FO Friday: The Simple Mug Hug

This weeks FO Friday is going to be a little different. Seeing as I mucked my Fingerless Wrist Warmers up yesterday (read all about that here, if you dare) I haven't got any finished knitting to share you.

But -and this is a big but, about a size 12- I do have a 'finished' item to share with you. Last Friday, the wonderful Sandy from Sandy's Space asked if I could share a pattern for the mug hugs I have been knitting in such a fervent manner. Sadly, the pattern I have been using is one from a book and despite searching I couldn't find the pattern anywhere on Ravelry. So I decided to make my own pattern.

While watching the beautiful Kate Middleton walk out of the church in her amazing dress with her new husband Prince William, I designed the pattern under 'royal inspiration'. 

Then when the royal couple came out onto the balcony for the second time, I started the test run. A couple of hours later I finally finished, and you could say it was a royal success.

So I am happy to say Sandy that you can download the pattern now, (find it on ravelry here) and the greatest part is that it's free! If you come across any problems whatsoever, please don't hesitate to contact me (memyselfandknitting@rocketmail.com).

Hope you've all had a great day and see you next week! 

There's A Hole In My Knitting, Delilah Delilah

Last night I finished my first Fingerless Wrist Warmer. I tried to sew it up but it all went horribly wrong and I had to undo it. This morning, I took the warmer out to attempt to sew it up again, when I found the sewing up yarn had got seriously tangled. I sat and tried to untangle this yarn vomit mess for about 10 minutes before I started to get annoyed.

Before I knew it, I had snipped a piece of yarn, the whole thing was untangled and I could start sewing up. 'Brilliant' I thought. 'Well done me.'

If only I had been so clever.

While I was darning up I noticed a hole appearing in the side of knitting. 'Strange', I wondered to myself, 'the eyelets are meant to be on the other side'. A couple of minutes later the hole started to get bigger and bigger.

'Darn it'

The knitting is beyond repairable. 

On the bright side though, I have enough yarn to make the wrist warmers again and now I have something to knit on my car travels this weekend.

I apologise for the randomness of this post, but I just had to share. Have you made any awful mistakes this week?

~Charlotte x

WIP Wednesday: Eyelets, Variegated Yarn and Cable - Oh My!

Despite the lovely weather we have been having recently, my joint pain has been wreaking havoc for me. So, on Monday I decided enough was enough and started knitting myself some Fingerless Wrist Warmers, as my wrists are the ones that are the worst at the moment.

The pattern is from the book Knitty Gritty: Knitting For The Absolute Beginner, and requires any double knit yarn. It just so happens that a few weeks ago I was walking around my local yarn shop and came across some lovely purple variegated yarn in the clearance basket. I quickly snatched it into my arms before the two old ladies behind me could guess what I was doing (after this, they were looking at me very suspiciously the whole time I was in the shop...) and charged my way to the checkout. 

I decided to start this project while sitting out in the sun watching my neighbours guinea pigs run around the garden. Before I knew it, it was 5:30pm and it was time for tea, and I had done 7 of the 9 required pattern repeats. This morning, I quickly finished the last two repeats and my doesn't it look nice!

Fingerless Wrist Warmers

As you can see the pattern requires stocking stitch, a stitch which I normally don't enjoy. But I have quite enjoyed it on this pattern, possibly because of the clever eyelets! To make them, you simply put the yarn forward as if you were going to purl, but instead knit two together. This keeps the same amount of stitches while creating this beautiful eyelet pattern!

My second WIP is the Cable Project Bag, again from Knitty Gritty: Knitting For The Absolute Beginner. If you remember, during Knitting & Crochet Blogging Week, I blogged 'Something to Aspire to'. In that post, I explained that one of my goals is to learn to cable, so that I can knit such designs as the Cable Project Bag. Well I am very pleased to tell you that...

I did it!

I learnt to cable! I am very pleased, as it opens up a lot of (knitting) doors for me! 

As I wasn't very well on Saturday, my Mum popped into the Yarn Shop for me and bought two balls of Wisteria Double Knit Special (Because I am xD) by Stylecraft and two cable needles for sizes 2mm-5mm needles.

On Sunday I started the pattern and so far I have knitted 30cm of the 60 that the bag requires (that is without the two 25cm handles I have to knit as well!).

Cable close up... 

The pattern actually calls of Aran Yarn, but I forgot to tell my Mum, so I won't be able to store books in this bag as it won't be able to take it. Instead I will use it for storing my current WIPs!

I may have mentioned this before, but on Saturday I will be going away for the weekend. On the Sunday I will be wearing my new dress I was given. So I will *try* and knit another Cable Project Bag in the dark blue Aran Yarn I spotted at my local yarn shop. At least I will have something to do while in the car on the journey down to the hotel! Well my readers, I shall leave you in peace. See you all on Friday! (I might have something completed by then, who knows!)

