Indie Design GAL 2017: 5 knits for babies

One of the key features of the Indie Design GAL* is the knit and crochet along, which is broken up into 8 categories (head, hands, feet, baby, garments, shawls, neck and other).

Over the course of this week, I'm going to share my favourite patterns in each of the categories. So far I've covered hat patterns, knits for hands, and socks. Today it's knits for babies.

For the other categories I've covered so far, I have featured my ten favourites. Apparently when I was looking through the patterns for the sale I didn't pick out many baby patterns (my kids must be getting big!), so I've gone with my top five instead.


1. Sheepish Little Sweater by Melissa Kremmerer
Such a cute little jumper, and it comes in bigger sizes too, if matchy-matchy is your thing.

Image copyright Melissa Kremmerer

2. Midnight Owls by Claire Slade
I love colourwork, but only in small doses, so a stranded baby hat is perfect.

Image copyright Claire Slade

3. Unicorn Hoodie by Emily Ringleman
Because for a brief period, your baby won't object to being dressed as a unicorn!

Image copyright Emily Ringleman

4. Little Flurry Sweater by Melissa Kremmerer
Another gorgeous colourwork design that also comes in larger sizes.

Imae copyright Melissa Kremmerer

5. Snowflakes in the Air by Cynthia Spencer
Perfect for a first Christmas.

Image copyright Really Clear Designs

All the patterns featured in the post are included in the Indie GAL sale: use the code giftalong2017 to get 25% off. Code expires 11.59pm EST Tuesday 28th November 2017.

I've put together a bundle of my favourite GAL sale patterns. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here.

Are you joining in the GAL? What are you planning on knitting?

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged into Ravelry for the link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2017: Top 10 socks

One of the key features of the Indie Design GAL* is the knit and crochet along, which is broken up into 8 categories (head, hands, feet, baby, garments, shawls, neck and other).

Over the course of this week, I'm going to share my favourite patterns in each of the categories. On Wednesday I shared my favourite hat patterns, yesterday I shared knits for hands, and today it's socks.

1. Vanilla is the New Black by Anneh Fletcher

Image copyright Anneh

2. Somewhere by Lisa K. Ross

Image copyright Lisa K. Ross

3. Time Stream Socks by Rachel Gibbs

Image copyright Rachel Gibbs

4. Tiptoe Through the Daisies by Arella Seaton

Image copyright Arella Seaton

5. Flurry Socks by Melissa Kemmerer

Image copyright Arella Seaton

6. Year of Plenty by Debbie Sullivan

Image copyright Sweet Paprika Designs

7. World's End by Lisa K. Ross

Image copyright Lisa K. Ross

8. Diagon Alley by Dana Gervais

Image copyright Dana Gervais

9. Scamper by Maggie Menzel

Image copyright hydra-star

10. Ffwd... Rwd by Fiona Hamilton-MacLaren

Image copyright F. Hamilton-MacLaren

All the patterns featured in the post are included in the Indie GAL sale: use the code giftalong2017 to get 25% off. Code expires 11.59pm EST Tuesday 28th November 2017.

I've put together a bundle of my favourite GAL sale patterns. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here.

Are you joining in the GAL? What are you planning on knitting?

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged into Ravelry for the link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2017: Top 10 knits for hands

One of the key features of the Indie Design GAL* is the knit and crochet along, which is broken up into 8 categories (head, hands, feet, baby, garments, shawls, neck and other).

Over the course of this week, I'm going to share my favourite patterns in each of the categories. Yesterday I shared my favourite hat patterns, today it's knits for hands.

1. My Rainbow Heart by Stephanie Lotven

Image copyright Stephanie Lotven

2. Sun Dial by Becky Herrick

Image copyright BeckyinVT

3. Tolkowsky Mitts by Maddie Harvey

Image copyright Maddie Harvey

4. Mirri Mitts by Ambah O'Brien

Image copyright Ambah O'Brien

5. Farmhouse Mitts by Sarah Cooke

Image copyright Sarah Cooke

6. Songbird Mittens by Erica Heusser

Image copyright Erica Heusser

7. Twisty Passages by Helen Gipson

Image copyright Helen Gipson

8. Whither Mitts by Lori Law

Image copyright Oceanwind Knits

9. Punkrocker Mitts by The Restless Knitter

Image copyright Nichole Lubcke

10. Telephone Poles by Sarah Schira

Image copyright Sarah Schira

All the patterns featured in the post are included in the Indie GAL sale: use the code giftalong2017 to get 25% off. Code expires 11.59pm EST Tuesday 28th November 2017.

