A Little Taupe Set

A pinch and a punch, it's the first of the month.  A little something from my childhood, I wonder if children still race to be the first to say that?

I hope you had a good weekend, did the heatwave find you?  I think it would have been hard to miss it if you live in the UK.  Too hot for me, I'm afraid!

Today it's back to the knitting and I have another baby outfit to share with you.  This little set was made in a taupe coloured double knit yarn.  I realise that it looks more grey in these photographs but, try as I might, I could not reproduce the colour accurately, it must be some odd property of the yarn because it also looked grey in the eBay photograph (which is where the yarn came from).

The cardigan pattern is the easy to knit BHKC pattern number 3, perfect for a baby boy, nothing frilly or lacy about this design.

I based the hat and mittens on one of my other baby patterns, I left out the lacy edging so it would match the cardigan.

The buttons are wooden ones, etched with 'Handmade with love'.  The buttons are a rich creamy colour and the writing matches the taupe yarn, they compliment one another very well,

I hope that the week ahead is good to you.


Dionne

ATCs Vintage Set

It has been a long time since I made this set of ATCs and I had completely forgotten about them.  Opps! 

You may recall that I have done something like this this a couple of times before, then I used some of Teri Sherman's views of Scotland, which I called my Scenic Set and another set, which I dubbed the Coastal Set. 

My natural inclination is usually to theme my ATCs around flowers or butterflies, something pretty and feminine.  However, this time I have chosen a very masculine theme.  As before, I have used some of favourite Delicious Doodles images, reducing the digi stamp to ATC size and coloured them with my polychromos pencils.  None of these images were easy to get the size right because all of the images as different sizes and then, of course, it is a bit hit and miss lining them up on the Sizzix Bigz die to cut the ATC shape, but I got there.

All of these images are available from Esty, this one is called 'Vintage Truck'.

And this one is called 'Vintage Norton Motorcycle'.

Next we have 'Vintage Spitfire'.

Next we have the first of two vintage cars, this one is 'Vintage Jaguar Car'.

The second is 'Vintage Chevy'.

Finally I used the lovely 'Working the Land'.  The little butterfly in this one is an old Stampin' Up die.

All of the metal cogs are from my stash.

Thank you for visiting today, I hope you will leave a comment.

Dionne

Silver Grey Cardigan

Good morning, I hope you are well?

Today I have a grey baby cardigan to share with you.  Grey is not a colour I normally associate with babies, but I guess that is showing my age, as darker colors are quite on trend at the moment.

This is a very basic Double Knit pattern from the BHKC, pattern number 3, the yarn is from one of the King Cole ranges.  The best thing about this pattern is it is so quick and easy to make, you can quite literally make it in a few evenings.

I wanted a wooden button to go with this colour and came across these grey and white striped ones on Ebay.  Oddly, the stripes go in all different directions, so you cannot line them up. terrible if you have OCD.

Dionne 

Foxy

I have a quick share today.

I have been raiding my stash of 'Little Cotton Rabbit patterns again, this time I have used the Boy Fox pattern, meet Mr Todd.

I decided not to make the clothes the Boy Fox came with but instead used the Hounds Tooth jumper pattern.

Isn't he cute, from his pointy little nose to his chubby little tail?  There is a gap in the shorts for the tail to slip through - otherwise I think he might be very uncomfortable with his brush stuck in his underpants.

This little fox is stitched in Aran weight yarn and his top and shorts in double knit yarn.

Thank you for stopping by.

Dionne

ATCs Coastal Views Set

Good grief, I had completely forgotten about this set of ATC's, I made them ages ago.  Better late than never I guess.

You may recall that I did this once before when I used some of Teri Sherman's views of Scotland, which I called my Scenic Set. Once again, I have used some of favourite Delicious Doodles images, reducing the digi stamp to ATC size and coloured them with my polychromos pencils.  I made the images into two sets, I have called this set the coastal ones, and I still have the vintage set to share another day.

It wasn't that easy to get the size right because all of the images as different sizes and then, of course, it is a bit hit and miss lining them up on the Sizzix Bigz die to cut the ATC shape, but I eventually got there.

Virtually all of these images are available from Esty, this one is called 'In the Harbour'.

