sweater day

sweater 1	sweater 2	final sweater

Tiny of Tots TV

I completed a sweater in less than 24 hours! Of course it helps that the sweater is for a 12" toy. The toy is my version of Tiny from Tots TV on BBC. When I decided to make Tiny I didn't know anything about Tots TV, I just thought Alan Dart had created a very cute boy doll pattern. So this doll is named Twinkle rather than Tiny.

Twinkle has been one of those projects that took me a long time to decide that it is completed. That is why I made three sweaters for him! The first sweater (see sweater 1) was too small. It fit, but was too short and tight. The yarn was marked as DK but was more likely Sport weight. The second sweater fit (one of my first attempts at converting a pattern based on tension - this yarn is chunky weight) did not please the recipient of the toy - too dark, not blue enough! So I decided to do another sweater with the sport weight yarn. As you can see (final sweater) it fits and is blue! The buttons are snaps in navy and red. Sigh, I think Twinkle is complete!

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sunday funnies

Over time I am going to post some pictures of my previous projects. Today is the first of this series. This Sailor Sleeping Bag is from Pingouin No. 103, page 8. I started this project for my nephew in 1989, and finished it in 2006! Needless to say, he never got a chance to wear the thing. I got stuck when I had to join the pieces. I learned to knit using a book, and it took me a long time to figure out what was meant by a mattress stitch. Not knowing how to proceed, I took a hiatus from my knitting for many years.

The actual pattern instructed me to close the bottom, and although I do not have any children, I didn't think that this would be a very good idea. As you can see, I fashioned a way to put snaps on the bottom. The buttons were a challenge to find - I finally found ones I was happy with on eBay. When I finished the project I noticed that I had made a miscalculation on the stripe pattern (see the shoulder picture). Well, after all of that work I am leaving it as it is. It gives the garment character, right? Now, I just have to find a suitable baby who would benefit from such a gift!

The Easy Granny Quilt Afghan is sewn together and the border completed. Tomorrow I will block it using the method described below. To finish off all of this acrylic yarn I am making a garter stitch throw cushion.

Help anyone?
I am practicing my continental knitting method daily. While my movements are getting more fluid, I am having a lot of trouble with yarn tension. I would love to read any of your comments on improving my yarn tension using this method. To get the same tension, do you need to use a smaller sized needle for the Continental method compared to the English Method?