A Scarf For Advent

I have made a start on my Advent Scarf.

I first found out about the Advent Scarf at my work knit and natter.  The pattern is posted daily on Ravelry and you do a bit of knitting each day.  Needless to say, it is the 15th December and I am still knitting the pattern for day 4!! Hey ho! I'm knitting at my own pace and really enjoying it!

Baby Knitting!

Two friends of mine are about to have babies ... so I have been busy knitting little bits for very little people! I have a huge amount of this lovely Rowan wool and find it is perfect for keeping precious little newborns warm.

This cardigan, hat and booties is for the baby who is due ... any time now!! The patterns are from the lovely "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" by Hadley Fierlinger.

So now I need to get knitting for the December baby! And start various Christmas knitting projects! I'm finding that there really are not enough hours in the day to get anything done anymore!

Winter Knitting Part Two!

 Here they are!! I showed you one glove back in August and I have finally finished the second one!

Now that Little Miss Plum (at 13months, can't really call her a baby anymore!) is in bed at a reasonable hour (6.30pm!) I have time to get some knitting done in the evening, I have also started up a knitting group where I work and joined the new local knitting group which meets every other Friday! Knit-tastic!

I have just started to cast on a beret for Little Miss Plum using the same wool as my gloves. I think that it will look very pretty!

Winter Knitting

I know what you are probably thinking .... gloves in August? Has Victoria Plum gone stark raving bonkers??

Well, having spent the last year or so knitting baby bits for Baby Plum and other babies I thought that it was about time I knitted something for little ol' me.

I wanted something quick and easy ... and I figured that this was the right time of year to start my winter knitting! Here is the first glove!

I picked up this lovely multi coloured yarn in the John Lewis sale and thought that it would be a perfect match for a bargain jacket I got in the Joules sale which has 3/4 length sleeves. Perfect.

Anyway, enough nattering on here ... I'd better get on with my second glove!

For those who follow me on Twitter, you'll know that the London riots were scarily close to the Plums. Mr Plum wrote about them on his blog - if you are interested in those awful few days from our perspective have a read here. Thank you for all the lovely messages of concern.

Knitting for Winter Babies

A couple of my friends are expecting babies this Winter so I thought I would start a bit of knitting for them nice and early!

I don't know whether they are expecting boys or girls so had a brainwave! Rather than just stick to blue/pink/yellow/cream, I would use some more of this lovely green yarn and knit a basic layette cap (from my current favourite knitting book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies).

Inspired by my favourite flower fairies I am then planning to add either little green leaves (in felt) around the top of the hat for little boys or pretty pink petals for little girls. Of course, I just have to knit a big one for Baby Plum to wear this winter! 

I'm really pleased with this pattern - so quick and easy to do - even with a chicken poxy baby in tow!

Vintage Apron Dress

Here it is! I have finished Baby Plum's little apron dress. I am rather pleased with the finished product!

Here is a detailed view of the pocket. I bought the ladybird buttons at the Knitting & Stitching Show I visited back in January.

The neckline was a bit tricky. But with help and advice from lovely people on Ravelry, I worked it out. The button holes went slightly awry (i.e I followed the pattern exactly) and the button holes had vanished! Anyway, I have stitched the straps together for now and added another couple of ladybird buttons.  I'm thinking of making a little felt ladybird to put in one of the pockets as a little surprise for Baby Plum!

A Work In Progress: Part Two

I thought I would give you a quick update on my current knitting project.

I'm rather proud of the amount of knitting I have managed to do of late.  This has coincided with Baby Plum going to bed a bit earlier and rather than passing out on the sofa exhausted, no longer having a night feed and getting at least 8 hours sleep now means that I have got my evenings back!!

I have a few concerns about the back of the dress (right side). It looks like a completely different shape to the front, but please be assured that this is just because I have it on the circular needles. I still need to cast off. I am a bit worried that the button holes may not be in the right place and have prepared my self to unpick the last few lines of the back of the dress and re-do them, if needed!

A Work In Progress

I have been knitting Baby Plum a little pinafore dress since February!! It's taking ages as I'm finding it hard to juggle Baby Plum and my crafting, but I had a good go at it last week while staying with my parents. I have now completed the back and two pockets! I will shortly begin casting on the stitches to begin the front of the dress.

It's a lovely pattern from "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" by Hadley Fierlinger and I am using the wool I picked up half price at the Stitching and Craft Show earlier this year. 

I'll keep you posted with it's progress!!

January Monthly Make: Pixie Hat

Here is another pixie hat I have made for a friend's new baby ... apologies for the quality of the photo but I am having issues with iphoto (and along with feeling a bit snotty, having just eaten a disgusting meal cooked by my own fair hand (I forgot about the pasta while trying to calm a fractious baby!) I have lost all patience with it!!)

