Absent, but "present" !!!!

Hi girls!!!!!
The time flies very quickly while busy in making a lot of gifts for family and friends in occasion of the coming Christmas ..... next week!!!!!
So I was absent from Blogland, but I had to in favour of the "present" commitment!!!! ;oD
I had taken a lot of pictures of all my works, but I'll show you just a few, ok ???

As you can remember (HERE), I was knitting a scarf with stripes (the Long Striped Scarf, from Fiona Goble's knitting book Scarves and Cowls, 36 quick and stylish knits) ....

.... and from the same book, in the meantime, I knitted even the Pompom Scarf, that is like the following ....

.... and I tell you, they are so different and so beautiful together ...

I crocheted a couple of necklaces, too !
The pattern is the same (my own design!), but I did use two different kind of yarns, so two different sizes of hooks ....

YOU CAN FOUND THESE BUTTONS HERE !!!!

... and I made another one with buttons and beads ....

... then a bunch of hats ....

.... there are more, but I'll show you the rest another time!!!!!
The pattern I followed is free and you can find it HERE !!!

I had even to crochet (my "little" sister request !) two Totoro hats (do you remember the first one?) ...

.... slightly different from each other !!!!

Then a different kind of hats ....

..... sweet little decorations, nice to gift to a friend who was hosting a Christmas party last week !
The photo tutorial ? Have a look HERE and have fun in making them !

I've tried something new (still my own design!) for a couple of chilly friends ...

yes ... hot water bottle covers !!!!

.... So I was not kidding !!!! I was really busy !!!! ;oD

Everything is all packed now in my luggages : tomorrow we are flying back to Italy for the Christmas break ....
..... but I will pop again next week for the Season Greetings !!!!!

xxxx, Alessandra

Some knitting and some crochet !!!

Even if you are not hearing from me very often (internet service is quite a nightmare here!), this doesn't mean I stay with my hands on my belly all day long !!!!

I craft every day !!!!! Some days like a crazy, some days more quietly !!!!!

In the last two weeks I started a couple of projects with my straight knitting needles …..

I'm following a pattern from one of Fiona Goble's knitting books SCARVES and COWLS 36 quick and stylish knits : it's on page 14, the Long striped scarf and I love it !!!

I'm using different yarns ( Sirdar Sublime cashmere merino silk dk ….. discontinued !!!! sorry!) that I bought when still in Indonesia, while the pattern requires other yarns, but still from Sirdar !!! ;oD
Another different thing from the original pattern is the size of my needles : I'm working with a 3,5 mm pair, while the pattern suggests 4mm needles!

My scarf will be thinner and shorter than the original, but I'm already in love with it …

… when working with the garter stitch I always prefer the wrong side of my work, mostly when stripes are involved !!!! I like to look at the rows where I change the colours …

My "little" sister Varinia asked me to knit her socks …. scary, really scary !!!! I've never tried to use circular needles or dpns … so : what to do ?????
Well, I started to browse on Pinterest (where else ???) and I found an easy sock pattern to knit with a pair of straight needles, just to have an idea …..

I did it !!!!! At least one !!!! ;oD
The pattern I followed is HERE !!!!
I admit that I need to refresh my seam technique (!!!!), but I enjoyed this easy pattern that gave me the idea of the parts of a sock and I'm really less scared after this try!
One thing I'm sure right now : I need to understand and practise with DPNS, because they allow you to knit better socks!!!! We'll see !!!!

In the meantime, two Birtdays have been celebrated here in Maputo, so I knitted (again!!!!) two softies,
one for a little girl (3 years old!) …

I call her "piccolotta" (a sweet way to say little in Italian!) and I love it as it's a very quick knit, so simple and satisfying, as you can add small touches to make it great !!! See the bow on her head? And the buttons?? You know what I mean, right???? ;oD

The other softie, was bigger because for a bigger girl (15 years old !!!!) ….

…. ah, the little heart, embroidered using the duplicate stitch method ….

I did some crochet, too !!!!
I'm preparing a couple of photo tutorials and I hope Internet will allow me a serene photo editing in the meantime to show you very soon my new projects!!!
The Big Girl (who received the big softies) kindly asked me to crochet her some little baskets (do you remember THESE????) as party favours : she needs them to put some little cacti in! Nice idea, right?

These baskets are a little bit bigger than the original ones, as I added a couple of stitches in the first round (so they are larger) and two more rows of DCs (so they are higher, too!) !!!

See you soon ( I hope!), xxxx Alessandra

Cut Out & Keep : Knitted Bowl Tutorial !!!

So today, as my 4th project to share, you'll find a knitted one …

…. oh yes !!!! Have you ever tried to knit some bowls ??? You can find the photo tutorial + pattern right HERE, over at Cut Out & Keep Superstars !!!!!!

As you can see from the above picture, my 5 Petals Knitted Flower is a lovely embellishment for the centre of the bowl !!! ;oD

What will be next ?????
Still 3 projects to go …… !!!!!!!

xxxx Alessandra

Cut Out & Keep : 5 Petals Knitted Flower !!!!

…. and today my second project of the week ….

…. my 5 Petals Knitted Flower ….. !!!!!!

It's an old favourite of mine and I still love it !!!!!

I started to knit as a young kid….. you can read more about it HERE !!!!

Have fun knitting and reading, too !!!!

xxxx Alessandra

… If you missed my first project, no worries : Stripy Wrist Warmers …. just click on it!!!! ;oD

xxxx Alessandra …. see you tomorrow!!!!!

Fingerless gloves …. knitted !!!!!

…. Do I have a hat ? I have one ….
…. Do I have a scarf ? just done ….

…. but what about some gloves? Work to be done !!!!

This time I put aside my crochet hooks and collected, instead, a pair of straight knitting needles ….

I knitted them in one afternoon, so they are really quick to knit …

… and as you see from the various pics, I preferred to "sew" them not by using the mattress stitch, but by crocheting a row of single crochets …. final touches : a braid at the base of the gloves and a mini tassel at the top of them …

my left glove

my right glove

The pattern I followed is from this book …

… and the pattern is this one ….

They seem very tiny, but they fit properly, I must say …

Tobia asked for a pair, too ….

… same size as mine …. this is a good quality about ribbed gloves … one size fits all !!!! ;oD
The only difference from the original pattern (and my pair of gloves) is that I casted on 30 stitches, instead of 26, so that the thumb is in the centre of the glove and there are no more right and left gloves : they are all the same!

xxxx Alessandra

…. London we are ready (!!!!) and NO, I'm not going to crochet/knit a jacket : no time left!!!!!