Purple Shawl

So, I promised I would tell you what I have made with this wool that was kindly given to my by this lovely lady. I decided I may just have enough to make a shawl and found this beautiful snug looking shawl in a magazine that I bought a couple of months ago.

I made a start and boy, is this wool amazing to work with. So soft, doesn't split, works up really quickly. I really really enjoyed making this. Anyway, you may be interested in the magazine that I got the pattern from. It's from the makers of Inside Crochet which I have never bought before. Now don't be put off by the awful neon chain link scarf on the front cover, there are multiple crochet treasures awaiting inside this publication. It was a little pricy at £9.99 but it is chocca full of patterns and I have already made/am making 4 things from this mag and have plans to make many more - no really, I have already bought yarn specifically for one of the projects!

This is really rather strange for me as I'm usually quite particular about what I want to make and search the internet for patterns. I don't think I have ever bought a crochet magazine before as the patterns never seem to appeal. Also, if the publishers of Simply Crochet are reading this (almost definitely not!) you're going to have to up your game quite a lot more before I fork out any money for your magazine, the patterns are just not my thing at all. Considering they are the same publishers as Mollie Makes (which I really like) I was quite disappointed that the Simply Crochet mag does not match Mollie Makes' high standards. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

I finished the shawl very quickly, missing off the frilly edging and just doing a border of the same stitch as the main pattern. I steam blocked the shawl with the iron and left it to dry, then popped out to the charity shop to look for a toggle button. As luck would have it, there was one lone toggle in the button bowl and as is usually the case, the charity shop worker had no clue about its price so gave it to me for free. Hoorah. I hasten to add, I did buy some other stuff at said charity shop so they didn't miss out.

It's really difficult trying to take a photo of yourself whilst modelling a shawl. Sorry about the awful photos. E got a camera for her birthday last week so hopefully she will be willing to take better photos for me. :)

I really loved making this shawl and it goes perfectly with my winter coat. I can see myself wearing it instead of a cardie in the Spring/Autumn too.

Last week I had a huge sort through of my yarn stash. Now all wool is in one bag and all cotton is in another. I know exactly what I've got so I can choose my next projects accordingly. (Trying to sound very organised there, which is wildly inaccurate!) I am currently trying to finish off a few UFOs as well as they seem to be piling up in bags throughout the house. Unfortunately (well, very fortunately to be honest!) I went to the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show last week with Alison and we had a ball and I added significantly to my wool stash. Will let you know about it soon. x

Jewel Blanket and Never Ending Blanket

All the ends have been sewn in and a border of three rows of plain treble clusters has been completed. I thought the colours could do all the talking so the border is nothing fancy. Perfect for little people to fling over themselves and poke their toes through the holes (why do they all do that?!) without me getting annoyed. This blanket was finished back in December and has seen quite a bit of use since then. Still love the jewel like colours against the black outline.

As soon as I'd finished I decided I would do a bit of stash busting. I have an increasing supply of left over yarn from previous projects, and also odd balls of pure wool/part wool yarn from charity shops or donated to me by my Mum. I have been wanting to make a giant granny square blanket for a while and rather than buy yet more wool to make one, the oddments piling up in my wardrobe were going to get used.

This is the very beginning of the blanket. I love looking back at photos like this - the very start of something that I have made, before I even knew what it was going to look like. This was definitely not a project that had been planned in any great detail. I had wool and lots of it and I was going to turn it into a blanket in any which way I could. I started off with the smallest oddments, those teeny tiny lengths of wool that most other people would chuck out but I squirrel them away, knowing they will get used eventually.

Some of the wools I have used are the leftovers from my very first crochet blanket. It was such a lovely blanket to make, reminiscing about previous things I have made. The blanket grew and grew until I ran out of wool (apart from some more of that mid blue wool but I want to add a few more stripes of different colours before I do another few rows of blue.) and this is where the Never Ending name comes from. I am going to keep adding to this blanket every time I find some more wool or have leftovers from another project. The blanket will keep on growing until it is enormous.

I suppose it's about 1m square at the moment and it's getting some use already. All ends have been sewn in, pretty much as I went along - very unlike me! I'm loving this blanket already, even if it is a bit scratchy. Probably needs a wash to soften it up. Can you see what my favourite colours are? Blues, greys, greens, with the odd splash of mustard or coral. It fits into our lounge perfectly.

And the best thing of all? Both of these blankets were made out of my wool stash (just had to buy a couple of balls of black for the jewel blanket) so I have been very thrifty over the past few months.

