Starry Night Mitts

 My Mum requested a pair of long, black, sparkly, fingerless, mittens for Christmas. I wanted to just use this pattern. I had made them for her before in pink and white stripes, but I didn't want to buy yarn online if I could help it. My local yarn shop did not have the right kid of yarn, but it did have some 'Berroco Flicker', which is mostly alpaca, with a silver sparkle throughout.

 I started out following this pattern, but the yarn just wasn't right, so after knitting one mitten, I frogged it. I went up from size US4, to size US6 needles. I decided to knit them quite a bit longer. I didn't like the thumbs, so I did increases instead. I didn't bother with the folded cuff either.

The yarn is super soft and warm, and the mitts are nice and snug, and look great. Mum has informed she has received compliments on them. So despite the problems I had, I'm very happy with them.

Almost forgotten

 I realize I have not blogged for a very long time. I have not stopped knitting, there have just been some really big changes going on for me and my family. Here's what I almost forgot to share.

Another Grrlfriend Market bag. This one was for my sister, Mrs. B.

I decided to try out Susan B. Anderson's pattern for worsted weight socks. These were for my Mum.

My lovely knitting group friends threw me a party, and sent me home with three bags and a basket full of knitting goodies.

Knitters truly are the best kind of people. I love them!

My second time knitting an Owls sweater. This one was for my sister, Mrs. M. She turned 40, so it was a special gift. This photo was taken before I sewed on the button eyes. I gave her white eyed owls in contrast to my black eyed owls.

So the big changes involved moving, which is why my knitting friends threw me a party.This is my house not long before it sold. We lived here for five years, and in the area for more than 6 years. That is the longest I have lived anywhere since I got married. It was not part of my plan to ever leave, but life doesn't always go the way we plan.

This is my new view. We have gone from east to west. It's going to take some getting used to, but I will knit my way though it.

Another yummy hot water bottle cover.

 This was sent to my Mum for Christmas. It's the same pattern I used for my sister's hot water bottle cover, but this time I put in the optional cable down the middle.

 Pink continues to be my mothers favorite colour, so I used Cascade Yarns 220 superwash paints wool. There are some great colours of this yarn. I added a few extra stitches on either side of the cable, because I thought it didn't look wide enough, and I put the cable on both the frond and back. I filled it with Reeses Mini Peanut Butter cups, and put it in the post. Boy are those chocolates heavy!

I love hot water bottles! I'm really happy with how this cover turned out. Luckily hot water bottles are much easier to come by over in England. My big sister and my niece sewed hot water bottle covers for my kids and I as Christmas presents, and sent them with much needed hot water bottles inside. We couldn't be more thrilled with them. It has been sooooooooo cold here lately, that we have been enjoying them night and day.

A month of pink knits

 May was a very pink month. Starting out with some pink socks for my Mum's birthday. They are knit up in in Zitron 6 ply yarn. I used the Susan B. Anderson's pattern for how she makes her socks again. This yarn was a little thicker/heavier that than yarn I've used for socks before, so hopefully they won't be too big. I figured if they are, they will make great house socks, as they are very warm.

One of my little ones wanted to get in on this picture.

 Next up in this month of pink are these fingerless mitts made for my sister Mrs. M. They are to match her Meret I made her last year. I added thumb holes and a little extra ribbing at the beginning and end of them. I love how they turned out.

 I'll end this post with possibly my favorite knit of the year so far. I can't remember where I first saw this idea, but I immediately knew I had to find someone to make it for. It's a Boobie Beenie, you'll find the free pattern here. It's a really simple rolled brimmed stockinette hat. I knit it up in Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool. It's a really soft, washable wool. I gave it to my friend who is expecting in July. She is a fellow kniter, and a breastfeeding mama. I wish I had seen this pattern when my kids were babies. I would have loved one.

 I'll have more to share with you soon. Keep happy everyone and enjoy your summer.

Mums Arm Warmers/ Finger-less mitts

 My Mum payed us a visit in March and we had some fun knitting together in the evenings. We visited the Lancaster Quilt show and got inspired too. It made me a little sad that I don't get to knit with my Mum more often. She picked out some pretty pink cotton when we went to my local yarn shop. She plans on making a lovely lace shrug from this pattern.

 I decided to ask her what she would like for her birthday this year, and she requested some arm warmers. I showed her the ones I made for myself last year. She liked them, but pink is her favorite colour. So pink is what she got! I found some pink sock yarn with a little sparkle in it at AC Moore. I can't find the label to tell you the brand right now. I'll have to go on a hunt to put it up on Ravelry. And used up some leftover knitpicks superwash sock yarn in bare.

I cast on 52 sts in the mc and did a K2, K2 rib for eight rounds instead of the K1, P1 stated in the pattern. On the thumb, I picked up 5 stitches instead of 3 and went straight into K2, P2 for eight rows. I like the way they turned out. I don't think you can really go wrong with arm warmer/finger-less mitts. They are a fun accessory.

Mum's Market Bag

So I've had a long absence from my crafting blog. Mostly because the Holiday season is pretty busy, and almost everything I've made were Christmas gifts so I couldn't share until they'd been received. Here is the first of a few hand made gifts I sent out this year.

The pattern can be found here as a free Ravelry download. I had it on my queue for quite a long time. But if you should know anything about me, it is that my queue is getting very long but my spare time is not! I used knit picks comfy worsted yarn in Crème Brulee and Ivory. I really loved the square bottom of the bag. It knit up really easily. However I had trouble with the lace/mesh. I kept spotting mistakes and couldn't figure out why. It is a really simple pattern and I was baffled until I realised that the stitches were slipping over my too small stitch marker. I ended up ripping it back to the the bottom of the bag and then joining a bunch of my stitch markers together so the stitches couldn't slip over anymore. After that it knit up like a dream. I highly recommend this pattern and yarn. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Mum's Coin Purse

 My Mum's Birthday is at the begining of May. I had to think quite hard what I could make for her this year because she is currently doing missionary work in the Philippines. I could not send her a shawl or scarf or any of my usual Mum gifts. I wanted something she could use right away. Then I came across this blog and I knew this would fit the bill. I found the purse clip an JoAnns for just 5 dollars and used leftover yarn and scrap fabric. The most expensive part was the fabric glue, but it's cool because I can use it again for other projects. The knitting part was super easy because it was just a rectangle of stockingette stitch. Attaching the fabric to the clip was a little tricky. I used tweezers to get it in place and some painters tape to hold it together as it dried.

Now the blog I got the idea from had a crochet flower on it, but I don't know how to crochet so after another little hunt on Ravelry I found the pattern featured here for a knitted flower. I don't know about you but I don't think it's too bad. It's now filled with Reeces peanut butter eggs, and making it's way across the sea. I just hope it get's there in time.