I have searched and searched but this one of a rotting boat seems to have been deleted from the web site and I cannot remember what it was called, sorry!

Next we have 'Sunset at Sea'.

This one gave me the opportunity to be very colourful, it is called 'Beach Huts'.

And finally we have 'Coming Home'.

The little butterflies are an old Stampin' Up die.

Thank you for dropping by today, I will be back in a few days with the other set of ATCs.


Dionne

Lucy's New Blanket

Apologies dear friends for my prolonged absence.  You know me, I have been busy, busy, busy knitting.  Unfortunately, just a little too busy to find the time to photograph the end products.

You may recall the lilac and white cot blanket I made at the beginning of the year for my eagerly anticipated great nephew.  I had so much trouble with this pattern that I swore at the time that I would never make it again.  But, you have got to agree, it does look good, so I agreed to make a blanket for my young niece and out came the knitting needles again......

My niece is a little older than the baby and sleeps in a bed so I had to make the blanket quite a bit larger and I decided to make this one more multi-coloured. - five pastel shades plus white.

The pattern is called 'Sweethearts Baby Blanket' and is by Anjel Govan.  Big surprize, this time I had no problems with the intricate pattern, well-l-l-l, virtually no problem.

I like to mix things up a bit so this version of the blanket has something called crocheted wave boarder, this was my first attempt at the wave boarder and was very pleased with the end result.

I do have a few more things to share with you and will try not to leave it two months next time.

I hope you have a good week.

Dionne

Lavender Rabbit

Happy Easter my friends.  I hope you are able to enjoy this short holiday and some good weather.

I started to write this post yesterday, I had just started talking to you about the tradition of Maundy Money in the UK when I lost my internet connection - something which is getting more and more common in our house.  If I were cynical I might suspect that it was my internet providers way of forcing me to take out a more expensive contract for fibre, but I have made enquiries, and fibre is not available here yet.  So I remain perplexed as to why my laptop keeps loosing our internet signal.

When I worked as a Civil Servant, my colleagues and I always received an extra half day holiday on Maundy Thursday.  I never discovered the origins of this tradition, other than being told, that it was a gift from The Crown - who, technically, employs the Civil Service in the UK.

Back to the subject of Maundy Money, which is traditionally given by the Queen to a selected group of pensioners on Maundy Thursday.  Those selected to receive Maundy Money purses each year number the same as the age of the Queen, which this year is 93, each man and women received 93 coins. These small silver coins, whilst legal tender here, are not in general circulation, because of their silver content and something to do with their numismatic value, therefore I imagine that they are very rare.  I did not want to waste that tidbit of information, having taken the time to check my facts moments before loosing my internet.

The real reason for my post is to introduce to you a special little friend.  Meet my Easter Bunny, Lavender Rabbit.

Lavender Rabbit is based on my Susan Hickson range of Mary Jane's Tearoom's patterns, but she comes from my imagination and a mish-mash of all of the pattern.

I chose lavender coloured alpaca double knit wool to make this rabbit, alpaca yarns are so very soft and lovely to work with.  The features are stitched on and the knitted fabric can sometimes make the embroidered stitches pull in one or the other direction, making each face very individual.

In keeping  with the lavender theme, I made her dress from two lavender -ish colours of 4 ply cotton yarn.

I also tried to work a lavender motif into her bloomers, I had a lot of fun coming up with this design.

Her outfit is completed with a pair of Mary-Jane styled shoes ... in lavender of course.

All of the other Mary Jane's Tearoom's rabbit designs are finished with a flower either tucked behind their ear or worn as a brooch.  I would love to do the same here but I have been unable to find a suitable pattern for a lavender flower.

Her purple and white stockings are part of the rabbit pattern and are also made of alpaca wool.

Naturally, Lavender Rabbit has a fluffy white tail, or scut, as they are called around here.

I left slots in the back of both the bloomers and the dress for her tail to pop through.

I hope you have a very happy Easter.

Dionne

Some of the patterns I have made from this series are:-

Anaka Rabbit

Bluebell Rabbit

Bo Rabbit

Candy Bear

Daisy Bear

Donovan Bear
Pink Primrose Rabbit

Romeo Bear