Sock Yarn = Baby Blanket

What a change! After a lovely weekend with Sunday being spent gardening in the morning and then at the beach in the afternoon, this week has taken on a distinct autumnal feeling. Never mind - I have a new work project to keep me warm.

I'm re-working my "Snuggle" diagonal crochet baby blanket pattern (which is for sale in my Etsy shop) to use 4ply (i.e. fingering or sock weight) yarn.

Previously I had designed and made the pattern in 3ply yarn, but the selection in this weight is fairly restrictive to say the least.

Instead I wanted to use some of the fabulous sock-weight yarns that you can buy now and reckon that the pattern will look great worked up in variegated colours.

I've decided to use two solids and one variegated yarn for this version. I've bought a selection from ebay - Cygnet Wool Rich sock yarn in rose pink and mauve for the solids, and King Cole ZigZag sock yarn in the variegated deep purple colourway.

Looking good I reckon!

Hand-dyed lace and sock yarn for sale

Remember the laceweight and sock yarns that I dyed recently? They're now up for sale in my Etsy shop so grab them while you can - no repeats!

Hello Mr Sticky!

It seems that we are living in a wildlife haven. Having only ever seen these creatures once at secondary school around 30 years ago, we have now been visited by our second stick insect!This one was a whopper at around 5 inches long - almost twice the size of the last one.

He (or maybe she?!) gave me quite a fright as I went to grab the garden gate to rush off with our DDs for the weekly swimming lesson - he was sitting right there, well camouflaged!

Mr Sticky is pictured in a large (empty) Roses tin covered in clingfilm with airholes. He was a pretty fast mover and was climbing all over the place. His antics made a weird tinkly scuffling noise in the tin - quite freaky when you forgot what was in there!

He spent the night there before joining his new home with a friend of ours, who keeps lots of these insects in a massive enclosure with lots of fresh vegetation. Hopefully the new accommation and friends will be well-received!

Washcloth mania

Quite a few UK knitters seem to be getting into knitting washcloths this summer, and I've been inspired by their results.

I was tempted into trying out the Garterlac dishcloth and I'm really pleased with it! Although I've done it in colours complimentary to our bathroom, so we'll be using it as a flannel instead. :-)

This is my first attempt at modular knitting too. I love the result, but it's not something I'd find particularly portable as I'd keep losing my place!

I've taken a liking to the Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn, which I've been buying on ebay. I especially love the variegated colourways, which I think look great in a modular knitting pattern. The washcloth above is done in the "Desert Rising" colourway. I wish I could try all the variegated ones...

Anyone know of a similar UK yarn?

Traumas and celebrations

It's our 12th wedding anniversary today! DH and I have just come back from enjoying a delicious meal at our local Italian restaurant - Del Mar. I had the best smoked salmon tagliatelle that I've ever tasted. Gorgeous!

DH had an operation 3 days ago on his broken left wrist to plate it.

It all seems to be healing fine, but we had an emotional moment this morning when I found out that he'd written his anniversary card before the op in case he didn't wake up from it. Thank goodness he did!

Earlier today I finished my crochet shell bag.

It's a pattern I created a few years back, but I decided to re-make it as I wanted to get some better photos for the pattern.

You can buy it here in my Etsy shop.

This time I used 200g of Patons 100% Cotton DK yarn and I love the result.

What's for dinner?

Not this I hope - although I have to say it looks yummy to me..



Isn't it amazing how 3 different yarns take up the same dye so differently? I love getting surprises. :-)

These (and other) yarns should be up for sale in my Etsy shop soon, so keep watching the sidebar!

A colourful life

Oooh, look - pretty colours!

I finally got around to dyeing some yarns again, and remembered how much I love the surprises you end up with.

I've just sat and tied up 11 more skeins (small and large) for another batch this weekend.

That'll end up with my DDs coming into the kitchen pinching their noses saying "Poo-ee, Mommy what are you dyeing this time?"!

Actually, youngest DD amazed me tonight as she dug out some yarn and needles, got me to cast on, and is now knitting a pink and purple scarf for eldest DD's teddy! The last time she tried she did a couple of rows and got frustrated, but this time I had to make her put it down at 9pm to moans of "Oh Mommy just one more row.." Sounds familiar!

His and Hers Washcloths pattern for sale

Remember the His and Hers washcloths that I came up with a few weeks back for a colleagues wedding gift?

Well I've been busy modifying the charts with the help of a few Ravelry test knitters and I now have the pattern for both cloths for sale!

They knit up in about 2 hours per cloth, use 1 ball of Lily Sugar 'n' Cream cotton (or equivalent) for both cloths together, and make a great wedding or anniversary gift.
You can buy the pattern in my Etsy shop. Really. :-)