From bright to crazy {Japanese x and + block}

So I have finally joined a bee - I know this is very unlike me - a project that supposed to last a whole year, a year is a looooonnnngggg time, right? But I could not resist Patti's Japanese x and + bee. I love the pattern (tutorial here), and the end result. 

Also I knew I did not have in me - or in my stash - to make a whole quilt by myself, hence joining the bee. I have made so far ONE block - and yes we are nearing the end of May and I am supposed to have made 4... Arrrghh.. and no I don't think that ONE block is that good anyway ... double Arrghhh

                        * Don't forget to enter my knitting pattern giveaway here*

Although this block is really interesting to make the cutting is really time consuming. I spent 2 hours on cutting out all the pieces for the 4 blocks. I am just lucky that  Baby MiH has been sleeping for longer periods lately, and that my Mum is arriving tomorrow (Guess who is in charge of napping changing tomorrow...). 

Can you see why this block is challenging me? Is this my colour scheme, nope - where are the neutrals, the greys - oh I am missing them.. I had to dig deep into my stash to find enough bright colours for 4 blocks, and we are only in May! 

I have actually no idea whether this works or not. It should be scrappy and it is, it should be bright and yes it is. And I know it is only one piece to be incorporated into a massive quilt, but I am not sure. What do you think? 

I shall go back to my 'comfort zone' block colour knitting project, and hope that either you will have an answer for me, or that somehow I can handle better this new challenge and be more confident in my choices. 

Steel {DIY | Hand Dying}

Making the most of my stash... This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately - I need to de-stash 1) my future sewing room is going to be small, so I need to clear space and 2) I will then be able to buy more suited material. There was a time when I was buying quite a lot of yarn, fabric or whatever for projects that never materialised in the end. And bits were part of big projects - some elements got used and some did not. This is the case of this white yarn. I used some of it already for my vintage crochet cushion, but I still have a fair amount left. 

With a baby, white is not exactly practical... and then I saw that Libby managed to hand dye her yarn for Outfit 4 - FINALLY someone told me how I could do it and where to get the dye in the UK! I was ready to go.  

* Don't forget to enter my knitting pattern giveaway here*

First I had to make the ball into a skein and tie it so it would not knot. I think I could have made the skein larger to be honest, it would have been a bit easier. However as you will see later I made the ties too tight - don't! 

Then the dying process... I bought the dye from Tall Yarns 'n Tales. On the basis of Libby's colour, I wanted something a bit darker, so I bought two dye kits: Autumn Sky and Charcoal. I did test it on a very small portion of yarn - the proportions were around 3/4 blue and 1/4 charcoal and it was too light. As I have only one skein, I decided that was enough of a test (I thought I was very good to test it in the first place), and went for it: 2/3 blue and 1/3 charcoal - and hoped for the best... There was blue, there was charcoal, it could not go wrong! 

I had 140g of yarn left, I put 4.5l of water (you will see some guidelines in Libby's post) and quite a bit of dye - it is a bit like my cooking style, a bit of this, a bit of that... As you can imagine I don't have any notes on how much dye I actually used... Sorry. I used a stainless steel pot - that I don't use for cooking. And off we went. I kept the temperature under 80 °C. I bought a cooking thermometer to make sure of it.  

Et voila! I present my first (only) skein of Steel in merino silk! And I love the colour, so I am slightly annoyed I was not more precise, but to be honest I needed a more precise scale for small amounts and I did not have one handy. It is worth having! 

The white skein has been in my stash for a couple of years, Steel is already being used! You can see the white speck showing - that is where I tied the yarn too tightly - it is going to look handmade.. Well that is the look I am going for, isn't it!

Truly Myrtle GIVEAWAY

Not so long ago I test knitted Skeppe for Libby, and now that the pattern is finalised and published, she is offering one of the MiH followers the chance to get it for free! 

So what do you reckon guys? It is an amazing pattern! 

The giveaway is open to all followers - old and new - one comment per person. In your comment, let me know in which colour you will be knitting Skeppe, and how you follow Made in Home. 

It will end in a week's time, so Tuesday May 21 at 10am - the winner will be announced then. Good luck!

FLIGHT O2C8R 01 {Le Challenge #2}

*Find out more about the Truly Myrtle knitting pattern giveaway here*

So it is the day to reveal my entry for le challenge! The theme this month was 'wings'... And a little someone thought it was a great theme because he got himself a fancy new jumper - in fact this my first ever hand-knitted cardigan. Hence starting by a baby size. 

