What were they thinking ??

Well the size is right but the yarn is hideous !!! Yarn manufacturers should realise that some of their colour variations just don't cut it (IMHO of course).

The only good thing is I now know roughly how many stitches I need to get the size I want. So, would you believe I have started yet another hat but this time have decided to wing it and see if I can work something out for myself - ie no pattern ! Getting game aren't I, especially being a bit of a dumbo when it comes to knitting. I thought about it for awhile, thought about it again, then consulted a friend regarding the mathematics regarding the crown shaping ..... then bit the bullet and wrote down what I proposed to do. So far so good and the pattern and number of stitches have worked out ok. One thing I've decided is that 1x1 ribbing is sooooo old hat (no pun intended). I'm up to the top shaping now so might show you a pic tomorrow - if it looks ok :)

This time next week ........

Only 6 more sleeps, and this time next week it will all be over !! Last year I showed you a very funny video that explains why email was invented. This year, I'd like to send you my best wishes for Christmas with this ......


I know there are many animal lovers who read my blog so I hope you enjoyed that. On a more serious note, here's something beautiful from one of my favourite singers, Rene Froger ...



No knitting or crochet pictures today as I'm still working on that toddlers hat. Maybe it'll be finished tomorrow and hopefully the size will be more to my liking.

Early start

I felt the need to knit yesterday so decided to get an early start with my charity knitting for next year and chose this toddlers hat from my pattern stash.

 

Now this TODDLER's hat fits me and last time I checked, I wasn't a toddler !!
So frustrating, especially when it was a purchased pattern. Oh well, as its for charity, I guess it will fit someone who will get a little warmth from it.

I've spent the last hour or so sifting through my books looking for another pattern that might be better suited to a toddler and am going to try a pattern from one of the Lincraft books "Countryside Creations in 8ply". Fingers crossed it will be a better size.

All my Christmas gift shopping is finished (thank goodness) and I now have the luxury of a few days break before the mad rush to get the fresh food items for our Christmas dinner. Sooooooo ... I'll be off now and start digging into the yarn stash to find something nice for that toddlers hat.

Just for a change

I decided to play around with my double-ended hook (aka Cro-hook) and really like the efffect you get. Its very similar to tunisian or afghan stitch except that you change ends every 2nd row creating a truly reversible pattern, different on each side.

I used a 6.50mm cro-hook with 8ply and the result was quite thick, very spongy feeling and I think would make excellent hot pads or potholders. My little experiment turned out to be a hook roll

Being a bit of a sceptic, I wondered if the hooks would slide out but I gave it a really good shake and they did stay put. Here's the finished look ..


Also finished the pair of dishcloths so now I can add them to the other goodies and get that gift in the mail tomorrow.

The pattern is here - its done in Peaches & Creme which isn't really my favourite cotton as its so thick but I have lots of it to use up and I think its probably best suited to dishcloths. I like the stitch and will try it with BWM cotton next time.

Did a bit more of my Christmas shopping this afternoon. Xander, Willoughby and Tasha (the dogs) will be getting Schmackos (liver flavoured of course) and Madison is going to get a little fluffy mouse that runs along after you pull the string where its tail should be ! She needs to lose a little weight so I hope she enjoys chasing her mouse around on Christmas Day. Here she is waiting for the big man in red.

Sure she's a little early but hey, a girl can hope can't she ??

By George, I think I've got it .....

... thanks to my friend L who suggested I google White Balance. I've fiddled a bit with my camera and want to put the two pictures up here to see if what I did has fixed the colour problem that I had in my last post. Same settings for both pics


Yaaaay ... thank you, thank you, thank you my dear friend L !!!

Now to finish those dishcloths.

Why is it so?

I learnt something about my digital camera today and am wondering why colours change with different backgrounds ? Perhaps one of my clever blogland friends might be able to enlighten me? This first photo of that scarf I was telling you about in my last post shows the colours exactly as they are, but see what happens (second pic) when I put it on a different background ..



The same happened with this little doily I made yesterday as a last minute addition to a small Christmas gift going to Belgium. The first pic (white background) is the correct colour, but see what happened when I put it on my table ?


Weird huh ??

Today’s project is a pair of dishcloths to be added to another gift for a family member in Queensland. Hope to get them finished before I go to bed so I’ll show them to you next time.

Only 19 days to go ......

The UFO that will have to wait another day

Oh dear, I've made a mistake in my knitting and had to put it down as I'm hopeless at knitting backwards. Too keen to finish, I missed a row in the pattern so I'll have to go visit my friend tomorrow (hopefully) so she can fix my mistake. I'm making a scarf in Noro Silk Garden and really want to get it finished.

The premmie hats are on their way to the Knit4Charities member collecting on behalf of the organisation who asked us to help them out. I think I ended up making about 18.


Another FO for today is a little pair of premmie booties. These were meant to be for a large premmie but I think the next size up would have been a better size. These ones only measure about 2.5 inches.


Its starting to feel a bit like Christmas at our house. My daughter put up the tree and some lovely decorations this afternoon and there are already several gifts under the tree, along with the empty stockings for Santa to fill. The cat will probably have a ball after everyone goes to bed tonight.

Do you remember the mini Christmas stockings I was making a month or so ago? This was another Knit4Charities project and we were aiming for 5,000 stockings. Well, we got to a grand total of 4,613 which we all think was a pretty good effort. This means that Christmas for that many disadvantaged children will be a little brighter this year. I'd like to again thank Pat in Tasmania who also helped with this challenge and made some lovely little stockings.