Hello again!

Well, Happy New Year to anyone and everyone who happens upon my blog!  I have been AWOL for over a year, due to a massive and unpredicted change in my personal circumstances which I'd rather not go into right now.  Suffice to say that Jennyanydots and I have come through it together, and knitting, crochet and sewing, together with lots of lovely crafty friends, have kept me purposefully focused.

Jennyanydots (Jenny for short) is the cat I adopted from the RSPCA in September 2017. She is a brilliant companion who keeps me company and listens intently to my conversations with her.  I have to admit, they are a bit one-sided, but a request for a head rub is a good reply to pretty much all topics of conversation.  Oh, and another plus point, she has absolutely no interest in yarn!  She is happy for me to knit and crochet while she's on my lap with no interference whatsoever.  I might get a baleful stare if I accidentally touch her back with a knitting needle, but she never attacks the wool. Cat spam follows:

Prowling her territory - the back garden!

Snoozing in the sunshine on my lap

What do you mean, you want to make the bed?  I'm comfy!

Through all the upheaval in my life I have kept on knitting and crocheting.  I have made a few blankets and clothes for refugees and others who have need of warmth and comfort.  

I have also completed my first pair of socks!  Sock knitting has been a particular bugbear for me, but I persevered and here is the result:

I'm sure I'll write more about socks in a future post.  In the meantime, I hope that 2019 is the year in which you are happy and fulfilled.

How many strands?

Chunky yarns are very useful for making warm hats, scarves and mittens ready for winter, especially the cold winters in middle and eastern Europe.  I don't have much in the way of chunky yarns, but I do have lots of thinner coned yarns which I have been combining to make chunky or thereabouts weight for knitting mittens for adults in Bulgaria.

The first pairs were made with charcoal and blue yarns.  If you look closely at the picture above, you will see that the 2 balls of yarn comprise 5 separate stands - one of 4 ply, 3 of 3 ply and one of 2 ply.  A total of 12 ply is roughly chunky, and knits into a tight fabric on 5.5 mm needles.  The pattern I used is Marlene's mittens.

Using so many strands slows my knitting a bit as I have to check that I am working all of the strands all of the time... Occasionally a couple of stitches have to be unpicked and reknitted because of a lost strand or two.

After making a couple of pairs in the grey/blue mix, I moved on to a brighter combination of colours:

How many strands this time?  Well, actually it's seven:

There are two strands of 3 ply and five strands of 2 ply - 16 ply altogether.  In fact the white and black strands may only be 1 ply, so I could be exaggerating slightly!  It is definitely knitting a thicker fabric than the grey/blue.  I have found that stacking the 3 balls on top of each other makes it much easier to control the strands, and there is really no difference in knitting with seven rather than five strands.  The mix of colours works well together too:

Mitt number one still missing a thumb.  For some reason my strategy when making mittens is to knit the bodies of both, then to knit the thumbs after.

Can I beat 7 strands?  We shall see!

Let's go fly a kite!

In the UK, next week is Dementia Awareness Week (May 14 - 20).  My dear Mum developed dementia towards the end of her life, and was cared for very kindly and lovingly in a home for people with that awful disease.  Last year I started volunteering with our local branch of the Alzheimer's Society, and on Thursday 17th May our local Dementia Action Alliance are holding an awareness day in the Bay cafe, which is on Weston-super-Mare sea front.

Our theme is 'Let's go fly a kite', which is of course the title of a song from the Disney film of Mary Poppins.  We have been thinking all things kites for several weeks.  I thought that knitted kite badges would be a good awareness raising idea, and after several different attempts, came up with a basic mitred square with a crocheted tail and small button for decoration.

They each have a badge back or a safety pin sewn on the back.

I've done them in variegated yarn, glitter yarn, snowflake yarn, tweedy yarn made from several strands of coned yarn, and some of them are sitting in their box (above) waiting for Thursday.  Several other people are making these too, so we should have quite a wide choice available.

Laura, the manager at the Scrapstore, has made us this marvellous fish kite from offcuts of hot-air ballon material, which Cameron Balloons kindly donate to the Scrapstore.  She has also made several others which we can use to draw attention to our event on the sea front (it is always breezy on our sea front!)

