Quick scarf and hat....

This is just a quick post to thank everyone who has sent me best wishes for my second eye op.  It took place a week ago and it is a big relief to have both eyes finally working together.  I'm also happy that I can now read, type, sew and knit to my heart's content.  

I will definitely need reading glasses for finer work. But it's a bit too soon to order them as my prescription will continue to change for a while.  So I am making do with off-the-shelf reading glasses. However, I find that I don't really need to use them until the evening. Our energy-saving light bulbs at home might need some rethinking as even my husband finds them useless for reading.  It's all a bit of a learning curve at the moment.

I started this scarf a few weeks ago.  The hat took just 2-3 days.  The yarn is a 100% wool by Jaegar and it was donated to me by a generous person on Freecycle.  The scarf is a simple crochet v-stitch and the hat is one of my regular favourite patterns by Pyrrha Designs.  These will go off soon to Operation Orphan for their Keep A Child Warm project.  I chose to make these two items in a size suitable for a teenager.

Yesterday, I treated myself to a rummage in my bags of yarn and picked out some really pretty yarn for a simple baby blanket.  But that's another story.....

Six squares...

About a year ago I was lucky enough to be given 2 big bags full of yarn by a Freecycler.  Yes, I was that bag lady sitting on a train and then on a bus, occasionally peeking into the bags and smiling happily.  

I think I have used most of it by now.  But there were several small balls of white dk acrylic yarn....all slightly different shades and textures and all too small to make even a baby hat.  The closest they would have come to a hat would be in a starring role as stripes.  But I was in no rush.

Then, a few days ago, I heard about Cwtch of Comfort which is a project that gives blankets and quilts to parents who have lost a child.  They use blankets of all sizes and recently made an appeal for six inch squares that could be sewn into bigger blankets.  See here for more information about the squares appeal.  The squares needed to be white or pale pastel.  They also needed to be easily washable.  Perfect.  I have now managed to use up all my odd balls of white.

As someone is going to crochet these squares together, I decided to make it as easy as possible for them.  I chose to knit simple corner-to-corner squares.  The advantage of this type of square is that there is no cast on or cast off edge.  All four sides are the same, which makes sewing them together fairly easy.  I followed the SANDS blanket pattern which is very easy and produces a square with a good strong edge.

So, having recently used up all my odd balls of white 4 ply yarn, I have now done the same with my dk yarn.  Turning oddments into worthwhile items always makes me happy.  Sometimes it really is possible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

The little and large preemie tops...

After crocheting five Aran wool scarves, I have gone from one extreme to the other and turned my hands to knitting with 4 ply acrylic.  I had 4 complete balls of white/cream and a few oddments.  This is exactly the yarn requested by hospitals as it is suitable for small preemie babies and is easy to wash.

The pattern for the sleepsack came from the Cuddles website.  I altered the pattern slightly.  As written, it does not produce the garter ridge across the chest.  I corrected that by knitting what should have been a purl row.  I then ran out of  yarn just before the end.  I had a remnant of cream that was more banana in tone.  The difference is only obvious in a really good light, so I didn't actually realise when I started knitting that I had 2 shades of cream.  There was a timely flash of sunlight just before I joined the new yarn.  I added another garter ridge and it looks absolutely fine.

I can't remember where the other pattern came from, but it was lovely to knit as it is a seamless top-down pattern.  The only sewing was to sew in the ends and attach a button.  I chose a lovely pearly button from my recycled collection.  I also had the same buttons in the perfect shade of cream for the sleepsack.  I have been saving these buttons for years and can no longer remember where they came from.  But I am glad I saved them.

I don't know why I am surprised at the huge size difference in these two items.  Preemie babies come in all sizes, so they will fit someone.

These items were a great way to use up what looked like quite a small amount of yarn.  The sleepsack used 30g or yarn and the sleeveless cardigan used 36g.  These will eventually go off to PreemiesUK for distribution to hospitals in the UK.

Now, what to do with the 4 complete balls of 4 ply........watch this space!

The 39p scarf....

What can you buy for 39p these days?  Not very much, so I was amazed when I found a ball of yarn for that price in a charity shop.  It was in the bottom of a dusty bin and I suspect it was very close to going into a real dustbin.  But I could see it had potential. There was no label on it.  But when I rescued it and took it home, it weighed 100g and measured as 4 ply.  I think it was on sale at a giveaway price because it was knobbly yarn which is generally considered difficult to knit with.

