YOTD: Robin Chunky

Hello All!! Hope you are all having a great day!! Happy Wednesday!! Work with me dear readers whilst I get this blog all sorted. My work computer is not happy at the moment so posts are a bit thin on the ground, but I promise to get them sorted this weekend. I have a few ideas for the blog, as I started originally writing it for me to share what is going on in my life too, where this journey is taking me, and now I want to work on that part too, not just the YOTD and POTD. I promise to have everything up and running by the weekend. In the meantime, enjoy this yummy yarn and ladybird (yep keep scrolling!!!)

Today's YOTD is Robin Chunky. This is a great basic budget chunky yarn that can be used for pretty much everything. The yarn comes in 100g balls and you get 140 metres on the ball, which is great for chunky yarn. Its tension is over 10cm on 6.5mm needles and is 14sts over 20 rows. A ball from Deramores will cost £1.99 and I paid this too in my LYS, Pats in Lordswood. It is 100% Acrylic yarn.

Now this isnt the best picture of the yarn, but that is because this is probably one of the most used things I have ever made. This is the close up shot of the big ladybird footrest I made. Actually it looks fantastic now even though it has been used for over a year. The Blattman has his head on it as I type actually. I am so pleased with the final result with this yarn. I normally knit in DK as you can probably tell, but this ladybird has to be in the top ten of all the things I have made, and the yarn does help that. It was so easy to work with, gave a great result and has really worn well.

Here he is from above, and below is the front of him, looking at you. The black and the red are Robin Chunky, and the white on this is actually DK, and my mother's fantastic crochet skills, and she made this up as she went along, and I think he looks fantastic.She made the eyes on this ladybird. She was just as happy with the yarn as I was. The pattern came from Knit Today magazine from the UK and I believe it was issue 46 but I will check on that.

This took me about 10 hours to finish this guy, and the yarn was so easy to work with and didn't split at all. A great acrylic budget yarn for this project, and I would most certainly use this yarn again. Love it. It is also wonderfully machine washable!!

At Deramores, they have 20 colours in stock. You are looking at Cherry Red (042) and Raven (044). There are also 3 varigated colours as well as the 17 solid colours.

Have a great day all!!

YOTD: Jaeger Pure Silk DK

Hi Everyone!! Hope you are all having a great day!! Happy Monday to you all!! Another beautiful day here in Kent, so hopefully you are having a lovely day too

Today's YOTD is Jaeger Pure Silk DK. I was lucky to be bought three balls of this by my Grandma who saw them in an odd ball bin and I absolutely love them. They come in 50g balls and you get 125m on a ball. It is 100% silk and probably the softest thing I have ever felt in all my life. It is truly beautiful yarn. I love it. This is unfortunately another discontinued yarn, and this is the problem with odd ball bins, but I have tracked a few down at English Yarns and at MCA Direct Yarns with its new name, Rowan Pure Silk DK. Now normally a ball of this is £11.95!!! Its down to £7.95 at MCA, but even I know that isn't the best value for money in the world. It is blooming soft though!!!! The tension over 10cm is 22sts over 30 rows and is normally knit on 4mm needles.

This yarn is so beautiful and I loved every minute of knitting with it. I have three colours in this and I only have one ball of each colour so it really made me focus on patterns to knit with it. These gloves below were knit from one ball and make a completely luxury item. I don't mind spending a little more on a good yarn for a small project. There is no way I could afford to buy this kind of yarn for a jumper or big item, but it is fab for a pair of gloves. It was easy to knit with and I enjoyed working with it.

Would I buy it again? Odd ball bin bargain-oh yes I would. £12 per ball-oh no I don't think so. Call me a cheapskate if you want, but I just think that is a lot of money for a ball of yarn, even if it is softer than a kitten!! It's also hand wash only, so another accessory yarn.
So what else have I knit? Well with my ball of blue, my mum's iphone is very comfortably living in a pure silk cosy, and actually it has worn incredibly well. It stretches a bit, and hasn't held its shape well, but it hugs her iphone perfectly, and she loves it. In fact, when my stepdad bought her a new cover and it didn't quite slide out properly to begin with, she was all for ditching the new cover in favour of the very pretty silk!!!

Have a great day all!!

YOTD: Rowan Romance

Today's YOTD is Rowan Romance. I bought this one at the same time as Twinkle at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace two years ago, and having recently been to the latest one I am using up some of the old stash! It is a bulky weight yarn and knits on 7mm needles. I used this yarn  ages ago in one of my techniques post and here is the picture from that post so you can see it in the ball.

