Continuing the shawl

I've been making the Sunny Day Shawl for aaaaaaaaaaages.  I bought some grey Stylecraft Special DK for the main body, and a ball of turquoise and green for the accents.  I misread the pattern and should have had more colours than that!  Ah well.

I'm on the last but one row, then there's some blocking to do before it's FINALLY finished.  Just in time for autumn though.  I went camping at the end of August (don't ask, and no, I'm not convinced I'd do it again) and wanted a small project to take with me.  I also, as usual, thought I'd get LOADS done.  Of course I didn't.

It's going to be this amazing Persian Tiles blanket.  It will be identical to the one in the link as I bought the kiut.

As the kit comes with lots of balls, I thought I'd better do some winding, so I got my winder out.  It's pretty good, except the metal guide falls down so you have to hold it up, that's a bit annoying.  

These are 100g balls.  I think the winder makes cakes for 50g balls.  The cream one at the back was a whole ball wound!  I learnt my lesson after that and the others are half a ball, or approximately half a ball as you can see they vary!

After I've finished the shawl, I'll get going on this one.  So expect to see the finished blanket approximately 2029.

Spicier blanket... again

After proudly telling you about the blanket I'd started whilst broken-armed, I went home, prepared to work on it more and discovered something...

See that?  It's wavy.  Frilly even.  I have no idea how that happened, I'd been carefully checking it as I went along to make sure this didn't happen!

After ripping back a couple of rows, I realised that it starts a long way down, see the picture above...  I'm not ripping all that back, it's a blanket after all, not a work of art.  I'll try and crochet the next rows a bit tighter and use a DK yarn, maybe I can switch to my DK stash instead...

I blame old age.  I turned 40 just over a week ago.  I had the best weekend ever and I got the most fantastic present - a kiln!  Probably not the best timing as I'm also renovating the dining room where it will live, and I need to get some supplies, but hold tight for some kiln experiments coming soon!

Spicier Life blanket

Hello everyone, after a much longer break than anticipated, I'm back!  It turns out that breaking your shoulder (particularly if you do it in 3 places) is a really daft idea and takes forever to heal!  I'm not completely better, I have no strength whatsoever in my right arm (luckily I'm left-handed) and don't have a full range of movement, but I'm getting back into life again.  Going out and renovating my house have both resumed (OK, full disclosure, I went out partying several times with my arm in a sling!), and a small start has begun on crafting.

The first thing I felt up to doing was crochet.  I crochet right-handed as it was much easier to learn that way, but it does mean that unlike most crocheters, I pretty much hold the hook still in my right hand and use my left hand to wrap and pull.  Good when you've broken your right shoulder though!

On a whim, I decided to join in with the Spicier Life CAL at Cherry Heart.  I think I joined in on week 2, but all 6 parts and the border have now been released!  I don't care that I'm behind, and even with a fully-healthy arm I doubt I would have been able to keep up with schedule as there were a lot of rows each week.

This is where I am after week 1.  As you can see, I am making an effort to weave in the ends as I go otherwise it would be a daunting task - plus the ends get in the way.  I didn't buy one of the special yarn packs, I didn't buy any yarn at all.  I have tons of the stuff, full balls, partial balls, donated balls...  I had to decide which weight - DK or Aran and, thinking I had more Aran than I do, I chose that.  Unfortunately I don't have that much and so am using some DK too, it just means a bit of stitch adjustment.  I don't really care about the colour palette, my aim is to use some of this yarn up as I am drowning in it!

I'm not sure how regularly I'll be blogging just yet, I've got a horrible cold and cough, so I'm resting a lot, and renovating the house is taking priority as I lost 3 key months over summer... I should have 4 rooms finished by now!  I did attend a class (yes, with a broken shoulder!) and will blog about that soon.  

baby blanket

A lovely colleague should be having her baby boy around now.... push Carol, push!  I had to make her a present and settled on a baby blanket.  I'd bought some balls of Whisper White yarn a while ago, but never got round to using it so this seemed the ticket.  It's a lovely soft Merino yarn and is in a shade of bluish-white so seemed perfect, especially as I began it before I found out the sex of the baby!