We thought it would be good for people to make or decorate kites for us to display on the day.  Luckily the Scrapstore has loads of sticky-back plastic in a range of colours, so we have cut out lots of stars and hearts, and I've been busy cutting A5 card into kite shapes.  In my stash I had an amazing ball of yarn that is like ribbon decorated with bows, just perfect for kite tails.

And in best Blue Peter tradition, here's one I made earlier! Can you see the tiny little bows on the tail?

We have a large piece of netting all ready to display the decorated kites.  We are now keeping our fingers crossed for a fine day.  If you are in the area, please do come and join us!

Buttonholes

Gosh, I never thought I would be writing a post on the scintillating topic of knitted buttonholes!  Let me go back a couple of weeks, when I discovered a free Sirdar pattern on the Black Sheep Wools website.

It's a simple pattern for 4 ply yarn (I have a couple of cones of baby 4 ply), and ranges from small premature baby sizes to  6 months old size.  Best of all, there is a V-neck option, which I like for very small babies so that they don't have anything tight around their necks.

I knitted the second size (12 inch chest - yes, it's hard to believe but babies that small do survive) and followed the pattern for the buttonholes when it said for each one to cast off one stitch, then cast on a stitch in the next row to complete the hole.  But the buttonhole rib was knitted on very fine needles (size 12 in old UK size, or 2.75mm), so the hole made was very tiny indeed.  I went through all my buttons, and believe me, I have a lot.  Even small shirt buttons were too big.  Eventually I found some tiny rectangular pearl buttons which I was able to coax through the buttonholes.  

I decided that when I knitted another of these cardigans, I would have to make bigger buttonholes, no matter what the pattern said.  Fast forward to this morning, when I am knitting the buttonhole rib on my second cardigan from this pattern.  What do you do when you want to know how to make better buttonholes?  You use Google, of course!  And I found the perfect instructions on the website of a US magazine called Creative Knitting.  The buttonholes this time are 3 stitches across, and are the neatest that I have ever managed, thanks to these instructions.

It was so easy to find buttons to fit, I was spoilt for choice. I decided to go for some circular pearl buttons which fit easily through the buttonholes.

 And so I now have a new technique as well as two preemie cardigans ready to go off in my next parcel to Needles and Hooks, Angels and Preemies

Happy Easter!

Twiddlemuffs for men

 Have you come across twiddlemuffs?  They are made for people with dementia, and they provide both warmth and comfort for their hands, as well as giving them something for their fingers to twiddle with, which can distract and calm them.  These are a couple of muffs that I made last year:

I volunteer with our local branch of the Alzheimer's Society, and sometimes get asked to add the twiddly bits to muffs that other people have knitted.  Thankfully the Scrapstore gives me access to lots of useful bits and pieces that can be adapted into 'twiddles', such as the toggle, buckle and webbing used in the top muff.

One of the Alzheimer's Society's support workers mentioned to me that a lot of the muffs they receive are more suitable for ladies than for men, which got me thinking.  Football scarves!  As my husband is an Everton supporter, I started with blue and white as my colours, and knitted a muff.  Then I added some twiddly bits that I though were appropriate, including a blue squeezy sponge, some chunky buttons and some textured wooden beads (they reminded me of Rawlplugs) on a thong.  There's also a leather button like the ones my dad had on his sheepskin coat, with a piece of flexible plastic tubing to hook round it.

This is how the muff looks once it is sewn up:

It is reversible:

Suitable for an Everton or Arsenal fan!  So the next one underway will be for a Chelsea or Manchester United fan.........

If you want to make a twiddlemuff, the instructions can be found here.  They are welcomed by Knit for Peace, local hospitals and charities for people with dementia.

The final three!

With one day to spare, the final three hats are done.  There's a man's chunky blue and black hat, a lady's dk dark red hat, and a newborn dk hat.  As ever, I've been combining yarns make inroads into the donated coned yarns and to get different weights, so the man's hat is a strand of black aran and a strand of blue 4 ply , while the lady's hat is 2 strands of 2 ply red wool/cotton and a strand of 2 ply grey mix (probably acrylic, but I can't be sure).  The baby hat is made of some King Cole Bin Ends yarn which is very pretty and puts me in mind of cup cakes sprinkled with hundreds and thousands!

