Owl Goodies

Awhile ago Kate of O W L S sweater fame had a giveaway on her blog. Everyone who sent her a photo for her parliament of owls gallery went in the draw to win some gorgeous owl goodies. Kate generously gave me the "early bird prize" as I was the first person (other than her test knitters) to send her a photo! If you're thinking of knitting an OWLS , Kate's gallery is full of wonderful owl-ish inspiration.

Now I would love to be able to show you the goodies that Kate sent me for my prize but unfortunately the parcel went AWOL somewhere between Scotland and New Zealand. Kate generously sent me a replacement package...and when that was returned to her, she was kind enough to try for third time lucky! Lucky me and I am so pleased she did. I had pretty much forgotten all about the prize so receiving her package was very exciting!

A lovely project sized Owl tote (with little owl badge)



And inside... some beautiful Debbie Bliss pure silk , owl stickers and a notepad



Thank you so much Kate!! I love it all and I can't wait to knit something special with the silk. My current Wip is residing in the bag. I want to use the stickers myself so I've hidden them from my girls for the meantime!

Hoot Hoot!

A friend in need

A dear friend of mine is adjusting to life with no hair, she asked me if I would knit her a hat and of course I said I would.

I had some Naturally Sensation leftover from my GarterYokeCardy - merino/angora - it's the softest thing I could find in my stash for her delicate scalp.

The yarn has a little bit of a halo so we chose this pattern and kept it simple.

I made a couple of small mods to account for a different weight yarn. I listed them here.

Today I finished it off and went to my local treasure trove thrift shop to find a button. The owner got out her "special box of buttons" to find me something just right.

I hope my friend likes it

Storm Warning

Yesterday was cold and a deep mist covered the city like a blanket. We went to the beach and it was beautiful. Rugged and raw. And a little bit disconcerting when you can't see the horizon.



The tide was high so the kids missed out on cave exploration. You could hear the waves crashing on the rocks before you could see them.



I did get asked if they could paddle in the water but they seemed happy to settle for rock climbing instead.



Little rock climbing for the little ones.



The new season's look for beach attire - yellow rainbow gumboots and long fairy skirt. Can you tell we are at the "I will dress myself" stage?

In contrast today the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Its still cold of course, and whilst that's the part of winter I dislike, I can't help but think that winter certainly has its own beauty.

ButterCup

Forgive me readers, its been 2 weeks since my last blogpost. Nothing bad or interesting - just crazy busy and a distinct lack of anything crafty happening around here. Hopefully a FO post will make up for the longer than intended absence from the blogosphere....




Buttercup (Ravelry download)
Version A
#7 NaKniSweMoDo09 Sweater
6.5 skeins Patons Diploma Gold DK (wool, acrylic, nylon)
4mm Knitpicks


Mods - less increases for the Aline shape and tightened up neckline.



I think most people are making this as a spring/summer tee whereas I was intending it to be more of an autumn/winter top I could layer over long sleeves. I can't remember if that's what I had in mind when I cast on for the 40 and not the 36 - in retrospect the smaller size would have been better I think. This is a lovely top with nothing under it but the neckline is fairly risque and I don't think I'd be brave enough to wear it out in public without a singlet or cami under it - and that's with me tightening up the neckline more than the pattern recommendation. I think perhaps a size smaller would have enabled me to use it as a teeshirt in summer too and probably would have resulted in a nicer fit around the shoulders. However thats my only (and a small one at that) gripe with this and I'm perfectly happy with just using it as a layering sweater. Just as a FYI I did the version A of the pattern - I think version B has a higher neckline.



I love the colour of this yarn - which I've used before for socks (it has nylon in it) - and am really pleased with how it knitted up for this top. My stocking stitch smoothed out beautifully after blocking and because it's quite a light DK it has a lovely drape to it which really suits this pattern. I'm hoping the wool blend will also mean it will wear quite well and won't pill like my wool sweaters.

I love the little bit of lace and the Aline hide everything shape. I'm sure I'm going to get quite a bit of wear out of this! Definitely a would knit again pattern.


P.S Have to apologize for the blurry (toddler finger marks on camera lens) photos - just pretend we were going for an arty look. We went to redo them and my camera packed a sad and wouldn't focus - hopefully something I can work out how to fix.