I used a pattern from Cute and Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench.  It's a very simple ripple pattern and I enjoyed it.

These photos were taken whilst it was being blocked.  I finished it on Monday night and was blocking it around 10.30, way past my bed time!  Having to give it to her on the Friday, I knew I didn't have any other chance to get daylight pictures so I took these on the Tuesday when I had a day off (craft class - coming up!).

I started it back in November, plenty of time!  Then I didn't work on it again until February.  Unfortunately, although I remembered how much I like to crochet, and although I liked the pattern and the yarn, it hurt my hands and I could only do a couple of rows at a time so it took forever!

I'm not sure it is big enough so I'm hoping she has a little baby!

scrap bucket

Remember I made some pink blocks for February's Rainbow Scrap Challenge?  Well now I've made them into my second scrap bucket.

I'd made five 6" squares, so I sewed them together and added a patchwork border top and bottom.  I backed this panel with some fusible fleece and practiced my FMQ.

I had a go at some swirls and also writing words like Pink, Peach and Coral.  They're not great, but it was good practice.  I'm still moving my hands too fast and not putting my foot down enough.

The finished bucket is the same dimensions as the blue one I made and has a hanging loop for future hanging possibilities.

I lined it with part of a pink sheet I had.  It must have been my stepdaughter's as I've certainly never owned a pink sheet!

I've started ironing some of my pink scraps to put in the basket, still got most of the blue ones to iron too!

I'm linking this up to Le Challenge as I have created order from my pink scraps.  Well, some of them.  

Related posts

blue scrap bucket
February pink blocks

T'is done!

Today is a momentous day.  Well OK, it was one day last week actually that was momentous, but today is momentous as I'm telling you about it.  Nope, not on about my Broadband being fixed... it still isn't... I'm talking about the giant granny square blanket.  The one I started YEARS ago*.  The one I thought would never be finished.

*July 2011

It's finished!!

And it's not as big as I hoped/planned it would be.

I didn't stop because I was bored (I was bored of it in August 2011!), I stopped because I was nearly out of wool and had to save enough for the border.

Here it is stretched out on our double bed, looking a bit washed out, but I suppose the colours are a bit washed out.  Must remember not to wash it as it really IS wool.

For the border I chose #32 from Around the Corner Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman.  I was planning on doing the whole thing in purple, but I realised I wasn't going to have enough, so did two sides blue and two sides purple.

This was my first time doing spike stitches.  Those purple Vs amongst the green are spike stitches and they're sort of outlining the puff/popcorn stitches.  It looked better in Edie's example.  It's also not supposed to be so frilly.  I was aware as I was working that I was adding stitches.  But you know what?  It's my blanket and if it wants to be frilly then that's fine with me!

I wish I'd used cream instead of beige for that 4th round...  Ah well, 'til done and I can safely say that crocheting a giant granny is one of the most boring activities known to man, it's only slightly less boring that knitting a scarf.

WIP #2 - done!

Oh yee of little faith - and why you are probably right

I started the year by telling you about my resolution to get through all my WIPs and kits and planned projects.  You responded by telling me I'm crazy!  I'm not mad, I completely agree BUT I have started...

I started this bathroom curtain back in June!  I can't believe it was so long ago.  I've been working on it....  Despite having cut out enough squares for a King size quilt, it will only be 3 blocks x 3 blocks.

The giant granny is an even older WIP, having been started way back in July 2011!  Oh, you will be finished blanky.  I'm now on round 50 and I think I've got enough wool for another 10-15 rounds before the border, each round now takes about an hour!  I couldn't remember what hook I was using so started using a 4mm, I think it might have been a 3.5mm as the middle is definitely tighter than the edge.
 

