Baby Foxes | A finish {Knitting}

This is possibly the cutest beanie hat ever. It is fun, warm for the little ones' little ears and very different. The construction is very interesting, many new techniques for me, which I always enjoy. And knitting in Malabrigo is always a joy of course!  

Although baby MiH appears in this post, this hat is not for him. I may make Wolfie for him, reckon is more wolfy than foxy. 

And here is the rightful recipient of the hat.. 

Look at these little ears, look at the way they are shaped - so clever.  

Pattern: Foxy & Wolfie by Katy Tricot (available on Ravelry)

Needles: 4.5 (DPNs) and 5 mm (circular) 

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Sunset and Natural (found here)
Modifications: none, too busy trying to work out all the techniques. However it is not clear from the pattern how you stick the nose on the front, I sewed it in, it seems to work. 

Result: Love it! Once you understand the techniques (there are a lot of diagrams included with the pattern and there are a few useful youtube videos out there), 
it is a fairly quick knit, and you get an amazing hat out of it. It is a bit of an advanced pattern, but nothing too difficult. 
The Malabrigo is actually a great yarn for the babies, not too scratchy and it comes in great colours as well. 

When I posted about the progress of this hat, I mentioned the intersia in the round - which was knitting in the round but not really. You may be able to understand what I mean looking at the back of it. 

Apart from that, here are 'action shots' of the hat.. Maybe it is a boy thing, as demonstrated by Mylo and Baby MiH! Yep they are having none of it!

The buttons used on the hat are from an old shirt (kept the buttons and got rid of the shirt) and some remaining vintage buttons from my Cami dress.  

This is my entry for knit twelve hats in one year! 

Foxy Hat | WIP {knitting}

I finally started tackling my knitting list, and of course it is not as easy as I thought it would be. Clever designs are great but slower to finish.

I put this particular project down for a full knitting day, except that although I found the perfect yarn colour and type (from the Village Haberdashery) my gauge was way off! You cannot find Phildar Givre (the recommended yarn) anymore, it has been discontinued, so making a gauge is essential (not just me saying it, so do a lot knitters on ravelry on this project). I went 2 needles size to get the right gauge.

It also took me 2 hours to work out the twisted German cast on. To be fair I was watching the wrong YouTube video, but this one is brilliant. And this cast on is in fact brilliant!

The finish is great - looking sturdier and neater than other cast on techniques - and it is super stretchy - so ideal for socks and hats. I will be using it more often! 

The knitting of the hat is in fact not in the round but in the round (it is confusing, you have to have read the pattern) is also brilliant and saves a lot of yarn.

Pattern: Foxy & Wolfie by Katy Tricot (available on Ravelry)

Needles: 4.5 (DPNs) and 5 mm (circular) 

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Sunset and Natural (found here)

The next stage should be knitted fast now that I understood the concept. I am so happy to have chosen this pattern, I feel like I am learning a lot of techniques I will be able to use in future projects - worth every penny. 

Toffee Chooing Clutch {Le Challenge}

I have 6 minutes to write this post before it needs to go live... so it is going to be short and sweet. Here is my entry for le challenge #4 toffee. I was inspired by an amazing Jimmy Choo clutch - and you can find my post about it here. 

I am amazed I have something to show you. I only found the pattern I wanted this week - thanks to Kelly's post, and then I had to learn (very fast) how to handle faux leather and faux suede (do you know that it stinks when you iron it, even on the lowest setting - gross). 

Pattern: Michelle Patterns strap clutch (available here - so clever that pattern)

Fabrics: Faux leather and faux suede from Headboards limited uk, 

Liberty print from the Village Haberdashery 
(got in on sale - should have bought loads more)

Modifications: Nothing major, just did not top stitch the clutch because I did not trust my sewing with faux leather (you can see the dodgy stitching at the opening).

Result: I love it! 1) it is big enough to take my purse, a book, my blackberry and a camera (ok maybe not at the same time); 2) it looks better than what I expected; 3) it is my first leather project, so whatever the outcome I would have loved it! 

Review of the pattern: It is an amazing pattern, the detailing gives it a professional look. I learnt so much from it. I will use many of the techniques shown again and again. It is very quick to make (if you don't use faux leather), and each step is really detailed so you cannot get it wrong. 

Here we are! Another month, another challenge. Go and check out the other entries here. And if you are not involved - get involved! It is so much fun and you get to enter the FQS giveaway every month - just by having an entry! 

I cannot wait to share the next theme (tomorrow at 1pm UK time), you are going to LOVE it!!