SPRING KNITS......

Hooray! Knit, knit, knit.... some knitting has been undertaken! I just love this pattern and have made it several times now. It's simple and just 'works' on all levels. It's Erika Knight's 'sweater' from her book 'Natural Nursery Knits'. I've used some Rowan wool cotton DK.  I just love the simple roll neck, bottom and cuffs detail and the sweet little two-button opening.

I've had these little wooden buttons for ages. They suit perfectly!

 It's been a beautiful day here in our little eastern corner of England and after a morning at the lake, walking Oscar, I settled down for an afternoon of knitting in the garden.

Here's an easy baby cardigan on it's way for little Evie. It's made all in one, with the front, neck and sleeve borders worked at the end. Again, I've made this several times and it works; probably because I like the simplicity of the design, with it's cute little three-quarter sleeves.

It's another Erika Knight pattern from the book shown above. I've used Rowan wool cotton once more, as it knits up beautifully and is suitable for baby garments. The fabric works up very quickly, providing a lovely thickness. No doubt this easy garter stitch cardi will be complete within the week. A little bit of mindless garter stitch is great for a school day evening!

The garden always looks so fresh and new at this time of the year and there is always a surprise!

Wisteria just has to be one of my all time favourites.

Wishing you a wonderful 'end of April' week!

GIFTS!

Sadly, the Christmas holidays are drawing to close and tomorrow the Spring terms commences, although we have a training day, so no children! It's been a really busy, but wonderful holiday with the safe arrival of little Evie and time spent with our family. I just wish it could go on and on. I need another two weeks now to catch up on knitting hours!!!!!

Making the most of our last day, my dear pal Josiekitten came to visit this morning and we exchanged Christmas gifts and I gave her her belated birthday gift, so a double dip of pressie goodness! I was thoroughly spoilt, as you can see. 

There were two of Michelle's wonderful bags; one a Tall Mia and the other a small notions case, containing some very lovely stitch markers, one of which was Snoopy and some trial-size Lo-Lo Bars!

Then there was a skein of Anne Hanson's gorgeous grey Breakfast Blend to knit her Tidal Sands cowl (also gifted) and  a beautiful snuggly skein of The Fibre Company's Meadow, a wonderful blend of merino wool, baby llama, silk and linen.

Two absolute beauties. Thank you so much dear pal! I can't wait to get started on them. 2014 is definitely going to be a more productive woolly year than 2013! I've made a good start already, with more teeny-tiny bits for little Evie.....................

.............. a couple more little hats, using up leftovers ............

...... a sweet little red top-down, all in one card.....

............ and another top-down, all in one cardigan, this time in pale lilac.  The light has been very poor here today and so the picture is not great. In reality the yarn is a very pretty and definitely not grey, as it appears in the photo. The last one I'm going to knit in this tiny size will be in grey. Both the lilac and grey versions are made using half price Rowan 'wool cotton' from the John Lewis sale. The red version uses Debbie Bliss Rialto, a lovely soft and springy yarn. 

I'll leave you with a photo of the perfect model; little Evie, in red!

All in Good Time!

Nothing like a dose of new yarn to lift the spirits (not that needed lifting, but any excuse will do, hey)! Just look at those lovely, lovely scrummy balls! Let's just say they were a little half-term treat..... soon put to good use.

Well, half-term is sadly drawing to a close, but I have to say, it has been a rather lovely break, doing lots of 'not too much', if you know what I mean. We have been out and about, drinking coffee, having lunch, walking Oscar, visiting the coast and pottering! I spent a fab day catching up with my dear pal, Helen (josiekitten), meeting Flo and having a look around her gorgeous new house and garden. Even more spectacular, is the fact that I actually managed a decent amount of chilled knitting time.

As you can see, I have started a new baby blanket; knitted rather than crocheted, this time around.  It's a very special knit and all will become clear quite soon, hence I've called it 'All in Good Time'. The pattern is another from the Rowan 'Just Baby' book; the Nezbit Blanket, by Lisa Richardson. It uses Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK, of which I am a great fan, as the colours are gorgeous, it's beautifully soft and it knits up beautifully.

As you can see, there's nothing too tricky involved, so perfect TV knitting. The pattern is a simple double moss stitch. There is one more colour to add to the stripe pattern; a bright pink, as used for Sophie's 'Dahl' sweater that I showed you a couple of posts ago. So, lots of rich, bright colours, but also some softer and lighter ones too to tone down the overall effect. Perfect for a boy or a girl!

I've also managed to complete, as far as is possible, another little 'Anderson'  sweater, again from the 'Just Baby' book. This is a super fast knit, using the Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK.

