Earlier this month, during a moment of weakness, I splurged on some lovely Posh Yarn. 6 skeins of Bonnie Aran to be precise. On a whim I’d decided I wanted to try my hand at making a jumper and oh! What a coincidence, it was the day of the weekly Posh Yarn update. For those not in the know, yarn from Posh is highly coveted and once a week, on a Sunday evening, a selection of yarn goes on sale on their website. Getting what you want can be a bit of an elbow fight but that just adds to the excitement! The thrill of the chase somehow makes you want that yarn all the more.

So I sat there with bated breath that Sunday evening, my fingers itching as I waited for the clock to strike 7 and the update to go live. My heart began to thud as I refreshed and the buy button appeared next to that precious yarn I wanted. Several furious clicks later and… success! The yarn was mine, hurrah!

Two days later and a delicious pink package bursting with yummy yarn arrived at my door. Bonnie Aran is an Aran weight yarn (if you hadn’t guessed) made from 100% BFL wool and wow it smells sheepy! The colour, Another woman’s shoes, is a very autumnal rusty brown and just perfect for this time of year. I’d best get cracking on that jumper then!

Having never knitted anything larger than a sock or a hat, I initially wanted to find a simple, plain-ish pattern to ease me into the world of garment making. Then I fell in love the lacy cable-y beauty that is Julissa. Take a look at the pattern on Ravelry and prepare to swoon. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end!

I was making an iCord recently when the idea struck me that if I made one large enough I could slide a biro inside to make a cute yarn-bombed pen. Now I don’t know about you but when I get a crafty idea I have to stop what I’m doing and try it out immediately. Away went my current project, out came some more needles and yarn and hurrah, it worked! As soon as I stitched the end up I knew it would look even better with some kind of embellishment attached. What better than a large fluffy pom pom?

What do you think of my pom pom pens? Would you be interested in a tutorial on how to make them? Let me know and I’ll write one up.

I designed this cosy case to help protect my beloved mobile phone from getting scratched in my handbag. If you’re like me, always rooting in your bag trying to locate your phone, this makes it remarkably easy to find! The finished case is stretchy and should fit most modern smart phones.

The pattern is composed entirely of knit and purl stitches and would be a great project for a beginner. It is knitted in the round from the bottom up using Judy’s magic cast on so there are no annoying seams to sew. Don’t be scared of the magic cast on, it’s super easy once you know how.

Instructions:

Cast on 32 sts using Judy’s magic cast on technique. Knit first row.

Begin pattern:

Row 1: Knit

Rows 2, 3 and 4: (P5, K3) x 4

Row 5: Knit

Rows 6, 7 and 8: (P1, K3, P5, K3, P4) x 2

Repeat rows 1-8 5 times or until the case fits over your phone with an inch to go. End in a Knit row.

The last few rows are knitted in moss(seed) stitch as follows:

Row 1: (K1, P1) repeat to end of row

Row 2: (P1, K1) repeat to end of row

Repeat these two rows until the case reaches the desired length.

Cast off in moss stitch and weave in ends.

That’s it! Please feel free to share your finished objects, I’d love to see them.

How do you keep your gadgets safe from scratches? For the first of my acrylic stash busting projects I decided to knit covers for my mobile and kindle to help protect them from keys and other pointy objects in my handbag. I think they turned out rather well. What do you think?

The Kindle cover is made from a pattern called kindle cables which can be found on Ravelry.

The mobile cosy is a pattern I devised myself (my first pattern!) which I will post tomorrow. It’s a super quick knit and can be completed in a couple of hours. Perfect for a last minute gift, maybe?

Have you knitted covers for your gadgets? I’d love to see them if you have.