Hooray! One blanket is off the needles!

Its based on the free pattern: Western Hills – The Blanket by Julia Stanfield. Its knitted in a pale blue and mint green, and as I was knitting it, I felt it needed a little pop of colour. Hence the crochet border and fish in orange.

It also made me remember one of my past knits:

The fish motif is from ‘Kitty Placemat’ in ‘Kitty Knits: Projects for Cats and their People’ by Donna Druchunas.

I do like goldfish, they make me smile…

Anyhow, short post today as its been a bit hectic with work and family life at the moment.

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 20 balls (so far)
Wool used – 69 (3 balls this week! Woot!)
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 13

Total – 715

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I was working on a christening shawl, made in very fine cotton, for my then boss’s little one christening in Australia. The finished result, looked like:

Lovely, isn’t it? Its a free pattern, Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood. The pattern suggests a cozy wool and 6mm needles, I worked this with 2ply cotton and 4.5mm, I think, maybe 4mm.

Why do I mention this knit of mine from the archives? Because this year I’m knitting Engel a throw and a baby blanket for an expectant friend at the moment. Both these projects are very slow going, as is the nature with blankets, so I had nothing interesting to show this week…

This week has also been horrid as I’ve spent the entire time revising for two exams that I had on Friday. At least it was a bank holiday weekend to recover with! Helped along with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream, a giant bar of Galaxy chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate cake and cupcakes…and lots and lots of family time with Engel and Felix, which despite my love for knitting, come first.

So those are the reasons why not one ball of wool has been used this week. And why my wool count has actually increased by ten…it was commiseration wool! Very nice, very squishy, commiseration wool!

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 20 balls (so far)
Wool used – 66
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 13

Total – 718

See you next week!

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Yesterday was my birthday. Its generally an occasion I celebrate at home, generally pretty small, and usually with very little fuss. My circle of friends however has grown quite a lot, and not the kind of friends you hang around with cause they work with you or whatever and its convenient, proper friends.

And I take my hat off to them. Best birthday ever.

Really!

I mean, seriously, how many people out there would toss aside their usual inhibitions, put on cat ears and tails and play Cathulhu (yep, Cat-thoo-loo) just because they know its what you kinda really want to do but not really want to make them do cause its just a bit mean?

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(That’s what was left this morning, I made more, but they went home with their new owners! No pattern, just winged.)

They even organised one of the others to GM so I could play (I was polydactyl calico cat with a fair bit of 1920’s streetwise attitude and those thumbs of mine could open doors and windows…it was awesome.)

They also spoiled me rotten (not important, but I was worried they were fed up with my GMing Cthuhlu and seeing the pile of Cthuhlu scenarios I got and expansions, not so worried!) and made me an awesome cake!

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Three layers of super yummy chocolate cake, tons of yummy frosting and 90% cocoa on the outside…gorgeous!

Other thing that made my weekend? I got pounced on by Felix in my bed, she was wielding an amazon box and yelled ‘Happy Birthday Mummy! Present! Can eat monkey cake now?’ Sarah Keens Noahs Ark was the present, but that moment in time? Priceless – the girl takes after her mum most definitely!

Only used one ball of wool as, like I mentioned on the post last week, only little projects! Lots of ears and tails!

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 20 balls (so far)
Wool used – 66
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 3

Total – 708

Hope everyone else has had as awesome a few days as I have!

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It’s been another busy week. Work, team building day involving playing Rambo by shooting my work colleagues and superiors with laser guns running about the woods, the conclusion to Cthuhlu: Horror on the Orient Express (it was epic, and so far off course the actual written recommended ending that no matter how much I could try and explain, no one but those who were there would understand.)…and Fallout: Shelter was just released on Android (my platform of choice).

Because of all this, mostly my new game, this not-so-little owl lay languishing in pieces for four days.

Free pattern courtesy of  Rachel Gallagher-Miller

Cute, isn’t it? It’s for Felix’s childminders birthday this week (cutting the sewing close here) and the colour choice, well, this is what happens when a not quite two year old gets let loose in my wool stash.

And that’s it for this whole week. In shame, and frustration at my own addiction, I’ve deleted Fallout:Shelter from my tablet. Productivity has quadrupled…

However!