This hat is my January entry into the Felt Fairy's Monthly Make Challenge!

Ooooh Fabric and Yarn!!

I have just got back from a very successful trip to the Stitching and Craft Show at Sandown.

I had a budget in mind (and I almost kept to it until I saw some yarn which I couldn't resist!). As I only have one my month on my full salary before I go onto statutory maternity pay, I thought I would stock up on the crafty bits and bobs I need to see me through the next few months (I will be heading to The Felt Fairy once I have been paid!)

I couldn't resist these fat quarters .... I love the Beatles fabric! Maybe I will make Baby Plum a funky Elvis skirt for the summer?

I bought a couple of bargain 5 half meter rolls of fabric. I am thinking of making a greeny blue patchwork quilt and well, I just couldn't resist the Liberty (style?) fabric

Let's not forget my first love ... Knitting!!

Some lovely Rowan yarn (is 10 rolls excessive?) It was half price, so couldn't not buy it now, could I? I have a lovely pattern for a knitted pinafore dress. Baby Plum will look cute as a button in it. And talking of buttons, I picked up some gorgeous ladybird buttons to accessorise the dress with!

And my final purchase ... this lovely little book ... I will be making Baby Plum some knitted veg!!

This wasn't a huge show and I was a little disappointed that there were no jelly rolls of fabric for sale as I had planned to get one (being a little bit of a cheat for my first quilt!) and I would have liked to get a Clothkit for myself and Baby Plum. I went along with two of my crafty pals Brocante Belle and HannahRosie.

Brocante Belle has recently started blogging - she was also a bored civil servant (like me and Mr Plum) but she escaped!! She needs a bit of encouragement to keep blogging about her creations - so go and take a look at her patchwork quilt - it was the first one she made and is fabulous!

HannahRosie is a crochet whizz ... I am very jealous of her lovely crocheted animals. I have added a link to her Ravelry page (if you are on ravelry, take a look!) Baby Plum is very lucky to be the proud owner of one of her crocheted donkey's!

Pompom Pixie Scarf

A scarf to match the Pompom Pixie Hat!

Vintage Pixie Hat For Baby Plum

Here is a bit of knitting to show you ...

A "Vintage Pixie Hat" from my "Vintage Knits for Modern Babies" book.

I started this hat back in October - but as with most of my projects - when it comes to sewing it together ... it ends up at the bottom of my pile!

I used some odd balls of Rowan Cashsoft Chunky yarn, which is sadly now discontinued and I don't have enough to make some matching mittens. I will have to have a hunt around for something similar. I lined the hat for extra cosiness. I think it looks very pretty.

The only problem is that the strap isn't long enough to get round Baby Plum's chin!! Ha Ha Ha ... will have to attach some ribbon, methinks.

I will post pictures of Baby Plum modelling the hat tomorrow!

Pompom Pixie Hat

Here is Baby Plum modelling the very cute Pompom Pixie Hat which I have made for my friend's baby ... doesn't she look cute!!

This hat was so quick 'n' easy to knit - I managed to knock it up in just over a week. I did make one little mistake and have sewn the strap on wrong - but I don't think it will matter!

The pattern is from The Knitted Nursery and I will be making a matching scarf to go with it!

The pattern suggested using ggh Big Easy yarn - but this was impossible to get hold of (even in London, shock!!) so I have used Rico Creative Cotton instead - it works a treat!

An update from Plum Cottage!

Where does the time go?!

I'm a little behind with my posts as have been busy with Baby Plum and enjoying a lovely 10 days in the country with my parents. Feeling rejuvenated by 10 days worth of fresh country air and my mum's scrummy food ... it's time to stop sitting on the sofa feeling brain dead and start to get on with things!!

First things first ... Christmas Cake!!!

You may remember me making my boozy fruit back in September ... I have been stirring this lovely concoction of fruit and sloe gin since then and finally got around to making the cake! You can find the recipe for the cake on The Pink Whisk blog. This is the first time since I started baking Christmas cakes (back in 2002, I think) that I have not used Delia's recipe ... and sadly, the first time that my house has not been filled with the beautiful smell of Christmas as the cake bakes. Not to worry, I'm sure it will taste divine - and there will be plenty more opportunities for Christmas smells, I'm sure!!

I have also been avidly watching Jamie's 30 Minute Meals (the joys of being at home at 5.30!) and decided to whizz up some frozen yoghurt. Yum Yum and so easy to make.

Get some yoghurt

Get some frozen fruit

A bit of honey

Chuck it into the mixer and whizz up

Delicious!

My eighth marvellous make has been some sundried tomatoes .... not my homegrown ones obviously (yes, still a little bitter about those!)

Last year I had a fabulous family holiday in Venice

While meandering around the tiny streets, over bridges and down dark alleys, I picked up a packet of sundried tomatoes.

They have been languishing in my cupboard ever since!!

That is ... until the day Mr Plum decided to knock up some pizzas!

Unfortunately I didn't realise that we couldn't just bung a couple of the tomatoes onto the pizza! They needed preparing first....which is what I have now done!

In 15 days time we will hopefully have a jar full of lovely tomatoey-garlicy-basilly goodness!

An exciting delivery!

Just over 24 hours after I placed an order on www.cucumberpatch.co.uk for a batch of Rico Creative Cotton ... it arrived on my doorstep! Fantastic!!

I will be using this wool to make some cute baby hats and scarves for Christmas pressies...hopefully, if Baby Plum lets me!

The Knitting and Stitching Show!

Well ... some may call me brave, some may call me just plain stupid! But ... off I trekked with Baby Plum in a papoose up to Alexandra Palace for the Knitting and Stitching Show!!

So many wonderful bits and pieces to look at and buy ... unfortunately taking a 7 week old to a show like this was a little bit stressful - and I couldn't really concentrate as much as I would have liked to on purchasing lovely crafty bits!

I had gone to the show armed with a list of wool I needed for my latest projects from The Knitted Nursery ... but, could not find the wool I wanted...it seemed to be mainly very luxurious cashmere yarns, stripy sock yarns or very exotic and strange yarns. The show did seem to be more about "stitching" too (or did I miss something?). I will be going back next year with a couple of stitchy projects in mind ...

We had booked in for afternoon tea (very exciting!!) which unfortunately clashed with Baby Plum's grizzly time ... I tried to feed her before we went in for tea - but I think that she was overwhelmed by the whole experience of being around so many people and wouldn't feed. This meant that as soon as we sat at our table (which we were sharing with two other ladies) Baby Plum decided to exercise her right to scream. It was very stressful - so I ran off to feed her somewhere nice and quiet and she calmed down. When I got back into the tea room, my friend had been chatting to the ladies who said that I should have just fed her at the table (I do have a pashmina to hide us both with) ... but you hear such negative things about women feeding in public - I just don't feel confident doing that yet, and am always worried that someone will make a comment ... anyway, when Baby Plum woke again wanting seconds, I did feed her at the table.

So, if anyone reading this blog was in the tea room at Alexandra Palace yesterday afternoon - apologies for my crying baby!!

Oops! I should have taken a picture before we scoffed the lot!!

52 MMMC Week Four: Knitted Teddy

I started knitting this teddy back in August when I had nothing else to do except sit and wait for my baby to arrive! I managed to finish the actual knitting quite quickly ... it was the sewing together which took me a while. So, this morning while Baby Plum slumbers in her bouncy chair, I finished sewing and placed her teddy next to her. I have added a lavender sachet inside the teddy's tum which I thought would be a nice soothing addition to Baby Plum's cot!

41+1

Today I have ...

Put my second £2 coin into my new money box ...

Made my little brother a birthday cake ... he is 30 tomorrow! He's popping round tonight for a curry (hurray! Mr Plum hates curry ... and I'm in desperate need of one!)

Picked some blackberries from the bottom of the garden ... only managed 1/2 a pound ... before being scared off by the wasps! I'm hoping that Mr Plum will pick me some more this evening. I need to make jam!

Admired 3 of my recently picked courgettes. Aren't they impressive? I think that the recent rain must have been very good for them!

Taken delivery of my new knitting book "Knitted Nursery", had a walk around the park and am now at home with my feet up watching old episodes of Friends while drinking tea and eating cake!

Don't you just love it when ...

a friend finally returns the DVD you lent her about 4 years ago!! To be honest, it had been so long that I thought that maybe I had lost it when we moved house ... or had lent it to someone, but couldn't remember who! Anyway, on Saturday "Bright Young Things" was returned to me! I love Evelyn Waugh, and especially "Vile Bodies" ... so am sitting on the sofa amongst a nest of cushions as I just can't get comfy at the moment (yes, no sign of Baby Plum yet ...), with a cup of raspberry leaf tea (so sick of drinking it!), and my Debbie Bliss "Simply Baby" book and DVD playing ... trying to decide what to knit next .... and wishing I was a 20's flapper off to supper at The Ritz!

A work in progress...

I thought I would share with you a current and ongoing knitting project ....

Inspired by the wonderfully colourful hooky creations over at Attic24 - I found this lovely pattern in my Vintage Knits for Modern Babies book. It is taking me a while to do and I don't think it will be ready for Baby Plum's imminent arrival! But I will keep at it!

I have recently joined the Ravelry online knitting community! It is brilliant ... so much info about yarns and patterns! And I have found a couple of local knitting groups which I will pop along too once Baby Plum is able to get out and about! You can find me over there (username is purko).