Not a lot of Knitting

As you can imagine, with the baby shower, not a lot of knitting went on. There are a couple of finishes to show off however. First of all this tiny preemie sit was knitted up by Linda. I used a gents sock I was knitting to show just how small it is. This is to go towards our preemie charity.

The socks above were done by me. They took me about a month to finish. Mainly due to work. Also due to too much talking helped to create a lot of mistakes. In the end I finished them quickly when I decided just to knit them at home.

This week is the last week to hand in any preemie items. I will be away for a couple of weeks after that. I'll then bring along everything the group has knitted and take some snaps before handing it all over.

This week will also be the week that Ginnie will announce our new challenge. There is a slightly longer deadline and the challenge itself is more open to interpretation. That's all I'm giving away for now.

Baby Shower For Louise

The surprise for Louise was a baby shower which we held at our last get together. She knew we were up to something as we asked her to be there but I don't know what she was expecting. Should warn you now there are a lot of photo's here. If I miss anyone out or get anything wrong I am truly sorry. Should have noted everything down. ;)

I made Louise a baby blanket and added a little toy into the bag.

Laura used tunisian crochet to make two baby blankets. One in green and one in white. She also stitched a lovely Tigger design. It's unfortunate the photo doesn't do it justice.

Helen knitted a lovely hooded jacket using an American design. The buttons are cat shaped.

Joyce knitted a lovely baby blanket. The central design has a heart. Again the photo doesn't do it justice. She also knitted a green baby jacket.

Roberta was unable to make it along as she was on holiday. She did send a bag of goodies though. She knitted a lovely white and purple cardigan which matches the white and purple blanket from Donna. Donna was unable to make it along too because of a class trip at work.

Julia sent along this adorable teddy bear. Julia has unfortunately broken a rib and for obvious reasons wasn't there. We were all thinking of her though and hope she gets better soon.

These lovely set of socks were of course knitted by our sock lady, Ginnie.

Margaret knitted two brightly coloured cardigans in two different sizes.

Magdalena made two sets of toys to help when the baby starts teething. The colours are lovely and bright and has lots of things to attract the baby.

Gillian gave Louise some essentials and a lovely mobile.

This cuddly dog was made by our quilter, Janette. Louise has named him Dougal and he matches most of the bright clothes.

Monika gave this lovely photo frame. If you can't read the writing it says 'me and my mummy'.

This cosy hooded blanket was given by Isabel.

Carole crocheted this sweet white cardigan.

The very cute booties and bath items were from Linda

This unusual set of toys were made by Elaine. When you shake them you can hear the bells inside.

Val, another of our quilters, made Louise one of her famous bags. Inside were some essential bibs.

New member June brought along everyone's favourite, Peter Rabbit.

Louise actually brought along goodies too. Her mum made some ginger bread which she brought in for everyone to try. A number of people were asking for the recipe after. Not much knitting got done that night but I do have some photo's of a couple of finishes which I'll post soon.

Laura; June Member Of the Month

Laura is this months member. Unlike previous members she's not a knitter but is actually a cross stitcher.

1. Tell us about yourself.

My name is Laura. I work in construction. I have just finished a college course I did through work in construction management.

2. Where did you learn to cross stitch?

I learned years ago. My mum used to do it and I picked it up from her. Over the years I taught myself.

3. What other types of crafts do you do?

I do crochet and tunisian crochet.

4. What is your proudest project?

My giant tunisian crochet. It was my first attempt at this type of crochet and I decided to do a very large project.

5. What has been your biggest disaster?

I seem to always make a mistake on large cross stitch projects. I tend to just work around them. The larger a project the more likely I am to make a mistake. No one seems to notice it but I always see it.

6. What project would you like to work on?

I would like to attempt socks and to try Donna's double sided blanket.

7. List of favourites;

Favourite colours - anything bright and cheerful
Favourite designer - I like most designs by DMC and Anchor
Favourite product - My large tunisian bamboo hook
Favourite design - the fish design I did a while back
Favourite website - kangaroo.com
Favourite store - Hobbycraft

8. Do you have any advice for other Cross Stitchers?

If starting cross stitch for the first time start with a larger aida size. It's also easier to mark off where you are in a project as you go.

9. What do you watch or listen to whilst stitching

I generally watch soaps. Basically anything you can watch without focusing on it.

10. What non craft books do you like to read?

The Bob Skinner series by Quentin Jardine

A Quick Study

About a month back we had a new member along called Isabel. She is a friend of Elaine and Linda's and she wanted to come along to learn to crochet. Gillian got her started on squares which she mastered that very night. A few weeks later she came back and saw the double sided blanket that Donna was working on. She asked to be shown how to do that. Isabel was so quick at picking it up that we joked she would be back a week later having finished a blanket. A few weeks later and she was onto her third. The above blanket is the second one she has done. The first one was in blue and the third one she was working on was in yellow. Donna is bringing along a book for her to borrow so that she doesn't get bored.

This cross stitch was by Linda. She was on holiday in Florida and her family bought her this kit. A few members wanted to pinch it or new someone who would it was so lovely.

This lovely preemie cardigan was done by Roberta for the preemie charity. Roberta was also working on a top secret project for the following weeks knitting group.

Elaine did this lovely hat set for the preemie charity. It's unfortunate that the camera doesn't show off the lovely lace pattern. The last day for handing in preemie items will be 30th June. We'll then photograph everything collected and hand them in.

This frog was knitted by Margaret using a pattern by Alan Dart. This was a gift for me and he had been named King Gilbert. Margaret was working on a summery top using Happy sock wool.

We also had Ginnie working on a purple pair of socks. The yarn had silver threads through it which were actual Stirling silver. I was also working on socks using merino sock wool. Donna was working on a top secret project also for the next knitting group gathering. Gillian was working on a lovely crochet blanket. Helen was working on her throw. Joyce was working on another baby shawl. Isabel was working on a pink cardigan for her granddaughter who will be visiting from the States this summer. Louise was working on a baby cardigan for her soon arrival.

We also had another new member. A lady called June who actually first came along the week before. She was working on a baby blanket which she finished that night. All she had to do was work in the loose yarn. She decided to do that at home and started a cross stitch kit of a sheep. All of this is for a grandchild due in October.

Catch Up

Once again work has kept me away from the group and from posting. I have some finished photo's from a few weeks back that I haven't show here yet. So I'm not going to say much but just show off everyone's work. Hopefully it will be back to normality this week. Plus we will have Laura as member of the month.

The above images are all of crocheted items done by carole. They really are lovely and are for the preemie charity.

The above tiny knits were done by Elaine and again they are for the preemie charity. The cup shows just how tiny they are.

The above baby blanket was knitted by Margaret. If you look closely you can see the diamond and star pattern.

This blue cardigan was done by Roberta. If you look closely you can see the lovely buttons which set it off.

Last but not least we have young Adam here modelling the blanket finished by Donna. This was using a pattern her gran had used. Adam clearly gives his stamp of approval.