Knitting Pattern: Santa hat

The Festive period is fast approaching, (84 days to go from today!!) and as a crafter who usually makes her own Christmas presents, October is where I usually start thinking about cool things to make to "jazz" up the day.

I devised this pattern last year as I'd lost my usual Santa hat I'd had for many years.

This is a quick and easy method for those who are starting out, and looking for something a bit more complicated than a scarf...

You will need:

Approx 100g of DK or Aran weight yarn in Red (double up the yarn if it is not thick enough)
Approx 50g of white yarn (DK or Aran weight doubled up if needed; use a fancy yarn for a fluffy effect.)
A pom pom maker (or cardboard rings)
8mm needles (US size 11)

Pattern:

CO 64 stitches in the white yarn, and knit either in garter stitch (K all stitches) for 2 inches, or if you feel more confident you can do 2x2 rib (K2, P2) instead.


Switch to Red yarn, and continue in stocking stitch (stockinette) for 6 inches.


Decreasing:


1st row: * K1, SSK, K until 3 stitches left on needle, K2tog, K1
2nd Row: P all stitches

Continue from * until you are left with 12 stitches on the needle

Break off a long tail, and thread through the remaining 12 stitches on the needle, pull together, then with the WS facing out sew up the side seam

To finish off, create a white pom pom using your pom pom maker, or by using 2 cardboard circles and winding the wool through the middle around until the whole is nearly closed, then cut the yarn between the rings (this is hard work!) and then put a thread between the 2 rings, holding all the threads together, then remove the rings and you are left with a pom pom!


Sew the pom pom to the end of your hat, and you are left with a super cool Santa hat!

Play around with the number or stitches you cast on to create bigger or smaller hats - this pattern should fit a small/medium adult head


Let me know how it goes for you!


Debs


*** My Christmas Blog Giveaway will launch once we hit 200 followers - more details will follow soon, but it will make a great present for someone special! ***

Wedding Feature: Modern Wedding Ideas

A lot of you will have read my own blog feature on my crafty wedding that took place in May this year. It was such a special day; lots of family and friends were there to share it all with us, and I've got some great mementos hand crafted by some great Etsy sellers and other crafty people from around the world.

My story was picked up by Nicola at Modern Wedding Ideas, and Stewart and I have been featured in their Real Weddings section. There are some great call outs to the Etsy sellers who created some of my items!

It's so lovely when other people like what you have created - it's been lovely sharing our special day with a wider audience after 18 months in the planning...

The photography by Imagine That Studios is truly excellent; they have taken some stunning pictures, and created a wonderful album for us to keep and show people. 



***Update***
I'm planning on launching my next blog giveaway when I reach 200 blog followers - we aren't far off now! 


Debs

Battle of Britain

This month is the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain; I'm a bit of a history buff, so I have been watching the different television programmes that have been on commemorating the anniversary, and getting new insights into the men who fought, and what it was really like being there.

The BBC have had a whole season of TV on over the last month, and I've really enjoyed watching some fantastic programmes

First Light is a Drama-documentary mixing modern images and storytelling of a veteran with a dramatisation of some of the moments he experienced during the Battle of Britain. At the age of just 18, Geoffrey Wellum was one of the youngest spitfire pilots to go into combat in the Battle of Britain. I really enjoyed the way that this was constructed, with the story played out as it would of happened, and experiencing from Geoffrey's perspective what going into battle would have been like. Knowing that the story was taken from true to life events made it more interesting, and seeing Geoffrey now made it very poignant.

Another show I was surprised by was Battle of Britain hosted Ewan McGreggor and his brother Colin, who is himself a pilot with the RAF, in their take on the events. Ewan is a great story teller, and speaking to veterans you could tell he was in awe of their achievements. Colin wowed as he learned to pilot some of the iconic planes of the period, including a Hurricane, but finishing with a Spitfire. A touching moment at the end where Colin lets Ewan go up in the Spitfire as it flies in formation as it would have done at the battle was very sweet; Ewan's sheer excitement and child like awe really brought it to life.


It got me thinking about vintage themed items from the era, and whilst tidying up my craft room I found a stack of 1940's dress and knitting patterns; so evocative of the period, if only I could get around to scaling up some of those old dress patterns to fit me - I'm a bit bigger than the average 1940's woman!

As a little part of the remembrance, I've created a Battle of Britain themed treasury to celebrate the event, so please take a look!

Debs

Free Pattern - Knitted Headband / Earwarmer

It got a lot colder recently, and I was trying to think of something to wear that would keep my ears warm, but not as thick and hot as my hats... I came up with this nifty little pattern for a dead easy headband - these have been everywhere on the high street this season, so manufacture your own! I went for a plain look, but you could embellish it with crochet flowers, stripes in different colours, cool yarns - make it your own!

(This pic may not sell it to you - apologies! This is a quick snap to show what it looks like on!)

It will take:

Approx 30mins to an hour depending on how quick you are!

You will need:
Approx 50g of Arran weight yarn (or use DK doubled up)
Circular needle (60cm long) or 4 x dpns (whichever you prefer) - 5.5mm

Pattern:
(Note: Can be made for Small / Medium / Large adult heads by following the corresponding stitch numbers)

Cast On 80 / 84 / 88 stitches (if working on dpn's split over 4 needles)

Knit 1/2 inch in 2x2 rib (k2,p2), 

At the end of the last round increase 1 stitch, leaving an odd number (81 / 85 / 89) of stitches.

Continue for 1 - 2 inches (depending on required thickness) in seed stitch (*k1, p1 repeat from * to end) 

(NB: The odd number of stitches on the needle means that this will automatically knit up into seed stitch in the round)


On the last round of seed stitch, decrease 1 stitch by k2tog at the end of the row, so you have an even number of stitches again (80 / 84 / 88).


Continue in 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 1/2 inch 


Cast off (Don't cast off too tightly!)


And Voila! You have a basic textured headband that you can customise as much as you like! 

Give the pattern a try, and let me know if it works for you!


Debs

I Knit Weekender - London: Review

Finally it arrived! I've been so excited to go to this event - it involved an early start, getting up at 6.20am to get up, dressed, fed and out to catch the bus to town to get the coach to London. I'm not allowed to travel alone due to my fits, so Stew gallantly volunteered to come with me for the day - he is good like that! Coaches are the cheap way to travel - it worked out at £12 each return to get to London from Cardiff - not bad at all really. The downside of getting the coach is that it takes about 3 hours to get there, when it is more like 2 on the train, there is not much leg room, and we ended up with a "chatty" couple in front, talking loudly about everything and anything... so it was a LONG trip down.


We arrived in the Big Smoke at 11am at Victoria Coach Station, and headed off to find Emily at the tube station. Emily lives in Peterborough near East Anglia - the other side of the country to us, so it made sense to meet in London and head over to the Expo from there. 

http://www.iknit.org.uk/

10 minutes walk from the coach station was the Royal Horticultural Halls - we spotted the Weekender straight away from the decoration outside:

So we went inside - it was £8 a ticket - I booked in advance for me and Stew, and Emily bought hers on the day. They didn't offer a disabled discount like most fairs which was a bit disappointing, especially as Stew was only coming in with me in a carers capacity.


Well... it was a mix really. What was there was really good - there were some fab stalls selling vintage goods, hand spun yarns, felting etc - there were some really beautiful yarns on offer - mostly in the higher price bracket of £10-20 a skein weighing about 100g, not that great for those on a budget.

Some of our fave stalls included Belina Harris-Reid and the Knit Expo, offering hand dyed yarns, patterns and knitting retreats to Devon (!!!), the stunning merino yarn on offer from Sweedish company Millamia - designed to be knit for kids but the yarn is so soft I bought some to knit for myself, and the stunning Alpaca yarn from the Toft Alpaca Shop - offering stunning yarn in beautiful colours, and dreamily soft to the touch, and kits to knit gorgeous bags and hats. They have also got homemade giant wodden buttons to die for!