Rowan Romance is unfortunately another discontinued yarn, but I have found some and on sale!! Here at English Yarns they are £3.55 a ball, a saving of 30%!! Rowan Romance comes in 50g balls and you get around 60yrds/55m on a ball which is good for a chunky yarn and is made from a massive combination of 36% Acrylic, 27% Nylon, 26% Mohair, 8% Polyester, and 3% Wool. Now that sure is a mix!!! The tension is hidden on the picture but over 10cm it is 11.5sts over 15 rows. 

As you can see, the yarn is quite a loose ply and there is a glitter strand running through it. It is a really easy yarn to work with, and this project was actually my first ever project knit entirely in the round. So it was a great achievement for me too so I do love the cowl that I knit with this. It is a bit scratchy for me, but I have incredibly sensitive skin so that could just be me. I am so sensitive I can't even wear certain cashmere!!! In my view, it is one of the softer yarns I have worked with and It is so so pretty knitted up.

Here is my cowl here, being fetchingly modelled by my water jug, but you get the idea. This is a very long cowl that you double up. In terms of the pattern I used, well I made that up as I went along. Kinda cast on some stitches and knit until I was happy. (when you see happy, actually read fed up!!)




I think this is really pretty and I love all the colours available. You are looking at shade 99 which is a deep grey colour, but available at English yarns are a soft pink, white, light grey, green and a deeper grey. The only problem- Hand Washable! This is a great yarn for accessories, especially scarves and cowls like mine. Great yarn, enjoyed working with it. Would I buy it again? No, its too itchy for my skin and I really don't need any more scarves. Simple as that!!!!
Have a great day all!!

YOTD: RYC Bamboo Soft

Hi All!! Happy Tuesday Everyone! Hope we are all doing well today. Apologies for the lack of post on Sunday and no explanation yesterday either. Yesterday I was at work, and the work computer is no good for Blogger, it is just not playing ball, so I couldn't sort my post out properly. On Sunday, we were bowling with the Blatt-Family, and we had great fun!

Today's YOTD is RYC Bamboo Soft. It is a discontinued yarn, but I have seen it in a lot of odd ball bins so I am sharing this one now. MCA Direct currently have some for £2.25 a ball. Now this yarn is 100% bamboo and is just one of the softest things you will ever feel. It is wonderful. It is a DK weight and normally knits on 3.75mm needles. For the pattern below I used 2.75mm to get the rigidity that I wanted, so it worked fine. The tension over 10cm on 3.75mm is 25sts over 30 rows. Per ball you get around 102m so pretty good value now it is on sale, and it is perfect for little knits, such as the booties below.

Lovely soft yarn, so so many splits- horrendously splitty actually, even if you are using bamboo needles. I love the finished fabric and I love the softness, but I hate the yarn so much. I made a shawl with this yarn too, and we call it the dishcloth. In fact, if I am trying to explain this yarn to my family, and I say dishcloth, they know exactly what yarn I'm on about.

Now I hear you all saying- why on earth is there only one? Well dear readers it is because these booties look horrendous. I mean truly awful when flat. They look like misshapen, long, horrid things that you would never put on a child, even if you didn't like it. Turns out when they are stuffed, they don't look nearly as bad. Maybe I will knit the other one!!

Now that important question- would I buy this again? I know its discontinued, but there are 4 balls of a lovely chocolate colour in Bluewater that are reduced and I did actually turn them down. Because of the terrible splitting. But I am now almost regretting that decision now I have properly stuffed this little shoe. Its actually really cute and I like it. However I am sure once I have knit the second shoe, I will be cursing it so much I will be glad never to see it again.

Have a great day everyone!!

YOTD: Stylecraft Life Aran

Happy Thursday Everyone!! I had another successful trip to Bluewater and the good old Odd Ball Bin in Johtsn Lewis and found some fabulous Aran weights so I decided to start this Aran-Fest with a good basic reasonable one. 

Today's YOTD is Stylecraft Life Aran. Stylecraft is a great brand and does some really reasonable yarn at a great price and lots of yardage on the balls. I love the brand, and use the DK a lot for toys. I had a 100g ball for a pair of slippers for my mum, and it wasn't enough so I had to buy another. With the leftovers I made this hat below. 

This yarn comes in 100g balls and is a blend of 75% Acrylic and 25% Wool, so it is very durable. You get 198m on a ball, which is great for aran, and it comes in lots of colours. It knits on 5mm needles and the tension over 10 cm is 18sts over 24 rows. It is a really soft yarn and very pretty. This is normally about £3.00 a ball. The link goes to Deramores and they have all Stylecraft on offer this week, so you get 10% off. 

