Holly Sea Princess

Kids' Clothes Week just ended and whilst I didn't do much in the way of sewing for my kids, I did get some knitting done. I spent at least an hour a day for the first four days of the week, and finally completed this Sea Princess cardigan for Amélie. The Sea Princess pattern by Elena Nodel, is available from Ravelry, and I recently discovered it is also on Craftsy*.


The pattern comes in sizes from six months through to nine years, and has quite a few options including double or single breasted, different sleeve lengths and shapes, as well as variations on how elaborate the cabling is. I chose long sleeves with the elaborate cables and just one row of buttons. I particularly love the detail on the back.


I knitted the cardigan on my Knit-Pro interchangeable needles from the top down. You knit it all as one piece, so there is no stitching up at the end. It starts below the neckband, and you knit front panel, shoulder, back panel, shoulder, front panel. You keep knitting, back and forth with some increases until you get to the underarm point, where you slip a bunch of stitches off onto a stitch holder for the sleeves, and then join the front and back panels together at the sides. There is a twisty cable that runs down the side "seams" between the front and the back. After you have completed this, and bound off at the bottom, you go back and knit the neckband, and then you knit the remainder of each sleeve in the round. All there is to do after casting off is to tidy up a little under the armpits and weave in all the ends. You can save yourself some trouble by knitting half of those ends in as you go. One of the fun things about knitting on interchangeable needles is that it is easy to try on as you go.


I used Bendigo Classic 8-ply in Holly to knit this cardigan. It comes in 200g balls, and I used about one and a half balls, leaving me 123g of yarn to knit something else. I might mix it up with some grey and knit some stripy hats. We will see. The yarn is only $12 a ball, so quite a reasonable price for good quality yarn.


When I finished knitting, Amélie and I went to the shop and chose some buttons. I picked up some that were red with teddy bears on them, but she wasn't interested in those. It is clear that she has more sophisticated taste than that.

*Affiliate link

My First Beanie

Inspired by a free Cleckheaton knitting pattern from a Spotlight promotion, I decided I was going to knit a beanie. I've never knitted a beanie before, so of course I wanted to give it a go. There were two problems with the pattern from Spotlight. The first problem was that the pattern was too big for Amélie, and secondly, it had a seam up the back. I prefer to avoid seams in knitting where ever I can and love to put my circular needles to good use.

So the search began for a beanie pattern that came in toddler sizes and could be knitted in the round with 8ply yarn. Of course, Ravelry is the place for all things knitty - I am NoahsMummy on there if you want to seek me out. There were lots of free patterns to choose from, but I eventually settled on this Child's Self Striping Hat. Only I didn't go for self-striping, I decided to work in stripes using different coloured yarn, inspired by the original pattern I had seen.

To keep Noah busy (because he needs to be kept out of trouble), I set him to work making me a pom pom. The pom pom is probably a bit on the big side (I guess that depends on how you like your pom poms) and maybe even a little bit too dense, but both of those are my fault.

The stripes were a bit tricky. When you knit with circular needles, you really are knitting a spiral. This means that each time you start a new colour there is a jump, or a jog. To overcome this, I found a youtube tutorial. (I love YouTube for knitting tutorials). Basically, you start the new colour, as normal and start knitting. Once you get back to the start of the round, you pick up the right leg of the stitch beneath, to pull it up in line. You can see from the picture above, that I did struggle to get this right, but I worked it out by the time I got to the top of the beanie.

I may just be a little bit addicted to knitting beanies. They are a great little project and knit up fairly quickly. Perfect for in front of the television on these cold wintery nights, and really good for instant gratification. The stripes could be a great way to use up scraps of left-over yarn as well.

Do you have a favourite knitting project that you like to make?

Lantern Bloom Belle

After I finished my super hero cape, I got stuck into testing the Belle pattern for Nicole Mallalieu of You Sew, Girl! It is one of her earlier patterns, but it has now been re-mastered into a digital download. Nikki has updated her pattern with new techniques that she has improved over the past few years.

I surprised myself with this pattern, managing to complete the entire bag in one day. Usually, after one day, I have a bag cut out and the interfacing fused; so this is quite an achievement for me.