Do you think I will ever stop making blankets? I think not. Although I have made a few things recently that are not blanket related. Will blog about them soon. x

Day trip out

We (my friend Alison and I) had the most amazing trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace last week. This was our third year of visiting and as the stalls are all in roughly the same place every year, it makes it so much easier to find what you are looking for. This meant we could make a bee line for all the things we wanted to look at/needed to buy. And boy, did we have fun shopping.

The beginning of our journey there was a bit of a palaver as our train was cancelled after sitting still and going nowhere for 20 minutes at the station. Alison very kindly (and bravely) offered to drive us there and I quickly rang M to get directions - he told me about a very clever little sat nav app on my new (his old) iphone which took a bit of setting up but it directed us to a little leafy road next door to the Ally Pally which had free parking and was a short hop and skip away from the entrance. We even arrived at about the same time we usually would have. We would normally have driven to the station, got a train, the underground and then the laid on coach to the venue. Needless to say, we will not be getting the train next year as it was so much easier and quicker to go by car, even with the rush hour traffic in the rain on the way home.

I had a shopping list this year, I have not been so organised in previous years and just bought what I considered to be a bargain and gorgeous. Not this year, I had serious plans, lots of stuff written down, crochet patterns chosen for this year's haul. Unfortunately my top of the list yarn to make a blanket for our bed was not available at the show so I am having to order it online. Never mind, at least I didn't have to carry it around with me all day. I did get some supersoft Sublime baby cashmere merino silk dk in a beautiful indigo colour. And I got some ergonomic crochet hooks (4 for £10 bargain) and some pearl headed pins (2 for £1 - I love a bargain!). But the best buy of the day was this most incredible petrol coloured malabrigo yarn.

Having brought it home and admired it, I seem to remember seeing it at the show last year and wanting to buy it then but declined due to the price. This stuff is expensive but is totally worth it in my opinion. My sister gave me some birthday money and I said I would spend it at the show. And I did...and I treated myself. This yarn is so so gorgeous, I can't stop looking at it. I have wound one skein into a ball but can't bring myself to wind the other skein up just yet.

Anyway - details - it's a Kettle dyed pure superwash merino wool, sock yarn weight, 100g per skein. It was just over £14 per skein but at just over £7 per 50g, I don't think that's the most expensive yarn I've ever seen. I am going to crochet some kind of scarf/shawl with it but have not yet chosen a pattern, this being an impulse buy. I think it's going to take a long time to search out the perfect pattern for the perfect yarn and I think it's going to take a very small crochet hook. The label is mentioning a 2.25mm needle size. Yikes.

I also bought some stuff for my sister. She asked for an ergonomic hook, a clover thread cutter (here) to use on the plane and also some string to make more coasters. Sorry, no photos. I'm wishing I had bought the linen yarn that I saw too as it was kind of like very thin softer hessian string and it would have been perfect for coasters. Maybe next year.

Alison treated herself to some super duper Rooster yarn to make a blanket and she chose some fantastic colours. Can't wait to see what style of blanket she decides to make with it. We saw some people at the show from our local crochet/knitting group and just had a thoroughly great time. So exhausted when I got home though. Must be getting old. :O

Just to catch up on recent charity shop finds, here is one of two identical wooden bins that I bought the other week for £5 each.

They are Swedish and in near perfect condition considering their age. I have had to tell the other members of our household to be careful what they place in these bins to prevent any damage. Yes really. They can't put just any old rubbish in my nice new bins!

I also got this lacquered tray when out with my Mum the other week. It's got a nice Japanese style feel to it and I've just noticed that it goes remarkably well with my new table. I bought this table quite a while ago now. I was wanting a table to go with my wicker garden furniture and kept seeing this on ebay but it was way out of my price range. I got it from my favourite charity shop for £7. I have had a move around of furniture to fit it in as it isn't intended for the house but that's where it will stay for the time being. So pleased I found it and it's in great condition. Will try to remember to get another photo of it in all its glory.

Right, back to the real world and the joys of ironing. Speak soon. x

A week in Wales

I thought it was about time I blogged about our week away in Wales. We had so much fun and the weather was fantastic as you can see from these photos of pure blue skies. These two photos are of our day trip to Aberystwyth, a lovely place where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a quick trip to the beach and playground.

The views out to sea were stunning and we had plenty of time to appreciate them whilst the kids played in the best playground they had been to in a long time. We couldn't drag them away!

Of course I found a wool shop (bang next door to a charity shop, how convenient!) and nipped in to see what bargain wool they had. I had brought my hexagon blanket on holiday with me but just didn't feel like carrying on with it so I bought two giant balls of aran wool mix yarn and made a start on another diagonal crochet blanket. With fewer ends to sew in, obviously.