The colourway I have here is Parchment and is a very light tan brown. It is great to work with, and easy to care for. I loved knitting with it, because it was not in any way problematic. Not splitty, no knots or fluffs, just a good yarn. It is a basic yarn that is useful for all types of projects. It also comes in pinks, reds, blues and the parchment I have. This hat pattern will be coming up in a POTD soon. The other great thing is that all the colours available in aran are also available in chunky, DK, 4 ply and super chunky.

Now this yarn is machine washable, tumble driable and you can iron it too so great for clothing for anyone, as is so easy to take care of. A great yarn and I will most definitely buy it again, a great stash staple.

YOTD: Wendy Beach Baby

Today's YOTD is Wendy Beach Baby. This is a crinkly looking DK yarn which has been discontinued, but my local yarn shop has absolutely loads in stock- That's Pats in Lordswood for those of you who live in Kent. I am sure that you can find these in odd ball bins, and your LYS. It comes in 100g balls and you get around 240 metres on a ball. It knits to a tension over 10cm of 22sts over 31 rows and is recommended for 4mm needles. It is 98% Acrylic and 2% Polyamide. It is a very soft yarn, and a good knit. I paid £2 for this ball, so really reasonable and really good value for money

It could be considered splitty, but I found it easy to work with, and there were no flaws in the ball at all. I enjoyed working with it. I chose to knit another Paxton, which seems to be my pattern of choice again at the moment. Don't you just love it when you find a pattern that you could just knit forever? I did the same with my pocketbook slippers and I know that both the Puerperium and Paxton have joined this catagory, along with the hospital hat, a pattern I now know off by heart!!!

It comes in traditional baby colours in the plain but I have it in shade 622 Carebear, which is a mix of mint green, baby blue and baby pink. I love it, and its knits up like a little pastel camoflage!! It is lovely and soft and it is cool wash and cool tumble dry as well- which is fantastic for these little baby knits.

YOTD: Rowan Cashsoft DK

Happy Sunday Everyone!! I hope you are all well. It's actually not raining here so thats a bonus. Can you believe a year ago my Mum was getting married? Wow, I cannot believe it has been a year since we were in France and we have had so much happen in the space of just a year. They are off out today to celebrate and I hope they have a lovely day. Happy Anniversary Mum and Dave!!!

Today's YOTD is Rowan Cashsoft DK. It is a beautiful yarn which is a blend of 57% extra fine merino, 33% Acrylic microfibre and 10% cashmere. It is a very soft lovely yarn and knits to a tension over 10cm of 22sts over 30 rows on 4mm needles. It normally retails for £5.75 which is pretty good for a cashmere blend, but I found 2 balls in an odd ball bin (good old John Lewis) for £1.50 per ball, which is in anyone's book a blooming Bargain!!! You get 115m or 126yrds on a ball too so not bad for a 50g ball.

It knits up to a lovely thick fabric. There is one little issue with the plying of the yarn, as in both balls I had there was a couple of bits that were big and fluffy and white!! Which shows really badly!! I had to cut them out and reattach the yarn a couple of times. But actually it is so worth it!!

From the 2 balls I got, I managed to make the Puerperium cardigan above, and the Hospital Hat below, and have about 10g left of the ball too, which will go later into something stripy, so I was really impressed. I enjoyed knitting it, and the yarn is lovely to work with. I would probably buy it again, and I would pay £5.75 a ball for it. It went a long way

It is machine washable too, and you can iron it. It is not tumble dryable, but I would tend to dry hand knits flat anyway so I am happy to ignore that. It is also available in over 20 colours, and in various deep and pastel shades. I have shade 508- Ballad Blue, and it is a lovely colour, and the pictures do show the true colour.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!!

YOTD: Patons Smoothie DK

Happy Sunday Everyone!! Hope you are all well today, its gone back to blooming miserable here, its horrible and cold and rainy. Yesterday was not a good knitting day. I began the cutest little pattern for a pair of booties, but then when I had finished one, it was the worst looking thing I have ever seen in all my life. I actually used the word Horrendous. Twice. Still I might try another new pattern today, maybe.

Today is YOTD again!! Yay!! I actually really enjoy Yarn of the Day, I love planning knits and knitting up little cardigans and hats and testing out yarn. Well that is normally anyway, because this yarn truly tested this love.Patons Smoothie DK is a 100% Acrylic yarn and is incredibly soft and smooth. It comes in 100g balls and you get a whole 200 metres on a ball and for around £3.29 it is pretty good value. It is also available in so many different colours. It is surprising to get such a soft and smooth acrylic yarn, acrylic is normally known as the cheap fuzzy rubbish, but this truly shows acrylic isn't all bad. It is machine washable and knits up as DK on 4mm needles. The tension over 10cm is 22sts over 30 rows.

