As they entered their twenties, several of them moved down to London, they started having serious relationships, and as a result a a group of WAGs joined the OTB, and we would still meet up semi-regularly in London and always on Christmas Eve in the Old Town. As they entered their thirties and some of them moved overseas, they started to getting married and having children. That’s where the strange thing happened all the children where girls.

Two summers ago, I thought it would be nice to knit something for the newest OTB girls, after seeing Ysolda’s Poppy doll at Knit Nation I thought that was the perfect pattern. I had a practice run making a doll which eventually ended up with my sister and then started the mass production. Making three that summer for the two newest babies and ones older sister. Then that Christmas I made three more, this time for older girls so I made a few extra pieces of clothing.

Last of October another OTBg was born, with my lack of knitting mojo I never got around to knitting her a Poppy. However this past weekend it was her Dad’s birthday and attended his surprise 40th party, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to make another Poppy, this one to live in Leicester.

Unlike the Bamboozelle baskets this one didn’t need to have a cardboard base as it is sturdy, but I did want to line it so they “matched” the other baskets. Seeing as the pattern originally asked for PnC I also decided to make another mini basket with some remaining PnC, so now I have a nest of pretty baskets.

EDIT I’ve just looked at the photos I have taken for this post and they are awful so I will add some photos in the morning. I just wanted to make sure the post was ready for Making Monday.

When I look at this blanket each little hexagon reminds me of another project I have knitted, the Opal yarn from my first sock, the Chocolate Old Maiden Aunt Yarn from my Ishbel shawl or the Pink and Green from last year’s Knit Love Club (the sock I was too scared to knit). It is almost like a love letter to my past knitted projects. I will be honest I am not 100% happy with the blanket, the edges aren’t perfect, I think I will crochet a little border in grey. I’m going to leave it for a while – enjoy using the blanket rather than working on it anymore.

Whilst, I have been obsessing over my lap blanket, the rest of knitters out there are obsessing over the Beekeeper Quilt, which I do love I just can bring myself to commit to another long term project right now. I still have a little sock yarn leftover which I am willing to donate to any knitters out there who are knitting the Beekeeper Quilt.

I spend last night watching Mad Men season 4 and wrapping these mini skeins around an old notebook (25 times around is about 15 yards) putting together complimentary colours ready to send out. Some of the yarn include it Lorna Lace, Knit Witches, Knit Picks Palette, Cherry Tree Hill or Alchemy Juniper (I will include a complete list with the package).

So if you want one set of 5 mini skeins to add to your Beekeeper Quilt, all you have to do is comment below with your email address and the colours you would like. I don’t expect anything in return just remember to pay it forward!

EDIT: All the sets have now gone!

Rather than just donate it to charity, I decided to rip the shrug back and knit something else. The yarn was the now defunked Debbie Bliss Maya – that I think I brought in the John Lewis sale after the yarn was discontinued, it is handspun so is slightly think and thin – but I thing that adds to the hand made look. After ripping back the shrug, I ended up with with just under 390 grams of yarn.

As the yarn is the aqua colour, I am planning to decorate our bedroom in I decided to make a cushion cover to sit on the bed. Currently I have a sad looking beige cushion, that was brought cheaply in Primark of TK Maxx using this cover as a template I knitted simple stocking stitch stripe (17 inches by 36 inches), with a two inch button band (in reverse stocking stitch).

It still needs some buttons, I am thinking chunky bamboo or wooden ones, as we are getting a beige duvet cover. I still have 150 grams of yarn left, but I have another project in mind for that.

I also have been knitting and baking! I am planning of cooking a cupcake a month – maybe try and theme them along with the month, e.g. Strawberry in June, Pumpkin in November. January is just plain Vanilla as I wanted to perfect my frosting before I experimented.

On the knitting front, this week I finished these plain socks, made using the Knit Love Club Wollmeise  (from October). I could not get the pattern right on these sock, it involved elongated stitches, that I seemed to knit too tight! I even tried knitting the larger size, but that was too big. As I am determined to knit with all the yarn from the Sock Club, and I loved the stripes, so I opted for plain socks (knit over 63 stitches to get the spirooling*)

* Spriooling – a yarnie term Alice has been using to describe the Spiral Pooling varigated yarn does – not to be confused with self striping yarn.

I also managed to finish my Skew socks just in time for the second Knit Love Club sock to arrive – and I have to say it is a “scary” pattern!

For me this sock club wasn’t just 6 lovely yarns and patterns by 5 talented designers, it was a jounrey into different constructions of socks. I considered myself an beginner to intermediate sock knitter, I have knitted numerous pairs of sock -  but I tended to pick patterns that were similar. Cuff down, with a heel flap, decreased gusset and toes. Each of the six socks in the club were constructed differently.

Om Shanti

Toe-up.
Short row toes and heel.
Kihnu Vits and corrugated rib.

Over the Garden

Toe-up (with a square toe cast on),
Heel cup
Reverse heel flap
With added vine and pod details.

Heart & Sole

Toe-up
Bias shaping for the arch
Reverse heel flap
With a lacy cuff.

Scadenza

Toe-up (with the pattern included in the increases)
Gusset increases on the sole of the foot (again in pattern)
Reverse heel flap
Cable needle-less cables
Hundreds of twisted stitches.

Socktopods

Cuff down
Dancing socktopods around the leg
Decorated heel flap.

Mince Pie Mayhem

Cuff down
Heel expansion in pattern
Heel cup
Toe decreases in wedges (more like the crown of a hat).


My favourite pattern varies almost daily, when the new shiny silver package arrive, it contained my new favourite pattern, as a knitted the sock my love for that pattern grew, then I would rediscover a previous pair of socks in my draw and fall in love with that pattern again, another day I might see the yarn and be reminded of my love and again my favourite would change!

I have already cast on, the first sock from the Knit Love Club – and again I am loving the pattern – I am having issues with the yarn but only becuase it’s colour is out of my comfort zone (I will post more about that later).

After all the grief with the drunken wave on the first sock, it took only a few days to knit it’s partner. Finally, I was able to join the masses and have a pair of wollmeise socks.

I have also been knitting away on a pair of socks that are a secret present – as part of the SoSeSaSwa. I realised I haven’t done any swaps this year so to make up for it I have signed up for three Christmas swaps, a sock kit, knitting a sock and a mini tree decoration.

It took me a while to understand how this pattern was going to work as it omitted the short row for the heel, rather than ponder too much about the construction, I got out my needles and knit and knit and knit! With in no time I’d completed the sole and the heel magically appeared.

In no time I was wearing my socks! .
More photos here.

My only concern with the pattern was the lacy parts in toe – I was worried this area might stretch or become weak after washing and wearing, so I extended the vine down over the lacy part for extra support. I am thinking of doing the same thing on the heel as this can be a stress point on some socks I have knitted in the past.

More photos here.