I've put together a bundle of my favourite GAL sale patterns. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here.

Are you joining in the GAL? What are you planning on knitting?

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged into Ravelry for the link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2017: Top 10 hats

One of the key features of the Indie Design GAL* is the knit and crochet along, which is broken up into 8 categories (head, hands, feet, baby, garments, shawls, neck and other).

Over the course of this week, I'm going to share my favourite patterns in each of the categories. Today it's hats and headwear.

1. Passerine by Erica Heusser

Image copyright Erica Heusser

2. Frosted Top by Lisa K. Ross
 

Image copyright Lisa K. Ross

3. Brezel by Svetlana Volkover

Image copyright Tweedysheep

 4. Crystal Sky by Sarah Sundermeyer

Image copyright Sarah Sundermeyer

 5. Triangle Texture by Susanne Sommer

Image copyright Sosu

6. Neon by Sarah Cooke

Image copyright Sarah Cooke

7. Flaming Beanie by Elzbieta Torenc

Image copyright LadyInYarn

8. Way of Leaves by Tierce Knits

Image copyright Tierce Knits

9. Knit, Repeat, Hat by Claire Slade

Image copyright Claire Slade

10. Mendia by Ambah O'Brien

Image copyright Ambah O'Brien

All the patterns featured in the post are included in the Indie GAL sale: use the code giftalong2017 to get 25% off. Code expires 11.59pm EST Tuesday 28th November 2017.

I've put together a bundle of my favourite GAL sale patterns. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here.

Are you joining in the GAL? What are you planning on knitting?

*Ravelry link. You need to be logged into Ravelry for the link to work.

The Indie Design GAL 2017

For the past five years, a group of independent knit and crochet designers have joined forces on Ravelry for the Indie Design GAL: a great big knit and crochet along aimed at supporting and promoting the work of independent designers, as well as kickstarting your festive gift crafting. And the event is back! Starting at 20.00 (EST, for other time zones, you can use this converter) until the end of the year, the Indie Design GAL group on Ravelry will be a hive of activity.*

The GAL starts with a sale. Every designer participating in the event is offering 25% off a selection of their designs using the code giftalong2017. Simply add the patterns you want to you Ravelry cart, use the code when checking out and get a bargain! To see which patterns a designer has included, head to their designer profile and look for the bundle labelled Gift-A-Long 2017, this bundle will feature all the patterns the designer has chosen to include in the sale (here's my sale bundle as an example). Do note that you will have to checkout separately for each designer you wish to buy from. The sale lasts until Tuesday November 28th at 11:59 pm (US-EST).

The second portion of the GAL is a massive knit and crochet along. Any paid for design** by a participating designer is eligible for inclusion in the craft along, just head to the Ravelry group* and get crafting. If you finish an item before the end of the GAL (23.59 EST, Saturday 31st December 2017), post it to the finished objects thread for the appropriate category and at the end of the GAL, you could win a prize (there are some great prizes on offer*).

As well as the sale and knit and crochet along, there are lots of activities taking place in the Ravelry group, including quizzes and games. And, new for this year, there will be an Instagram challenge running for the duration of the GAL, with photo prompts for specific days. I'll be taking part in the Instagram challenge, so follow me over there if you would like to see what I'm posting.

I am one of the participating designers in the GAL. All the patterns in this bundle are in the sale, and any of my paid for patterns can be knitted as part of the knit and crochet along portion of the event.**

A selection of my patterns that will be eligible for 25% off during the sale portion of the GAL

*Note that you will have to signed in to Ravelry for these links to work. Joining Ravelry is free and Ravelry is an excellent resource for knitters and crocheters.

