Merry Christmas

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas. See you on Jan 6th.

Baby Tux!

I saw this baby cardigan shown on a craft website I visit and thought you guys might get a kick out of it. You can get the knitting pattern at this website.

Honorary Member!

On our last get together before Christmas we all met our newest member. This is Adam Who was born a little over a week ago (a little birthday present for his mum Magdalena). He was our quietest member as he didn't stir once. There was a little excitement when someone announced he had opened an eye. He probably saw all those people and decided waking up wasn't worth it.

Only a few finishes this week and all by the same person. Val finished her lovely baby cardigan. Originally the back was meant to be plain. Val felt this didn't quite fit in with the res of the pattern and so added the bobbles to the back too. Obviously you can't see it from this photo but it did look good.

These beautiful table runners were also stitched by Val. The red one isn't quite finished yet (not that you can tell from the front). It's also planned as a Christmas gift.

These bags are one of Val's specialities. She has made one for Helen who now uses it as her knitting bag. She even gives workshops on how to make them. These bags were made during those workshops and I believe Val mentioned she was also willing to sell these particular ones.

As this was our last week until January 6th I thought I would take some photo's of everyone working and chatting away. The photo above shows Val working on her cross stitch and Ginnie knitting a pair of dance socks. As well as being a knitter both are also quilters.

This is Janette. She is currently knitting a jacket using three different shades of green together. It looks very affective and will be lovely and warm when finished. Janette is also a quilter.

This is Julia and Helen. Julia is working on knitting a Santa Clause. She just has a few pieces to do and then she can put him all together. We will get a finished photo of him after Christmas. Helen is knitting a scarf using soya yarn. It's the same design that she used for her daughter. This one is in lovely shades of pink.

This is Joyce and Donna. Joyce is one of our speed knitters. She is currently working on a sweater. Donna is crocheting granny square's (she's also a knitter and a cross stitcher). Crocheting is an envy of some of the group. A few of us (myself included) have been unsuccessful in attempting to crochet.

This is Magdalena and Monika. Magdalena is looking good and surprised us all by coming back just a week after Adam was born (she always said that she hoped Adam would be born on a Wednesday so that she could still come along on the Tuesday). Monika is currently working on a lovely scarf using Tunisia crochet. A popular method amongst the group.

This is Isobel and Ann. You can see the scarf that Isobel has been working on. Isobel decided to increase the number of stitches used as it's a gift for her husband. Ann is now a converted sock knitter. The previous week Ginnie had mentioned that she was disappointed that she had yet to turn anyone else into a sock addict. Now she has. Ann has now said she will also knit nothing but socks.

This is Gillian and Margaret. Gillian is working on her third pair of fingerless gloves. She is also the member who has spun her own yarn. Margaret is famous for knitting her sleeveless tops even in the height of winter. She is currently working on an aron baby cardigan

Lastly here are some group photo's (you can see me in the background in one wearing blue and doing more talking than knitting);

Another reminder that we will be back on Tuesday January 6th. All new members are more than welcome. If I receive any finished pictures from the group I will post them here during our break.

Authors Retraction: Sock lady Ginnie has not moved away from knitting socks. Any evidence to suggest that she has knitted anything else is purely circumstantial i.e. the photo of her knitting fingerless gloves also looks like the start of a pair of socks.

New Addition to the Page

At the side of the page you can see I have added a links section. The first link on it is to the Borders, Glasgow Fort home page. If you click on their events page you will see we are listed there along with a link to this blog.

More Winter Warmers

It's the second last week and everyone is still on winter projects. Here is Gillian with a pair of fingerless gloves she just finished that night. Joyce liked them so much that Gillian went on to knit a pair for her grandson.

Here are Isobel and myself showing off our newly completed scarfs using noro yarn. Both followed the same pattern although Isobel adapted hers slightly making it all the more striking. She used larger needles to create a more lacey pattern. Realising that the width of the scarf would mean using up more yarn she decided to decrease not long into the pattern. She did increased when she reached the end creating wider ends at both ends of the scarf. Isobel was knitting another scarf that night with a pattern passed on to her by Helen (an image of Helen's scarf was modelled by her daughter Laura two posts ago). This one is for her husband.

Laura was also back onto the Tunisian crochet. It has grown by quite a bit since Laura last brought it in. I found out that she uses ten different colours of wool together. She also changes the colours as she runs out which creates a lovely effect. She is planning to make several panels, stitch them together and use it on her bed.

This creepy thing is meant to be a gingerbread man. I knitted this up the night before the knitting group. It has a pocket on the back which you are supposed to use like a puppet and make him walk. I had the idea of putting candy canes in the pocket and giving it away for Christmas. However, looks more like a voodoo doll to me. Think it has more to do with my knitting though as the images from Simply Knitting magazine were very cute. I then went onto to work on a Doctor Who scarf I promised for a friend a while back.

