tis the season to be jolly

I cant believe that last Thursday, one minute I was sunning myself in Hyde Park and the next I was wandering round Harrods Christmas shop, with Christmas music playing!

Sorry to mention Christmas twice in one post during August - but I have just finished a new Christmas goodie knitting pattern for a Gingerbread Man and Mince Pie.



Thanks to Stickfia and Wolknaeuel from Ravelry who volunteered to test knit my pattern. It can be found on my new etsy shop - crazydazyknits. I'm reorganizing my shop at the moment so things are a bit chaotic.
Have a good, hopefully sunny Bank Holiday, Ali

liberty of london

I'm just back from a trip to London. While I was there I spent a morning in Liberty of London, Regent Street.



I love everything about this shop, the actual building, the fabrics, all the lovely things for sale....in fact the only thing I don't like about it are the prices!!!!! Here's me doing a bit of window shopping..


........and the interior is even more beautiful than the exterior.

I must have spent over an hour browsing the Rowan yarns and the fabrics. Here's my favourite the "Betsy" fabric in four colourways........

Bye for now, Ali (the worlds biggest Liberty fan)

new baby

A new baby is a good excuse to run down to the toy shop to shake the rattles, squeak the squeaky animals and fondle the soft toys. Also a great reason to get the knitting needles out. I thought this little guy would be the beanie hat type, so I knit two.... The ribbed beanie at the back of the picture is from a pattern found on Ravelry... Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat, and I followed this pattern to the letter. The hat in the foreground is based on the Apple Hat found while browsing on Knitting Pattern Central. I liked the shape of the hat, but knitted it with blue wool and icorded the top to form a loop. Not having much chunky or aran wool in my stash I just used two strands of double knit, which created a nice mottled random effect. I used these brill dpns which I found in a charity shop recently - they're plastic and quite slippy so great for me as Im a tight knitter. Im not sure what era they're from...but definitely "vintage" as they say on ebay.

All the best little one, Ali

top of the world

Its raining in Belfast again today. Yesterday, the sun made a rare appearance and being up in the North Coast we would usually have headed for the beach, but instead we drove to Binevenagh Forest. It is a short walk to the basalt cliffs were you can see the most amazing view....

this is only a fragment of the panorama, you can see, Lough Foyle, over to Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, Magilligan Point, Benone Beach....its just breathtaking and a wee bit scary if you don't like heights. I think I should get a job with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board!
Bye for Now, ali

hair band

I thought I would have a go at a few different decorative knitting stitches.....I found this pattern Leftovers Headband which uses a nice lacy stitch. I knitted a shorter band, (44cms long) and then added two lengths of icord (each 20cms long) to be tied at the back of the head.

 

I knitted this one with dk cotton I'm pleased the way it brings a little order to my unruly hair.... I think for the winter I may knit a few woolly ones.



Bye, Ali

he loves me he loves me not

I love these daisies....hence my user name.......they are indestructible, they can thrive in the most adverse of conditions tilting towards the sun and seeding themselves in the tiniest of cracks.
 

Here's my attempt at capturing them with watercolour.....


They have inspired me to do a Treasury on Etsy......have a wee look click here.
Bye, Ali

second childhood

My father cleared out the glory hole recently and all my old toys reemerged. I was presented with a very sooty dolls house. After giving it a wash and a Mr Sheen I thought it would be quite fun to furnish it.
 

I decided I would like to do it up, a traditional 50's style house and so I bought some vintage furniture from ebay. You're welcome to have a look around here's the nursery......

All I need now is the baby, but its difficult to find 1/16th scale people. I made a few bits and pieces for it. The rug is crocheted 4ply cotton. The crocheted blanket would have looked better with a thinner wool. I also made a wee teddy which is a mini version of the teddy pattern for the Mother Bear Project.

I didn't have a pair of needles fine enough for the wee teddy, but I found an odd single dpn which I snapped in two.


Ill show you round room by room, as I make a few more items.
Bye, Ali

dublin

I haven't been in Dublin for many years. Last time I visited, there were punts not euros and a bomb scare on the Belfast to Dublin train line was a daily occurrence.

Some things haven't changed though.............
Bewleys in Grafton Street is still serving coffee........

Bewleys skinny decaf cappuccino

The flower sellers are still selling bouquets......