I can't find my original post for the next item, but I had taken photos so I think I'd written a post.  I've finished off the pink flower to the left and done all the blue "bits" so far.  I have done more than this now as I took this photo a few days ago.  I did this stitching straight after Christmas but then put it aside as I wasn't sure what to do with the "under-bits" under the blue...  It's done and I'll show you an update soon.

Considering I had all week off last week you might think I'd have made more progress, but alas, this little girl got in the way.

Excuse the dark photo, it was taken in my hall which has no natural light.  And that's a piece of banana in case you're wondering.  On Thursday I noticed she wasn't eating, VERY unusual for this little greed-bag.  Off to the vets who said it was her teeth so back to the vets on Friday for an operation to file them down.  She's fine now but caused me some worry, along with some quality time keeping an eye on her.  We have to do that in the hall as she hates the floor in the living room, dining room and kitchen (laminate/lino) - she's no good at skating! 

I would like to tell you I've vacuumed the dirty brown carpet since taking this photo, but it wouldn't be true.  I haven't.

Baby blanket done, baby quilt getting there

Evening ladies.  I planned to write this post yesterday, then earlier today but work has been crazy busy, I've been staying so late I'm days behind on blog reading and emails so please forgive me, I'm not ignoring anyone.

I think I've mentioned once or twice (or hundreds of times) that my only brother is about to have his first child, so I've been frantically working away.  I managed to get the baby blanket finished on Tuesday and posted off yesterday.  Want to see?

I used a V-stitch for the main part of the blanket, just judging the width and length, then I finished it off with the same shell border I used for this blanket.

I couldn't get brown satin ribbon like on the previous blanket, but as I knew that my nephew will be a nephew, I went for blue.  It took ages to get it all in place!

Since I finished that, I've been hard at work on his quilt.  Hand quilting has commenced and I LOVE it.  I thought it would be laborious and tedious, but it's not, I love it!

I'm quilting it in perle cotton in 4 different shades and enjoying every stitch.  When he arrives, I wont be able to go down to see him until the weekend as my brother lives about 3 hours away.  He's due tomorrow so if he's on time, I'm going to be in trouble as I've still got 30 squares to go, then the binding to make and sew on.  If he's born next week, I might be in luck!

the difficult second post

Wow, I wasn't expecting the reaction that I had to my last post and I'm not sure how I'm going to follow after that!  It is perfectly acceptable to laugh at my misfortunes, I thought as they were happening how funny they would seem.  It's the only reason I have a full head of hair.  Clearly Mr CA had some troubles making fold-up shopping bags before he met me as he's almost totally bald... he's never confessed to it.

Despite being off work this week, I don't have much to show you.  I've been out and about, running errands, taking the bunnies to the vets for their jabs, visiting friends, looking after small children...  I went to Ikea yesterday in search of a doll's bed for my god-daughter's birthday.  She'll be 3 in 2 weeks and loves to tuck her teddies up in bed, any bed will do, or any blanket, jacket or jumper, so I thought a doll's bed would be the perfect solution and I get to have a go at a mini quilt.  Not a mini quilt like the ones you see made for the Doll's Quilt Swap, this will be a basic patchwork quilt but it should be fun anyway.  In Ikea, I also accidentally bought 2 funky slimline filing cabinets, 4 glass jars to store ribbon in (one of which I smashed carrying it from the car) and I nearly bought fabric.  I think I've said before that there's never the wonderful fabric in stock that I see on other people's blogs which they've bought from Ikea, well this time there was one fabric I liked.  £6 a metre, so I cut a metre and stood waiting to have it bagged and priced.  I waited for about 10 minutes then got seriously p***d off, dumped the fabric and left to wander round the Market Hall muttering under my breath and glaring at everyone that wasn't practically running round the displays as they were in my way.

