Thanks to New Friends & Projects for 2011

A huge thank you to Jane over at the World Embroideries Blog for sending me these two kits from her giveaway a few weeks ago.

Both kits involve learning new skills. The Golden retriever is in Tent Stitch which is something that I haven't come across before and I've never knitted with beads so I'm looking forward to getting started with these two! Thanks Jane, they are absolutely adorable.

I'm in the process of knitting handwarmers at the moment. I've just completed my first pair, which Eldest can be seen modelling below.

Youngest thinks that they look really cool so now I'm knitting a pair for her to. The thanks for these go to Stacy over at Golden Bird Knits. The handwarmers are based on her Fingerless Glove pattern, without which I wouldn't have had a clue how to even start knitting these. Its a lovely pattern, very simple and knits up very quickly. The pattern is on her blog site and it's well worth popping across to take a look.

As you know from previous posts, I can't seem to stick to patterns. Being true to form, I deviated from this pattern a little to. Due to a previously unknown short term memory lapse issue, I kept forgetting if I'd purled or knitted so I was getting tied in knots. Now, I'm a great believer in the old addage "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again", only with me there is always a twist. I don't cheat, well not much, I just find a different way. In this case, I switched from the knit 2, purl 2 pattern and used stocking stitch for the main body of the glove.

I'm making it one of my New Year Resolutions this year to keep to the pattern. It'll be interesting to see how long I can keep to that one!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Bye for now

Olly

Comments

Crocheting My Way Through Free Patterns with Franken-Snoop

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Hi all I've always been a fan of charity shops. Even before they became a fashionable way to reuse or repurpose other people's unwanted clutter. To me, they have always been a gateway for feeding my addiction to vintage and antique sewing machines. Like this one. Isn't she a beauty? According to the markings, She is a New Home machine made in West Germany so I'm guessing she's a post war... maybe 1950s... electric sewing machine. She has a bolt-on motor and the shortest electric cable I have ever seen on a sewing machine! Look at it! It's tiny! That's never going to reach any of my electrical outlets. I'm thinking that this vintage sewing machine was made to be in a cabinet... or a previous owner cut the cable for some reason. Maybe their outlets were mounted on a desk and they didn't want long cables cluttering the workspace? Who knows? One thing I do know, is this sewing machine is going to give me a little bit of a headache!...

Simply Stitchy

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