Sunny Thoughts

Greetings friends. What joy!.....We've seen blue sky this week and a friendly yellow sun has popped out from behind the clouds to say "hello".

Birds started singing and suddenly I felt that winter might be giving way to an early spring.
So, I decided to do a bit of early 'spring cleaning'. You know the sort of thing...taking everything out of a cupboard in order to lovingly sort through the contents and then put it all back a little more neatly than before.
Needless to say there were a few 'treasures' in the cupboard, not least this little bag that I made for my daughter over 20 years ago.

 I didn't have to ponder long on the reason for making it as a quick look inside revealed all!

Daughter had taken it to a family wedding the highlight of which had been picking up handsful of confetti to fill her bag. Well, what else would a little girl use a wedding bag for?

This is the little matching dress I made for her all those years ago. Over the years I've given away quite a few of my children's clothes but I do have a habit of hanging onto the handmade ones.
Squirrelling away these things is a family failing that I inherited from my mum. 

Mum hated parting with the little dresses she'd lovingly made for us. Here is a cutie she made for my sister when she was two. Many years later my daughter delighted in wearing it. Needless to say it's been laundered many times but is still as pretty as ever.

How nice it was during a week of sunshine to receive a 'sunshine award' from my blogging chum Carol at Wee Cute Treasures. A very big thank-you to you Carol for considering my blog to be a worthy recipient.

I'm going to pass my sunshine award to some little girls and their mom.

They live in the States and whenever I visit their blog I find them wearing the prettiest dresses. I really love the little poem I found on their blog this week and if you have a passion for wearing dresses I think you'll love it also so do take a look. You'll find it at Sweete Felicity.
I hope the sun is shining for you wherever you live.
Until next time,
Eli

Seeking Colour

The snowy interlude has been lovely and produced great pics but I now long for some warming colour.

Happily, by March our rhododendrons and azaleas will be blooming again in the garden and we can look forward to being dazzled by their vibrant shades for several months.
Until then I'll surround myself with indoor colour.

I bought this book last year and what a joy it is. '100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet' by Lesley Stanfield. If you haven't seen it do try and take a look.

Her blooms are really lifelike

The book illustrates some clever ways to use them and so I'm currently experimenting with ideas.
Meanwhile, over the weekend I gathered together a few cheery shades and wouldn't you know it......

my needles produced more little smiling faces!

Until next time

Eli

Wordsworth lived here

Christmas has passed and I feel as if I've eaten more than I should.

What should I do? I know.......

I'll take a brisk walk down a snowy lane to the village of Grasmere.

 In no time at all I'll find myself outside

the prettiest little ancient dwelling known as Dove Cottage...

.... the one time home of William Wordsworth.

And here is the view from Mr Wordsworth's parlour window.

 

I wonder what he would have thought about it?

Well ...all that walking makes a bear quite hungry.

Just enough time to feed the ducks and swans and then....

......back home for a tasty snack before tea!

By the way, my name is Toffee Ted and Eli has just listed my pattern in her Etsy shop.

And here is the large hotel named after the famous poet

Cosy knitted shoes for babies and teddies

I think global warming must have been and gone because Britain is now being ravaged by a mini ice-age. I'd almost forgotten what snow looked like as we've had very little in recent years, but the feathery flakes started falling before Christmas and everywhere has remained white ever since.

It's bitingly cold outside and so I've had the perfect excuse to stay indoors and knit.

Searching through some very old 1940s patterns that my granny once used I found the sweetest little baby slipper/shoe.

It looked so cute I read the pattern, added a few ideas of my own and knitted a sample. It would have made just the right gift for my friend's new grand-daughter if only I'd been able to find enough yarn of the same colour to knit another shoe!

And so I started again. Pale pink this time with satin ribbon bows as a finishing touch.
No sooner had I finished than a mischievous little bear arrived.

he seemed very interested in the shoes

and decided to try them for size

In he climbed

and slid right down into the toe.

Doesn't he look cosy.

As the sun goes down on another freezingly cold day

I shall remain in my cosy place beside the fire and

knit!

Patterns for the little shoes and tiny teddy are now in my Etsy shop if you fancy knitting either or both. They are done in DK yarn on 2.75mm needles (US size 2). The sole of the shoe measures 10cm (4in) from front to back so would fit a foot of similar length.

Best wishes from a very cold and icy Britain, until next time,

Knitted snowman - free pattern

Greetings friends from us all at Flutterby Patch. We've had a very merry time here over the festive season and hope you have too. My little knitted family (you might have seen their patterns in my Etsy shop) have all gathered to wish you a Happy and Peaceful New Year

I thought I would end the old year and start the new one with a 'free' knitting pattern. A couple of days before Christmas I decided that my traditional cake decorations (that I use every year) were looking a bit tired and so I decided to knit some little snowmen.

