On their way.....

I've been really busy relearning computer skills.  About a week ago my ancient laptop gave up the ghost.  It had already been in for repair a few months ago and I decided to stop throwing money at it.  So I went out and bought a new one.  Things have moved on a lot in cyberland and I think I have just about got my head around Windows 8.1, Microsoft SkyDrive etc etc.  It hasn't been easy!!!!!  This was partly because my computer skills are a bit rusty and also because there are definite problems with the latest software and operating systems.  Internet forums are full of people having the same difficulties I had.  It has been a steep learning curve.

I resented the amount of knitting time I had to devote to setting up my new laptop.  But I'm up and running again.  Just being able to edit a photo and add it to my blog has been a major achievement.  Woo hoo!

Today I posted off a parcel of sewn, knitted and crocheted items which will be divided between Greenfields Africa and Operation Orphan.  There are 8 hats, 2 scarves, 1 cardigan and 5 drawstring bags which will eventually be filled with goodies for new mothers and their babies in Africa.

I have various knitting projects on the go.  They had to bow out gracefully while I got up to speed on my laptop,  But, fingers crossed, it's all systems go  and I'm firing on all cylinders again.  Hopefully, my new laptop will do the same!

Clearing the decks....

I like to get everything tidied away before Christmas.  There was a little pile of sewing that I had pushed to the back of my mind until 2014.  But I found myself with some free time and decided to finish it off.  Here are 5 mama bags.  They are basically drawstring bags made to the same size as a pillow case.  These will go off to Greenfields Africa which is an organisation that distributes clothing, blankets and other items to new mothers and babies in Kenya and Uganda.  This is what their website says about the mama bags:

"a mama bag contains a cotton vest, a knitted cardigan, a beanie and bootees, a babygrow, and a blanket, plus locally bought soap, vaseline etc. To qualify for a mama bag, the mum is required to attend 3 ante-natal clinics during the pregnancy"

So they are an incentive for the mothers to attend ante-natal classes and they give them much needed supplies for the first few weeks of the babies' lives.

They cost me very little to make.  I bought the yellow gingham material for 49p per piece in a charity shop. The drawstrings are very long shoe laces and some thin braid that I have been saving for years.   The wine and grey material has sentimental value as it comes from a duvet which I placed my baby daughter on when she came home for the first time.  Eighteen years later this same "baby" managed to burn the duvet cover with her hair straighteners.  I rescued what was left of the material to make these bags.  Its great to know that it will be useful thousands of miles away.

What did I learn making these bags?:

• how to make a drawstring bag!  I put only one drawstring into each bag and they close nicely.  The method of putting in 2 drawstrings works well in some bags, but caused a lot of bulk in these bigger bags.
• how to sew French seams.  These bags will take a lot of punishment.  I always intended to sew a double seam and then found an article about French seams and how neat they are.  They hide the raw edges and I will definitely use this technique again.
• gingham is not as simple to cut and sew as it should be.  I thought the straight lines would make cutting out and sewing straight bags very easy.  I was wrong. That was probably why someone else had donated the material to the charity shop!

I've said it before, but that is definitely the last sewing project of 2013.  (Famous last words?)

More baby hats...

I recently went through my bag of wool scraps and used up all the pastel dk yarn.  A few days ago I made a start on the brighter/darker dk yarn scraps.  Some of the wool came in a bargain lot and some was kindly donated to me.  These are the baby hats I managed to knit.

• The rust hat was a great way to use up an oddment of brown and some very dubious beige wool.  I like the way the colours work together.
• The bright yellow in the next hat was from a ball of wool that had been used previously and was all crinkly.  A good soaking in special wool detergent has softened it up beautifully.
• The green hat was the biggest surprise.  I love this shade of moss green and would definitely consider using it again for baby blankets or hats.
• The variegated blue and pink yarn is one of my favourites.  I knitted a hat and scarf for myself and this is all that was left.  It is supposed to be dk weight but I had to add some fine coned yarn to it to make it the same thickness as the pink brim.

