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!!

POTD: Pattern of the Day! Baby Wrap Cardigan

Hello everyone, now for all of you tuning in for YOTD, its coming I promise! I am at work today, and I only finished the last of the review last night late, so I have yet to take all the pictures. It is coming later today when I get home. Its one of my favourite yarns too so I'm excited to share that one. I know you are all on the edge of your seats!!!!

I am introducing another little OTD sideline today, as I have so enjoyed doing the YOTD, but have discovered that I cannot knit to demand on that one!!!! So I am adding POTD too so I can keep up updating you all daily, but with different things. I have also discovered that in reviewing all these yarns, I am knitting an awful lot of new patterns and experimenting, and I am lacking on giving you the information on the patterns I'm using. I know, rubbish! So I am addressing this balance and adding Pattern of the Day.

Today's pattern of the day is going to be one of my new little favourites. As you can see, I am pretty much loving knitting the baby clothes and have learnt so much about garment construction and raglan seams, and enjoying every minute of it. This first pattern is the first garment I knit and is a little wrap cardigan.

This cardy is knit using DK and 3mm needles for the ribbing at the bottom and 3.75mm needles for the body itself. The original of the pattern was knit in Sirdar Snuggly, hang on for the review, but mine is knit in Patons Trentino in Orion. You are going to need about 250yrds for this one, which is about 230 meters. You are probably going to have no problem getting one of these cardigans from a 100g ball of DK.  

To knit this little cardy, you start at the bottom of each of the sides of the front of the cardy, knitting them each on two needles, then knitting across all the stitches of both sides of the cardy underneath the sleeves. Then you cast on for sleeves and away you go. I apologise if that description has scared you off but please read the pattern, it makes so much more sense than my ramblings!! Now, I am totally allergic to picking up stitches, I hate doing it, and would go via lands end to avoid them. The bonus of this cute little pattern is that all the bands and edging are knit in as you go. Hooray!!

This is a great little starter pattern for garments. The pattern is very easy to read, and comes in PDF form so is really good to work from. There are also lots of pictures to refer to, which is always a winner in my book. It is also completely and utterly free for your own devices.

I really enjoyed knitting this, it uses basic knitting and purling, easy techniques and no buttonholes either for all you beginners. It is a great pattern, and although there are not many other patterns knit in the same way, so you aren't really learning construction, you are going to get a fabulous little cardy in the end. Win!

So haven't knit clothing before? What are you waiting for? Give it a go. As my mum always says, its only knitting and purling!