I am really bad at this regular blogging thing.

I keep forgetting to blog and then taking very extended breaks from knitting.  I seem to go through phases where I knit every day for a month and then do absolutely nothing for 3 months.  I'll try to be better I swear.

I have started knitting my Christmas Presents - this year I want to knit each of my closest friends and family a personalised stocking.  I did a practice one and it took me about 3 days, it actually fits my foot as a pretty good slipper so I may knit another and just use them for foot cosies.  We'll see!


My mother has requested a stocking with sheep and snow on it so I'm going to rejig my Snowy Sheep Mittens and use it for her stocking.  It'll be the first one I'm going to do and will probably determine how complex the rest are going to be - hopefully I'll get through them all!  Getting the names right on the cuff will probably be the hardest thing for me to do because I can't seem to get them the right way around.  I'll just have to keep practising.

I got my first pair of Double Pointed Needles a few days ago.

They literally are the most torturous instruments to try to learn how to use.  My main problem is that my stitches keep falling off the opposite end because I either don't have them tight enough or they're too close to the end.  Today I went to a really frustrating patch where I would fix the purl stitches that had fallen off one side (I am TERRIBLE at picking up purls for some reason) and then look back and two more had fallen off another needle.  This repeated itself maybe 5 or 6 times and I decided it was time to put my knitting down for the day.  
I first practised making mittens in the round, i got just past the thumb hole and cast off because I was getting so annoyed.  At least this is a good way to use up some of my stash though!  

I've started the 'Baa-ble Hat' again now on my DPNS.  Everyone wish me luck.

I finished the Baa-ble hat and made a extra to match!

The Baa-ble hat was actually a really easy project!  It surprised me with how simple it was. The only part I found difficult was the tension, my sheep are just too tight but with time that will get easier to do.  

I had to knit this flat as I haven't mastered the art of the double pointed needle yet.  It just meant that I had to follow the chart from right to left, then back left to right while reversing the stitches instead of always reading from the right.  I've done this with patterns before so I didn't find it too strenuous.

The finished object!  The rib was a little short to be turned up but too long to be left unturned.  If I were to make this again I would definitely add a few more rows onto the rib so it would sit more comfortably!


Now the little bit extra that I made I found incredibly cute!  They are little hand warmers, I've named them Snowy Sheep Fingerless Mittens.  I used the pattern from the chart but edited it slightly so it worked better for a mitten.  The sheep on the front is the big sheep from the hat and once again my tension was off so the sheep just isn't sitting right.  I think it's gonna take me some time to get used to this!

I wrote out the pattern straight away so I would get lazy and never upload it.  It is available to download on my Ravelry page.  I only put this up yesterday afternoon and it has already been downloaded nearly 400 times!  Thanks to everyone who downloads it, I just hope the pattern is ok and I haven't made any mistakes!

After a long break from knitting I'm finally back!

I took a break,  I was half sorting my life out,  half being extremely lazy! 
I've decided to get back into knitting with the "Baa-ble Hat" from Ravelry.  It looks gorgeous. 
I'm using:
Jarol Shetland Milk DK in shade 2 (looks sandy, natural)
Jarol Shetland Mist DK in shade 4 (looks light blue)
Patons Fab DK in white
Patons Fab DK in black

I've only knitted the rib so far and the hard bit is ahead of me.   I've also altered it so I'm knitting on straight needles with a seam as I haven't had the time to buy DPNS yet. 

I've been on a knitting cull recently.

You know that feeling you get when you're completely bored of knitting after constantly making presents for other people for months in the run up to Christmas.  The stress of not knowing if you're going to finish everyone's presents on time was just too much for me.  I have knitted one hat since Christmas and one mitten.  I really need to get around to knitting the other mitten otherwise these are kind of going to go to waste!  

I am so annoyed at myself for forgetting to take pictures of my knitted presents for Christmas.  I knitted a gorgeous marble scarf for my brother and he's gone back home before I remembered I wanted a picture of it.  I did knit my friends bottle sweaters though and I have a picture of one of them.  They are just adorable and I love that there are button holes so you can actually decide how buttoned up you want it to be!  You can find the pattern in my previous posts!

I am currently in the process of applying for new university courses for the next couple of years and it's stressing me out so much.  I will knit new things soon! My mother is knitting an aran patchwork blanket at the minute so I might upload a few snaps of it when she has more done!

I have been so ill recently

I haven't even had a chance to talk to my friends so even thinking about knitting was way in the back of my mind.  But my mum has been so kind and helped me so much to finish off all my christmas presents so that's one worry out of my mind. 
I have a new love for marble wool.  It's so nice to knit with and not know what colour combination is coming next.  I just hope that everyone likes their gifts.  I've added a hat to the bottom of this post that I made for a friend to give as a gift.  The pattern for this is already on my blog/ravelry page.  People have actually started offering to pay for items which is brilliant too!
Now I'm not sick anymore I can get back to my challenge of knitting a pair of those fingerless mittens with the fold over mitten top!  Wish me luck :)

I wrote a pattern for Gryffindor Mittens yesterday!

I must say they turned out fab!  That's another Christmas present ticked off the list!

Happy Knitting!

Difficulty

This pattern is easy, but a little tricky for beginners.

Materials

Yarn: Chunky/Bulky – 100g Burgundy, 50g Mustard

Needles: 6 and 7mm straight needles

Notions:  tapestry needle

Gauge

17 sts / 25 rows = 4” in stocking stitch

One size available – Adult

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