Quick Quick

 

On Friday afternoon, a friend asked me if I could make a pair of men's fingerless gloves to take with her on holiday to give as a gift. Sure. There was just one problem - she's leaving early on Tuesday morning. Mmm, I'll do my best. 

I had a bobbin full of wool on my spinning wheel that was spun but not plied. I plied it on Friday evening and washed the one and a half skeins. It was tempting to start knitting without washing them, but washing is part of the process and can't be skipped. We were going out to lunch on Saturday, so that gave time for the wool to dry. I started knitting on Saturday evening, did the bulk of the work yesterday and finished off this morning. Phew. They're ready to be delivered and packed. 

Detail

 

I was asked by a reader of yesterday's post how I attach the tatting to the net. I sew it on, using a thread matching the net. In the case of the butterfly, I have sewn so many on that I have a well trodden path, a sequence I always follow! I have written before about sewing on, but the search function isn't being very helpful, so I can't find the posts.  

Sewing This And That

 

The jewellery business has decreased dramatically since Christmas, so I only needed to make 20 bags this month, 10 of each size. 

The doll is a sample for tomorrow's craft group meeting in a retirement home. I browsed through Pinterest for a while before settling on a pattern from Shiny Happy World. Mine looks rather different to the original because I've stuffed it a lot, whereas theirs is more floppy, but it works. I needed a pattern that was simple enough to make within time and dexterity constraints. My idea is to make the doll this week and clothes next week. 

I've sewn the tatted daisies and butterflies to the food net, so it's all ready to be gifted. 

Tatting Daisies Again

 

I'm tatting daisies to put on a food net to give as a birthday gift. I wound a shuttle with yellow thread and tatted all the centres to start with. My plan is to make two flowers of each of five colours. The colours in the photo are a bit strange. The bottom two flowers are orange and the top one pale pink. I made the pattern up, it's very simple, feel free to copy it if you want to. 

More Leftovers

 

Not my own leftovers this time. A friend had this yarn left over from a project and asked me to knit a pair of socks with it. She knows I like knitting socks! I found a pattern and started knitting, but the yarn really isn't suited to socks. It's a single, ie it doesn't have two or more strands plyed together, and it's too soft and easily split to make good socks. I contacted Kath and she said make something that the yarn is suited to. I browsed the pins on my knitting board on Pinterest and decided on That Nice Stitch (cowl) by Stitchnerd Designs. 

I'm happy with how it's turning out. I really like the texture of the slipstitch pattern, and the way it's combined with stripes of stocking stitch. To use the textured stitch entirely would be overpowering.

Leftovers

 

I dyed four skeins of pink wool for the baby onesie, but only used three, so I knitted the leftovers into a pair of fingerless gloves. The pattern is Augusta by Lena Marie Gjerald. I've used the pattern before, but forgotten that it needs more than one skein of wool. I'll write myself a note on the pattern. It looks like cables, but it's actually a mock cable that is very easy to knit. 

Cherry Guava Jelly

 

I'd never heard of cherry guavas, but there's a cherry guava tree in our new garden. I was told that it makes very good jam. The tree was a bit damaged when the roof tiles were replaced in November, but it nevertheless has produced a good crop of fruit. The fruit can just be eaten as they are, but I had a go at making jam with them. Actually, I made jelly, sieving out the peel and pips, because the pips are rather hard. It turned out well, with a nice colour, good set and a pleasantly tart taste. 

I also made loaves for rusks yesterday.

This morning I cut them into fingers and they are currently drying out in the oven

While I was in the kitchen, I made ice cream too, using double thick cream I bought at the market on Saturday

I went to the market as a visitor, rather than a stall holder. After a couple of markets where I sold very little, I decided it was time to throw in the towel. I suspect that all those who want puppets have bought them! My stall holder partner is still there, selling soap, so if I change my mind, I can always return. I may well do the winter markets, as socks and fingerless gloves are popular. In the meantime, it was a relief not to have to worry about preparing goods for market and not having an early start to the day to set up the stall. 

Second Time Around

 

After finishing the baby clothes, I went back to the cardigan I've been knitting for myself and finished it off. The pattern is called Rows of Lavender, by Drops Designs. I enjoyed knitting it. I like this type of lace knitting that requires just the right amount of concentration. I do think it looks better than the cardigan I unravelled. 

Bootees To Match

 

I've finished knitting the bootees to go with the onsie. The pattern I used is called Hop, Skip & Jump, by Kirstie McLeod.  It's a clever pattern, using increases and short rows to shape the bootees. It didn't have a ribbon, I added eyelets and ribbons. 

Done

 I didn't get much knitting done over the weekend, but I've worked on the baby onsie today and got it finished, complete with baby's name. I was worried about the embroidery affecting the stretch of the ribbing, so I worked each letter separately on a knit portion of rib. Lucky for me that it's a short name! I must knit matching booties now, but checked with the new mum first. She says she's happy and yes, wants the booties. Phew. I always worry at this stage that the person who ordered something won't be happy.  

Aha

 

Aha, I think the baby onsie is going to work. Now that I've made some progress, I can see where I'm going. I think I'll have enough wool too. Now I just need to get on with it. 