We went to New Quay twice as it was so fantastic. The beach was small but clean and sheltered and the sea was so clear. We even saw some dolphins swimming not so far away. The kids made the most of the beach and buried their Dad's feet.

See how clean the sea is? A bit chilly though!

F couldn't understand why the moat wasn't filling up. We aren't really beach holiday people usually. E confirmed that she definitely doesn't like the feel of sand and didn't like being in the sun (we ended up buying a cheap beach tent to provide us with a bit of shade from the scorching sunshine) but I do love the occasional day trip to the seaside in the UK.

Quite a lot of relaxing went on too - the cat was called Lewis and he basically came with the cottage we stayed in, which was on a farm. It was in the middle of nowhere and a very welcome break. Would definitely recommend if you need to get away from it all.

And before we knew it, the week was over and we headed back home to see Gerard, who didn't seem at all bothered about another cat sitting on his crochet blanket!

Half way there.

In from the cold

Thanks so much for all the lovely and generous comments about the blanket. I am very grateful and it is bringing some colour and brightness into our lounge. These little guys have also brought some brightness back into our lives since they came out of hibernation three weeks ago. I really missed them and it's great to see their personalities and quirks once again. They had been for a quick check up with the vet back in December before I put them into hibernation - in a box filled with shredded paper which was then put in a box with packing material, which was then put in our beer fridge (!) in the utility room (glorified cupboard). I bought two digital meat thermometers - one for in the box and one for in the fridge to check for fluctuations in temperature. The fridge was set to its highest setting (about 5 degrees) and then I crossed my fingers and checked them every so often until their 8 weeks was up.

It took a lot of courage to get them out at the end of those eight weeks, not knowing whether they had survived their first ever hibernation. It's all very well following advice to poke their legs every week to check they are still alive but they were cold and I didn't want to poke them too hard and wake them up! But all was well and they definitely deserved a nice warm bath to get them going again.

Then came the tricky bit - waiting for them to start eating again - apparently if they haven't eaten by day seven it's a speedy trip to the vets to see if anything can be done to save them. Luckily they were chowing down on some dandelion leaves on the second day. Since the snow arrived they have been eating bagged salad leaves. As we have had some mild days this week (10 degrees celsius) with some sunshine, I am planning to weed and tidy up their outdoor enclosure so they can at least spend a couple of hours outside in the sunshine each day to explore their enclosure and enjoy some fresh air.



In the meantime I am in between crochet projects (shock horror!) and just trying to decide what to do next. I almost certainly want to do a ripple but am having trouble finding the right pattern. But I also need to decide which yarn to use - ongoing Stylecraft stash (I don't think I will ever not have any Stylecraft hanging around) or NEW YARN???

Stylecraft looking pretty in a charity shop basket which is most definitely not suitable for crochet projects due to spikey woven ends.

Rowan Milk Cotton DK, not the colours I would usually go for but I was seduced by the names (Tutti Fruiti, Fruit Salad, Bonfire Toffee, Dip Dab). I have also bought some chocolate brown to go with - the reason for this will be explained soon. I am itching to make a ripple with this yarn but I just need to get the pattern right. Don't you just hate it when you think of the perfect style of blanket and then can't quite get the pattern right. Anyway, I'll keep trying and let you know how I get on. x

Knitting and Stitching Show

It's that time of year again - the weather is feeling more and more autumnal, although we are still experiencing a fair amount of sunshine. This means that the kids start talking about Halloween - a lot, and I start talking about the Knitting and Stitching show. I went last Friday with Alison. We had a fab day, so much to look at and very pleasing that most of the stalls were in the same places. This meant that we could fairly easily find the things we were looking for at the right prices, ie. inexpensive ergonomic crochet hooks (also described as aerodynamic crochet hooks at Knitting club last!) and bargain yarns. As you can see above, I managed to get two more crochet hooks and some gorgeous multicoloured yarn at £2 per ball (I got three balls BTW). I also got some more yarn (to be mailed as they didn't have enough of the colour I needed at the show) and some really unusual buttons, which I will probably use to decorate bags.

 The choice of fabrics was amazing, I think there were a lot more there this year than last year. I restricted myself to two fat quarters, mainly because I have far too much fabric in my stash already. I really had to buy these two though. The one on the left reminds me of a 1940s summer dress fabric and the one on the right is from the Little Apples range by Aneela Hoey for Moda. With my three little tortoises, I couldn't really walk past a little tortoises fabric now, could I? Having said this, I really don't know what I am going to make with these, but they are beautiful and I am sure I will figure something out soon.

