Old Faithful

I suppose we all have an 'old faithful' - something we know we can return to that will always deliver. It could be a recipe that you know won't fail when time is short and guests are due; an article of clothing that suits both you as well as most occasions; a local site that never fails to impress out-of-town visitors; or, in this particular context, a creative project that can be achieved when you are between projects, wanting to use up odds and ends, or just want to create without having to think too hard about it.

My old faithful is knitting hot water bottle covers. I began about 8 years ago by following a free knitting pattern from Rowan, making it as a gift for a friend who was to be spending 6 months travelling around Scotland in a camper van.  She is a fan of hearts and so it seemed perfect for her. It takes about 2 balls of wool and over the years I have adapted the pattern for different yarn, with different edging and with various patterns and embellishments. It is great for using up left-over yarn (stripes), or if you find a couple of balls of yarn that take your fancy in your local yarn store's sale basket.

The last one I knitted was way back in October. I was handing over child-minding responsibility for my godson to his aunt (coincidently the sister of my friend who received the first knitted hot water bottle cover). She lives on the other side of the country and don't see each other very often so I was very surprised when she presented me with a gift - four balls of super-chunky wool, two each of pink and purple, complete with two 10mm needles with two rows of knitting on them.  She had fallen in love with the yarn and set out on knitting herself something. I have no idea what her project was but she had admitted defeat and decided that I would be sure to be able to do something with it.

Fortunately three of the balls of wool still had their labels on so I could see the tension guide.  I therefore off I set with a calculator and sheet of graph paper to rework the Rowan pattern for a yarn that was much, much thicker.

The raw materials

I'd already decided that I was making it for my godson's aunt and the reason I'm only sharing it now is two-fold; I had to wait until my godson's 4th birthday party for an opportunity to see his aunt and surprise her with the gift returned; and I forgot to take a photo of it so had to ask her to photograph it when she got home and email me the results. (I'm learning fast that if I am to be a blogger, I need to be an avid photographer too.) Anyway, I hope you like the results as much as the recipient (she was so surprised and touched by the gesture that she cried - just the perfect response for a handmade gift!)

The finished article

Back view (with needle felted buttons)

In case you are wondering, the holiday project is about a third done but is being put aside because the BIG NEWS is that I have just been reunited with my sewing machine!  It is apparently all fixed so I'm sure you can guess what I'll be doing this weekend....and I can't wait!