Hi fellow knitters

As you know my knitting group and I have been knitting/crocheting squares for charity (see my previous blog titled 'Use up old wool for a good cause'). I thouht it was about time I gave you all a bit of an update on how we are doing.

A couple of us have only managed to finish a few sqaures but top knitter Caron Povey has finished an amazing 99 sqaures! She bought them all to the group today and we took a photo of them all spread out on our table. As you can see below she has used up all scraps of wool that she found around her house and has used crochet and knitting stitches. A lot of her squares are crocheted as she finds this is quicker and has been completing nearly 4 sqaures a night - wow that is quick!

This has really motivated me to getting knitting and I am going to try and finish as many as I can before the 25th August, which is the final deadline to send them to Oxfam. If you want to take part in this great cause please see my other blog which I have mentioned above which lists the address to send your sqaures to.

The Squares attracted quite a bit of attention (Caron is on the far right).

Happy knitting!

Marie :)

Well, my baby project is almost done, too. Hooray! The pants have really turned out so cute, but now I am consumed with worry that they will not fit. I did run out of yarn and made the rise a tiny bit shorter, and my friend Ginger said they might turn out to be baby-lowriders. As long as they're comfy and actually wearable, I don't care! I just really want them to be worn and used and loved. So my hope is that they're at least functional.

Here are the pants with the hearts placed but not sewn on.

And here's a close-up of the hearts to be sewn on the knees. I chose white. I washed the pants and they didn't bleed at all, so I have high hopes they won't bleed on the hearts. Even if they do, light pink or mottled white and pink will still be charming, right?

Aren't those seed-stitch cuffs just darling? What a sweet detail.

Remember how I said I ran out of yarn? I had to finish up the waistband casing with some cotton yarn from my stash in a similar weight—and we'll say a "contrasting" color. It's on the inside so no matter, right?

And one more detail so you can see my sewn-down waist casing in mint green.

Since taking these pictures, I've sewn on the hearts. Now all I have to do is sew the elastic in place. I bought it and everything, and have been carrying it around in my purse and not actually finishing these.

More pictures to come when they're really and truly finished. And I hope I'll have some pictures of a very cute baby wearing them some time soon!

This pattern comes from Closely Knit, by Hannah Fettig. It's such a cute book! Check it out. Eileen's baby cardigan comes from the same book. You can also check out Hannah's blog.

Did anybody else participate in the baby knitting challenge? Show us your goods!

* Jessica *

Slowly but surely, I will get this cardigan done! I’ve got the bulk of the sweater complete…just need to attach the second sleeve and then add the ribbing to the front.

As you’ll notice, I didn’t add the pockets like the original pattern called for, and I’m now not tied to embroidering the “ducky” pattern as seen on the original sweater. Sooo, does anyone have any fun suggestions for what I could add to personalize the sweater? It’s for a boy named Daniel. He’s still too young to have developed any real interests, so the options are pretty much endless. Here were some of my thoughts:

*Monogram
*one ducky in a front corner
*a different pair of animals – Does anyone know where to look for patterns for such a thing?
*a stripe around the bottom

Really, I’m looking for something that isn’t going to add too much time to the project (since I’ve already drug it out over many months), but something that will give it a little personality.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Eileen

After reading an interesting article in my latest issue of Simply Knitting magazine my knitting group are now all knitting 9inch squares for charity.  Oxfam are creating a giant baby blanket and each square is to represent a mother who died during pregnancy or childbirth because she was too poor to receive medical care.  The sad fact is that they need 250,000 squares by September.  The blanket will be handed to government to make the point that everyone in the world deserves access to healthcare.  After that the blenket is going to be taken apart and sold in Oxfam shops to raise money for overseas projects.

This is a great way to support a charity and use up odds and ends of wool that you have lying around the house.  Caron in my group has already crocheted 46 squares which is fantastic.  Read my blog next week for an update on how we are getting on and pictures of the squares. 

If you want to take part all you need to do is knit as many 9inch squares as possible and send them to the following address before the 1st August 08.

Sarah Blakemore, Oxfam Campaigns, 47 Park Square East, Leeds, LS21 2NL

If you do take part why not take a photo of the squares you have knitted and tell us about them.

Marie :)

Fooled you, didn't I! No, I'm not actually done with my baby cardigan, but knitalong member Deb is, and she shared some pics with us over at the Knit+Crochet messageboard. Her sweater turned out so cute, I thought I'd share it here, too:

The image above is of her cardigan in the works. A tip I learned from Deb was to knit both sleeves at the same time (see above). It may take a little longer initially...but I'm guessing it saves time in the end. And here's the final product:

I'm in love with the flower detail she added! And since I've never knitted button holes before, I'm also liking that her pattern only called for ONE. Anyone else finished with their project yet? I'm hoping to have mine complete by next week. So stay tuned for more pics.

Happy Knitting!

Eileen