Billylid

I’m a bit sad regarding this project. It just doesn’t fit. But I did just finish it and it’s already found a new owner as my grandmother was eying it off as I was knitting it. It’s an easy enough pattern to follow. I’ve never used a smocking stitch before so once again I was learning something new and it wasn’t difficult at all. According to google there are a few ways to go about this stitch but the method of drawing through the yarn between stitches and knitting two together was very easy.

A close up of my smocking effort

I started this at the beginning of the month because I wanted something that I hadn’t actually finished before. I still have my Winter Jumper that I’m only a quarter of the way through and I saw that this wouldn’t take me all year to do. So I bring you, Olivia’s Raglan Jumper.

Since it took me nearly half an hour to get two measly rows of ribbing done and then still yet to cast off all with a toddler who wasn’t impressed that I was knitting, the little hat is finished. It’s really the sweetest of little things.

This is such a cute little pattern that takes no time at all to knit up. It’s very reminiscent of a 1920′s flapper hat and on a baby or toddler I think it would be gorgeous. On Ravelry I’ve seen plenty of adult sized pics of this pattern but I think its the kids hats that take the cake. If you would like to have a go at it, you can find it on Ravelry: Poppy Hat Pattern by Justine Turner

Here is an uber quick knit that was completed in between finishing the bottom of Ollie’s raglan jumper and starting the sleeves. I just wanted something that would only take a couple of hours and would turn out cute. I’m more than delighted with this pattern. I altered it slightly by casting on more stitches and having to add a couple more decrease rows but thats it. I used super bulky yarn with 8mm needles and I love the size it turned out. Fits lovely and lose.

Moda Vera Shiver, 8mm circular needles.

The author has just updated her pattern yesterday to include two different yarns and needle sizes and you can find it either through Ravelry or through her blog Na vlně

Cheers,

Even though the merry season has been and gone, I didn’t stop crafting. I just didn’t manage to make it on to the computer very much to update my projects. There has been I think two or three that I have managed to get finished. One large one being a sleeping bag / cocoon for our new baby girl when she arrives and a beanie to go with it. The beanie, for something so small and meant to be simple is a story times 3 as with all three of the hats I knitted, I’m still unhappy with but can’t really be bothered sitting through yet another hat just at the moment.
I also have started another project for Olivia which is a Raglan Jumper.

All of the project patterns can be found through my Ravelry page here Billylids Ravelry Projects

Hope to be back with an update on the Raglan Jumper soon.

Cheers,

Yesterday afternoon I finished up the bear that I started a week or so ago to put under the wishing tree in our local Kmart. I love how it turned out and hopefully it will make one little person happy. Another project was also completed today and that was a cow lovey blanket for our one month old nephew for Christmas. The pattern for the bear is available through Ravelry or you can find it in Debbie Bliss’s Book called “Simply Baby” (or click Debbie Bliss Teddy Bear)
The pattern for the lovey blanket is just a polar fleece square with crochet edges and a knitted head and crochet legs.

Hope you have enjoyed my update this time round. If you want to know anything, please feel free to comment and I will get back to you as soon as I see it.
We hope you have a wonderful holiday over the Christmas/ New Year period and that you all stay safe.
Cheers,

Well that is the knitting side of it. It still needs to be blocked and backed with minky. The finished measurements are around 65cm by 65cm which is a great size to fit into baby’s capsule for when she arrives and perhaps as she gets a bit bigger as a snuggle rug.
Just as a recap, I’ve used Moda Vera Pure Wool 8ply which come in 50 gram skeins. I used 6 of these in green. The pattern I used, I got off Ravelry and its called Mr. Bassil’s Blanket & Hat by Lindsay Tabsh. Here is the link to her blog post: knitting duck: my first pattern! Pictures after the read more link.
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Another little thing that I dabble in on the side is shellacing my nails. I first got them done professionally earlier on in the year then have done them at home every since. I admit I certainly can not afford the professional CND shellac but do use other brands. If I want to grow my nails a little longer, I usually have to have the shellac on as they split, break and peel very easy ever since coming home sick from Fiji.
» Read the rest of this entry …

So just a small quick update on my baby blanket with, what to me, is a funny and frustrating story. Towards the end of my 2nd skein, I seemed to of lacked an awful lot of concentration as I made so many mistakes it was just getting ridiculous. The first one I only realized after about 5 rows and that was that I had buggered up my moss stitch and then somehow along the line gone back to the proper pattern and had left a small patch of very ugly stitches grouped together. Yay me. So after that problem was fixed, off I went knitting a couple of more rows. I checked the front of the work like I usually do and I must of been actually alert this time round because I spotted a major mistake. On the right side of the blanket, I had been doing the purl pattern. As in, 5 moss, 3 knit, 1 purl, 4 knit and so on. Lack of concentration can be a doozy.
Off I went hunting to find a crochet needle that was neither too large or small and set about unpicking each stitch I had done wrong and turning purl to knit and vice versa. I reckon it took me about 2 hours with my daughter also trying to help. At least that’s over now and I can get back to what should of been mindless knitting.
Hope you are all faring better in your yarn projects than I am!
Cheers,