hedgehog family................

A few weeks before Christmas I stumbled across a perfect knitting pattern for a family of the cutest hedgehogs you will ever see. If you pop over to one of my favourite blogs little cotton rabbits you can see for yourself. If you are tempted to have a dabble you can buy the pattern here

I knitted my own little family and then took them to see Kate for a visit, they seemed to settle very well into their new London surroundings and were very reluctant to come home, and in fact they all asked to stay.

Jake loves the baby hedgehog it fits perfectly into his little hands and he loves to carry it around with him, it was almost lost on one shopping trip as it's hard to hold a baby hedgehog when you are wearing mittens. Jake takes two little toys up to bed with him, usually two small cars or trains but now baby hedgehog accompanies him every night. I think I might have to quickly knit another one to have as a back up just in case it gets lost.

I hope you like my little hedgehogs and they are so quick and easy to make .............I miss them so I think I need to knit a new family.

I have been overwhelmed with all the comments I've received since coming back, it's so lovely to hear from good friends and some new ones - thank you all so much your kind words and encouragement mean such a lot to me.

Talk soon x

all finished.......................

My baby hat and crochet balls are finished and have been packaged up for the baby shower I think they look quite cute but so tiny...................................

talk soon x

baby hats - so pretty in pink........................

I'm still busy with my baby hat commissions and not a rabbit insight - although a parcel of lovely felt arrived yesterday from here.

My collection of bonnet's and head band's is growing and they are ready to be sewn together but I am waiting until all three sets are finished, then I will spend an afternoon blocking and stitching. I decided to do a pink and white striped hat, it reminds me of candy canes - I'm quite pleased with how it looks and I've just tried a new crochet flower in two pink tones which works well.

happy Sunday - talk soon x

yarn along - a little lacey bonnet

I'm joining in with Ginny's weekly yarn along and for a change I've got a little bonnet to knit  - one of my friends has asked me to knit something for a little baby expected very soon - how lovely a baby daughter for the spring. Spring is such a lovely time to be a new mum, my youngest two grandsons were born in the spring, perfect for long walks with the pram and sitting on rugs in the park.

my favourite pattern from my favourite knitting book

My productivity has been quite high during the last few weeks, things seem to be flying off my knitting needles and crochet hook, being under the weather has some compensations. I've also started another novel, this time on my kindle it's called Gray Justice a debut thriller from Alan McDermott. The main story is about a guilty man walking free from court, the victim's father sees just two options: accept the judge's decision; or take on the entire British justice system............so far so good but I'm only about a third of the way through it.

If you have time do pop over to see Ginny and catch up with her yarn along and some very good news........

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my blog and also for the lovely comments you send me, I try very hard to email a thank you to everybody but if you have a noreply blogger account I can't - so an extra big thank you to you all.

Talk soon x

Yarn along - cushion update

It's time to link up with Ginny and join her weekly yarn along post, if you have time do pop over for a peep. I have prised myself away from my new knitting book, stopped knitting little creatures and have returned to my lovely cushion that has been sadly neglected. I have got on well and finished the front which has a lacey pattern involving three colour changes, now I can relax with the plain stocking stitch back. Hopefully this will be finished and sitting on my sofa by the time yarn along comes around next week.

Reading wise I am back into crime thrillers and enjoying "Watching the Dark" a Detective Chief Inspector Banks story by Peter Robinson - haven't worked out who done it yet!


talk soon x

thank you again for all of your lovely comments x

another little friend.......

I have really fallen in love with my new knitting book I think I may have to knit my way through it. This will be my fourth little project since Monday last week, one headband, two kittens, two lambs and now a penguin - where will it end....................

I think he is so cute................

Talk soon x

little knitted friends..............

Just a quick post today as I have a house full of little ones coming soon and I've still got to finish icing some cupcakes for a surprise birthday party - but I just wanted to share my new little knitted friends with you ......

I love them - hope you have a lovely weekend.

Talk soon x

yarn along - another baby boy..............

It's time to link up with Ginny again and my yarn along project this week is another little baby hat. I'm knitting it for a friend, who is celebrating a new edition to her cousins family. All the new babies seem to be boys at the moment so unfortunately I can't knit my favourite little vintage bonnet but I'm going to finish this hat off with a little pom pom on top. I was really pleased with the little pom pom hat that I made a few weeks ago.

All I've got left to do now is sew the seam and add the pom pom, it feels very soft and snuggly, I love knitting with Louisa Harding yarn - perfect for little ones.

Reading wise I have been delving into interior design books for inspiration as we are still decorating the lounge and I need a few ideas - I picked up this free magazine from John Lewis which is filled with lovely things and great ideas - but I think most of the things I like are going to stretch my budget - never mind it's still so nice to look and dream.

Before I go I must tell you it's the last few days of Kate's sale and she has reduced her sale prices even more..............


talk soon xxx

Yarn along update...........

Just a quick update, I finished my pouf and it did need a lot of stuffing, in fact one single quilt and two large cushions all wrapped up in a metre and a half of grey fabric - so quite costly.............

