Knitted Patchwork Blanket

Patchwork blanket in Rowan All Seasons Cotton. The squares are adapted from an old Martin Storey pattern, you cast on for the 4 outer edges of the square then decrease at the 4 diagonals into the centre then seam the last diagonal back to the outer edge. Now in All Seasons, an aran weight yarn done on 4.5mm needles. I have backed this blanket with a slightly quilted cotton fabric and used buttons to tie the two sides together. Its like a little duvet! Should be an awesome pram blanket for the new baby it is going to.

Adventures in Quilting

Having done patchwork before I thought it was about time I leaped into the world of quilting. Armed with my 'Dare to be Square' book I set to. I have made an end of bed/knee quilt for my niece as a Christmas gift. I hope it will become the blanket she takes with her though life as I give it to her now at 18 months. Finished photo to follow!

Cushion for Annabelle

Annabelle is 1!

Very keen to provide lovely things for my niece I made an appliqué cushion with her name and things beginning with 'A' on it. Apple, anchor, aardvark!

Main cushion cover made from felt with a zip closure on the back, appliquéd felt and Amy Butler fabric letters with embroidered apple and anchor and appliquéd aardvark.

Appliquéd Aardvark - if thats not a craft blog waiting to be published I don't know what is.

I digress!

As you can see, the cushion got a round of applause.

Charity Corsages

Me and my knitting group made a tree for Knit in Public day last month, full of leaves and flowers (and 3 slugs).

The plan was to sew these flowers and leaves together into corsages and then sell them for Mustard Tree; a charity for homeless and vulnerable people in Manchester.

So here are the finished articles! Some knitted, some sewn, some crocheted.

We have sold a few already and got over £40! If we continue to sell at similar prices we should get over £130, which I think is pretty good.

Tape Measure Bunting

Bunting! Just single sided, cut with pinking shears. I bought some cheap (55p) tape measures and sewed the triangles to that instead of bias binding or cotton tape. I think they look pretty snazzy.

Fabric Covered Letters

Papier mache letters (bought from Fred Aldous in Manchester - £5 each) and covered in Amy Butler fabric. I traced the letters onto the fabric and glued the face pieces down with PVA. I then snipped v shapes around the curves and wrapped round the sides. I then made a sort of bias binding to fit round the edges, and glued with PVA again. I am going to use them as display items in the workshops I run at work.

Knitted Elephant

Here is 'Flo' from Knitty.com. Done in two balls of Rowan Pure Wool Aran with domed buttons for eyes and some toggles for tusks. I bought some blue tapestry wool to do blanket stitch round the ears and feet but I quite like it as it is. After a bit of trial and error I upped the needle size to 4mm.

After I started knitting this I saw this article and thought it was quite serendipitous: http://bit.ly/hXYekb

I also think it is a he, unsure of a name, we await the outcome of the football today as I have promised my boyfriend if Manchester United win I will call him Ferguson, if not he is being called Everton.

Pattern available here: http://bit.ly/bnZum1