Fancy a Quickie?

Hey there! Just a quick pic of the cowl I made a few evenings ago. Clever Janet at kitchentablesewing has got the right idea when it comes to chunky wool and big needles - makes up very fast, great! Although you experts out there will see this is no stocking or garter stitch, it is of course treble crochet stitch.



I'd seen this very large ball of yarn at local haberdashery department and was drawn by the colour mainly. I was thinking I wanted to crochet myself a cowl but this had a knitting pattern on the label, so I thought I would give it a go. Size 10 needles (won on Ebay) and away I go! Er no... well sort of, I just felt like a clown knitting with those big needles, you know - joke knitting!
I tried the label pattern but it wasn't feeling right, I wondered maybe my hands are more attuned to crochet? So I decided to up-pick and start again with a fat, stumpy hook, long chain made into a circle and then treble crochet round and round! This is the result, and only took a few hours, fitted in around school run, dinner, bath and bed.

 

I used the whole ball of yarn and ran out after 4 rounds of treble and one of dc. Was it too narrow? Tried it on and it looks fine, it twists round 3 times. I think if it was any wider it would look like I had broken my neck and am wearing a neck brace, hee hee x

 

 

 

All in all a successful, easy, quickie project and something new for me to wear, happy days xx



Crochet Connections

I have been enjoying the social side of my hobby this week with a little trip out with my sister to the town where she lives as she wanted to show me a couple of shops she knew I'd like.  My sis has for a long time enjoyed crocheting and has made lots of lovely things for my children and her grandchildren, she also sometimes knits, cable knitting being something she favours. I collected her from work as she had half a days leave and off we went. We headed for the first shop which sells yarn and bits and pieces but oh no! the shop was shut, not opening Mondays, boo-hoo. It looked so so nice (I had a good nose through the window) It's called Manfield Crafts and I couldn't resist going back a few days later where I had a lovely time mooching about, enjoying the colours and textures of all the yarns and chatting with the friendly ladies (in fact I was a bit giddy with excitement at finding this gem of a shop and probably embarrassed myself with all my gabble!) I did have a bit of a spend and treated myself to some Rico Design Essentials Soft Merino that I will stash away for a little while until I decide what to make with it (I'm thinking bag, scarf or add to it over time and make a blanket).

 

I love displays of pretty coloured yarn like this!

My sister also took me over to Higham Ferrers where we had a lovely cup of tea and then a mooch around The Cranberry House where I picked up some Tilda fat quarters.

 

We then popped back to her house so she could show me the granny square blanket she'd just finished:

 

 

It looks really lovely, the muted browns and rusts mixed with cream work so well and look great in her bedroom.

I had a brilliant day with my sister, sharing our mutual interest and hopefully will do the same sometime soon.

In the meantime making wise I'm still plodding away at my rainbow ripple, trying to do one stripe a day, but it is very wide so that does take ages!

 

And the other big project I have on the go is my Mother-in-laws patchwork quilt, which is growing nicely but again is very big so lots of time is needed to complete it.

 

 

Lots on the go but it really does make me happy, happy, happy!

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 



Keep or Go

In our house, with four children, we often play the game Keep or Go. This is when I decide that we need a sort out of clothes, toys etc as we have so much stuff and not enough storage so it's time for a cull.
Of course we are lucky to have plenty of lovely clothes, and loads of toys given as gifts or bought for being 'good' (or even Santa brings round) so when the clothes and toys have been 'grown out of' I hold up each item and the child it belongs to says keep or go. It is then put in the appropriate pile to either be put back tidily or taken to the charity shop. With children growing as they do this is a game played often (probably not often enough) with the extra jeopardy at the end of the process where Daddy looks through the bag and sneaks out the odd item to hide away as he's a sentimental hoarder and would keep EVERYTHING if he had his own way.
Now our little baby girl is already growing out of some of her clothes even though she hasn't been with us for half a year yet and today I cleared her draws of all the baby-gros and little vesties and small things that don't fit her anymore and even me, the ruthless de-clutterer, felt a twinge of sadness at having to put the newborn outfits away.
While pregnant with our smallest member of the family I knitted a few cardigans and booties and hats in anticipation of her arrival. We didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl so I chose neutral colours and lovely soft, natural fibre yarns. I have long loved making things but while pregnant I was particularly creative and a lot of things featured on earlier blogs were made during this time. I often wonder if our baby will grow up to be a creative soul due to my almost obsessional crafty pregnancy! And of course these hand-made items were folded and put away with the other small clothes.
But you know, maybe my Husband has a point. Some things are worth keeping.

The good thing that comes from having a clear out though is that space is made for all the new creations of the future!

I'm not the only creative bod in this house by the way. My husband wrote a lovely song for his daughter, hear it on his sound cloud, entitled 'Lady Leyna Jayne'

Have a lovely weekend xx



Baby Ripple Blanket

Baby Ripple Blanket with Pom-Poms

 

Oh how I enjoyed making this little crochet ripple pattern blanket.  I loved the waviness of the pattern and the autumnal colours too.


The exciting start of the project!

 The pattern is from the wonderful book of mine: Cute & Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes by Nicki Trench (The picture of the blanket on the front of the book was what made me buy it in the first place) and the wool is King Cole Merino Blend DK from Deramores.

The ripple pattern is so easy once you get going and really enjoyable to do. It's perfect for sitting on the sofa of an evening gently treble-crocheting your way along, pondering all of the worlds wonders.

With all the main blanket finished it was just a case of making the border to frame the little delight and then adding the cute pom-poms for a bit of fun.

 
It's just the right size to use in the pushchair or in the car and in this weather it's nice and snuggly and warm.

Now time for a big version for moi!

Fun crochet thing

Crochet Pot Cover

After being taught to crochet by my Mum when I was a child, I rediscovered it while pregnant with LJ who was born June '12.  I have def caught the bug and find it very therapeutic.  This pot cover is made from odd wool bits using trebles and chain stitches, with the three flowers for a bit of interest. I did cover the pot first with cotton fabric so the label didn't show through.