I decided to knit one of my favourite scarf patterns.  This pattern is for dk yarn.  But it is easy to adapt.  I used size 3.75mm needles and cast on 35 stitches for a width of 6.5 inches.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the knobbles were quite small and didn't cause me any problems.  The 100g of yarn kept on giving until the scarf was 51 inches long.  That will be ideal for me as I plan to just wear this one tucked into a coat or jacket.  I put my scarves and gloves away in March, even if the weather is still cold. So this scarf will have its first outing next winter.

There are lots of "yarn over" stitches in the pattern.  The resulting holes just call out for a scarf or shawl pin.  So I trawled the Internet until I found this unique pin made from a recycled knitting needle.  Top marks go to someone with imagination.  I wish I had thought of it first!

Snug hat and scarf outfit....

Here's my latest hat and scarf set which I think proves what can be made from value yarn.  To be exact it is "Wonder Knit" from Poundstretcher. This is a double knit yarn that comes in various shades and is supposed to make a pattern of flowers.  Simple maths tells me that the pattern on the yarn label photograph must require a quite specific number of stitches per row.  Sadly, that information was missing on the label and my number of stitches wasn't quite right. But the pattern is still pretty.  This is also a lovely soft yarn to work with and it seems to go a long way, so I can recommend it.  

The hat pattern I used is the Two By Two Basic Beanie here on Ravelry.  This is going to be a very useful pattern to me as it comes is a range of sizes from baby to large adult.  It is seam-free and has a neat crown.  As it is such a simple design, lots of knitters jazz it up with bright colours and stripes.

The next photo shows the scarf better.  I didn't follow a pattern for this.  Instead, I simply cast on 36 stitches and knitted the feather and fan stitch until I ran out of yarn.  It took a whole 100g and is long enough to wrap around the neck twice.

I couldn't resist taking the next photo.  It shows the red paper clips that I use as stitch markers.  I actually rescued these after my daughter threw them away.  Waste not, want not.  I needed markers when I was decreasing the crown of the hat.  I simply slipped on a paperclip at appropriate times and used 2 paperclips to show the end of the round.  Perfect.

***PS: for anyone looking for my "Grow Your Blog" post, here is the LINK.***

Four for the boys.....

Here is the fourth and last pair of shorts that I will be making for a while.  The material for these came from a long dress that my daughter was finished with.  They will fit a 4 year old boy.  I originally planned to make 5 pairs but realised at the last minute that the material I had set aside for the fifth pair was too girly for any boy to want to wear.

So this is the little collection of shorts that will be going off in the post to Sew Scrumptious for delivery to various countries in Africa and Asia:

Here is the free pattern and tutorial that I used for the shorts.  They were a very economical project as I already had the old t-shirts and thread.  I bought good quality waist elastic as this is a crucial part of the shorts!

I tend to sew in short spells....excuse the pun....and I feel that this spell is now over.  I have started on another project which I have been looking forward to for a few weeks.....but that will be another blog post.

Third pair of shorts....

Here is the third pair of shorts I have just sewn from this simple free pattern and tutorial.  Once again I cut up an old t-shirt and reused the material.  It is a soft shade of khaki green and should fit a child aged 2-3 years.  I have 2 more to make and will then send all 5 off to Sew Scrumptious for delivery to various countries in Africa and Asia.

....just a brief post today as I am still going through a very busy spell.

Second pair of shorts....

Here is another pair of shorts for boys aged 2-3 years.  I reused another old t-shirt.  I'm a bit bemused and maybe a bit flattered that one of my baggy t-shirts has only enough material to fit a toddler.  My paper pattern piece for shorts for 4 year olds is just slightly too big.

I had a Eureka moment and sewed in a little ribbon to show the back of the waistband. 

I recently bought a bargain job lot of ribbon and obviously it included a duff one.  This was a wide piece of black ribbon which I know I will never use......except for a project like this.  I simply cut a piece of ribbon, folded it in half and sewed the raw edges into the waistband.  The idea isn't rocket science, but I was stupidly pleased when I thought of it.  A little boy can find the back of his shorts and I found a way to use my black ribbon!

These shorts will eventually join a few others and go off to a children's charity. 

First ever shorts.....

I just had to blog about the first shorts I have ever sewn.  They should fit a 2-3 year old and are destined eventually for Sew Scrumptious.  Their "Dress A Girl Around The World" project is well known and they have distributed over 10,000 dresses to Africa and India.  Shorts for boys are also in demand but fewer than 1000 have been distributed. 

Having made my first ever pair of shorts, I am converted and will concentrate on these in future.  I have the material already waiting to be recycled and I recently bought a big roll of good quality woven elastic which is perfect for waistbands.

