When I bought the yarn for Mr Stitches’ Snowflake Jacket I bought waaaaaaaay too much of it. I can almost hear Mr S snorting “no surprise there, then!”.

So what’s a girl to do?  Ma Stitches and her lightning fast needles to the rescue, and two cute knits for Button and The Boy:

The Boy’s sweater is Gavyn by Amanda Blackford. Button’s is Eyelet Yoke Cardigan by Sarah Hoadley.  Both are available as free downloads on Ravelry.  Aren’t people just so generous with their talents.  Thank you to both ladies for sharing these patterns.

And there’s still enough of the grey left for another Gavyn, which shall soon be winging its way to my nephew, Jacob. Just in perfect time for the British summertime!  Today’s Spring is overcast, cold and wet.  Just right for new knits.

Thanks Ma.

The news is dominated by the freak weather conditions here in the UK.  Our street is packed ice and snow…even the little local bus doesn’t brave it but sticks to the main roads which are clearer thanks to gritters and use.

We don’t have to venture out of the house, so we haven’t since Sunday.  Except for Mr S who made an expedition to the supermarket for supplies.

Whilst keeping Button entertained and her decibel levels below that of Concorde has been priority (although most of Mr S’s work colleagues have commented on the capacity of her lungs at some time or other this week), I’ve still managed a little knitting and sewing on the side.

The dpns have arrived for the sleeves for the Lucy cardigan, and over the weekend I’ll pick that up again, I think.  However I’ve been mostly working on my Miss Matty jacket:It’s the New Lanark Jacket from Woolfish, available as a free pattern here.  The yarn is their New Lanark Yarn, which I purchased at Harrogate in November.

However, having watched Cranford at Christmas I can’t help but think of it as Miss Matty, as Judi Dench wore a garter stitch shawl in an almost identical colour throughout the show:I started it sometime over the Christmas holiday.  When exactly is lost in a mist of good red wine and chocolate. Suffice to say I’ve finished the back and am halfway up the first front.  After the Snowflake Jacket this is mind-soothingly simple to knit with minimal shaping to give it swing.  I can curl up in the evenings and watch a movie and knit another section. During the day I can knit a half row or so before being required to kiss dolly or put her hat on.  It’s easily left and picked back up and forgives being pulled off the needles on a regular basis by little fingers.

As the routine of afternoon naps starts to be reinstated after the excitement of Christmas, I’ve also cut out the fabric for the kitchen door curtain and have pattern-matched and seamed the first two widths together.  Two more to go…that’s another 5 meters of seaming before I get to the linings.  However I know the pole is ready at the smithy.  As soon as the delivery van can get through the snow it will be here.

Best get sewing!

Ma Stitches is back again still trying to sign for her new flat.  The gross incompetence of the housing agency is astonishing to say the least.  Hopefully by this time tomorrow we’ll finally have the keys.

The good news is that once again she has a morsel of knitting for Button in her case.  This time it’s this little beauty:I have absolutely no idea what the yarn is other than it’s cotton that I had in my stash.  The pattern also is a mystery. I’ve downloaded it from somewhere on the internet and can’t for the life of me find it again.  So apologies to the lovely designer…if you can help me out I’ll be thrilled to make the necessary acknowledgements.