Rainbow winter warmers

 

I bought this beautifully dyed sparkly yarn from ALDI. It was such a surprise to see a lovely color like this , that too, in a supermarket. It was a turkish yarn and I tried out doing cables for the first time with this hat and cowl pattern. I took the pattern from ravelry but again I did this last year and did not note down which pattern I used. I hope to be improve with details like these as I regularly blog. The colors really spoke to me on this one. Everytime I wear it, I feel myself cheering up! I bought another ball as well variegated between pink,green and purple. I will be making something with that soon.

Russian Doll

A russian Doll crochet yet again from LGC. I love the toys from this magazine and always look forward to making them whenever I get my hands on a new issue. This was an amazing issue as I made two toys from it. The elephant and this doll.

You looking at me?

This has been the most challenging toy I have crocheted. It was really an amazing project though. From LGC this helped me learn a few good tricks specially in making the feathers.

He always looks like he is deep in thought. I wonder if toys have personalities. This one certainly is a character.

Circling Around

I made this chain link headband from an issue of LGC I thought a crochet headband would be a great idea. Unfortunately, I don't know what I did wrong but this headband twists around itself every time I wear it.
So not that useful but I am using it as a curtain tie now instead. It was a colourful project though.

Raspberry hat

I visited a yarn and sewing store in Canterbury called The Sewing Shop.
It is a cute shop and has a lot of beautiful yarns as well as fabrics. I bought this Raspberry yarn and made a hat from it. I unfortunately do not remember the name of this yarn now.I loved the color of this raspberry yarn and wanted to try my hand at making a hat using the cloche pattern at Hopeful Honey. I love her patterns.

Will make a note of yarns for future projects. I do need to start adding projects on Ravelry too. It is on my todo list.

What did the fox say?

This is Finlay the Fox from the Knit Now magazine . I have not done interstitia before and this was a tricky one for me. I am not sure I completely understand the process yet but I did enjoy making this one.

The transitions from orange to white are still a little unclean but I think he looks cute.The way the ears are knit helped me with the color transitions which I do always need practice.I think I should have done the embroidery for the mouth and nose before stuffing it. But I will be more careful next time.
I will probably try another interstitia pattern for a mug cozy with hearts for valentines day.

Two Stranded Fair Isle knit

I tried the continental method of knitting before attempting this just because I wanted to try the fair isle while holding one color in each hand and knit continental for one color and english for the other color. It was not easy and follwing the pattern at the same time was a big challenge.

I am still very clunky with continental knitting but hopefully will get better with time. This is a good accessory for autumn and I will be whipping it out to add some cheer for evening walks in the park.

Parisian Gypsy Scarf

I love to get yarn from places I visit on my travels and try to expand my yarn vocabulary.On a recent trip to Paris I visited a really lovely store called La droguerie. It is situated on Rue du Jour and looks like just a small little store from the street.

But on entering it you realise how magical it is. There are rows of bamboo yarn dyed in lovely bright colors that lead the way to the inner section of the store.It is a beautiful store with wooden shelves and loads of craft goodies. Rows and rows of buttons and lace. Lots of sewing embellishments.
They did have some really lovely beads and jewellery findings.

The staff is really helpful and cheerful. I don't speak any french but everyone spoke english to me and I was able to get what I need.

I bought this gypsy scarf kit which had everything you need to make it.

 

I was so excited when I bought it.There are three balls of bamboo yarn as well as a fabric yarn which gives a lovely texture. Once I opened the box I realised the instructions are all in French!

 I looked at the Chez Plum post on translating patterns from french and it really helped.

Basically its a triangle scarf so adding a couple of stitches at the end of every other row works well. For the fabric yarn rows, you need to wrap the yarn around twice to knit and then on the next row while knitting you need to drop one of the two loops and knit. I love the tassle detail in this one.
It has been a summer staple for me :)

Simply Sheepish.

One of the first toys I made is Barbara the Sheep from Let's Knit easter issue 2014 . I thought the boucle yarn would be a little difficult to work with but it was awesome. I loved the kit as it had eyes as well which really helps define the toys and I did not have any in my stash. I did not have proper toy filler when I made this though so improvised with cotton wool so it did deflate a little.

I do love Barbara. She is so inspiring. She helped me along on my knitting journey and encourages me to make new toys. Someday I hope to make my own toy patterns too.

Glittery Scarf from Sirdar Glam Frilly

I went to the The Knitting and Stitching Show in Spring 2015 and bought ball of Sirdar Glam Frilly Scarf Knitting Yarn. It looked so scrumptious I could not resist.My first attempt at this yarn was a mixed experience. Although I love the end product I did not enjoy making this as much. The yarn is a little fiddly even though the process is straightforward.Just need to slip on 4 sections of the yarn as 4 cast ons and then knit 4. Continue till end. I do wear it on cool evenings. Its a fun fashion make and is a great joy to wear.

Scarf upcycle to sling bag

I bought a small hobbycraft sewing machine  and gave it a whirr to make this shoulder bag. On a walk through Portabello Road Market one rainy and cold Saturday I bought this scarf for a pound.I just took it apart and made this bag. I folded it to make the body of the bag and used the rest to make the shoulder strap. The fringe was already on the bag and so I left it on and it added a nice detail to the flap. I love bags!

Cuddle Toys for some cute cuddly kids!

I love crafting for friends and a handmade gift is a pleasure to share.Made for children of two of my friends. I used the pattern from LGC issue 69. I loved the colors of the yarn and even though its for a 3mm crochet hook and I did think it will take longer,they were made in a jiffy. The kids loved them and were squishing and cuddling them and even pulling the arms but everything stayed put.So these were child tested and passed with flying colors.