I have many old t-shirts like this baggy, shapeless horror:

I use them for exercise classes and keep them far longer than I should because I can't bear waste.  Now I can give them a new lease of life and buy some new ones.  Woo hoo!

I used the following free pattern and tutorial.  The pattern is one simple piece approximately resembling an inverted T.  You cut two of these shapes, do quite a small amount of sewing and ...hey presto....you have a pair of shorts.  I opted to make the 3/4 length shorts, though the pattern is easily adjusted to make long trousers or shorter shorts.

I can make age 2-3 years shorts from my old tops and when Hubby throws out his t-shirts I will probably be able to make age 5-6 years shorts.  In fact most t-shirt material is just the right strength for these shorts and it usually doesn't fray so is easier to finish.

I noticed that this particular t-shirt had a nice notch detail at the side seams.  So I decided to incorporate this into the legs.  Laying the pattern piece on the material wasn't as straightforward as I expected so the side seams have ended up slightly more to the front.  But I don't think this will be too noticeable when they are being worn.  Actually, I was making things more difficult for myself.  The pattern doesn't require outside leg seams.  The material simply wraps around the leg and is seamed on the inside.  In future, I will follow the pattern unless there is a really special detail on the side seams.

I liked the little appliqué detail on the t-shirt.  It ended up on the unused part of the material but I didn't want to throw it away.  So I added it to the hem of the shorts.  It is a nice little decoration and acts as an aide memoire to little boys trying to tell the difference between the front and back of their shorts.  It also draws the eye to the notch detail which I liked and wanted to use.

A skilled sewer could make these in an hour.  I took my time but still finished them in an afternoon.  I'm pleased with how they turned out and there will be lots more to come.

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?)

I'm so lucky.....

Look what arrived today; a glorious collection of yarn and unfinished knitting.  I'm in Heaven, which is quite appropriate as this was all donated by a UK convent that was sadly closing down.  The nuns contacted Loving Hands to ask whether we could make use of their craft materials.  One of the Loving Hands members, Helen, made several trips to the convent and came away with literally thousands of pounds worth of yarn, material, threads, needles etc.

Helen mentioned that there was some unfinished knitting.  I had enough wool at the time, but said that I could finish the knitting if it just needed buttons or sewing up.  I have oodles of buttons and I quite like sewing up....I know....I'm strange like that.

Well that was months ago.  Helen had a garage almost the size of an aircraft hangar and spent weeks with helpers sorting the materials and boxing it up for anyone who asked for it.  Loving Hands members knit, sew and crochet for charity so the nuns were happy that their materials were going to a good home. 

Well, my parcel arrived today.  I piled everything up on my brown sofa which was a bad choice as there is a lot of black and brown wool that doesn't really show up in the photo.  But you can get the gist of it.  There are some lovely balls of wool, some pieces waiting to be sewn together to make a teddy, and some knitting still on its needles. Seeing the needles was quite poignant.  It makes me wonder about the stories behind why the knitting wasn't finished.

The teddy pieces are complete except for the main body.  I can knit one in a different colour and make it look like a romper suit.  The unfinished knitting is a bit more unfinished than I had bargained for.  It seems to comprise jumper parts but no patterns to give me a clue as to how to proceed.  The quality of the knitting is amazing. Some of it is Fair Isle which I would not be able to continue even if I had the extra wool or patience.  I've decided the simplest thing will be for me to unravel the knitting and to reuse the yarn for my favourite hats, blankets and scarves.  Whatever I do, it will all eventually be put to a good use.

Thank you to the nuns and a big thank you to Helen for sorting all this out and even for paying the postage on dozens of large parcels.

Helen has now finished distributing everything.  But if anyone is curious about Loving Hands, now would be a good time to look at their website and to join the free forums. There is a wealth of information, patterns and the occasional freebie available.

i'm now going to spend a happy few hours unraveling and sorting the yarn.  My idea of bliss........

When life gives you lemons.....

.....make lemonade.

Jo on her Three Stories High blog has written an article called "Waste Not Want Not".  This is close to my heart as I am a keen recycler and hate waste of any kind.  Buying bargain lots of wool appeals to me because I both save money and use up wool that is unloved.  Most times I get lucky.  But sometimes I end up with wool that is a bit of a challenge.

A few months ago I acquired a job lot of Aran wool.  I can tell that it is very good quality and probably quite old.  It is a bit too rough for baby blankets, but perfect for some hats that I am planning to knit for Siblings Together.  This is an organisation that helps children stay in contact with their siblings who have been separated from them by the care system.  They take the children away on holidays and give them scarves and hats if they need them.  Their next holiday trip is planned for the end of October so I am working to a deadline.