This completes my self-set challenge to complete 12 boys' jumpers and 52 hats in one year.  This target has certainly spurred me to knit and crochet more this year than I have previously.  The donations of yarn that I have collected on behalf of Loving Hands this year have also encouraged me to think more laterally about what I can make and how I can combine yarns to get different effects.  I have used up almost 16 kilos of yarn since January, without counting December's finished items.

I have, however, decided not to set any targets for 2017.  It will be interesting to see whether I use up just as much yarn when I am free to make whatever I like.

There is one final item that I finished off just after Christmas.

I took these two cones from my stash in November.  They are both 4 ply, and the bright pink is very bright!  The paler pink is from a range called Magicolour, and has a rainbow of other colours running through it.  Working directly from the cones, so no ends to darn in, I started a corner-to-corner blanket.  This photo gives you an idea of the different colours:

The completed blanket is 42 inches square and looks like this:

It is bright and cheery and will be going to Chemogiftbags, a charity which provides support for people undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Happy New Year everyone, and thank you for reading and commenting on my posts in 2016.  

Hat chase nearly over

Just a quick post to report that I have finished hat 49 of 52 for 2016.  These are 3 chunky, tweedy hats, made with multiple strands of stash yarns.  The green ones are adult size and will be going to the Mission for Seamen.  The grey and maroon one is child size, and will be for Operation Orphan's 
2017 campaign to Keep a Child Warm.  On 27 December we will be driving up to Twickenham to meet friends and go to the Harlequins rugby game at Twickenham Stadium, so I will have time to make progress on a matching scarf go with the child's hat.  I don't tend to knit hats in the car because of the danger of losing dpns under the driver's seat.  Once bitten, twice shy definitely applies in that case!

Still lots to do on this Christmas Eve; both my sons and my daughter-in-law will be arriving later today, so there are beds to prepare, baking to be done, and still quite a few presents to be wrapped and stockings to prepare.  So I will use this picture of our local woods in the snow to wish everyone who happens on my blog a very Happy Christmas, and thank you for taking the time to read my posts.

Log cabin

Back in April last year, I started knitting a log cabin blanket.  I had a lot of Stylecraft Wondersoft variegated yarn in peacock, but when knitted up, it looked more like camouflage than a flamboyant bird's tail.  I think the jumpers below demonstrate what I mean.

So I put the rest of it to one side, and had a think about what I could make with it (did I mention that I bought a kilo of this yarn?  Probably not!).  Finally I came up with the idea of a knitted log cabin blanket.  There have been lovely ones knitted by other Loving Hands members, so this seemed like a plan.  I chose a range of different colours that were in the peacock, and two that weren't, to provide a little bit of contrast.  This was a project that my heart really wasn't in, and so it only came out when I didn't have anything else to do.  But do you know, as I was sewing it up, I began to fall in love with it.

Somehow it makes me think of modern art:

Doesn't this look like it could be on a gallery wall?

OK, I'm getting a bit carried away here.  Because it uses different brands of yarn, some of the squares are not quite as even as they might be, but this adds to the overall patchwork effect of the blanket.  And there are so many ends to be darned away - I still have a good few more to do.  But it is lovely and warm and weighs in at 460g.  It's a bit odd and quirky, and I have a feeling that I might keep this one for myself!

Ideas for what I should make with the remaining 300g of the peacock will be welcomed!

Jumper number 12

Yessss!  This is boy's jumper number 12, so I've met the first part of my challenge for 2016.  It's knitted from a Knitwell pattern which I found among my Mum's patterns.  There is no date or price on it, but it uses old needle sizes (9s and 7s) so is pre metrication of knitting needles, which I think was around 1975.  It was interesting to knit; the front centre panel has increases and decreases to make the little stocking stitch squares.  I enjoy cabling and knitting twisted stitches, which featured on the sleeves as well as the front.

The yarn is from a cone which I bought from the scrapstore.  It is marked as chunky, but to me it felt more like aran.  I compromised and knitted it on size 4.00 and 5.00 needles (8s and 6s) instead of the recommended sizes.

I have another half a dozen hats to make to meet the second part of the challenge by 31 December - watch this space!

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around....

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around,

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.

Teddy bear, teddy bear, jump up high,

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky.

