Little gifts for some little people

 A pretty bag and a skipping rope for two little girls and pirate mitts for a little boy

 

Pirate mitts match the hat for bike riding

 Three pen pouches with pencils and sharpeners

 'May the force be with you'  Hat for a little boy with his favourite character from Star Wars

 Charity gifts for older boys - bike mitts & pen pouches in team colours

 

Pen pouches  - pattern on free pattern pages

Charity gift - lace cowl for a special Mum

Pirate cap

Have just finished this small cap for my grandson because he likes pirates but think it could also be suitable for an older boy because it is a bit querky and perhaps could even be considered 'cool.' This pattern is small as written but suggest using larger needles for an adult size cap or perhaps adding an extra 14 sts to allow for an extra pattern repeat. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/adrians-skull-cap Make note of the errors in the pattern - 8 repeats; K 28 sts between markers. Used 8ply wool with 3.4mm needles for 1x1rib and 4mm circular needles for body of cap. Pattern is 14 sts x 11 rows.

Also finished this lace cowl and beret for a gift for a friend.

And used the first of my newly acquired wool stash that I bought last week at Australian Country Spinners mill shop, for a charity knit for an older child http://www.auspinners.com.au/ Free pattern on the right of this post as Child's Vest.

Supporting Australian Made

Have just returned from a trip to Melbourne and stopped off on the way at the Wangaratta Woollen Mills shop. With the Bendigo Woollen Mill this is the only other woollen mill left so really needs support or it will disappear. They are finding it difficult, like many Australian manufacturers, because of the competition from cheap overseas products that flood the market, particularly synthetic yarns.  Under the name of Australian Country Spinners they manufacture quality products under the label of Cleckheaton, Patons and other brands. 

This is some of the quality wool that I bought. These end of run packs are sold at $30 per kilo which is an absolute bargain. This is all 8ply/dk wool and will be used mainly for children's jumpers for my charity knitting. So if you have the chance make sure you stop off at Wangaratta but mainly remember just to continue to buy Australian Made wool and give imported products the boot!

Australian Country Spinners
Wangaratta Mill Shop 

Felted slippers and spring flowers

Made these felted slippers today (although more correctly they are fulled because they have been knitted first), from the BWM Murano wool using this pattern Marsh Felted slippers. Before felting they were about 30cm long (12 inches) with the heel 19cm (7.5 inches).

After first hand felting they were firm but not small enough and one slipper was larger then the other. But after a second felting with a lot of kneading and rolling using bubble wrap, the slippers have shrunk to 25cm (10 inches) long and 13cm (5 inches) for the heel so much firmer.

Added a knitted rib to complete these cosy slippers. Just need to sew on the leather soles and they are finished!

        
                               Callistemon and Grevillea blossoms in the garden

                                              Maiden hair fern

                                An old favourite

Three birthdays

A red knitted dress for Emilia who is turning three with a moss stitch bodice finished with a  crocheted picot edging. Made in BWM Luxury 8ply in Brick
 

 A green lace cowl for my sister in BWM Luxury 8ply in Bracken. Pattern here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/peachpetal-cowl but finished size was 22 inches (56cm) wide and 15 inches (38cm) long as I like cowls to drape well.

A red horizontal knitted scarf for an aunty turning 90 years of age. Hope it brightens her day!

Murano

Just received this order of Murano wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Fabulous colour and 100% wool but it is at least a 10ply yarn not 8ply as suggested on the label. The stripes are a bit regular for my liking in stocking stitch and look much better in seed stitch. In fact I think I probably prefer the back of the work so may have to start this again...

Teddy helper

 Nana's little helper...

The jumper is finished and fits well.

No side seams just a three needle cast off at shoulders.

Recycling again...

Since I wasn't happy with the fit of a jumper I made last year decided to start over with a better pattern. Choose an easy pattern from this fabulous book and was delighted to find that it is a continous knit in the round without seams. Have not tried this before for such a large item but it's easy going without purl rows. At this rate will have it finished for this season!

The finished jumper should look like this and will be making the alternate neckband without the buttons.

This hat and scarf is a gift for a friend who has been very generous with his time recently.

The King of the jungle...

Another of Miss Aine's delightful miniatures. Pattern here at Ravelry. My lion is made with 8ply/DK wool with 2.75mm needles and I used a boucle yarn for the mane and end of the tail. Size is 9cm/3.5 inches.  A birthday gift for a special little boy.

A girly gift

 

a little blue vest 

 

   and some new slippers for Emilia

 

 with leather soles and wadding 

 

sewn together with some strong dental floss tape

and finished at the ankle with three rows of fine hat elastic so they won't slip off busy little feet.

It's a wrap...

Finished the Mara shawl and will be wearing it as a wrap. Handy for just some cosiness around the shoulders for these Autumn evenings while sitting at the desk working. Soft and warm.

Mara

Recently found a full pack of this soft Merino yarn at Vinnies (400 gms) and after looking through various patterns, found this very popular Mara pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mara-3 

The yarn has a hand spun appearance and I am using 6mm needles so the finished item will have a good drape. Have changed the increase loop over, to knit through centre loop instead to reduce the large holes in the original pattern. These stitches are made from right and left to create a sloping stitch either side of the centre line.

 I'm not really a shawl person so will probably wear it more like this as a casual scarf/wrap. Hope mine looks as good as this.

This little female possum visited last night and as you can see she much prefers a soft apple to the beans. She is not very big, about the size of a small cat, and is quite tame.