Knitting updates....and am pretending I have no other news today !

This butterfly suit was knitted 18 years ago

for my youngest daughter, little did we know then how much she would love butterflies........must have

been my early knitting influence.

 I remember that it was a french pattern and knitted in a flecked double knit ,with the butterflies made from oddments. I loved it, but I do not remember my older children sharing my enthuasiasm

 This is my most
recent baby knit.
made using pale
pink 4ply and a 1950's pattern.

This is my latest 'me' knit, I have not used a pattern, but have gone for a vintage 1940's afternoon tea shape. I have kept the styling simple, and used cable stitch and soft velvet ribbon for decoration and embellishment.The wool is a supersoft cotton.

New born baby knits.

Puppy slippers  6-12months

Rainbow slippers 6-12 months

Pale blue double knit.

Fair Isle

Classic double knit

3ply 1930's pattern

New arrival gift set

Wartime socks

And now I have to wrap all these baby knits ready for posting. I have one girl,one surprise and two boys all due in the next four weeks.

We may even get some photo's back. I have been making baby gifts for others for thirty years now and have only ever recieved the photo's you see above,I guess babies grow so quickly they are in and out of their newborn gifts before you know it...................so lets wait and see.


My next blog is dedicated to our new family member who arrived today and my seedlings, until then keep safe.

Daisy boots

New Ted

Waiting for buttons ready for posting.

The Ides of March..........

Well I guess the 15th of March came and went ,but was not the turning point of the year so far. I can not remember the last time that March has seemed longer than January, we continue to have every conceivable weather, minus temperatures and a permanent paddy field at the end of the orchard. At least day is now longer than night............

Quick shopping spree

New notions.

The positive side of this is the extra time spent indoors unpacking and sorting all my fabrics, finding old sewing patterns that have been waiting to be liberated and all those buttons and notions.

Fabric cabinet

For this Summer

Crochet shelf !

Room to work.

Ready for an upcoming new project.

The long dark evenings have also given way to more baby knits and I have enjoyed a few novelty knits , just to spice up the interest.Not many more to make now and then the sewing machine can be freed from its travel box and I can begin in ernest on the new curtains,blinds, sofa covers, summer dresses and a new coat for next winter.

Moor sheep

The new hen house  :-)

Meanwhile despite the lack of Spring weather the greenhouse has become an abundent source of germinating seeds and lots of native flowers in bloom in the hedgerows, all promising signs of change to come.

Dwarf Carnations,bears with no patterns and booties....

This weekend the weather has been terribly cold, several brief flurries of snow and beautiful sunshine. So it was a no brainer to get out the knitting bags and find things to do in the warmth of the house.

This week has been very busy, with lots of guests and visits to the beach. Archie is growing up so fast , he strolls out full of confidence on the beach now and is not perturbed by the dogs running passed him fully engrossed in playing chase and ball.Once family had returned to the Cotswold's we were joined by friends and their terrier Dexter,we did manage the beach, but the tides were very high and the winds very strong and cold so we retired to the pub and treated to a late lunch.

The dwarf Carnations are by far the current winners in germination race, the sweetpeas are large and strong and will need planting on shortly. I had hoped to trim back all the Strawberry plants this morning , but it was so cold [for me ] that after I had tidied one plant I gave in and came back to the comfort of my kitchen.

An old school friend has just had their first grandchild, I was delighted to hear she has been named Daisy ,I have seen photo's and she is very beautiful. Its nice to have a baby girl to make gifts for, as all my friends do seem to have had boys recently.

Three other friends are expecting in the next 12 weeks, two are second children and the third their first , so baby gift production is currently in full swing.

My style is vintage I guess, my favourite patterns are ones I have found from the 1930's and 1940's, but I also love the feel of the many super soft baby yarns that are available today,so I mix and match.Also you do have to bear in mind the parents style as not all  love my natural choices !.

So this week I am starting a new job, so then I will be able to judge just how much 'free time' I will have to play with in the future, and what my work life /fun balance will truly be.