Cream Jacket

Hi

I am back this morning with another of the little jackets I made earlier this year for my little niece.

This pattern is so cool, it makes me look like a much better knitter than I really am.  It is full of stitch changes and lots of faux cable stitches.  I cannot get my head around cabling, or rather I cannot get my fingers around it.  I constantly drop the third needle and I end up super frustrated with myself, but with this pattern, who would guess it!

This is one of my ebay purchases and there is no name on the pattern only the reference to 'Knitting Pattern 398'.

I have tried to get some close-ups of  some of the different stitches for you.  I made this one in some soft and fluffy cream baby double knit yarn and all of these chunky stitches make a very warm and cosy jacket.

I'll be back soon with some more of my handiwork.

Dionne

Little Boy Blue Cardigan

I hope you had a good weekend. 

 I am back today with another of the cardigans I knitted at the beginning of the year.

This is another of my favourite patterns. The cardigan is made of Baby Double Knit and has a pretty faux cable stitch edging.

I have checked the pattern and, as far as I can see there is no reference on it to the name of the company or a reference number. However, if you are interested, I purchased it from ebay - 'Baby Cardigan, Hat and Mittens DK Knitting Pattern'.

Take Care.

Dionne

Poppy Wreath

Good morning.

I thought that this birthday card was rather appropriate for today.  This fabulous poppy wreath image is from Delicious Doodles.

I coloured the wreath with my polychromos pencils and mounted it on gold miri card and red card.  The polka dot backing papers are from my stash, as is the die cut fairy.  The sentiment is a Craftwork Cards one.

Have a great day.

Dionne

Simple Blue Cardigan

Good grief, I am so bad at photographing my little knitted cardigans, just look at this layout- on second thoughts, please don't look.  It looks as if I have just taken it out of the washing machine.

This plain and simple cardigan is quick and easy to make and it is nice and chunky.  It is made in Baby Double Knit and, for the knitters, it is a vintage UK Hand Knitting Association pattern number UKHKA 3.

I'll be back in a day or two with more.  Meanwhile, I hope you have a very happy weekend.

Dionne

White Cardigan with Twist Detail

Hi

I have a really massive backlog of knitted projects to post and I thought I would make a start with this old favourite of mine.  I must knit this pattern for everyone I know who had a baby.  It has a really easy mock cable detail, which makes my friends think that I am a much better knitter than I really am.

This time I have made it in white baby Double Knit.  The design is from a very old Robin pattern - for anyone who is interested, the pattern number is 2496.

I find photographing the detail so difficult but, I think you can just about make out the mock cable pattern in this close up.

Hopefully, I will be back with more soon.


Dionne

Rock Painting for the Nervous

My goodness, I really cannot believe how long it has been since my last post, you must have thought that I had dropped off the map.  The truth is that I have been so busy knitting that I have not had time to post any of the things I have made.  However, I have been photographing them, so once I have the time, I should be able to post everything.

For a long time I have wanted to try my hand at rock painting and I do mean a long time, it has been something like eighteen months.  It has not been just the knitting which has stopped my trying this, it is also the fact that I am one of the worse artists you could ever encounter, I cannot draw for toffees!  If buying all the equipment could make you a better artist, I would be exhibiting at Tate Modern.  I have all the paints, the varnish, the brushes, the mod-podge, the PVA glue, the dowling rods to make medullas, paper napkins to do decoupage etc, etc and I have watched endless video clips on 'how to', but still something was holding me back.

Then, me and my big mouth, I suggested a family rock painting day during half term with my nieces and nephews and their small children.  The day was to start with a rock hunt and I promised to make a rock for everyone to find hidden somewhere in the garden, so I was committed to doing something.

As the day got closer I was still putting off actually painting the rocks because I knew I would mess it up if I tried to paint even a simple scene. Then I hit on the idea of using temporary body tattoos to decorate the rocks.   I was not sure it would work but it was worth a try, the results were simple but I think it it worked.

Here is a close-up of the individual rocks, some I simply mod-podged before adding the tattoo and others I painted with pearlised acrylic paints.  By the way, I did put insects on the back of the rocks as well.

This final rock was my favourite, for a long time I have wanted to try this half eaten chocolate candy effect. this was so much fun to do.

I still have a lot of 'naked' rocks, so hopefully next time, I shall try to do something a little more adventurous.  Talking of which, at the end of the day I was given with a real treat, Kat had been sat in the corner all afternoon beavering away and she gave me this Eyore rock as a thank you.  As you can imagine, I was over the moon.  She is an amazing artist, I just wish I could do something half this good.

Take care.

Dionne

Daisy the Bear

I hope you are enjoying the heatwave currently covering the UK.  I do not really enjoy this kind of heat but I stay in the shade and make sure I take water with me when I go out.

It's time to share another of my knitting projects from last year, this little bear was a gift for a very dear friend.

This is another pattern from Susan Hickson and Mary Jane's Tearoom, which you can buy on-line from Ravelry.  The pattern is called 'Candy' and this is the second time I have made it - so if it looks familiar that would be because you probably saw it a few weeks ago.  As you can see, I went for a different colour scheme this time.

The stripy jumper is made in salmon pink and white 4 ply cotton yarn  ........

whilst the dungarees are an aubergine with a lazy daisy motif made with the same salmon pink and white.  It also has sweet heart shaped buttons.

The slippers and socks are made in one piece of DK yarn and they have aubergine and white striped cotton bows.

I made a third stripped bow, which I converted into a 'hairslide' using a small brooch pin.

The bear is made of a dusky pink DK alpaca wool.  The features are stitched on  with black alpaca wool.

You have to stitch the features before you attach the head to the body.  Unfortunately, once I stitched the head in place, her ears seem a little too far back.  However, I did such a good job of attaching the ears that, despite several attempts, I was unable to unpick them.

Here is a photo of some of the Mary Jane Tearoom animals I have made, I just adore these patterns, they are so cute.  You can probably spot the two 'Candy's' sitting side by side at the back, with Anaka, Bo and Romeo from left to right in the front row.

My little family has grown again recently but I have not had time to photograph the new members yet.

Have a great week and make the most of the good weather whilst it lasts.

Dionne