FO Friday

I've managed to finish 3 items this week. As I mentioned yesterday I finished a ballet bag for my neice that I can't show just yet.

Sorry to be the organised one (I'm not really!) but the other two finished objects are Christmas things. First up is a blanket for my aunty. I can show you this because it's very unlikely she'll see it. I know my neice won't see my blog either but her parents might and I'd quite like it to be a surprise for them too.

It's another Granny Stripe by the Attic24 pattern. It's pretty quick to work up, though this version was more repetative than the previous one because I only used 5 colours this time (last time I used 17) and I repeated the colours in order this time (last time I did random stripes).

It's a lap sized blanket. It took 2 balls each of Stylecraft Special DK in Cloud Blue, Silver, Teal, Aspen, Turquoise (there was a bit leftover from the two balls even after the border was added).

I changed the colour order for the border, mainly because I didn't want the first border colour to be the same as either end of the blanket. Order of colours for the border: Teal, Cloud Blue, Aspen, Silver, Turquoise.

I'm really pleased with it. I love the colours and I hope my aunty does too.

I've also finished the Christmas wallhanging.

WIP Weds: Yes, I realise it's only July

so huge apologies for mentioning the C word ;-)

Yes, I have officially started getting ready for Christmas! On Monday evening I basted a quilt panel ready to start quilting as soon as I have time to sit and do some sewing. I bought it ages ago. I thought it was 2 years ago but actually it might only be about 18 months - it was massively reduced so am guessing it was getting close to Christmas when I bought it. I've never got round to making it but I'm determined to have it finished for this Christmas!

The other project I've started is a present for my Aunty. Last year I made her a scarf and she loved it so this year I'm making a granny stripe blanket. I just love this pattern by Lucy of Attic24 as it's so simple and I can do it while watching tv as it doesn't require much concentration.

I'm making it in Stylecraft Special DK, which is just a cheap acylic yarn but so lovely to work with, far better than most acylics. My Aunty loves teal so I'm using Cloud Blue, Silver, Teal, Aspen and Turquoise, in that order.

Granny Stripe blanket in progress

The colours are a bit more vivid in real life. I'm into the third colour repeat and am hoping to need 60 stripes in total. I'll then add a border.

I started the blanket with foundation single crochet rather than a chain and the a row of sc and I started with 142 stitches (it has to be a multiple of 3 plus 1). I'm hoping to have a lap sized blanket at the end of it and it seems to be working out so far.

Crochet Hero 3KCBWDAY3

Well, what can I say. When I saw the topic for Day 3 of Knitting & Crochet Blog Week there was only one choice. I had to pick Lucy from the Attic24 Blog.

There are so many reasons why I've chosen Lucy and here are the main ones:

1. Her designs are stunning and yet so simple to make. I love that you can often start them and after the first couple of rows the pattern is so stuck in your head that you can just sit and crochet without needing bits of paper around you and it doesn't matter if your kids are asking a million questions because you're not losing your place each time you pause to answer them.

My Neat Ripple Blanket

2. The lovely bright colours she uses. They just make me smile! I love that places are now selling a "Lucy Pack" of the 17 shades of Stylecraft she used in her granny stripe blanket.

My Granny Stripe Blanket, made using a "Lucy Pack"

3. I wish I had her photography skills. It's a pleasure to read her blog just for the pictures!

4. She makes so much for her own home. This is something I didn't really do before I found the Attic24 blog. I would make things for my kids. I would make the odd thing for myself. I would perhaps make something for my house at the sewing group I go to, if we were all doing a project together. I made a quilt for the bed and planned to make some for the kids. But after finding her blog and making the granny stripe above, I just couldn't stop. I wanted that Homemade Home! I've made multiple blankets, cushion covers & jar cozys, not all from Lucy's patterns but inspired by the lovely photos she has of her home. It's like I no longer need to just make for other people.

