Warm Hands and Warm Hearts

After I've finished a 'big' project like my stripy blanket (Ok it's not that big but I still need to increase my Kph (knits per hour)), I decided a day of bits and pieces was in order.

Yesterday was a particularly Novemberish type of day here, unrelentingly grey with cold driving rain, boo. It was also Bikeability after school which meant a very cold, and dark, and late school run in the rain. Double boo. There were long faces and cold hands, and problems gripping the brakes on the bikes with slippy gloves on, on the slippery leafy pavements. 'Of course!' I immediately thought! It's a new use for the Ultimate Buggy Glove!http://makedoandmendquilts.blogspot.com/2009/10/ultimate-buggy-gloves.html

So last night I started knitting Little Lady sized buggy gloves, now renamed the Ultimate Buggy and Bike Gloves, of course! Super quick to knit so Warm Hands well on the way.

There was also some more birdy fun (OK, enough with the birds!) as the girls wanted birds for their rooms, here is Baby Buttons Warm Hearty bird garland. Little Ladies are awaiting stuffing when their new owner gets home from school! The hearts are made from 'Blankits',http://www.blankits.net/ little squares of recycled and re purposed wool blankets, dyed and felted. I bought a stack this year at the NEC Quilt Festival and they have been awaiting the perfect project. I'm thinking a Sue Spargo inspired pin cushion could be coming on?

And lastly, my final Warm Heart is a quilt that I made last summer when I was pregnant. I took the little gingerbread people pattern from Quilts!Quilts!!Quilts!!! by McClun and Knowles. They were lovely to hand piece and I loved them, but I was never happy with the centre of mine. In the real pattern they use 9 patch squares, but the contrast was too strong on mine and I felt it looked too busy so I didn't use it in favour of something simpler. Because I wanted it to be OK for a baby boy or a girl ( not knowing which flavour we were getting) I went with the blue to try and cancel out the fact it had all ended up a bit pink. But I was never happy with it, the blue is all a bit too cold and empty. So last night it got a warm hearts makeover with some scraps from the original quilt that we turned out of the bottom of the scraps bin. I know it's not much of a change, but I feel much happier with it now!

Anyway I have cold hands typing at the keyboard and a little Ultimate Bike Glove is waiting to be knitted so better get on.......!