Blue Baby Moss Print Hoodie

Baby knitting is so awesome! Its so much easier to finish something when its this tiny, and i'll be honest i'm not brilliant at finishing my knitting projects. Admittedly, with a little baby it still takes a while, but at least its a finishable project. I mean it seems daft to put something this small on you hibernating knitting pile when a few extra evenings will see it finished.

This little hoodie is a pattern I got from Ravelry called Manda Ruth which can also be purchased from the designers website. I really like the all over moss print which adds a lovely bit of texture, and of course the cute little hood.

 

This is the first time I have ever knitted anything 'in the round' (its a cardi, so esentially not round but you get the point). Knitting in the round is where you knit the whole body, front and back, as one piece so there are no seams to be sewn. You then pick up the arms and knit them in the round on dpns so again no seams. This is not a very British way of sewing, and although the technique itself wasn't difficult I think I actually prefer to knit all the pieces and sew them together at the end. I'm not brilliant at picking up and knitting, but at least this project gave me some much needed practice. 

The pattern itself was very straight forward to follow and it knitted up really quick being an aran weight hoodie. I would definitely recommend this pattern, and I might make up another one for when hes a bit older.

I did make a couple of boo boos here and there, but nothing too noticeable I hope, and certainly not something which is going to bother me (or Master Fox).

 

I chose this really lovely blue Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran which I got from Love Knitting. It was meant to be a superman blue, as Mr Fox is a huge fan of blue, but it is ever so slightly off. The colour and feel of this wool is so gorgeous though, its so fresh and bright.

The sad thing about this pattern is that it has come up really small :(. Master Fox is a little boy and is still in 0-3 month clothes despite being 4 months now (how is he already 4 months old!?!). I chose to knit this in the 6 month size and as you can see from the picture below its a little on the snug side, especially the hood. So if you do decide to knit this double check your gauge and maybe knit the next next size up to be on the safe side. Its ok when the hood is down though, and we will get a few wears out of it as its the perfect cover up for these spring days.

Roasting chestnuts and other things

  

Happy Friday.... whats this you say.... did you buy a new table cover for your desk? Why yes I did! I purchased a metre of this lovely polka oilcloth to cover my craft table as I am fed up of the cats walking on the white cloth one and covering it in mud! Pesky little monkeys (it doesn't stop me loving them for their cuteness). Now I have a pretty backdrop for some piccies that I can also wipe clean of all the mess! Mr Fox did tell me it made the room look like a toddlers tea party but hey, that's a cool look right? 

I haven't been able to get on with much craft this week... doing overtime at work and trying to prep for the kitchen being ripped out it taking up my time a bit. How do we accumulate so much stuff? I swear we have 5 incomplete Denby crockery sets in the backs of our cupboards, its no wonder I don't have any space in my kitchen. All of these were gifted to us so I don't have the heart to throw them out. Despite all that though I have managed to get around to tracing and cutting out the pattern pieces for the Chataigne shorts by Deer and Doe which have been on my to do list for a while.

I knew when I bought this pattern that I wanted to make it up in a pure wool, but I also know how expensive pure wool can be. I had resided myself to a cotton drill type fabric until a I found this. A while ago, whilst I was charity shop hopping, I came across a below the knee, pleated, pink, pure wool skirt in quiet a large size. Looking at it I could tell there was A LOT of fabric in there, it just needed unpicking and washing to get all the pleat creases out. As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for this project. Luckily there was just enough in there to get all the pattern pieces out. The colour is perfect for me (its hard to take a good likeness as the weather was bad but its a sort of dusky pink) and it will look gorgeous with a pair of black tights and boots. I like to think that I am bringing new life into something that once belonged to someone's grandma so I just hope my sewing can do it justice and it actually fits!

I also wanted to show you my new AWESOME light pull! Please forgive the knackered paint work though caused by the old dull light pull though, I need to re-paint this to do the fox a bit more justice. Isn't it great though, using the bathroom now gives me an extra little bit of joy, and I don't mind it so much in the middle of the night anymore. A love a little bit of whimsy to brighten up my day. Its made from ceramic and was made by the very talented Little Birdy and purchased from their Folksy shop. You should definitely go take a look for yourself. I really like the badgers and the circus bears but lets face it, it had to be a fox didn't it.

And that's it from me, life it mostly work and tidying up at the moment, not very glamorous. I hope you are finding more fun things to do than I am. We are off to watch some strongmen lift some heavy things tomorrow so that should be an interesting day out. Mr Fox is a fan of the strongman sport so I hope he really enjoys it.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and don't forget there is still time to comment on my Ice Cream Brooch post to be in with a chance to win one! Go now! Do it...