Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Twist and Shout KAL

Occasionally a pattern comes along that I just fall for and MUST knit and this one is definately a must knit! I have even joined a knitalong on Ravelry even though we are heading into summer and I am busy working on shop orders and also making a jacket for the summer holidays for wearing at night while outside sipping on the red stuff!

But all that being said I am looking forward to knitting Twist and Shout, but the dilemma is which yarn to use? I have narrowed it down to two choices, Jo Sharp silkroad aran and Patons Jet. But I am having doubts about the Jo Sharp, I have heard that it pills terribly so if anyone has any info on this yarn I would love your advice please.

I have been knitting heaps so I will finish off with some items that were made for my Etsy shop.

Firstly a pair of squirrel mittens complete with acorn trims, this was a design I worked out for a lovely girl in Sweden and she has since let me know that they are being well worn and getting lots of comments.


A blue denim cloche hat, a new idea I had which I must say was inspired by crocheted hats.


Oh well that is about it for now, please leave any comments or recommendations as to which yarn to use for Twist and Shout, I really would appreciate some advice, till next time,

happy knitting!

Friday, August 01, 2008

Somewhere Over The Rainbow continued....

Katts gorgeous rainbow wool has become:




I am so pleased with how it worked out, I am ordering some more from her, this hat just had to have corkscrew curls which are so cute even though they are a pain in the backside to make. This is available for purchase in my shop as well as the following toddler flapper style hat to fit a 6 - 12 month old baby. This one was made from good old
Bendigo Wool.



Oh well that is about all for now, currently working on Opal socks and another aviator hat so hopefully have some completed pics soon. Till then, happy knitting.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Self Destruct!

Fifteen years ago we painted the living area of our house so to say that is was beginning to look a bit tired and dated is a bit of an understatement! Cream walls with pastel green trims looked great and even quite modern then but they were screaming out for a makeover. So the dining and lounge room now has a nice bright contrast wall of capsicum red, more of a dark burgundy really, and the remaining walls have been covered in self destruct. I kid you not, that is the name of the paint which is nothing more than a milky coffee colour but self destruct sums up the mess we are living in at the moment as the photo below will testify.



So there hasn't been a lot of knitting time sadly but I have managed to churn out a new design for a cupcake hat. I made two versions, firstly the blue one with a cherry on top.



and secondly a more feminine version with a handknit flower on top.



Both hats are available for purchase in my Etsy shop and OzeBaby.

I also made a pair of mens socks for a customer, she is a knitter who sells her knitwear so I was slightly nervous about making these but she was extremely happy with them and said that she will be back for more so that was a relief! I have finally got around to writing up the pattern for my mens socks which up until now have been a lot of scribbles and notes in my journal, the pattern can be found here.



Oh well till next time,
happy knitting.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

I have been in a rainbow mood lately, knitting a few pairs of these little baby pants, this pair are now on their way to the UK!



I pestered asked my dear knitting friend Katt to dye me some rainow wool.



The colours just have to be seen in person to fully appreciate how bright and beautifully dyed this yummy wool is. This is going to be a toddler hat complete with corkscrew curls which will end up for sale. I am itching to cast on but I have to complete a few orders first, hopefully by the weekend I can start.

I have been busy sourcing a couple of Australian websites to sell my knitted goodies on and have settled on OzeBaby and Made It. I really wanted to offer my Australian customers a local option, I still have my Etsy shop but I don't think that the majority of people in this country know about it and are put off sometimes that it is a US site with listings in US currency etc.

So that is what I have been up to lately, and of course dreaming of rainbows!

Till next time, happy knitting.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Tasmanian Crafters on Flickr




Are you in Tasmania, love crafting and on Flickr? Then there is a Group on Flickr that you can join. Started by Black Eyed Susie she would love to see crafty Taswegians join and share our photos and crafts.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Aviator Hat

I have finished the Aviator Hat for Janelles friends birthday, I hope she likes it! I love this pattern and have made it many times, I used Heirloom merino wool for this one and it is so soft.



I also made some Carnaby Street Berets, the first one is in the lovely soft Patons Jet, which would have to be my favourite Australian wool at the moment.



The second one is made from good old dependable Bendigo Classic in practical black.



I have also joined the Malabrigo craze that seems to be sweeping this country and bought myself Tuareg
which hopefully will become these loafers. I discovered both the wool and the pattern on Ravelry.

Till next time, happy knitting.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Revisiting Swinging 60's London



My latest hat was inspired by a lovely old vintage 1960's crochet pattern, I tried to re-create the same look with knitting and Carnaby Street Cap is the end result. I used Patons Jet which I absolutely adore, so soft and the colours are wonderful. It is available for purchase from my Etsy shop and I will be adding some more over the next few weeks and of course I will always take special orders if you have a particular colour favourite.