So, all I have to show you is two cards:

A gift bag, this one went better than the last:

My progress on the Rennie Mackintosh cross stitch:

And my giant granny, I've just finished round 36 but I haven't been working on it much as I'm planning on taking this to China to work on:

I'm on my last ball of the whitish colour and was worried, but I managed to track some down in the very colours I needed from Black Sheep, on sale too, so now I'm happy.  It's going to be a great big, wrap round me on the sofa, blanket.

I've just read my comments from my last post and found out I won Sarah's Bloggiversary Giveaway.   Wahoo!  I won, I won, I won, I won...  not to sound ungracious or anything but I won!!

FSNI August

Good  morning ladies.  Yes, it is 2pm here, but I've only just got up!!  How lazy is that?  I've been suffering from back ache the last few days, I think I've pulled something, so lying in bed this morning was therapy.  Yes, I do believe that!


I didn't go up to the sewing room last night, I sat on the sofa with Mr CA so I could moan about my back.  I worked on my Charles Rennie Mackintosh cross stitch.

I'm really struggling to get a decent photo of this.  Too close to the window and you can see right through it, it looks like it's covered in holes.  Too far away and it looks washed out.  In reality the black is deep black and the colours are jewel-like.

That's a bit better.  I've started on the second rose now.  I also added a round or so to my Giant Granny.

I'm now on round 34.  I'm so in love with this.  the only problem is, I want to do the border in the palest cream colour but I'm on my last ball and Hobbycraft has sold out.  As it was recently on sale, they wont be stocking it again.  Is anyone going to a Hobbycraft this week or next and that wouldn't mind picking me some up if they've got it? 

And now I'm up in my sewing room pondering what to do with this gorgeous parcel I got from the lovely Nancy.  Thanks so much Nancy, I love Fig Tree fabrics!!

Right, I'm off to get some sewing done, then I'll try and get round some blogs to see what you ladies got up to on the FSNI, but I'm going out soon to see The Inbetweeners Movie so it might have to wait til tomorrow.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Busy!

Good afternoon everyone.  I hope you're having a nice weekend?  I've just spent the day with my mum in Melton Mowbray, looking for charity shop bargains, now I'm going to try and get through the posts piling up in my reader whilst Mr CA watches Ivanhoe before settling down to some stitching (me, not Mr CA).  Do you want to see what I'm working on?

I'm hoping to get this finished tomorrow - it's a present for the mother-in-law's birthday.

This little pile of grey linen will become Christmas presents.

My granny square blanket for the Granny Square Challenge is coming along, though rather slowly.  I've just finished round 28 - some people are on double that number and others have finished!

These are my charity crochet squares, in need of some end-weaving and the making of some brothers and sisters.  The "green" one on top (it's actually orange?!?  Not sure what's going on there) needs another couple of rounds to bring it up to 4".

The needlepoint part of the needlepoint bookmark is complete, now I just need to finish it, but I really don't know how!  Any tips?  I also recently discovered that needlepoint isn't just this one stitch - the tent stitch - but there are tons of different stitches out there. I really really want to try more.  Does anyone know where I can find some free patterns to try out?  Any information/tips/links to blogs/sites about needlepoint would be much appreciated.

A cross stitch bookmark that's finished bar the tassle and my current project - I'm finally doing an embroidery hoop.  I suspect it will turn out to be a massive disaster, but hey, if I don't try, I can't fail!

You may have, or more likely may have not, noticed the lack of my rainbow crochet cushion in this pile of WIPs.  That's because it's finished!  It'll get a post of its own early next week.

The not-finished stuff

I've got a fair few WIPs going at the minute, so I thought I'd show them here in a bid to make myself accountable for finishing them!

In the sewing room:

1. This Roman Stripe patchwork block is destined to become one of four chair cushions for my dining room.  Work has stalled as I'm not sure whether to make each one a different pattern.  There will be matching placemats and coasters too so I quite like the idea of four different patterns, but I'm not sure how it will look.  Thoughts?

