F.O – Knitting Patchwork Blanket

So in some big news – Drum roll please – I’ve finished the patchwork blanket. All the knitting, the sewing and cutting.

After 2 years, this project is finally done.

So after 2 years, 90 squares, a pregnancy and a baby… it’s all done!

This project came at a perfect time in my life. I saw the advertising for the Art of Knitting magazine at a time in my life where I wanted to get back into knitting, but didn’t know quiet where to start. So I started one square at a time.

Since starting this project, I’ve knitted hats, knitted a jumper, a blanket for Lily. It’s been a skill that has helped keep me sane for the last couple of years and really helps keep me balanced. I love how it’s improved my quality of life and I love the people I’ve met both on and offline because of knitting.

So love to you all

Happy knitting!

x

9 To Go! (Squares)

So we were away this weekend at my grandparents. They were meeting their newest great-granddaughter and so Lily got lots of cuddles and I managed to get some knitting done!

I managed to get 3 squares finished this weekend! Although I did pick the stocking stitch squares - so a couple of quick wins.

One square looked a little bored so I did embellish with some cable knitting. It's actually pretty fun and I'm looking forward to doing some cable projects this year (you may have noticed a few have snuck onto my to make list for the year.....).

I have 2.5 weeks until I go back to work. Hoping to get the last of them knitted before then!!

In some exciting news the fluffy wool for the rabbit jumpers turned up :) So I'm ready for them now. Its Sirdar snowflake DK and so fluffy!!!!

Other post to arrive was the materials to block the squares in prep for sewing together.

So in Lily news, she's been smiling now for a couple of weeks. But I finally caught a picture of a Lily sized grin this evening :) Grinning and attempting to stand are her new party tricks!! She's also trying to crawl and roll over. So soon there will be no stopping her!

Will post again about the weekend later in the week - we brought some really cute stuff for Lily!!

Happy knitting!

MrsKirstyHoll

xx

To make list – the beginning

Right… so I keep adding stuff to my make list. I really felt like I needed to get all the ideas together for planned projects in a list so I can focus on the projects I have yarn for before I buy more of it…. Although I can’t promise I won’t come back from the knitting and stitching show with more yarns and more patterns… 

I’ll confess those yarny sins when I get back… 

1. Firstly I want to get this blanket finished. Another 10 rows to go and then the border.

2. Then I want to get this blanket finished. 20 squares, then to sew them together before adding the border to go.

3. Then I want to finish a Star Wars scarf WIP I found in my wardrobe while tidying last weekend. Sample tension square done and needles / yarn purchased.

4. This freebie lace shawl pattern. This would be my first lace pattern. So pretty exciting. Yarn came free with mag and needles purchased.

5. Knitted baby sock. Yarn already purchased. This will be the first if 12 socks I want to knit this year.

6. Jumper for Lily. 

7. Cardigon for Lily.

8.  Scrap yarn blanket. I found this crochet pattern yonks ago. Now I have enough scrap yarn this I think I can make the background look really funky. Will probably end up giving this to Lily for a Christmas present or keeping it as a family blanket for the sofa. 

Original Source of Chart Image – Happy Hooker

So that should keep me busy for a while. But I really need to focus on 1 project at a time to ensure that they make some decent progress. I think that needs to be a resolution for the year!

Off to carry on knitting!

MrsKirstyHoll

X

Progress on my to-do list

Thought you guys would like an update on my progress went with that to-do list:

• Edit and update a spreadsheet for a mate (I am a bit of a fan on Excel - so feel free to ping me any questions if you have any) - done!
• Make a start on my Daily Greatness Journal - new year, new me (and mini me) - managed to make a decent amount of progress through the planning stages 
• Start reading through the collection of blogging books I've brought to help grow this blog - not got very far with this one. Started the book from Problogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garret. So far feels like a really easy read and it looks like its going to be really informative.
• Take down my Christmas decs - otherwise bubs will turn up and it just won't happen! - Christmas tree down and all of the decs packed away. Currently in boxes on the stairs ready to go into the loft!
• Catch up on clothes washing - again when bubs appears there will be a lot! - all done and hung up :) 
• Tidy up my lounge - it looks like it's been attacked after a week of both of us being in the house. - looking significantly better then it did this morning! 
• Knitting - Complete the last Diagonal Stripe Square. - completed! So that's another pattern down :) really enjoyed knitting this one actually! 
• Knitting - work 2 colour rows of the baby blanket - worked one so far. So making some progress on this :) 

• Schedule/draft blog articles - with the theory that with bubs I am not going to have a lot of time! - so not really made any progress on this. Going to get started this evening once I've posted this one.

There was also a massive energy crash which saw me half dozing on the sofa for a couple of hours. My hips have also started hurting again. So I think the plan is to jump into another hot bath later on in the hope my muscles feel less achy!

I also managed to capture this really cool bit of footage of bubs having a good of wiggle around. Head over to my Instagram @mrskirstyholl if you want to take a look!

Happy new year all

Baby brain signing off

MrsKirstyHoll

X

Update: knitting and bubs

Managed to get some serious knitting done on the first day of the year (so an excellent start). My everything has been aching, so ended up confining myself to the sofa. Thankfully bubs decided to behave this morning and we didn't need the monitoring appointment - so I cancelled that so someone else could use it. We have a scan tomorrow morning, so hopefully we'll understand more about what bubs is doing then.

