Series of Sunbeams

Quick update on the completed jobs...

• The grown up PJs x2 - tick
• The pinafore - tick
• One skirt - tick
• One pair'o'mittens finally sewn together - tick
• One Barbie dress mended - tick
• One flanny wrap & 3 mini-blankies for smallest niece - tick
• One pair of school mittens - found - hoorah!

In progress:

• Another skirt - cut out ready for sewing
• Green throw blankie
• Basketweave scarf
• Pink scarf x2 (do you sense a theme here?)
• Lacy wrap cardi
• Mending my faux silk chinese style handbaggy
• Velveteen piggle

On the to do list, but not yet started:

• bedsocks x3
• hemming a pair of work pants
• kids dresses x2
• blah blah secret knitting project
• fingerless mittens with fluffy edge - in pink of course
• another cushion cover - with cables
• cot sheets for niece
• tablecloth

Languishing in the too hard basket:

• pretty much all of the ancient knitting (ie: anything I started prior to 2006)
• and add the old unfinished sewing in here as well really...

Almost good enough to eat

The cupcake project is complete (and hidden away til the birthday party). As giveways (as well as the lollies etc) I made these:

So easy and so cute...

The pattern is from the Spotlight Knitting Essentials mag, the yarn was either leftover bits & pieces from eons ago or a couple that were especially bought (bumpy multicolour one & the fuzzies - 1 ball each when they were on sale at Spotlight for about $2).

Now on with the rest of the to do list...

Lacy bits

All the individual pieces (back, 2 side fronts - not even the same 2, but a matching set - and 2 sleeves later) have been finished. But not yet sewn together, not that that stopped me from casting on the lace. It's a 4 row pattern repeat and not to hard (ie: I've only had to unravel it once so far when I lost track where I was up to). Finding a stitch counter solved that one...

It won't take long to finish the lace for the sleeves, but the lace piece that wraps from centre back neck down one front side, all the way around the back and up the other front is probably going to be about 1.5m long. I'll need to sew it all up & measure it properly.

The blankie hasn't progressed much further, though more sewing has been done. There is also a blah blah secret knitting plan under way. And hubby would like some bedsocks (as would I) and a certain small person has lost her school mittens and a replacement pair will need to be made. So more is being added to the list than crossed off.

Whilst I restrained myself from the Lincraft sale today, I did wander past the bookshop and slipped. Two lovely books with cotton knitting patterns are now adorning my bookshelf waiting for me to add more to the to do list...

Slow progress

The pattern in the rug is starting to take shape. It's not difficult, but row 2 is against all my knitting instincts, so I need to go slowly. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it after a few dozen rows. Still have the black clouds of unfinished projects haunting me - and the sewing really does need to get done soon.

Casting on the throw rug

I have figured out what I'm going to do with the throw rug and will cast on shortly. A double moss stitch border with a lacy pattern in the middle. 116 stitches on a 7.5cm circular needle, 8 st on each side continue the border, lacy pattern from 400 knitting stitches book.

Here's some cushion cover pics:

Cushions and things

Hoorah! The green cushion cover is complete and wrapped around the cushion even. In fact crocheted together around said cushion at each end & side edges sewn. Possibly could have been more neatly finished off, but the bulky yarn made it a bit difficult.

Went into town on Sunday for something else entirely. Tapestry Craft were having a sale on their yarn & all knitting things, needless to say there was more stash purchased. Enough of the Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed to make a long cardi-type coat and some Inca for a scarf. I was soooo restrained....

Finished the first side front of the lacy wrap cardigan - now for the other front bit. Once I wrapped my brain around the dec at the ends of the various rows from the armhole up and wrote it out, it only took an hour or so to knit.

The sewing has been languishing after the first burst of enthusiam - need to get back to it.

Pyjamas and stuff

I have made 2 kiddie size flanny PJ pants in cute pink prints - they are already in use! Have cut out PJ pants for me using an actual pattern (as opposed to making it up as I went along based on last year's purchased variety - which is what I did for the kiddie sizes).

One 3 teir ruffled pinwale cord skirt has been constructed, with 2 more cut out & ready to be sewn. One pinafore has also been cut out, though I'm a bit worried it might be too small so I'm waiting to see the results before I get too enthusiastic about cutting more out. I may have to enlarge the pattern.

I managed to wrap my head around the requisite maths in order to start the front of the cushion cover - even graphed it out (which is a bit more technical than I usually get). The other knitting is plodding along... though there is decreasing both sides of the front of the lacy wrap from armholes up with different intervals between the rows of decreasing. I need to write it down and get it straight in my head before I start on that or it will end up in a mess.

More plans having been running about in my head, but haven't formulated anything specific yet.