Blooms in Grafton Street

 

and the train journey is so jiggly it is impossible to knit to pass the time!

outside Dundalk

 

I was hoping to further my Christmas pattern on the journey home, which I'm working on at the moment, but it will have to wait for another day. I cant believe I have just mentioned the "C" word and its only July - many apologies for that.
Bye for now, Ali

40 shades of green

Feeling a bit stressed out yesterday I went for a walk in the local forest park. It is a lovely place for a walk, cool on a hot day and sheltered on a wet day. All the greenery lowered my blood pressure no end.

Belvoir Forest park

Green has to be my least favourite colour....as a child I used to give my green fruit pastilles to the dog!.... but it is supposed to be calming and relaxing...it has to be true, as to chill out on a sunny day I need to sit in the garden and knit away my thoughts and worries.

Here's a few photos of some plants in the garden....they were chosen as much for the colour of their foliage as their flowers. Here's a blue geranium with purple, almost black leaves.

This plant, Ive always known it called Lambs Ear plant, has the most beautiful silver furry leaves.....


Bye, Ali

make your own strawberries

I eventually got round to typing up the pattern for the strawberries. It is available on a printable pdf document, click here. Be warned it is addictive, once you've made one you'll have to make enough to fill a large punnet full
Bye for now, Ali

new pattern release

I have just listed a new tart pattern on my etsy shop. It gives instructions to knit up three different types of tart.

* classic jam tart with pastry lattice on top.
* strawberry tart which has a swirl of cream topped with a strawberry.
* fruit tartlet which has a vanilla filling topped with pieces of kiwi, pineapple and blueberries.


Bye for now, Ali

etsy treasury

I love picking items for a Treasury on etsy, it is a bit like window shopping and there are so many great things to choose from. A Treasury is a hand picked gallery by members. This time mine has a definite summer taste to it and Ive called it PYO (Pick your own). Take a look and see what you think.

One of my most favourite things about the summer months has to be the fruit - raspberries, strawberries, red currants, nectarines, peaches ....mmmmmmhhhhh. So I made a few strawberries of my own. Ill be posting instructions as to how to make these delic strawberries soon.

Bye, Ali

wish you were here

I was ordering business cards from moo.com and decided to have some of my knitted bun photos printed onto the front of postcards. I am well chuffed with them ....I've just listed a pack of three pastel cupcake postcards on my etsy shop...have a wee look.
 

Postcards put me in mind of holidays, it's such a shame people text so much now!

That reminds me the school summer holidays start next Friday!!!!!!

bye for now, ali

tie - dye day

With the settled spell of weather I decided to have the annual dyeing frenzy. Dyeing for me is not an exact science - whatever happens happens - that's half the fun - the outcome is always unpredictable.

Here's a few notes about how I do it. If the fabric is new then it needs to be washed. I cut the fabric into manageable squares of aproximately 40cms x 40cms. Always follow the manufacturers directions regarding, dyeing time, amount of dye, fix and salt. I let the fabric dry in its folded form then rinse with cold water followed by a hand wash in warm soapy water after each dye.

My three favourite dyeing methods are :-

1. Scrunched method. Crumple the fabric into a ball. Push the scrunched fabric into a leg of a pair of tights. Knot tightly at both end. When dry remove from tights rinse, wash. To obtain exciting results repeat the process in a different coloured dye bath.
 

2. Dip dye method. Drape the fabric over the side of the basin so the fabric is partly immersed. When half the dye reaction time is up, lower the fabric further into the dye bath so that slightly more of the fabric is immersed. Repeat this process with a different colour of dye, dipping the fabric at a different angle, creates interesting results.

3. Pleat fold method. Fold fabric into concertina pleats of about 4cms. Iron so that fold creases are sharp. Tie or peg at intervals along the folded fabric. When dry untie and unfold the fabric, rinse and wash. Refold the fabric at 90 degrees from the original folds, which results in a plaid pattern. Diagonal folding is another option

tiny wee mouse

I was sitting in the garden yesterday evening, watching the garden grow, something caught me eye........a tiny field mouse staggered from under the lavender bush, I spose he was a bit dozy and just up out of bed. He was no more than 4cms long. I do fear for this wee creature, he needs to be more alert as my garden is the M2 for all the local cats.