Last week I finished this cute project.

Centre panel is a free pattern – Paw Print Cloth by by Rhonda White and I just winged the rest…

It’s a dog blanket for my dog-niece Missy (or Mishap) and I had far too much fun making it!

No wool used this week, so no wool count.

Not sure if any will be used this week either as I have lots of little projects on the go, and two blankets, but they’re going slowly…

Chat to you all next week!

 

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This seems a good week to go through the archives and dig out all the microbes I’ve made! (Last week was missed due to ill health, I blame Felix – little plague carrier!)

Rhinovirus juggling balls

C. diff – a super bug needs a cape!

Listeria spp

Salmonella spp

No pattern details – these are all my own imaginings! They were all also made when I was at university studying … microbiology! Yeah, no surprise there really, is there?

Anyhow, wool count! Seven used these past two weeks, will post the pictures next week when I have more energy…

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 20 balls (so far)
Wool used – 65
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 3

Total – 709

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That describes my whole week.

It’s been a very intensive training course, Felix has decided to hit the terrible twos a few months early this week and with Engel out of action after nearly cutting his finger off with an axe…

Yeah, its just been nonstop just to keep on top of things. I have however managed some knitting!

First up, a project I actually finished over a week ago, some Marvel themed cushions!

It was a good friends birthday the other week, and she’s a huge Hawkeye fan – hence the purple arrow (his logo) and she’s also a fan of his ‘sniper bro’the Winter Soldier – hence the red star. (The star motif is from Star Pillow by Jennifer Stafford in her book DomiKNITrix, the arrow I just winged)

I actually had far too much fun making these, and have penciled designs for a whole range of other characters, but I doubt I’ll ever get time/reason to make them!

Though a Deadpool cushion would be awesome…

Anyhow! On to more knitting, and part of the reasons Felix has been difficult this week. Recently, she has become obsessed with ducks (we feed our local ones every weekend) and wanted to take one of her ‘duckies’ to bed. Her choice was a wooden one, fair enough, I thought it was solid but turned out it wasn’t. Thankfully it broke when I was handling it!

So, I cast on An Emergency Duck.

Free Pattern by Frankie Brown.

It goes with her everywhere, and usually it gets ‘fed’ not cooked! At least she knows where roast duck comes from…

On, and its ‘Mummy made duck’ not just ‘duck’. I give it week before she shortens it entirely…

Her other tantrum trigger? Clangers.

She demands a cuddle on the sofa whilst watching them, or else an episode in bed with her milk (usually on Engels phone) and if she doesn’t get her way…

It’s weird though, during the day, she’s rather watch the Octonauts, but before bed? It is relaxing mind…

Anyhow! It’s taken all week (as a certain little Felix keeps stealing the in progress body for bedtime cuddles, and tonight, wanted to dress Tiny herself so I couldn’t sew the armour…) But here’s my first ever Clanger!

(Psst, its a free pattern on the BBC website!) I’m actually rather proud, which is unusual for me, but seeing as Felix has told me she wants ‘Clangers all! Me! Mummy make all Clangers!’ I’d best get started on the next one…

Last but not least, the wool count: This week I found ten more balls of wool hiding in the conservatory (to be fair, it was hiding in some fabric) and I’ve managed to use four balls. I’ve caught up in height with the blanket, but seeing as its a third the width, I’ve not used the equivalent in wool yet. But its my zombie knitting, so it wont be too much longer!

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 20 balls (so far)
Wool used – 58
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 3

Total – 715

 

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Its been one of those weeks knit wise. Everything I’ve tried to knit just hasn’t worked.

I used needles to big on a cuddly toy and had to frog it. Reknitting on smaller ones (photo to come when finished)

And there was a tiny gauge issue.

Ok, a big one.

Alright, alright, an enormous one!

Engel wanted a light blanket (seeing as all mine tend to be garter stitch and wool held double for extra coziness, none where suitable for the task of a light summer blanket) so I had a look on Ravelry, spotted a mesh type pattern that would be suitable, grabbed my biggest circular needles (8mm) and cast on as many stitches as could fit the 20cm cable.

