Alice Jean

Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, Three bags full. One for the master, One for the dame, And one for the little boy Who lives down the lane. The end .

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown, Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, "Are the children in their beds, for now it's eight o'clock?"

Goosey, goosey, gander, Whither shall I wander? Upstairs, and downstairs, And in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man Who wouldn't say his prayers! I took him by the left leg And threw him down the stairs.

First of all the pink socks are finished. I used a leftover of 50 grams of this self patterning Opal, enough for a pair of trainer socks. There is even some wool left. I'm not very content how they turned out however, I used needle size 2.5 mm and I find the stitches are too loose and therefor a bit irregular. Size 2 mm knit a bit to tight though, so I guess 2.25 mm would be best with this yarn. Alas I don't have them. And I haven't seen Addi 100 cm circulars that size. So if anyone knows where they are available or do know a good alternative, please let me know ;). Oh, I like unequal patterned socks :). And then I felted a pair of socks into slippers for D. That was not my intention, I knew I had to wash them by hand. The socks were in a pile of wash I put in the machine without sorting it first. A bad thing to skip, everyone knows, but it happened. After a 40 degrees cycle, the came out a lot smaller than they were before. After 2 more cycles they are nearly Doortjes size...

WIP Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross To see a fine lady upon a white horse With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes She shall have music wherever she goes To be continued...

WIP Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, And all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty together again!

WIP Hickory Dickory Dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, The mouse ran down! Hickory Dickory Dock.

My friend Darcy thinks I don't have enough knitting bags. She is right. Until she sent me a felted bag, I stored and carried my work in plastic bags. Today a package arrived with a brand new knitting bag. Castles and dragons, I love phantasy themes! Within the bag I found this dishcloth she made me. There was also a bar of dark chocolate, but that didn't make it to the photo. Thanks so much Darcy!

An advantage of knitting toe up socks is one can try them on while still on the needles. We were in the garden, Doortje playing and me knitting when I tried the socks on. She likes to imitate, so she wanted to fit them too. And she wanted too leave them on her feet for almost half an hour, no way of getting back my work :-). No need to say she loves the colours!

Also a gift for a new born baby, together with a bar of organic baby soap. With fabric paint baby's name is written on the other side of the mitten. Easy to knit, all in the round, with two threads together of DK weight cotton. This is how: Cast on 48 stitches, (or a multiple of six) leaving a long tail on a 30 cm 4 mm circular needle. Knit in the round 2 rows garter stitch. Place stitch marker between the first and last stitch. Then start the pattern: row 1: * k3, p1, k1, p1 * repeat from * row 2: * k3, p3 * repeat from * row 3: * k3, p1, k1, p1 * repeat from * row 4: knit all stitches row 5: * p1, k1, p1, k3 * repeat from * row 6: * p3, k3 * repeat from * row 7: * p1, k1, p1, k3 * repeat from * row 8: knit all stitches Repeat these 8 rows until the desired length. Graft stitches together. Strap at bottom: crochet 10 stitches and fasten of the end of yarn. And two more mice will leave this home soon ;-).

Aren't they lovely? My friend Darcy made the for me. What a precious gift! Thanks Darcy!

The cat is a cuddling toy, only the head is stuffed. I made this as a birth present, but as I am terribly behind with making those, the baby is almost a toddler :). The mouse is for her big brother. I have browsed Internet for a good pattern, but could not find one. In the end I decided it would save me time to start knitting and designing the pattern myself meanwhile. So I started well, wrote down what I did after almost every row. When the body was knitted I was not content with it, it was too big for my purpose and the knitting itself was too loose and therefor ugly. I used needle size 4 mm, as recommended at the label of the yarn. I frogged the whole thing and started again with needle size 3 mm. And forgot to write down anything while knitting. I did afterwards and I hope it will make any sense. I am absolute rubbish in following patterns myself. I have tried to put it down as clear as it can be, but I will fully understand if you don't catch it :). Please feel free to let me ...

DD is a typical 3 year old who loves modelling, sticking, cutting, painting and scribbling. The effort counts more to her then the result. With an empty cone, pieces of fabric and thread cuts she created a lovely 'princess'.

I know, the ribbed legs look very tight, but this fits DS-15's slim feet and legs best. Don't ask silly questions about the size, I really don't know. We tried them on his feet as we go! He is very pleased with them and will wear them most in weekends or during the holidays as he needs plain black or charcoal grey socks for school. I used Opal sock yarn. Don't know what type since the label is missing. DS-12 wants a pair of socks too now, something 'with red'.