**You can also join in the GAL by knitting a free design by any of the participating designers, but these will not be eligible for prizes.

FO Friday: Storm Trooper Cowl

I mentioned last week that we have entered the cold snap. With very little warning the weather went straight from balmy October to frosty November. One day I will be prepared for the cold snap, but not this year. I managed to find enough hats from last year for everyone to have cosy heads and ears, and several mittens and gloves (not pairs, that would be a stretch, besides, the kids like to wear theirs mismatched), and while I have a small mountain of scarves and shawls, my son did complain that he didn't have a scarf.

I've never been that keen on scarves on small children. Scarves are easily lost, and the ends mean that they pose a choking risk, so I decided that maybe a little cowl knitting was in order.

When asked, my son said he wanted the cowl to have Star Wars motifs on it, so I spent Monday morning searching Google images for something appropriate. There were a lot of options - there is definitely a large crossover between the knitting and Star Wars communities - and I decided to go for a Storm Trooper motif as they looked most distinctive (and only required two colours of yarn per row, which makes the knitting a lot easier).

The cowl was a completely improvised work. I used chunky weight yarn from stash (mostly King Cole Big Value Chunky), and aimed for a circumference a little larger than my son's head, and to make the cowl long enough that it could be squished down round his neck for extra cosiness. Here's my *amazing* sketch. Yes, the Storm Troopers do look rather like potatoes wearing sunglasses.

The knitting was quick and moderately easy. I cast the cowl on at lunchtime on Monday and had cast it off by the end of the day. I will confess that the Storm Troopers were a bit of a pain. Some of the blocks of colour were very wide so I had to catch several of the floats more than once between colour changes. But actually I quite enjoyed the knitting (and the lack of ends - I'm used to intarsia, which creates so many ends!).

And here is the finished cowl. My son is delighted with it, and delightedly wore it to school yesterday.

If you fancy making your own, I've made a project page for it on Ravelry where you can find all the details.

Yarning Along: Christmas craft excitement

This weekend I took a bit of a break from knitting (I had a sore shoulder and elbow, so decided that knitting might not be the best plan. Turns out it was a trapped nerve, which fixed itself pretty quickly), so got started with a couple of festive activities. You may remember that last year I made my own yarn advent calendar. Well this year I am making a yarn advent calendar, but it's not for me: I am taking part in a yarn advent calendar swap organised by layfamilyyarn on Instagram. So I spent the weekend stamping number stitckers, winding minis and wrapping tiny parcels, which was all a lot of fun. I also took a walk to a local Christmas craft fair, which is always lovely and very festive. I didn't actually buy very much, just a Christmas present for a Secret Santa that I'm involved with this year, but I always enjoy browsing craft fairs.

Another thing I worked on this weekend was the cross stitch wreath I have been sewing. I'm sure that when I bought the kit I thought I could do it in an evening. How wrong I was! Last week I realised I has misaligned one side of the wreath by a couple of stitches, so did a huge amount of unpicking. I was finding the chart that came with the kit too small to follow easily, so I decided to take a photo of the chart and print it out much larger. This was an excellent plan as not only can I now see the stitches to work from, I can also colour them in as I go, which makes the chart much easier to follow! Why didn't I think of that before? I am a little concerned that I have a whole length of thread that is a slightly different shade of green to all the others, but that I have assigned yarn to each of the symbols already, so may have done something wrong. I'm pretty certain it doesn't matter...

Back on knitting, I am making good progress with my Christmas socks, and love how the stripes are developing. Other than those I am currently between projects, which can only mean one thing: tonight I get to cast on the Christmas stocking! I'm quite excited about this project, and finally got round to writing the pattern up this morning, so should be able to publish the pattern in time for next Christmas if not this.

I'm still reading Into the Water and enjoying it, even though I'm not that far in. The story revolves around the drowning pool, which, as the name suggests, is where many people have drowned, and the unexpected death of a local author who was writing about the pool. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, and the narrative jumps around in time. I'm finding the writing style really engaging.

Stocking yarn and the current read. And fairy lights. I bought them a couple of weeks ago, and now they're out of the box, expect them to appear in far too many of my photos!

What are you crafting on and reading this week?