Simply Knitting Magazine

 Delighted to have my little preemie baby jacket and hat in Simply Knitting!  I love this design - I can see me knitting it many times in the years to come!  It is so simple but looks fabulous.

In June I finished a portrait doll of my friend Pauline, who very sadly passed away last year from cancer.  Her daughter asked me to make it as a gift for her father as a reminder of his late wife.  I was nervous as I wasn't sure if I could do it justice but agreed to give it a go.  I was so glad I did, as it allowed me a lot of time to recall the many times we spent together, often laughing till my jaw hurt!  I  chose the photo - it was a favourite of mine from a time when Pauline's family and friends got together for a special anniversary meal.  I used a pattern from Louise Crowther's "My Knitted Doll" as the basis, just changing the head as I'm not keen on the flat look of the heads in the book.  Pauline loved her fur-lined boots so I had to include them.  I swiss darned the details on the top - it took me a whole day!  I used DROPS baby merino yarn but had wished that there was a colour more suitable for the flesh tone.  I was happy with the finished results though, as was Pauline's family!

Santa hat preemie to newborn

I'm really excited to have finally finished this pattern and publish it in my online shops!  I started it long before Christmas, but because I wanted to make the hat in 5 different sizes from micro preemie to newborn, and because I wanted to write the instructions using dpns and straight needles, it has taken much longer than anticipated.  Mmm ... I did also want the traditional red as well as some pink and blue Santa hats!  I aim to have a number of them knitted to donate to my local NICU for Christmas this year.

Woolrobe

Last year I finally got a place to store my yarn - a wardrobe!  Well, I call it my woolrobe.  Since the majority of my knitting and designing is for babies, the cubbie holes are filled with good quality baby acrylics.  I do love knitting with natural yarns but find it safer to create garments in acrylic in case babies are allergic to wool, especially in the case of premature babies.

For toys I tend to use cheaper acrylics, which is really cost effective if your toy knit has a lot of colours!  I normally do not buy yarn for toys (unless I'm making a gift for someone) - as a designer I get the yarn delivered to me, arranged by the editor of the magazine.

I also keep a selection of my favourite knitting books, some tools and buttons here too.  The Scheepies yarn is on display because I just love looking at it!  I am collecting ideas for how I'm going to use these mini balls of yarn for when I finally decide to use it.

Easter Bonnets for Preemies

New preemie pattern, this time knitted flat for knitters who don't like using dpns.  These beanie hats are inspired by bright and colourful Easter eggs.  There are 3 different designs, one to fit 2lb-3lb preemies, the middle one fits 3lb-5lb and the largest is for 5lb-6lb.  It uses Sirdar Snuggly DK (UK) yarn, which is soft to the skin and machine washable too, which is very important if the hats are for the NICU.  I think I might try some more colour schemes ...

Simply Knitting Magazine

I'm pleased to say that 2 of my designs have been published in this month's issue of Simply Knitting! My little Easter chick and bunny rabbit are included.

Tilly and Tom Knitting Pattern

Hello everyone,

I had a message from Jo in Australia today asking for me to publish my Tilly and Tom Dollies knitting pattern.  It was published last year in Love Knitting for Baby and came on the front cover as a kit.  They are only 22cm tall and so quick to make!  What I like most about them is that they only require small amounts of different coloured yarns so are perfect for using up scraps of yarn.

I hope Jo enjoys making the little dolls for her 'Little Ones'.