I was totally taken in by its softness, the fact that it is easy to care for, and the cute colours available. I love the variegated styles, and I love the finished fabric. It is soft, thick and warm. But I completely hate this yarn with a vengeance. It is terrible to knit with, it is so splitty even on wooden needles, and despite its soft exterior it is so very fluffy. It felt like 20% was fluffing on the surface and ending up in the bin. Whilst I was knitting, I was cursing and hating on this yarn so much but now it is done I love the finished product.

I have a few different colours in my stash, having been donated to me by my granny who thought it would be nice for crochet blankets but it is not good for crochet for her. So I've got it. But there is no way in a million years I will buy it again. I do not want to waste the stash and I totally love the finished fabric and the Paxton I've knit in it, so I am sure I will use it and curse and throw and moan my way through it. Plus it is easy to care for. I am totally in a love/hate relationship with this yarn- I love the finish- hate the yarn. Lucky I only knit one-ball-knits right?!?!

There are so many colours available in this yarn, 12 solid colours and 6 varigated. They are all available on Deramores, and above I have the Red Mix (2018), which as you can see isn't that red, more of a mix through red, purple, orange, pink and grey. I also own Multi Mix (2020) and Blue Mix (2102).

Have a lovely relaxing Sunday, and I hope you are all having a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend, despite the horrible weather!!

YOTD: Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton DK

Hi Everyone!!! Happy Wednesday!!! Hope you are all doing well, and have entered the competition I'm running, and get the chance to win the yarn and/or book!! Today's Post is a YOTD post and it wasn't until I started researching this yarn that I realised it was discontinued. I'm still giving you the review because I know there will be lots of odd balls and ends in shops that you will come across and probably on sale, so this is perfect timing for a YOTD post about it.

Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton DK Naturally Dyed is an epic title for a ball of wool, but it is a 100% organic cotton yarn, and it has been made to ensure that everyone in the line of growing, spinning and creating the yarn gets the best money and make the best living for their families. Now normally a ball of this costs you £5.50 for 120m of DK yarn. I think this is quite a lot of money in comparison to other cotton yarns, but you are getting organic and naturally dyed. The tension of this yarn is 22sts over 30 rows over 10cm, so within the basic DK tension requirements.

My yarn cost me £1. Yep, £1 a ball, from John Lewis in Bluewater, in the odd ball bin. Mine is also faded. I have the indigo shade, and it has faded on the outside, so I am guessing if you leave your garments out or in the back of the car, then they are going to fade. However, I have 2 balls of it, and I actually don't mind the fading. The yarns are pretty much all varigated anyway so the fading doesn't really matter to me.

I like this yarn. It is soft, and surprisingly for a cotton yarn it is not too splitty when you knit it on wooden needles. On metal, it does a bit, but still it is not as bad as others so I actually love it. The colour is delicate and pretty, and I like it. Its expensive I think for what it is, but I am not an organic kinda girl. I am not going to justify my position, because each to their own. The tension is good, and I love the finished fabric. It knits well on 4mm needles, and I wouldn't go any bigger on the needles, with some cottons you can, not with this one.

Would I buy this cotton again? Actually, if I was looking for a cotton, then yes I would. I know its discontinued, but it is a lovely non-split cotton yarn, easily blocked but the colour runs. The natural dye does run a bit, not majorly, and because of the variegated it doesn't really notice. It is hand wash only and non-tumble driable so the care of the finished work is problematic. I've knit a bib from it to get a good swatch, and its cotton, so it has to be a bit absorbent.

So colours? Now the one above is a slightly faded Indigo (994) a pretty shade of blue. Others include Madder (980) a light rose pink, Brazilwood (982) a brighter rose pink, Quebracho and Cuba (983) a pale green, Lipstick Tree (985) a very bright orange, Natural (986) which looks like natural cotton, Quebracho Bark (987) which is a milk chocolate colour, Myrobolan (988) a light tan colour, Cherry Plum (989) a reddy brown, Oak Apple (990) a charcoal grey, Chrysanthamum (991) a very dusky pink, Chlorophyll (992) a light green, Oak Bark (995) a light grey, Rhubarb (996) a light yellow/ cream and finally Light Brazilwood (997) a lighter version of 982.

Now I'm off because I've already burnt one of my cakes for my Dad's birthday cake getting too involved with wool!!!! Happy 50th Birthday Daddy!!!

YOTD: Robin Picasso DK

Happy Sunday everyone!! This is not so much a happy Sunday as a dark, damp, windy Sunday- Yuck!! I hope you are all warm and dry. I am too, and knitting. Lots. But finally I have finished that blanket so I can share with you this amazing soft fluffy yarn with a lovely colourway.

