Crafty Fingers...

Have not been keeping up with my blog this year - too much craziness with new baby, puppy & pre-schooler... too little time for the computer However, I have been keeping up with the crafting. Just finished a load of Christmas Crafts from Australia's 'Better Homes & Gardens' Magazine... I made 3 dolls in total - they were all very well received by the little girls I made them for including my daughter.

I went a bit shawl-tastic before Christmas making gifts of lace shawls this year for friends & family... The first 2 shawls are made using Vintage Purls lace yarn, the third is using Zauberball lace

and of course, I had to make one for myself!! The photo doesn't show the colours - this is a Vintage Purls lace yarn - Mother of Pearl colour - gorgeous!

Oscar is never far from what I'm doing bless him! He's been trained to not steal or eat my knitting but everything else in the house is fair game!!

Back in the land of the living!!

Have been away from the computer for a bit... we adopted a baby boy just a few months ago and things have been rather hectic!! (That was one of the reasons for the baby knitting - the other was my brother had a baby the same week we brought ours home.

I have my hands full now with toddler, baby and puppy - despite that keeping me from the computer I haven't let that stop me finding a little time to craft...I have been working on this quilt which I am making from all of my daughter's baby clothes - its so nice to be able to keep all of her baby clothes without having a huge stash of clothing for no reason :o) Its

lovely looking at it whilst I'm working on it as I remember each & every outfit and where she wore it.

I have also been working on a couple of knitting projects... one is Ice Queen from Knitty - Rosemary Hill - this has beading in it which I am enjoying...

and the other is a Drops Pattern - No 119-1 Long jacket with short sleeves knitted side to side. I am knitting the Garnstudio design up in Vintage Purls sock yarn & am just adoring the colour - it matches all of the greys, purples & greens that I have clothes in so will be a welcome addition to my winter wardrobe when I get time to finish it!!

Anyway more later - back for now to baby milk and changing nappies!!

Easter Bonnets

Eastertime here means the onset of Autumn, clocks changing to wintertime, being indoors more, and.... winter knitting! We had a bit of an Easter party for friends and indulged in some chocolate goodies

The weather is still warm but there's a slight chill in the air that promises winter is just around the corner. So I knitted up my Snapdragon Tam over Easter to match the Snapdragon Flip-Tops I made during March so that I am fully prepared for winter walks on the beach. I used a thicker yarn than that recommended and my 'Tam' ended up being a Beanie instead! I'm pleased with the results though.

I've also been stockpiling Vintage Purls Sock yarn for my sock blankie I'm making for my daughter - look at these lovely colours... so pretty - I can't wait to finish the blanket but it is a long-term project so will take a while!!

The top left square contains the colours on which I am basing the blanket, yellows, greens, pinks, peaches and oranges. In between projects I am knitting a few squares - the plain squares I am making on the knitting machine when I have time as this is super-quick way to knit up squares and gives such a perfect evenness to the stitches. So tonight I will be knitting up some lovely peachy squares.

Click-clack ahhh the sound of knitting needles!

Am happy to be knitting things for myself again... have started by doing Ysolda's 'Snapdragon Flip Top Mittens' in Vintage Purls Perendale Worsted - Ruby Tuesday colour - such lovely hand-dyed yarn to knit with & such a cool pattern. I'm really happy with how these turned out.

Have started a Snapdragon Tam to match the mitts...

Autumn here already!!

Wow - where did summer go?! I had my parents staying the last month so I haven't had time to post, but have had time to do lots and lots of knitting... more baby knitting - I'm almost done and very over baby knits for a while!

Baby Leg-warmers - pattern Legwarmies by Alana Dakos (my

first venture into colourwork - surprised how easy it was and am looking forward to making more of these - although my daughter said she wants pink white and brown leg-warmers and not orange and green ones!!

2 wonderful patterns by Ysolda - Elijah and Sophie for boy and girl gifts.

and I have finshed off the 2 ponchos I was making which are a free Drops pattern...

Boy no wonder I have had enough of baby knits!!

I am knitting some Snapdragon Flip-Top Mittens (also a Ysolda pattern) with beautiful 'Ruby Tuesday' Vintage Purls Perendale Worsted yarn - they look so good - can't wait to get them finished - and once they're done, there's a matching hat!!

Summer Hols and Yet More Baby Knitting...

I've been very slack with the posting since Christmas - that's because its summer here and I am outdoors a lot with the puppy and my daughter enjoying the beach and the garden.

We've also been on holiday to the Coromandel which was very relaxing... Miss 3 and puppy spent hours in the back garden playing frisbee so I got on with a lot more baby knitting - these patterns are from the current Garnstudio baby patterns which are free ...

Have made a couple of baby bonnets...

and matching booties...

and a very cute Poncho which is yet to be finished with a closure and buttons (have also started making one of these in beige)...

Baby Knitting

I thought I would get in some baby knitting since I am always caught out waiting to hear if a friend/family member has had a girl or boy and then, of course, there's the time taken to decide what to make and then to make their gift. My sister-in-law is pregnant so I thought I would get ahead of the game and make a baby stash. All this lovely baby gear is making me want another one!!

These booties are from a free pattern on Ravelry - Saartje's booties - I've made a few pairs before but in Vintage Purls Sock - colour 'Scarlet Oak' purchased from Joy Of Yarn in Greytown they are by far my favourites.

This wee elephant is so cute... I knitted him in a varigated 'bella baby' yarn I picked up in a Spotlight sale - another free pattern - Ala and Ela.

This is a blankie crocheted from another baby yarn from Spotlight - I just crocheted a rectangle of double crochet and then made heaps of basic crochet squares to go around it.

I've also managed to finally wear one of my first machine knitted projects over the weekend - a shawl that doubles as a scarf so can be worn year-round. I never added the tassles that I had planned.