Good morning.
Been busy this week knitting items to sell at a pop up shop for a cat charity.  They asked for cat related items so I thought these would fit the bill.  The cat is Sox by Alan Dart and the cushion cover is a pattern I bought a while ago in aid of Battersea.

How to crochet an octopus

Hello there,
Here is the pattern for the crochet octopus, ideal for premature babies, who find them comforting.

You will need:
About 20g of DK wool
3.5mm crochet hook
bits of red and black wool for embroidery

Abbreviations
ch = chain, dc = double crochet, tog = together

Head/body
Ch 2, dc 6 into 2nd ch
Row 1:  2 dc into each dc around (12)
Row 2:  (1 dc, 2 dc into next st) around (18)
Row 3:  (2 dc, 2 dc into next st) around (24)
Row 4:  (3 dc, 2 dc into next stitch) around (30)
Row 5:  (4 dc, 2 dc into next st) around (36)
Row 6:  (5 dc, 2 dc into next st) around (42)
Rows 7-9  1 dc into each st around (42)
Row 10:  (5dc, 2 dc tog) around (36)
Row 11:  (4 dc, 2 dc tog) around (30)
Row 12:  (3 dc, 2 dc tog) around (24)
Row 13:  (2 dc, 2 dc tog) around (18)
Row 14:  (1 dc, 2 dc tog) around (12)
Stuff firmly
Row 15:  2 dc tog around (6)
Fasten off, thread wool onto sewing needle and close hole

Tentacles (make 5)
Ch 40, 2 tr into each ch to end, fasten off.  The crochet will curl round by itself.

Sew tentacles to bottom of head/body.
Embroider eyes and mouth following photo.

Tutorial for shopping/tote bag

Hi,
This morning I've been busy making a new shopping bag, and thought I would share the tutorial with you.  These bags are easy to make, just a couple of hours, and are so handy now that supermarkets

 are charging for plastic carrier bags.  They also make good presents, as everyone can use a bag.
To make this bag you will need:

2 pieces of fabric 17" x 19".  I used upholstery fabric, as this is sturdy enough to not need interfacing.
2 pieces of lining fabric 17" x 19"
2 pieces of the main fabric 16" x 4" for the handles

With right sides together, sew around three sides of the fabric, allowing 1/2" seams, leaving the top edges open.  Cut off corners and trim seams to 1/4".
Do the same with the lining fabric, but leave a 4" gap in the bottom of the bag, to turn through later.
Cut off corners and trim seams to 1/4".
To give the bag more shape, I made a gusset at the bottom.  To do this, fold bottom corners, as shown, on the bag and the lining, with the seam in the middle.  Measure 3 1/2" across the corner, draw a line, and sew across this line.

Cut off excess fabric;
Now turn bag to right side, leave lining with wrong side out.  Place bag inside lining and match up side seams.

Put to one side and make the handles.
Fold handles in half lengthwise, right sides together and stitch long sides, allowing 1/4" seams.  Turn right side out and press.
Place handles inside bag, between the bag and lining fabric, with handles hanging down inside bag, approx 3" from each side seam.  Pin in place.
Sew around top edge of bag, allowing 1/2" seam.  Trim seam to 1/4", then turn whole bag through the gap left in the lining.  Press top edge and top stitch around if desired.
Hand or machine stitch the gap in the lining.

And there's your lined shopping bag.  It can be made any size you want, with longer handles if you prefer.  Happy Shopping!

Toys for the Christmas fair

Thought I'd make an early start on some toys for the Christmas fair this year, doing them throughout the year rather than a last minute rush in November.  These are the ones I've done so far this year.

The Mr men characters were from a free diary, in Lets Knit magazine, Mr Toad was from a Wind in the Willows pattern, purchased from Etsy, the dolls and Teddy from the Tearoom patterns, and Goldilocks and the Three bears from an excellent book by Fiona Goble called Fairy Tale knits, which I purchased from a half-price book store in the US for $2!

The octopuses were from my own pattern.  I'll post the instructions shortly on the blog.

New sweater

Good morning, and welcome to my blog.  I finally got round to knitting myself a new sweater, even though it's nearly spring.  Hopefully, I'll get some wear out of it, as cold weather and snow are forecast for the weekend.

This was a free Drops pattern found on Ravelry, knitted in 4ply.  It's knitted in the round, top down on circular needles.

Although I've been knitting for more than 50 years, I've only just started knitting on circular needles.  I enjoy it, but have realized that you really do need to have a decent quality circular needle to work with.  I just had a cheap bamboo one in the right size, I had to push and pull the stitches around the needle, and, as a result, the plastic cord snapped!  Not good when you have 400 stitches on the needle!

I'm pleased with the finished article, but did a size larger than usual, as Drops patterns do turn out quite small.