking, carding, painting, playing and also teaching Felix to rollerblade!

Busy but fun, which is what I am focusing on rather than the scary apocalypse happening outside in the real world…

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 27 (2 this week)
Wool bought – 7
Wool given – 6 (was given three balls yesterday as a little ‘saw these and thought of you’ gift from a friend. I really needed it!
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 689

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

Seeing as we are all currently living in interesting times, I think it’s wise to focus on positive things, kind things, good things.

Free pattern Knitted Heart by Julie & The Knits

Felix’s school run a variety of things throughout the year to raise money, some gets used for new school equipment and the bulk goes into paying towards school trips so parents don’t have to pay as much. As a kid, I didn’t get to go on many school trips as they were too expensive and my mother was doing as good as she could just to make sure we had dinner on the table.

Free pattern Hearts in a Hurry by Frankie Brown – I just braided some wool into the end to turn them into bookmarks.

When I was asked to knit a few contributions for mother Day gifts, I couldn’t refuse. They gave me the wool, and I knit, and knit, and knit quite a little bundle of gifts. I was working on these last week in Disneyland – note the much smaller heart coaster that I made after going on the Tower of Terror. Clearly fear induced adrenaline affects my guage!

Yesterday was the last day Felix’s school was open, as with all schools in the UK it was to be closed in a bid to slow down the coronavirus, but they were still able to sell the hearts and raise funds.

It’s been a very long, very odd and very stressful week, so i’m leaving today’s post there.

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 25 (0 this week – not had the urge to work on much)
Wool bought – 7
Wool given – 6 (was given three balls yesterday as a little ‘saw these and thought of you’ gift from a friend. I really needed it!
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 691 

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Well, I finished one of my big projects, or three you could argue…

It’s a bit of a joke, but my sister, her husband and I have formed a Nerf Team called ‘Nerfys Law’ (it’s a pun on Murphy’s Law, which just about sums up our luck at nerfing!)

There’s also an awesome TV show called Milo Murphys Law, and in it the main character Milo wears a striped sweater vest. So I doubled down on the geekery and made us all matching sweater vests in Nerf colours…

I’ve made one male vest following the free pattern Peter Easy by Berroco Design Team, except in the round to save on sewing, and two female vests following the free pattern Prudence Easy by Berroco Design Team, again in the round.

I love them, they are obnoxiously bright, but surprisingly warm and cosy and i’m hoping my sis and brother in law like them too!

In non knitting news, I’m just back from a sneaky girls trip to Disneyland Paris – no kids, no husband, just lots of fun and chaos. I had a ball, but I missed my terrors so badly, so pleased to be home with them. Also, as much fun as I was having, it was unnerving watching the park slowly go into lock down over Covid-19. We all left at the right time, but I know of a number of people who just arrived as we left who are in an awkward situation as the parks are now closed for the foreseeable future…

Last but not least: wool count is unchanged, haven’t done much knitting this week but haven’t bought any more wool either!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one 2 Comments

I promise I am knitting things besides hats! Honest!

This week we had a request for a snake hat, identical to Felixs and, rather interestingly, Felix turned up from school with a ‘pattern’ one of her best friends had designed for a hat get herself.

Felix gave me the puppy eyes. I rssisted. Them the pout. I caved.

Blue brim, brown background, lion on the side, and a pom pom on top. Check, check, check and check! The lion chart used was a freebie – Lion Chart by Kyra Alvey.

And to show them together:

Snakes and lions oh my!

Not long back from a family Nerf event – feeling rather stiff and sore do going to call this post quits and try and unlock my muscles with a toasty hot shower!

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 13 (4 this week!)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given – 0
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 691

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Just like the title says – it’s Bad News Badger. He’s made roughly following the free pattern Rabbit and Bear by April Cromwell and is a companion piece to The Angry Badger I knit a while ago.

I had far too much fun with this guy – especially making his little tiny newspaper! He’s small enough he can sit in the palm of my hand…

In other knitting news, still working on those two big projects, interspersed with a few small ones as I’ll go insane otherwise…

Just a short one today, it’s been pretty manic as of late! Oh, except to say that after knitting the Ryder hat for Inkling, he has decided that his traffic one is the bestest hat and is now wearing that…sigh….

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 9 (2 this week!)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given – 0
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 695

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

First things first: Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

On to the knitting:

In my quest to get Inkling to wear a hat for more than 8 seconds (his car hat I knit him to match his jumper lasted 8 seconds, previous record was 6) I have resorted to my TV nemesis, Paw Patrol.