Now onto another matter, Bendigo Woollen Mills Camille, am I the only person totally disappointed by the lack of fashionable winter colours in this range? Judging by discussions on Ravelry, I certainly am not. Anyone who was a knitter in the 1980's would remember these colours and yes they were the height of fashion then, but certainly not now! I sold off my 1980's stash complete with my batwinged, boat necked patterns many years ago and I do not wish to visit that era again, thank you. A quick walk through the citys shopping malls will show you that greys, blacks, browns are the staple winter colour but not one of these appeared in this range sadly. *off soapbox now*

till next time,
happy knitting.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A New Project Bag

You may remember a previous post about this bag and how I just had to have one too, well here is my version of the Yurt Bag.


Here is the knitted base before felting


after felting


the knitted top piece which is left as is


I used Cleckheaton Vintage Hues #1269 and loved how it felted and the colours of it worked well with the sampler stitches used for the top of the bag. This is definately my new take everywhere WIP bag, it is the perfect size for needles and yarn. I have been inspired with the Vintage Hues felting properties to make some felted hats so stay tuned.

till next time, happy knitting.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I Am a Yarn Snob

Yes you read right, I am a bona fide dyed in the wool yarn snob! I'm not one that has to knit with the most expensive wools or import the top of the range wools but you guessed it, I love wool. I have always avoided acrylics and nylons but below you will see that all that changed this last couple of weeks.






They were all orders and you guessed it they didn't want them in wool, so I have been knitting my way through acrylic and nylon for the past couple of weeks much to the amusement of my fellow knitting coven members who also know of my love of wool. I was especially nervous about the kitty hat as the customer sent me the ears that she resurrected off a previously much loved hat and wanted them added to my aviator hat, I don't think I have ever been so scared of what a persons reaction to my knitting would be as I was this time. Fortunately she loved it, phew!!

Some of the northern members of the Tassie Knitters group at Ravelry met up on the weekend for some coffee, knitting and lots of chat, it was so cool to meet everybody and one person in particular Susie M had the most amazing bag in which she kept her knitting in, I came away inspired to make my very own Yurt Bag. She is such a talented artist as a trip to her blog will show you and I am sure inspire you too.

I NEED TO FIND THESE TWO LADIES
Can anybody remember the knitting online store Ozyarn (not to be confused with Ozeyarn, which is still alive and well)?? I am on a quest to find the two ladies who were behind this website, Jennifer and Judith. They had a lovely pattern for an alpaca earflap hat which I have incorporated the use of their fair isle graphs into my own version of this hat. Now as I sell my knitwear I would love to be able to sell this hat too but as it is their graphs I have used I really need to get in touch with them to get their permission first as it is most likely copyrighted. If anybody can let me know if they are still knitting or blogging somewhere that would be great or maybe you know them personally I would love to get in touch with them.



That is about all for now till next time, happy knitting.

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Latest Knits

Well lack of posting on the blog means one thing, lots of knitting being created. I have been getting quite a few orders at Shazzas Knits which has certainly been keeping me busy. I have started my new job as co-ordinator of the uniform shop at my kids school which like anything new is taking time to learn the ropes. Janelle is also in the process of getting braces on her teeth, at the moment she has an expander fitted to allow room for her teeth to fit when the braces go on next month. I have included some of the latest completed knitting projects, they were all a lot of fun to knit especially Janelles slippers which I have had to coax from her feet to take the photo. The pattern was from an old Patons Nic Nacks book full of lovely 'grandma knits' as I call them but the slippers were given a Shazzas makeover using Patons Inca and I added a shell crochet border, just had to use this new learnt skill somewhere!


Flapper Style Hat for a baby:


Grape Purl Beret:


Two Kids Aviator Hats:




Janelles Slippers:


That's about it till next time, happy knitting.

Friday, March 07, 2008

I Have Crossed Over......



Yes learning to crochet, after all these years! I tried last year but gave up but this year I have promised myself a scarf and so far so good, I think it is coming along okay for a beginner. I am finding the first round the hardest for some reason and once I get into the secound round it is easier, but when compared to my memories of my early knitting attempts it is much easier and as yet I haven't hurled it across the living room! I am using the Patons Learn To Crochet and the scarf is made from Patons Inca on a nice big 8mm crochet hook so it grows quickly!



Another scarf, this one is in my Etsy shop and was inspired by a big bowl of freshly picked raspberries topped with fresh cream, yum! I have started another one which will be coffee latte, after my favourite day time beverage, hmmmm note to self must make a merlot one.

