Knitted Beanies

I promised to post a pic of the beanies I have been knitting lately so here they are. I made these from various patterns, mostly found on Ravelry. When I get a moment I will post the links and credit the pattern creators as I should. Some are seamed and some knitted in the round. On circular needles as I get confused by double-ended needles and always end up, perplexed, with my stitches on one ..... so sadly, unless I overcome this problem I will never knit a sock.

I made them all from Rustic wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills which is nice and thick and warm and quick to knit. It probably isn't the best thing giving pure thick woollen garments to homeless men, as I imagine if they got wet or they needed to wash them, they would take a while to dry. But at least they will be warm.

I made these for a Knit for Charity group and despite being a member for years, this is my first contribution. It is very well organised with 3 or 4 different charities each month, each coordinated by a different member. You can put your name down to participate in any of them, or not, as your time and inclination permits. As I said, I haven't really participated much but they seem like a very fun and dedicated group of women, so if you're interested, you can join up here. From what I understand, they accept crocheted and quilted or sewn goods too. The charities for March are an animal welfare shelter, women's refuge and an aged care facility.

Scarf marathon

I had so many nice comments on my ruffle scarves that I made a few more to give as gifts. I'm over knitting these now - time to move on to something else! They are quick and easy to knit but the "yarn" is not really pleasant to work with as you have to keep stretching it out to find the next loop in the mesh to knit into. So it feels like really slow going although they knit up quickly in under two hours even for a slow knitter like me.

I'm still working on clearing my sewing room of old quilt tops. Here is the latest that I have quilted - an old Bento Box quilt from whenever there was a mild craze for this pattern .... a couple of years ago I guess. I've quilted this one simply with straight(ish) lines 2" apart so it was quick and easy to quilt and only required marking on the borders. This quilt is about 180cm square.



I just need to find some binding fabric for it now. It's a cold and blustery day today so a good day to rummage through my stash to find the right fabric.

Catwalk dogs

I quilted another old quilt top made from pre-cuts yesterday. There seems to be an unlimited supply of these quick quilt tops in my sewing room!

I enlisted the pups' help to model my quilt and some ruffle scarves I knitted up the other day. They were not very enthusiastic or cooperative. (They thought we were going outside to eat bones so were a bit disappointed when I just wanted to take photos).

Still, they have mastered the moody, looking-into-the-distance-in-an-aloof-sort-of-way pose.

Hexagon progress

I'm having fun with my hexagon cushion cover. I spent a couple of hours yesterday hand quilting the hexagons and hope to start quilting the background later today. Not sure how I am going to quilt it yet, but knowing me, probably just some easy grids.

I also finished my jumper this week. There are a couple of wonky stitches which really show in the chunky yarn, but I think I can fix it. I am happy with it because I never finish any large knitting projects, so I am just impressed with myself that I finished it at all!

I spent a little time weeding the vegie gardens this morning and putting in some winter seeds. I surprised a lovely, plump frog though so had to stop so I didn't disturb him. I wanted to take a photo but he was a bit upset with my attentions, so I decided to come inside and leave him alone. I think frogs are beautiful.