This yarn is Robin Picasso DK. It is a DK yarn knit on 4mm needles (I didn't- I'll get to that in a minute) and it has a tension of 22 sts over 31 rows over 10cm. The yarn is 100% acrylic and you get a great big 100g for about £2.50 from Wool4less. Bargain. On that ball, you are going to get about 270 metres, so this really is good quality yarn but on a budget. There are some really cute colours too!!!

For this particular colourway, I chose to do a feather and fan blanket. You already know this because I have been moaning about said blanket for days. The swatch above is in that pattern and on 4.5mm needles. It is a thick DK, so knitting it using 4.5mm needles is perfect tension for all those light worsted/aran patterns, and looks brilliant. I would use it as a light aran/worsted weight and on 4.5mm needles for clothes and blankets because the effect is much softer than on 4mm needles.

These pictures are not the best, I know. But because it is miserable outside, my colours are just not right. This particular colourway has a very gentle stripe through purple, orange, yellow and green, but is very light and looks almost white in sunlight. I have also knit this up as a shawl too because I love this colourway so much. But it really does not photograph well!! Here is the shawl below, and you can just about see the gentle stripe in this.

There is only one issue with this yarn. It is great value, it is warm and so so soft and cuddly, and it is all round lovely to knit with. Except the slubs. As you get to the middle of the ball you get slubby bits that really really show up. They aren't small and you can get away with them, they are big and fluffy. I really had to cut them out and reattach the yarn for the lace. There are a few when I was purling, and they have knitted in, but that is my only issue. I have used three of these balls now and each one had the same slubs in the yarn. I do have this in another colour that I haven't used yet so I will update again when I know if there are slubs in this too. I hope not.

Granted, its a bit slubby but I would most definitely buy it again. It is the softest thing, has blocked great, and is of course machine washable so perfect for any knit, and it is a great price for a great yarn. Perfect if you are starting out too, its cheap to play with, but you get a great knitted fabric.

The one above is Marshmallow (I think, although on my ball band I have 2848- and in all the shops the same colour seems to be 2849). I also own Sky (2846) is a mix of white and blues and I presume all of these will stripe like the one above. I have yet to find the perfect pattern for this, but I will recap later once I have knitted it up. There are lots of other colours available and all different stripes, including a very bright orange/purple/yellow number called Refresher and a variety of soft colours too.

I love this, I love the blanket I have knit with it, and I just love the way it has finished. Apart from the slubs. But I can get over them. Knit with this yarn, its yummy, and its a bargain- why not?!
Have a great day all, and stay warm and snuggly, and keep knitting!!!!
(oh and for an exclusive- I've got a great giveaway coming, watch out on Tuesday!)

YOTD: Peter Pan DK

Happy Monday everyone!! I'm not sure everyone will be having a Happy Monday, but it'll soon be Tuesday if you aren't. We had a lovely weekend with family and wishing Rachel a very Happy Birthday, but now we are back and it is time for another YOTD. I am running out of YOTD, but I still keep finding yarns that I have used and projects to show you so hopefully I can keep these going a lot longer, but you may find over the next few weeks, there are a few more POTD whilst I get knitting!!!! I am currently knitting with a beautiful yarn that I hope to feature soon but I want to make sure I get it finished.

So today's yarn is another baby yarn, and another of my favourites. Peter Pan DK is a great baby yarn and a good budget yarn too. It comes in 50g balls of 55% Nylon and 45% Acrylic and you get 170 metres, and the cardigan I have knit below took slightly less than one ball, so it makes a great knit. The ball below was a bargain £1 in an odd ball bin at Francis Isles in Rochester, but they are normally around £2.80-£3 per ball, which for a cardigan really isn't bad!! The tension over 10cm is 24 sts over 32 rows.

This yarn is really soft, and perfect for baby knits. It is not as soft as Bambino, or Snuggly, but it is still a great soft yarn for babies, and the colour range is so very good. It comes in 57 different colours which is a massive range, and you can get solid and variegated colours. I absolutely love Coral Surprise, and Aqua Surprise in the variegated so much, so they might be the next ones. Here's the link to Deramores where they show you all the different colours, and they have a sale on so why not?!

It is a washable yarn and tumble driable too so great for little ones and for mums who really don't want to hand wash. I'm not a mum, and I don't want to hand wash, so I imagine a wriggly baby is not exactly conducive to scrubbing away in the sink. So these machine washable baby knits are perfect to give.

