New Yarn

Progress has begun, again, on my Attic24 ripple blanket.  It has been ages and ages since I last worked on it.  My colour selections have been alternating warm and cool colours and last night I found that I needed a new cool colour.  With only 2 blues left sitting in my bag.  The last few colours were blues, so I needed something new.  Like I needed an excuse to pop into our local yarn shop!? 

Want to see my new colours?

There are a whole bunch of new Sublime Extra Fine Merino colours.  Yay!  Some lovely bright orange to reds...I must confess that the pinks were starting to get a little boring for me...as well as some new Spring pastels and gorgeous metallics.  So, I bought 3 orange-y, pink-y, red-ish balls and another green.

Want to see the possible colour line up?

...and the gorgeous bag that I took it all home in....?

...and another shameless plug at one of my gorgeous goodies....

I also bought these....!

Hoooked Zpagetti!  It's a rather dull shade of brownish grey, but it is intended for this.  One day, the wall behind where it will hang will be a lovely shade of sea green, so grey seemed the sensible sort of choice.  The shop didn't have many colour options - white, ivory, navy, a gorgeous coral-y orange, light and dark grey.  I book marked that pattern ages ago and when the Zpagetti saw me it shouted and screamed at me to take its gigantic self home.  The bag/basket will be used for stashing hats and gloves - which are presently all stuffed into one of those Crocs bags that you get with their kids boots.

So...you noticed that lovely printed green linen then?  No?

This one...!  The ink is a really lovely pearly white, slightly on the grey side so as not to dazzle the eyeballs.

These fabric pieces are destined for gorgeous bags or zippy pouches.  I haven't decided yet.  More like this one maybe?

What do you think I should do with that fabric?  Have you made anything with Zpagetti?

Its finally finished....or maybe not

I know that I promised some lovely summery South African holiday photo's....but we took so many while we were away, that we had to download them on to Flower Daddies laptop.  So, I need to get my dirty mitts on to his laptop to repossess my photo's.  All of that will hopefully happen this weekend!

In the meanwhile, I am super pleased that I managed to finish my flowery blanket last night.

* drum roll please *

Ta-dahhhhhhh!

Dinky, but pretty - no?  It is perfectly lap and leg sized.

/

Did I say that I was pleased with the result?  It has been almost 2 years in the making.  

It would have been nice to have had more flowery squares.  There are already 52 of them in there.  {Yup, just counted them.  I thought that there were at least 70?!}  They were pretty time consuming and I was getting desperate to see some amazing progression.  And, it would have been nice for the beige joining colour to have been a paler shade of cream - but Sirdar Calico DK doesn't come in a paler shade of cream, so I had to make do.

This is the first blanket that I have ever crocheted.  Should the rippled edges bother me?  I honestly have no idea.  It is what it is and I rather love it!

***

Actually...I have a confession....

See, this is the back side...........it really isn't finished.  Not by a looooong way!

There are so . many . loose . threads to weave in, I kind of lost the will to live.  So, I shelved the weaving and jumped to the edging.  You can actually see in the photo of the whole back that I have made a good dent in the weaving process.  But, there are still so many to do.

Anyhow, that is a job for another gazillion nights.

My ripple blanket is really no different than the last time I mentioned it.  I should really tackle that one head on, as soon it will be summer again (in like another 4 or 5 months....sigh....) and I really won't want to be anywhere near it.  Now is the time!

Crochet a Sunny Pin Cushion {Tutorial}

This tutorial was part of the Sew Far Sew Good and House of Pinheiro Pin Cushion Swap and was originally posted here and here.  You can also read a very short blurb about me over there!  Isn't it horrible trying to introduce yourself to complete strangers?  Trying to convey your essence and what makes you tick in a few sentences...

Anyhow, over to the pin cushion.  I figure you need something to keep your fingers busy this weekend...like you probably don't have enough other stuff to be busy with...

Ok, so this isn't really all that tricky, and is easy enough to do while being bugged by amusing a baby and small person...i.e. not much concentration is required! But, maybe you are like me - and Like Instructions for Anything and Everything? Well, then it is your lucky lucky day!

I am using UK crochet terms and my abbreviations are:
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
dc = double crochet
tr = treble crochet

All the supplies I used were bits that I had already.  The yarn is Rico Creative Cotton Aran.  Colours I used are: Fuschia (13), Tangerine (76), Orange (74), Natural (60), Pistachio (41).  The colours in this yarn are so very bold and pretty - but it can be a real pain in the butt to crochet with as it is very splitty.  The label says to use a 4-5mm hook, I used a 3.5mm to make the stitches a little tighter, to minimise the gaps.

This pattern is my own and you are welcome to do what you like with it.  A little nod of recognition in my direction would be much appreciated.

Righty-oh...let's get on with this busy-ness...

Start with crocheting 4 chain stitches.  sl st into the 1st chain to form a loop.
ch-3, then tr-11 {it will make life so much easier if you weave your tail in as you crochet}.
You are aiming for 12 spokes in your circle.

{You are correct...that IS a chopping board as the backdrop!  Well spotted!}

sl st into the 3rd ch of your 1st ch-3.

Fasten off.

If you wove your tail end in as you did your trebles, then pull that end snug (so it is nicely hidden inside the stitches and not pulling the circle tight) and snip it off.


Join your 2nd colour into your 12 spoke circle.

In this round your are working into the spoke gaps rather than the wheel stitches.  {I like to make a slip knot and pull that through and go straight into my first set of chain stitches.  But, you do what you prefer}

ch-3, then tr-1 into the same space as your chain.  Again, weave your tail as you go.

tr-2 into each space.
You are aiming for 12x tr-2 clusters around your circle.
sl st into the 3rd ch of your 1st ch-3.

Fasten off.  Snip your tail end as before.

Join your 3rd colour into your circle.  Again, we are working into the cluster gaps in this round.
ch-3, then tr-2 into the same space as your chain.  Weaving your tail as you go.
tr-3 into each space.
You are aiming for 12x tr-3 clusters around your circle.
sl st into the 3rd ch of your 1st ch-3.

Fasten off.  Snip your tail end as before.

Join your 4th colour into your circle, in any cluster gap.

ch-3, then all still into the same space tr-2, ch-2, tr-3.  You have a corner!

tr-3 into each of the next 2 spaces.
Making another corner: tr-3, ch-2, tr-3 into the next space.
tr-3 into each of the next 2 spaces.
Continue until your have made your square.
sl st into the 3rd ch of your 1st ch-3.  Don't cut your thread!

For the next round we work in the cluster gaps and cluster stitches.

ch-3 - this stitch is acting as a tr-1 into the cluster space.

tr into the next 2 stitches.

All into the cluster corner space: tr-3, ch-2, tr-3.

tr into the next 2 stitches.
tr into the cluster space.
Continue in this way until your have made your square.
sl st into the 3rd ch of your 1st ch-3.
Fasten off.

One side done!  Make another of the same or different - depending on how funky nuts your mood is.

Now that you know how big your pillowcase is you can make a little cushion.  I made mine of white wool mix felt and filled it with rice.  Make sure that whatever fabric you use is pretty behind your pillowcase.  You will see it through the gaps.  You could use a contrasting colour - play with your supplies until you are happy with your choice.

So, measure the size of your crochet square.  Mine was 10cm (4").  I cut out 2x 11cm (4.3") squares.

 

With the fabric wrong sides together, sew around 3 edges with a narrow seam.  You are aiming for your cushion to be a smidge smaller than your pillowcase.  Snip the 2 sewn corners and turn the cushion right side out.  Fill your cushion with your filling of choice.  I chose rice (at my mothers suggestion - thanks Mum!) because I wanted something a bit heavier than toy stuffing.  I like the idea of emery sand a lot, but a bit of googling resulted in only USA finds...and I wasn't prepared to pay the nutty postage prices.  Rice was in the cupboard, so it was used!

I wanted a nice plump pincushion, so filled my cushion until there were 2 fingers of empty fabric left.  As I didn't feel like fighting with escapee rice and my sewing machine, I just did a small running hand-stitch across the opening to close it all up...checking that rice could not escape my stitches...


Back to the hook and yarn.  Place your 2 squares wrong sides together, so that the corners line up.  We are going to dc the 2 squares together.  I used a contrasting green against the cream for a bit of extra colour pop.  When joining, only hook through the back loops.  This adds a little ridged detail line between your square and the dc edging.

On your squares, at your corners, you have a corner space.  These corner spaces are made of 2 chain stitches.  When you are doing your joining, dc-2 into each of these chain stitches.