As Nikki says in her blog post, the Belle is the perfect size for a little bit of knitting. Of course, you would need to be using circular needles to be able to fit them in the bag.

If you make the straps from the pattern, rather than using purchased bag handles, they are the perfect size for popping over your wrist and knitting away. So you could knit standing up, or on the train without having to worry about your ball of yarn rolling away.

I used Laura Gunn Lantern Bloom fabric for the exterior, and the lining is Dogwood stripe from the Poppy Collection. I love the way some of the blooms magically joined at the seams, I have used this fabric before, to make my Teardrop Purse.

The best part is that the Belle is digital, so you can download the pattern and get started right away!

For this project I used fabric only from my stash.
SYST13 Running totals: in = 176, out = 66, total = +110

You Socksy Thing!

I finished my socks. Actually, this is old news. I finished them two weeks ago. I knitted these using "David's Toe-Up Sock Cookbook" pattern. This pattern is more like a recipe that helps you custom-make socks that fit your feet. It is availabe as a free down-load on Ravelry. The yarn is Crazy Zauberball in Tropical Fish, that I won from Yarn, Glorious Yarn! I knitted the yarn half-way for the first sock and then used the rest for the other sock. I love the way the colours almost match up, but still are quirkily different.



I'm in love with my new socks. They are way more cosy and warm than any other socks I own. I am a bit of a slow knitter though, and cannot see myself actually being able to keep up with my own sock needs. I'm thinking I'd be wearing them out quicker than I could knit another pair.

Previous posts about my crazy socks:
Sock it to me
Putting My Best Foot Forward
One Step at a Time

Fingers in Pies.....

Jodie says she has so many irons in the fire she could be a blacksmith. Me, I have my fingers in so many pies I could possibly be Little Jack Horner. Starting with a dolly I need to finish before next weekend.



In an effort to head off second-sock-itis, I have started my second tropical fish sock...



Slowly working through my cherry tree swing embroidery...



Trying to keep up with my growing boy and supply him with some long sleeved tee-shirts to keep him warm...



As well as a wind-cheater...



And of all things, a picnic basket make-over.... and I believe I may have promised someone a sashiko tutorial? Busy, busy, busy!

Here's the deal. Let's say I finish at least four of these before I start anything new...

What are you working on? Can you stick to one thing at a time?

One Step at a Time

I finally finished my sock on Friday night. Yes, that's right, sock. Singular. I still have to knit the other one.

The pattern is available free from Ravelry. It's David's Toe-Up Sock Cookbook, and it's great because it allows you to make a sock according to your own measurements. You measure the length of your foot and around the widest part of your foot. You also do a tension swatch to see how many stitches per inch. From this you do a few calculations and fill in the blanks in the pattern. Hey presto, a pattern tailored for your foot.

I cast on following Judy's Magic Cast On as recommended in the instructions. It's a very clever and neat technique. The video demonstrates this technique with one set of circulars using the Magic Loop method, which suits me as that is the method I wanted to use. There is a tail, that needs to be woven in at the end, but I think when I do the other sock, I will knit it into the sock along with the working yarn. I must confess that I just remembered now that I haven't yet woven that end in. It's on the inside of the sock though, so no-one can see it. Oops!

For the increases, I just worked into the front and back of the stitches I was increasing on. There is another method suggested that is supposed to be neater, but with the busy yarn I was using, I felt there wasn't going to be much difference, and it looks fine. If I were to knit with a plainer yarn, I pobably would try the other method.

When I did the short rows for the heels, I could really see the difference in my tension between purl and knit. At the very beginning of constructing the sock, when David tells you to do the swatch, he says to knit it in the round, but doesn't actually say why. When you knit in the round, all your stitches are knit stitches. When you knit back and forth, to get stocking stitch, one row is plain, then the other purl. Since they are different stitches they have different tensions. I can really see the difference in the heel. My tension here is way tighter than the rest of the sock. I guess I am more relaxed knitting plain?



I made a bit of a boo-boo at the top of the heel flap. One side of the sock worked perfectly, the other not so much. Of course, I took the picture above with the bad side showing. You might notice the little hole? Right at the top of the yellow strip below the ankle? The other side is perfect :D Hopefully I will get both sides right when I knit the other sock.

To make my sock more exciting than just stocking stitch, I worked the top of the foot and the leg in a kind of rib. Three plain, one purl. I basically then kept going until I was half way through the yarn. I used my kitchen scales to check it the weight of the ball periodically, and then, when I was close I just unwound the amount I had left until I was half way. I will just knit the other sock to match. If you do it this way, it is a good idea to weigh the yarn before you start. My ball actually weighed 103g. I made sure that my leftover ball weighed 53g. I started the rib at the top of the sock when it weighed 57g. I should theoretically have about 3g left over when I am done. Better than running out and ending up with one sock shorter than the other!

For casting off, I used this method, sort of. I'm not sure if you are supposed to just do it in knit or purl, but I did it matching my knit, purl, knit, purl rib. I found the knit stitches a little tricky to be honest. David mentions a tubular cast off, I might try that on my next pair of socks. (Ummm... once I know what that is) The cast off I used is nice and stretchy, and looks fine though.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my sock. The only issue is that the sock has no shaping above the ankle. It is a little tight over my calves. It fits ok, but could be a little looser. I would recommend that if you intend to make a longer sock, unless you have nice, skinny legs,(lucky you), then you might want to do a bit of increasing part way up the leg. I wasn't really sure about how to do this without messing up my stitch pattern.

Putting my best foot forward

I have passed the heal on my first sock. (More details here) My plan is to knit them as far as 50g of yarn will get me, so I have enough for a second sock of the same size. The yarn is beautiful, it is certainly a contrast to the grey wintery skies outside today. It is my most colourful knitting project to date, and maybe the brightest socks I will have owned since I was seven? I mostly stick with black and navy, so this is pretty out-there for me. Fun to knit, though.

What's happening in your Creative Space this week? Are you knitting? Sewing? Something else? Would you wear hand-knitted or brightly coloured (or both) socks? See what everyone else is doing, over here.

Sock it to me

You might remember a few weeks ago, I won a voucher from Yarn, Glorious Yarn. I was a bit over-whelmed by all the pretty yarn, but eventually, I decided what to get - four balls of Schoppelwolle Zauberball. I was really tempted by some Tilli Tomas Disco Lights, but I really can't see myself wearing sequins anytime soon, so I gave it a miss. My plans are to knit a pair of socks, and a wrap, and then decide what to do with the rest of the yarn after that.


Zauberball - Flair


Zauberball - Stone-washed


Crazy Zauberball - Tropical Fish


Crazy Zauberball - der Lenz

I have started knitting a test swatch, using some tropical fish, so that I can get started on "David's Toe-Up Sock Cookbook", available as a free download on Ravelry. This pattern is a "recipe" for toe-up socks with any yarn, to fit any foot. I need to work out my gauge before I get started.



Having never knitted socks before, this is all new to me. Did you know that you can knit two socks at once using two sets of circular needles? It is said to combat "Second-sock-syndrome". Have you knitted socks before? Do you have any advice for me? Do you prefer to knit toe-up, or top down? One at a time or two at once? Do you have a favourite sock pattern? Do you knit them for yourself, or for other people?

Check out what everyone else is doing in their Creative Spaces this week.

Happy (belated) Mothers' Day

Ok, so it's been more than a week since Mothers' Day, but I've finally gotten around to blogging about it. I've been wanting to make one of these knitting needle rolls for myself, and I will, but thought mum might like one to get her needles all organised too.



I followed this tutorial, but I made a mistake when cutting out the fabric. When I was supposed to cut two pieces of the main fabric 16" x 15" I managed to cut one of them 15" x 15". So then I decided that I would use it for the outer bit and splice in the contrast fabric instead of over-laying it. So I did that, making it bigger than it needed to be, and trimmed it back and then MADE IT TOO SMALL AGAIN!!! So I added those bits at the top and bottom, hahahaha. Let's just say it was a lesson in "Measure twice, cut once". Or even a series of lessons....



