Knitted Diagonal Blanket - Yarn by Craft Cotton Company

Its always nice to have a lil stash of blankets ready to go and this one is just so simple to knit up!

I used three different colours of wool by the craft cotton company. They actually picked out the colours for me and I;m glad they did because I would have gone for something more babyish like pale pink and white but I actually love how modern the grey and blue look with the white. It give the blanket a longer life for more use and as every mother knows dark colours are 10000% better for hiding stains! 

The wool is acrylic which means it can stand up to the battering that all baby items take in the washing machine. I mean seriously all I seemed to do when Lil man was lil was wash puke stains out of things people had lovingly knitted for him.

Construction wise its so simple!

You cast on 3 stitches

Then you knit 200 rows and increase 1 stitch at the end of every row. [or you can just go on until you get the size you like. But 200 rows makes a 1 metre square blanket]

Then you knit another 200 rows but this time you decrease one stitch at the end of every row until you have 3 stitches left then you cast off. 

For the colour changes you just knit two rows in each colour. 

Then as an optional extra you can add a cute crochet trim!

[I used 2 100g ball of each colour so six balls in total]

I knitted mine up on size 4mm prym ergonomic knitting needles, and it honestly felt like it took forever but I did a lot of it whilst watching t.v and just generally relaxing. The wool was really nice to knit with and I had no issues with it splitting or fraying. I did have to keep cutting it and re tying it on though because I was getting the three colours tangled up!

I used garter stitch because it means I don't have to concentrate so hard and I like the texture but it would also look really cute in moss stitch!

Now typically I put these into a draw ready for the next baby that's born BUT I'm squirrelling this one away into our airing cupboard so Its ready for them we get a dog! Now we're not getting one just yet but I'm definitely wearing Rikki down! We don't have a wedding to save for anymore so he can;t use that as an excuse and I've been making a really big effort to keep the house tidy. All of which has been noticed! So fingers crossed maybe next year I'll have a little bundle of fur to destroy the house! 

Much Love

Frankie 

x 

disclaimer - whilst the wool for this project was provided for free all thoughts and opinions are my own!

Marshmallow Blanket

Me and Lil man just had an argument about whether we should listen to Johnny Cash or the Beach Boys on the record player....... He only ever wants the beach boys. I swear if that kid doesn't come back with someone called Barbra Ann I'm gonna eat my hat. 

But on the plus side I did finished this blanket this week. Yes its another baby blanket and yes its another diagonal one. Because if it ain't broke don't fix it!

As it goes I hated knitting this. I remembered about ten rows in that I HATE knitting with fluffy wool. It sheds, its slips its just a big ol pain in the bum. I did preserve though. Mainly because I wasn't 100% happy with the blanket in my latest hamper so I needed to replace it. 

As it goes this one ended up a bit wonky but I think that's just the stretch in the wool [bloody fluffy wool] and hopefully it'll go down after a few washes. And lets face it new babies are gross and tend to vom/poop on everything so it should get a lot of washes!

I knitted the whole thing up on my prym ergonomic knitting needles and I think they helped with the whole I HATE FLUFFY WOOL thing! Especially the hooks on the end to stop stitches dropping off!

Its is soft and squishy though. Like snuggling a baby kitten!

Much Love

Frankie 

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Prym Ergonomics Knitting Needles

The future of knitting is here! I'm not even joking that's the tag line for Prym's new ergonomic knitting needles. Now I first heard about these needles at the CHSI show in Birmingham and being stubborn I saw them and was like "Yeah well that's not going to take off at all *scoffs*" and then the lady gave me a pair to try on the stand and I firmly had to eat my words!

Fast forward to a week after the show and the lovely people at Prym said they'd send me a pair to try! What they actually sent me was a HUGE box full of knitting and crochet goodies that made me cry [just a little bit, okay more than a bit but it was just so nice of them! If you check out my Instagram you'll see what I mean , and if you don't have Instagram you'll have to wait until I blog the knitting roll I've made to store them all in!] 

Naturally I wanted to give them a thorough test drive so I got every single scrap of wool I had in a blue/black/grey/white/green/purple colour way and cast on a diagonal garter stitch blanket using size 5.00mm needles in the 40cm length! 

And luckily for me they came the week the new Nintendo Switch came out so I had a lot of time to knit whilst the boys enjoyed their new toy.

So.........

LIKES!

