Using up stash

Christmas is a good time to try to use up some of the yarn stash - especially those little bits of left-over yarn, which is never enough for anything much ...

I love knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman's surprise jacket and with its stripey pattern it is a great jacket for using up the odd bits of yarn!


With the first jacket I really did use up my bits of yarn as they appeared - although I tried to keep the stripes relatively even.















My second jacket is going to be a little bit more formal. I used beige as a background with even stripes, mostly in blues and greens.




Plenty more stash to use up ... but at least I have made a start!

Advent calendar

I made this mittens Advent calendar just in time for our Christmas fair. just before the first Advent Sunday.
thank you to Sarah for buying it! :)

Baby shoes

Thanks to Audrey Wilson on Ravelry I have made these adorable little baby shoes.

Made from scraps of yarn in DK on needles size 3 1/2, they fit a newborn. Two tiny buttons are also required.

I knitted them sitting in the car (as a passenger, of course!) on our family trip to North Wales. They took no time to make!

Cuddles

At the moment I am knitting again for Cuddles, a UK based charity which knits tiny garments and small blankets for still-born babies and which supplies gowns, blankets and wraps to maternity units all over the UK.

Here my latest blanket (knitted in 4 ply), with another on the go.

Edit: The second blanket is now finished. It is larger in size with a pattern around the edge.

Baby set pattern

My Baby Set pattern has been checked and proof-read and is now up for sale on my Ravelry page.

The pattern is for a hat/beanie, a pair of booties and a pair of mittens, designed to fit a 0-3 month old baby.

Newborn baby mittens

Here is a free pattern for mittens in a newborn size:

Material: DK yarn, remnants

Needles: 3 ½ mm/ US 4/UK 9

Abbreviations:

K = knit

P = purl

stst = stocking stitch

k2tog = knit 2 together

sl1k1 = slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch

psso = pass slipped stitch over the knitted stitch

Mittens (Make 2)

Cast on 28 sts. Rib K1, P1 for 14 rows.

Then knit in stst for 16 rows.

Reduce for top:

17^th row: K2, sl1k1, psso, K7, k2tog, K2, sl1k1, psso, K7, k2tog, K2 (= 24 sts)

All reverse rows: purl

19^th row: K2, sl1k1, psso, K5, k2tog, K2, sl1k1, psso, K5, k2tog, K2 (= 20 sts)

21^st row: K2, sl1k1, psso, K3, k2tog, K2, sl1k1, psso, K3, k2tog, K2 (= 16 sts)

Cast of and close seam. Darn in all remaining ends.

The pattern of a full set of hat, bootees and mittens is for sale on my Ravelry page. Check it out here!

Teddies for Tragedies

I knitted this little fellow from a amended pattern, which I found on the Teddies for Tragedies site. He stands 10" tall.
Here is the knitting pattern and the crochet pattern.