POTD: Newborn Hospital Hat

Well, Happy Bank Holiday Monday Everyone!!! Hope you are all well. I am prepping for the drawing of the competition tomorrow- remember it finishes at midnight tonight and I'll be publishing the names tomorrow in my blog post from work, so get excited!! Of course, I have had to organise some sort of hat to draw the names from, and if it wasn't knitted then that would just be silly!! That has inspired today's POTD. Now these little baby hats aren't quite big enough to pick the names out, but they are still so blooming cute, and perfect for little ones, and for gifts.

The Hospital Hat pattern uses up all those leftovers from the balls you have used to knit the cardigans. You can knit a matching set for a gift and with minimal effort and yarn. This hat is also so so quick, so emergency knits for mums-to-be are no longer a problem. These also knit up with any DK which can be shown in my picture below!! I've knit them to match most of the little cardigans that I have knit.

As you can see I've made them above in Wendy Bambino, Sirdar Snuggly and in Sublime Baby Silk and Bamboo. They are all roughly the same size on 4mm needles. The silk one is the smallest but it is still about newborn size, and feels like a dream!!

With the Baby Silk and Bamboo and Snuggly I also added the pattern rows from the cardigan I knit so that they would match. It was a perfect fit too for the pattern and I'm really pleased with the end result. I also know that this pattern is a great basic one and therefore you can add whatever pattern you need. I also like this because instead of rib they have a garter stitch band, and this then also matches all the other garter stitch parts of my cardigan.

This hat was knit on 4.5mm needles instead using Wendy Bamboo and this has really made a great hat and slightly bigger than the newborn size, but I've heard that babies do have a habit of growing so that is probably a useful thing!!!

Have a great rest of the bank holiday, and enjoy yourselves all. I'm knitting another little cardigan in a lovely soft cashmere blend- its lovely- so that's what the rest of my day is shaping up like. My mum seems to have decided crochet is the new black so that's what she is up to- makes me want to pick up my hook again and make another blanket- but we will see. The lure of the needles is certainly strong!!

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!!

Techniques: Substitution

Happy Saturday everyone!!! Bit late today, I know, but the Blattman is starting work a little later today, so it has been nice to get some time together before he goes. I am also having epic issues with my computer being the slowest thing in the world!!! I have also been trying to work out what to knit. Does anyone else get that? Where you keep looking at patterns and the yarn you have and just never manage to pick one? This happens to me on a big scale. I have knit so many patterns and sometimes I just need a bit of a kick. I wanted to do a techniques post on using stitch markers, but I haven't picked up a pattern to knit using stitch markers so I'll do that next Saturday.

On today's techniques post I am going to be talking about Substitution. These things are kinda basic for all you advanced knitters but I think its worth talking about. I was confused initially about this when I started knitting and relied on my Mum to talk me through it and help me out. Hopefully I can explain a bit about it as well as she does.

All patterns are knit or tested with a particular yarn. You will find this especially in magazines, because they use one yarn for their pattern and for the samples for the photographs. But in a lot of magazines the yarn they use is either so difficult to find or so blooming expensive that there is no way you can afford to knit it. I am definitely a great believer in Substitution. I love to check out my stash and use what is in there rather than have to go out and buy more. There are a few things to remember when it comes to Substitution.

1. Use Same or Similar Fibres. Each yarn is made from a different combination of fibres and each one knits differently. If you knit a pattern designed for a pure wool yarn in cotton, it probably isn't going to work out!

2. Work out How much you will need. When you buy yarn, on the label it will tell you how much is on a ball. Find out how many balls of the pattern yarn will be used for your size. Check how many yards or metres are on each of the original balls and then add it up to work out how much is recommended. When you buy your preferred choice, check on the ball band there how many yards or metres is on one of those, and work out how many you will need.

3. Check Tension. Tension Square= Tension Headache. Not really. Each thickness of yarn has its own tension, and each ball will have its own tension. A pure wool yarn will have a different tension to a cotton yarn. Some yarns will require bigger needles but still be a chunky weight yarn. Check out the tension square on the ball band to show this.

Here we go, here is an example of a ball band. This particular one is from Robin Picasso DK. You can see from this that there are the washing instructions, the tension square there, the recommended needle size, and the 270 metres on the ball there.

