A Few Things

Just a round-up of some small projects completed in the past couple of weeks.

Isn't she sweet? She is made from some Rowan Felted Tweed dk I bought half price in the John Lewis sale a while ago, with stuffed animals in mind. The clothes are various scraps in dk weight.

The pattern is Olga the Kitty by Twins. As you can see I changed the face quite a bit (didn't knit the nose and used only one colour for the cat), but the pattern is an excellent one and the shaping is great.

Shoes with bows!!

The tortoise is Tavistock Tortoise by Amanda Berry. I love all her patterns. I used Baby Cashmerino and gave my tortoise a button flower to wear.

The pot of primulas is from a pattern by UK company King Cole, and the pattern number is 9000, Spring Collection. Mr. Knot Garden plants primulas in our garden every spring.

If you're in the UK I hope you're managing with the snow. It's not too bad where we are now because the roads are clear, but the garden has disappeared under a sea of white.

Take care in the snow and ice.

Another Cushion

Another cushion, this time that blogland favourite, the round crocheted cushion. I expect you've seen plenty of these on your bloggy travels, and there are some lovely ones out there.

It's the second one of this type I've made, but this time I was able to find a proper round cushion pad to fill it.

It's just a standard flat circle in trebles (US dc) with regular increases on every round. The flowers are 2-layer ones, examples of which can be found in many good crochet books, or there are free ones to be found online. The pattern I used was from here (Ravelry link).

My flowers don't seem to look exactly like the pattern, but I liked this one because it has 5 petals.

I couldn't find a pattern for the small fat leaves I had in mind, but it was simple enough to improvise a very basic one.

Here's a tip if you want to make a circle with a smoother curved edge. You can get a rounder shape if you stagger the position of the increases on consecutive rows.

For example, if you move the point of each increase one or two stitches to the left on every round, and keep that consistent throughout, the pattern of increases will still be regular but will form a gentle spiral effect, and the edge will be more of a curve.

Other methods are just as good of course, it all depends on the effect you want.

Yarn info: The yarn is a a real mixture - aran for the cushion, dk for the border and 4 ply for the flowers. This was because apart from the pink, I wanted to use what I already had, and now it's done I like the contrast in scale between the different yarn weights.

♥ ♥ ♥

Outside, I've been doing some late cutting back and overdue weeding between the rainy days this week. There isn't much autumn colour in the garden yet, but the leaves are starting to turn now.

This hibiscus bush grows outside the dining room window. The leaves with the sun on them are such a pure yellow, the photo doesn't really do them justice.

September

This is one of my favourite times of year. I don't know about you, but to me September always feels much more like a new start than January does. I like the feeling of change in the air, the fresher breeze, the gentler sunshine and even the rain! Most of the garden work's done, and I can't pretend I'm not pleased at the prospect of cooler weather. It's just that whole back-to-school feeling (I was one of those kids who liked school - sad, I know!)

I must say hello to the new followers I seem to have acquired. I'm always amazed and pleased to get new followers. I've said it before and it's still the case - if you read my blog, I appreciate you!

Large acorn (with i-cord twig added): Christmas Ornament Patterns by Amy Gaines

Medium acorns: Finsbury Squirrel pattern by Fluff & Fuzz

Small acorns pattern by Flutterby Patch

Jubilee Ladybird pattern by Fluff & Fuzz

Oak leaves and crocheted fern leaf from 100 Flowers

Forget-me-not

This is how I made the tiny blue flowers on my Posy Cushion.

Knitted on 2 needles.

Abbreviations:

K = Knit

St(s) = Stitch(es)

tbl = through back of loop

RS = right side

Tension (gauge) isn't important but if you use needles one or two sizes smaller than recommended for the yarn, you will get a more closely knitted flower. (I used Baby Cashmerino and 2.5mm needles.)

Using blue, make slip knot on left hand needle and cast on 2 more sts (3 sts in total, RS facing).

Cast off 2, knitting the last st tbl (1 petal made).

*Slip the remaining stitch back onto the left hand needle, keeping the RS of knitting facing you. Do not turn the work.

Cast on 2 more sts.

Cast off 2, knitting last stitch tbl (this just makes a firmer straight edge).

Repeat from * until you have a line of 5 petals.

Fasten off leaving an end a few inches long. Thread this end onto a sewing needle. With the right side of the knitting facing you, use the needle to gather the straight edge, being careful not to twist the knitting. Draw up to form a flower and secure. Where the two end petals meet, secure with a tiny stitch.

Darn in thread ends on the back of the flower, or leave long for sewing to whatever you like.

Using yellow, make a French knot in the centre, or you could use a bead.

You are welcome to this design for your own non-commercial use.

It was designed a s a forget-me-not, but as a general small flower pattern it could be made in any colour.

I hope you like it and will try it!

♥

Posy Cushion

I've been waiting for a bright enough day to take these photos,we've had some dull weather lately! This is one of several cushions I'm thinking about, which will be knitted, crocheted or sewn.

It was almost an experiment really, just to see what it would look like.

I wanted some sideways flowers as well as facing-upwards flowers.

And a few different sizes of leaves.

I wanted this cushion to be all knitted, no crochet, and I looked for a pattern for a tiny knitted flower I could use as a forget-me-not. I couldn't find one small enough, so worked out my own forget-me-not pattern.

