Soaker pattern (Natural Nursery Knits by Erika Knight)

This is  how I modified the soaker pattern for circular needles. I did this because my least favourite part of knitting is making up and sewing seams. So if I can find a way of changing the pattern to reduce the amount of making up, I will! With this pattern now, the only seam I sew is the waistband, and the sides and crotch are seamless!

Using straight needles, I provisionally cast on (see http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/invisible-provisional-cast-on), then knit to row 10. On row 11, use your circular needles (40cm I think) to cast on the next 2(3:4) stitches and finish that row. All stitches will now be on your circular needle.

Now thread the 19 stitches from your cast on edge onto your straight needle and start from row 1 again, working through to row 10. You will have the circular needle holding your other live stitches the whole time as you knit back up from the cast on edge.

On row 11, place a marker then use the circular needles to cast on the next 2(3:4) stitches and finish that row. Place a marker indicating the end of the round. You should have a marker at each side of the pants now.

You will now have all of your stitches on the circular needle, with the crotch of the soakers (your now invisible cast on edge) hanging in a loop underneath. Continue with the pattern, skipping the purl rows because as you are now using circular needles, you will only be knitting from the right side of the fabric. Also note that you are now knitting both sides at once, so you will need to make sure you follow the pattern, in effect knitting each row twice.

It will be a little tight until you knit a few rows up from the crotch, because the loop will restrain the movement of the needles somewhat. Once you get a few rows up, it should loosen and you will be able to knit more comfortably.

When you get to the ridge row, you will just need to purl a round.

Enjoy!

Apples

My new acquisition... this was in a bag with three fabric apples at the Salvos the other day. I thought, perfect! The fabric apples for the girls, the wooden one for me! Isn't it just darling?

More china

My latest - Paragon "Michelle". Not my usual colours, but I really liked the shape of the cup. And the fact that it was a bargain helped a little too :)

More pretties

A quick note to show some of my more recent efforts. Hat & jumper (wrapped up in previous picture), baby shoes and reading gloves. I've got a lot on in the next few days, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Sssss-nake!

Ok, so this might look like a strange toy to knit for my child, but I foolishly opened my big mouth to Charlotte a few weeks back saying that I could make her a snake. Well. Almost four year old girl memories are very good, it appears. She keeps reminding me about it.

So I have secretly been knitting her a snake at night time. She doesn't know I'm working on it, so tomorrow is the day where she can stop asking me for one! By the way, it's a girl snake. With eyelashes. Of course.

I love china, and I don't mean the country ...

And one more for today. My newest china acquisitions. The blue one is Shelley, the other plate is Delphine. The Shelley teacup has a crack in it, hence why I got it cheaply. However, it means that I can't really use it to drink out of.... maybe it will just end up being a beautiful vase for the Lady Flo Hibiscus flowers that keep on making their way to our house from next door. Charlotte picks one for me every time she goes for a visit. I could have it worse!

Gift wrapped

I just love gift wrapping. Especially when it's something I have made and I tie it with a gorgeous ribbon. Like this little cardigan and hat.... all wrapped up for not sure who now, but I am sure it'll find its way to a sweet bub soon enough.

Spots & florals

I just love mixing spots and florals! They go so well together as you can see in this little outfit. A friend gave me a scrap from a quilt cover and I decided to make a little skirt for her new baby (yet to arrive). But then I had to make a little top to go with it (you can't just have half an outfit!). Then I had to crochet some flowers to make brooches for the spotty side of the skirt (after all, it looks a bit plain by itself). And finally it's finished! Little Pip will look so cute in this number. Can't wait to see her in it!

Nappy stash

I just counted my nappy stash. Yes, I have a cloth nappy register. So far for Annabelle, I have spent just over $1,200 on nappies. Sounds like a lot? Well, not really when you consider that includes over 60 nappies and over 20 different types of covers, at least 10 of which were knitted by me! And not considering I will most likely get about half of that money back when Annabelle is eventually toilet trained and I sell them all! And not considering, if I had used disposable nappies, I would have spent over $2,000 by this stage and closer to $3,000 by the time Annabelle is toilet trained.

In fact, I think it's a pretty cheap exercise, don't you?

The evolution of woollies - 2

These are some soakers I knitted for a friend. Provisional cast on at the crotch, plus circular needles meant that the only seam to be sewn was the waistband for the elastic. Plus I had to pick up stitch around the legs for the ribbing.

The evolution of woollies

I knitted these soakers for Charlotte. I had to increase the size of the needle, as the pattern only went up to size 6-9 months, and Charlotte was then three years old. I just used 4mm instead of 3.25mm and they fit perfectly. The red and blue is organic merino 10 ply.... divine.

The beginning

The beginning. What to say? I am starting this blog so I can start recording my life. Not sure who will read it, but at least I will be able to look back and ponder on what has been. Also, I wanted a place where I could record my crafty activities, and marvel at the massive amounts of time I have spent creating (hopefully) beautiful things.