Confusing

 I should really have tested the gauge before I printed out 6 pages of pattern. When I came to make a gauge swatch, the instructions on Simply Sweet by Drops Designs were confusing. It says 34 sts X 32 rows in rib = 10 x 10 cm. Then in brackets, it says 24 sts X 32 rows in stockinette st = 10 x 10 cm. My swatch in rib is way too big, but my swatch in stocking stitch is fine. I've carried on with the onsie, but am making the smallest size rather than the second size and keeping fingers crossed that it won't be too huge.

The pattern is a little confusing too. This is my third attempt to get going and I've made a mistake that I'm going to fudge, after not noticing one of those 'at the same time' instructions. It's a challenge!

First Steps

 

I'm working on a baby onesie for an order. I've spun the wool, dyed it and rolled it into balls. I hope it'll be enough, I have no experience in knitting baby clothes. I looked on Ravelry for a pattern and found one called Simply Sweet, by Drops Designs. I'll have to adapt it a little to match the picture I was sent. The dark pink wool in the picture is to embroider the baby's name across the front, for instance. Since it's a multisize pattern, my first task was to mark the figures for the size I'll be making:

My next task is to check the needle size by knitting a gauge swatch. Then I'll be ready to cast on.

Getting There

 

 I'm working on the second sleeve of my go-around-again cardigan. I may have to pause it for a bit though because I have an order for a baby outfit in handspun wool. I'm not sure that's the right yarn for a baby outfit, but the mother-to-be assures me she'll be happy to handwash it, so I'm off to my spinning wheel. 

More Sewing

 

I spent some time last week preparing a project for the craft group in a retirement home that I run. The idea is to make patchwork shopping bags, sewing the patches together by hand and then attaching them to a machine-sewn lining. First I made a sample. Then I sewed 10 linings. It took me way longer than I estimated, but the job was done in time for Friday's meeting. It's quite a big project, so we didn't finish and will continue next week. The good thing about that is that I don't have any preparation to do this week!

On Saturday afternoon my little sewing pupil arrived with fabric and ideas for an elaborate bag, with gussets (3D was his term), secret pockets, two sets of handles.... We got it done, except for a zip at the top, but it took us four hours. 

Mango Chutney

 I've continued knitting in the evenings and sewing during the day, but I've finished the soap bag order and the jewelry bag order, so now I have a chance to make mango chutney.

The mangoes are bubbling in the pot now with onions, garlic and spices. The mixture will need to cook for an hour, with a stir now and then, before bottling. 

Evening Knitting

 

Progress on my cardigan has slowed down because I've only been knitting in the evenings. During the day I've been sewing little bags for a friend who makes soap.

I've just finished sewing the 50th bag, so that's the sewing done. I still have to thread drawstrings through. The string I had planned to use turns out to be too stiff and difficult to knot, so I will have to make a plan B. I have an order for 30 bags for Anne the silversmith to sew next, so it'll be a while before I can do much knitting. 

Progress

 

I"m making progress on my cardigan. I like lace knitting. At our knit'n'natter session on Friday, everyone said it looked complicated, but it's an easy pattern and the many repeats mean that any mistakes are quickly apparent.  It's usually it's a missed yarn over, which is easily rectified. Thankfully. I wouldn't want to have to tink a whole row. 

I Did It

 

This is a first for me, unravelling a newly knitted cardigan! Thanks to everyone who commented on my  previous post about the cardigan. There is a backstory to the decision to undo it. Early in 2023 I knitted myself a cardigan to wear as my every day, at home, winter warmer. You can see it here. It became very shapeless, falling off my shoulders all the time. I blame my self because I didn't get the hang of the yoke pattern and fudged it. But I really don't want to spend another winter tugging at a cardigan that doesn't hang properly and keeps falling off my shoulders. 

Before I undid the mauve cardigan I found another pattern that worked to the right gauge. It's also a Drops Design pattern,  Rows of Lavender, but it has set in sleeves rather than raglan. I'm hoping that  means it will stay put. I've made a start:

Bead Knitting Revisited

 

I've been meaning to have another go at beaded knitting. In 2019 I learnt a lot, preparing to make a beaded bag for a competition, but I haven't done any beaded knitting since. My first step was to read my own instructions - there's a link on the side bar of this page, so that was easy. I used part of the cross stitch pattern that I've used before. You can read all about it here.  I like it. I may do more beaded knitting. 

Not Sure

 

I've finished knitting my cardigan, Early May by Drops Design. I'm not sure. I like the sleeves and the lace pattern on them. But I should have made a bigger size and yesterday the fronts hung so badly that I thought I should just unravel the whole thing and use a different pattern. Today I tried it on again and made an effort to position the shoulders correctly and it didn't seem so bad. I have a friend who regularly unravels things and reknits them. Should I take a leaf out of Dorie's book? 

Thanks and Happy New Year

 Thanks very much to everyone who read my blog during 2025 and especially to those who took the time to comment. I know that blogs are less popular now than they once were, but I like to have a record of what I've been crafting and enjoy the contact with other crafters, so I shall continue. May 2026 be a good year for you all.