Drumboe Forest

books 012
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

My son and his friend look very small compared to the lanky trees in Drumboe, although it is Autumn this looks like spring foilage. It was a beautiful Sunday walk and the boys had great fun exploring and skimming stones in the nearby river Finn.

Preemie Ribbed Beanie + Flower

Preemie Ribbed Beanie + Flower
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

Another little hat - I can't resist this pattern, I went the whole hog and put a crochet flower on too. I made the flower without a pattern, so I am very proud of myself!!!! I have no idea yet who will take these little hats, so anyone from a baby unit in Donegal, Derry or even in the rest of the country, can leave a comment. I am turning out one a night and as the crochet technique gets better, I will have no trouble making 3 or 4!!!!

Sirdar Matinee Jacket

Sirdar Matinee Jacket
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This is a little jacket which I have knit for a "just-in-case" present. Sometimes a workmate or friend will ask if I have anything knit for a baby, so I like to keep a few things handy Just-in-case!!! The pattern is from a booklet which I bought as part of a "lot" in a 2nd hand book store. I got about 200 patterns in leaflet/book form, I was so happy. There are some very old Patons leaflets among these, and one booklet devoted to booties!!

The jacket turned out beautiful, although the pattern was a tad awkward, by this I mean that the lace pattern was worked on the wrong side as well as the right side, I like to have a straight row between patterns so that I can have a look at the TV!!!! Anyway, I will probably do this one again because the result was well worth the effort, but not a jacket to knit if I am in a hurry for a quick pressie!!!

Vannas Choice Booties

Vannas Choice Booties
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

These are my first crochet booties, and as you can see they are slightly different!!! I am so used to knitting booties and could almost knit anything with my eyes closed - but I have to concentrate so much when doing crochet!!! The other thing I have a problem with is tension. I am a "tight" knitter and usually do a size bigger than needed because of my tension. A consistant tension is more difficult for me to maintain in crochet, but I expect that I will get better with practice!!

Hata #5

Preemie Ribbed Beanie
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This hat is called Preemie Ribbed Beanie, and is on Suzies Stuff site as a free pattern. I LOVED this pattern, and learned 2 new stitches, fpdc & bpdc, the effect of these stitches pleased me so much, I will be looking for them in other patterns!! I used scraps of wool which would usually have been dumped, so I will be keeping "bits" in future to make more of these.

Hata #4

Popcorn Hat
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This is from a site called learn-how-to-crochet.com. It turned out a bit bigger than I thought, but as I was only using scrap wool and getting a bit of practice with a new stitch (Popcorn) I didn't really mind about the size.

golden hands no.1

golden hands no.1
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

I bought this book in a chartiy shop a couple of weeks ago - what a find!!! Even better I got 3 others as well - no's. 2 3 6
I was so excited, and the shop assistant was looking for €2 each, which I thought was a bit expensive for a 2nd hand book, but anyway I went to walk back to the bookcase when she shouted "OK give me €4 for all of them" I couldn't believe my luck!! I took them home and had a good look through them I decided that they were worth more than she asked in the first place!!! I give lots to that chartiy shop, and I buy some things too, so I don't feel TOO guilty. The books have knitting, crochet, sewing and some other needlecraft stuff, all from the 1970's, some fantastic "Retro" things. I will post anything I make here so you can see what a bargain I got!

My Treasured Book

woolcraft P & B
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This is a book which was given to me by my Granny about 20 years ago. I wrote to P & B and they dated the book 1938. There are patterns for babies, children and adults - underwear and outerwear!! There is also lots of instructions for stitches in K & C. I keep this book tucked away safely because the cover is a bit delicate - the inside pages are much more durable and are unharmed by the use which it received. I would say that the patterns were done so many times that the bookwas not needed every time!!!

Hata #3

Hata #3
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

I love this little hat, from Lionbrand too. There is a rib border made first and then worked on the round to the top. I didn't have enough green, so I added a couple of lemon stripes.

Hata #2

Hata #2
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This hat is on the round, and a delight to knit, I would like to do it a bit bigger next time. It Teresa's 10min Crochet Preemie Hat, it took me a "bit" longer than that though, maybe 1 hour and 10 min!!! The pattern is a link on Bev's Country Cottage website.

Hata #1

Hata #1
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

This is my first garment entirely crocheted. A few weeks ago I decided to make use of my large collection of patterns, having always knit my favourites, the others never saw the light of day!!! I have many to choose from, and it's about time I made my hobby more interesting. This little hat is from Bev's Country Cottage, and it also starts my collection of hats for charity. I would like to give them to a local charity, failing that I will contact Paul O'Grady's charity which appeared in Woman's Weekly recently.

Fascinated!!!!

Fascinator
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

I made this fascinator recently for my mothers best friend. (my DD is modelling!!!) The colours are to match a wedding outfit, she was the grooms mother. I have made a couple before, B & W, red & black, and turquoise & cream. They are easy enough to make, you need some craft skills, enough materials, a comb/clip, and lots of patience!!!! Some of the feathers can be expensive, but I shop around. When you are finished there will be feathers in odd places, on your clothes, in your mouth and sticking to your fingers, did I mention that superglue plays a major part in all this!!!!!!

Sunset in April, Co. Donegal

Sunset in April, Co. Donegal
Originally uploaded by lizzysbits

I know this is a little later than April, but, I forgot about this picture until I uploaded recent wedding shots. I took this picture out of my kitchen window, it was a really beautiful sunset and the photo just about does it justice. I couldn't avoid the ugly overhead wires.