My Dress, encase any of you were wondering.... Click the pic to be taken to the online store! (UK readers only - sorry!)

FO Friday: A Little Something Called Blog Block!

Blog Block is a strange disorder.

One minute you're happy and enjoying your day. You take out your laptop (or sit at your computer, which ever is more your style) switch it on, and turn to your Blog. Click new post and then panic sets in. Your temperature starts to sore as you realise you have absolutely no ideas.

That's what happened to me, just 10 minutes ago. When I finally got an idea, guess what happened?

Yup. I forgot to take photographs for my finished items.

GRRRRR....

Well, my two finished items for today, were two (yet again!) mug hugs. My Mum asked me to make some for my sister as a present, and I finally finished the last one at 5am this morning (hay fever - don't ask). The first mug hug was just a torquoise GS hug with a yellow star button. It looked a bit like my first hug:

My second hug, was  bright yellow/orange(y) and it was done in basket weave stitch. (Bascially you K4, P4 for the entire row for 5 rows, then swap to P4, K4) I finished it at 6am this morning, and with only one mistake (which fortunately you can't see!!)! I managed to get a rather cruddy picture before I stuck on the button.

I simply added the button and gave them both away :) (As I was writing this and looking at the picture, I realised I hadn't weaved in the ends, DOH! This evening isn't going well...)

Well... that is all my finished objects, but I do have a couple of other things to share with you :)

As I loved basket stitch so much, I decided to make myself a Scent Pillow. The pattern is from the book, Knitty Gritty: Knitting for the Absolute Beginner. I am about half way through so far, it should be finished by tomorrow. This is what it looks like so far:

Quite pleased how it's turning out :)

I have a problem though. I don't particularly like the smell of dried lavender, as it can be quite overpowering, are they're any other dried flowers which would work well as a scent pillow? Thanks a bunch.

I've also decided to make a blanket out of the oddments of yarn I have left over from previous projects. I'll keep you posted as I go along :D

Well, I do hope you all have a lovely Good Friday (It's even better when it's a bank holiday!) and have a great weekend everybody!

Charlotte xxx

P.S

Found this and it made me laugh, so I thought I'd share :)

WIP Wednesday: I Have Learnt a New Skill!

Do you all remember that lovely meadow green hat I blogged about last Friday?

Well on Monday night, after finishing another mug hug (I'm sure that you're getting bored with mug hugs by now, because I certainly am!) I decided to take out the hat, and finally finish that 18cm of GS.

Everything was going good. Great actually! I was knitting quickly and was enjoying myself.

Then it happened.

I messed up. I don't know how, but I messed up. A couple of stitches started to look retarded. I decided to ignore it and carry on. 

That was a mistake.

By the end of the row, my wool was tangled, my stitches looked retarted, and worst of all my favourite character from the TV show I was watching, left. 

So I had a meltdown. A big one. Before I knew it, I'd frogged most of the work I had done, my Mum then saved the day by snatching the 'hat' away from me. It is now hiden away in my craft bag, waiting to be picked up and knitted on the 2 1/2 hour car journey next weekend.

Onto happier news though, its WIP Wednesday!

Today, despite being stuffed up with a cold and hayfever, I decided to try my hand at Fair Isle. (If I'm going to do mug hugs, why not learn a new skill while I make them?) The pattern is (creatively) called 'Fair Isle Hearts' and is from the book Knitted Mug Hugs (Twenty to Make). 

I don't know why I didn't do Fair Isle weeks ago! It is so much fun, and definitely not as hard as it looks! The only thing I didn't enjoy, was constantly untangling the two yarn balls. After a couple of hours of knitting, this is what it looks like so far:

I am extremely proud. Especially since I didn't need any help. The mug hug is almost finished, I just need to pick up and knit the ends, to make the buttonhole so it can actually hug the mug. Afterwards, I'm going to try and do the Gold Fish mug hug pattern, which should look quite cool once it's done!

So thats the blog for today, I do hope you enjoyed your visit :) Before I leave though, I would like to pose a couple of questions for you...

• I'm really eager on learning how to knit in the round, as my Mum doesn't know how I have to learn from a book. Are there any particular books you would suggest?
  
• My best friend is about to start her very own cross stitch and knitting blog, but she (and I!) are stuck for blog name ideas... have you got any?

Thank you and have a great evening!

FO Friday: Time for Tea!

Once again, I actually managed to finish something! In fact, I finished two projects! And I don't mean to pat myself on the back, but I think they turned out pretty well.

My family revolve around tea. When we need a solution for a problem, we drink a cup of tea. When we are depressed, we drink a cup of tea. When we're happy, we jump around the place then put the kettle on for a cup of tea. If we need a chat, first thing we do is head straight to the kitchen to, you guessed it, make a cup of tea.