The hook tip - Basically normal knitting needles have a tapered end but these have a little nubbin on the end. [they call it a Hook Tip]. Now this is actually there to stop your stitches coming off the needle as you knit and to make it easier to hook them. But I also found that it stopped me getting an ache in my finger as I pushed the needle down [the way I knit means I used one of my fingers to push the needle down as I make a stitch.....Yeah I know my Nan thinks its weird too!] 

The clip ends - This is a complete "HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT!" moment for me. I mean the ends clip to the needles so you don't loose your stitches! It seems so obviously! And they really do keep them clipped in! In the interest of testing I gave my five year old the needles with some stitches cast on and asked him to try and get the stitches off and he couldn't, he did however work out how to unclip them but they should be safe with anything under the age of 3!!

The triangle shape - It fits really nicely in the hand. 

Lightweight - Okay so since the Nintendo switch came out I've basically been abandoned by the two men in my life for the last week. That means a lot of knitting. In fact I clocked myself doing an hour of straight knitting one day, no breaks, no stopping and more importantly no arm ache. Its a miracle people!  

DISLIKES

Okay so there are less of these but there are still a few things that niggle me a lil!

The colour - Okay so they are a nice clean modern looking white colour, but I kind of wish they came in fun colours too? I think they might appeal to kids a bit better that way, for example my first pair of knitting needles were pink.

The thinness - Okay so this was something that really bothered me in the beginning. The smaller sizes of needles feel a bit floppy. Now when I first saw them I was like ew I do not like that. But after knitting with them it doesn't really bother me. So its not really a complaint is it? More a warning to persevere because it grows on you!

The ends - whilst I like the hook tips I wish the whole end was a bit smoother. They seem to be made from a slightly difference type of plastic to whats on the end of the new ergonomic crochet hooks. And the crochet hooks seem to be a lot smoother. It doesn't effect the way they knit but if you try the crochet hook as well then you can definitely see/feel the difference. 

So yeah that's it! my review of the new Prym ergonomic knitting needles and if yo want to see me un-boxing them and my initial thoughts then there's a little video!

  

And that's a really attractive still of my face!

Also if you want to get your mitts on your very own pair you can buy them from Minerva Crafts!  And hopefully my blanket will be finished soon and ready to show you!

Much Love 

Frankie

xx

Disclaimer - whilst Prym sent me the box of goodies for free all knitty love is my own!

Knitted Diagonal Baby Blanket - How to!

Okay so this is my go to baby blanket pattern, Its quick its easy and you can use scrap wool if you want which is a glorious thing in the knitting world! Because all of those wool scraps add up!!!

Anyway this one is for my sister in law and brother, so I used all the colours!!!!

So here's how you do it!

you will need:

scrap balls of wool [it helps if you sort them into colour order, like a rainbow!]

your biggest knitting needles [ I think i used a size 5 or 6?]

a couple of free hours [and a good box set!]

1. Sort all of your wool into rainbow order

2. Grab your first two balls of wool and tie the ends together. cast on 3 stitches and treat these two strands as one. [you will continue to knit the whole of the blanket using two strands so the colours will "fade" into each other. Now the cool bit is one ball will inevitably finish before the other so then you just tie on your next ball of wool! this is what creates the ombre effect!]

3. Using your three cast on stiitches, knit 1 row and increase 1 stitch at the end

4. Continue knitting a row and increasing 1 stitch until your width is approximately 70cm or more if you'd like it to be longer!

5. Knit one row

6. Knit 1 row and decrease one stitch at the end.

7. Keep knitting a row and decreasing one stitch until three stitches remain

8. Cast off your last three stitches and weave in ends!

9. You can also add an optional crochet trim! which I did because I ran out of wool!!!!

Its such a versatile pattern! Heres some ways yo can make it your own!

- use a different stitch! try stocking stitch or moss stitch!

- Instead of two strands use chunky wool!

- Be eco friendly and recycle tshirts to make tshirt yarn! [this might be a lil thick though!]

-Knit all in one colour for a more neutral feel!

- Skip to colour ordering and just use one colour scheme like various shades of pink or blue! 

Hopefully the mummy and daddy of my new niece or nephew will like the blanket! I personally like the bright colours because OMG so much fun!!!!!! But I think they will because they are bright colourful people!

My only regret is that it isn't bigger but I think it will work nicely for a car seat layer or a Moses basket one! I wish I could have knit it bigger but I ran out of wool! Which is pretty hard to believe considering I used scraps!!! 

Im going to cast on another one of these tonight, But I can't decide which colour scheme to go for, blue or pink? 