Knitting summary for Yesterday: 

Diagonal square: white

This was surprisingly a really simple pattern to knit. You need to follow the pattern really carefully, but other than that was just variations of k3,p3 pattern. So this was a super quick knit :)

Baby Blanket

Managed to get another 3 colour rows worked yesterday. It only adds about 5/6cm to the length. But it is starting to look a lot more substantial now. Obviously knitting this as quickly as possible at the moment - we are seriously running out of time!!

The Plan for today

Having had a really chilled out day yesterday, I actually have a serious burst of energy for today and just want to get a load of jobs ticked off the list.

We went out for breakfast this morning at the local premier inn. The hubby goes back to work tomorrow, so it was nice to chill out together. We then followed that up with a Pokemon Go themed walk down at the local park. The weather was absolutely beautiful - just a bit chilly! I also managed to catch a few Pokemon I needed and gain some distance on some eggs I am trying to hatch.

The plan for the afternoon is as follows:

• Edit and update a spreadsheet for a mate (I am a bit of a fan on Excel - so feel free to ping me any questions if you have any)
• Make a start on my Daily Greatness Journal - new year, new me (and mini me)
• Start reading through the collection of blogging books I've brought to help grow this blog
• Take down my Christmas decs - otherwise bubs will turn up and it just won't happen!
• Catch up on clothes washing - again when bubs appears there will be a lot!
• Tidy up my lounge - it looks like it's been attacked after a week of both of us being in the house.
• Knitting - Complete the last Diagonal Stripe Square.
• Knitting - work 2 colour rows of the baby blanket
• Schedule/draft blog articles - with the theory that with bubs I am not going to have a lot of time!

So fingers crossed for a productive afternoon!

Happy knitting all!

Baby Brain Signing off!

MrsKirstyHoll

x

Jan blog update 2015 - Craft update

Last year did not see much progression of any of my craft projects. I spent so much time planning on Pinterest and not much actual doing. This I did feel quiet disappointed about as I had wanted to get back in to crafting after uni.

That is why I am vowing to actually do and finish projects (or at least significantly progress in them).

Project 1: That Scarf

I'm not going to lie. The scarf is currently in the state it was pre-Christmas. The feature wall took up a lot of my time this month (not an excuse). Now that the big decorating job is finished I am hoping to have more time in the evenings to get this finished.

The work in progress scarf

Project 2: Fabric Patchwork Quilt 

On some positive note, I did manage to find a few spare hours to get on with my patchwork quilt (yay!). So I am feeling rather pleased with myself.

The design is inspired by something I found on Pinterest. However, rather than being seperated by white crosses, all of the crosses will be patterned. My thought was that this would be the best way of mixing the pattern fabric as individual squares might look a bit overwhelming.

Cross quilt patterns

Here is a quick sample of some of the fabrics that are going into my quilt. I've got a mix of fabrics I have brought and some that have been donated by friends and family for the project. The plan is to mix the block coloured fabric with the ones that have more white in the design.

Work so far...

I have started sewing them into crosses and used a large white sheet to formulate my design. The plan is to use the sheet as an extra layer below the patched side between the stuffing. I'm hoping this will secure the patched design.

Fabric Samples

Samples of completed crosses

For the back of the quilt I have a red piece of fabric with a printed image of the Hindu God. I brought it in Portugal as I wanted something in the blanket to remind me of the holiday. It will also give me the perk of a reversible quilt! I'll give you a sneak preview of it further into creation - so watch this space!

January progress...

So post Christmas work on the blanket has progressed from pieces to some of the crosses of the fabric actually sewn together! Originally I had began the design sewing together using invisible plastic thread. During this stage I discovered that that was not my best plan as some of that stitching is coming apart. So I am now using white cotton thread and make small repair stitches where necessary.

So here is a photo of my progress so far! I've given up on pinning them onto the sheet. This was manly because I was being an bit impatient. I really needed to see some progress to get my motivation going on this project.

Some of the more eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that my attempt at free wheeling this without a pattern needs more focus. The bottom cross with with flowers needs to be unstiched and moved across and up one square. Apparently spending a bit of time doing a line drawing pattern could be a good move.

Project 3: Learning to Knit - New magazine subscription to "Art of Knitting"

The art of knitting

In another attempt to get my creative juices flowing I have also subscribed to a knitting magazine. "Art of Knitting" - if you want to know more about it this is a really good review of the first issue. I've been knitting for years (hence the resolution to finish the scarf) but have never progressed past the basic cast on, knit stitch, cast off. So when I saw this I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn some new knitting skills! :)

The first issue (as you can see) is only 99p, the second issue is £1.99 and then every issue after that is £2.99. So, in comparison to other similar magazines it is really cheap. Part of the method to teach you every stitch is to use a different stitch for coloured squares. Eventually over the course of the series I'll hopefully knit myself a throw.  I will keep you updated on my progress. By subscribing you also get some free gifts as well - I love free gifts.


As you can see I have finished the first square! It is white and garter stitch. As this was a stitch I was familiar with it was pretty quick to do. However, I was able to make use of the video tutorials to learn how to cast on properly! So I felt rather pleased with myself.

Garter Stitch Square

This magazine also includes patterns to help you learn other skills. So I will get started on those once the wool arrives. My plan of not starting new projects might flounder here.... But I'll hopefully learn some new skills and create some funky knits! So watch this space.