Winter, glorious winter ...

I can't believe where the year is going - half way through it already.

I've been busy knitting (unusual eh!)- not only a couple of orders but also the on- going never ending stocking up for this Sunday's market.

My little vests always sell really well. They're great for babies as you can pop them on over a little skivvy and they get warmth around their chests, plus of course they're easy to slip on and off !!






Sometimes I think it's the buttons that make the sale. I just love these train ones...



Last month at the market I had a couple of potential customers ask if I had a gender neutral vest as the baby hadn't been born yet and of course I didn't. No sale :(

Mind you if I had one of every different size/colour/gender/age group that I get asked for I'd need 3 or 4 tables !!! Anyway I'm knitting a couple of cream ones but then have the button dilemna - do I go for colourful fun ones, or traditional brown/cream ones ... Maybe one of each I think.






Normally Issie van Prehn stars at the end of my blogs and this one is no exception. I'd like to say that she is behaving according to the season but truth to tell she finds a mohair blanket summer or winter.

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Knitting madly, madly knitting ....

Typical me. I've spent a couple of weeks fulfilling orders and now have ended up with only a week and a half to replenish my stock for the market - so I'm busy knitting a couple of these ...




A couple of these ...



And more than a couple of these !!



Issie is contributing nothing of course, other than demanding her tennis ball (favourite toy) be thrown on a regular basis ...

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Where does the time go?

I. can. not. believe. it. Half way thru June today !@#$% And the red camellia is in bloom again.

I've had a frantic five or so weeks busy completing orders and also rushing to replace stock for the Queens Birthday market - which was great by the way, thanks again Sarah and Sarah.

One of my friends ordered a couple of beanie and mitten sets and because she is the proud owner of 4 of my beanies already, I did a sample board for her to choose wool and textures from - and it worked really well.








I failed to take a photo of the finished pink set but take it from me, it looked great - I had trouble with the contrast colour she choose as it's 12ply and I discovered last year that to keep the form and shape of this pattern, you need at least 2/3rd's of the wool to be 8ply. Plus the 12ply didn't really stand out so in the end I used it every 8 rows as a purl row on the right side and the finished pattern was so good I'll use it again.

That main cerise colour is so gorgeous - it's a Touch wool - pure merino. And speaking of their wool, has anyone noticed their 4ply is nothing like their 8ply? The DK is just so beautiful and soft and a joy to knit with whereas to me the 4ply is nowhere near as soft and doesn't knit up as nicely. Fran at Wild and Woolly here in Devonport mentioned that they advise customers that it knits up like a 3ply. Very disappointing.

Did you know I love interior decorating almost as much as I love knitting? Although if you asked Eddie he'd say I loved it more considering the number of house programmes on the Living channel that he has to put up with!
I love the look of this bedroom - so simple and fresh.



And the last word as usual is from Issie, the amazing mohair blanket cat ...

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Beanies, mittens, beanies, mittens ...

Between beanie and fingerless mitten orders, not to mention restocking for Sunday's Devonport Craft Market, I can't remember having such a busy week! When I get to the stage that I resent having to cook or getting stuck in traffic because my knitting time is being encroached, I become horrid to live with - the husband and the cat begin to tiptoe around me!

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