Dora's prayer shawl

Yesterday I finished the prayer shawl I had made for Dora - the Ugandan lady my friend's son stayed with in Uganda for three months.

In the end I made up a different pattern and used the garter drop stitch to create a lighter fabric.
I cast on 90 sts in DK and used needles size 4.
The overall dimensions are 55cm x 110cm (not counting the fringes)

I added stripes in different colours and made a multi-coloured fringe as my friend had wanted it colourful.
It is not visible on the picture, but in the four corners I knitted a small cross - purl stitches on knit background over a 12x12 square.
The cross may not be easily spotted and you may have to look to find it ... but it are there nonetheless - ALWAYS! :)

So my prayers go out to Dora. May she enjoy the shawl and may it give her joy, warmth and comfort.

Prayer shawl

The son of a good church friend of mine spent three months in Uganda recently. Having returned, he asked me whether I could knit a prayer shawl for his host mother there.
He found this pattern from the Prayer Shawl Ministry for me.

The free pattern can also be found on Ravelry.

Unless I hear otherwise from my friend and her son, here is the yarn I have put aside for this project. It is DK rather than Chunky - but I figure that in Uganda a thick shawl might be a little misplaced ...

Nativity (Christmas project)

This year for Christmas I decided to make one figure for the nativity scene every day.

I used Crafty Cattery's patterns for Mary, Joseph and the baby as a base pattern. Apart from adding facial features and using DK yarn I made little changes to the original patterns.
I then added a variety of other objects - wings, a staff, cloaks, a lamb, gifts and head coverings. I made a manger for the baby and designed the sheep from scratch. I made the legs by covering pipe cleaners with lengths of i-chord.

Really pleased with the outcome. It was great fun and a wonderful way to retell the Christmas story over the 12 days of Christmas.

Fingerless mittens - NEW Ravelry pattern!

My latest pattern is out on Ravelry.

It's a simple pattern for fingerless mittens. They are knitted in the round on a set of double-pointed needles.
For the mittens shown in the pictures I used Regia World College sock yarn in DK. Very cleverly a 150g ball creates 3 almost perfectly matching pairs of gloves.
But any other DK yarn should be fine.

The size fits a medium-sized adult hand.
Adjustments can easily be made. For example you can make the cuffs longer or shorter, or widen the gloves my adding 4sts to the width. (Be aware that this may affect the amount of yarn needed)

Check out the pattern here.
Thank you!

Liv's teddy (again) - FREE RAVELRY PATTERN

Liv's teddy is now available as a FREE PATTERN in my RAVELRY store.

It is written to be knitted on a set of double-pointed needles, so it essentially makes a tube (that’s because I am lazy and try to avoid as much sewing as possible!).
The legs are stitched through.
All that is required is knowing how to cast and and off and how to increase and decrease.
It get s a tiny bit more tricky at the top, when the middle 4 stitches are cast off and the ears are completed separately.

Being a simple pattern it is ideal for charity knitting - so please feel free to copy and share in your groups.

Yarn bombing

Our little town square got yarn bombed. How beautiful! (Why wasn't I told??)

Liv's teddy

I received a request via etsy to replicate a very simple little teddy for a girl called Liv in Australia. She is in the habit of losing her teddy and he mum wanted a replacement - in the event that old teddy disappears for good.


So, equipped with a picture and the basic measurements I set out to give it a go.

Here is the final result. My ball of wool was enough to make three, so Liv should be quite safe for a while!

Will send teddies and knitting instructions later this week.