But I really couldn't wait to get going with the wool. I decided that it was high time I learnt how to cable knit, as I have been wondering how it is done for about 25 years. I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do it but someone reliably informed me that it was easy so I searched around online and found some very straight forward instructions and an Irish Hiking Scarf pattern which was recommended for beginners at cable stitch. And this is how far I have got. I have to say, it is so simple to do and the yarn is a dream to work with, lovely and soft. I would not normally choose these colours but I bought a coat towards the end of last winter which I thought these tones would go well with. I got the coat at the charity shop, quite a bargain considering it was originally from Jigsaw. I sent it straight to the dry cleaners so after spending £20 for the coat and £9 for dry cleaning, I deemed myself extremely lucky. The coat looks grey in this photo but it is actually a mixture of black and purple.

And this is what the scarf looks like with it. I can't wait to get it finished and start wearing it, although I'll be a bit sorry to finish it as I am really enjoying making it. I have an order for a scarf from my husband too so I must keep a look out for another pattern and some more yarn.

Finally, I couldn't leave you today without a couple of photos of Gerard.

I think it's safe to say he has settled in now! xx

Mollie Makes blanket

 Remember this blanket from issue three of Mollie Makes? Remember how I was inspired to have a go at making my own? Remember that I'd made a few blocks in my chosen colours and laid them out on the not suitable for close ups lounge rug? (Really must get it cleaned.) As below -

Remember how I wasn't happy with the distribution of colour compared to the inspirational blanket. There was just too much colour and I wanted to tone it down with a few more blocks of the paler colours, namely parchment and silver (Stylecraft Special DK). Well, I made a few more blocks in just these colours, ordered more yarn to make sure I had enough, and yesterday I decided it was time to lay it all out and see how it was looking - and also to see how big this blanket was getting.

It's starting to look like a nice lap blanket size. I was thinking it would probably live on my small grey sofa, which is a very small 2 seater. It would be ideal if it were wide enough to span the back of the sofa. I think I just need to make a few more blocks to make it big enough, bearing in mind that it will grow a bit once it is joined together by double (UK) crochet. My only problem now though is that I think I have overdone it with the paler colours. Looking back at the magazine photo, there seem to be more pops of colour than the above photo. I am therefore going to make a few more of each colour, a few more silver and no more parchment. Then I hope I will have enough to start joining. I am quite excited and nervous about the joining bit - excited as it will be one step closer to finishing this blanket, which I know I will love, but nervous as I am not good with keeping blocks in the right order and joining long rows of them will cause me major headaches.

But before all this happens, I really need to finish a blanket I started a while ago - the one with the Patons Eco chunky wool that I got for Mothers Day. It's half finished and very quick to make up but as it has grown, it has just been too warm to crochet with it draped over my lap. I need to finish it as a certain little mister has taken to sitting on the back of the sofa, which is already covered in claw marks from our old cat. We need to protect the sofa from further damage. BTW, no more clawing from Gerard (yes, an r has disappeared from his name all of a sudden, at the request of my husband - he wanted no relevance to the footballer!) since we let him out, but that's another story entirely. The name Houdini has been mentioned more than once.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't even got any photos of this blanket yet. Really must drag it out, take some photos and start work on it again.

So it would seem I am fairly behind with posts - more updates on Gerard, my birthday (a 40th no less), crochet and a little something that popped through the post today. Oooh, the excitement. xx

Garden chevron blanket - finished

 Finally, some sunshine arrived so I could take photos of this blanket. I finished it on Monday night - about 3 hours of sewing in ends over two nights whilst watching tv, so not bad going. After falling out of love with this blanket (because it was taking sooo long to make) and not being overly fussed about finishing it, I am now extremely happy with it. I folded it up and left it on the side for a few days without really looking at it but now I have taken these photos out in the sunshine (where it's going to be used) I'm relieved that I love it again. Doesn't it look great against the decking?

 Here's the original inspiration for the blanket - a Habitat cushion which will be used on the cane chairs outside (if we ever get any decent weather - it has rained twice since I took these photos an hour ago!).

And here is the yarn that I used - Rico Essentials Cotton DK at £1.50 per 50g ball. I would estimate that the blanket cost £25 to make. I have some yarn left over, not a lot, but maybe enough to make a cushion front or to make crocheted flowers in the future.

And I have already started on my next blanket ! That's right, I am a crochet machine!!! Will post next week with details. Must get that shawl finished too - not much more to do. Have a great rest of the weekend. x