Maybe this time I can make it bigger!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxxx

School Days Knitted Cowl

Rikki's Nan recently lent me a pair of circular needles to help me finish my miette cardigan more easily, as it goes the ones I were using were shorter than the ones she lent me so I didn't need them. But it would have been rude not to have cast anything on!

I used scrap yarn, Including scrap sock yarn which I doubled up to make thicker. I'm not sure about the colour scheme the red, white, blue, grey and red remind me a little bit too much of school to be honest. And I do not like being reminded of school in any way shape or form.

The whole thing was knitted in the round, I cast on lots [detailed measure huh?] of stitches, then did a row of purl, then joined it together and carried on working in garter stitch and by some kind of bizarre witchcraft stocking stitch kept appearing but I was working in garter stitch! Its like MAGIC!  

However the wrong side is still in garter stitch and the nature of stocking stitch makes the edges curl up like nobodies business. I think this is where blocking comes in, but I just ironed them flat because I'm a knitting rebel! 

So yeah, it not a success and its not a failure it'll probably sit in my drawer until next winter and I'll decide if I completely hate it then.

In other news I'm busting a move trying to schedule a weeks worth of blog posts because lil man is off...... and boy is it fun!

No it is fun, on the days when we have something planned or are able to go out somewhere, on the days we are confined to the house or whatever's in walking distance [not a lot] most of our day is taken up with me being followed by a small child who's whining. I'm not sure why he's following me so much but its actually starting to get on my nerves now.

I know its supposed to be one of those adorable things that kids do because you know "they love their mummy sooooooooooooooo MUCH!!!" but I tripped over him twice yesterday so I'm starting to think of him more as a mini assassin. He actually slid past the hoover that was resting on the top of the stairs whilst I hoovered the middle today and nearly killed me. 

I realise it was probably an accident but all I could see was the headline:

MOTHER KILLED BY SON USING HENRY HOOVER!

I just hope he cleans up after himself!

Bad Pun

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx  

The obnoxious hat,

I made a hat, it's an obnoxious shade of blue with an obnoxious large Pom Pom. 

Can't get better than that! 

I didn't use a pattern instead I cast in 60 stitches into size 6mm needles with chunky wool. Knit a few rows rib. Knit a few rows garter stitch then when I was happy with the length I decreased. I did knit two , knit two together for a row and then knit a row. Simples! 

Thinking about it , it could be a lil longer! Sorry for the crappy picture quality , I should get my proper camera out but I can't be bothered! 

Plus my brownies are baking and o don't want to miss the beeps! Yeah I'm making brownies part of my New Years resolution to bake once a week. 

I think it's pretty cute, I might make one in black!!! 

Much love

Frankie 

Xxx

Fuzzy Blue Booties and Helmet Hat

It's miserable weather, its not even snow it's just slush. It's raining slush. I got soaked on the way to nursery today because of the stupid slush and my child's penchant for stamping his feet as he walks. And of course the two very inconsiderate drivers who splashed us with water as they drove as close to the pavement as possible. I'm not saying they did it on purpose but I do hope they burn in hell.

I also have a cold which doesn't help [it occurs to me, after re reading old blog posts that I must seem poorly quite a lot. Just too explain I have a low white blood cell count so I pick things up quite easily!]

Anyway onto the good stuff, I made these last week, I'm trying to do more knitting and expand my knitting skills. Mainly because I've been stuck in a rut knitting wise. Luckily for me there's lots of babies on the way and they will definitely be needing knit wear at some point.

These booties are pretty simple although I think the fuzzy tops look super cute, you can have them folded up or down but i think down is cuter.

I made the smallest size because I always knit the smallest size its just my way!

I also made a matching hat, well technically its a helmet, although I'm not sure if people use these for babies any more. I personally like them and I had one for lil man when he was born I found it kept his ears lovely and snug and fit nicely under his bear suit hoods. Because naturally if your gonna put your kid in a bear suit you have to have the hood up because that's wear the ears are.

I was pleased with my knitting skills on this, I particularly like the seam part that's not actually a seam its just where the increases and decreases are. I do wish I had done the chin strap in stocking stitch though, the pattern calls for garter stitch but I think stocking would look better.

The buttons just from my stash. Although I am wondering if I'm ever going to use all of my buttons, I mean ever!!!!

In other news I got some pretty cool sewing done last night! Which will be revealed soon.

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

I'm walking on sunshine booties!

