1st skein-ball and project bags

Well, I've wound my first skein of 'crushed candy' aran from babylonglegs into 2 balls of yarn. Got about 12 more skeins to go lol

I've used my ball winder but they aren't perfect...kinda hard when you're trying to control the skein and the winder lol but I got there with a little patience and time.
Love this colour, the mix ox dark purples and blues with intense turquoise and pink is really eye catching.
I've cast on my project too, a honey cowl for my friend, I'm using 4.5mm circular needles rather than 5mm because mine is already in use for the Gryffindor inspired scarf that's knit length ways. Means this should be a super warm cowl as pattern is DK on 5mm and mine is aran on 4.5mm, will definitely be good for Winter lol

The picture isn't great as only about an inch and a bit in but as you can see it's knit in the round, I'm using a spare piece of yarn as a marker for beginning of round in a different colour. You can see I'm using my toadstool project bag, love this :)
Forgot to mention last post that it's from The Undercover Owl company (as was my Angel puppet project bag). Love so many of there fabric choices, I'm after a few more if these ones work out for me :) I love the sock print project bag with brown ribbon and the toadstool print Japanese knot
project bag which is reversible, says bird print on the inside. Aren't they just adorable..? Anyways, am off for now just wanted to show am on the ball so to speak and ready to get on with my new project ideas :)

Yarndale! exciting times...

I had an awesome time at Yarndale...thank you so much to my friend Natassia for taking me.
A massive thank you to Sarah from babylonglegs and all the wonderful people there :)

I promised I wouldn't be a fan girl...I failed, so pictured above is me with Sarah from babylonglegs :)
And you should see all the gorgeous yarn I got...but you're going to right now lol

These are my vibrant and gorgeous coloured yarns from babylonglegs. The top picture is aran weight 'tree hugger' and 'caped crusader' with sock weight 'candy crush', the lower picture is aran weight 'crushed candy' and sock weight 'yoda' all of which are 100% merino :) I love the semi precious (50% merino 50% silk) but can't have the space dyed colour ways. These are so nice, can't wait to get knitting them, but that means winding them into balls lol should be interesting as never done that before from a skein lol
Of course I still want more: 'after the storm' aran and merino sock, 'still waters' aran, 'zombies' aran and 'rainbow too' merino sock...to name just a few lol am in love with her dyes...aren't you too..?

My new 2mm cubox and 2.5mm (normal) DPNs, never spent so much on needles before but as they say "when in Rome"...when at Yarndale lol and I really wanted to try the cubix ones but made sense to get ones that aren't gonna have to be used all the time incase I don't like them too much :) Also, above that my new sock weight yarn in individual small skeins, these will be awesome if they make a red/orange/yellow sock and a purple/blue/turquoise (or green) sock with one skein left over (preferably turquoise or green so the sock looks nice even)...odd socks rock!

My new scarf yarn...I personally find this stuff a pain to knit with but it's fairly quick building and good for gifts :)

This yarn is so super gorgeous, can't remember exactly but think it's 80% merino 20% silk, will let you know when I wind it into a ball :) it's aran weight and so soft. I think this is gonna be a hat (I got a pattern from the stall, slouchy and funky) but see what happens, the colours are kinda autumnal and luscious.

These are my project bags...never bought one before but I just had to have the material lol and will come in handy for traveling with my knitting/crocheting. The top one is toadstool print and very colourful, I love toadstools, have them in ornaments, lego etc and even a Fantasia toadstool tattoo...nerd alert! I even have a Buffy/Angel tattoo and the lower picture is of Angel when he was transformed into a puppet during an episode, think it's called 'Smile time'. So naturally I had to have both of these. The toadstool one is a medium one with wrist strap and the Angel one is a small/sock sized one.

Last but by all means not least, I like to collect postcards and these are what I got from Yarndale. I love buttons...damn I forgot to take pictures of my new buttons. I got two large wooden ones, one with ridges and one with a pattern on, and a few silver coloured anchor ones, anchors rock also :)
Basically I spent a fortune rather than a small fortune lol but I had a good day and my son was happy with his Nana :) Some of this yarn will be used for gifts but I have to admit most of it is for myself.
Hope to keep you up to date with each project but please be patient as have other things to make too.
Happy crafting!

babylonglegs lush lol and the big knit/hats in general

Well I've been kinda busy lol finished my innocent smoothie hats for the big knit and got them posted...only managed 31, my first year I did 75 but had  a baby back then and toddlers take more work and a lot more time lol (note on the address, it changes pretty much every year so make sure if you do participate you know that years address, bit frustrating but nothing we can do about it).