So as you can see, tea plays a big role in this household. That is why I took it upon myself to solve the problem of 'tea gone cold'. For my first mug hug, I decided to use up some of that gorgeous turquoise I had left from the Baby Set I made last week.

I decided to use the Time for Tea pattern from the book Knitted Mug Hugs. 

I coped very well, seeing as it was my first time following a non-beginner pattern. I did get into a bit of a pickle with making the buttonhole, and ended up undoing the same 4 rows a total of 8 times. When I finally managed it it still didn't look right but I was so bored by that point I needed to get it over with before I stopped knitting altogether. 

My Mum loves it, she is even happier that she got to choose the button for it.I personally don't think it matches, but hey. She's the artist, not me.

My sister was extremely jealous of this mug hug, and repeatedly stole it for her own use, so I decided to make her one as well. She decided she wanted it striped, it needed to be thicker and it needed to be tighter. (I would have said no, but she is about 3 inches taller than me, and is a lot stronger. Case closed)

I had to change the pattern (and I will make a PDF of the pattern once I've had another shot of making it the same way, just to make sure that it works, nothing worse than a bad pattern!) but it didn't turn out half bad!

I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. The only problem is though, that as soon as my Mum saw the pink & white mug hug, she immediately decided that she needed a striped one as well.

I don't think this is ever going to end!  

WIP Wednesday: A Gift for my Sister

So this week has been insanely busy and so I have had hardly any time to knit, never mind blog! That is the excuse   reason, this weeks WIP post is up so late, I do apologise! ( I actually wrote this on Friday, and made it look like it was posted on Wednesday...)

I have though got one item on the needles and that is a beautiful meadow green double knit hat for my sister. She looks great in hats, and even better in green! And since she is out an about in the cold like nobody's business I thought I would make her a little something to keep her warm.

Good job I have long Bamboo Needles, as the hat requires a
cast on of 90 stitches! =0

I'm starting to get more confident with 1x1 Rib

It has taken me a couple of days already, and I still have another 9cm of GS to do before I can start making it look like a real hat. This project may be featured quite often on WIP Wednesdays...

The pattern is from the book Knitty Gritty: Knitting for the Absolute Beginner. It's an incredibly simple pattern to follow, and just another reason why you should get that book! (Hint hint...)

In other news, I was given a lovely pot/vase/watering can/item to hold my needles and other knitting accessories in. I personally love it.

I also got some badges made for the blog by the wonderful Freckles! Click on them to be taken on a WIP and FO journey...

See y'all on Friday! Happy Knitting!

FO Friday: That'll Be One Warm Baby!

So this Friday I actually have something to show you, amazing huh? In fact, I have 4 items to show you. Yes. FOUR. 

If you read my posts earlier in the week, you'll know that I've been working on a pair of Baby Booties and a pair of Baby Mittens. I am very pleased to tell you that I have finished both of them!! Wanna see? Of course you do!

Baby Booties, in a gorgeous Turquoise Double Knit

Baby Mittens, also in Turquoise Double Knit

I am extremely pleased on how they have turned out. I think they look gorgeous. (And hopefully you can't tell that it was my first time doing Rib!)

My next finished 'object' is actually the biggest project of the week (and actually the biggest project I have ever done!), a Baby Hat. (Can you see a theme going through my knitting this week?!)

For the hat, you must cast on 80 stitches (that took... forever!) and 1x1 Rib 8 rows. That was a real challenge both to my knitting ability and my patience. I ended up frogging it a total of 4 times before I got it right. Now though I can easily say I am a confident ribber, ribberer  person who ribs. After the rib, I had to garter stitch until the piece measured 13cm, (which was about 29 rows) and then I had a lot of decreasing to do. As I couldn't sleep I finished off the hat at 2:30am!

I thought the hat on its own was a bit boring, so I dug out some Yellow Double Knit Baby Yarn, and quickly knitting up a flower and sewed it on. Would you like a closer look?

I am extremely pleased on how it turned out, my folks are really pleased to! So pleased in fact, I've been commissioned to make them each a hat for the winter. 

To make all these turqouise baby gifts, I used a 100g ball of DK yarn. And after finished all three projects, I found myself with this much left!

After much delibiration, I decided to make my Mum a Mug Cozie. She has been begging for one ever since my Knitted Mug Hugs book arrived.  Here is the mug hug so far:

The pattern is very easy to follow, but I do have one problem. To make the buttonhole, the pattern says as follows: "K2tog, K3, yrn twice, K2tog, K2, k2tog." I'm not sure what 'yarn twice' means, could anyone please explain it to me? Thank you :)

The last finished object is a pair of purple baby booties.

All 3 pairs of booties I have knitted - so far!

So there you have it. My Finished Objects of the week. I do hope you've enjoyed looking at them, I know I have enjoyed making them! Before I leave I just wanted to share you with a cute picture of Lilo I managed to snap this afternoon! 

Have a great weekend everybody!