Green With Envy

Heather! It's finished!

Well actually, it's been finished for almost a week now but I've been waiting for some warm weather to wash and block it (when you pin it out in the right shape for it to dry after a gentle soak/spin)

It's an 'Amy' pinafore in The March Sisters series designed by one of my favourite designers and online buddies, Kelly Brooker (gurnard on Ravelry).

This one is knit in Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn - an 8 ply 'Luxury' called Bracken and the yellowy colour is their Barley. GORGEOUSLY soft.

From the back - ribbing for a good fit

This one was knit as a custom order for my friend Heather
* she decided upon an Amy
* she selected the colours from a sample book I had
* she paid after I emailed her the invoice
* I ordered the delicious yarn from Australia at what I think is a really reasonable price for lovely yarn in a variety of colours
* Knitting began
* Voila! Ready for Heather to collect once she returns from Hong Kong.

It's as simple as that!

Charlie Brown

My friend Ali had to say goodbye suddenly to a cherised family pet just before Christmas - Charlie Brown. A beautiful Chocolate Burmese.

At the same time, I was going to make her a dishcloth for a dishcloth swap I was taking part in. Now, me being a geek, I already had a dishcloth all knit and ready to be rehomed but when I heard I thought maybe I'd put together a few other items

So, my 'Latte' dishcloth was knit - this is made from 70% bamboo and 30% cotton - soooo soft using this pattern.

I also included 150gms of yarn I had hand-dyed in what I hope are chocolate burmese colours. I called the colourway 'Charlie Brown'

I originally intended to also knit one of these...but in the end ran out of steam so was going to include the pattern (which I also remembered I'd left out on my way to give it to Ali)

That's Dedication

I know I brag a little about how handy my husband is, but there was just a little bit of pressure for him to put up a trampoline in Christmas Eve after kids had gone to bed and before it got dark

He did a stellar job on the actual tramp -

But the problem was with the net...the net that had instructions that differed from the materials we had. This resulted in a text to the supplier at 9:30 on Christmas Eve and a returned cell phone call.

By 10:30pm on the 24th of December we were both enjoying a bounce in the dark! It was great fun! And we've all had super fun bouncing on it since then as a family (I definitely recommend getting tramps that can take the whole family)

Penny from the 'Hutt' in mid-air

Cabled Hats

I've had a number of lovely comments and enquiries lately about this hat and so I'm thrilled to be able to offer these for orders.

This chunky cabled hat designed by Amy Swenson comes in three sizes: 3-9mo, 1-3yrs and Kids-Adult (Finished Circumference at Brim: 16(18, 22) inches)
I knit the one pictured in the smaller size

Prices start at $18 for the 3-9 months, $22 for the 1-3 year and  $26 for the kids-adult size. It can be knit in your choice of colour.

Email me at jstanfield@xtra.co.nz to place an order or for more information.

Sock Blocker Orders Are Go!

We've been getting a number of enquiries and orders for Blair's sock blockers lately - so many that he's had to go and buy more materials.

These are in the post as I type, Terry, yours are the ones on the left and in the centre and Jo, yours is the complete set on the right.

They should be in your hot little hands by the end of the week and we hope that you are happy with them.

Blair makes all the sock blockers specially for your order - we don't have a supply of ready made ones so if you need a specific length that you can't find or would rather specify a length rather than a S, M or L then just let us know and he'll make one up the exact length. We aim to please

Cake, chocolate crackles and chips

What birthday party would be complete without them?

We held a joint birthday party for our 2 cherubs on the weekend at our Playcentre. It made sense to do it all in one hit as their birthdays are reasonably close and we'd be inviting all the same people anyway. So we picked a date roughly between the two which also coincided with Blair being on holiday - that was part of the plan.

The night before Blair and I were taking care of the cake decorating. I'd been up early in the morning and made the 2 cakes, dairy/egg free cupcakes and the chocolate crackles. In terms of the decorating - Blair was completely in charge of Tim's #1 train/train track one and I was to do Penny's fairy garden one.

By 12am we were ready for bed, but the house was spotless and there was little to do the next day except for set up the playcentre and ice the cupcakes.

And what a fabulous party we had! I don't know why I do it to myself really, but I'm sure I spend all the time at things like that feeling like a chicken with my head chopped off, but everyone else seemed to be having a nice relaxing time out with their kids/family/nieces/nephews in the sunshine.

Nathan and Elliot discussing their train collections

Penny sampling the food

Tim sampling the sand

Plenty of opporunity for a natter

One thing that I didn't really realise till yesterday when I was getting over the immense exhaustion I've been feeling from both organising the birthday as well as having to deal with a wee fellow that is waking numerous times during the night at the moment is that at the end of the party everyone chipped in to help tidy up. Really! The water trough got emptied, the sandpit toys and trikes put away, the swings and little tramp brought back inside - it really reminded me what wonderful friends and family we have.

MWAH! I love you all, thanks for being there to help celebrate the birthdays of our children.

Knackered

I am tired - so tired that my knitting has hardly been touched tonight for the 2nd night in a row.

We were up till late last night icing 2 birthday cakes for our children's combined birthday party today. I think they looked great - but am too tired to upload photos so will come back

Party seemed like a success, a lot of lovelies came and played and ate.

Children still not that keen to co-operate and sleep though. They're in together for the first time as the inlaws are staying

Hoping I can sneak off to bed soon

*Yawn*

Hats, Hats And More Hats

Lately, I've been knitting hats - 7 hats to be precise.

A friend of mine, Rachael is an amazing photographer (seriously, check out her site, she is really reasonably priced and FAR nicer pics than pixie photo!) anyway, she was after some hats to do a photoshoot for her new photography business

We started with her selecting some hat patterns, yarns and sizes and voila - 7 hats for Rach

I started with this little blue Chemo Earflap Hat - the pattern is by Gabriella Henry.

And followed this with a larger version in a neopolitan coloured chunky yarn

Then along came one of my personal favourites, a chunky newborn hat with cables.

Then a little green 'Gooseberry' hat in avocado green. This one looks good the right way out and inside out

Then came my first 'Tubey' in chocolate brown.  I LOVE these hats, such a good fit and too cute

 

 

I could actually put in the whole sequence of Timothy fighting to not have his photo taken with a hat on - but that's another post. Let's just say though that there won't be many photos of him anymore as a hat model though as he rebels against his mummy with her woolly hats and camera :`(

Then the 'Propeller' hat, again - another fab hat! This one in Peony Pink

And then the last one, a sunshine yellow 'Tubey'

I hope they're spot on Rach. I can't wait to see how the photos turn out - I can imagine they'll put mine to shame (but then, she's the pro)

New Look For 2010

It's a new year and so I thought it was about time for a new look for my blog.

Goodbye 'Rusty Grunge'

Hello, 'Green Spring'

It's only been 2 months since me, Ali and Kate went public with Coco Kids - our custom knitting venture and since then I've been knitting flat tack thanks to the support of friends and acquaintances.

Thanks so much for your interest and enthusiasm!

Juliette - A-Line Skirty or Skirted Soaker

This wee gem (designed by Tia Novick) is the A-line version of the Juliette (I can also knit the ruffled version which also features at Coco Kids). It can be knitted either with or without a soaker underneath.

The one pictured is a medium which I knitted for my 5 month old niece. The idea was that it would be able to used for at least a couple of winters, that it'll still fit for next winter with some little leggings underneath. I puposely knitted this without the soaker so it can be worn with tights or leggings.

This one features 2 rows of eyelet detailing, as well as a picot edging and 2 separate rows of the pink to tie in the colour of the top waist band. All of these can be tailored to your taste, the picot edging can also be swapped for a little ruffle rather than the full pleats of the ruffled Juliette

I also knit a matching Confection Shrug to go with this (again, I am able to knit Confection Shrugs for custom orders)

Sizes - newborn, small, medium, large and xtra large. Prices start at $20 (though it does depend upon the type of yarn you would like as well as the size), email me if you would like to book your custom knit item, or if you'd like more information.