For Hope

Hope is a little Wellington girl who is turning 4 this week, she was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago.  Rachael (who took the stunning photos) summed it up when she wrote “In New Zealand, when a child is diagnosed with cancer, they start receiving beads. The beads are part of their story and recognise and honour a child’s bravery throughout their journey with child cancer. They are collected at each hospital visit, and for each treatment they receive on their journey” And yes, Hope, 2 years on from her first diagnosis has 900 beads.  Hope had been in remission and had been treatment free for about 5 months.

Her family has recently learnt that Hope’s cancer has returned and is spreading, unfortunately this time it cannot be treated and her family have been given a very short time frame to spend time with her.  There are so many people out there who are currently raising money for Hope and her family so they can enjoy as much time together without having to worry about the financial side of things. 

So I have teamed up with Hannah from Red Riding Hood Yarns for a raffle that I hope everyone will like. 

(click to enlarge)

With Georgies permission, I am offering to custom knit a Sorello or Fratello for a little person of your choosing.  The pattern starts at sz 6 months and I am willing to knit up to a sz 6.  I will be knitting with some gorgeous yarn from Red Riding Hood Yarns that Hannah is kindly donating and will custom dye in whatever colours the winner chooses.

Pictured below is some samples of the gorgeous yarn Hannah has dyed.

So, how do you enter?

- You must make a $5 donation to my bank account –
Kristina Roberts, 03 1700 0172932 001

-  After you've made your donation pop back here and leave your receipt number/reference with a comment and a way to get hold of you.

-  You can enter as many times as you like, so if you want to deposit for example $20, then you'll have 4 entries

- I will close this on Friday 26th February, winner will be drawn at 8.30pm New Zealand time.  Please keep in mind that any donations transferred on the 26th will not show in my account in time.

- I will accept PayPal donations from people overseas, my paypal address is k_roberts@itbytes.co.nz (I would be extremely grateful if you could cover the fees so I don’t have to)

- After the closing date, all money raised will be passed on to Hope’s family.

Many thanks to Julia, who allowed me to borrow pictures of Hope and text from her Blog and to Georgie Hallam who allowed me the use of her photos of Sorello and Fratello

Well Overdue – Part 2, Julia Stanfield

Welcome back to todays edition of Well Overdue, we now head into part 2 of goodness knows how many parts and today we focus on a good friend of mine, Julia Stanfield.  I was lucky enough to test-knit Julia’s 1st and 2nd designs and lets just say I hope they are not her last.

 
The first pattern, The Little Rascals, is actually 3 patterns in one.  First up, there is the Little Hoodlum that is a stylie modern looking hoodie.  I loved knitting this pattern, the way Julia has set things out, it is easy to follow and you can actually knit this without the hood if you prefer and add a collar instead – both options are great.

Again, like most of the patterns I like, this pattern comes in a wide range of sizes from NB to sz 10 making it definitely value for your money.  It can also be knit in both 8ply and 10ply yarn, how awesome is that? 

But remember how I said it’s technically 3 patterns in 1? The other options that I haven’t finished knitting yet are Young Einstein, which is a  v-necked cardigan or jacket and Hotshot, which is a v-necked vestee, again both options can be knit with a hood or collar or just left plain which looks equally as good.

The 2nd design is Teacher's Pet, which is a gorgeous, simple seamless dress with so many options to get a unique dress every time.

I ran out of time on this one, but like its predecessor, this little beauty can also be knit with a hood to keep those little heads warm, other options for this pattern are a belt and belt loops, eyelet holes so you can add a ribbon or an i-cord,  different hem options and 3 different options for the skirt - a full skirt, a box pleat and a petal style pleat. (pictured above is the box pleat, and below is the full skirt with ruffle hem)

This pattern is  available in sizes from 3m to sz 4, and can be knit in either 8ply or 10ply.  The pattern is well set out, easy to read and a rather quick knit.  I have plans for a full skirt one for my little miss for the coming winter, and I don’t think that will be my last.

Well Overdue – Part 1, Hats

It’s been so long since I last updated that everyone has probably forgotten who I am :P  To save you having to read numerous posts about each individual knits I’ve done lately, I’ll squeeze them into a few categories and pop up a few posts over the next few days :)  In no particular order, we have hats!

First up, I test-knit this gorgeous beret for a friend of mine.  It’s called the Dolce Beret and was designed by the lovely Sheryl Greenfield.  It’s available in a few sizes from toddler to adult.  The red one pictured below is a sz medium and fits both my 3yo and 7yo.

This was my first real go at lace other than the odd lace borders on bigger garments,  I found the pattern easy to read and understand, I recommend it for anyone who wants a stylish hat perfect for the cooler seasons.

The next hat was also a test-knit, the Hoo Hat is another quick and easy hat with the option of either one single owl cable or a whole band of them.

Designed by Celia Ng, this hat is available in sizes from baby to adult so you can knit one for everyone in the family.

And last but not least, we have a few pinwheel beanies which are still one of my favourite hat patterns,  so quick and easy once you get going, it’s a must have pattern for everybody.  I won’t bore you with all of them, just a couple of my favourites

Modified Beanie with no eyelets and a knitted flower sewn on top. 
Another modified beanie in teeny size for my newborn (at the time) niece

Right, enough for now – would rather no-one fell asleep on me :P