January Finishes ..well almost.

I'm squeezing these in right at the end of the month another pair of socks hot off the needles..

I am now officially a devoted fan of hand knitted socks nothing else will do for me, I love the look and feel of them on my feet.  I can never quite get over how chuffed I feel because I've managed to make something that is so comfy and looks so cool.  

 My family now look on in amusement when I stick my foot in the air resplendent in it's latest attire  I twirl my ankle this way and that and let them admire the colours and the workmanship and I have to say they are always most impressed 😊

I used Rico Superba Bamboo, shade grey mix and as you can see I didn't bother to match the socks and I don't think that it matters at all. I loved working with this yarn it's soft, not at all scratchy and knits up like a dream, it was another bargain buy for me in my now favourite yarn store Kemp's right across from the hospital where I did my nursing training many years ago and ironically enough I visit as a patient, but what a bonus to be able to indulge in the pleasure of yarn browsing and squishing after a rather unsavoury outpatient appointment.

Up until now I have always followed a basic sock pattern but I have decided to expand my horizons, venture forth into unknown territory and try something different in the form of a cabled sock.  It's all thanks to Winwick Mum you can see her great new tutorial here, why don't you give it a try.

Another project  which I have been working on this month...

Can you guess what it is? I'm sure that some of you can, anyway all will be revealed very soon because it's almost done.

Have a great week everyone.

I will be linking to all the great link parties over in my right hand side bar.

Cosy Sleep Sack

Little babies and toddlers alike just love kicking their covers off them at night that's why I think these little sleep sacks are invaluable for keeping them cosy and warm.

I was asked by a charity to make one of these and because there are no little ones in my family it was a great opportunity for me to make something I hadn't tried before...

I can't believe how difficult it was to find a pattern that was suitable for the yarn I already had in my stash, after extensive searching and researching I found this one, I even paid for it which is very unusual for me as I try when I can, to make use of the millions of free patterns available online then I can give a review and pass the link on.

I could have designed a pattern myself but this was needed in a hurry so I didn't really have the time. You can find the link for this pattern here  I used Dk yarn which I already had from Aldi and some oddments of white for the stripes.

 It was fun to make and I will definitely use the pattern again.

Can't you just imagine a little baby all cosy and snug inside of this, I love making baby things don't you? 😊

Linking with..

See all the other great parties I'll be linking to over in my right side bar.

I Haven't Given Up!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I started making the Last dance on the beach blanket way back in August last year, the last square I posted was October then other things had to take precedence so it has had to wait for a while but I'm please to say I'm back in the swing of making it and enjoying it just as much as I did in the beginning.

This was the square for week 6 of the CAL and it's a lovely corner to corner which I really enjoyed making in fact I was thinking I may make a cushion cover with this pattern if I ever get the time.

I made three of these squares and used Stylecraft Special Chunky in shade emperor and used a 5.5mm hook. 

Purple is definitely my favourite colour I LOVE this shade.
Find the pattern for this square and all the information of how to make this blanket here

I hope you week is going great!
see you soon.😊

See all the great parties I will be linking to over in my right sidebar. 

Will I ever Learn!

Just before Christmas I had a hospital appointment for my sinuses which have never been the same after the impacted wisdom tooth extractions back in 2015! Anyway right across from the hospital is Kemps wool shop see this post, (I've been back many times since then.)

I had no intention of buying anything because as you all know I’m stash-busting and have a mere 23,044 grams of yarn to use up before I can even think of buying more.  My friend Mary however doesn’t have that dilemma and did intend to buy, I was only there for moral support and to give advice about colour, brand, you get the picture.

 I browsed as you do and was sticking to my resolve, by the time Mary’s basket was full I wasn’t even tempted in fact I was feeling quite smug, and then I looked up.  There right in front of my eyes was a gorgeous sweater that someone had knitted, the pattern and yarn information was pinned to the sweater, what great advertising! Who could resist I know I couldn’t before you could say stash busting I had picked up and bought 6 balls of the yarn and pattern to make it.  Now that’s what I call an impulse buy I do it all the time and I usually live to regret it.

The yarn in question was Sirdar Aura and it was quite expensive I have never paid that much for yarn! I’ve just retired for goodness sake what was I thinking, I can’t do things like that I have to watch the pennies.  As soon as I got home I started knitting it and it was chunky yarn so it worked up quickly but look...