After a lengthy discussion with a 2.5 year old over his favourite character (Zuma and Chase, he won’t have one, it’s not fair) his favourite colour (blue and green, maybe orange) I have up and watched several episodes with him whilst knitting in a sulk.

Then I saw it.

Ryder (the boy who looks after all the pups) wears a red and blue knitted beanie in the winter/cold weather episodes. That there, was the solution to my problem!

I followed the Basic Family Hat by Yarnspirations Design Studio (free pattern) changing the colours to match and added the Paw Patrol logo on free hand at the end.

He wore it for thirty five minutes! Paw Patrol came to the rescue!

In a few years I will look back on this and laugh…I hope…

Have a good weekend everyone!

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 7 (none this week sadly)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given – 0
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 697 

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one, Updates 2 Comments

Happy new year everyone! May it be happier and healthier than last year!

Since my last post, I finished up three projects – a snake hat for Felix, a cosie for the in-laws and a teeny tiny knitted jumper, as I keep getting asked by someone to make them a jumper and, no, just no.

The tea cosie is based on the free pattern Mug and French Press Jacket by MK Carroll, as you can see in the photo, it’s a glass teapot with a very, very short spout and I figured having the bottom covered was better than the top!

The jumper is made following the free pattern Mini Sweater Ornament with Cables by Emily5446 – very cute, very well written pattern and I have a jumper that’s about 4 cm tall!

As for 2020, I have finished my first project just yesterday! Maleficent!

This pattern is based on Dragons by King Cole Ltd – though I had to tweak it a fair bit and add a lot of extra details to turn it into Maleficent! The reason for this is that every year I knit a Christmas decoration, and for 2019 I planned to knit a Mickey mouse head to mark our first proper family holiday to Disneyland Paris!

Except Felix told me no, I had to knit Maleficent. I argued that I wouldn’t get all the detail into an ornament, to which I was told not to make an ornament, but a dragon big enough to sit on top of the tree!

Engels oh so helpful in put to this was ”if you knit an even bigger one it could sit under the tree and guard the presents!”

So Maleficent it was, and at a hefty 60cm long she’ll either be taking the whole top of the tree, or hoarding the presents beneath – we’ll have to wait till next year to find out!

Till next week!

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 2
Wool bought – 0
Wool given – 0
Wool gifted – 0

Total – 702

I feel I had best explain why my wool count has gotten so much bigger – I was given quite a few balls for Christmas (Inkling gave me two yellow balls and informed me that one was a digger and the other a bulldozer, hmm, I suspect he’s learning from Felix) and I ripped out a few old finished projects that weren’t being used, so that wool has gone back into the wool stash. I also bought four balls of bright orange in order to make a project I have planned! This year, I really do hope to finish with 600 or less!

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by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting, Little one 1 Comment

It’s been one hell of a week. Fortnight actually. Home stuff, stuff that doesn’t belong on here, but needless to say it’s pretty much killed what little festive spirit i’ve had.

Seriously, I have felt festive for two hours this year. Which in turn makes it hard to create the magic for Felix and Inkling. I think I’ve managed – they’re eagerly counting down the days and it’s getting harder and harder to settle them at night!

The tree is up, the decorations out, presents squirrelled away everywhere…yep…even if I don’t feel it, it’s nearly here…

Even if I haven’t been feeling it, I have been cracking on with Christmas knitting! Though I had said I wouldn’t make any this year…

In order to not be eaten by the Yule Cat, you must receive something warm and wooly. I showed Felix a bunch of patterns and without looking at them, she informed me I was to make her a snake jumper. When I sarcastically asked her if there was a specific snake she had in mind, she replied cobra…and that it had to be a green jumper…sigh…

The jumper is based on Heart Sweater from the book ‘Cool knits for kids’ by Kate Gunn & Robyn Macdonald. I used the snake charts from the free pattern Swing-Snakes by Tina13.

And if I make something for Felix, I make something for Inkling! He chose the free pattern traffic by Amy Bahrt, insisting on a red car. Then I found the matching Traffic Hat and yeah…

But wait, there’s more!

My new gaming group are obsessed with Pokémon, and with the new sword and shield game out, have sorted themselves into teams of Pokémon type to have battles with their other friends. There was talk of team colours and then I saw this free pattern on Ravelry (Dawn/Hikari Pokéball hat in 2 variations by Mina Janssen) and I knew I had to make them.

So, top left is bug, top right is ghost, bottom left is poison and bottom right is dragon.

There’s other things in the works too, but you won’t be finding out about those until next year, so until then, have a good festive season!

Wool Count

Starting total – 576

Wool used – 112 (3 this week)
Wool bought – 63
Wool given – 167
Wool gifted – 31

Total – 662

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