Catch-up 2

Nearly up to date.

I made this before last Christmas from stash and,  before I had a chance to see if  a poncho would suit me, Rachel had "borrowed" it!  It looked really nice on her and I don't mind because she has worn it lots.






And a close up -


The diagonal silver and gold lines are my first attempts at embellishing with surface  crochet. It is like lots of things, difficult to get started but once I had it was quite intuitive and I was very pleased with the result.

Afghan Blanket




The colour is more accurate in the second picture.

I used Drops Alpaca dk with a  3.75mm hook.

 It has a central 7inch granny square surrounded by 12 smaller squares, several granny rows and 28 more squares a bit bigger and then about 12 more granny rows and is  based on the Wendy Blanket and Franney's Blanket on ctny. And quite a lot of the squares were a slightly modified "Smooth Fox online angels charity square number 1" found via ravelry.  This blanket is for me!

Here are three more Granny blankets - basic traditional Grannies this time and all three of them were gifted at Christmas time.




This is a composite showing stitch and yarn details and  includes the one  I gave to Kate.



I used yarns leftover from Colinette AbFab throws together with various sock yarns held double or treble...


And a Granny stripe blanket  made for a very special boy - my 11th grandchild born November 2012

Actually it has less pink tones than this pic and is very bright.

I 'm told Ferdy is very attached to it!






But socks are still my most relaxing knit.

I

Four of the eight pairs of  Circle socks knitted so far.  Michael has claimed them all so far

Mabel blanket

 The pattern and most of the yarns are  from The Natural Dyestudio  - 3mm hook I think and  mainly their Bluefaced Leicester sock yarn.  It's hard to believe it is "only" wool  it is so silky and soft.





I made 80 squares and the finished size is  34.5"x 39"

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry - Catch-up 1

Hellooo!!  Is anyone still out there??   Hmm.....it's hard to know where to start after nearly a year long  absence - but no excuses.

Time passes and seems to get swallowed up not least by today's labour saving new can't-do-without devices like my  iPod Touch.  I love it! How did I manage my music before?  And my iPad....and my iPhone.  And do I really need all three?  Of course not but they are lots of fun.  Summed up by my three year old  grandson Freddie's response when I phoned  his Mum to ask her what to do with my new iPad.  He took  a deep breath and said quite simply "....Well,  Grandma,  you play with it".  As simple as that!  I like to think I do a fair bit more,  but  out of the mouths of babes.....

So.  I think pictures are the way to go and thanks to instagram ..... no!  I'm not getting started on my favourite apps.

I made quite a few of these circle scarves last Summer, the size of the circles varied as I tried to make a fast and simple Sophie Digard look alike. Not surprisingly  I didn't succeed but I am still pleased with my efforts.






These are some of the other colour combinations I tried, all using left-over sock yarn.  In fact almost the whole year has passed with almost no yarn purchases!







And although this is not really a chronological record it seems that these snowflakes are a good ending for the first catch-up.

I made them at   Christmas time and some I included in our Christmas cards, some were given as little presents and some I kept for myself.  They were mainly made from Caitlin Sainio's  lovely book "100 snowflakes to crochet " - a joy to browse through and a joy work from.




I used crochet thread Aida 10, hook 1.25mm. I soaked them thoroughly, blocked them to shape and sprayed them with spray starch to stiffen them enough to hang in the window or on a branch. And I made about fifty!! Some went to the library to hang on the "knitted tree" the library knitting group made.

Gloire du Matin

This is one of Everlasting 's latest crochet shawls.

This is Gloire du Matin by Syl Caron, not yet available to purchase yet but I'm sure it will be soon - here.

I used two skeins of BC Garn Silkbloom extra fine lace weight bought from Loop yarn shop in London and a 4mm hook. Actually now I'm trying to link this yarn I've found that Loop no longer stock this particular one. It's a shame - it is a nice mix of 55% Merino / 45% Silk. Started 13th-ish September and finished 21st September.

Isn't it gorgeous?

I love all of Syl Caron's designs and was so pleased to have the opportunity to crochet this shawl before the general release of the pattern that I'm sure will be soon.

Frilly Scarflets

These are all based on Edie Eckman's lovely pattern



Edie Eckman's Flower Frills Scarf adapted to make smaller flowered, one sided, thinner and lighter summer neck "adornments".

The first one is Handmaiden Sea Silk colour Sangria 3.75mm hook.
The second, Natural Dye Studio Precious 4ply, with some Debbie Bliss (or Rowan?) pure silk mixed in, started with 3.75 hook to chain 154 and then 3mm for the rest.

The third one is a mixture of Handmaiden Sea Silk colour Sangria and Fyberspates red Unicorn.

And the last one is Hand Maiden Sea Silk - colour Mineral, 3.75mm hook.

Châle Everlasting

Caronaime's Châle Everlasting was so fast it seemed almost instant. I started on July 1st and finished July 9th!! I used 85gm/360m of NDS Precious 4-ply pink/green and 82gm/ 330m of the green with a 5mm hook and a 3.75mm for the last row and it measures approximately 52"across the top and 34" vertically to the point.










I am very pleased with this - it's unbelievably soft and drapey and I'm looking forward to making another pattern by this talented designer

I did have a few teething problems with the instructions - I think some of the French translation hasn't translated exactly to the way I'm used to reading crochet patterns but the charts clarified everything and it was my own fault misinterpreting that the final row should be worked directly into the arches and not the chains of the arch.

Now, to block or not to block? I'm not sure if blocking does for crochet what it does for knitted lace , as yet it is unblocked and I love it. Will it be even better blocked?

And I'm half thinking I might add some tiny flowers here and there. Or is that gilding the lily??

I've made a few and tacked them on.



What do you think?

Too Many Bags? Too many Cakes?

A girl can't have too many. Bags, that is. I think I've said it before.

At the moment crochet is my thing and I love making bags so to combine the two is perfect joy for me!

Do you like this one?







It's the Mini Messenger Bag made from 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden colour 275, 5mm hook and lined with some lovely Viyella from my fabric stash.

And this?



I made it to go with this outfit



It is House of Hemp Expressions 2ply - pure hemp that I bought ages ago at Ally Pally to make a knitted modular style of cardigan. I bought some of the same yarn in shades of red/pink/burgundy to make a sideways knitted waistcoat thingy but the instructions were so vague that I decided it was beyond me, especially as the "pattern" was one size and that was enormous for me. So all of this hemp will be used in other ways and this bag is the first.

I used a 3.75 mm hook with the yarn doubled.

I made it to go with the skirt etc above for last weeks Christening. Due to chicken pox and the vicar only two instead of four of my grandchildren were baptised so the other two will be done later - tba.

But we all enjoyed a party afterwards - especially these lovely cakes that Kate had made.

Flower Frills Scarf (2)

Flower Frills Scarf. 3.75mm clover soft touch hook (I love it). Handmaiden Sea Silk colour Sangria

Frilly Crochet

My newly revived interest in crochet is being fuelled by three (!) books by Edie Eckman - The Crochet Answer Book, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs and Around the Corner Crochet Borders

This is Edie Eckman's Flower Frills Scarf (Ravelry link) , you can buy from Patternfish.



Crocheted with 3.75mm hook

I used very very soft and very very shiny Handmaiden Lace Silk left over from long-ago made shawls in colours Paris (mainly) and Rainforest ( partly).
54" x 1 1/2" excluding the frills.




It's another "scarf" that is great for Summer - can be worn round your neck or as a belt. The lady at my lys kept correcting me when I called it "a scarf" - her word for it is "an adornment".

There are so many variations on this theme using the edgings from the borders book, I can't wait! In the meantime I'm hoping to show you a modelled photo from Katie because she "borrowed" it from me last Wednesday and I won't get it back for ten days or so.

Little Summer Scarf

I didn't really need to do anything other than follow a simple chart to make the motifs in my previous post but this scarf was slightly more complicated.




This was how it started...



With the medium sized motifs being joined together as they were made and enough separate smaller ones to make the tasselly ends as long as I wanted.

Then you crochet all along the long edge and continue down connecting the smaller ones, then back up the other side to the top dangleys. The charts are excellent.



