Bunny Nuggets

I got into knitting these adorable 'Bunny Nuggets' whilst traveling to and from George over December...I made a few for Christmas presents (for my niece {she got a pink one}, nephew & my cousin's little boy). Of course I've kept one for myself :)


Find the pattern here

Rachel Denny

I was looking for a pattern to crochet a bumble bee & stumbled on Rachel Denny's website. How unbelievably cool is this?! :

She has also made the most beautiful knitted bunnies (see her website's recent work) & other animals. I just love the trophees though -

"Denny is best known for her “Domestic Trophies” work—deer heads covered in cozy cashmere cable knit woolens and the like."

I'll take the pink one, please!

Knit Felting Again

Did I write yet that I also have a nephew on the way? My brother Stan & wife Karen will be giving birth to a baby boy (Joshua David) some time in September....and so I have started knitting for him! I have started with some felted slippers (similar to the ones I made for Grace) which I will embroider something onto as soon as they are dry. Perhaps a train...or a doggie or a spider :)

I have no idea about what will fit babies or when these will fit him...I suppose one has to just trust the pattern! I used the Elle Marino Solids this time round. It hasn't felted quite as thickly as the ones I made for Grace (yarn spun by a local spinner) so they are a little bigger than the others...

...perhaps they will still shrink a little more with drying (?)

Felted Slippers for Grace

I knitted these slippers (for my sister's soon to be born baby girl, Grace) on our trip to George and back & felted them last week...I'm quite chuffed with how they turned out! I've actually added pink felted hearts with green buttons in the centres which I've added to both sides...I'll get a shot of her wearing them one day and post it.

...and with hearts and buttons added:

I'm busy with some blue ones for my brother & his wife's little boy who will be born in September....will post pics when I'm done!

Still Getting Started...

I started knitting a crochet blanket because the Moxy ones are a little bit beyond my budget & I've never seen one that I like the colours of [plus the actual truth of the matter is that I like to make things myself!]

I got started with some lovely Elle Homespun & some other bits and pieces I'd used for something else (I bought 3 balls (Elle Gold Chunky)of the grey for R10 each from the sale bin at The Wool Boutique in Fish Hoek...I had bought the pink, blue and green (Elle Gold Aran) to knit some baby stuff. Then T'Neal suggested I edge all the blocks in one colour. I managed to match up the colour of the centres with an Elle Traditional Aran Knit in the perfect cream!

Introducing Yuliya Nilssen

My very very talented friend, Yulia Nillsen asked me to design a logo for her & I am in LOVE with her knitting! ...so we did an exchange: I designed her logo & business card... & she made me a pair of slippers such as the ones pictured! They have leather soles which is great as they are non-slip (brilliant because we have cold cement floors!)

You can visit her website here and place an order for your own pair!

I also got a house stone from her *(brilliant as we were looking for something to stop our front door from bashing against the entrance mirror!)...She has painted the most exquisitly imaginitive designs on river stones (see the pic below!)

FIrst Crochet Hat :)

T'Neal sporting my first crochet hat!

Things got a little crazy about a 1/2 second later...

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My Ouma's Needles

The best package I have received in a long time....

The story:
My Ouma was a compulsive knitter! ...we used to joke that she wouldn't need to wear gloves to perform a robbery because she had no fingerprints left on some of her fingers. She had 'knitted them off'! I've Googled this and it doesn't seem to have happened to other people -- or at least they haven't posted anything about it online! (We discovered that her fingerprints were missing when she went to renew her drivers licence one year! )

Some of my first clothes were knitted by my Ouma (who was one of the first people to hold me when I was born)...I remember FREEZING Beaufort West evenings with the smell of the paraffin heater & the click of Ouma's knitting needles working their latest creation... Tea always brewing through the day -- sitting around her kitchen table hoping she would offer us the 'secret tin' (a tin which contained a wonderful selection of delights of which we were only allowed to choose one, once a day!)....and always the balls of wool and the wonderfully colourful selection of knitting needles.

I've been doing so much knitting -- and it feels as though my Ouma is with me in a very special place in my heart & thoughts when I knit. I've been missing her terribly (she passed away a number of years ago)...

About 2 weeks ago I asked my mother whatever happened to my Ouma's knitting needles....and as it turned out, they were passed on to my aunt...who, when contacted, turned out not to be knitting much & happy to send me Ouma's needles!

And so, they arrived with my Mom & Dad on Friday! They look amazing in my 'Needle Keeper' & I am happy to report I have used 3 pairs already! :)

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Needle Keeper

I found this cool idea on a website of somebody who had adapted a pair of old jeans and an old shirt into a holder to keep their knitting & crochet needles in.....so on Friday (public holiday) I set to work designing & making my own version out of upholstery fabric, ribbon & trimmings in my sewing cupboard! I'm SO happy with the results! :

Granny Mittens :)

These are my 'Granny Mittens'. I used a pattern adapted from a free Ravelry download pattern for the gloves as well as for the leaves :)

books.google.com & knitterings

I recently discovered http://books.google.com/

What GENIUS!!! A place where one can pre-view books & learn a little something along the way to finding out if its the right book to order. How I discovered this was through looking for easy crochet and knitting patterns. Yes. The knitting gene seems to have reared its head & taken hold of all my spare time.....

It all started with a ball of silken wool I bought in Thailand... and then the knitted bus I blogged about a while ago...and then I found the most incredible and silly modern-retro book on knitting at the bargain book shop for R40!! ...and then! I discovered 'The Wool Boutique' in Fish Hoek main road. Its all downhill from there! I have a really cool basket from Geoff's shop to keep my project materials in & I've been knitting up a STORM!! ...even knitted all the way to and back from the Karoo this past weekend!

My Ouma knitted so much in her life that she literally did not have fingerprints left. We got bed-socks and jerseys every Christmas and birthday. I miss her with all my heart. I can't help feeling close to her when I'm indulging in my knitting...

I was browsing around to try and find my knitting book (called 'Knitorama')

and found this lady posing for a pattern in a fully knitted outfit...

She looks like she cant wait to get out of that outfit!!
"please get the photograph taken so I can get out of this Cheshire Cat suit!!"

...and now to try and get hold of a copy of Hookorama!

Rachael Matthews (author) is a new hero!

Knitter

Colleen sent me this via email -- Nice Monday-Morning-Surprise!

How mal is this?:















Knitters turn to graffiti artists with 'yarnbombing'
Graffiti artists have added a new tool their traditional aerosol cans – knitting needles and a ball of wool.

Hundreds of knitters around the world have begun wrapping their huge woolly creations around public property like trees, street signs and lampposts. They then take photos of their colourful "art" and post them on internet sites for fellow knitters to view and comment on. One of the most ambitious pieces of work saw a woman spend an entire week covering a disused single decker bus in colourful swatches. The phenomenon, called Yarnbombing, is thought to have originated in the US but knitters are now beginning to cover British streets in woollen 'tags'....read more HERE AT THE SOURCE. [telegraph.co.uk]

Whatever next?

More on knitting HERE