Most of these colours might seem strange for a baby.  But these are charity knits and will eventually go to countries that specifically request darker colours.  The charity I will probably send these to is Greenfields Africa.  This organisation gives baby clothes and blankets to pregnant women to encourage them to attend antenatal lessons.

I enjoyed knitting these hats.  There was a little bit of design skill needed when putting colours together and a little bit of maths skill needed when judging yarn weights.

The pattern I used is here.  I love this pattern.  It makes what I think of as a real head shaped hat and the decreases at the crown are very neat.  

My brighter/darker dk wool scraps are now nearly all used up.  But I have coned yarn and 4 ply yarn that is just crying out to be matched together to make more hats........so watch this space!

On the road again.....

Greenfields Africa has a truck leaving the UK and heading for Kenya and Uganda  in about 3 weeks time.  It will be bringing much needed clothing and blankets to families who can't afford them.  Here's my little contribution: 8 hats and a baby jumper.  Bright colours are positively welcomed in these countries and, as the nights can be very cold, the mothers like to put jumpers and cardigans on their babies.

I posted these off today.  I normally wait until I have enough items to fill a box.  But that would have meant keeping these here until maybe next year.  I'd rather they were used as soon as possible.

Keep on trucking..............

A baby hat and jumper....

Way back in May I won a giveaway on Linda's Chalky's World blog.  Among the goodies that arrived were a ball of wool and a pattern for baby jumpers or cardigans.  There was enough wool to knit a whole jumper and most of a hat. 

 I actually finished knitting before the recent heatwave, but have been waiting for the right buttons.  I chose simple clear buttons and sewed them on very carefully as this jumper is going to a baby in Africa.  I'm always aware that life is tough where these charity knits go and replacing lost buttons is probably not high on anyone's list of priorities.

Both items are to fit age 0-3 months, but I don't expect they will be worn by the same baby.  Greenfields Africa delivers knitted clothing and blankets to children in Kenya and Uganda.  They have a truck leaving the UK in 3 weeks time so I'm going to post off these and other items tomorrow to make sure they are on it.

I loved the pattern.  I can't post a link as it is on paper.  But I have filed it away as I will definitely make it again.  I especially like the generous arm holes and buttons at the neck.  Memories of trying to dress my wriggling baby (while the health visitor watched) are still fresh in my mind after all these years!!

When it's too hot to knit.........knit.

London seems to have been sweltering in a heatwave for a couple of weeks now.  I was planning to start a big blanket, but not in these temperatures.  I've been going through my oddments and making stripy hats.  I was surprised to see how many I made considering I thought I wouldn't be able to knit anything in this heat.  

The hats in the photo range from preemie size to 3-6 months size.  Each one takes only a few hours.  I quite enjoyed choosing which colours to use.  I made most of the hats uni-sex, though I did have to use up some pinks as well.  These hats are destined for Greenfields Africa which distributes warm clothing and blankets to babies in Kenya and Uganda.

I'm chuffed that I managed to clear all my dk oddments.  The bits that were too short for stripes have all been rolled up into one ball of variegated yarn that  weighs about 50g.  I now officially have no dk oddments left.  But once I start on my next blanket that will change.......

The pattern I used for the stripy hats is one of my favourites as it is so quick and easy.  It is here.

The pattern I used for the ribbed blue hat is another favourite as it is stretchy and will fit easily.  It is here.

The kindness of strangers......

I recently joined the Charity Knitting group on Ravelry.  I knit a lot and probably 75% of what I make goes to various charities.  This isn't because I am a saintly, good person. It is just because there is only so much I can make for friends and family before I turn into that crazy lady who everybody wants to avoid at "present time".

I noticed one of the threads on the forum was all about donating yarn.  There are some very generous givers, but most seemed to be thousands of miles away.  In an optimistic moment I put on a request for any UK member who might have yarn to donate.  I'm happy to pay for my wool and love looking for bargains.  But I'm also a keen recycler and love to make something useful from unloved yarn.  Imagine my surprise when I received a quick reply.  