The pattern is from the Japanese book "Pretty Colour Crochet and Knit". And you know there are so many other pretty thing to make.... I love these books - I've got four of them now!

Each motif measures about 1 1/4". I used a 3mm hook and Jaggerspun Zephyr wool-silk. Lace weight. Mine is three motifs wide instead of the patterns four and the finished size is 52"x 5".






The very first photo taken with a cheapo webcam under an energy efficient light bulb is the truest to life colour. Actually the second one is true too.

Japanese Crochet Books

No...I don't speak Japanese but I knew I had to have these books when I first saw them on Lucy's wonderful crochet blog and they have such excellent pattern charts and pictures that words are unnecessary (I hope). I bought them from Etsy seller Pomadour24 who is so super efficient that they arrived from Japan in barely a week.




They are full of lovely little projects all shouting "make me! make me!". This is the first, underneath part of Motif A from the right-hand book - Small and Easy Crochet Projects, a very simple one to ease me into chart reading .



Then a puffy flower is made separately and stitched on top like this



and this



The yarns are Fyberspates Unicorn and NDS dazzle ht with a 5mm hook.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my English Summer garden cal motifs, I'm still very enthusiastic about these and thinking more and more that they will become a summer shawl (thanks Jean!)

Surprise Direction

At least it surprised me.

I've always enjoyed having some crochet to work on in between my knitting but I would never have said I was a crochet-er. I'm a knitter. Or was. I seem to be both now and although I don't think crochet will take over, it is certainly my current number one.

I really like using the gorgeous yarns of today and making looser, bigger stitches than is traditional to get much lacier, softer effects and of course the enthusiasm of fellow Ravelers has played a very big part in getting me hooked - er - sorry.


I've joined Queenieamanda's English Country Garden cal on Ravelry and now can't stop making motifs. There will be one crochet flower motif pattern every month until September - and sometimes two. All the motifs will be hexagons and can be joined together to make whatever.

This is the first motif - Jonquil



The one at bottom left is exactly as Queenies pattern, the other two have got a bit of extra in the centre.


Here's the second - Begonia, March 2



Only the first five are Begonias, a Jonquil has crept in at the end.

And third - Daisy. I think this one is my favourite ...




The yarns are the same for all - red and darker purple both Fyberspates Unicorn. Bluey/purple, pink and the variegated one NDS Dazzle HT.
Hook - 5mm
These are all the daisies I've made so far.




And this is a mixture of Jonquils and Begonias



I'm not sure if they will finally be a sort of shawl or a bedspread thingy. But I don't need to make that decision just yet.

One motif at a time is good for my current short attention span.

A New Direction?

First let me show you the two neck scarves that have proved to be my most useful this last winter because they are perfect for just around the neck warmth - and spring because they are so pretty.
First -
Barb's Koigu Ruffle.




I used Fyberspates Ethereal 4ply - 65% Cashmere 35% Silk, colour Red Kite. 4mm needles throughout and garter stitch instead of the stocking stitch the pattern called for.

I think the colour in this next photo is more accurate.





And the second scarf from The Natural Dye Studio, crocheted in beautifully soft Poshyarn pure cashmere -
Queenies Precious Crochet Scarf



5.5mm hook, Posh yarn Sophia lace weight. Web cam is handy but the light is behind and so colours not true. This is better:



But still not perfect -it is a much softer colour than this shows. And the combination of fine soft yarn and large needles give such a light, lacey appearance and feel. Not like crochet used to be!

On a different subject....

I was so pleased to find a method for making dollies with curly hair like the hair of each of my little grandaughters. What do you think of this one?



Its another webcam snap. I'll do some better photos when I'm home - and when she's got some clothes of her own. In fact this one looks so much more like a boy doll that I'm wondering whether to make another similar to be the third girl and let this one have football shorts and top and actually be a boy doll.

Oh by the way, the new direction referred to in the title is crochet. I've always enjoyed crocheting the odd thing in between my knits but right now its becoming a bit obsessional. I blame Queenie Amanda from The Dye Studio and and the English Country Garden cal (rav link). More about this next time.