Linen and Liberty

Not a new combination, I expect, but one I think really works.  Liberty lawn is probably my favourite sort of fabric!



These are tiny notebooks with crispy laid paper hand stitched into a linen wrap-around cover, lined with Liberty lawn.  A leather tie winds around to keep the notebook closed.



Great for using up scraps of linen, whilst not eating up too much of your precious Liberty stash! Making one of these miniature books is a satisfying little project for an afternoon.



I used a variety of Essex linens and Liberty prints - can't decide on a favourite though! Will I be able to give these away, or will I have to keep them all??! One in each bag I think!

Ysolda's cadeautje

Happy New Year!
Before Christmas I was super-busy knitting four of these fantastic socks, from a pattern by Ysolda.  The word "cadeautje" translates from Dutch as (I think) "present" or "gift", which is exactly what these are perfect for.  I finished the last sock of the two pairs on Christmas Eve, and left them by the fire for the recipients to find on Christmas morning.  They went straight on and have been popular on our chilly floors ever since.



Then on Boxing Day, cast on for another pair! And when these are finished, I'll finally do a pair for myself.  I love the way the sole curves up at the toe, due to the clever way the stitches are picked up for the welt and then decreased into the toe cap.



As we've had some snow, I thought some pictures of these extra-cosy socks outdoors would be appropriate.



You do kind of need a good selection of needles for these.  I used double-pointed as well as a 45cm circular, and at some points used both the dpns and circular together.  If you are buying needles for the project, I would go for two 45cm circulars.  One set of 5 dpns is not enough for all the stitches of the adult sizes!



You can buy and download the pattern from Ysolda's website here.  Check back in a week or so for another post about MY slippers!