Another swap!

This one was a secret santa..... although I got found out faaaar too quickly! LOL.

The people i had for this were two little girls. Jasmine and Bella. Jas is 3.5 and Bella is 2. Their Mum had told me that they fought over many toys, so i decided to do matching gifts.

I enjoyed the themed yarn swap soooo much that i decided to theme this one too.

The theme: Domestic goddesses

I had a lot of fun buying little bits and pieces for these gifts....

• Headbands


• High heels


• Cupcake cases


• Sprinkles


• Tea towels


• Mixing bowls & spoons


• Cake mixes

I also made them semi matching aprons..... I reckon they WILL look like little goddesses - BUT Nicole may not think so when it comes time to clean up!

The great TNN yarn swap.

I took part in a wonderful themed yarn swap a few weeks back.

The swap needed to have a theme..... Within that theme you needed to give the following:

• 100g of hand dyed yarn.


• A piece of knitting bling.
  
• A food recipe.
• A small gift.

Unfortunately, the person i had hasn't posted pictures of what i made for them :( - I didn't take any photos of the full swap before i sent it to them BUT...... I do have photos of the yarn :).

The theme that i chose was: 'The desperate housewife's romance kit'.

• I made them a working yarn holder, to stop little fingers (or claws) tangling their wool. I blogged about the start of this project here.






• The recipe was for my famous caramello brownie mmmmmm.








• The gift was some red bamboo yarn & a clutch of Toblerones (cause we always know chocolate doesn't let us down!).




• The knitting pattern was a free fingerless gloves pattern off Ravelry, Called 'Berry hill'. Aren't they beautiful!

The yarn that I chose to use was 8ply, 100% wool in a scrummy light rose colour. I thought I would have a go at self striping wool..... MY way! What a laugh AND what a headache!!!!!!!!


Here are some pics of the process.......... I used a beer bottle and wound the yarn around it 20 times, then tied each bundle up with an acrylic yarn so i knew which thread to cut once it was dyed.

I had to be VERY careful that i kept the mini balls in order at all times! Imagine trying to untangle wet smelly wool...... EWWWW.

Once it was dyed (and still wet) I wound it into a hank on my swift, then I washed it with wool wash and dried it etc......

I LOVE the small parts where i tied it into mini balls that it stayed the pink..... As these will be uniform specks i am thinking that it will work a bit like Opal.

I really hope i get to see a FO of this yarn....... Watch this space.

Mmmmmm pastel watermelon

After getting sidetracked from work...... I decided to do a quick dying mission. It was all Razz's fault, I saw a beautiful dress she had knitted up with some yarn that Lou had dyed.

YUM - my fave wool in pastel shades..... I dyed it with a mixture of colours and media. Cool Aid in Cherry and black cherry..... Wilton cake gels in Rose, Christmas red and leaf green.

Now what will i make with it. The yarn is Utiku, Natural 8ply and there is 200g. Plenty to have a good play with!

My first bag and felting mission

Before felting.

We have a wonderful midwife, who almost caught Poppy 2 years ago and is our main midwife this time around. She is a little green fingered like me, so I wanted to make her a gift to say thank you. As you all know, time can be very sparse when a new arrival turns up, so this time i wanted to be prepared.

I am going to line it with fabric, I just don't know what type yet.

It is knitted in 12ply Cleckheaton spun Merino, which has a minor nylon content. I knew that it would felt well, as I made Poppy a pair of shorties in it last year and they accidentally went through the washing machine and shrunk!

After felting.

The Opps-dessa

So...... Everything was going great, I was speeding along being ahead of time for my sister's birthday. Then I realised that I had missed a YO (a full 108 stitches ago) - WAAAAAAAAH!!!! It is now sitting here semi frogged waiting for someone to help me pick up all the different stitches. I am so mad!!!!!!

When the kid is away......

My darling big sister came and took Poppy away for the afternoon. I was very thankful, as i had a few wee projects that needed my attention... AND i want to blog some of my recent projects.

Firstly, i sat down and sewed up 12 small pocket nappies for the bump. I remember Poppy growing through the NB, S and M sizes at lightening speed and i found it hard to keep up. This time i am prepared!

It is a shitty day in Wellington today..... So i thought it would be a perfect time to wash all the nappies in the house...... hmmmm where is my logic in that???? i don't know! lol.

I filled the 8.5kg washing machine 1.5 times! OMG that is a LOT of nappies.

The next job on the list was to re cover a wee foam chair that my sister Jo, had scored at the local hospice 2nd hand store..... It was looking well loved and well..... quite manky.

BUT not anymore. With some left over curtain fabric and a panel of minky *drool* I looks just like new!

A year ago...........

I sat down with my Mother in law and she taught me how to knit. I had knitted in garter stitch when i was younger - but really didn't know what i was doing.

Here is my first project..... a little NB hat - It took me forever, and it still doesn't have the ends sewn in.

Since then, knitting has become on of my favourite pass times. I am still very much a novice, but am trying new things all the time.

Here are a few things that have come off my needles in the last couple of weeks. I am trying to be a good 3rd trimester preggy woman and have my feet up relaxing..... you don't have to relax your hands do you?

I made my MIL a pair of fingerless gloves, she lives in Waipara which is at the northern end of Christchurch. I thought they would come in handy at this time of year.

The beret next to it was a knit for me...... i have hardly taken it off, but i wouldn't really call it a beret - It is more like a large Rastafarian beanie.... the Utiku wool has stretched a bit too.... time for a wash and shrink i reckon! Both the patterns are from my new Louisa Harding book .

I have finally finished the Annoukish pinafore...... well i think i have finished - watch this space..... i don't feel like it is finished yet..... hmmm may need some very cute wooden buttons on the pink tabs.... but am still unsure. The lovely Christine taught me how to picot crochet. It is really easy once you know what you're doing!

Aren't these tiny coat buttons cute!!!! AND i bought them at Spotlight!!! Normally their wooden button selection sucks.

The last two evenings i have been making these, for our soon to be born baby girl. I used the Pimp my longies pattern, lovingly crafted by Jen. It is a very nice and easy pattern to follow. For these ones though i didn't do the short rows in the bum..... which has given it a nice and even stripe body.

There goes that picot crochet again!

And..... on the needles now........ a little NB hat to match the longies. Awwwwww

So, i think i have got a little hooked on the knitting thang..... but would like you all to know, that all of these projects have come out of my stash and not bought for! WOOT!