This week, Loving Hands was asked if we could supply some tiny teddies for babies in Kings College Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit to receive on Christmas day.  Although I'm not especially fond of making toys, these little teds are very quick and easy to do, so I thought I would make a few.  As I was knitting them, I suddenly remembered an action rhyme that my boys and I used to sing when they were small.  And days later, I can't get it out of my head! It must be at least 25 years since we last sang that rhyme, but now it keeps repeating and repeating in my brain.  

These are the tiny teds; they are 2.75 inches tall, just right for little babies.  They are knitted in 4 ply on size 2.50 needles.  Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around.......

As well as these, I have been making some things for Children's Hospice South West to sell to raise funds.  A child's hat and scarf set is knitted with two strands of double knit:

 The pattern is called Luuk, by Annis Jones, and is free on Ravelry. I think the hat looks rather like a creamy cup cake with hundreds and thousands sprinkled on.

I've also crocheted a few snowflakes for tree decorations or to add to parcels:

The two at the top of the photo are made with a tinsel yarn found in a charity shop.  They really sparkle when they catch the light.  The bottom two are just made with crochet cotton, and stiffened after blocking with a little spray starch.  

Hopefully they will help with the fundraising.  Teddy bear, teddy bear,turn around...............

Another stripy jumper

I have just 2 more boy's jumpers to finish to reach my target of 12 for the year.  Well, only one now, as I have just finished this one.

it's a 26 inch chest, knitted in double knit on size 4.00 needles, and I used my favourite jumper pattern.  I think I have made about 8 of these in total in the last 5 years.  It is a free pattern from Ravelry called simply Child's jumper pattern.  I made the stripes 10 rows wide, but you can choose your own colour and stripe combinations. From my stash I chose Copper and Mocha by Stylecraft, and a dark brown (no shade name) from Marriner.  Lots of Loving Hands members, inspired by another member, Pat, have been making a special effort this year to knit jumpers for boys, as they seem to get fewer donations.  To date, over 400 jumpers for boys have been made, which, as Pat says, represents a school full of warm boys!

Hats galore

Hats have turned into a bit of a compulsion.  Over the last 10 days or so I have made 8 hats, four knitted and four crocheted.

The first one is an adult hat, knitted with one strand of DK and 2 strands of coned 3 ply.  I really enjoy the mindlessness of knitting rib, and the finished hat is lovely and stretchy.  This has gone into my box for the Mission to Seamen, who do a brilliant job in helping those who work at sea (both my grandfather and father were sailors).

After the simple ribbed hat, I decided to try a bit of fair isle.  This is a technique I am still perfecting, and so I went for a basic toddler beanie and a simple pattern.  I took inspiration from a pattern on Ravelry called Celebration Day, although I changed it a bit, using more stitches and making the fair isle more symmetrical.  I like the finished effect (each of the colours is 2 strands of coned 4 ply) which is quite subtle.  It probably will get a pompom before I send it off.

Next up was crochet.  I found a ball of James Brett Baby Marble that I had forgotten about, and used a 1 - 2 year size Ravelry pattern (Spring Lacy hat) that I thought would work with the colour changes.
Although the pattern is for worsted yarn with a size 5.00 hook, it worked well with DK and a 4.5 hook to make a newborn hat.  They were quick to work up, so I made 2.

Back to the knitting.  There was a small ball of white 4 ply in my knitting bag, just enough for a preemie hat.  I cast on 80 stitches and did a couple of inches of 2 x 2 rib so it would be nice and stretchy.  Then I decided to do a bit of cabling.  Why, I do not know, as I was using dpns, and adding a cable needle to the mix was really asking for trouble.  Well, I got there, but not without a few dropped stitches and a bit of frogging on the way.  There was enough Marble left to make another preemie hat.  This one you will notice has no cables.  Can you work out why???

Finally I went back to crochet for a couple more adult hats.  The pink one is a slouchy one, and has a button on the brim, cunningly concealed in the photo.  The blue/brown one is based on Julia Odie's Magnus hat pattern, sized up for an adult.  Julia is a fellow Loving Hands member, and I have made this hat many times in many different sizes.  Both of these hats are made with different combinations of coned yarn.

So now I have made over 40 hats this year, and my target of 52 by the end of December seems more achievable.