Latest knitting project

A few weeks ago, I thought I'd discovered the ideal pattern for some 100% bamboo yarn I purchased, which was on a buy one, get one free offer at the local market. Alas, the yarn and the pattern were not compatible. It happens. So I frogged (ripped apart) the few inches I'd knitted, rewound the yarn, and started looking for a new project.

A few days ago, I found this:


Although the original was knitted up in cotton, the bamboo is proving a nice substitute. It's more or less identical in colour to the cotton yarn shown above, too. I'm making an adjustment or two, though. As I don't possess the nice, slim waistline of the young model in the above image, I'm going to do a few extra repeats of the lace pattern, to make it long enough to cover my middle-age spread. I might experiment, and try to make the neckline slightly lower, too, as I feel it would be more flattering if it was an inch or two lower. Anyway, we'll see.

Panda and cushion

Just thought I'd share a couple of pics of my knitting projects. I completed the panda yesterday. It's the first toy I've ever made, so it's far from perfect. The stitching needs tidying up a bit, but I don't think it's too bad a first effort.


I made the cushion a few days ago, using a fur effect eyelash yarn which was on special offer in the local Wilkinson store. One down, three to go. The yarn looks pretty, but it's not very nice to knit with. And woe betide anyone who drops a stitch - all that fuzz makes it nigh on impossible to find and recover.



Oh well, I've just started a fluffy little white seal in mohair, which I picked up cheap in the market. It's also not much fun to work with, but hopefully, the finished result will look pretty.

Knitting up a storm

The weather is absolutely hideous this evening. There's a nasty gale shrieking in off Mumbles Head, and it's very cold. So I'm curled up in front of the fire, with a big bag of yarn, needles, toy stuffing, beads and various other crafty bits and bobs.

I've got into knitting in a big way recently. I'm not talking scary granny sweaters or twee twin-sets. There is so much that can be achieved with some needles and a few balls of yarn. I learned how to knit as a child, but in those days, yarn arrived in two or three thicknesses, colours were very basic, and texture was unheard of. Nowadays, what you can achieve with knitting is limited only by your imagination - or your bank balance. Have you seen the price on some of the fancy yarns? Scary.

At the moment, I'm working on a knitted toy panda. I have one leg and two eye patches left to knit. Then, I'll have to stuff all the bits, sew them together and stick on some safety eyes. It sounds easy, but the sewing bit is filling me with trepidation. If I'm not careful, I could end up with a very deformed panda!

I found a half-price, white mohair blend yarn at the wool stall in Swansea Market yesterday, so if I manage to assemble the panda correctly (i.e. looking like a panda rather than some alien critter from another world), I'll make a start on knitting a baby seal. The panda's for my friend's little grand-daughter, who's two next month. After the seal, I'm going to attempt some knitted, beaded cakes. They sell for a fair bit on eBay, so if my efforts turn out okay, I'll try to sell a few to raise some funds for the PDSA. Then there were those knitted curtains I liked the look of, the pom-pom rug, knitted bathroom rug set, knitted jewellery, knitted flowers..........

Calling all nutty knitters!

Are any of you ladies - or gentlemen - handy with the knitting needles? If so, and you have a few scraps of wool lying around, how do you fancy making woolly hats for newborn babies in the developing world? Believe it or not, a woolly hat could actually save a baby's life. If you want to find out more, visit Save the Children's Knit One, Save One page. All the details are there, including a downloadable knitting pattern for a hat. And no, this post is not for pay! I just saw an article about this in my local paper, and thought it seemed like a good idea. I'm now off to dig deep into my long-abandoned knitting bag, to see what bits and pieces I have.

Please note: if you do participate, whatever you do, please don't knit any plain white hats. I know babies look cute in them and they're very traditional in many cultures. But in some African cultures, white is the colour of death, so for obvious reasons, a mum wouldn't put a white hat on her baby. Get knitting!