This is a good way to raise money for charity and use up your yarn scraps. Though with rises in postage rates I'd recommend getting your local knit and natter group involved to share postage costs. This also gives you the idea of how decreasing for hats works though obviously on a much smaller scale :)
I've also worked on a couple of hats for a town shop, to see if they go anywhere over the holiday periods :)

Pictured is a royal and navy blue chunky hat with cable brim, I love these basic cable brims, a small decorative touch goes a long way. I've also done a green aspen ice hat by Liat Gat from knit freedom (aspen ice hat) but the lovely twist doesn't show well in the pictures as the yarn is so dark, it can be seen on my previous project.
Also, today I had the joy and indeed the pleasure of my new babylonglegs yarn arriving...so exciting. I literally carried it around all day and showed anyone who showed even a slight interest, and some who didn't lol I'm a nerdy fool for my crafts what can I say lol
The colours are lush and rich, really vibrant and I can't emphasize enough how soft they are...I wanna smush my face in them lol especially the semi precious. Unfortunately that one is limited to dyes so can't have the spaced dyed colour ways, the merino is also very soft but the semi precious blend of merino and silk is so luxurious.

I have 'after the storm' in 100% merino sock weight yarn, and I asked for a mix of 'feel the teal' and 'pie' to be dyed in the semi precious sock weight yarn, she called this one 'pie hole' which is cute, though in my head with the richness and depth of the colour I had the idea of 'nephilim night', kinda roles of the tongue and I'm a nerd who likes the nephilim and night lol. I love the contrast between the yellow and blues on the 'after the storm' with bits of green and a kind of slate colour...so nice. I'd get more but I've ordered a whole lot of yarn already and just can't justify an extra skein, even though it is the same dye lot lol but super nice...pics will follow of my new ones as soon as I get them lol need to roll these into balls, which should be fun, never done that before lol
I'm hoping the 'pie hole' will be enough for a shawl for myself and if not I may have to use the contrasting 'after the storm' in there, if it's not already used up lol though I'd planed on fingerless mitts I think I may use my new order of 'caped crusader' for those with a matching hat :) we shall have to see :)
And on that note I am off for sleeps..I shall keep you posted on new and interesting ideas and projects :) Night all :)

My 1st Cables lol

Well, I managed to get this done fairly quickly...I followed the pattern, CO 64sts on 5mm needles with aran weight yarn...it was meant to be for an adult, pictured with a male wearing it...and it fits my son lol
So maybe the gauge is a little out lol but ahh well, it'll be nice on a little girl.

Quite chuffed with my first try...Like that I've used the cable as a kind of ribbed edge rather than for the whole hat as the pattern stated.

The fingerless mitt I made is generating some interest on my FB group, people seem to want them. However, as they take about 4 or 5 days to make and with yarn costs etc don't know if they'll be worth it. Even if charge average Etsy price of £13 plus p+p with how long they take...not a great price...but not sure people would pay more than that...gonna have to think on it I guess, or try and make them on bigger needles as I designed the pattern on 3mm with thin yarn for when my babylonglegs arrives.
Comment if you have any thoughts on the matter :)

Currently on the needles I have:
Another cable hat, this time I've CO 72sts as for an adult female and will have to add to the depth before shaping.
A Harry Potter inspired scarf (Gryffindor colours but going length ways rather than width ways).
A b/w crochet square scarf I've been working on for far too long for my friend.
An illusion knit dalek that hasn't been touched in a year lol needs too much concentration that I just don't have with a toddler lol 
But I still have to make something as a surprise for a friend, my shawl and mitts when new babylonglegs yarn arrives :) and some small gifts for people. Not enough hours in the day...

Fingerless mitts design made

Well I've made this up as I went along and it seems to have come out ok.
Typed up instructions and will read through them to make sure it all makes sense before uploading the pattern to ravelry. If anyone would like to test knit a pair message me lilangelsg2 ravelry to get the pattern. Only need a couple test knitters, will post when got them and ask them to post pics once completed :) if I get any lol
I think they're fairly simple but see what others think.

Skills needed: Circular knitting (DPNs or circular needle), Knit stitch, M1 stitch, Knit front and back of stitch, Cast of in rib.

I was going to do it in the three Jayne Cobb colours but worked out better this way I think. Will be an even easier knit without any colour changes.

Finished Foxy jumper :) and other works in progress

Well I expected this project to take me about a year in all honesty...no seriously the last jumper I knit my boy was on 4mm and took me a year and a half lol But it's done, after just a month :) The link to the design on ravelry is here foxy loxy jumper but the pattern is currently only available from Knit Now magazine, once rights revert back to the designer Joeli I'm sure she'll have it for sale.

I altered the pattern to be on 5mm needles with aran weight yarn and only did the pattern repeat a few times, but the construction is as stated in the pattern just with different yarn. It's turned out a little big for my boy lol but better that than too small :) I had expected to be on this for a lot longer as I said.

I've also finally finished a couple of scarves my aunt asked me to make for her, only short as for kids but knitting them width ways took an age, think scarves will be done length ways from now on :) so much easier in my opinion. Sorry no decent pics, but they're both navy blue with some royal blue stripes at either end.

I've started a fingerless glove, but am making it up as a go and am building a thumb gusset so hoping it turns out ok, I'll post a pic either way so you can laugh at my fail again or share my in my pride at trying to gain new skills :) They're in matching yarn for my cunning scarf and socks (see earlier blog posts) so I'm gonna look like a bit of a Jayne Cobb obsessive fan girl lol but that's ok...