Beverley lives in the UK and is decluttering her yarn collection.  The photo shows what she kindly donated to me.  I love the challenge of using remnants like these. There is some dk yarn....some fairly standard and some really beautiful....especially the orange yarn which is very shiny and has tiny threads of purple in it.  I'm still waiting for inspiration about the best thing I can make with it. 

There is also a lot of 2 ply sock yarn.  I know knitting socks is very popular.  But I must be a rare knitter who hasn't yet caught that bug.  Instead, I am going to knit with 2 balls of yarn together to produce 4 ply items.  I've already knitted a baby hat from a pattern that I really like.  Here's a photo of it:

It weighs about 20g and as I have over 600g of donated yarn that is a lot of hats!

Some of the yarn was in skeins.  To me that implies it is vintage and has probably been seeking a new home for a long time.  When I was a child, my mother always bought her wool like this and I had to sit with my arms outstretched to help her wind it into balls.  I quite enjoyed it (to her surprise) and it probably sparked off my fascination with knitting etc.  It was harder to roll the skeins without a helpful little girl to hold them straight.  But I managed and all the yarn is now safely stored away.

Every last scrap will be used and I will probably send the items to Operation Orphan, Greenfields Africa, and Sibol.

Beverley insisted on paying the postage herself.  So I passed on the kindness.  While putting away the yarn, I came across 4 skeins of what I can only call "shawl wool". That doesn't do it justice.  It is a good quality 4 ply yarn in a cream colour with a nice sheen.  It would make a beautiful wedding cape or something similar.  I see a lot of lovely crocheted and knitted shawls.  But that's yet another bug that I haven't caught.   I think I have been inoculated against shawls and socks.  Instead, I have now given the yarn to a Barnardo's charity shop for them to raise money by selling it.  I also sorted out my ribbons and passed them on to the Sibol challenges project.  So Beverley's generosity has helped at least 4 charities.

Thank you, Beverley.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.".

AESOP, The Lion and the Mouse


“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” 

― Plato

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” 
― Mark Twain

Parcel on its way to Greenfields Africa...

Here are the knitted goodies that I have just posted off to Greenfields Africa which is an organisation that distributes clothing to children in Kenya and Uganda.  It is well worth taking a look at their website to see all the ways they help in these countries.

I have been making these items for several months.  There are 5 blankets, 4 dresses and 5 hats.  All, apart from the stripy blanket, are knitted.  The stripy blanket was crocheted.  I had forgotten about some of these items and I love some of them so much that it was difficult letting go of them.  But they were not doing any good boxed up in my house.  So off they went to pastures new where hopefully they will be used for a long time.

The Ocean Ripple Blanket is finished....

My knitted ripple blanket is finally finished and I'm really pleased with it.  I called it my Ocean Blanket as I used up various shades of blue, aqua and white.  It measures 38" x 32" and is gloriously warm which was a boon as I have been knitting it through the coldest May I ever remember.  I am especially pleased because it was the last item I needed to fill up a box of knitted goodies which I will send to Greenfields Africa .

The free pattern for the knitted ripple blanket is here .  You have to scroll a long way down the page to find the free patterns but they are well worth the journey.

I love knitting blankets and am already planning my next one.  But that will be another blog post.....

The peach wool challenge.....the result is a draw

Here's the finished peach dress.  The pattern called for a moss stitch bodice but I decided that the knobbly peach yarn and the bobbly moss stitch would have been too much.  I tried a ribbed bodice but the weight of the dress just pulled it down into holes.  I didn't think garter stitch would look good, so I tried stocking stitch.  I'm glad I did as it made the most of this beautiful pink yarn.  It is called Soft Cotton by Sirdar and definitely lives up to its name.  I can't remember knitting with cotton before but I am now a convert.  I think I had a strange idea that cotton yarn would be hard when, in fact, it is as soft as feathers.