I think it would look nicer all in one colour and I have made a few mistakes but I am tempted to make another.

The little ones love it, I had to organise a rota yesterday as they were falling out and all trying to sit on it at the same time - oh dear what have I started.

talk tomorrow x

yarn along - knitted scarf

I am linking in with Ginny for my weekly yarn along post. I can't believe how popular this link is, last week I was number 90 out of 177 yarn alongers - wow such a lot of inspiration on offer, every week I find oodles of projects I want to try.

This week I put my hook down as I had finished my blankets ( more about them soon) and picked up chunky knitting needles. My mother in law had asked me to knit her a grey scarf ages ago and I have finally picked up my needles and started it, in fact last night I knitted more than half. It's an Amy Butler design and is a bit like a cravat  - hard to explain the shape, when it's finished I will photograph it again. It should be knitted in chunky wool which I didn't have in the right colour, so I've experimented a little and knitted it with two strands of grey fluffy yarn. I think it's working out OK.

Reading wise I am back onto crime thrillers, I really like David Baldacci novels. Zero Day is about war hero John Puller he is the top investigator in the US Army’s CID. So when a family with military connections is brutally murdered in a remote area of West Virginia, Puller is called to investigate, and soon suspects the case has wider implications. As the body count rises he teams up with local homicide detective Samantha Cole.........................have I got you hooked?

I have to say my taste in books isn't very sophisticated and I should challenge myself more, but hey whats wrong in indulging myself in some light fiction and escapism - I think I may be a frustrated detective or maybe forensic psychologist.

Well back to my knitting and maybe my book a little later.

If you have time pop over to Kate's blog and check out her amazing sale.

talk soon x

Thank you for taking the time to follow me and liking my sweetpea facebook page  - also a big thank you for the lovely comments you send me I love reading them all xxx

yarn along - tiny mitts

I have continued with my baby theme and have just knitted some tiny mitts to go with the tiny pom pom hat I made earlier in the week. I was amazed at how little yarn I needed for the mitts, they weigh 11 grams for the pair, so a great  way to use up small amounts of yarn.

I have put my latest novel to one side and have dipped back into the book that Kate bought me last year - The Crafter's Guide To Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum. as I really want to improve the quality of my photography. The book has DIY tutorials and advice from other crafter's about photographing specific products, so hopefully a bit of something for everyone. If am being honest (don't tell Kate) I didn't really put any of the advice into practice when I initially read the book last year but this time I am going to give it a real go. So hopefully over the next few months you will notice the difference.

If you have time pop over to Ginny's blog she not only fills me with inspiration but also takes the most amazing photographs.

Talk soon x

new baby hats .............

One of my friends is about to become a grandma, in fact any day now. She is very excited and is so looking forward to the arrival of her little grandson.

Even though I still haven't started my second sock and I know I have several blankets on the go, it felt absolutely OK to start a new baby project. I just adore knitting tiny hats and it's so cold at the moment that they are a must for all new babies, they love cosy hand knitted hats. I thought that at least two should be knitted up as quickly as possible and I was also excited about using my new clover pom pom maker to add a little bobble onto one of the hats.

The first step was to choose which hat to knit, I couldn't resist using one of Erika Knight's baby knitting patterns. Next was colour and yarn, I had some lovely Rowan cotton yarn in my stash so was all set to go.

my first ever baby pom pom hat ...............

I love the colour of this one .................

don't they look cute ...........

I couldn't resist making some more tiny crochet hearts ................I might make some bunting

What a blissful way to spend a few hours .............

talk soon x

yarn along - first of 2013

Not a good start to 2013 when I am late with my first yarn along post of the year. Hopefully I will be forgiven as with all the extra bank holidays it's hard to remember what day it is, so yarn along Wednesday passed me by.

I have started to knit a blanket which is a first as I have made two crochet blankets before but never attempted a knitted one. I am doing a bit of my own thing but I was inspired by a post on the Purl Bee blog which featured a garter stitch striped crib blanket in lovely merino wool.

I have chosen some beautiful Louisa Harding yarn, it's a mix of extra fine merino wool and cotton and I have just started my first stripe. It's a day of firsts as I am using a circular needle which I haven't used before but I thought to get the width of the blanket right a circular needle would do the trick.

I want my blanket to be bigger than the crib pattern so I have cast on 230 stitches which seemed about right, after being used to the speed that crochet blankets grow I think this will take some time to finish.

I hope it's going to be a project that runs alongside lots of others, it should be easy to pick up and knit a few enjoyable rows and then put back down again until next time without a worry.

Reading wise I am still loving my kindle and have started to read The Blackhouse ( Lewis Trilogy) by Peter May, it's a crime novel which is a bit gruesome but highly addictive, it's so hard to put it down. Another advantage of knitting is that it's so much easier to read at the same time something I can't do when I crochet.

I will try to be on time next week and hope everyone is enjoying some creative time.

If you have a minute you must visit Ginny she has knitted some amazing baby boots - they are adorable.

Talk soon x