Flame was so exciting, I immediately cast on for a smaller shawl/kerchief with what was left over.

The pattern I used was 198 yds. of Heaven by Christy Verity.  This is one of those extremely popular patterns with 5021 projects on Ravelry and it had been in my library for some time.  As a pattern, it was not quite as well structured or as much fun to knit as the Shetland Lace Triangle Shawl, but this is a free pattern which is a generous gift to share with other knitters…so I am just gonna say thanks Christy.

Again, I blocked it very hard.  Geeky deets ravelled here.

I have still got a little bit left but not enough to make anything without combining it with another yarn…maybe a crochet flower brooch?

I also wanted to give you a peek at the gifts I made for Our Dear Boy recently.  A friend asked me recently if I only gave handmade gifts to my kids and I realised it might seem that way if you just considered what I post.  The answer is no, my kids receive a mix of bought and handmade gifts.  I am completely certain they would come to quickly revile me and birthdays if they only ever received homemade things! Besides, I don’t know how to make Lego or Playmobile…I certainly can’t knit them!

What I do love is that my kids will ask me to make things for them. I try to keep a list of things they have asked for and make a few things for birthdays and Christmas.  Sometimes, they think that I can make stuff like saddles, rafts or real armour but usually the requests are more modest and within my capabilities.  It probably won’t last…but whilst they do still enjoy what mamma makes, I am gonna make it.

This is something Our Dear Boy has long held a hope for… baby carrier, similar to the one he and his sister were carried in, that could fit Big Bear and Emma the Dog.

I made it from an old pair of his Dad’s jeans and used the basic shapes of our baby carrier scaled down to fit his back and waist.

Pleating adds some shaping to the carrier and I used soft loop velcro on the waistband.

The shoulder straps are not adjustable but should fit for a while. The attachment points are reinforced, more for the decorative effect than for strength…Big Bear is not very heavy.

My Boy and I also talked sometime ago about a crochet seat cover for his bike.  For some reason, his bike seat has worn the years heavily and is held together with gaffer tape. Serviceable but in need of a bit of cosying don’t you think?

Here it is…a mamma has to make a crochet bike seat cover while she can…cos he won’t be asking for that in a few years time! Essentially, it is just a crochet triangle in double crochet (single crochet for you Americanos).  When I got to the right size, I stopped increasing at the corners and kept crocheting around to make the sides.

The cover is finished with some eyelets and threaded with strong twine to tighten around the underside of the seat.

Seeing as Our Dear Boy is a bit of a maker himself and has been trying out hand sewing recently, I thought a sewing kit was in order.  This is made from some scraps of linen destashed by a friend.

Embellishments were kept to a minimum, I just added an embroidered date.

These are the items the kit is stocked with.

The needle book is made from felt scraps.

The front decoration is a crochet leaf taken from a beret I frogged some time ago.

When do kids stop asking for hand made?  I gotta get ready!