The cushion itself is garter stitch in chunky (bulky) wool, and was made to fit a 45cm cushion pad. The flowers were all DB Baby Cashmerino and the edging is Rowan pure wool 4-ply.

I really went overboard with decoration on this project, and maybe having an edging as well was a bit too much? It's done now but it has turned out quite a bit "fancier" than I'd imagined it. I think perhaps it might look better when it's been broken in and squashed a bit!

I enjoyed sewing all the flowers on.

Now for some pattern details.

Apart from the forget-me-nots, all the flowers and leaves are from these three books as follows:

100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stanfield: Field Poppy, Large Leaf, Small Leaf.

Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers: Buttercups, Florets, American Beauty Rose and Rosebud, Small Basic Leaf Classic.

Designs For Kids by Lucinda Guy: Flower Posy.

The edging is from Knitted Edgings and Trims by Lesley Stanfield and is pattern 69 Bunting.

I'll post the pattern for the forget-me-not soon.

Flower Soup

These are for a knitted cushion which will have a cluster of knitted flowers on the front. It's evolving as it progresses, and it's quite fun making flowers of different sizes and colours, tossing them into the mix and seeing the pile grow.

For a small thing where the edges are going to be on show, I found there could be a big difference in appearance depending on the cast-on method used.

Just out of interest, this is a buttercup flower, cast on using the thumb method.

This is exactly the same pattern (from Nicky Epstein's knitted flower book), but made with a cable cast on.

Both nice in their own way.

I'm thinking of using this as an edging for the cushion, not all the way round but maybe on the two vertical edges. Not sure yet how that will look but we'll see.

Do you have a favourite baking recipe you come back to again and again? This week's baking was something I've made many times before, rock buns made using Jane Brocket's recipe. The taste is a wonderful combination of lemon and nutmeg.

They are easy to make and are a particular favourite of Mr. Knot Garden.

Owlish

Who can resist a cute little owly? He could be made in so many different colour combinations. He is just 3" tall and can even stand unaided.

I used various old dk from stash. The most difficult thing for me was getting the beak right. It took me several attempts to come up with a beak I thought was half-decent! But that's just me and my nit-picking of my own work. What's not to love about this pattern? It's from Etsy seller Amanda Berry who has several lovely animal patterns to choose from. I found the pattern very clearly written and super-accurate.

The embroidery in the background is an ongoing project I can hardly put down. For a while now I've been thinking about doing some "vintage" embroidery from an authentic old transfer. If you're a long-time reader of my blog you will know I can mull over an idea in my mind for months or even years before I actually start it! That was the case with this.

The transfer was one of a job lot bought on ebay some years ago. If you're interested in old transfers, ebay is worth checking out. It was fairly scruffy and tattered at the edges but the hot iron process did work, and it only needed minor touching up with a permanent pen. My stitches aren't perfect but I think that's all part of the character of this type of embroidery. Cottage gardens full of flowers are what it's all about.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, have a lovely Bank Holiday.

Elephant

I made this for a friend who loves elephants. This pattern has been around for a while but it's such a clever one, and I've been meaning to try it for ages.
It's an absorbing and fun knit, and was definitely a learning experience for me, but everything is clearly explained in the pattern.

It's knitted entirely on dpns and stuffed as you go. At first this feels like quite a strange way to knit. Even the ears are knitted on in the round and the edges grafted together, so it really is completely seamless, and so cute.

The wool is some dk I already had, which I thought was quite a good elephant grey, but I gave him a scarf as well to add some colour.

The pattern is Elijah, by the genius that is Ysolda Teague.

Spring

When I was little I used to love tiny things. I still find there's something particularly appealing about something nice that's very small.
The nest is 2" across and is just one of the many details in Alan Dart's Easter Parade pattern for ducklings in the April issue of UK magazine Simply Knitting.
It's knitted flat and seamed, and the eggs are very fiddly, but are sewn in with the seams underneath, which hides a multitude of sins!

I made the nest as per the pattern, and was going to leave it at that, but then I thought some embellishment wouldn't come amiss, so added the flowers, and I love the effect.

Spring is arriving late in the garden this year, but at last we have snowdrops in flower.

I tried to do some gardening yesterday but it was too muddy, and parts of the ground were frozen. I made a start though and I'm looking forward to sowing the seeds for this year's flowers for cutting.

On a Heart Theme

Two pairs of fingerless mittens

for two grown up daughters.

The pattern is Roses from Queen of Hearts by Louisa Harding. You do have to follow a chart to do the heart design, but it's only a small one (16 stitches). Normally I would run a mile from charted instructions with symbols telling you what to knit, but I wanted to knit this pattern so I gave it a go, and it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be.

Any dk yarn could be used for the pattern.

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It has become a yearly tradition in our house for me to bake Mr. Knot Garden a heart shaped cake for Valentine's Day. (In return he supplies me with chocolate.) This year it's a Raspberry Valentine's Cake with cream cheese frosting, from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell, a fantastic book with very reliable recipes. I had this book for Christmas and I've been working my way through it.

A thank you to everyone who has signed up to follow my blog recently.

Hope some Valentine's treats come your way!