One of my favourite stalls was there - Rachel John and her giant knitting - this one must have been a mammoth one to knit! 

 

I think that those were whittled from tree branches - must have been about 50 strands in all! Last time we saw Rachel I bought some large needles to make blankets which I featured in my previous blog post.


I think the downside of this event was that it was much much smaller than we were expecting. It took us less than an hour to walk around all the stalls - there were approx 50 stalls in all in a large hall. for £8 per person we were expecting it to take us much longer to walk around. We were also a bit disappointed that each of the lessons were priced up at about £20-40 per session, putting them way out of our price range. There were supposed to be fashion shows, but there was no-where to sit to view them (the few seats there were were taken), and with the PA blaring out I couldn't hear what they were saying anyway - whilst we were there it was someone talking about garments on stage with them on a rack - not really a 'fashion show'...


The bit that I was most looking forward to was seeing my competition entry on display, and seeing what everyone else had come up with. To my dismay, they weren't on display at all - and when I asked about it the response was that "that had not received enough entries" and were considering extending the competition. This made me a bit angry if honest - I put a lot of effort and time into entering the competition an getting it in on time, and to be told that they hadn't bothered to display the entries, and worse that they weren't awarding prizes was really sad. It seems very unfair on those who did bother to enter that you would change the boundaries of the competition after the closing date to suit them. I hope that they sort this out soon and keep to the spirit of fairness by awarding the prizes to those who have entered already.


So a mixed view of the event. What WAS there was great - but was it worth £8 each to get in and travel from Cardiff...? Not so sure...


So after a few hours we went to the pub to chat and catch up, and decide what to do next. Emily went off to meet our friend Gemma who lives in London. Stew and I jumped on the tube and went up to High St Kensington - a cool and hip part of the city, where I went to the Urban Outfitters Sale (woo!) whilst Stew found a couch to sit on, and then we had some tea in Wagamamas - a noodle and rice bar serving Oriental food - this is me tucking into the Cha Han; like a massive bowl of special fried rice: (wearing the headband I knitted for the event)

It was SO yummy! We travelled back on the coach - this time the man sitting behind SNORED the whole way home....sigh... we really don't have much luck with the people we travel with! 


So a good day out! Even Stew seemed to have a good day too. He wants to whittle me some of those giant knitting needles now!

Reminder! My Giveaway is still open until 19th September so get looking now - it's being hosted on Tigerlily's Book Blog and is accompanied by a review of my slouch beanie hat...

Debs!

It's Giveaway time!

This time around I've taken a different tack with my giveaway this month, and am hosting it through a wonderful blog called Tigerlily's Book

This great blog is written by the lady behind 2thousandthings - Yuri .Yuri lives in Jakarta in Indonesia, and as you can see from the pics below she looks stunning in the grey slouch hat she is reviewing:

I really enjoyed working with Yuri to create a custom slouch beanie, she was so polite and accommodating with the time it took for me to create the hat and get it to her all the way in Indonesia. I'm really glad she has enjoyed wearing it since!

As part of the feature I'm hosting a giveaway on the blog - all the rules for entering are provided in the feature - and you have until September 19th to enter!

Up for grabs is a custom one of a kind knitted beanie - made out of Sirdar Bigga yarn in a cream colour, which has been discontinued; it is chunky and will keep your head nice and warm as the cooler weather draws in...

So make sure you check it out!

I'm off to the I Knit Weekender on Saturday - yarn related fun and frolics will ensue so keep an eye out for my next post!

Debs!

The Great Norfolk Getaway!

I haven't taken any leave from my office job since my wedding in May - and was quite frankly getting a bit frazzled. So Stew and I planned a trip to Norfolk, across the other side of the country, to visit the in-laws, and take a break from the stresses of home life.

As it's such a long trip, we stopped in on our good friend Rob in Cambridge, to see his new house, his super cool comfy sofa and stunning kitchen. Maybe a little green with envy at this point - then he showed us his new i-pad - want one! If I was commuting to London every day by train like he is, I'd get one too. Alas, as I don't commute more than 10 minutes in a taxi every day so I don't think I can justify buying one...

From Rob's house we caught a bus into Cambridge itself - it is much smaller than I thought, but the college buildings are really beautiful. Full of tourists as usual - couldn't move for people taking pictures or asking if we wanted to go Punting - being pushed along the river in a boat bu a man with a large pole - very Cambridge...

After spending a few really good hours wandering around, we drove the rest of the way to Norwich - leaving the heavy rain from home behind us. It was good to see everyone - we hadn't seen them since our wedding in May so the photo album for the big day was shown to everyone in turn, with lots of cooing and gasps. 

I won't bore you with step by step details of the whole week, but will fill you in on some of the key highlights:

Sunday night we went on a family boat trip - a paddle steamer (again!) with a jazz band playing on top, and glorious sunshine. The boat went up and down the Broads (these are rivers surrounded by reed beds, and only exist in this area of the UK) and we got to oggle at all the stunning homes along the river banks, with their own boat moorings - some were holiday homes to rent - I'd love a holiday with a little boat pootling around on the river - sounds idyllic!

Monday involved a trip to the local Zoo with my sister in law, husband and mother in law - it's a cool little zoo in the countryside with a wider variety of animals, including Giraffes - my fave! Weather stayed dry, and we saw a bird show with birds of prey circling over head. We also saw some really cute critters including prairy dogs, Doug the Donkey and baby snow leopards!

Tuesday saw us back at the Broads at Wroxham on yet another boat trip - this time with Stew, Rick and Neil - everyone took it in turns to drive the boat, and with snacks on board it was a great trip out. We did get a rain shower at one point as you can see... but there was a canopy on the boat so after a quick scramble we stayed dry!

We then drove down to the coast to play crazy golf - classic British seaside resort; a little bit run down, lots of arcades and good ice cream. I was NOT on form with this game of golf...lost miserably, with Stew in 3rd and joint winners with Rick and Neil. Consolation followed in the form of a tub of toffee ice cream - very tasty!

The rest of the week involved visiting family and friends, including Emily and her husband Stew, our long term friends who live nearby. We met up in Kings Lynn and showed them the wedding album where Emily was one of my bridesmaids over a good pot of tea. It was great to hear they are moving into their own house and are happy.

We drove back on Sunday in a record time of just over 4 hours - the week flew by, and it's odd to think we won't be going back over until New Year. All I hope that this was not my last break away until then - 1 week just isn't enough!

Good times follow bad times...

Everything seems to be swings and roundabouts at the moment - some days go really well, with good milestones met, others have been really upsetting and sad. The roller coaster is making me very tired I must admit.

Well... The bad... I was walking through the City centre here in Cardiff and some kids came up to me and spat at me, called me a "crip" and tried to kick my stick away. I was really sad - I can handle most of it - it has happened to me before, but I had spit on my trousers and foot (I was wearing sandals) - and had to go back to the office and clean it off. It was really horrible and I got quite upset. Stew my husband called me to cheer me up, and I was OK, but frustrated. I'm a successful businesswoman, I hold down a 4 day a week job in a busy office, I work hard to juggle my business, marriage, social life and creative outlets, I'm smart and I'm a nice person!

I decided to chat to the Etsy community about my experiences in the forums, and I was flooded with kind words and positive thoughts - it was so sweet! It really cheered me up, and affirmed to me that even though I might be different in some people's eyes, on Etsy I'm still an equal. You never know, one day I might be able to feel like that everywhere I go.

Someone pointed me in the direction of the Createability group on Etsy, made up of disabled sellers from around the globe. I got really excited and had a great time chatting to the members in the forums - it felt good to chat to people who knew how I felt.

To celebrate this, I thought I'd create a themed treasury celebrating diversity - I've called it Inspired-ability:

I hope you enjoy it!

For the good news, I'm off to visit my in-laws over in Norfolk for the week for a well deserved holiday, I finally got my tax return sent off (despite being convinced I got it wrong!) and I was included in 2 really cool treasuries - one Bumble Bees and one Ladybirds - so cute!

