Running Horse Bucket Hat

Not my daughter, but a fashion student friend.

 

My daughter asked me to knit her a bucket hat with horses running around the brim. A fun project, and as I was planning it, my husband suggested that I have the horses in different poses, as if on a film reel. 

We used to live in Kingston-upon-Thames, and in the local museum there was a section on Eadweard Muybridge, a local photographer who was a pioneers of film. Kingston Museum was a small but really excellent place, with exhibits from Kingston from prehistory to the current day, and other exhibitions and events. 

So I knitted my hat, and then jokingly said to my husband, this probably isn't original, someone somewhere will have done a Muybridge Hat. And a quick click on Ravelry, and there it was, the Zoetrope by Leah Batt. My hat was a one-off, and is not going to be a pattern. I think I can admit that I prefer her hat, and wish I had found it first. I ended up embroidering the legs and ears on my horses, while hers are proper fair isle. It is also nicely set out to look like a film reel, and she has done a clever series of linked photos to look like a moving picture, which I guess is the point. It just shows how difficult it is to come up with a truly unique idea in knitting, or anything.

                           Not as pretty, but me in the hat when just finished.

Colourful Tulip Hat

I've finished another version of my Tulip Hat, where this time I have used a different colour for each flower. I really like this version, and it such a good way to use up oddments of left over wool. Each flower head only takes 2.5 m of yarn, which is not really very much.

Again I have had to be my own model, which has meant my trainee photographer (my husband) had to take the photos. I think he is doing quite well!

The hat pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting. I'm working on a new tulip pattern at the moment. Hat will be heading to my Etsy Shop

 

Tulip Hat Knitting Pattern

I am really happy with my new Tulip Hat knitting design, and it will not be too long before there are some tulips out in my garden. It is a really practical, cosy hat, but also pretty and quite unique. Working on the tulip motif took me some time, and I have ideas for some other patterns where I will use it.

This Tulip Hat is knitted in doubleknit wool, and takes a bit less that 100g of the main shade. I would call it medium difficulty, as each flower is knitted with two separate lengths of wool. It is explained in the pattern how to do this, but the main aim was so the wool did not need to be carried on the reverse side between the flowers, which would have made the hat too tight. An added advantage of knitting this way means that it takes less wool.

 

 

I will be putting my sample hats for sale on Etsy, and am knitting one more where each flower is a different colour, which I thought would be fun. I decided they will all be realistic tulips colours, but looking online at photos that really doesn't seem to rule any colour out.

The hat is knitted flat on two needles, and has a single seam to sew up. The finished measurements of the hat when sewn up is 23 cm across at the bottom, and approx 30 cm from cast on edge to top (when rib is not folded up).

The hat pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

And just for once a photo of me. I had to be my own hat model, but am hopeful I might be able to persuade someone a bit more photogenic to do some more modelling. My husband had to be photographer/stylist where I am in the pictures. Most of the photos I hated, but this photo was sort of okay, as although it doesn't show my hat off very well, I am at least smiling.

Shepherd Baby Set Video

 

My Shepherd Baby Set Pattern is for sale in all the usual places. 

 

https://www.ravelry.com/designers/ginny-sturdy

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GinxCraft

 

I thought you might like this photo montage. If you want to buy it as a Project Kit it is for sale by mail order at Blacker Yarns. The kit includes the pattern and 2 x 50g balls of lovely soft Blacker Swan yarn. Also your kit will be packed and posted by me.

https://www.blackeryarns.co.uk/shepherd-baby-set-project.../

Shepherd Baby Set

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed that so far I have not been very productive with pattern writing this year. I have been busy working away, and am finally ready with this new three patterns in one Shepherd Baby Set. For me this has been a bit of an epic, as I have not written a coordinated set before.

The set is knitted in 4ply wool, and the pattern contains instructions for all three items Hat, Shoes and Mittens and for three sizes: 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-12 months. All the examples in these photos are knitted from the lovely Blacker Swan 4-ply which is sold at my place of work Blacker Yarns. I would recommend this wool, which is very soft and lovely to knit with. If you wanted to gift the pattern and wool to someone, it is available as a kit, or you could gift it to yourself. 