The yarn was twisting as I worked with it and because it was twisting, the yarn strand was getting thinner and making an uneven texture so I had to stop every couple of rows and twist in the opposite direction to correct it, what a pain!

On the plus side the pattern was easy and I can recommend it I will use it again and again because there are children’s sizes too.

It took me 10 days to make the sweater and as I was knitting it I was wishing that I had bought the same colourway as the one I had seen in the shop. Which was Nico I had bought Rhythm I am never satisfied when making something for myself I should have known I wouldn’t be happy with it.

Why? 

• It’s a chunky sweater I have hot flushes every hour anyway I have them every 5 minutes when wearing this sweater.
• I don’t like the green in the colourway there’s too much of it you can’t tell when it’s wound in the ball. (It's much brighter in real life)
• It has wool in it so it scratches even though it’s lovely and soft so I have to wear a long sleeved cotton top under it.
• It makes me look fatter than I already am I put half a stone on over Christmas says she hanging her head in shame.

Will I wear it? yes! I will have to after what I paid for it lets hope for freezing cold weather then I will be nice and cosy inside my chunky scratchy sweater.

If I ever mention that I want to make a sweater for myself again PLEASE STOP ME!

Another plus

This was what was left

And I made this just to use it up 

An easy crochet scarf and the yarn didn’t twist while I was crocheting it! I will tell you how I made it if you want to know AND I have never had it off my neck, it’s multi colour so goes with lots of outfits, it doesn’t scratch now how is that possible when the sweater does, I used up the entre 600 grams of yarn for the sweater and scarf, so no stash to carry over, see there’s always some positives.

2017 is going to be the year of  positives let's find something positive in every situation.😊

Linking with..

See all the other great parties I'll be linking to over in my right side bar.

January 2017 Stash-Buster Link Party.

Hello and welcome to the first Stash buster party of 2017!  

Thank you to all of you who linked your stash-busting makes last month and throughout 2016.  I hope that all you Stashaholics will all keep up that stash busting momentum and share all your lovely makes throughout 2017.

These were your December 2016 favourites....

1. winter blue wrist warmers with a free pattern designed by Sigrid from Kat Kat Katoen.

2. Beautiful Cross Stitch by Anna from Annasimplecrochet.

3. Sweet Pea Afghan by Sharon from My Place

4. Interrupted cowl by Meredith from Mereknits

Congratulations ladies! 

January 2017 Link Party

Rules

• Please grab the stash-buster link party button over on my right side bar.
• All crafts are welcome either complete or works in progress.
• Link the picture from your actual post and not your blog address.
• Be polite and click on at least 2 links and leave some nice comments
• Please mention the link party in your post or display the party button in your sidebar if you want to be featured.

Happy Linking!

An InLinkz Link-up

Any LH pictures are projects made by ladies who are members of Loving Hands, clicking on the picture will show you an enlarged version, if you would like any information about any of the projects shown please just ask in the comments section. 

The New Year, Resolutions Anyone?

So what are everyone's plans for 2017 have you made any resolutions? There's something about the beginning of a new year that make folk determine that this year is going to be better. It's good to have these positive thoughts because after all the planning and preparation of Christmas and New Year suddenly there's nothing just a dreary dark January to look forward to.

I don't usually make resolutions because I know for a fact that they will fall by the wayside and then I'll feel bad for not keeping them. This year is a strange one for me because things have changed, I no longer have to go to work.  I can't tell you just how odd that feels, although those of you who have retired will know exactly what I mean.  Although I only worked part time my life sort of revolved round those working days, I got things done today because I knew that I had work tomorrow. 

I now have to prepare my home for the onslaught of various workmen who are going to repair the flood damage after my burst pipe in December, I think that they are going to start the work next week I may have to move out until it's done, place yet to be determined.  

So things are rather up in the air right now, I will resolve to declutter once the house is back to normal that's one resolution I always make and never keep, along with the I will not buy any yarn until I've bust my stash, I always mean it at the time.😊

I have started and completed a sweater for myself over the holidays this was the start of it....

More details as soon as I take some photo's.

Hope you all have a great week!