It has great stitch definition, and the yarn holds together well, no splits. You get a good finished fabric and it blocks very well with lace and stocking stitch. I enjoyed working with this yarn and I would most definitely buy it again, its a good staple baby yarn with so many different colours.

I've had an idea along with the YOTD and POTD to do some other reviews of some of the books and patterns I have bought over my knitting history and I hope they will be useful. I will be working on these alongside YOTD and POTD to give you all a bit more of an all round knitting thing, we don;t just use online patterns and yarns, but needles and other notions so I'm hoping to cover all sorts. Let me know what you think, and if there is anything you want me to review- I'm all ears!!

YOTD: Hayfield Bonus

Happy Saturday everyone!! Hope you are all either relaxing at home, or working and its a good day full of happy people who don't ask silly questions or moan. Can you tell I work in retail?

I am knitting my little fingers to the bone to get the YOTD up, but  sometimes you just cannot knit quick enough. I am working on it, I promise, with a beautiful silk and bamboo yarn which I am loving, but it will take time. Perfection takes time. So for these next few YOTD I am going to focus on some of my toy yarns that I love to work with, and find really easily in most yarn shops, and is really quite cheap. I don't mind spending money on more expensive yarns but for toys, the cheap acrylic is so perfect, and available in every single colour under the sun. But keep reading even if you don't knit toys. I use it for other things too.

The first of these yarns is Hayfield Bonus. I am using Deramores again as a yarn shop, but they really do show a great amount of the colours, in good swatches, so you can really see what colours you can get. They are also a good price. Bonus comes in 100g balls, which really is plenty when you talk about toys, as you get 280m on there. It knits up on 4mm needles for the tension, but normally when you knit toys, you go down a few sizes of needles to get a thick tension so the stuffing doesn't show through. Normally this yarn is about £2 a ball, but at Deramores currently they are £1.69 a ball.

Here are just a few of the toys that I have knit with a variety of yarns, including Hayfield Bonus. It is a great yarn to work with, easy to knit with and the stitch definition is very good. You get a really nice finish with it. It is also washable, but of course with toys, you would probably only want to make it surface washable, but with these yarns, you know it is going to be safe. It also doesn't fluff so it is pretty safe for little ones.

Not everyone knits toys. I know that. And I have used this yarn for other projects too and they have been really successful. I like to use the cheaper acrylic for the projects that I want to wash a lot, or is going to be used a lot. For example, this tea cosy and teapot stand. This is a stranded tea cosy and a mitred pot stand that I made for a present for my granny, who actually won't use it, despite the fact it is knit in washable acrylic. She uses it on display in the kitchen, over her display teapot.

Toy knitting does really need cheaper yarn. Don't be a yarn snob. You don't need the expensive cottons and silks for these. The cheap acrylic is perfect, mostly because on some yarn you will only need a very small amount. You can buy smaller 25g balls in some brands and I will be showing these soon, along with a specific post about skin tones, as that can be a difficult thing to find.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, we are off tomorrow to celebrate my Sister In Law's birthday with family, and I apparently need to go make a pineapple upside down cake for the Blattman. And a Swiss Roll. Knitting might be on the back burner for a little more!!!

YOTD: Wendy Bambino

Hi Everyone, Happy Thursday!! Hope you are all well. Weather still no better here, horrible and rainy but never mind,Am off to the hospital for an ultrasound to check my kidneys are all ok after last months infection today, so I really need a YOTD to cheer me up. I finished up the fourth colour for this one last night, and honestly, I totally have been impatient to share this one with you.

Wendy Bambino is apparently a DK yarn, but it is a bit thicker than your average and I have been knitting it to light worsted/aran weight on 4.5mm needles and it has come out really well, with good tension. This yarn comes in 100g balls, with 290m on, so lots of yarn to play with. It is 85% Acrylic and 15% Tencel, and is seriously soft. The tension on this one over 10cm is 24sts over 32 rows.  I bought this at my LYS, Pats in Lordswood, and paid £2.50 for the plain colours and £2.85 for the print, so along with being seriously soft, its seriously cheap too. I was a numpty earlier, but have now found the yarn online, so here is a link to a website that stocks some of the shades, as unfortunately this yarn has been discontinued. My LYS has lots of stock so check out yours too.

There are plenty of colours available in this yarn, and I have four to share with you, and you can see now why it took me so long to get to this one. This is a very baby blue, and is so very soft. The picture you see below is pre-blocked and with some of my button stash.

This colour has not come out as much as I would love it too, its actually a very pretty baby pink, and quite bright, but obviously the sun has not come out as much as I would like so is giving quite a grey look to it. Ill get some better pics later but you get the idea.

