January 2011 | Himiko No Sekkai

I have a plan. Those who know me are in no way surprised. I always have a plan. In fact I seem to be made up of plans. Preferably big plans. One more realistic than the other but plans nonetheless.

This particular plan is achievable though. It goes something like this: make a quilt for every bed in the house. Some quick calculus learns us that that would be 3 quilts. So far no sweat.

But then some hard decisions concerning designs need to be made. For one of them I am set on making pin wheel blocks. As I've never done them before and as I found a great tutorial on doing them without any fabric loss I thought I'd better have a go at them on a small scale. Just to be on the safe side.

I made 6 trial blocks and ended up turning them into a quilted placemat.

pinwheel

I can recommend two things. One, do make some pinwheels. They are so much fun to make. And two, turn your trial blocks into placemats. Before you know it you have a table of happiness.

And the parade continues.

Today we are in for a Bobi. The infamous Bolero Biarritz.

bobi

Hang on, didn't you make a set of those before?

Well yes. But the thing about children is that they grow. More or less non stop. And my oldest has been growing quite a bit since autumn set in and by now she's outgrown her original bobi. So I stepped up the size and went straight for the 10-12 year olds.

Somehow I find these boleros to be a rather tight fit. And I would like her to still be able to wriggle into it next fall. Hence the big size. She does grow but not let's not exaggerate...

bobi front view

Her wardrobe made us go for a bright blue version. Encre violette is what the alpaga by la Droguerie is called. It goes so well with her bright blue eyes and skin complexion.

bobi back view

It's so easy to knit. Really it is. If you ever want an easy yet so satisfying knit to for a wee one, go on and have a go. Over at Julija's they'll be happy to help you along with yarn and patterns.

The frenzy is starting to result in some finished knits.

Let's kick off this weeks knitting parade with a Gilet Courtenay.

gilet courtenay

A pattern by La Droguerie knitted in the 6 year old size. I used a mix of alpaga 'Aster' and plumette 'Chocolat Glacier'. The fine thread of kid mohair makes the whole thing fluffy and warm but still extremely light and airy.

However the recipient is most charmed by the heart shaped buttons on the front.

gilet courtenay detail

Personally I like the bubbled effect of the body. It's created by starting a regular 2/2 rib but every 6 needles you shift the ribs by 2 stitches. Simply put, after 6 needles you knit where you are supposed to purl and vice versa. Repeat this every 6 needles and hey presto bubbled emerge.

gilet courtenay back

gilet courtenay full view

On to number two! Tomorrow I think...

Aha!

Before I forget... I had a secret knitting project going last month. A Christmas scarf for the husband. Preferably finished in time for him to receive as a Christmas gift. And I made it. Yay!! And he liked it. Yay!!

purple scarf

I went for a scarf in a Fisherman's Rib.

Great choice as it basically means you knit every stitch double which results in a super thick, super warm and ever so cozy scarf.

Horrible choice as it means knitting double as much to end up with the desired size. So while the husband was off the work and the offspring shipped off to school I knitted like a crazy woman cause the husband likes his scarfs long... really long. This picture shows you just as long 'long' is...

purple scarf full lenght

Long would be at least twice the height of my 3 year old. Hah.

Joking aside the whole thing measures in at 190 cm long and 19 cm wide. Unstretched that is. A Fisherman's Rib stretches rather well you see.

I used one skein of Cascade Eco+ yarn in Wisteria color. One skein amounts to 250 gr of alpaga to be knit in needle size 5,5 or 6mm. I went for 6mm in this instance.

Now all that remains is to convince my 3 year old that it would be a good idea to give the scarf back to his rightful owner...

purple scarf detail

Right, I still owe you a post on my secret santa adventure.

Remember how I took part in a local secret santa initiative. Well,I sent off my Russian pillow to Buddykids. In return on a cold winter evening I came back home to find a big box on my doorstep. Tante Tweet was so kind to send it over and this is what I found inside...

secret santa

A pile of books, a cherry pit pillow to keep my cold feet company (oops, just realized it isn't in the picture, but I'm sure you all what I'm on about) and a home made birdhouse. Thank you so much Tante Tweet!

I just absolutely love that birdhouse. Ever since it moved in, I'm wondering and pondering where to put it up in the garden. It's rather essential that you get that right if you want it to ever get inhabited. And that's exactly what I'm aiming for... for my little red robin to make it his home...

And then that would look something like this

I could just sit and look at it all day...

Every so often I get hit with a knitting frenzy. I must and shall knit. All the time... I must and shall knit... to retain my mental sanity even though that may sound a bit odd...

Anyhow, the frenzy has started again. So for now I'll leave you with some knitting on-the-go while I return to my comfy couch where my needles are crying out for some action.

knitting

I'll get back to you with the results.

If I can ever stop knitting that is.

When one has little children or husbands, one knows that one's table should be protected at all times when breakfast, lunch or dinner is being served. If not, you'll end up with a mess. A terrible mess. And people will, on seeing this mess, point out to you, very eagerly, that you should protect your table from it.

"Use a table cloth" they will say.

But then I say "I'd rather not cause when one child pulls at it from end of the table, all that's on there will come flying of the other end. And then I won't have a messy table but a messy carpet and that's potentially even worse."

"Then use some placemats" they will say.

And they are absolutely right.

Our old ones had gotten really grubby and sticky and yucky so I made some new ones for the little ones over the holiday. This is how they look...

placemat detail

I started from the town scene of the middle section of fabric and worked my way around it in patchwork with leftover fabrics that combined well and would appeal to the girls. On the right side I included a divided pocket in which they can put their clean cutlery when setting the table. The bigger flowery square is the ideal place for their drinking cup. The mats have a solid backing in corduroy, a heavy batting and have been quilted right through. The binding was stitched on by hand in order to avoid any stitching and seams. They measure in at about 38 by 46 cm.

placemat

And most importantly, they cheer up our table rather well!

So well, just in time for Christmas Gabe joined the family. The family of handiworks that is.

Gabe the felt bunny

Hi there Gabe! Hi there!

Nice to meet you! And nice to meet all of you!

Doing well? Pretty much yes. All's well on your end?

He dressed up all special for the occasion... a leaf of ivy by his ear and sporting a handsome Christmas candy cane scarf. We were impressed by his efforts to be a perfect house guest.

ivy

christmas scarf

And does he fit into the handiwork family? Well, he is looking rather dashy alongside his two lady friends Isobel and Mabel. So I think we can take that as a yes.

three felt bunnies

Children and husband kicked off the year in style and spent some time with our camera making a stop motion film.

From all of us to all of you "A happy happy New Year". Spend it well!

Try out

Number two

That's what I call a result

Aha!

I owe you

It's that frenzy thing again

Little mess, big mess

Meeting Gabe

Happy 2011