Little Bo Peep

These are the matching/contrasting Baby Bonnets from Last Minute Hand-Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. Yes, that book again; it really is that good, believe me!

I made them in Rowan Kid Classic, a wool/mohair/nylon mix that I have previously used for the Red Side-slip Cloche, amongst other things. I wanted natural colours, and you can hardly call the heather colour natural, but it's a soft hue and looks beautiful in person.

There's a lovely old-fashioned feel to this pattern. I had worried that it just wouldn't translate in today's modern fast-paced world, but you can modernise-it-up. Some of the kids on Ravelry are really rocking it!

It's a very easy construction to learn, and I polished both bonnets off in a weekend (a weekend which was also filled with other activities, so they don't take a whole weekend!).

The garter edging is very pretty, don't you agree? I also learned the applied I-cord binding which I had wanted to try for ages. This was a really good project for it.

Each bonnet uses much less than a ball, so you can easily get the two bonnets out of the two balls, with lots left over. I may make some matching mittens; my only worry would be that they could be a little itchy for tiny hands. We'll see.

Next up, expect something in Shocking Pink! It's almost finished; I'm just working on a sleeve.

Bear with me while DH and I take a well-earned rest over the next couple of weeks. We're off to the isle of Harris, followed by some time with my family in Speyside. Bliss; can't wait.

Ding Ding, Round Two

Yes, I immediately cast on for another Side Slip Cloche as soon as I'd finished the oatmealy one.

I love the colour, fit, softness of the yarn and just the whole thing.

This is one of those rare patterns that is just so clever I wish I'd written it myself. It's also really fun to knit, and has the bonus of looking and feeling wonderful when it's finished.

I made this one in Rowan Kid Classic, and again managed to get the whole hat out of one ball, just. This yarn gives a lovely halo and is very soft and warm.

The only difference with this version was that as the ball of yarn seemed smaller, I decided to start the band with only one ruffle instead of two, which the pattern calls for. When I finished the hat in the end I had enough yarn so just knitted up a second ruffle, picked up stitches above the lower, larger ruffle and bound off the two rows of stitches together. This has resulted in a row of unnecessary bumps on the right side, but you can hardly see them and it's not a big problem. If you didn't know, you'd just think it was part of the pattern. I had first tried to pick up stitches on the band, knit the smaller ruffle in reverse and cast off, but no matter how many versions I tried, the cast-off edge was completely straight and didn't curl like the ruffle edge should. Therefore I changed it, knitted the second ruffle separately and attached it, which worked out better.

I don’t think I’ve got this one out of my system yet, so if anyone wants one, please just ask: I’ll be happy to make one for you.

Have you read this book? It's The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs.

If you have read it please let me know what you think, but don't tell me the plot as I've only just started it.

I'd heard of this book a long time ago, but never got round to getting it for myself. Then Jayne brought it to Knit Night one week. She'd bought it in a local charity shop, and it turned out that this actual book belonged to Victoria, who's also in our group. She had read this very book and taken it in to the same shop when she'd finished it. So now it's come full circle; the whole group is sharing it, and it's my turn to borrow it.

I love that we're all sharing it. It's meant to be really good, and some of our own characters may even feature in the book! Happy reading and knitting.