For internet patterns this can be the same as the magazine patterns, but with Ravelry you tend to find that the test knitters use all sorts of yarn, and with the great project gallery you can normally find the yarn that you want to use!!

Only 2 more days for the competition before it closes so make sure all you followers that you enter for a chance to win!! Have a great weekend all!!

Book of the Week: Jean Greenhowe's Little Gift Dolls

Happy Friday Everyone!! I am in a good mood today, I am at work, and singing along to the radio, Good Old Ken Bruce!! The Blattman woke up to a puncture this morning so he is totally Not Happy, but we have tracked him down a new tyre and he is off to get that sorted before he goes to work. Today is Book Review Friday and I am going to review a book that has been a staple in my knitting arsenal for ages and I have knit so many different versions now I can almost remember the pattern now!!

Here is the book and it has the patterns for a selection of little dolls. Little is a bit misleading, they are about 6 inches tall and there are so many differing patterns including a witch for halloween, a snowman- see below, a bride and groom, chimney sweep, nurse, and a bunch of really cute jelly babies too. The pattern is great and they are really quick to do, and make great gifts. I may add more pictures later for you but as I am at work I don't have many here. I've knit a witch and a couple of versions of the groom with various attachments. I even made a Blattman too- which I will find when I am at home and edit this post

Hvae a lovely day everyone, its a bit chilly here but it could always be worse!!

POTD: Little Sugar Mouse

Happy Thursday Everyone!! Hope you are all well today. We are back to the miserable weather, but it is so perfect for knitting and staying warm and dry so I'm Happy. I have been knitting away with a yarn that I love the end result but HATE knitting and will feature on the next YOTD but today I am sharing with you a really cute little toy pattern that I knit up for my Grandma and it is so quick and easy.

This little Sugar mouse has been made from a pattern by PhoenixKnits on Ravelry. She specialises in a variety of fun creatures and a lot of the Harry Potter Characters too- Hagrid and a gorgeous Hippogriff. Even a Fraggle!! This little mouse uses basic techniques, and uses I-Cord for the tail. I was totally afraid of I-Cord before I tried it, and now I love it as a technique. You use 2 DPNs (Double Pointed Needles) and instead of turning the yarn like you normally would to purl the back, you simply slide your stitches to the other end of the DPN and knit. I am going to feature I-Cord in my Techniques Saturday soon so hopefully you can pick it up there. Don't be scared of it, it is good and easy, and you will find lots of things to use it on.

Tomorrow is Book Review Friday, so I hope to see you all then, and of course, don't forget to enter the competition and win either yarn or a Jean Greenhowe book that has been out of print for years!!

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!!!

May Day Competition

Happy Tuesday everyone, and Happy May!!!! Today I am beginning a competition so you all have the chance to win one of two prizes and I am pretty excited about it. I hope you are.as excited as I am . So what are the prizes I hear you cry?

The first prize is two skeins of pure silk in bright fuchsia pink. This is so very soft and beautiful, and worth about £16! So a pretty good prize I think. This prize is available worldwide, so doesn't matter where you live, you can win this.

The second prize is a copy of the now discontinued Knitted Toys by Jean Greenhowe. I have searched for this book forever and I have been so lucky to find 2 in charity shops. Now I don't need 2 so I would love for someone else to have the opportunity to own this and knit from it. It has some fantastic patterns in it, such as the penguins I've knitted and the witty knits which are really cute little patterns. This book is in pretty good condition too. This one I am so sorry but is only available for UK winners simply because it is pretty heavy and the postage abroad would be remarkably expensive. But still, Worldwide entrants can win that yummy silk!!

So what have you got to do? Well firstly you need to follow the blog. You can do that on blogger here, on Facebook or on Twitter. Then post a comment below with your name and email address, what country you live in and how you follow the blog. Its that easy. Then I will pick two names after the closing date, show on the blog and then email you for your address.And then you will get a fab package from me with your prize!!

The competition closes at 11:59pm on the Monday 7th May. Winners will have a week to get back to me with an address, if not I will pick another winner. The competition is open to everyone over 18 anywhere in the world. The names will be picked by random, using a hat and the Blattman.

Good Luck Everyone!!!