I'm still working my way through blogging all of my knitting projects from my sans internet period. I think I made these one day when Hubby was on nights [so tucked up in bed] and lil man was doing a full day at nursery. naturally I couldn't use my sewing machine and I had no internet so I cosied up on the sofa with the sopranos boxset and some knitting. Yes I'm still watching the sopranos , and I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to fill the void when Its over.

Its a pretty basic pattern which combines garter stitch and stocking stitch. Its knitted flat and then you stitch it up as the end. How lush is that wool? I have no idea what it is, my mother in law gave it to me in a lil pack of about 6 colours, I only had 25g so this bootee pattern was perfect. 

Yet again I was too lazy to make the twisted ties so I used some thin pieces of ribbon I had lying around.

I'm getting quite a collection of baby knits, which isn't a bad thing especially seen as there's going to be another baby coming in the summer!!! 

Naturally I started pulling fabric for a baby quilt and was promptly told by lil man that the ones I had chosen were wrong and it needed spots because they have a spotty dog. I guess he has a point! So I think I'll have to tell them this one is a collaboration! So far I've cut the strips and started piecing I'm doing something new so fingers crossed it looks cute and not like a scrap vomit quilt! 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Eeny beanie miney moh

I'm still plodding along with my efforts of having a fully wearable wardrobe, and as a stroke of luck I've recently come into a load of boots and shoes and some coats and scarves from a relative. 

And luckily for me both of the coats are black! Mr knitwit got me a lovely coat for Christmas but it's very pale and I'm worried about making it dirty so a black coat was just what I needed! 

And if I'm having a black coat I'm going to need a black hat! Especially with how the weather is now on the nursery run! 

It's a really simple garter stitch hat that you knit in "short rows". Basically you knit the hat across so the garter stitch ridges are vertical. It's pretty simple to do and I'll link to the pattern I used on raverly as soon as I'm on a computer and not my phone. I'd say it's a pretty good pattern for those who are starting to knit and can't stand the thought of making a scarf or a dishcloth.

I'm pretty happy with it as a first attempt, but I have already cast on another one which I'm making a few alterations to. First of all I'm making it longer so I can turn the brim up, I'm using a slightly thicker wool and I'm hoping to add a furry Pom Pom to the top when it's finished. Furry Pom poms seem to be quite "in" this season and I think they look adorable! 

In other news I went to see my lovely friends lovely baby yesterday and although little knitwit was unimpressed I thought she was lovely! I had big snuggles, and have been thinking of ways to spoil her since! 

I've still got two projects to photograph but the way my face looks today it just wasn't happening!!! 

I'm still watching the sopranos and have even reached the point in my obsession where I'm texting my brother to clarify my thoughts on the plot. Luckily for me I can text him "how long was pussy talking to the Feds for?" And he knows what I mean !!! 

Much love Frankie 

X

Melancholy

It's been a bit of a highs and lows sort of few days, I finished a knitting project and cut out some projects but I had to take the Christmas decorations down today which always makes me sad. And sadly our hamster died yesterday , she was fine the day before, well I say fine she hadn't been in her wheel for a few days but she was moving. Anyway she's died now and I was worried about telling lil knitwits... Apparently it's not a problem "don't cry mummy, Sandy gone, she broke , daddy gonna put her in the bin"

Ahh to have the clarity of a 3 year old.

But I did get a project finished recently, it's another knitted blanket in my favourite garter stitch! 

I used a chunky/Aran weight yarn and a simple pattern with size five needles so it was a breeze to knit whilst all the Christmas festivities were happening. Basically I started with three stitches and then increased one stitch at the end of each row. This is a really simple and nice effect, providing your leave enough wool to do the decreases when your happy with the size. 

I did not. Which is why my blanket features a rather fetching hood in a different wool (two strands of 4ply). 

I don't think it turned out too badly , the yarns work quite nicely together colour wise. I think it helps that they are both speckled!

To do the hood I simply decreased with my blue wool until it ran out then continued with the White, I kept decreasing until I had three stitches left and then I started increasing again until the new increased section matched the white section where I decreased. 

If that makes any sense at all. 

Basically it looked like this 

And people said having an alevel in art would be useless. 

Then I just sewed up the seams either side! 

Anyways I'm very pleased with it, I actually think it looks quite chic and I think it's a good size for a newborn. Plus the wool is very lovely and squishy! 

I'm not sure where it's going to end up, a few people I know are expecting babies so probably with one of them!! 