The pattern is also available in my Etsy and ravelry shops, and could be made with other 4-ply wools. The shepherd’s baby hat is knitted in the round, and designed to be deep, and with earflaps to keep the baby really cosy. The pattern also contains instructions on a very easy method to make a little pompom.

The shoes and mittens are knitted on two needles, and by the ingenious method of shaping made by turning midrow, you will be amazed that the shoes are knitted in one piece, with just one short seam to sew up.

The mittens can be stitched to a length of icord, and then threaded through your baby’s jacket or cardigan, so they are always handy!

I am very grateful to my lovely little model, my great nephew, who was happy to be dressed in wool despite the nice weather. This pattern could also be for girl babies, or little shepherdesses.

I have made another of my little videos, from a montage of photos, and I will share here after it has been published on the Blacker Yarns social media.

Baby Sail Boat Hat

Another view of my new pattern - Baby Sail Boat Hat. Same cute little great nephew who was in my other photos, who came to visit and has grown a little.

Pattern is for sale on ravelry, Loveknitting and Etsy.

 

Baby Sail Boat Hat

 

I have been busy working on the three sizes for my new sail boat baby hat. I made this pattern up for a hat for my great nephew, which you can read about on a previous post. The pattern comes with instructions for three sizes: Newborn, 3-6 Months, and 6-12 Months.

 

You can see all three hats together below, after they were knitted. I then spent a little while considering whether to add pompoms or not. I really love my instant pompom maker. On the second size hat I knitted a cover for a button, which I also really like, and for the largest hat a plait with a tassel (but not so long that the baby could reach or get tangled with it). 

 

I had my usual problem with the lack of a baby model. Secret - some of the photos above involve a grapefruit and a kitchen bowl. So here again is my lovely great nephew modelling the original version of the hat. And now to work out sizes for the babysuit, so you may not hear from me for a little while!

The pattern will be published shortly in all the usual places, ravelry LoveKnitting and Etsy, and my sample hats will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

Babysuit and Hat

I've been knitting baby clothes, as my niece has had a new baby, and my nephew and his wife are also expecting. I thought I would have a go at knitting an all-in-one babysuit. I've not done this before, and am thinking I might have a go at a pattern. It was really quite a quick knit, and with wool left over I decided I would make a hat to go with it.

But what to do if you don't have a baby model? My first two models were considered a little creepy by my family, especially the doll. And although my cat was very patient, she does look a bit fed up. I did think a grapefruit might be good or even one of the pumpkins in my veg plot might work, but in the fourth picture I just padded out the hat with some tissue paper.

I've worked out this hat in three sizes, so there will be a bit more knitting before I publish the pattern. 

But this morning I got a photo of the perfect model!

 

Crochet Bucket Hat

I have been doing a bit of crochet. Although I have tried a few times before, I really don't know what I am doing, and find it very difficult to follow a pattern, or even harder a diagram. But with a bit of help from some youtube tutorials I have managed to make my daughter a hat. 

I first found one video that explained how to make a circle for the top. Then another one that showed me how to make a basic granny square for the vertical section. I then I continued with my circles for the brim. The idea was to make a bucket hat - the sort you could perhaps wear to a festival, if they ever take place again. 

I am not sure that this first effort will ever be worn out, as she was a very reluctant model, but it has sort of inspired me with crochet. I can see that it might be easier for making some of my small round creatures, where I have to work really hard with knitting and short rows to get curves. I also quite like that you can stop at any point mid-row. 

So for the moment I am making granny squares. The simplest sort, but I may try and branch out with some more complicated ones at some point.

 

Just a reminder that you can still join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for January. I would love to see what you have been working on.

 

Garter Ear Flap Hat

One of my work colleagues has become a grandma over the Easter holiday, so I thought I would have a go at making a baby hat. The baby is a little early, so I wanted to knit a small hat, and to use some alpaca wool that I had. Ravelry came to my help, and this pattern is called Garter Ear Flap Hat, by Purl Soho, and is available for free. I really like the simple design, with the cosy ear flaps, and by mixing my colours this version reminds me of a cup of cappuccino coffee. I hope it fits, and suspect I may have made it a bit large for a 4lb baby. But babies grow, so hopefully it will fit baby Scarlett soon.

