I finished Rose's Sunday sweater the other week. She wore it a few times before I even got around to blocking it! It looks so much better after being blocked though and the stitches look so much smoother. I knit the 4/5 year size thinking it would be pretty baggy on her and last for a couple years but it fits pretty much perfectly. Rose is just so tall! People seem generally shocked when I tell them she's not 3 until January, she looks so much older already..
I wouldn't usually go for such a girly pink colour when knitting but this Cascade yarn is from the 'heather' range and is quite multi-tonal, there are little flecks of light and dark pinks in there. I like the prettiness of it though and it looks lovely with a lot of her dresses.
When I was back in Bridport last month I bought two skeins of this yarn by Araucania Yarns. It's called Puelo and is double knit weight. The yarn is 100% llama and is very soft, initially I was planning on knitting myself a hat and then like usual, I changed my mind.
I decided to knit Arthur a jumper, from a pattern that I'd had saved on my Ravelry favourites list for ages. It's called Livingston and is the most lovely jumper. The yarn knit up like a dream and is so soft on Arthur's skin. I really enjoyed knitting the jumper but the pattern was so much more complicated than what I prefer... you had to start knitting from the bottom up, then knit the sleeves separately on DPN's, then attach them all together on the circular needle, then there were instructions to break the yarn on several occasions while knitting the top part of the jumper. All in all there were a Lot of ends to sew in at the end!
You can't really tell from these photographs but the little wooden buttons have tree's engraved on them. Very sweet, I bought them from Cloth Kits a while ago. I'd actually only bought three for some reason a couple months back, then when I realised that I needed one more I popped back into the shop and after a search I found the very last button they had in the shop. It was like it was meant to be!
I knit the 12 month size but as I was using double knit weight yarn instead of sport, it turned out more around the 18 month size. Arthur is a quite a big boy at 11 months now though, so it already fits him! It just has a small amount of room for growth on the arms and length. Perfect really. :-)
I've also knitted a pair of Edwin Creams and happily managed to get one pair out of a 50g ball of Rowan pure wool 4ply. I just had to make the ribbing section a little shorter and be careful not to waste any yarn. I think the next time I knit these I will knit with 2.75mm needles though as these are slightly loose and because I'm always pushing the buggy, they tend to roll up a little which is a bit annoying. The perfect excuse to knit another pair!
I've been sewing quite a few of these drawstring lined pretty bags for me to store my knitting projects in. I'm attempting to get myself more organised! They are rather addictive to sew because they are so simple though and I've even sewn one for Rose's spare nursery clothes. She starts going to nursery 3 afternoon's a week the week after next and I am really looking forward to have a bit of one on one time with Arthur, she is so ready to go though and will love it.
Rose and Arthur seem to be growing at an alarming rate these day's... Arthur will be 11 months on Saturday and Rose will be 3 at the end of January. I was looking back on some of my photo's on my laptop from over the last 3/4 years and I can't quite believe how much things have changed!
I mean... he's already able to stand, all by himself!!
I wonder what the next 3 or 4 years hold...
Ashley xxx