I didn't get a photo of the wee mouse, but took one of the geraniums which have just popped into bloom...........

pink geraniums

and also my ladies mantle. I love the way the water droplets collect and sparkle in the upturned leaves........

water droplets

summer sun

I took advantage of the amazing weather last week, packed my bag and headed where most tourists head in Northern Ireland - North Antrim Coast. I always have to visit Whitepark Bay when I go up there, which I think is the best beach on the planet....well OK maybe I'm a bit biased. Its worth the walk down the windy lane, where you even meet the occasionally cow...........

reflections of Portbradden

I very nice afternoon was spent on the beach soaking up a few solar rays!

Whitepark Bay

When I was there I swapped the knitting needles for a paint brush - I'm too shy or more embarrassed to post my attempts. In Coleraine I visited the art shop G.E. Kees, to buy a few sketch books. Its so rare these days to find a specialist shop such as this and the building is so paintable itself........

Bridge Street

derelict beauty

Today when driving, a building site caught my eye....it was a blur of white and lavender phlox. Needless to say a few of these have found there way into my own garden.

phlox

Today I also felt motivated enough to start a new knitting pattern.............

 

Ill have to start knitting vegetables - it would greatly improve my diet and reduce my waistline!
Bye, ali

iPod Cosy

 

THIS PATTERN IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. DO NOT REPRODUCE PATTERN. DO NOT SELL ITEMS KNITTED FROM THIS PATTERN FOR PROFIT ONLY FOR PERSONAL OR CHARITABLE USE
 

 

Keep your iPod, iPhone, camera safe with this tightly knit, thick cover.

Cosy fits an iPod Touch - dimensions are 11.5 cms x 7 cms.

Gauge : 7 sts x 10 rows = 3 cms. Adjust measurements if required.

Materials

chunky wool for cosy - I used Sirdar Peru Naturals

scraps of double knit wool in a complementary colour for clasp

needle size UK 3.75mm / US 5mm

2 dpns needle size UK 2.75mm / US 2.75 or similar

button

 

COSY (3.75mm needles)

Cast on 16 sts, leaving a long yarn tail for sewing up.

Starting with a p row, continue with reverse stocking st, until work measures 24 cms , ending with a k row.

FLAP

NEXT 4 ROWS : stocking st, starting with a k row and ending with a p row.

NEXT ROW : sl1, k1, psso, k to last 2 sts, k(2tog) (14 sts).

NEXT ROW : p.

Rpt last two rows until 6 sts remain, ending with the p row.

Cast off.

CLASP (2.75mm dpns)

The clasp is a length of i cord. For instructions to knit this method see http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips

Cast on 3 sts. leaving long yarn tail to sew up.

Knit until icord measures 18 cms.

To Assemble

1. Fold knitted cosy piece so that the cast on edge just touches the first row of the flap. 

2. Mattress stitch the two side seams.

3. Partly coil the icord to form a decorative clasp, leaving 8 cms uncoiled.

4. Using the yarn tail sew coil together on reverse side.

5. With the other end of the icord form a figure of "8". Sewing the other end of the icord to the back of the clasp.
 

reverse side
 

6. Attach clasp to flap and sew on button.
 

A wristlet, or strap can also be added using a longer tube of icord and then attached to the cosy.
 

copyright Alison Hogg 2009

piece of cake

A relative of mine......no names mentioned is 80 soon. A knitter in her day I thought she would appreciate a slice of knitted cake, topped with candle.

Happy Birthday to You

Took a run up to Ballymena this week and as usual visited the wool shops...I needed to replenish some of my coloured DK . They have a great selection of coloured yarns at The Silk Road, Mill Street and all only £1 per ball.

 

The Silk Road

 

At the moment I'm working on a knitted Ipod cosy, I'm in the process of writing it up but will post it soon,

Bye for Now, Ali

puddles in the park

After all the recent rain, the Ormeau Park has a new leisure facility - outdoor swimming pool....

Ormeau Park

I don't know what it is, but I love photos with reflections, perhaps its best not to psychoanalyse too much!!

There was a glint of sunlight this morning, so I rushed out to the garden. Most of my plants have been donated by other gardeners, or bought from church fetes, or have grown from "pinched" slips and cuttings. The bluebells are all flowering and I have a few different varieties including white and lavender ones.

 

Margaret's White Bluebells

Kym's Lavender Bluebells

 

I must plant some English Bluebells later in the year.

Back on soon with my latest knitting project.

Bye for Now, Ali