 This is the print colour I have, and it is 2 different shades of purple, and take note, this pattern will be coming very soon because I LOVE it so much, hence the 2 in this pattern. Only issue here is that when it was blocked, the dark purple bits ran, so the front is a varying shade of purple. Doesn't look too bad, but I would have preferred it if it didn't, and it does make me question the mild machine wash on this one.

This again has not photographed as well as I would like. This is actually quite a bright mint green, and is really cute and a lovely colour. This one has been blocked and I love this yarn and this pattern.

Would I buy it again? Oh yes I would, a million times over. I would love it in deeper colours, but I understand it is a baby yarn and most people prefer those baby pastel colours. I don't. Still I do love these baby colours for a few bits, and I love it knitted up. It is machine washable on mild and cool tumble dry too, but I really am not so sure about the colours since I blocked the purple version and the colour ran. I'd give it a go, but not with my whites!!! It is softer than the snuggly from Tuesday, and I love it for the American patterns that are for light worsted on 4.5mm needles rather than the smaller dk ones, because the tension is perfect.

I think that adorable cute hoodie pattern will probably be POTD tomorrow, but Ive got a few up my carefully knitted sleeves so we will see. Have a great day all!!

YOTD: Sirdar Snuggly DK

One thing I love is the beautiful British Springtime, complete with lovely bright daffodils and cute little lambs. Do you know what else I like? That's right, beautiful British Sarcasm. I have just ventured out to put the lock on my motorbike in a hailstorm, yep hail, thunder, lightening, the lot. I thought about putting it off, thinking that there cannot be any motorcycle thieves who prefer working in the rain and hail, but knowing that, there will be a anorak wearing scalliwag waiting around the corner to nick it.

So I thought I would cheer you and me up with a soft baby yarn available in every colour under the sun (let me know if you actualy see the sun) and a good review too. Yesterdays was a bit down on what I presume are the nice people at Tivoli, so today Sirdar will get a nice review. (I obviously know that all the people at Sirdar are waiting on baited breath for this review!!!!)

Anyway, onto this yarn. I have two colours of this yarn to share with you today and I have had to wait to review it whilst I knitted up the second one. I love to review all the colours I own to get a good sample and you get different batches, different dyes and a better review- hopefully!! Today, I have chosen also to mention MCA Direct as my yarn shop as they have a great selection, and a great shadecard for their yarns so you can have a good look. They also offer free postage on orders over £10. There are so many colours in Sirdar Snuggly DK that if I described them all we'd all be here all week, and frankly that would eat into my knitting time!!!

So let's get on with it! Sirdar Snuggly DK comes in both 50g and 100g balls, but the bigger ones come in fewer colours. The blue came in 50g balls and the cream in 100g.  Ok, on your average 50g ball, you get 175m of a 55% nylon and 45% Acrylic yarn with a tension on 4mm needles over 10cm of 22sts over 28 rows. A 50g ball will set you back around £3, so pretty reasonable for the meterage. I got my little blue cardy from one ball, but it is a newborn size. My 100g ball has 330 meters on and costs around £5.50 so again reasonable money for reasonable amounts of yarn, I still have about 20g left from my ball from knitting the larger cardigan below.

This has to be one of the most beautiful blues I've knit with. I love this yarn, it is probably the softest thing I've knit with so far, it is just fab. It knits up well, and to a regular tension, and I found no problems with the yarn.

It is washable and tumble dryable on cool which is another fantastic thing about this yarn for baby knits, and it does come in a wide variety of colours too. I like both of these that I have used.

It has blocked very well. As you can see by the Evelyn blue cardy above, you can see how Lace has blocked and the picture below is not blocked at all, and I apologise for the lack of buttons. I absolutely love this little pattern, and I finished late last night so the cardy isnt totally finished up, but you get the idea. I can't wait to share this pattern for POTD.

So, at the end of the day, would I buy this again? Oh Yes I would. In fact many of the colours are really calling me. I would completely recommend this as a great baby yarn, at a reasonable price.

I would ask the Blattman about his review, but he is at work, and very happily too because he passed a pretty important exam yesterday and he is really on cloud 9!!! We are really very proud of him in my family, and he really worked hard to achieve this, and it means great things for our future, so all its good in the Blattcave.

YOTD: Tivoli Pearl DK

Hi everyone!! Bit later today, because me and the Blattman have been out and about. Today is a actually a yarn I used last year and bought when we went to Shropshire for my birthday last year, (when I was all young!!) I thought it was time for a bit of glitter frankly, there is not enough of it on this blog yet!!