2. I still haven't got any closer to quilting the Petit Ecole pinwheel table topper for my brother- and sister-in-law.

In the crochet bag:

3. The giant granny continues to grow - 25 rounds here.  I'm going so much slower than everyone else in the Giant Granny challenge!

4. The rainbow cushion nears completion!  No photos until it's done.

5. I'm 3 rows into 4" granny #3 for charity.

6. The ami bunny remains with only a head.  I can't get my head round the magic ring to start the body.  I pick it up, have a go, fail and put it down!

In the sewing box:

7. The needlepoint/tapestry part of the bookmark is complete, now I'm just stuck for how to finish it.  I had intended to put on a crochet edging, but my experiments with a tiny crochet hook just didn't work.

8. No more progress on the alphabet chart.  I HAVE to get my arse into gear!!

Well 8 WIPs isn't so bad.  I just have to stop myself starting anything else before I've got some of them done.

What's been on the hook?

Hardly an evening goes by when I'm not sitting on the sofa with Mr CA, hooking away, me, not him. I've generally got several crochet WIPs on the go and I like it like that as I can swap and change as I feel like it.  One of my ongoing projects this year will be 4" granny squares.  I also intend to knit some 4" squares.  Cath at Stitchin' Chicken has posted an appeal to help Stitch for Pleasure , Stitch for Charity to collect 4" squares that they can then sew up into clothing or blankets... oh, it doesn't say who for, I assume the homeless.  But anyway, it's a worthy cause, if someone needs to keep warm, who am I to turn down the chance to crochet up a load of grannies and even practice my knitting.

The deadline isn't until the 27th December, so please, if you can knit or crochet, pop over to Cath's post and get the full details.  A 4" square takes no time to whip up and it's a great way of practicing new stitches and using up yarn scraps, and doing your bit of course.  Above are my first two squares, taken from 200 Crochet Blocks.

I'm also joining in the Giant Granny Challenge with Angie from Le Monde de Sucrette.  Basically, you crochet a granny.  A giant one.  For no reason!  Here's my granny so far:

There's 20 rounds there so far, all in 5 different colours of a wool/silk/alpaca mix yarn that was on sale at £1.50 a ball.  Who could say no. I did these rounds quite quickly, but have stalled this week as I've been so busy.

So, does she ever finish anything?  I can hear you asking yourselves/the dog/the computer.  Oh yes!  I finished this little baby!

So now you're saying "what the bloody hell is it?!", well maybe if you're English.   I'm not sure that Welsh/Scottish/Irish/Canadian/American/Australian/New Zealandish (what is the adjective for New Zealand??)/German/Polish etc, etc, etc, people say bloody hell.  Do you?  And what about other English people?  Is it just me and my dad?  Am I tarring you all with the same brush?  I did think goobies was a real word until I hit about 26 and discovered my dad and Aunty Gwen had made it up years ago.  I think I've digressed a little...

It's a seat belt cosy!  No, I'm not nuts.  I'm very short.  I'm only 5 foot 1 and drive an old car so it doesn't have fancy adjustable seat belts.  I've endured the last 3 years of being able to drive, and more as a passenger, with the seatbelt digging into my neck.  A collar helps, I can tuck it under there, but I don't always have a collar.  When I found this tutorial on Martha Winger's blog I knew I had to make it.

Here it is all buttoned up, but not around the seat belt, I'm not crazy enough to take pictures of my seat belt cosy in-situ!  I used some supersoft Sublime Merino yarn in my favourite colour and finshed it off with a border in white sparkly yarn from my Round the Corner crochet borders book.  This is, quite frankly, one of the best things to have happened to me this year!  Mr CA of course is mortified about it and I often find it shoved in the back of the glove box when he's been driving, but he's 6 foot 2 so what does he know about seatbelt-digging-in-the-neck pain??