As the weather turns chilly...

Dear Daughter has begun to notice just how cold Canberra can be (and it's only Autumn!) and put in an order for some gloves but she wanted the convertable kind, Fingerless gloves with a flap that you can slip over them so they look like a pair of mittens. No problem! said I.

Have wanted to have a go making these so it was a perfect excuse and I found a lovely pattern off Ravelry for just the thing! I used 8ply which in retrospect is a bit heavy but they are lovely and warm and I wanted something in a pretty colour that would put up with indifferent sorting when doing the laundry. I'm not spending my time lovingly crafting a pair of woolen mittens only for them to get tossed in the wash with anything, including Army fatigues and coming out the size of a postage stamp! So Acrylic it was! Here are my results.

Aren't they lovely? And they are so snoodly warm! I hope she loves them. I put press studs on the back of the flap and the top of the wrist so when they're folded back they wont flap around and then I sewed a little felt flower over the press stud on the flap with a hole for the press stud to go through to make it look prettier.

It was a wonderful pattern too. If you're looking for something like this look on Ravelry for Broad Street Mittens by Janie Cortese. Very easy directions and not at all confusing, well, I didn't find them so anyway :)

I finished these a few days ago so this Monday, into the post they go. I hope her little fingertips will hold out until they get there.
Happy Knitting :)

Hubbie Home from New Zealand!

And he had a lovely time! Sightseeing, riding on the gondolas, seeing snow, a variety of other things I haven't quite got all of it yet but a great time was had by all!
He was a smart man too, he brought back gifts...and what great gifts they are!
If he never does anything else he has covered himself with glory in his choice of pressies that he brought me back from wonderful New Zealand. This is what he got me...

This absolutely beautiful hank of kid mohair/merino blend wool. It isn't even as itchy as I find almost anything with mohair in it! It. Is. Gorgeous!! My eldest said, "well, at least we know what to get Mum if we're in another country. Just buy her a ball of wool she could probably buy here!" He was shushed immediately and told that I'd never seen anything like this (and even if I had I'd never have had the courage to buy it!) and that I loved it!!
If that wasn't enough to give him top marks as the smartest husband on the planet, then he gave me these...

Aren't they absolutely beautiful? A deep amethyst purple. They are so soft and warm! Merino + Possum + Silk makes for a wonderful mix! They are lovely!
After these I was pretty much as chuffed as I could get. Hubbie isn't noted for his powers of perception when it comes to the likes and dislikes of those of his family (he still buys dearest daughter chocolate-covered sultanas although she hates, has always hated and will continue to hate sultanas!) so for him to have been discerning enough to chose these amazing gifts was really lovely and sweet. But he hadn't finished. He had been to New Zealand after all!

You can't go to New Zealand without buying some paua shell. They are beautiful and another lovely gift that I will treasure.
So Hubbie's home, the house is no longer quiet but that's okay and I have some new lovely wool to find a pattern to do it justice to knit it up in. Now if I could only find the circular needles I need to return to Spotlight next time I go up I'll be pleased. They're tied up with their receipt, ready to go, but guess what I did?...
...I put them in a safe place! Do you think I can find them now???
Breathe deeply, deep cleansing breaths...
Happy Knitting :)