This dress is my least favourite of the dresses I have knitted from this pattern.  The peach yarn was hard to knit with and has made the dress very "full".  On the plus side, there will be plenty of room for a baby to kick its legs.

I had enough yarn left to knit a matching hat.  To coin a phrase, "the photo doesn't do it justice".  The cotton yarn is so soft and perfect for a baby hat.  As both items are going off to a charity in Africa, it is unlikely that they will be worn by the same baby.  But they are both newborn size, so the possibility remains.

I won't give a link to this hat pattern as I found it very difficult to knit.  To be fair, lots of people have knitted this pattern and left good comments on Ravelry.  So maybe I was just not in the zone.  I have been meaning to knit this for some time and I'm glad I did.  But I found the topknot part VERY fiddly to knit.  It took as long as the rest of the hat and I even dreamed about it.....more of a nightmare really.  I was unhappy with my first attempt, ripped it out and knitted it for a second time.  Boy was I pleased when I finished it.  

Aran crochet blanket.....

Here's the completed Aran crochet blanket that I started a few weeks ago.  It is destined for Greenfields Africa which is an organisation that supports communities in Kenya and Uganda.  I have just Googled the temperatures in these countries and in winter it can drop to 12 degrees centigrade.  UK blog readers are putting up with freezing temperatures at the moment.  But at least we have blankets and duvets.

As an incentive for women to attend ante-natal classes, they are given blankets and other items for the babies.  This blanket measures 36" by 36" which is their preferred size.  When I chained the first 36" it looked quite short.  But I soon found out that 36" square is quite large. It will still fit a baby when it grows into a toddler or small child.

I used a lot of odd balls of Aran wool and was amazed at the different thicknesses of what should all be 10 ply yarn.  I actually had to use 2 different sizes of crochet hooks to try to even out the appearance of the stripes.  The finished weight is about 500g which I have made a note of in case I ever make another similar blanket.  The stitch is basically half trebles (UK) into one loop only.  It makes a lovely squishy, warm blanket.

I'm pleased with the way the colours have turned out.  I simply used what I already had.  I started and finished with a row of bright red and then crocheted more red along the other 2 edges.  The other colours were teal, turquoise, maroon, cream and a mottled red and white mixed yarn.  The turquoise and mottled yarns are finished.  But there is enough left of the other colours to make 2 or 3 hats and I am already looking through patterns for something interesting.

Charity knits: thinking globally...

As I look back through this blog, there is a definite pink theme.  That is purely by coincidence and I'm not really sure how it happened!  Just to be different, I dug into my bag of bargain wool and pulled out:

• lime green wool
• grey and brown camouflage wool
• cream wool that was a little too rough to be used on its own

These came in one of my bargain buys and I can understand why someone else would avoid using them.  However, I like the challenge of producing something useful from the unlikeliest of yarns.

I knitted 2 little waistcoats by combining the cream and lime green for one and the cream and camouflage wool for the other.  The cream softened the lime green and gave more of a tweed effect to the camouflage wool.  All the wool was dk weight so the end results are warm and chunky.  

The buttonholes are quite large and the only suitable buttons in my box were a plain beige colour.  So I used grey thread on the camouflage waistcoat and pale green thread on the green waistcoat.  Small details matter and I think the buttons now look perfect.

I used up the remainder of the wool by knitting 2 little baby hats.  The colours are not the obvious choice for baby hats.  But these items are destined for Greenfields Africa which is an organisation that supplies blankets and clothing to children in Kenya and Uganda.  Colours that would look strange in an English nursery will fit in perfectly in another part of the world.  

The waistcoat was very easy and quick to knit.  The pattern is called "Mayflower's Basic Bodywarmer" and it can be found in the pattern section of the Loving Hands website.

For the ribbed hat, I used the Basic Ribbed Baby/Child Hat pattern.

For the plain hat: I used the Basic Baby Hat pattern.