Magpie Chart

f you would like to have a go at the Magpie Wrist-ees from my recent swap package you will need the original Robin pattern by Tiny Owl Knits.

The chart here is the one that I made up for the knit, with the eye made from a french knot and the beak from a few satin stitches. At the last moment I added a couple of lines of stitching to outline the bird, but you could leave those out. I stuck to the original pattern for the nest, just adding some brown flecks to the eggs and  then stitching on an assortment of odd beads, ribbons, small buttons etc for the nest.

To print off the chart at a larger scale click on it to enlarge before printing.

Giddy with Excitement

xcited? You bet!

There I was checking my emails when I came across one from Cookie A, some spaces had opened up on this years sock club and I was on the waiting list. Before I knew it, with no level of self control at all, click, click and yahoo, I'm in.

Do I really need to be in another club? No, but its Cookie A's: yarn, two patterns each time and a cookie recipe evidently. Baking and knitting, what could be more perfect? I might be insane with excitement by the time the first installment crosses the pond!!!

Menagerie of Animals Knit Love Swap

So, the parcel was sent, and ended up with i-make a keen crafter so here's what I included:

This felted owl pincushion wristband, where I followed the pattern up to the eyes which I enlarged with discs of felt.

and these are an adaptation of Tiny Owl's 'Sweet Robin Wrist-ees' which I decided to adapt a little to make a magpie and nest complete with trinkets: beads, buttons, ribbons and a dangley bit from a broken necklace. I also included the channel island cast on which Alice introduced to us in last year's Knit Love Club and seemed appropriate as these were off to Guernsey.

Evidently magpie's love to collect shiny things and have a song that's described as a 'chatter' which just seemed right somehow for my swapee who has a blog and podcast about a whole range of gorgeous crafting activities.

The bought elements were packed up alongside the made and it has all been posted off and my fingers were crossed that I'd picked well.

Phew, she was very pleased with the package! Hurrah!

Animal Swap

I've organised a swap for the Knit Love Sock Club over on Ravelry. It's been keeping me rather busy and I can't yet put anything up here about the parcel I'm sending off because its all hush hush!

It has an animal theme open to interpretation with the aid of the questionnaire reply from the allocated swap partner. So, here's what I've made to send off this week:

Nothing to see here I'm afraid, not until 'she' gets it!

Nice Stash Prize

Lucky, lucky me... this is what I reecieved in the post recently as a prize for my Advent Challenge win (the recyled birds). It's a very nice skein of walkers sock yarn in a soft heathery shade of lilac/greyish which I shall now deliberate over to make something lush from.

Another Hat

After all those hats, I decided to make myself another one using some Colinette Art that was sitting looking at me. It was an entirely made up as I went along job, but this time I made some notes as I went along. I intend to write them up as a pattern at some point soon. I was after something that would  show off the wool which seemed likely to disguise a complex pattern. So this is what I came up with:

Hats and More Hats

I've been knitting hats for my SIL who is battling her way through Chemo. It seems a vaguely useful thing to do when there's frustratingly little that you can do. The good news is that she is just over hjalf way and things are looking good. She is a tower of strength and very much a lesson to all of us.

This first one is a Tretta Hat knitted in some beautiful Skein Queen Opulent cashmere which was very kindly donated to me by a fellow Knit Love club member.

This one was a lovely pattern to knit: a cotton Coline

and finally a Pi Topper in some nice silk yarn which between them should cope with all levels of chemo induced sensitivity I hope. This then led on to further hats emerging:

A Woolly Wormhead Brownie, sized up for my daughter and minus ear flaps

A further Tretta with beads for my mum

and finally a made up as you go along style hat for me.