Just a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for May. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Fair Isle Beret and Waistcoat

I have been working away at this project for many weeks. I started the beret as my holiday knitting. Perhaps fair isle is not such a good idea for knitting in the car. It is a present for my great niece, who lives in Ireland, and has just turned one. But having finished the beret I thought it would also be nice to make a matching waistcoat. 
 

Both are now off in the mail, and I am hoping they fit her, and I will get some photos of her wearing them. But until then my model is Clopper, my daughter's toy. Clopper has appeared on this blog once before, when he went on holiday and met a Dartmoor pony. He seemed more or less the right size, although I am sure my niece is not as tubby as him.

Both beret and waistcoat are knitted from a book I bought in a charity shop Bright Knits for Kids by Debbie Bliss. In the pattern the beret was knitted flat with a seam, but I decided to knit it in the round on 4 needles. That was fine for the lower section for which there was a chart, but I may have got slightly muddled at the top, where the instructions were written out with knit and purl rows. I sometimes forgot to convert this, as in the round you are always on a knit row. But I think it looks OK.

I also found adding the buttonband to the waistcoat difficult. It is a little puckered. It shouldn't have been hard, but it is a long time since I have made a garment in this way. Then I accidentally sewed up the side seams, before adding the armhole bands. So instead of unpicking I knitted these in the round as well.

Knitting fair isle is extremely satisfying. The end result is so pretty, but running in all those ends was very hard work.

Fair Isle Hat

For a bit of a change I thought I would have a go at knitting Janet of Yellow, Pink and Sparkly's Fair Isle hat pattern. I haven't done much Fair Isle knitting recently, (unlike Janet who seems to be able to regularly knock out a Fair Isle garment) and had forgotten how very pleasing it can be. I know this probably looks very tricky, but you are only working with two colours together. The knitting is not the hard bit, compared to the running in of ends when you have finished.

I just picked out these colours from my stash of wool at randon, trying to mix it up a bit with some light, dark, brights etc. The pattern really usefully tells you exactly how many grams you need of each of the eight colours, which explains why I was there in the kitchen weighing out my wool before I started.

My little model has become quite reluctant these days. (I can't understand it, as she always seems to snapping pictures of herself or her nails.) So the best way to get a photo was to pop the hat on her head while she was distracted with homework. We also ended up with some "why are you asking me to do this?" photos, but I really like the one below. We decided to go for the slouchy look. You also have a rare thing; some photos of me at the top and bottom of this post.

My only problem when it came to the knitting was that I only have a black and white printer, so had to spend a while marking on the pattern chart which colour was which. Perhaps if I am going to more Fair Isle I will have to invest in a new printer.

I am really delighted with my new hat. Thank you for the free pattern Janet. Having blocked my socks last week, I thought the hat might also benefit from being blocked. I am not sure if a slightly deflated football is an accepted method, but it seemed to work, and smoothed out some of the stitches. I am thinking of taking it in to wow school knitting club next week, as they have been asking me if you can mix up colours when you knit! 

Knitting Orders

I have been doing some knitting to order. I don't do very much of this, as sometimes it is hard to judge how long the knitting is going to take. But having intended to put some of my more popular knits in my Etsy Shop for Christmas, as usual I somehow didn't get myself organised, so was really pleased to get a few unprompted orders.
 

So as you can see my classic 2CV is driving off to someone named Pam

Some of the knits have been for a lady I met through one of the craft fairs that I did several years ago.

This is my Cherry Berry, but knitted in a smaller size for a toddler ...

... with matching mittens

and some baby bee shoes and shoe bag ...

... and finally my blueberry clutch bag, in sophisticated black, with a tiny silver fleck, and tartan silk lining.

I do like revisiting my own patterns from time to time. It is sort of reassuring to see that I can produce the same item. 

Also fun for me if someone wants a slight variation on one of my patterns, which is what I am working on at the moment ...

Crochet Diary - Hat or Fruit Bowl?

I tend with knitting to write about projects that I have finished, and that have worked. But with this crochet diary, I think I need to show you the failures as well, as it is meant to be an honest look at my learning.

I wanted to try and make a crochet bowl. I have seen some really beautiful bowls and baskets online, but couldn't find a pattern I could follow. So I thought I would just busk it. The bowl caused much hilarity among the family, as it did not have any rigidity, and was not even very nice to look at. More of a shapeless bag than a bowl.

