FO (Knitting): Rosie the Mouse

Just because it was such a fun little project: Meet Rosie the Mouse. The pattern (Toerag the Tubemouse) came up as a Mini-KAL in the beginner's KAL group I'm active in on ravelry. I decided to make one for my daughter - she had been so patient lately when she was watching me making toys for swaps and I kept on telling her I would make something for her soon. So this was perfect: I could use up some leftovers, it was quick, easy and  simply cute - and it turned out to be the perfect companion for the first toy I made for her more than a year ago:

The pattern calls for DK weight yarn - but since I couldn't find any mouse coloured DK in my stash I went with grey leftover sock yarn held double for the body. The body knit up quickly, and so did the tail, feet and ears, which I made from scraps of variegated pink/purple sock yarn. I did not hold the yarn double for those small parts, but noticed later that I probably should have done so for the feet. Rosie does have problems standing upright because her feet came out quite flappy - I think I'll try to reinforce them with duplicate stitch.

Anyway, she can stand up for a yummy apple:

The part that took the longest was to pluck up the courage to pick up a needle and embroider a face and a pair of front paws. To my own surprise it worked out fine this time, and I am really happy with the result - maybe I am slowly getting better at this kind of embellishment.

Oh, and did I mention that Helena LOVES her mouse? She couldn't wait for me to finish it when she found out what I was making and that it would actually be hers. She wanted to cuddle with it even before it was finished.

FO (Knitting): Two hats - Heather and Fern

I knit two hats last month. I know mid / end July with temperatures around 30° C is probably not the time most people think of  hats... BUT... Winter is coming... it's inevitable. So better be prepared.

To be honest, I have never really liked wearing hats until I started knitting... by now I've got plenty, and I'm still adding more. I like knitting hats - they are small enough projects to take and knit anywhere (a bit like socks), and they are quick projects. Well, I felt the need of some quick instant gratification projects and had those two gorgeous hat pattern in my queue...

The first hat I knit last month was Heather (pattern) - a really quick to knit hat with a lovely lace panel that gives the brim a nice shape and can be worn on either side. As suggested in the pattern I chose to use a fingering weight yarn (Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cornwall) and held it double. I love the feel of the fabric produced that way, and I'm sure it will keep my ears warm next winter.

Sword Fern (pattern) on the other hand is not your standard hat pattern. The construction is a little different and a little more challenging - and I loved knitting it. The only change I made to the pattern was twisting the knit stitches on the brim, just because I like the look of it. The hat is knit in fingering weight yarn (I used Lana Grossa Cool Wool Baby) and rather light and airy - and I am looking forward to wearing it often when autumn comes.

FO (Knitting): Toe-Up Christmas Tree Socks

When a challenge to knit a cuff-down pattern (HiyaHiya Christmas Tree Socks) came up in the HiyaHiya Patterns-KAL group I just couldn't resist. The real challenge in this was reversing the lace pattern. My first try looked like this:

I wasn't impressed. The holes were all in the right places, but the crispness of the "branches" had been lost completely. So I tried to do it differently on the second sock, and came up with this:

Now that's more like it! The branches are nicely defined - you can actually see the "trees"! I ribbed the first sock back to the end of the toe section and finished both socks with my new version of the reversed Christmas Tree pattern. I followed the heel instructions from Liat Gat's Basic Toe-Up Socks pattern, and the socks came out fitting really well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge, and learned a lot from it. I think my reversed pattern looks really nice, even if it is not perfect (one of the other knitters came up with a slightly better solution using different double decreases). I think the best thing I got out of this project (apart from a beautiful pair of socks) is even more confidence to alter patterns... or even make my own sock designs... 

FO (Knitting): Caps of the Woodland Elf and her Baby

I was looking for two really quick projects for a parcel that I put together for the Fantasy Swap in the Geek and Nerd group while waiting for a last extra item to arrive when I came across two cute hat patterns - Elf Hat and Bellflower Elf Hat, both by Lusianne R.

I decided to make one of each - the lacy cap in adult size, the stockinette cap in newborn size - in matching colours (just reversing main and contrast). Since I wanted them to be woodland elf caps, I chose a lush green and a light brown with a slight green hue. 

The construction of these hats is different from what I usually do when knitting hats - making them a triangle shape cap. One of the fun features of this construction is that they kind of come with built-in ear flaps.

Both caps knit up very quickly. I guess the baby version I made will fit a newborn to maybe 3 month old baby - I don't have a newborn around, but  my daughter's doll has a head circumference of about 36 cm, and the cap fit nicely.

The adult version is more of a loose fit, which I find very appropriate for this kind of cap. I modified the pattern on the last repeat though, because I felt the hat was wide enough, but was still lacking length. So I omitted one yarnover on each of the "edge leaves", and didn't do any increases on the brim.

To be honest - I want one of those caps for myself now...

FO (Sewing): Shoulder Bag

I also wanted to make a bag for my swap partner in the Fantasy Swap, and I had come across some nice and fairly easy looking shoulder bag patterns in a magazine (Pauline in 3 Varianten - Sonderheft Patchwork Magazin Nr. 7 - Taschen selber machen). 

Most of the sewing was indeed fairly straightforward - apart from the fact that my sewing machine just doesn't seem to like working through multiple layers of fabric and fusible fleece. Oh, and I still have to work on my curved seams. 

The hardest part was turning the strap right side out... oh, did my fingers hurt... a day later it felt as if I had hit my finger with a hammer! And I will have to do it again, because I definitely want to make another bag for myself. It's just the right size to take anywhere - it's not huge, but it will hold a purse, keys,... even a small knitting project if need be. 

FO (Crochet): (Not so) Lil' Baby Unicorn

When the fantasy swap came up in the Geek & Nerd Swap Group and my partner had unicorns on her list of favourite fantasy creatures I knew immediately what I would make for her. I've had this cute Lil' Baby Unicorn pattern by Rachel Hoe in my queue for quite a while, because I wanted to make a baby unicorn for my daughter. I think I will have to make another one for her as a present for her upcoming birthday. These unicorns are just so darn cute!

The pattern calls for 8-ply yarn and a 3 mm hook (5 mm for the mane and tail). I used 10-ply cotton and went up to 4 mm and 6 mm hooks - resulting in an actually Not So Lil' Baby Unicorn. Forgot to take measurements before I sent it off, though.

As it always is with Amigurumi, the individual body parts worked up really quick... but when it comes to sewing those parts together I slow down... because (as you might know by now) that is the part that I still don't like a bit. The thing that always keeps me going is knowing that it will be worth every single bleeding finger...

... and it was!

FO (Knitting): Green Monkey Socks

My green Monkey Socks are finally done! Finished them about a week ago, but just haven't gotten around to share a picture here - little one keeping me busy during the day, working on my WIPs in the evening... I sometimes wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.

I absolutely enjoyed making these socks. As I've mentioned before, the lace pattern was pretty easy to remember - perfect for knitting while watching soccer on TV (I didn't plan this, but - yes - I am following the world cup). Oh, and I so hope the yarn (Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton Stretch) will prove to be hard-wearing enough for everyday socks - I just love the feel and look of it!