Ok, so not everyone has been knitting for the cold weather. Here is Margaret with her newly finished top. The photo doesn't do it justice, especially the pattern at the bottom. Margaret then went on to knit an aron baby cardigan for a friend in work who is about to become a grandmother.

Louise was working on a Christmas present for her mum, Ginnie was back onto sock, Helen was also knitting a scarf for her husband and Joyce was on to another top.

Just a reminder that Tuesday 25th November will be the last get together until after Christmas. Parking gets too hectic there with the Christmas rush. We will be back on Tuesday 6th January.

Winter Woollies!

With the cold weather coming in just about everyone was knitting something warm. This is Gillian with a scarf she started last week. It combines three different yarns which makes it warm and stretchy. It's difficult to see from the photo but one of the yarns is gold metallic. This made the scarf all sparkly and very festive. At the group Gillian was knitting a hat with the largest cone of yarn anyone had seen.

This scarf, hat and mittens set was done by Margaret for her youngest daughter. The hat was knitted with the wool left over from the scarf and mittens. The bow was supposed to be at the crown of the hat but Margaret placed it at the bottom instead. Last night she was working on another scarf as she had ran out of wool for the top she had been working on the last few weeks.

These socks were knitted by our sock knitter Ginnie. The yarn she used is a variegated sock yarn. The stripes in these socks knitted up naturally with the type of yarn she used. A gorgeous pattern with no need for any colour changes. She will deny all knowledge of this but at the group last night she was knitting gloves rather than socks. Unfortunately any photographic evidence I could have taken of this would have been pointless. It looked like she was knitting socks.

This beautiful cardigan was knitted by Louise. This cardigan is for a 2-3 year old. Louise joined the group a few weeks ago. To continue with the winter theme she had went on to knit a hat using a lovely, chunky, pink yarn.

Three scarfs were also on the pins. Two following a similar pattern using noro yarn, the third using Tunisian crochet. Three baby cardigans were being worked on (one of which was being stitched together by Val). Janette was continuing with her jacket. She finished the back and had started the front. Laura had decided not to bring her Tunisian crochet as it was now too heavy (I also found out that it was done using 10 balls of wool). Instead she worked on some cross stitch for Ginnie which she finished. A photo of this will be taken when it's framed. Last but not least we had another stitcher who was stitching a Tatty Ted bookmark.

Unfortunately we have only two more nights left as we stop for Christmas. We will be back again in January however.

It's Been A While

This week was my first week back after three weeks. While I was gone we had an influx of new members. I would say there were over 20 in our little group now. Here is one new member, Mercedes, with her first finish. A lovely green cardi. This photo was taken by Margaret two weeks ago and she is now just about finished her second (hopefully there will be a photo of this next week).

While I have been away a new craze has also started up. A few months back Gillian had been making bags using Tunisian crochet. Laura (our cross stitcher) has decided to take it up but on a much larger scale. This photo doesn't show just how large the crochet hook actually is. Having all those different coloured yarns crocheted together looks really good. This will become a rug for Laura's bed.

Here is Isobel showing off her lovely scarf. She got the pattern from Helen who has also knitted up a scarf like this but in different colours. The yarn used is a silk/mohair mix called Noro from Japan. It is dry clean only but worth it for this lovely stripey effect. Isobel is now knitting her second scarf. She is using the same pattern but making it a little broader. I have also picked up this yarn and am knitting a scarf with it. Although I am using a different pattern.

This is Laura with the lovely scarf knitted by her mum, Helen. Helen wasn't there this week as she wasn't feeling to good. Also being worked on this week were lots of baby clothes, a jacket using three yarns together, a lovely glittery scarf, more Tunisian crochet and two tops.

Janette has taken some photo's from one of the weeks I missed and has said she will send them to me. Will post those early next week. She is also bravely teaching some of her students to knit (including one boy).

Thankyou

Just a quick thank you to Karen who not only set up a fab group but also this blog well done.

Some Finishes

As mentioned in the last post there were some finishes on Tuesday. Gillian was working on hats this week. Here Gillian is modelling the first hat she was working on. She had knitted it up during the week and spent a little time on Tuesday sewing it together. The yarn is lovely and soft as well as thick and cosy. Gillian then worked on a child's hat for the rest of the evening.



I mentioned before that Ginnie is our sock enthusiast and she is passing it on to other members of the group. Here we have lovely blue socks that she had been working on last week. The yarn has silk content making it lovely and soft. Ginnie can knit up 2-3 pairs of socks a week depending on how much travelling she has to do for work. the tiny pair were knitted by Magdalena. This is her first pair and she knitted them for the baby. They are very cute and look so tiny compared to Ginnie's. Magdalena went back to working on her baby blanket while Ginnie worked on a pink pair of socks.

Laura also got a finish. This is a bookmark she stitched for her mum. Laura had finished another one of these a while back for Val. Her mum, Helen, liked it and asked her to make her one in exchange for a knitted scarf. The photo doesn't show how lovely and neat all her stitches are (Laura is also one of the fastest stitchers I know). Afterwards she worked on a kit for Ginnie (in exchange for socks). I'll save a description of it for when it's finished as the photo will describe it better than myself.