So I changed the plan, and wondered if I kept going I could turn it into a stylish hat. This also caused another bout of teasing, and threats that no one would ever go out of the house with me if I wore it ...

So I think I have learned something, and that is that I am not ready to crochet without a pattern.

The old problem of how to photograph yourself in a hat

The whole thing has been unravelled, and I am back to thinking about granny squares and blankets.

Crochet Diary One - First Steps

Crochet Diary Two - Teddy Puppet

Crochet Diary Three - Country Flowers

Autumn Leaves Hats and Hat-Selfie

Since my Polar Bear post, where I have said that the only thing that keeps me awake at night is thinking about my next pattern, I have hardly given that bear a thought, daytime or night. Almost the next day my mum, who is 94, had a fall in her flat and fractured her leg. She is now in a residential care home. It has been quite a difficult time, as my mum does not live close to either me or my sister, but the reassuring thing now is she is at least at the end of a phone so we can talk to her daily and get down to see her as often as possible.

Before this all happened my mum had said she would like a new knitted hat, so while I was waiting for her to be discharged from hospital, this is what I made. The hat was delivered on Boxing Day, and although she won't be going out for a while, she did seem to like it and I am hoping she will be up and about again wearing it before too long. She was also making good use of her birthday shawl.

The pattern I used was Autumn Leaves Slouchy Gotland Hat by Sue Blacker.  I did not use the suggested wool or needle size, so there was quite a bit of guess work. I do like ravelry pattern search - I just typed in doubleknit, worked flat, free and hat, and they come up with a choice of patterns. 

I think the hat on the pattern looks nicer than mine, but I know that my mum wanted a close fitting hat so was pleased with the result. I used the recommended number of stitches, and one of the good things about this pattern is the leaves on the crown of the hat have a 8 stitch repeat, so you can make it bigger or smaller very easily. The wool I used was James C. Brett - Marble. I really like this wool as it comes in such great colours, and I buy in a small hardware shop in Teddington. There among the brushes and buckets is a small rack of wool. My mum has a small head so for the size I just looked at one of my own hats, and cast on so it was a good few inches smaller. (I have a large head!) In these pictures I was just trying it on my daughter for size thinking she would be about the same size as my mum. (I probably have enough wool left from the one ball I used to make another hat.) You can't really see the leaf pattern on the top, and I forgot take my camera to photograph it on Granny, but it did fit. 

The photo above was taken after our Christmas lunch. I really like it as it sort of sums up what we all do after Christmas lunch: I guess half of us play with our new toys, and the other half have a bit of a snooze. You can at least see what a lovely colour the wool is.

Update on The Hat: So here is the second version of Autumn Leaves, made with the rest of the wool. Here I added in an extra two leaf repeats, and knitted the rib section deeper. I also added a few plain rows between the rib and the leaf section, which you can see in the photo below. I am really pleased with how it has turned out, and it will be my standing in the playground hat for the next few months. It is very hard to take a photo of yourself in a hat. Is that called a hat-selfie? The second photo was my best one after many attempts.

Frog Baby Beanie Hat

I have a bit of a problem. Just which photo is the cutest? Well I can't decide.

This is my new frog baby beanie hat. The pattern contains instructions for three sizes: newborn, 3 to 6 months, and 6 to 12 months. I thought about calling it the Five Frog Hat (Do you know the song about Five Little Speckled Frogs?) But as the largest size has six frogs it didn't seem quite right.

It is knitted in the round, and with DoubleKnit wool. I have used Sirdar Snuggly DoubleKnit. I am getting increasingly fond of Sirdar wools. I love this colour as well, as I think it would be good for boys or girls. I have used my trusty doublepoints, although you could use the magic loop method if you prefer.
 

I have not been a big blocker of knitting up to now, but having seen on other blogs how much knitting can be improved by blocking (especially some of the lovely lacey shawls), I do suggest that you block your hat. Here are my hats drying in the sunshine. I have used a pyrex jug and kitchen roll, although I think lots of people find a balloon handy. My pattern explains how to block your hat.

Finished hats and cat enjoying the sunshine

The pattern for the Frog Baby Beanie Hat is available on Ravelry, or Etsy. Or if you would like a knitted hat, there are a few available in my Etsy shop. Once again thank you so much to my lovely little model.