I secured them on the cake by pushing one end of a cocktail stick into the knitted base and the other end into the cake. They measure approx 3.5ins (9cm) and are made from DK yarn. You will find the knitting instructions at the end of this post.
The poor snowmen grew increasingly worried when their cake grew forever smaller as slices were cut off and eaten.

But kind Tilly came to the rescue. She placed a thread through each of the little hats and hung the snowmen on the Christmas tree out of harms way.
So now the little characters can enjoy the view from high up in the branches.

Meanwhile I'm working on several new knitting patterns for my Etsy shop and receiving plenty of help from my little knitted family. You might recognise this rascal, it is baby Daisy who seems to be hiding her sister's dolly amongst my balls of yarn.

I hope you don't suffer from too many 'helping' hands whilst knitting.

Happy New Year to you all.

SNOWMAN PATTERN

You should find this straight forward and easy to follow

All knitting is done with DK yarn (US – light worsted, Australia – 8 ply). You will need a small amount of white and bright shades for sweater, hats and scarves. Use 3.25mm needles (US 3).

The following pattern is for my basic snowman with hat and scarf (sweater instructions come at the end)

Body and head
Cast on 11 stitches in white and work in stocking stitch.
1. purl
2. increase into every stitch across the row (22st)
3 - 27. stocking stitch starting with a purl row
28. knit 2 stitches together across row.
Break yarn leaving 15cm (6in) tail. Use a tapestry needle to remove stitches onto this tail.

Making up
Starting at the bottom, gather the cast-on edge by catching each stitch and then stitch the seam (this will go at the back). Prepare to stuff the snowman through the gathered top which can be pulled open to allow stuffing to pass through. The firmer you stuff him the fatter he will become. When firm, but not over-stretched, pull the gathering thread to close the head and secure firmly.

Create a head
To create a head you need to firmly tie a length of white yarn around the snowman at row 18 to give him a neck.This will leave 10 rows for the head.
Arms
Cast on 9 stitches in white and work 11 rows in stocking stitch. Break yarn leaving a 15cm (6in) tail. Use a tapestry needle to remove stitches onto this tail. Gather the 9 stitches and use the gathering tail to stitch the arm seam. Before closing the top of the arm push a tiny amount of stuffing into the snowman's hand (you won't require much). Position each arm (see picture) and stitch to the snowman at the shoulders. Catch the wrist to the body with a single stitch.
Hat
Choose a colourful yarn (or two if you want stripes) and cast on 24 stitches. Work 13 rows in stocking stitch starting with a purl row and add your own stripe combination if required. Row 14 - knit 2 stitches together across the row. Break yarn leaving a 15cm (6in) tail. Use a tapestry needle to remove stitches onto this tail. Pull the thread and gather the stitches to form top of hat. Stitch the hat seam. Fit hat on the snowman's head turning up the bottom 3 rows to make a brim (see picture). DON'T stitch on the hat yet as first you must create a face.
Eyes
With the hat fitted on the head decide where you will position the eyes. Remove the hat and stitch eyes with black yarn or embroidery floss. Large French knots make excellent eyes. You can secure the black yarn at the top of the head as it will be hidden under the hat.
Nose
You can embroider a black nose or make an orange nose like mine which is supposed to represent a carrot. I used the following method for the beaks on my penguins and it is quite effective.

Use bright orange yarn and cut off a 6in (15cm) length. Secure a tapestry needle into the arm of your sofa, a cushion (or similar) and wrapping the yarn around the needle, tie a knot in the centre (see picture below).

Tie two more knots pulling each one tightly so that you achieve a 'carrot' shape (see below). Slide the carrot nose from the needle and use the two orange tails to secure it to the snowman's face by passing each one through the head and out at the top.

Mouth
The mouth is simply 4 small running stitches positioned to make a smile.
Scarf
Made from a twisted cord of coloured yarn. Alternatively make a crochet chain.
Once the face is complete you can stitch the hat onto the head. I back-stitched the hat to the head so that the stitches were concealed beneath the turned back brim. Add a bobble/pop-pom to the top if required.
To give the snowman a sweater like the one I made simply knit 6 rows in white and then continue to row 18 in the colour of your choice (striping if necessary). At the end of row 18 break off colour and join white yarn. Continue to the end in white. For the arms knit 8 rows in the sweater colour and 3 rows in white to form the hands.
Wishing you lots of fun with your snowman knitting