Haltermelon

Just as planned I finished Nina's Haltermelon top just in time for a hot and humid Christmas Eve day lunch.

This is such a cute pattern. I made size 2 for my 18 month old daughter. She is petite around the chest so it is a bit big on her at the moment but she will grow into it in no time. In the meantime I have knitted an i-cord to go through the eyelets so that I can gather it with a bow.

I also picked up the stitches along the neckline and knitted a trim to match the one on the bottom edge. I wasn’t happy with the watermelon seeds that I embroidered (I didn’t like that i couldn’t get them to be a uniform size unless they were going in the same direction - though mind you, I am not an accomplished embroiderer), or the ones that I knitted and sewed on, so I found some small matte black buttons instead.

I found this video on YouTube to help me with the cast on: Purling in a Long-tail Cast-On

Market Vintage

A couple of weekends ago I ventured out on a 30 degree hot morning to the Glenbrook Growers Market. It wasn't the ideal conditions for organic fruit and veg, but I did manage to pick up a Mon Tricot stitch encyclopedia and a very vintage Patons Fair Isle book. Both for the bargain price of $1.50!

That afternoon at the monthly Guild meeting I also picked up a few more treasures from the Seventies thanks to our convener Merrin, who had cleaned out her Mum's garage.

A Buttercup for Mum

Having finally finished my Buttercup I am filled with both joy and disappointment. Joy at having finally finished this large (by my standards) and monotonous piece of knitting, and disappointment because it doesn't fit me. I made it in the Medium size and think I didn't take into consideration the positive ease. So much for the bad news, it turns out that it fits my Mum perfectly and who better to give it to (finally I get to repay her for all of the knitted garments she has made me over the past 30 years). Both the colour and the style look great on her and it feels amazing on.

Can't wait to cast on my next project which will make use of the 2 additional balls of yarn that I bought for this project unnecessarily. I am going to make Never Not Knitting's Haltermelon for Nina x

Street craft - Katoomba

We ventured up to Katoomba on a sunny spring day this week to meet our wedding celebrant. After the meeting we had lunch at our favourite upper mountains cafe - Fresh - and I was delighted to discover several instances of street crafting along the main street.

Sock Workshop

At last month's Knitters Guild meeting a couple of the ladies held an all-day sock knitting workshop. We learnt how to knit a pair of socks for 1 year old, and I was one of the lucky few who happened to have one of these creatures at home. We knit one sock in the workshop but I then decided to knit another pair, making the ribbing longer and lengthening it in the foot. I also decided to do some knitting stitch embroidery (yet another first) to tart them up a bit. Using scraps of embroidery yarn, the hearts are different colours but I don't think it matters.
Jamie joked that it was ideal for me to knit a pair of woolen socks for Nina in time for Summer, but luckily we are currently experiencing below than average temps for this time of year.
These are knitted in Patons Merino Deluxe DK which is a delight to knit with.

A Bout of Booties

Blue Booties for Felix
 

Peach Booties for India

 

Yellow Booties for Alice

I have been wanting to knit Saartje's Bootees (ravelry link) ever since I started knitting again at the beginning of the year and have finally had an occasion to - 4 friends had babies in the past month - so I knitted 3 pairs in one weekend to have a break from my Buttercup woes.I used whatever yarn I could find in my mum’s stash. The last pair (the blue ones) were the best and were knitted in Patons Bluebell which is a lovely 5ply and what I used for Nina’s beret and mittens.

I couldn’t figure out how to do the long tail cast on using 2 strands of yarn so I turned the work and did a cable cast on. This worked fine and would recommend it to others who are new to LTCO like me, you just need to remember that when you are on the second strap you need to purl all stitches instead of knitting.
I also skipped the button loops and sewed the straps down and the buttons on top. Most newborns hate getting dressed and I think it would be easier for the (sometimes) stressed out mum.
 

*Just did a search through the comments and forum postings on this pattern and found this youtube link (thanks to Ravelry user Zippy69!) which shows it perfectly. There is something so very Zen about the LTCO!

Buttercup Progesses Slowly

My hopes of finishing Buttercup before this month's Knitters Guild meeting were sadly not realised. I am in the midst of stocking stitch in the round drudgery! And taking a weekend out to knit 3 pairs of Saartje's Booties did not help matters (but more on that later). I am fairly happy with progress despite this and the fact that my knitting to this point is not flawless. I am a little concerned that Medium size is going to be a bit bigger than I'd hoped, and am also worried that I will be a ball and a half short of the cotton yarn. I enjoyed learning how to do long tail cast on ( I used this tutorial) and think I will use it on a regular basis, as it seems to get around the fact that I normally cast on (with cable cast on) quite tightly and slowly.