Weekend Knitting

Continuing with my "Selfish Knits" I am working on a cowl for me, in grey cashmere merino. Its going to be one of the Stockholm Scarves as pictured beside. Isn't the designer pretty? I love the colour of hers as well, but I already own the grey so I thought why not!

I am in LOVE with it! Its easy to knit, but with so many stitches if you make it maybe use a post it note or a little sticky tab thing to mark which row you are on! Then you can happily put it down and not have to try to figure out what you were just doing!



I'm loving my new stitch markers that I blogged before about, from Spindle Cat Studio, and want to use more, but for this project you really only need one! Today I went to the post office to collect a parcel which was these stitch markers from Scary Merry ! Now I think I am tempted to put stitch markers in my knitting where they aren't even needed!

My family have a slight obsession with owls, and I am no exception. I got to pet a few in my life (human raised ones, wild owls aren't so friendly!) and my friend works at Bird World here in England so he let me pet the barn owl and then let me feed the penguins and then we pet one that was molting! Anyway, I digress! 

I'd love to see what sort of selfish knitting you're up to! (Or Gifts too, those are alright sometimes! hehe)

Quit my job and knit all day

I really should marry rich. My current boyfriend agrees with me as well. He wishes he could marry rich. Shame we've fallen for each other. He dreams of opening a coffee cafe, with sandwiches and soups and coffee late while pubs are open to give an option for those who want to socialise somewhere a bit different.

I want to run a knitting shop, offering lessons and such a variety of yarns it would make your mind boggle. Or just stay home and knit all day while a maid cleans the house and I laze about watching movies (I dont really like daytime tv) and knitting, knitting, knitting.

Back to reality I have done some selfish and some non-selfish knittings and finished many'o'projects. It is funny that the two for me are the same colour. I had started the fingerless (as previous blog) and then got the yarn for the full mittens for Christmas.

S

Bella's Mittens - Pattern free on Ravelry. The yarn used is Rowan Cocoon in Seascape. Its a wonderful colour and does make you think of the deep dark sea. The pattern is quite fitted on the hand so I used a slightly bigger needle. If you want more info you can find me on ravelry under Sheenaknitsuk. :) 

Autumnal Mittens for the boss - Pattern also free on Ravelry. She received a pair for Christmas, and now has asked for this colour and a dark brown, but I haven't been able to find a nice dark brown at this time of year in a yarn that I like... I'll keep looking. She might get them next year instead!

Autumnal Mittens in Alpaca, for me. These mittens in this yarn is irresistible. Get any baby alpaca yarn, DK, in the colour of your choice and go on Ravelry, get this pattern and knit away. Seriously. If you do anything in 2012 knitting related it should be this. Easy, fast and soooooo scrummy. These were meant to go into my Etsy shop and I love them too much to bear to part with them. That's how wonderful they are. 

I got this yarn for 5 pounds and it's the King Cole Alpaca one. If you're in the UK you can buy this yarn from Modern Knitting online. I use them a lot as they seem to be cheaper than other online shops and have a good selection.

PB Whoopie Pies

What is a whoopie pie? That was my question reading the Hummingbird Bakery's Cake Days cook book. The pies I get, the cakes, the cupcakes, but something that takes a whole jar of marshmallow fluff? Really?

Until you try them! I made the Peanut Butter Chocolate ones and they were great! A bit denser than a cupcake, and a bit drier than a brownier (perhaps because I made them smaller than they tell you to but only cooked them one or two mins less!). I added two table spoons of smooth peanut butter to the book's recipe for the icing/marshmallow filling and it was amazing!!!

So much for that!

Sometime in the early 2000s I realised the best New Years Resolution ever. I resolved to never make another NY resolution again. 


And I've kept it. 


So anything I want to do I start on any day of the year I feel and try to keep it up. Now its' a good thing I didn't make my selfish knitting a resolution. It lasted about a day. I've already begun something for the boyfriend, have yet to finish the teal alpacas (sorry mitts!), and I've begun a pair of baby booties for a friend's little baby. 


As soon as I saw these in Debbie Bliss Winter 2011 I wanted to make them and I've had the yarn for ages, so finally I've gotten around to it! Here are Debbie Bliss' booties.... 

And here are mine.... 

A bit of work, a bit of sewing up and the ears and my first one will be done! They were a bit tricky, so they aren't for beginners but I hope the effort pays off! 

2012, the year of the selfish knits

Since I have started knitting - only a year a half ago - I have actively knit for others. I have done some things for myself, like the Owl Sweater and some random projects but I still wear store bought mittens, a hat, scarves, I tend to use my own projects as learning curves and keep them more out of necessity that no one else would want them than them really being for me. 


My hot water bottle cover was the first thing for me. Since then I have knit a few things for my Etsy shop and considered making things for specific other people. I like making things for people and seeing them enjoy the gift... but maybe this year I should make things for me? I could learn some socks, do some sweaters, finally use that white and grey cashmere merino wool I bought last year for a shawl or something useless and lovely. 


Enter the teal alpaca mittens. I made a pink pair of these for my co-worker and loved them while I knit, so when I started the teal I could already picture them on my own hands. Currently they lie in my Finished Box, without thumbs. 

Why the finished box? So that I don't finish them and have to sell them. I want to keep them. But I don't need another pair, I already have a fingerless mitten that I actually made (first time knitting in the round, first time doing colour work, first time ribbing, I learned a lot on those mittens and to be honest they still aren't cast off properly!). 


Tomorrow I will finish my item for my Etsy shop (HWB cover, what else) and then finish these teal mittens... but tell me, do I have to sell them??? 


Alpaca is amazing. Knit with pure alpaca as soon as you can. Go buy some now. Make these mittens. Really.... Really... YOU MUST!

Accessorise your knitting...

I bought myself a present after Christmas as it was on my wish list and no one else bought it for me! Stitch markers for my knitting!


I cannot wait to start a project that uses these babies! They're delicate and adorable but quite sturdy. This is where I bought them! And they only took two weeks to arrive from the US, which isn't bad at all!

Now the question, what should I make?! 

Heart Hot Water Bottle

It's done! I have to get some better pictures before I put it on Etsy, but thought I would share with you first!  This is made out of Debbie Stoller's Worsted Pure Wool.  I have it listed on Etsy without a hotwater bottle, but it fits a 1.5L water bottle. Here is where it is listed in my shop. 

(This is the finished product, the pattern is a little while away, but I am working on that too!)

I'm already planning my next one!!!  I plan on having some more things posted in time for Valentines...