Previously I’d cast on 10, did a few rows and reckoned I’d need 350ish stitches…which was what I had roughly on the needles.

I knit an inch, and it was hard going the stitches were so tight together, but hey, it was looking good size wise.

I knit another inch. It was looking quite roomy.

I knit another inch. The stitches were really opening up now, and it was getting bigger.

I knit another inch, looked at the mass of wool (6 balls worth for 4 inches here) and decided to pull it off the needles and compare to an actual blanket.

Yeah…

It could go from the foot of the bed to the head, then back to the foot, then back to the head…

I did realise I only needed 106 stitches for a rather roomy double however.

So frogged the lot, took a good hour winding the wool back up and I’ve cast it back on. I’m only at two inches and barely any wool used…

In fact, because of the fiasco, not a single ball of wool this week has been finished.

Sigh.

But in other news, my cthuhlu campaign has gone absolutely crazy, and its brilliant, but I’m only just keeping the whole thing reigned together. Felix is learning and growing scarily fast, we’re getting to her stringing words together into almost sentences. Lastly, Engel had an accident with his finger and an axe. Its still attached, but he’s chipped the bone, it needs the nail removed and then the flesh drained.

And he wonders why I’m so stressed!

Enough of such things, lets distract you readers with a few knitted goodies from the archives that aren’t on the blog yet!

Today: Roly Poly Kitties!

Its a free online pattern by Karen Null, and its adorable, quick, and great for scraps!

Till next week.

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It must be bunnies!

Anyone else remember that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Moving on, lots of bunnies have been getting made lately as part of a commission from The Rabbit Rescue Trust – they’ll be on sale around about Christmas time for anyone interested!

Without further ado:

All based on the Free Square Bunny Pattern by Annette of Lebenslustiger.com.

And this is the Big Footed Bunny from Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor. I changed the colours up a bit for a more girly look, but still kept it fairly neutral as I’m not one for bright pink baby first toys! This little guy is for someone special whose happens to be having a little girl in the near future!

Last two things now:

1 – the delay in posts was due to my nephews 6th birthday, which was held in Legoland Windsor, a subsequent week long family holiday in a gorgeous log cabin in the middle of nowhere with next to zero wi-fi…an then a family visit from the other half of the family who wanted to meet Felix (some for the first time).

From this I now know Felix is carsick, has a love of owls, an obsession with ducks and learns bad habits at the drop of a hat. Not mentioning any names *hint hint* you know who you are!

2 – the wool count! With being so busy a lot less knitting was done than I had planned, but still, seven balls have been used since the last post!

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 10 balls (so far)
Wool used – 54
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 3

Total – 709

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See, flying eyeballs!

These are based on the free ravelry pattern ‘Gruesome eyeballs‘ and ‘bat knitting pattern‘ an online free pattern.

I made them as light pulls on my big overhead fans in the living room for a Halloween party I had. They’re still there, eight months later, I just find them a bit too cute to switch them back round…

Anyhow! Apologies for my lack of post last week. The craft fair went well, but right afterwards I decided to get stuck into some major DIY at home. And instead of blogging or knitting, and this is working round being a full time mum and full time worker too, I’ve been doing this:

It replaces the previous ‘banister’ which was stair to ceiling 1″ metal poles spaced about two feet apart from each other. And as Felix can undo the safety gate and run up those stairs at the speed of light…yeah. Needed doing asap!

It needs sanding and a good lick of paint, but hey, massive improvement!

And look, flying eyeballs!

Wool Count down:
Starting total (28Feb15) – 747 balls
Extra stash found – 10 balls (so far)
Wool used – 47 (Only three the past two weeks)
Wool given – 3
Wool bought – 3

Total – 716

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Finished a large commission yesterday – three fairly decent sized toy cats made to look like the persons actual kitty cats. (Or Meow-Meows as he insists on calling them)

So without further ado, cats!

All three are based on ‘Clematis Cat’ by Sue Stratford in ‘Knitted Cats and Kittens’.

I haven’t used up any wool this week – spent most of the week sewing. The three cats above got put together, as well as about…thirty bunnies? More on those next week though!

Have a good weekend!

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