Tivoli Pearl DK is a glitter yarn and is made from 95% acrylic and 5% wool and has a lurex glitter strand running through it. These come is fab big 100g balls and you get 300 metres. A ball costs around £3.85 too so you get a lot of yarn for your money. Tension over 10cm is 22sts over 30 rows on 4mm needles. It is machine washable and tumble dryable on cool too, so a great yarn for anything really.

Now my swatch is on slightly bigger needles than it says because I was making a shawl, so the tension square above is bigger, and creates a slightly looser fabric. I have made some toys with the yarn left over and the tension has been fine. Because of the way the yarn is made, with a twist in the spinning, it creates more of a slubby yarn effect, which I am not a fan of really, but for shawls its fine. I dont think I would use it for clothes really, but my christmas angels liked it and the shawl looks great.
On most of the websites I've read, they describe it as a soft baby wool. I would not want to be the baby wearing this. It is so very very itchy. The lurex is not soft, its really quite scratchy when you are knitting it, and if you are in contact with it for a lot. It has got no softer with blocking.

Now for the question- would I buy it again? No, I wouldnt, unless I needed knitting for toys. I dont mind scratchy yarns for toys so much, because a lot of the toys I knit arent for holding, like the nativity. There are much nicer yarns out there for glitter and softness, like Rowan Romance.

I am using the white glitter (160) and there are 5 pale colours in the original line up of Pearl, and now another 4 deeper shades have been released too. The others include pale baby yellow (161), baby pink (162), Baby blue (163) and lilac (164) in the pale shades, and Purple (165), Navy (166), Black (167) and Bright Red (168). Today's website of choice is the fantastically named Togs and Toggles!! I liked the name, and they have a lot of good information about each of the yarns and some new yarns I havent seen so they are worth a look at.

And Finally, as always, the last word from the Blattman: Scratchy.

YOTD: Sirdar Summer Stripes

So todays YOTD is Sirdar Summer Stripes. This yarn was released last year and is a 60% cotton 40% acrylic number which knits up in DK, tension over 10cm is 22sts by 28 rows . It hopefully then should make good knitting for summer this year too. Here are the facts, then Ill get down to some actual reviewing. You get 158m on a 50g ball of this yarn, which is pretty good meterage and it costs normally around £3.50 a ball, but todays shop of choice is Black Sheep Wool and they have it on offer for £2.99 a ball. (On a side note, Ive ordered from BSW before, they are fantastic, great customer service and very quick delivery.)

The yarn is another self striping yarn, and the colours are muted and more washed out than others, they look like they might have been washed a few times first. There are a few of my stitches without colour at all. The colours are quite pretty, and the cardy knit below was from one ball. This yarn is a bit hard but it is very easy to knit with. It doesnt split like the normal cotton yarns that I have been testing and I enjoyed knitting with it. The stitch definition is good and creates a nice knitted fabric. I blocked the cardy, and it didnt get any softer, but the colours didnt run so I was impressed. It is not like a normal cotton yarn, it holds together well and isnt heavy. I like it. I am not a fan of self stripers- im way too fussy about matching for that, but this is probably one of the best. I did enjoy it for this pattern where I didnt have to worry about matching anything up, and I enjoyed seeing the ball unravel and the colours reveal themselves. This yarn is also machine washable! Hooray for machine washable yarns! So would I buy this one again? Actually for a one ball knit, yes I would.

Again, I only have one colour today in this yarn, but this colour Tequila Sunrise (310) is one of 9 created by Sirdar. Calypso (317) is a stripy mix of reds, yellows, blues and pinks. Tropicana (316) is more blue and green but still has the pinks, yellow and white. Sombrero (315) is orange, blue, yellow, green and a number of other smaller stripes of colour too. Margarita (314) is pink primarily mixed with an aqua green and a lighter green. This colour is probably my favourite of the lot, but I am quite a pink girl. Oasis (312) is very lilac and blue. Some of these colours have so many different coloured stripes, but Oasis is much more bluey purple, like denim really. Pina Colada (311) is more beige and green, which a few yellow and purple stripes. Blue/Green/Sand (309) does not have the fantastic tropical names of its followers but does what is says on the tin, as does the two final colours Khaki/Purple/Mustard (308) and Tan/Orange/Purple (307).

I have now decided to let the Blattman way in on these. As he isnt a knitter, you are going to probably get exactly what he thinks!! He thinks this one is rough to touch and that the yarn is washed out, and makes it look a bit old before you have worn it. He says however it looks good knitted up. He is concise if nothing else!!!

Hope to see you tomorrow for another YOTD, and whatever else I get up to. Off to Westfield Stratford tomorrow so who knows what the odd ball bin in John Lewis might hold for me