Mighty mitts

I just love receiving big brown padded envelopes through the post. They carry with them a promise of fabulous things like books, yarn and the odd item of clothing bought on impulse. But sometimes, just sometimes it contains something even better.. a hand knit present for me!

The other week that is just what happened when L sent me the fabulous Endpaper Mitts which she had made me in exchange for Mr 70s Owl. They are exactly as I wanted - grey and white, giving them something of a Norwegian look. Love them!

I hope that L doesn't mind me nicking her Rav photos for this post - my camera is temporarily out of action due to my inability to remember to charge it..


Pretty pattern:


L, thanks again! We must get planning the next swappage soon..

The owl has landed - 70s style

I recently received word that the 70s owl has been sighted in Sweden, so it is without further ado that I can formally introduce you.
Front view:


Rear view:

In good company:


He may have been loathe to fly the nest, but I hear from L that he seems to be getting on splendidly with Gunnar the knitted hedgehog who also resides in L's flat. I have a feeling it will be the beginning a beautiful friendship based on mutual appreciation of forests and worms.

Swapsies Take 2 - Owl for a Mitt

Lovely L spied my sleepy owls and dropped me an email with a proposition: would I make her an owl in exchange for a knitted item of my choice? Hell yes!

A couple of emails later, the deal was done. One owl with a 70s feel (she likes oranges, browns and greens) in exchange for one pair of Endpaper Mitts (my colour work sucks). Watch this space for the fruits of our labour..

In the meantime, some 70s owl colour-scheme inspiration:

Cherry blossom season

Is it me or is everyone suddenly pregnant? As friend after friend shares their exciting news and officially become mothers-to-be, my main concern is how I will ever have enough time to knit them all baby clothes..

I have made a valiant start however, in the form of this little cardi for G's little girl-bun which is due out of the oven this summer.


Modelled here by our obliging baby-clothes mannequin:


As all the cherry trees around London seem to be in full bloom, it only seemed apt to choose Sarah Franklin's Baby Cherry Blossom pattern. To take it one step further, cherry blossoms also represent life's changing nature in Japanese tradition and I guess there are few changes in life as big as having a baby!

As promised..

I actually had a more productive weekend than anticipated, managing to complete all the projects I set for myself - a minor miracle. It may well have been due to having a little more time on my hands over Easter combined with spending the long weekend with my parents. If I had been at home, I would no doubt have been distracted by all that dull housekeeping stuff..

A promised, the owls:


One is flying off to my Granny in Sweden later this week.

Too cute?

The random stuff you discover in London if you actually open your eyes! En route to John Lewis I stopped to check out a little shop which I had not paid much attention to before - actually it was the cute dresses in the window which caught my eye.

So simple, yet so pretty. Again I had to fight my 'I could make it' reflex.



The only question is whether they are a bit 'young'? Could just be to do with the fact that the models look about 14 on the website: http://www.minauk.com/

Seems like my summer fashion sense has been roused. All I need now is some summer!

Slow start

Oh dear, I can't believe that this is the first post of 2010.. Please forgive me, things have been rather hectic with various international trips, social events and of course work getting in the way of craftyness. And of course there is the fact that I seem to have an inability to *finish* projects..

Anyhow, enough of the excuses. I was walking past Heal's the other day and saw in the window Donna Wilson's charming owl cushions reclining the window:


As any crafter will recognise, my immediate thought was 'how cute! I bet I could make those myself!' Usually when this happens it is followed by a substantial amount of time spent not doing exactly that. This time around I decided that they might actually make good presents, so got to work making three experimental owls out of fabric scraps.

Here is one looking rather 2D:


After running out of stuffing (M was looking at me with some amusement while I stuffed the poor things using a large knitting needle) an emergency trip to John Lewis is now on the cards. Promise an update after the Easter weekend, when the little owls will hopefully have become a little more 3 dimensional.