Ginx Woolly Linx Party for June

Hello everyone, and welcome to the party for June. Thank you to all who joined the party in May, and especially to anyone who has joined in for the first time.

The features for May start with 

Gema of Hebra de Lana who showed a beautiful shawl, and these feline socks. My daughter (who is 16) looked at them and said "I would like some socks like that", so they must be cool.

Alexandra of Eye Love Knots has made these interesting ear rings. I love seeing crafts used in a new and original way.

I've been thinking a lot this month about ways to reduce the amount of plastic I use, and this great shopping bag by Sabine of Nephi Handmade is green in every meaning of the word.

And finally Ineke of Inekedcblog has made this beautiful dress and bolero in red and white. I love bright colours for babies.

Keep on linking up your projects. I enjoy looking at them all, and getting some inspiration for my own work. Please try and call back throughout the month, so you can see who has joined in, and share the "woolly love". 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Remember if you were picked as a feature you can put the "I was featured" button on your blog. 

Baby Button Shoes

I've been busy working on a new pattern. Baby shoes, this time with a strap. I was going to call them Mary Jane's, but in the end decided Baby Button Shoes was a cuter name. The pattern is available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

In fact the button is simply there as a decoration, and the shoes are designed just slip on and off. I decided that mums of new babies have enough to do, without fiddling with tiny buttons and buttonholes. But if you wanted the button to be functional, it would be quite easy to make a buttonhole in the strap. But in my samples for the pattern the buttons are just sewn in place through the strap and shoe.

They are very easy and quick to make. I think most knitters could make a pair in an evening. The pattern comes in two sizes: 0-3 months and 3-6 months. I think they look cute plain, but have also jazzed some mine up with a bit of embroidery. 

Made with doubleknit wool, they only take 14g or 20g of wool depending which size you make. So they would also be a great way to use up any wool you have left over from other projects. 

On these green shoes I have embroidered a few daisies on the straps. 

... and on these I have used french knots to make some forget-me-not flowers. It is really quite simple to embroider with wool on wool. There are some tutorials of some of the basic stitches in my sidebar on the right.

The red shoes have gone to baby Scarlet, but the green daisy ones, and the forget-me-not shoes are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Just a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for May. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

"All The Single Ladies"

... or perhaps I should call them "all the single fairies". It has taken me longer than I thought (as all jobs seem to), but the fairies have now headed off to my Etsy shop, complete with their little hand embroidered bags. I do hope they end up with someone who loves them.

And now to start thinking about the summer garden flower fairies. I have started on lavender, but would love it if you have any suggestions for the others.

Just a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for May. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Garter Ear Flap Hat

One of my work colleagues has become a grandma over the Easter holiday, so I thought I would have a go at making a baby hat. The baby is a little early, so I wanted to knit a small hat, and to use some alpaca wool that I had. Ravelry came to my help, and this pattern is called Garter Ear Flap Hat, by Purl Soho, and is available for free. I really like the simple design, with the cosy ear flaps, and by mixing my colours this version reminds me of a cup of cappuccino coffee. I hope it fits, and suspect I may have made it a bit large for a 4lb baby. But babies grow, so hopefully it will fit baby Scarlett soon.

Just a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for May. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.