Coming up in the next few posts, I will be blogging about my week away, and thinking about the start of Autumn, and the slippery slope down to the Christmas rush!!

Debs

Fun and frolics on a Paddle Steamer

Yesterday I had a fun day out with my husband Stew and our friend Sarah (alas Sarah's dog Alf the westie wasn't allowed on the boat so he had to stay at home...)

The weather forecast was terrible... it was supposed to be stormy and rainy all day - so we were pleasantly surprised when the Balmoral pulled up at Penarth harbour with no rain - a welcome reprieve!

So we got on and set off on the 2.5hr crossing from South Wales across the Bristol Channel to North Devon, and the pretty town of Illfracombe. I managed to get some knitting done on the journey - and see some of the great sites along the way. You can see I needed one of my knitted slouch hats to keep my ears warm!

After a longish period on the boat we finally arrived in Illfracombe - I was quite glad to get on dry land at this point! We had about 2 hours to pootle around the sleepy seaside town before we had to make the return journey

 We wandered up past a stunning handmade fudge shop, stopping off for some butterscotch fudge, and Stew and I hiked it up the hill to the town on a bit of a mission - to find the Illfracombe Chocolate Emporium!

T

This place of wonder had many cool things to see - including a chocolate museum, a shop selling handmade chocolate and local treats like home made wine and liqueurs - and this GIANT chocolate button!

We went upstairs and sat down for a rest - the view from the window was gorgeous - and by this point the sun decided to poke it's head out from all the clouds

We enjoyed a "mini cream tea" consisting of a scone with jam and Devonshire cream, and a pot of tea each. I was extra chuffed as they did gluten free scones - so I could actually eat one this time and not just watch Stew stuff his face!

Soooo yummy! After this we didn't have that long before we had to be back on the boat to go home, so we went for a walk along the sea front to look at the harbour, and enjoy the fleeting sunshine

Gorgeous eh? So our trip drew to an end, and we headed back. Another few hours on the boat going back rounded off a great trip. It rained a bit on the way home - the boat is covered so we were OK... except the roof had a leak above our seat!

We pulled back into Penarth at about 7.30pm, to dry but cloudy scenes:

All in all a great day out! and we did nearly miss all of the rain, except as we were about 100 yards from the car the heavens opened and it absolutely chucked it down in a very heavy shower! Soaked driving home but at least it was dry whilst we were out.


Even better, I got home to 3 order enquiries in my store! Bonus! It seems I always seem to get orders when out and about - maybe I need to take more boat trips!


Debs

Competition entry update!

Since my last post, I've been working like a busy beaver, knitting away and designing my competition entry to go off to the I Knit Design competition - The closing date is the 20th August, and I only started work on the weekend, so I haven't done too badly for 4 days work - I give you the Helter Skelter Leg Warmers!

The yarn is really cool - called Peru by Sirdar, and is an alpaca and wool blend which is super soft. The colour is a lovely inky blue caller Blanket Blue colour 305. The cables are lovely and chunky, and I've designed the pattern so that the cables go in one direction on one leg and the other direction on the other - adds a little design touch to quite a simple looking accessory. It was not simple working out the pattern - it took me AGES!! 

I'm not good on patterns - I tend to make things up as I go along - and this time I had to come up with a pattern that was easy to follow, used all the correct abbreviations, and used charts to show how the cables were made, and how it tapers slightly from the knee to the ankle. Luckily I have found a really good knitting chart generator online where you can get the image just right - saved me drawing it out in Photoshop!

So I'll post this off tomorrow, and hopefully I will be down in London for the I Knit Weekender on Saturday 11th September to see my entry on display to the public, and hopefully once the competition is over I will put these babies in my shop for you to order!

Debs!

(writing this whilst hubby is on his way to A&E after getting a black eye playing football/soccer at the park...sigh... 9pm at the main A&E department in the capital city - that's not a fun place to be...)