So...Hook through both squares into the 1st corner chain stitch to join in your yarn. {I used my slip knot method here again}

ch-1 (only 1 of your dc-2 here, we will add the 2nd one at the end)

 

Into your next corner chain dc-2

dc into all the stitches until you get to the next lot of corner chain stitches.

dc-2 into the 2x corner chain stitches

Continue until 3 sides are joined together.

Wriggle your cushion into the pillowcase, making sure that all the corners are nicely filled.  Tuck your cushion down so that you can close up the opening.

Continue with your dc until your reach your starting chain.

dc into this same stitch and then sl st into your starting chain.

Fasten off and weave in any remaining loose ends.

Go banana's pushing your pins into your new pin cushion.  {you have been spared my boring yellow-ball pin heads}  

....oooooh, so pretty and sunflowery in the lovely bright sunshine....Or, make a bunch more for juggling or for your kids to steal....I have to hide mine from Chloe...I am not sure if it is the weight or bright colours or texture that attract her to it, but she likes it a who-o-o-o-le bunch!!

Rats!  This whole pincushion-y business is addictive.  My brain is rattling away with more pincushion-y goodness...crochet top, fabric bottom - hmmm....pretty :: crochet doily stitched to pretty fabric cushion....oooooh :: scrappy crochet stripes with pretty hand embroidered something....oh dear...

Vintage Crochet {Book Review} and a Big Boo Boo

I have recently borrowed Vintage Crochet from our library.  I borrowed it because I just loved this garden 'tent'.  Thinking that it could make a cute awning to hang outside our back door [that is if the Flower Daddy would ever allow me to get away with it!]...and maybe hook a few fairy lights or bunting or something else fluttery and colourful and summery in there.

Both girls were with me at the library, so I barely had time to flick through the book to see if there was anything else of interest in it.  Well, it certainly doesn't disappoint!  Just look at some of these projects:

Honestly...I really don't have much time for those yucky white doilies that my gran used....but these I could live with.  No convincing required here!  Is it the colours, or the design...I don't know.  They are just lovely.

I never thought that I would ever speak this sentence: I want a crocheted tablecloth for my garden table.  Balls and all.  I think that it would also make a lovely blanket or shawl...minus the balls...

A few weeks ago I was wondering about crochet paeony's...well Here You Go!

Then there are some great pattern instructionals (is that a word??)

Taking crochet to a totally funky place!

How to do vertical stripes.  I have been wondering how to do this.

There are so many really different projects in this book.  Maybe because it has numerous contributors.  The projects range from a baby/toddler cardigan to necklaces, a dog coat, purses and bags to shawls, egg cosies, curtains and so much more.  I love the range.  And I love the book - and I promise that no one bribed me to say that!

Oky doky - on to the Boo Boo part of this post...

I have given the doily salad bowl cover a go....the instructions weren't fantastic.  But then I still consider myself a bit of a crochet novice.  Especially when following a pattern.  I mostly got stuck when starting a new round, as the instructions were not that detailed.  If you kind of know what you are doing crochet-wise, you'll be ok figuring it out, if not, play around with a well illustrated crochet circle project first.

Anyhow...my doily....I used COMPLETELY the wrong yarn!!  Talk about taking too long to figure out that what I was crocheting was totally and utterly fugly.  The yarn was Rico Creative Cotton - again - and the hook a 4mm.  Talk about me being Stupid in both yarn and hook choices.  I am going to unravel the revolting thing and start again with some pretty purple Patons 100% mercerised cotton yarn.  I will share the new version when I am finished.  In the meanwhile - do you want to see the revolting chunk of crochet that I spent ages crocheting??

Please don't be ill....

It is chunky and coarse and wavey and really, the Creative Cotton is too 'stringy' to really suit this kind of thing that is meant to be delicate and pretty.  And the colour choice - ick - Ick, ick, Ick.  I can only stomach sharing one photo of this icky thing.  You really do need to experience its awfulness in real life.

Just looking again at the pattern, it calls for Be Sweet Bamboo {Hey!  It is a South African yarn!!!!!}.  Which is a DK yarn.  Oooooooh...see these colours that it comes in!!

[Oh dear, I think that coke and biscuit I just ate have kicked in...I am getting all over excited...sorry]

I have to get my dirty paws on some of that yarn.  If you know anywhere in the UK that stocks a good colour selection of it, please, please, please let me know.

Time for me to go burn this sugar rush off on some sewing related projects.

Have a great long weekend!  Fingers crossed that it is braai and mielie bread sort of weather...