Candle Jar Cozy

Owl Family

I think that seeing the photos of Lucy's beautiful home has made me realise that I can make things just because they're pretty, that I can dot things about the room to make it look nice, that the things I make don't have to just be practical. She's helped me turn my house into a home.

 

WIP: Neat Ripple Cushion

I just couldn't resist getting my hook out and starting on the Stylecraft I bought from Coldspring Mill. I knew I was going to make a cushion cover with it and had a browse on Ravelry to see if there was a pattern I liked. I was really struggling to decide, mainly because I really fancy doing a circular cushion but the pads I have are square. In the end I decided to do another ripple cushion but this time I'm going to make the whole thing crocheted, rather than backing it with a jumper.

Here's the progress so far:

The yarn is lovely to work with, though it's a bit thinner than the Jarol Heritage DK.

Crafting In Progress

When getting my stuff together for sewing group last night I pondered taking my crocheted cushion cover. All it needs is 3 buttons sewn on and it will be finished, but I decided against it as it really doesn't take long enough so I'd have had to take another project anyway and I'd rather not have too much stuff to take. So I'm going to share the picture of it with you anyway and you'll have to imagine it has buttons on to fasten it.

This is made from Rowan Handknit Cotton. I had to order more of it and luckily I had an Amazon voucher, so I ordered from the Deramores shop on there. It would have been cheaper to order direct from them because of discount vouchers floating around but I'd have had to part with actual cash and I was struggling to know what to spend my voucher on. I was really impressed to find a dispatched email in my inbox just half an hour later and the package arrived less than 24 hours after ordering. So a definite thumbs up from me!

Originally I was going to say how I wasn't very keen on the Rowan Handknit Cotton. I think I don't often use cotton yarns and so they feel odd in my hands when I do I find I tense up quite a lot when using them. Then I started making an Attic24 Happy Flower Decoration with the leftovers, a deep purple I ordered and some random balls of cotton/mostly cotton yarn I had in my yarn box. This is when I realised the Handknit Cotton is far nicer than other cottons. I'm still pondering whether to redo my flower without the pinky cotton as it seemed thinner than the others. I expect I'll end up just making more flowers and keep it anyway!

I still have the ends to weave in, the stalk/leaves to make and the additional bits but I just love the purples in it, which will go really well with the new colour in the living room. It was inspired by this one (check out the last picture)

Christmas Chaos!

Well, I've just realised I haven't blogged since the end of October. It has been so busy here.

First off I started my second Open University module in October. The assessment for the first 5 Units consists of a computer marked assignment after each one (i.e. every 2 weeks). I have a longer tutor marked assignment due on Thursday that I really need to get started on.

I've also been busily crafting. I took part in a swap on the We Love Lucy ravelry group. This involved making some bits and buying some more things to send to a partner. I had lots of fun selecting items and was sooooo pleased with the items I received.

It included this handmade fairy, which went on our Christmas tree and will do so every year

Some Rowan handknit cotton. I still haven't decided what to use this for.

and lots of other bits

One of the items I've been finishing off is the neat ripple blanket as featured on the Attic24 blog. I made this from Jarol Heritage DK.

I added a sc broder just to finish it off as I thought the lime green end stripe looked a bit unfinished. It's now on the sofa in the living room awaiting cushions to match. I have crocheted the front of one cushion by using wider ripples and sitting on the back of the sofa are 25 granny squares for the other cushion cover. I need to weave all the ends in (hate that job!) before joining them together. My Boxing Day shopping consisted of me searching for some jumpers I can chop up for the backs of the cushion covers.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without some last minute panic crafting and this year it was stockings. I made one for a friend of my husband and enjoyed making it so decided to make one for each of us. I'm really pleased with them but oh my, do they hold a LOT.

I didn't have any stocking hangers so did a mad rush round the shops on Christmas Eve and managed to make do with some plastic hooks for hanging lights on the outside of your house. Once these were hanging up I felt very festive.

and the children were very pleased with them. Better still there was no fighting over which one they wanted!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas!