Some kinda magic

I used to have a manager at work who though that knitting was some kind of magic - he used to describe it as something along the lines of twiddling about with string and ending up with something you can wear!

Yep, I guess that about sums it up.

So cast your mind back to last month's bits of string i.e. my yarn purchases from St Ives.

I've been twiddling - or more specifically, knitting - and now 2 of the finished scarves are listed in my Etsy shop just in time for the early winter we're forecast to get this year!

The first scarf uses the soft and cosy James C. Brett Passion yarn.

This is so colourful I'm finding it hard to keep it out of both my daughters' grasp!

It's a lovely chunky scarf which shows off both the lace stitch pattern and the colour graduations beautifully.

The second scarf has the most beautiful colours, I just couldn't resist buying this yarn! It's the King Cole Riot, also super soft and non-itchy.

I chose a slightly different stitch pattern, but stayed with the ripple effect. I just love the way it highlights the colour transitions.

The crochet flower button fastening is completely removable. I sewed a long thin button across the back so it can be threaded through the scarf layers wherever you choose - or used on a different scarf altogether.

As for the third scarf - watch this space!

Hubble bubble...

The dye pot's been busy again!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sophie!

Today is my little niece Sophie's birthday - she's 2 years old!

I won't get to see her but we sent a parcel of goodies including

Sophie's present - a sweet little poncho as requested by her mum.

I first knitted one of these for her sister Sara two years ago - she's still wearing it and apparently the girls were arguing over it, with Sophie deciding that she wants it for herself!

Her mum asked for a pink and green combination so it's different to Sara's but still co-ordinates with the vast quantities of pink clothing that Sophie has.

I used a combination of Sirdar Summer Stripes and Stylecraft Special Twirl DK yarns knitted together for the bosy, with Sirdar New Fizz for the edging and the Summer Stripes yarn for the flowers around the neckline.

Full details can be found in Ravelry, but I'll include the pattern here too:

Use Summer Stripes and Special Twirl yarn together throughout on 7mm needles.

1. Cast on 3 sts
2. Inc 1, knit to end
3. Repeat 2 until 80 sts
4. Knit 27, cast off 26, knit 27
5. Knit 27, cast on 26, knit 27
6. K2tog, knit to end
7. Repeat 6 until 3sts remain
8. Cast off
9. Crochet around neck edge with double yarns
10. Crochet around outer edge with New Fizz yarn
11. Crochet flowers with Summer Stripes yarn and sew around neckline

All done!

Rediscovering tie dye

Many years ago I used to be made for tie-dye clothing - tops, skirts, leggings, the lot. It worked well with the tight jeans and leather jacket biker chick thing at the time!

That was all long forgotten until a distant memory inspired me to transform a couple of forlorn summer tops in my wardrobe.

I had bought these in a bargain offer from Matalan a couple of years ago. There were 3 for some silly price - so I bought one each in white, turquoise, and pink. I'd hardly worn them as the straps were just that bit too long, which meant I was forever hitching them up at the bust!

This summer I finally got round to unpicking the straps at the back, shortening them and sewing them back on. Great! I wore them a couple of times, but still knew I'd wear the coloured ones more if they were patterned...

Enter 1 sachet of Dylon cold dye in "Vibrant Purple", 3 rubber bands per top, 250grams of salt, and a saucepan of cold water. 

One hour of dyeing later, plus almost another hour of much rinsing, these are the results!

I gathered the pink one lengthways and wrapped the rubber bands around sideways.

With the blue one I did the more traditional circle tie-dye where you grab a piece of the clothing and pull it upwards, wrapping the rubber band around so the whole thing ends up looking a bit like a jester's hat!

I love them and have worn them so much already. Now my eldest has seen the results, she wants to have a go too. It's a great (and cheap) way to transform plain tops - so why not grab a couple in the sales and have a go yourself?!

Destash time

I'm clearing all my glass seed and bugle beads that are too small for my requirements - basically anything that's too small to thread onto 4ply yarn!

I have bagged up various colourways such as this selection of blues and greens.

You can find all the available ones in the Destash section of my Etsy shop.