Much love 

Frankie 

Xx

Pink Chunky knit scarf

This scarf came about from having a drawer full of ends of wool. Not enough to actually make something but too much to just bin. So i picked some corresponding pinks and whtes and started knitting them up on my chunky needles.

I cant decide if its awesome in a granny chic kinda way or if i look like a crazy cat lady! I'm kinda hoping its the chic one, becuase we dont have room for a hoard of cats.

It looks more chic in this picture, and at least its warm and cosy! And i mean really cosy! I'm hoping this will keep me from getting any form of cough or cold this year, i am not prepared to be sick over christmas again. 

Speaking of christmas have you had snow? WE HAVE! It didnt really snow though it stopped and turned into ice pretty quickly, which in turn meant that me and lil knitwit had to abandon our walk to the shops this morning because we were both having trouble staying on our feet, which of course was hilarious but could have stoped being funny pretty fast had one of us gotten really hurt. So we turned around and made banana bread instead.

Much Love

Frankie

x

I can't party like this anyway, I'm not 18....... No your 22

I've lost my staying power, I am exhausted! We went to a good friends wedding last night and we stayed up late! Even little knitwit went past his bedtime! But today? Boy am I pooped! My feet hurt! Turns out my old reliable , comfy as slippers stilettos have turned on me! My head hurts! When did music get so loud? 

But either way I had a brilliant time! I wore my corset dress that I made

And teamed it with a massive pair of earrings! 

Pat butcher would be proud! 

So today I've decided to sack of all of the really intensive housework and knit instead! 

I've started a simple diagonal stitch blanket in a chunky wool! 

To only problem I'm having is that I'm running out of room for stitches on my needles so I might have to do something creative with a thick boarder! 

This photo doesn't really do the colours justice, it's actually more of a fushica pink with a khaki green, it's girly without screaming Barrie doll! 

In other exciting news, I've been featured on the Minerva crafts blog! 

https://www.minervacrafts.com/blog/question-and-answer/qa-with-frankie-of-knitwitsowls-sewing-blog

It's a QandA talking about seeing and crafting and I had a blast doing it! And I'm so glad they decided to feature me! 

Much love

Frankie

Xx

Little Lamb Wool - Part 3 , Little bear.

Its finished! after a little bit of cursing and learning how to knit into the front and back of a stitch! (yes I am still learning new stitches! and I'm proud!)

I have finished my final project using my wool from littlelambwool, and its an adorable little bear!

I used WYS Signature British wool 4ply Bird Prints in bullfinch Which is made by west yorkshire spinners, and boy is it nice to knit with, for starters the colour change combination is lush! That's really the way to describe it! There is two different shade of grey teamed with a creamy white and a bright pop of red, and the joy of this colour change wool is that it adds interest to a simple pattern without having to weave in lots of loose ends, plus I think it looks a bit like fair isle knitting! The wool is a 4ply so I knitted it up on size 3mm needles, which is what's recommended on the wool band. As its 4ply is quite a thin wool but its also very soft and springy! And it feels much nicer to some of the acrylic wools that are out there!

The bear is a free pattern from raverly that I found it on pinterest. It's an actual Debbie bliss pattern and is knitted in garter stitch.

Pattern wise its fairly easy to follow although I would recommend reading the comments with regards to the body section as the instructions are not quite as clear as they could be. And also read the comments if you an accomplished knitter because some people have worked out how to knit the body in the round which save time on making up! I think this pattern would suit an adventurous beginner, there's some slipped stitch parts which are easy to follow and knitting into the front and back of a stitch but I think that covers all of the slightly difficult bits. And as a bonus I'm sure he'd look lovely knitted up in stockinette stitch as well!  

My only quibble with the pattern is that it doesn't have a tail, and I'm from the school of thought that bears should have tails! But I'm sure the little baby who this is going to live with won't find the lack of tail to offensive!

All in all I'd say this has been a very successful project! I love how the wool looks with the pattern and I'm so pleased I managed to make a bear that doesn't look evil. The whole thing knitted up quickly and the bear is lovely and soft and squishy!

If you'd like to make this bear for your very own you'd need this wool , and as an added bonus it come in 6 different colours! I'm currently lusting after woodpigeon !

Thank you again to LittleLambWool for sending me such lovely wools to try!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Disclaimer: Although these items were sent to me free, all opinions are my own. I would never provide good reviews for items I myself would not use, as a teacher once told me I'm honest almost to a fault!