Leonardo TMNT

I knitted him for my lovely boyfriend who has idolised Leo since he was just a little child (awww)

Pattern: http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.com/2008/04/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-tmnt.html

I changed the shell pattern as I wasn't too keen on the tiny shell.

Craig loves it.

A little birdie

A wee lil birdie!

Stash buster and I got the pattern here: http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.com/2008/04/sweet-little-bird.html

I'll probably be doing most of these patterns in the near future.

As soon as I knit this bird, literally sewing on it's tail, my nephew pinched it from me. So a crappy photo, I aplogise.

Hat Dilemma

Here's the situation.... My adorable nephew, Brandon, wants me to knit him a hat. I know that ear flap hats suit him (as he wore my Snitch hat as soon as I made it, cheeky bugger). I also think that a nice Norwegian style would work best.

I've been searching for patterns for inspiration, I want to knit him something personal and fun, but also something that wont embarrass the almost-12-year-old that he is.

Any help or advice on knitting charts etc would be great.

The Yarn Files

I read letsKnit magazine, and unlike other magazines I find it fresh and young, with giggles thrown in. They have a section called the yarn files, so I thought I'd give it ago. Illustration by my dear boyfriend.

Name: Laura
Ravelry alias: perdi1309
WIP: A pair of socks.
UFO: A jumper for my boyfriend for xmas
FYS: Allsorts in Wednesbury, Wulfrun Wools and Crafts is Wolverhampton & ebay.
Favourite book: Currently 'Charmed Knits' by Allison Hansel or printed off patterns
Knitting heaven: Comfy chair whilst my bf is playing one of his games
Knitting hell: Having to undo over 20 rows because you forgot to shape armholes
Knitting hero: My mom (who taught me to knit) and my friend Gill (who taught me to purl)
Knitting ambition: To get this jumper done by Christmas
Least likely to knit: Something to be felted
Fantasy stash: My own little textile studio, where I can knit to my hearts content.
Knitting motto: (stolen from some witty so-n-so on cafepress) "Instant knitter, just add coffee"

Gift Bags

As I made the hedgehog and daisy key chain as gifts, I wanted to put them in something, so I knit up these bags this afternoon. They're simple increase/decrease and yo. The main bag is made with Robin yarn, the ties are just Wendy Frizzante. I like how the pink clashes with the green. See? My year at art school wasn't for nothing!

Weekend Tales

Well I've just finished a short scarf. I'm calling it my Luna scarf, it has a pretty 'lace' pattern and I rather like it. I'll talk about it more once I have a photo for it.

Over the weekend I discovered a little yarn shop in Wolverhampton that I never knew existed. So naturally I entered....and bought. I got a nice pack of stoney coloured yarn (500g) for little over £5, I was very impressed. Then I splurged the same amount on one ball of beautiful yarn, as I'm a sucker for self striping. This is a wonderful little yarn shop and I realise where I'll be spending my time after uni is done for the day! Such a lovely selection of yarns, I'm going to have to sample bamboo yarn.

But finding this yarn shop does not mean I wont be purchasing at Allsorts in Wednesbury. That's my local store, that I can pop in at the weekend and just instantly find the perfect finishing touches to a project.

There's also a yarn store in Birmingham's indoor Market, the only negative to this one is that you can smell the fresh fish and meat and it does rather put me off.
I've given up on Helen's Haberdashery in Walsall, it just never seems to be open when I'm in town.

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Today though I've done a little shopping, get some fresh jeans and a pair of boots to start my second year of uni! And also the fact that I turn 20 next month. So I had a mooch at what will be fashionable this winter, and WIN because I saw alot of knitted accessories! Berets seem a popular option this winter, and chunky socks. I have a feeling my socks and beret will match. Also Bohemian is the trend this Autumn, so knitting is perfectly incorporated!

Also planning a break with my boyfriend sometime soon, just to the coast, so if it's Autumn, we're going to need knitted things!

Operation Tiny Teddy

This little guy was a boredom buster, and I love it! It's on a gig ticket for size comparisson. Really small!
Here's the pattern: http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2008/12/christmas-tree-bears.html

I'm going to make some more & maybe some bunnies. They're so cute.