I've also got plans for a hat for my aunt as a christmas gift, based on a pattern for Hermione's Godrics Hollow hat from the Harry Potter films (godrics-hollow-hat)...I'm that much of a nerd lol but she doesn't need to know that...of course pics will be uploaded when I actually cast on and get anywhere with it :) If I struggle with this my next challenge for myself is cables so my try this pattern by Babylonglegs (cable hat), I love her yarns and am currently waiting for my order will upload pics when they arrive, the colours are divine :)

And on a final note, I set myself 3 knitting challenges for the year:
1 to learn how to do circular knitting, DPNs and circular needles - DONE
2 to make a pair of socks for my son - DONE (x3 and a pair for me too lol)
3 to learn cable knitting - NOT YET DONE, MUST BE DONE BY NEW YEARS...so watch out for a cable project even if it's only a sample square :)

Cunning socks...completed :)

Well, I finished them.
I switched the red and yellow yarn but orange in the same place, one foot is: yellow, orange, red, the other foot is red, orange, yellow :) means the orange lines up :)

 They were knitted on 3mm DPNs with DK yarn in the cunning hat colours from Firefly. They are shorter than I normally wear socks but just for in the house and they were for practice. May do some longer ones in future, or stick to one colour next time to make it  a bit easier :)

 Really feel the Firefly love when I put them on :) and they'll match both my Jayne Cobb hat and scarf :)
The foxy loxy jumper is coming along well, the arms are joined to the body, not long before I'm on the collar ribbing, will upload when completed :)

Cunning socks part 2

Well, I've made one sock lol let's hope the second one comes along better as this one is kinda a mess inside lol

Made them with a short length as my first attempt on smaller than 4mm needles. Hoping to make the second one with colours opposite so yellow, orange, red instead :)
Will upload when completed :) but need to cast on first lol

Cunning socks...part 1 :)

Well...a few problems with them as these are my first proper socks, only ever done my sons short row wellie socks (basic wellie sock pattern) :)
But am getting there, bit by bit lol
I'm making my socks shorter than the pattern, the book states 7" (cunning socks ravelry link) from top to heel flap and I've done approx 3" as these are my first, so they're a practice run, prob end up being house socks till I get the hang of it :)

Also, I'm using 3mm DPNs rather than 3.25mm so a little smaller than stated pattern, if they don't fit me my son will have to grow into them lol
I'm intending to finish these and enter them for a hallowe'en KAL on ravelry, as they are inspired by a character (fancy dress) from Firefly called Jayne Cobb and the colours are very autumnal :) (rocking-kitchen ravelry group) I'll keep you posted on how they come along :)

Mighty cunning scarf...

Well it took less time than I thought, only coz I got obsessed n hurt my wrists with knitting so much lol but the cunning scarf inspired by the character Jayne Cobb from Firefly is finished :)

It's longer than stated in the book, mine is about 210cm instead of 180cm, but I like long scarves so it's good by me :) I cast on 363sts instead of 350sts so maybe my tension is looser than the designers :) 

I love the colours, and it'll match the Jayne Cobb hat I crocheted for myself earlier in the year :)

For the fridge I wrapped yarn around the knits for nerds book width ways and then cut when had enough strands. I attached one of each colour together (3 strands) with a 5mm crochet hook.
Hope some Firefly fans out there love it as much as me :)

Foxy jumper begininngs and plans for the future...

Well I finally started the foxy jumper for Caleb, though I'm altering it slightly as only doing a few rounds of foxes rather than the full jumper :) I'm also knitting it up on 5mm needles with aran yarn to make it a bit bigger so if I take ages to finish it my son will still fit in it, I'm notorious for taking an age with knitted items lol The pattern was published in Knit Now magazine issue 22 and images can be found here Foxy Loxy jumper designed by my friend Joeli who is a wonderful knitter and editor (her blog is here joelis kitchen and I'm totally addicted to seeing what she makes and likes).

For the body I've done 3 rounds of foxes and a couple of cream stripes but other than this the jumper will be mostly brown. I think I've done much better with the colourwork tension but it's still not perfect and as I've changed to solid colour the top looks bigger as not as tight tension, but hoping that'll settle once it's been finished and washed etc.

I've started the first sleeve and have done only one round of foxes, the rest of the sleeves will be brown :) I'm a bit nervous of some of the instructions as never made a jumper in the round but fingers crossed I'll get there lol My son already loves it and has tried the bits on so am guessing he wants it finishing asap lol I'll keep anyone who reads updated as to how it's going lol

As for future plans, my copy of Knits for Nerds has finallly arrived so I can't wait to make things lol I'd def like to try the Jayne Cobb inspired scarf coz it's awesome lol (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library /cunning-scarf-2) and may make a version of the socks but for my little one in his wellies lol 

I also want to make the big bang vest (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/big-bang-girls-sweater-vest) or my friend if I can suss it out lol and find the time lol Love the horrible gloves too (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/horrible-gloves), as well as loads more but these are the items I'd like to make first lol I don't have enough hours in a day to get all these done soon though lol 

Watch this space for updates though lol