More Moss Stitch Booties (and My Photograph Spot)

It is hard sometimes to find a good spot inside for photographs. It is probably why I often take my photographs of knitting outside. The light has to be just right. Plenty of light, but not direct sunlight, which is usually too harsh. In my old house there was not a lot of choice, as there were no window ledges, and my favourite place was at the top of the house, under the velux window. Even that was difficult at times, and I might arrange a raised surface to get more light, or use material as a backdrop.

My new home is a cottage, so has its own problems. The windows are fairly small, but I have found my self a photography spot. One of these fairly small windows on the stairs has a deep window shelf area, all painted white, which is perfect. On a nice day (although we have not had many of those recently) there is light, but not too direct. I really like the plain white background. Positioning the camera is a bit difficult, as I am standing on the stairs, but I think I have found my spot.

 

 

As you can see I am still knitting moss stitch baby booties. I must thank my pattern testers, Jennifer and Jo, who have both knitted booties from the pattern, and helped me come up with some corrections. All they get is a copy of the pattern, but I am incredibly grateful for their help. It is very reassuring to know that someone apart from me has followed the pattern successfully.

 

Just a reminder that although we are approaching the end of the month there is still time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for August. 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.

 

Moss Stitch Baby Boots

We have had some dry weather, so I had to hunt around for a mossy place for my photo.

I have hinted at this new pattern for a while, but find it hard to believe how long it has taken me to write this one. I love the look of moss stitch, but found that working it into a pair of baby boots was harder than I imagined. These boots are like some of my other baby shoes patterns, Baby Bee Shoes and Baby Daisy Shoes, in that they are knitted in one piece, and the shape for the foot is created by turning mid-row. To do this, and work in increases and decreases, and keep the moss stitch, was not easy.

But don't let this put you off making a pair, as I have done the work, and they are an easy and fairly quick knit. There is just quite a lot of counting in your head. I do like how with PDF patterns you can print it off and then mark the rows you have knitted on the pattern to keep your place.

You can knit them in any doubleknit wool, and like my other shoe knits they are on quite a small needle (2.5mm), as I think this tighter knit helps give the shoe a better structure. I have gone for a mossy coloured wool, but may use some brighter colours for my next pair of boots. And unlike my other shoes, I have given these ones a little cuff to help keep them on the babies feet.

I also forgot to mention that the pattern include two sizes - 0-3 months and 3-6 months. These are written out separately, as I always find patterns with brackets for sizes a bit confusing. The pattern will be available on ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

Just a reminder that there is still loads of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for August. 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.

Snowdrops

Busy making some baby shoes and mittens. These were ordered to match a specific baby suit. I love green - my favourite colour. And so I have been waiting for the chance to go out and photograph some real snowdrops. One of my favourite flowers, and a sign that Spring is on its way.

Tundra Baby Shoe

Baby shoes are my favourite knit. So relatively quick to make, and the end result is so pleasing. 

I had an idea for a new design, as two of my work colleagues are expecting. (In fact one of the babies has already arrived.) Although I love knitting my Baby Daisy Shoes and Baby Bee Shoes I thought it was about time for a change. I am sort of trying to work up the courage to design a baby garment, so these have been a welcome delaying tactic.

Those of you who know me are probably looking at this new design and thinking "why no embroidery?". Well I may add some later (I just can't resist) but for the pattern photos I wanted to show the simple shape of the shoes, and I thought that embroidery might be a distraction. 

I have put a lot of thought into the shape of these shoes. I had in my mind that they would be very simple. 

Just for once I can say that this is not a difficult knit. You do not even have to know how to purl. (I am usually so worried about people buying my patterns and finding them hard, that I think I exaggerate the difficulty.) But this pattern is all knit, and has only one technique that new knitters may not have come across. 

These were made with my last scraps of this wool. Unfortunately I don't know what it is as I would love to get some more. Any clues?

This is the wrap method to prevent holes in your knitting when you change direction mid-row. I explain this at the start of the pattern, and have put a photo tutorial on my blog to help more visual learners. (There is also a link to this in knitting tips in the right sidebar.) Once you have done this a few times you will see it is not hard. This gives the front upper of the shoe its very distinctive curves.

Knitted with James C. Brett Marble DK

The pattern just comes in one size, and the finished shoes are 8-9 cm long, so about the size for a newborn to 4 months. You need no more than 22g of wool. I am thinking of getting some chunky wool and trying to size it up to adult size, as I would quite like to pad about the house in a pair of these. 

Knitted from Jaeger Luxury Tweed (unfortunately this wool has been discontinued)

The shoe is made up of three pieces, and I have used doubleknit slightly fluffy wool to give them the look of a felted shoe, and to make them really cosy. So like my other shoe patterns you will find this a tight knit, but that is what helps give the shoes their structure. The pattern is available on ravelry and Etsy.

While knitting these I have had the idea for another baby shoe, which I am already working on. So expect even more baby shoes. 

P.S. I had lots of visitors here this week, mostly from South Africa. I can't quite work out if I have been featured somewhere, so I would be very grateful if anyone could let me know. 

Poppy Shoes

Here is one of my holiday knits. When I am on holiday I usually like to knit a from my own patterns. I am away from my computer, so it is difficult to write anything new, and it gives me a good opportunity to see if I can make any improvements. 

Did I mention that my children said that I was not allowed to knit on the beach? I rather reluctantly agreed to this as part of the deal that on their part no electronic gadgets were allowed on the beach. Rather annoying as there is nothing nicer than sitting knitting on the beach, but I still had plenty of time to knit, especially on the car journey.

So here are some new baby shoes, from my Baby Bee Pattern, which is for sale on Craftsy and ravelry. There will be some more baby shoes with other flowers on the way. I try really hard to embroider them in a way that I have not done before, so anyone buying them has a truly unique gift. I thought a bold poppy would look great on this soft grey chenille wool (I know they look blue, but they really are grey) that I used for this pair, which will be heading off to my Etsy Shop as soon as I have made a little shoe bag to put them in.

Apple Blossom Shoes

I've been busy this week knitting baby shoes from my own pattern. I've been having a bit of a play with the embroidery decoration. One of the teachers I work with is expecting in September, so I have been thinking baby. She doesn't know boy or girl yet, and these are definitely girl shoes.

I really love the main shade, which although perhaps a bit unusual for a baby, has little flecks of all sorts of colour in there. Usually my shoes are one-offs, but I liked this wool and design so much I have made two pairs. It may not be completely clear from my photos, but one pair has white blossom and one pink.

They are both for sale in my Etsy shop, and I am busy with another new design  on my needles.

Daisy Daisy

Once again I have got slightly sidetracked. I have a plan for a slightly bigger knitted toy, but other things keep getting in the way. My best sellers at the craft fair were my baby shoes. I added a cream dupion silk shoebag to keep them in, which I have also added to the shoes for sale on Etsy. But noticing that I only sold the decorated shoes, I decided to jazz up the few plain ones I have left with some handknit daisies. I love daisies: such a simple but pretty flower. 

So I set about designing some daisies. I have knitted fairly large ox-eye daisies for the shoes, but then thought I would also have a go at some tiny daisies, like the ones on my lawn. So this pattern shows you how to make flat daisies for decoration in both sizes, and how to knit a stem and sepal back if you want a really realistic flower. The pattern for these daisies is available on Ravelry.

Just to show you what you could use your daisies for I knitted a hairband, which is probably heading to my Etsy shop.  I just love these little daisies, and think they could look lovely on all sorts of things.

Little One was not really in the mood to have her photo taken in the garden, and she was suffering from hayfever. A bit ironic really, though I guess knitted flowers is one solution.

These Boots Were Meant for Walking ...

I have been thinking about feet quite a lot lately. Before embarking on something new I decided to make just one more pair of Baby Bee Booties with this lovely soft pink wool that I found in my stash. They are a bit compulsive. These ones are for sale in my Etsy shop. I have decided to never make a duplicate pair, as it is much more fun making them individual in some way. The pattern for these boots is available on ravelry, Craftsy or Etsy, and you can get there through the links in my sidebar.

After posting about the Leafy Cowl last Friday I somehow got up from the computer, and I think because I'd been sitting on my foot, got it caught in the chair, and fell over. Ridiculous I know. (As I was near the computer, and not the phone, I did for a few moments think I might have to blog for HELP!) My right foot is now one enormous bruise. I thought about putting on a photo, but it is so horrible it would probably scare anyone from my blog for good.

It is on the mend now, but I was housebound for most of the weekend, and going a bit stir crazy. It really made me consider how hard it is for folk who can't get out and about for whatever reason. 

Baby Daisy Shoes

Here is my second version of the baby shoe. I've called it the Baby Daisy Shoe, and although I started off intending to just embroidery daisies, you can see I got a bit carried away. It is very simple to just add a little bumble bee.

White daisies are my favourite, but on these deep red shoes, I thought a pink gerbera would look better. The centre of the flowers is made with a collection of french knots.

And here are some more flowers that I really love: bluebells.

The knitting pattern is available on ravelry. You can use any doubleknit wool, and the embroidery is there to inspire the imagination. The shoes are knitted on two needles, and in one piece, and is sized for 0-3 months, or 3-6 months. It is a very easy knit. You can knit them in two shades, although I also like the look of the ones at the top of the page where I have just used one colour. I love this wool with all its little random flecks.

I am going to put these samples, and some of my Baby Bee Shoes, into my Etsy Shop. So if you aren't into knitting, but would like a pair of baby daisy shoes, some of these will appear there soon.  I think they would make a great gift for a new born. 

I have decided to put a bit of effort into the finished objects section of my shop over the next month. At present it doesn't look very appealing, with it's one phone cosy. 

I have an idea for a cute, but educational toy ...

Baby Bee Shoes

At the Christmas craft fairs this year, I had one or two people ask me if I did my little knitted shoes in baby sizes. So I decided to scale down the pattern and make a baby version. 

My original children's pattern comes in two varieties: the daisy pump (which can be knitted in two colours), and a garter stitch version, which I called puppy paws, as they are embroidered to look like little paws.

I thought I could do both types in a baby version. I have knitted quite a little pile of garter stitch boots, and now I can't quite decide. I really love the way they look plain. I know they are very simple, but that is what appeals to me. But I have no idea whether other people will like them. So here they are plain ...

.... and here they are decorated.

When Frankie was a baby we called her Baby Bee for a while, so that is why I decided to embroider the bees. As our second child she was our B Baby, and she also had a little stripey suit that made her look like a Bumble Bee. 

Puppy Paws

I am going to put all the pictures on the pattern, so I guess the decorating is just an option. The pattern has two sizes: 0 - 3 month and 3 - 6 months. And as usual I have written these out separately, as I find patterns with brackets confusing.

They are knitted in double-knit wool, on quite a small needle, which means they are a firm knit. Any double-knit wool would work, but I have recommed some of the Sirdar wools I used in my samples. I wanted the booties to be quite structured, almost with the feel of a felted shoe. More shoe-like that sock-like. I really like knitting them, as it almost seems magical, how with a little bit of shaping the shoe shape is formed. And as they are on two needles with just one seam to sew up they are fairly simple. 

Knitted With Sirdar Snuggly Tiny Tots DK

What I am excited about is that I have a real baby model lined up. So expect a few more pictures next week. 

The pattern is available on ravelry. Follow the link in my side bar.

I have started work on the daisy version, which should be ready soon.