Anyway, I had a great Mothers' Day. The kids all slept in. AMAZING! Then I had breakfast in bed, where I was gifted Ferrero Rocher, fluffy slippers and some snap-dragon seedlings for the garden. (Any idea why the boys chose snapdragons?) We then went out to visit my mum on the farm and had a lovely roast dinner. We have had a few really beautiful, sunny days since Mothers' Day, which have seen me out in the garden, planting my seedlings and bulbs and moving around some rose bushes, and (ahem) not updating my blog....

What did you do for Mothers' Day? Did you get fluffy slippers and chocolates too? Did you visit your mother?

Yarn, Glorious Yarn!

Knitting Weather

It is supposed to be Summer here, but we've had a lot of knitting weather lately. I've been enjoying the *Dr Who re-runs being played on the ABC and have taken the opportunity to get Amélie's cardigan finished.



This **Kina Cardigan is knitted using Bendigo's Spring Cotton in Spring Rose, which is a beautiful deep pink.



I knitted a size 12 months, and from one 200g ball of yarn, I have about 80g left. Enough for another little project I have in mind...

*Link relevant to Australia only, all episodes already played are still on iView if you need to catch up!
**The website is in French, but the pattern is in English - Google Translate is wonderful for translating French to English

Raspberries & Cream

Sorry it's been so quiet around here lately. After Blogtoberfest I felt like I needed a bit of a break. I managed to blog every single day for the entire month of October. I then sat down and got started on this Kina Cardigan for Amélie.



Carolyn gifted Amélie and I this yarn quite some time back and I had actually started another project. I decided that the other pattern needed some solid colour and that it just would not work with all these colours. When I saw Elodie modeling her new baby Kina on Corrie's blog, I knew it was the right pattern for this yarn.



I did have to navigate a French web-site to order the pattern, I know about as much French as the next (non-French) person, so Google translate donc venu à mon secours.



Eleven days later, I popped the finished cardigan on my little girl. It's taken me until today to take some photos in decent light, but here are the original photos, taken right after I finished.



I've popped this on Ravelry as well, if you are on there and would like a few more details. I'm NoahsMummy on there.

Little Red Riding Hood Puppet Show

I love the Oliver + S Puppet Show tunic and shorts pattern. I have made two already in some lovely Heather Ross Far, Far Away double gauze. The double gauze is lovely and soft and drapey and perfect for babies. Which leads me to a question. Why did subsequent releases of FFA2 and FFA3 not have double gauze? And why, why, why has the Oliver + S Puppet Show pattern been discontinued? It must be one of the most heavily sought after patterns.



Anyway, this time I opted to make the Puppet Show outfit, using some Kokka Trefle and a nice red quilter's cotton. The Trefle is a cotton-linen blend, and the shorts have lovely structure. The print is of Little Red Riding Hood, which I love. I'm thinking I might have a bit of a penchant for Fairy-tale themed fabrics for my little girl. I went with the tunic length so that Amélie may be able to crawl in it. Just a little.



Oh, and there are those shoes that I made (IN LEATHER!) in action. I can't take credit for the cardigan though. I love the lacy edge. That was a lucky hand-me-down from Amélie's cousin, and knitted by my Mother in Law, Di. Thank you. It's still way too cold to be wearing that outfit at this time of year without a cardigan and tights.

Look What the Postman Brought!

I was very surprised to find the postman at the door with a parcel the other day. This beautiful Olearia was gifted to my baby, Amélie, by Susan of The Brissmiths. It is hand-knitted from lovely, lovely Bendigo yarn. It is a little large at the moment, but I think it works just nicely over the top of a dress for now.

My Creative Space - a dash of pink knitting

A couple of weeks ago, I had a lovely blogger friend come and visit me and meet my new baby, Amélie. We enjoyed some *Roast Pumpkin and Basil Fritatta for lunch and I was left with these lovely balls of wool to knit something for Amélie with. I'm trying out something with a bit of a fancy edge, but I'm not sure if it's going to work well with the variegated yarn - we'll see how it goes....

for more creative spaces, visit Kirsty.

*I may come back and post the recipe for that some time

My Creative Space goes portable

We have just returned from a lovely holiday, visiting family. Since taking the sewing machine was never going to work out, I took along Liam's jumper to finish.

For more Creative Spaces, visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo.