Saturday 25 November 2017

Sleevless top - Drops Design 'Come Winter' 173-46

I bought too much yarn when I made the Rudolf jumper (you can see it here if you want) so wasn't sure what to do with the left overs, then I saw this pattern for a sleeveless top.

The pattern has open sides, like a poncho, but I didn't like that idea so simply sewed them up.

I didn't have enough yarn to do it all in grey so used the cream and made a split at the centre working one stitch out into the grey on each row to give a V design, I think it gives a nice effect and used up all the left over yarn. I also split the neck as I don't like roll neck, again I think it looks effective and looks nice when worn.

The yarn is Paintbox Simply Chunky and is lovely to work with.




Free pattern "Drops Design 'Come Winter' 173-46" can be found here: https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=7528&cid=17

Happy knitting!



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Rudolf Jumper - Drops Design 122/1


I've been planning to do this since last year. Left it too late then so this time started in October. It only took a week to knit, it grew so fast being thick yarn on big needles.

The pattern calls for super chunky but I was worried it would be too hot to wear at Christmas especially if cooking so opted for just a chunky instead, I did a few test pieces to get the tension right for the needles I had. I used 6mm.

I used Paintbox Simply Chunky. First time I've used it and found it lovely to knit with. Unlike some acrylic which can feel quite rough this was very smooth.


Because it is worked in the round there are no side seams to sew (Yay!!) you might have guessed I don't like sewing up knitting :)


The pattern is easy to follow although one thing I would point out to a new knitter is that it says to work stocking stitch, which is one row knit one row purl, however as this jumper is done in the round you only need to knit each row to get the stocking stitch effect.

I changed the colours to my own design. I thought brown reindeer would stand out more and I also felt that as there is only one Ruldof that he should stand out on his own with a red nose while the others have small black noses. I also changed the neck as I don't like roll neck styles. I just did it as the pattern but folded it back and sewed it down.

FREE pattern can be found on Garnstudio https://www.garnstudio.com/pattern.php?id=4761&cid=17





Happy knitting!



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Miniature Cactus Garden

A change from my usual craft, crochet or knitting posts.

I had a lovely shallow vase which had been sent to me many years ago with a flower display in it. For a long time it has stood empty so I decided to do something with it.

I'm not a great gardener so bought some small cacti as I had read they can be fairly easy to grow and I thought they would look nice in the vase.

I used some fine gravel and cactus compost to fill the bowl and after adding the cacti at intervals around the edge with one tall one in the middle, I then added a few large stones which I had.

I'm very pleased with the results and only time will tell how well the cacti grown but I hope they will be slow growing and continue to look nice in the vase  for a long time to come. If not I will re-pot them into something larger.





Happy gardening!


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