I love the super cute little pockets! I've made the 3 to 6 month size, as there is sufficient yarn and hopefully, it will get more wear. As you can see, there is no neckband or front button bands yet. Well, it could be a boy or it could be a girl: so I will just have to wait until I know! It matches perfectly with the 'All In Good Time' blanket, using the same blue/green yarn.

We had a lovely day out at Aldeburgh yesterday; sun, sea and fish and chips, as well a browse around Snape Maltings. We have enjoyed this same day out many, many times, but I never tire of the beautiful Suffolk coast. A perfect end to the day came in the form a quick pint of real ale at our 'local'.

Have a great week!

WHAT! ANOTHER F.O.!

How can it be that my knitting output has suddenly risen to a staggering, whole finished garment a week? Well, I guess the fact that I have been on holiday for the last two weeks and have seriously done very little of any use to anyone else, except knit, may have something to do with it. Yes, we've been away and come back and then gone away again, we've been out and about, celebrated the birth of our second granddaughter and the first wedding anniversary of our eldest daughter and her husband, mooched around the countryside and coastline of North Yorkshire, eaten too much yummy food and quaffed plenty of Black Sheep ale, BUT apart from these delights I have found the time to enjoy knitting. 

I am making good use of the Rowan 'Just Baby' book, as this is now the fourth pattern made from it recently. It's Dahl, in PINK, as promised! The body of the sweater is slightly shaped, giving it a more girly shape, as do the pretty borders. Again, I've used the recommended yarn, Rowan 'baby merino silk DK', this time in colourway 'flower'. 

I really like the simplicity of the neckline......

....... finished off with a pretty little button opening at the back.

It's now wrapped and ready to go! I love sending bits and bobs by post to little Sophie and imagining her delight (hopefully) as she opens her very own little parcel. Silly Grandma!

Not forgetting her new baby sister, Jessica, I have Lear ready to cast on; same pattern book, same yarn, only this time in 'rose'.

It's the pretty cabled cardi you can see on the cover of the book. I'm not sure how my patience will stand up to lots of cabling, especially during a first week back at school. It was this pattern that first drew me to the book way back last summer and the yarn has been hanging around for a while too, so it only seems right that I get a move on with it.

I did promise a few kitchen shots, but time has once again beaten me. I will try to post a few during the week. I now HAVE to do some planning for the week ahead. I am an expert in school work procrastination. Have a good week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS.....

Well, we're nearly there! Not long now until someone, somewhere in the world will be unwrapping their presses and sharing good times with family and friends. The end of term couldn't come quickly enough for me, but at last I can now catch my breath and enjoy some well earned relaxation. All preparations are miraculously complete, except for some present wrapping, sausage roll making and mulled wine concocting later on this afternoon.

The younger Miss Snoops is already home and Miss Snoops the elder and her husband arrive on Boxing Day. Our son and his wife, with little Sophie arrive on New Years's Eve. So, we have a two week flow of visitors, which will be really lovely.

Knitting has become an all too rare treat these last few busy weeks. I plan to make up for lost time, that's for sure! My 'new baby' blanket has had a few more stripes added.....

......  and I've started 'Potter' from Rowan's new baby knits book. All the patterns use the new DK merino wool and silk mix. It's really soft and is knitting up beautifully so far.

Hopefully, Father Christmas will deliver some little woolly treat to make Snoops Christmas complete!! Ha ha!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

WHAT'S IN THE BAG?

You'll find out just what's in the bag a little later! But first of all I must show you the cute little hat for Sophie that I finished off yesterday. 

I need her sweet little head to model it really, don't I!

I love the little tassels!

 The tails and noses are stitched on afterwards.

So, now she has two items from the set, guess what's in the bag!

Yep, you got it! I had to cast on the scarf straightaway, or else it won't be done in time for Christmas, or in time to keep her warm and snuggly when those winter winds begin to blow.

In the 'piggy bag' is a quick and easy knit for Sophie's little unborn brother or sister. The yarn is a new Rowan baby DK, 66% merino superwash wool and 34% tussah silk. It's gorgeously soft and comes in a range of great colours.

 I really like these very simple designs for little ones. The design has a little added interest in the shaping, as you can see towards the top of the back. I have 150g of a lovely sea-green colourway too, to knit the cover design you can see here.

It's been another manic week at school, with a county team in looking at teaching and learning, doing book trawls and talking to children about their learning. Stressful to say the least! Thank goodness for knitting, blogging, Oscardog and family and for moments like the one below.

This photo was taken on my iPhone and is exactly as it was as we walked Oscar around the lake, close to our home. The sun seems to sink remarkably quickly at this time of year. Only fifteen minutes or so earlier, Oscar had been playing in the lake.

Needless to say, he was a tired puppy last night.