The organisation has asked for hats to fit the older children who can be any age up to 18.  I found a very quick Aran hat pattern and knitted the "woman" size thinking that it might fit a teenager.  It is a bit too big for me.  But my daughter who has lots of long hair claimed it as hers.  She works on a market stall at the weekends so will really need this in winter.

I'm going to knit the next size down and should have enough wool for about 5 hats. This wool is such good quality that someone has gone to the trouble to unravel what was probably a large Aran jumper.  BUT  BUT  BUT the jumper has had a hard life.  I think it was slept in, covered in dubious stains (curry, I hope), used to dry a muddy dog...etc....get the picture?  Then it was unravelled without being washed first.  When the wool arrived I had to separate it from my other wool so as not to spread the smell.  

Luckily, this hat was very quick to knit up because I was holding my breath most of the time!!  I'm not joking!!  Then I washed the hat and it is beautiful.  The stains have come out and the wool has softened up nicely.  The smell has completely gone.  I'm going to use the rest of the wool.  Five children will have warm heads, and some lovely quality wool has been rescued.

I recommend this pattern for anyone looking for a very quick-knit basic Aran hat..

Pandora's box is getting spliced....

Last year Hubby came home with a bottle of champagne.  It was nestling in straw in a gorgeous wooden box.  The champagne is long gone and the straw ended up on the compost heap.  But the box lives on.  

It will never be worth a fortune.  But it is strong with rope handles and leather hinges. My eyes lit up;  I love pretty boxes and had the perfect use for this one.  I saw it as the ideal place to put all those small oddments of yarn that are left over after projects.  I sort my oddments into dk, 4 ply etc and use them to make stripy hats etc.  But eventually the oddments become too small even for that.  I hate waste so I still keep them and sometimes use them for sewing or even for stuffing soft toys.  

This week has been far too hot for knitting the blanket I am planning.  I dipped into the box and knitted a few stripy hats instead.  I noticed that the collection of tiny oddments was growing.  Storing them in a box creates an "out of sight, out of mind" situation.  But it also puts a sensible limit on how much I can accumulate.  Then I remembered a method of joining yarn called the "Russian join".

In the past, I have occasionally used this method to join yarn mid-row.  It makes a surprisingly strong join.  It isn't right for very fine projects as it inevitably creates a slightly thicker stitch.  But it is perfect for things like scrappy scarves.  It works well on dk acrylics which I use a lot.  

So, yesterday, I set about combining the tiny oddments into one large ball of wool.  I was in just the right frame of mind for this relaxing activity.  This ball is just whites and pastels.  

But I have enough oddments to make a brighter ball later.

What will I do with them?  When I have enough I will probably combine the pastel ball with a white 4 ply yarn or even with some of my coned 2 ply yarn.  I'll knit with both together to make a variegated baby blanket.  I will probably combine the brighter ball with a darker colour and make a scarf or even a pet blanket.

There's some way to go yet.  The pastel ball weighs only 40g.  But it won't be long before I can use it.  When the weather cools down, my blanket will take shape and I will have a lot more oddments.  Woo hoo!

Sustainable knitting and a little bit of silliness...

I am a keen recycler and hate to throw away anything useful.  I had a cheap old pair of gloves that were shapeless and worn out.  I know they were cheap because I never pay very much for anything!  I noticed they were badly made and were already unravelling.  That gave me an idea.  

I continued the unravelling.  The first photo shows how much wool there was in just one cuff.  This was the most difficult part to unravel because it had a thin elastic knitted in with the wool.  

The second photo shows what I had after unravelling the first glove.  By now I was fascinated to see how the glove had been made.  The knitted-in elastic stopped after the cuff and unravelling it became very easy, fast and thoroughly satisfying.  The biggest ball of wool came from the cuff, the lower palm and the thumb.  Then the next ball of wool came from the upper palm and the little finger.  The three remaining fingers each produced their own little ball of wool.

The third photo shows what I now have after unravelling both gloves.  This is a dark grey 2 ply wool.  It is still in a good condition and I have put it away with my other 2 ply wool which is mainly pink and white.  I think, for hand knitting, 2 ply wool is completely useless.  But knitted together it quickly makes a 4 ply yarn that can be used for all sorts of things. 

That project was my little bit of silliness over Christmas.  It was also a very welcome bit of light relief from my current project of knitting a very complicated Aran jumper.