I had also finished the hat I had been working on. I describe it as the ugliest hat in the world. However, it was what the person I knitted it for wanted. It's for a snowboarder and he wanted yellow and black to go with his jacket. He also wanted ear flaps and a pom pom. This is my second attempt as the first one didn't fit. I then made my first attempt at socks. Yes, it's spreading! I made a mistake straight away so spent the evening just practising knitting on the round with double pointed needles.

Also finished was the cardigan Isabel had worked on for her grandson. Her grandson is over in the States and the cardigan was sent out with family this weekend. Isabel is now knitting doll clothes for her grandaughter to send out at Christmas. Although she is itching to have a go at the lovely scarf Helen has been knitting.

Janette brought more stitching along to work on. Not the pink panels this time but very small blue ones. Val was onto the sleeves of her baby cardigan and Margaret was working on her top and Julia was working on the second boot for Santa. Helen had been at a parents evening so came along later for coffee and a chat. We also had two new members come along. Joyce was working on a baby cardigan for her grandson. The second new member dropped by briefly for some advice from Gillian but has promised to come back next week.

Again a reminder that we will be finishing up the last week in November but new members are more than welcome to come along. We always love seeing new faces and the projects everyone has going.

Baby Shower

As Magdalena is getting closer to the day when her little one will arrive we decided to through her a little baby shower. This is her third baby and her first baby shower. Here you can see Magdalena with a lovely baby cardigan knitted by Helen.



This gorgeous dog is actually made by patchwork and was done by Janette. Some of the squares have colourful elephants on them and some of the colours even match the baby's room. Janette insisted that Magdalena had to name him. After many attempts at trying to get us all to pronounce a Polish name she decided on Gregory.


This lovely cross stitch of little bears was done by Laura. Magdalena said she had always wanted something like this for her children's room. Although she was tempted to keep it for her own. What the photo doesn't show is the lovely vibrant colours.


Here Magdalena is excited by the gift from Ginnie. As Ginnie only knits sock she put together some things that she felt the baby would need and offered to knit him socks when he is a little older. Magdalena was particularly taken with the teething ring as she had forgotten about them herself. She also received a lovely towel from Isabel, something she had also forgotten about.

This Jacket and little booties were knitted by Margaret. Also in the back were another two cardigans, one ideal for the winter and a lacey one.


Unfortunately this is the best photo I got of the lovely patchwork bag made by Val. The fabric inside is printed with teddy bears. It also has some pockets inside, perfect for holding bottles.

Magdalena also received a baby blanker which I knitted for her. No pictures of that I'm afraid so instead we have a close up of the very photogenic Gregory. Magdalena was so excited it was difficult to get pictures of her. She loved everything although I'm not sure how she managed to fit it all into the car.

Some knitting and stitching did actually take place at the knitting group. I will post pics of those later in the week.

Introduction.

This beautiful blanket was crocheted by the talented Magdalena. The blanket took about two months to complete although she did knit other things in between. The little jumper was knitted by Magdalena using chenille yarn. As well as looking lovely it is very soft to the touch. Coming from Poland Magdalena knits very differently from the rest of the group. It's fascinating to watch and her method seems quicker than ours. One or two of us have tried to imitate it but with no luck. She is now onto her second blanket, this one is going to be knitted rather than crocheted.

Our knitting group started up about five or six months ago. We started off with four regular members and we now have around 14. We all get together and have coffee whilst knitting and chatting. We are all learning something from each other and there is always something interesting to see each week.

We aren't just knitters. We have a few cross stitcher's in the group. One member, Laura, uses each get together to work on her cross stitch. She is also the resident pom pom maker.

Janette, Val and Ginnie, as well as knitters, are quilters. Occasionally Janette and Val have brought along pieces of quilting they are working on instead. All three have also brought in photo's of their work to share with the group. Ginnie's other love is knitting socks. She doesn't knit anything else as it is easy to knit whilst travelling (she has knitted larger projects before). Ginnie has passed on this love to two other members, Helen and Ann. Ann has since sworn that she will also only knit socks. One or two other members have shown an interest (including myself) and may also have a go.

Our group expert is Gillian. Whenever anyone is needing help with knitting or crochet we pass them on to Gillian. She is also the only one of us who has spun her own yarn. Currently she is working on a lovely baby jacket and a shawl.

Other projects on the go are Julia's toy Santa, Isabel's baby cardigan, Helen's lovely lacey scarf, Laura's bookmark, Val's baby cardigan and Janette's cowl. Margaret's top and my hat.

Each week we will update this blog on everything that is going on in the group alongside one or two pictures. Not all posts will be written by myself. The rest of the group are excited about this blog and creating their own posts.

We also warmly welcome new members to the group. We are in Starbucks in Borders at the Glasgow Fort. Every Tuesday from 7.00pm. We will be breaking up for Christmas at the end of November. Hopefully we will continue to post and we will definitely be back in January.