Pansy Bunting

It was my daughter's 22nd birthday last week. How many daughters has she got, you're thinking, they seem to have birthdays all the time! There are two of them, both grown up now and making me feel old. I think I must have had children very young. . . yes, I'm sure that's it!
Their birthdays do always seem to get mentioned on my blog, but that's because I usually make something decorative for the birthday girl. This time it was pansy bunting, or a pansy garland if you prefer.

This pansy is a classic design, slight variations of which appear in many different printed patterns. Mine is the pansy from this doily.
The only modification I did was in the edging stitches of the two large petals (I worked 1 chain between the stitches instead of 3).

I used Patons 100% Cotton 4 ply and made 7 pansies in 2 colour variations, and added some leaves. The "string" is a length of chain in 2 alternate colours, and I used a double strand of each colour for strength and scale.

So far this summer has been a bit too warm for me. The sunshine is very nice and the garden seems to like it, but I'm hoping for some cooler weather.

Enjoy your week!

Summer Poppies

The idea of knitted flowers with longer stems which would actually support them has been floating around in my head for a while now. I thought I would try it with the poppy pattern (see previous post), and I made 5 in different poppy colours.

I wasn't aiming for botanically accurate imitation flowers. What I had in mind was something that looked obviously knitted, just something whimsical to show off the texture and colour of the knitting.

For the stems I made some knitted i-cords and reinforced them with green paper-covered wire. I've seen a similar thing done using plastic drinking straws, but I wasn't keen on the idea of straws, and I thought pipe cleaners might be too bendy. The ends of the wire are bent over and hidden under the flower centres, so there's nothing sharp to catch on anything. Each poppy is about 2.25 inches across. Not too big and not too small.

The yarn is Baby Cashmerino by Debbie Bliss. I think this is my new favourite yarn. It's a bit finer than standard dk weight and comes in a wide range of beautifully flat colours. This is a peek from my stash and shows just some of the colours.

I used 2.75 mm needles, or old UK size 12's.

They were fun and interesting to make, and they make me smile every time I look at them.

Knit Bits

This blog seems to be all about knitting and crochet at the moment, doesn't it? Quilting has taken a back seat for now, although I still intend to sew from time to time!
I'm very much enjoying working with the lovely yarns that are available now. I learned to do basic knitting when I was four years old, so in a way it feels like things have come full circle and I've returned to my knitting "roots", but with a new perspective. I don't mean that as introspectively as it sounds. I've always been interested in many different crafts, and have concentrated on different ones at different times.

Everything in the photo is from this book.
I was very pleased with the leaves, I think they turned out beautifully.

One of my favourite patterns in the whole book is the garter stitch poppy. I like garter stitch anyway, and I think it's a very effective design.

I haven't finished with the poppy pattern, and I'll show you what I'm doing with it in another post.

Cakes

I have succumbed to the cupcake craze, at least where knitted ones are concerned. Not that I've any objection to real ones. My daughter asked if I would make her a knitted cupcake, so I made her three.
I spent some time looking at cupcake patterns and found some nice ones on Etsy. The two bigger cupcakes are from the pattern by Little Cotton Rabbits. I made one in cotton and the other in wool. The pink crocheted rosebud decoration is one I had already. I knew it had to come in useful one day.

The pink cake isn't strictly speaking a cupcake, but a tart. This is another pattern from Etsy, from a seller called Cakes Cakes Cakes who has several yummy looking cake patterns.

Both these patterns are sold as downloads, which I think is a very convenient way to buy patterns.
I think either of these designs would make a very good pincushion for a knitter. They're fun aren't they, and they would be just right as somewhere for putting yarn needles. You can make endless variations with different colours, beads, etc.

The blue crocheted cake I'm keeping for myself and is from this pattern (thank you BitterSweet). It was very quick to make and turned out really well. I used a lightweight (4 ply) cotton because I wanted it to be a tiny size. It's less than 2" tall, including the wooden bead cherry.

Much less fattening than the real thing.

May Flowers: Sunday

May Flowers: Saturday

May Flowers: Friday