Petal Dishcloth

I love this petal dishcloth made by Linh at A Girl in Georgia.


Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom is making one and has posted the pattern (which I couldn't find through the original links). I'm planning to knit a couple once I find some reasonably priced coloured cotton. Dishcloth cotton in the UK only seems to be available in white or natural.

I Quit!

I started this sweater ...


... and I quit! After two inches of the back. It was stocking stitch in 4 ply yarn, and was going to take. For. Ever. And it was very, very boring to knit. I just don't like the sweater enough to have any hope of finishing it.

So what to do instead? I think probably either this cardigan (I doubt I have enough yarn to do the top as well) ...
... or one of these sweaters.


I'm leaning towards a short sleeved sweater as being less of a marathon with the fine yarn.

Book Review: Simple Knits for Little Cherubs

With a Little Cherub of my own to knit for, how could I resist Simple Knits for Little Cherubs by Erika Knight. This is a follow-up to Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, with patterns for little ones aged two to five. The book is divided into three sections: plain classics, patterned classics, and classic accessories. That gives you a good idea of the style of the knitting projects - classic and traditional. They are intended to be easy to knit, using stocking and garter stitches.

The two projects I have picked out to knit are this loose fitting sports-style sweater - nice to put over jeans or a cotton dress for playing outside on cooler summer days. It has three-quarter length sleeves, two patch pockets on the front, and a polo-shirt style collar.


... and this little denim pinafore dress. It uses Rowan denim yarn which is supposed to perform like the real thing, including fading and shrinking (the pattern allows for shrinkage). I love it with the stripey top in the photo.



There are plenty of other patterns I would happily knit - a little fluffy bolero, a patchwork style blanket, a rather endearing cuddly fox terrier with felt nose and eyes would be high up my list. On the whole I preferred the plain knits to the patterned ones.

Endless Possibilities

Since my new year's resolution to take up knitting again sparked my interest I have started noticing some of the more bizarre knitting and crochet possibilities out there. Here are two:

(1) The recycled carrier bag bag. You can use all those eco-unfriendly carrier bags from the supermarket to crochet your own bag. I also saw a pattern for knitting one, but it looked harder and the end product less effective. A lady at my mother's church crochets these and sells them to raise money for charity. Mum bought one and if you look carefully you can just see that it is made from carrier bags - Waitrose, we think. I'm not going to try this one, though. Preparing all those bags into "yarn" looks too tedious.

(2) The crocheted Swiffer cover. I use a Swiffer to clean my bathroom and kitchen floors, and the cost of the floor wipes I use with it bugs me as an unnecessary expense. I decided to economise by buying an old fashioned floor mop, but it leaves the floor too wet. Then ... duh! Lightbulb moment! In a thread at the 4 Real Learning boards someone pointed out that you could use any cloths on a Swiffer. And someone else linked to this pattern for a crocheted Swiffer cover. Who knew? A couple of these and I'd never need to buy floor wipes again.

Knitting Projects

I have a whole raft of knitting projects lined up for this year ... mainly for Little Cherub, who is at a great age to knit for. Little jumpers (sweaters) and cardigans for her don't take long to knit, and they use little enough wool that I can actually afford to knit using the yarn recommended by the pattern rather than a budget version.

I am already half way through knitting this little fur-trimmed jumper using Sirdar Snuggly and Funky Fur ...


I picked up some bright pink Sirdar Snowflake yarn in a sale bin a couple of weeks ago, and after trying and failing to adapt another pattern that used yarn with a completely different tension, have now ordered this pattern to make a little cardigan, and some sky blue Snuggly Bubbly wool to knit another using the original pattern.

I found a wonderful book at the library that has many, many patterns I would like to knit: The Big Book of Kids' Knits by Zoe Mellor. I like this so much I am tempted to buy it rather than keep renewing the loan. Thanks to a Christmas gift from my mother cotton yarn to knit this little jumper for summer is on the way ...


I am determined to tackle this long term project from the same book ... a knitted puppet theatre.


A puppet theatre that can hang from a door frame and be rolled up when not in use is far more practical for our limited space than a free standing one, and this looks so bright and appealing. Sizing isn't crucial, so any budget double knitting yarn should work. Even the puppets are knitted. I'm sure Star would love using this, and Little Cherub would get years of fun from it.

Unlike scrapbooking, knitting is something I can easily pick up and put down even with a toddler around, so I'm hoping I can get all these projects made this year. Another appealing aspect of taking up knitting again is that I am a good enough knitter to be able to knit while I read, which means I can keep up with both the Formation and Fun sections of my New Year's Resolutions simultaneously.