I have lots of WIPS at the moment which I will reveal over the next few weeks, all going well, oh well till next time, happy knitting.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Cupcake Fingerless Mitts


I have finished Janelles Cupcake Fingerless Mitts which have been so much fun to knit that I will be dipping back into the frosting mixture again for sure. Karen is such a lovely person and her patterns are full of great tips and tutorials, I am going to be making a pair of her handpainted gloves I just need to search the stash for the right wool.

I hurriedly finished them last night so that Janelle could take them on her school camp this week, so hopefully they will come back in one piece so that I can take a photo of her wearing them as they look much better being worn. You can really let yourself go with the embroidery of these and colour combinations which is what I love, no two pairs would be the same. Janelle only wanted strawberries on hers which did make life a bit easy for me as embroidery is not one of my strong points.


I have picked up the bush shirt again and will concentrate on that for the time being, my Etsy shop is well stocked and all of the orders completed so now a bit of 'me' knitting time. I am basing the shirt loosely on this old Patons knitting pattern and hopefully it will be like a big old shirt, but warm, to wear over tops in winter.

I can also reveal the dishcloth that I made for a lovely knitter in the ACT in the dishcloth and soap swap on Ravelry, she has received it so it isn't a secret anymore.



Oh well that is about all for now so till next time, happy knitting.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off To School They Go

Yes there is a big grin on Shazzas face at the moment as I have my house back, not to mention the peace and quiet. No seriously it has not been bad at all, I remember last year I was ready to throttle them by the end of the holidays but another year older and they seem to be able to get along better.

I have taken on the job of co ordinating the schools uniform shop, I have done it before in their previous school but it was on a much smaller scale. So this past week has been extremely hectic, I even had to miss the knitting coven which didn't impress me much as we were meeting at the cock and bull which is an old English style pub.

Look at Polly, doesn't she look cool in her sunnies and bucket hat! Ready for a day at the beach or shopping with friends.


Another Purl Beret, this one in Tuscan Red from Bendigo Woollen Mills, just the thing to wear when sipping your own glass or red.


Both hats have been added to My Etsy shop which has been keeping me busy, I am currently working on four orders. They always seem to come in batches, Murphy's Law I guess.

Oh well till next time, happy knitting

Thursday, January 31, 2008

A New Hat For 2008

A new hat design for 2008, a head hugging cabled cap. I have only made two so far and the cream one sold within half an hour of listing it in my shop. I used the deliciously soft Patons Jet which is my favourite yarn right now.



I just received my order of Rowan All Seasons Cotton from the lovely Jannette so I could make another bucket style hat. This one is a pink/lilac which doesn't photograph well as it is much brighter than the photo. I am currently working on a lime green one also.


Taking part in a dishcloth/soap swap on Ravelry and have finished the dishcloth, I used the pattern from the September issue of Creative Knitting, which is a fantastic pattern and made with my favourite Sugar 'n Cream cotton. Will post pics after the swap is complete, don't want to give too much away just yet and spoil the surprise!

The kids are back at school next week already, boy it has gone quickly this year, I can remember last year wishing for the holidays to end but that isn't the case this year. They are getting older and don't seem to fight as much which helps.

I've been on a pattern shopping spree having found cupcake fingerless mitts and baby moc-a-socs, aren't they both the most adorable patterns? Janelle has already put her order in for some fingerless gloves.

Oh well till next time, happy knitting.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Oh No It's The Bucket Hat!

I should name this hat Hyacinth in honour of the bucket woman. This has been a design in progress for many months and finally I think I have got it right, I hope!




I have used Rowan all seasons cotton in a lovely aqua shade called Jazz. This one has been added to my Etsy shop.

I also am yet to blog about my lovely presents from the lovely Cindy, she was my secret Santa and made me the most gorgeous pair of socks and a box bag.



I have been eyeing off these box bags for months now and nearly bought one off Etsy recently, sure glad that I didn't. Luckily for the green lady that my favourite colours are turquoise and greens so she could happily make things in her favourite colour ;)

till next time, happy knitting.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Ponytail Beanie


This is Shazzas version of the Bead and Opal Wool Queens ponytail beanie. Made from Bendigo Colonial in a lovely shade called woodrose and a cream coloured knitted flower added for interest.


I have also been kept busy with requests for fingerless gloves, this pair in practical black for men, I used Bendigo colonial 8ply. The pattern is a no frills traditional one that I have used for years from an old socks and gloves book which I have adapted over the years. I am currently working on another pair made from Bendigo Rustic in midnight tweed.

I have also joined in all the fun of Ravelry, I am currently getting my head around the whole site and one can only wonder how I am going to get the time to post there, lol! I was pleasantly surprised to find some of my patterns there already.

Just arrived back home from Coles Bay all relaxed and ready to tackle the busyness of life again. I have to confess that not a lot of knitting was done, I read books mostly and walked. Oh well till next time, happy knitting.