I'm alive.... and kicking.. I mean knitting

So I know that I have been a very very slack blogger of late.. I completely understand if all my followers have un-followed me and never come here again... but I do have something to show from my absence...

It all starts when my wonderful friend Nessa and her lovely mother in law made Stella this AMAZING cardigan...

Not only am I a massive cardi fan anyway, but this one just takes the cardi cake.

Whilst visiting Nessa to collect our prize, Nessa was showing off some of her own knitting prowess. Beanies. Something I had never managed to work out. Every pattern I found talked of either double ended needles OR knitting on the round, both of which scared the beejeebus outta me. so I stuck to my standard 'pixie' hats...

Pixie Hats made by moi....

and the special Pixie Hat for my rainbow pixie jenjen...

BUT Nessa's MIL had taught her an easy way to make a beanie and well it was so easy I had to get out my needles and start a' knittin'.

I should add, I am far from a good knitter. My nan taught me to knit when I was just a little girl. She would cast on, I would knit a scarf and then she would cast off. I always planned to get her to teach me more, but well, she passed away before I had a daughter and really began to appreciate hand knitted wear. I'm really not into knitted stuff on boys, but my new found love of knitting has uncovered some boys jumpers I wish I was clever enough to make. But I digress.

So here are the products of my new found beanie knitting ability...

matching beanies for my boys... ok so this was not really intentional It started as a beanie for Xave, but well, it was a bit large, but it fits Adam, so perfect... then I had wool left, and I really loved the colour so Xave a made him a matching one too...

Im loving that Stels is getting into hat and shoe wearing. I look ridiculous in hats, so peeps please dont ever buy/make me a hat, but my baby girl looks amazing in well, anything. I am now on a mission for more cool, hippy, funky, hats... maybe I need to learn to crochet.

And for those of you who wish the know the secret... its so simple I cant believe I have never thought of it myself. Here it is, cast on the right number of stitches for around the head, knit the correct number of rows, then here's the easy bit, once its long enough, knit 2 stitches together... on every row, until you have 1 little stitch left... tie it off, and sew the seam together....

So I now have a whole stack on pretty wool I have bought to knit the kids up some beanies, Mum has asked me to make one for my step dad and a friend has asked me to knit for her cousin.. although I am planning to teach her to knit so she can do it herself. I have also started a cardi for Stels, although now that the wool is knitted I'm not sure I like it as much as I thought I would, so that cardi may be gifted away.

I also wanted to add, that nan never did teach me how to cast on or off. Once I re-caught the knitting bug, I got me off to you tube and learnt on line. My MIL is slightly useful for other bits and pieces, although her being left handed, and me not, its tricky for us both.