**For those coming from Ginny and Tamis' blogs, welcome! It is not a WIP as it is Le Challenge deadline, but we would love to have more people to participate, so I hope this post will encourage you to participate.The next theme has now been revealed and is MARITIME - deadline June 15!** 

After having a serious blocking session, it fits him (but probably only for this week). I knitted 3-6 months size (he is 5 months today), added 2 cm to the length of the body (because I have a super tall baby), but I should have knitted the 6-12 months size (although I am not sure how a jumper is supposed to fit him a whole 6 months). 

If I am honest I will not knit this cardigan again until he is walking - I think it looks nicer on him when he is standing rather than sitting, it 'hangs' better. So let's say this is a first go at it so I know what to expect next time. And honestly I have a few things to learn before next time: I hate my garter stitch edging - I need to find a solution for it to look neater, grafting - can be improved, sewing the sleeves - again can be improved.  

 Pattern: Oscar by Lili Comme Tout (Ravelry)

Yarn: Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK in Zinc - it is a great yarn for baby garment (I used two and a bit balls in the end). 

Needle size: 3.5 mm and 4mm (as indicated on pattern)
Size: 3-6 months, but lengthen the body
Result: It is a great pattern that does not look too baby-ish, in fact it is quite interesting to look at. I will definitely knit another one maybe for next winter. It is quite quick - and the sand stitch makes it interesting (although I was confused for a while to what was the right side and the wrong side). It fits him - just. 

Let's talk about wings - I actually found the novelty buttons at my local John Lewis first and then the yarn to go with it - the pattern came later. So it is all starting with wings.  

All the Le Challenge other entries can be found here. Next theme will be announced on May 15 at 3pm! 

Bits & Pieces Jars {DIY}

This is probably the easiest DIY ever. I found a couple of jars in a charity shop (we do have a lot of those where I live) - managed to get them for a reduced price (and subsequently felt bad as I am not sure you should be bargaining at charity shops); bought chalkboard spray paint; sprayed; let it dry (easier when it is a sunny day); et voila! 

I was very happy to see these two jars in the window of the charity shop - I was even happier to get the two for £5.00. Because they were already black, it was easy to visualise that they would be perfect for some chalkboard paint spraying. 

This is a DIY project I have wanted to try for a while - especially as I have my eye on 'making' this little piggy bank, so I needed a project to experiment with. And yes it is really easy - remember though thin coats. HOWEVER I tried to spray paint half a mug (trying to go for a Pantone look) and that did not go well at all... So it seems to be easier if your are spraying a whole area  - or it is my masking tape that let me down (or me putting the masking tape). 

Now I have more jars to put ribbons, buttons, pins etc. But also as I am not too fussed about finding the same shape of jars, I can have 'matching' chalkboard jars in my sewing room.. 

Giveaway winner {Earrings}

Random.org has decided .. and 

... so Mousy Brown has won! Congratulations! Cannot wait to see the earrings made. 

Tapenade - The End {Knitting}

*Still time to enter my current giveaway here*

How many posts should a blogger write about one project? I have been asking myself this question a lot lately - and for me it depends - on the size of the project, how difficult it is I suppose, and whether you can still write interesting things about it. But at the same time you want to share your progress - because to be honest without this blog, and you my readers, I would not have finished it. So thank you, because here is Tapenade - knitted and blocked, and guess who is a little bit excited about it. 

After my letter to Jared, I decided that I was not going to post about it. I had nothing more to say, and to be honest, there is not going to be a lot new about it in this post - except for the pictures. 

This one is dedicated to Lucy - with my new Repeat Repeat mug

 Pattern: Quill, by Jared Flood (the one and only)

Yarn: Custom hand-dyed DK merino silk yarn - by SixSkeins. I used up nearly all the 6 skeins I bought.  

Needle size: 5.5mm
Size: the smallest size (can you tell?). It measures 115cm x 101cm blocked
Result: It is amazing, and I am really proud of it, but it was a bit of a struggle. It looks harder than it is. It is a very interesting construction as well.  

 Five things you need to know before knitting Quill:

1. Choose your yarn very careful - it is highly likely that you will knit only one of those, and you want to make it count! 
2. It is the perfect car knitting project at the start - but it gets big.. 
3. It is not a quick project - so little often is better (I managed to finish the edging by making 6 repeats of the final pattern every day). 
4. Get some blocking wires - they are essential! 
5. You will love it.. 

Made in Home earrings - blogged here. 

I knitted it so that Baby MiH would use it as a blanket as well (hence the size) - so I could wash his in the meantime. That was before I started the project. There is no way this is going to be dribbled on and chewed by a teething baby no matter how cute he is. This is mine, mine, mine... 

So this is it, Tapenade The End - or like my Grandma says 'Te and'. It was a great journey, but I am really glad I can enjoy looking at it rather than knitting it ... 

And because I never learn, I have another massive project in mind ...