Tuesday, November 06, 2007

The scurge of gift knitting

Anybody reading this blog recently will think that I've just been busy with cats, kittens & hedgehogs. Whilst they have been taking my time other things have been happening but sadly not all are blog-able at least not yet. With Christmas just a few weeks away I've been planning & casting on projects via Ravelry but none can be revealed here.

However I do a have a few non-Christmassy things that I can show:

First a project which was first seen when I was ill but now I can reveal a much better photo:

Sweater & Stocking Minis
Stripey Jumper dress


Pattern: Mini Sweater
Source: Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.
Modifications: I wasn't very well when I made this & I'm using this as the excuse for going wrong. I counted the stripes instead of the rows so I made a jumper dress instead of a jumper or sweater But it's still cute.
Yarn: Wendy Cotton Supersoft & Wendy Miami found hiding in my stash.
Needles: 4mm

A second attempt at the pattern fared much better:

Sweater & Stocking Minis
Two tone miniature jumper


Next a truly fiddly knit:

Little Sky Sock
Little Sky Sock


Pattern: Little Sky Sock
Source: New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: Opal Magic left over from my Garter Rib socks
Needles:2 x 2.5mm addi turbos

I'm glad I've made a miniature version of this sock as I really didn't like the shaping but I did like the next one:

Little Coriolis sock
Little Coriolis sock


and another shot from the other side to show the shaping:

BLittle Coriolis sock
Little Coriolis sock


Pattern: Little Coriolis sock
Source: New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: Opal Magic left over from my Garter Rib socks
Needles:2 x 2.5mm addi turbos

These little knits will be converted soon with the aid of a tiny bit of pink i-cord & a keyring & will be sent off shortly to a fundraiser to raise money for Breast Cancer Research which is always a worthy cause.

And the kittens?

They're continuing to cause havoc!

We're slowly introducing them to the dogs by bringing one dog into the conservatory at a time & having them lie down so that the kittens can get used to them. Both dogs are big (25.5" & 26" tall at the shoulder) & their heads are bigger than the kittens entire bodies) and are cat friendly & have never hurt a cat in their lives but they're both finding it very interesting to have two manic kittens run around at top speed and want to play.

kitten
Ginny looking 'big' because a dog dared to look at her


Wagging dog tails have been 'patted' at & games chasing tin foil balls & catnip mice taking place around the canines but we've got a long way to go before they can all be integrated together. It's made harder partly due to Annie's partial blindness; as she can't always see what's going on, she tends to bark in excitement when she hears a noise, which obviously scares the kittens & they then scoot back to the kitten nursery, aka the conservatory in it's former use, at high speed with tails like Christmas trees!

8 comments:

Arianwen said...

I love the little jumpers and socks but, I am afraid your knitting has been usurped by Ginny she is beautiful! Have you seen the kids work shops for next year? There is one on designing a bag in the summer looks quite good.

blueadt said...

Oh yes! I've already booked a place on the August course for DD & myself & our summer holiday will be booked before then so it doesn't clash.

dreamcatcher said...

The miniatue knits are great! I really like the jumper-dress actually, very sassy stripes.

The photo of Ginny is just begging to have a LOTcatz-type caption on it :-)

Cinders said...

Love those mini knits. Do you put them on dolls?

love Ginny, she is so cute. she looks alot like one of my cats Sox

Daisy said...

Love the mini knits!

Modelwidow said...

Great little mini knits - but oh Ginny is so sweet she looks so like a miniature female version of my Dudley without the black splodge on his nose, now I can imagine what he was like as a kitten. (`fraid we weren`t as generous to our DD and got him as a young adult)

blog-blethers said...

Love the mini knits too and so admire your patience and dexterity! And very pleased to hear that the kittens are taking to the dogs.

Anonymous said...

Those teeny knits are so cute! Despite the "mistake", I actually like the jumper-dress the best. :)

I haven't tried the cuff-down socks from that book yet because I'm not sure I'm sold on the the idea of a flap on the sole. What is it about the shaping you don't like?