Yeah - Almost There

I am almost at the finishing line. I have 6 more rows to knit until the last sleeve is cast off. I have, of course, still got to stitch it all together but I am heaving a huge sigh of relief as I can now do some crocheting without feeling guilty. I am not one for having too many WIP at any one time. I try to limit it to one or two at the most. Once I put something down I tend to leave it down and then don't go back to it - ever. When I was younger I used to have bags full of half finished things scattered all around the house but as I have a limited attention span these days I find one or two things are my limit.

I am posting some more photos from the Crochet For Babies Book. These will be the last ones even though I have only photographed about half of the book. The book has 40 patterns in it and almost every one of them are usable patterns which is rare in books these days.

The purple jacket and crown hat is labelled Prince Charming as is by Darla Sims. I do think though that the outfit is more suited to a girl than a boy. I would never have dressed my boy in anything like that except to maybe make the hat as a birthday crown.

The Sailor Baby jacket by Svetlana Avrakh would make a lovely jacket for a boy. It is a simple design but just adding the embroidered anchor motif and the sailor collar makes it more unusual.

I love the Seaside Cardigan by Nanette Seale with a fish motif. At first glance I thought that it was Tunisian crochet but it isn't. I think that I will have to practise the pattern stitch first as at first glance it all sounds complicated to me. Perhaps the penny will drop once I get some wool and a hook in my hand. Sometimes merely reading a pattern puts you off starting it as the way it reads isn't quite clear. I am determined to master the stitch though as I think that the jacket is a good solid non openwork stitch well suited to a boy.

Little Boy Blue by Laura Gebhardt is very similar to another double breasted jacket that I have made a few times. I think that the stitch is different to my older pattern but the style is the same and has proved very popular with mothers of boys as the stitch is close and non lacy.

The Sassy Style Sweater by Tammy Hildebrand is what I would describe as a long sleeved bolero. There are several pretty cardigan styles in the book that I haven't photographed and as this bolero fits from 2 - 6 yrs I think that it could possibly come in useful for my great grand daughters this summer along with a couple of other pretty cardigans in the book.

Color-Play Sweater and Beanie by Tammy Hildebrand could be a useful way of using up all of those one balls that we accumulate in stash. Again it fits from 2 - 6 yrs and works up quite chunky as the stitch is rib effect made by working around the posts.

The Get -Up and Go Shirt is a simple little T that could prove a popular top for the kind of summers that we experience in the UK. Once again it isn't too lacy so would cover a little girl's modesty without the need of a T or vest underneath. This only comes in 20 - 24" sizes but as it is worked side to side I would imagine that it is relatively easy to add a few more rows and make it a bit wider.

Yesterday I went to Tesco for my big shopping in the rain. Last night and today I keep falling asleep. I think that I will go back to my old CPAP mask as this tiredness has only come on since I changed masks. I keep falling asleep for ten minutes here and there which is just what I was like before I got diagnosed and given the mask. If I swap masks and this carries on then I will know that it is my medication and not the mask. I was woken up four times last night with the pain in my knees so I don't get good quality sleep anyway. I was downstairs before 7am this morning but fell asleep over my coffee and then again over my Sunday newspaper. I even fell asleep half way through my breakfast which could have been dangerous as I woke up with a mouthful of food that I hadn't chewed and swallowed.

My knees are a bit painful today but they ache more when there is a change in the weather. Today it was very misty when I woke up and it is very dull and drizzly.

My Internet crochet friend June went to the Olympia Craft show in London and from here description it sounds far better than any craft shows that we get here in Manchester.I didn't go to this year's show in Manchester as I was disappointed with last years show. It was full of card making items and cross stitch and embroidery and so few wool stalls. June is saying that there is another craft exhibition at Alexandra Palace in October and I know that she really enjoyed last years show. Maybe next year I will be able to go down to London. I will probably have to give Woolfest a miss this year as I could be in hospital for my first knee op in June.

The fish motif sweater photo appeared on the blog in the wrong order but I am sure that you can work put which description fits it.