Fab Feb FOs!

Hello. Yes. Welcome. (That's in tribute to my favourite character in Boston Legal...)

It seems that I'm tending to blog about once a month at the moment so I'll run with that for a while and see how it goes. I'd love to blog more often but I guess it's just not meant to be. Still, here I am.

So, first up is an FO that I'm particularly proud of. Remember this from January?

Well, by the miracle of knitting, it turned into this....

It looked a little frumpy hanging in the tree all by itself so I tarted it up with a colourful scarf and it made all the difference! It looks great with jeans (and no, I don't have a pic of that) and is super warm. It's Minetta by Kirsten Kapur and is a really easy and enjoyable project. I used a stashed 4 ply yarn (80% wool) which I suppose is going to be waaaaay too hot for even the coldest South African winter day, but even if I only wear it once or twice, it'll be worth it.

Here's a back view which is equally gorgeous...love the centre cable panel!

That panel stopped me from committing suicide whilst doing the back which is how I normally feel when doing endless stocking stitch! Enough to keep it interesting but not enough that I couldn't watch TV or listen to audiobooks at the same time....perfect.

Here's some cable and button love....

And a view without the scarf. (Please excuse the shoulders ... there are NO shoulder pads (I'm not that desperate to replicate the golden age of the 80s, although it was the greatest decade of all time) - it's just the hanger I was using!

One last look then before I move on ....

And so, onto another FO!!! For a while now I've been wanting to try Tunisian crochet. However, until recently my local yarn shop didn't stock the hooks and I wasn't about to embark on an internet shopping spree because it never stops at one item does it ...... or is that just me? However, I managed to lay my hands on a hook a few weeks ago and decided that today was the day to make something useful.

A month or so ago I was given these rather wonderful things. They're called Snippits here in SA - and they are totally FAB! For us crafters, scissors can be a bit of minefield. Some are too big to carry around in a little "bits and bobs" bag, some are too small, made in China and fall apart after about a week so we're always on the lookout for the perfect cutting tool. Well, I think I've found it with these little beasties cos they're perfect.

I know they look a bit antiquated and when I first saw them I was reminded of some of the lethal hardware that my grandfather used to keep in his shed, but believe me, these are The Business. They are extremely (and I don't use that word lightly) sharp and have a point on them that could make a grown man weep. They are small (just over 2") and feel great in the palm of my hand. Being almost flat, they allow me to cut yarn really close to my work which means I don't get those little tails sticking out all over the place.

But, they needed a little holder - something small but thick enough to keep me from spearing myself every time I dug around in my project bag looking for them. And then it hit me! Tunisian crochet was the answer!!! Out came the hook and the yarn and I got going.....

A little bit of green yarn left over from my Luscious Lime II project, interspersed with a little orange bamboo silk.....

It was so easy (after watching only one Youtube video on how to do Tunisian crochet I was soon an expert)! Quickly it turned into this....

A perfect Snippit Sleeping Bag! And here are the Snippits all tucked up with points end in first (again, so I don't stab myself)!!! An excellent way to spend a couple of hours!

And that's pretty much it for now. I have started my next project which is Rustique by Glenna C. I'm doing it in a forest green tweedy sort of yarn which I love so I should have that finished by next time!

Hope you are well!

Till soon.

Skinny Scarves & Strudel

Hello!!!

Well, we're winding down now to the end of year at school so I thought I'd better start thinking about those pressies for teachers....

I decided on skinny scarves - always useful and quick to make - so bought three lots of Vinnis Serena yarn (a firm favourite of mine) and have started crocheting ....

I've already finished one (in a deep red) and the above is No 2. One more to do after that and I'll be done! Having been a teacher myself I really appreciate the gifts that the children bring at year end (especially when they are homemade). We don't have devilishly cold winters here but a little warmth around the neck is always useful in the early mornings.....

On a completely different subject, I had a go at making Apple Strudel the other day and actually had a complete kitchen success for a change!!!

I made it at the request of my youngest son who liked it but not enough to scoff the lot so guess who had to finish it all...... least said about that the better.....

I thought it might make a nice change on Xmas Day instead of Xmas Pud so if you want to have a go, here's the super-easy recipe -

Apple Strudel Recipe:

4 Granny Smith apples - 3 peeled, cored and sliced - 1 peeled, cored and grated
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place apples in large bowl. Stir in brown sugar and raisins. Set aside.
Roll out pastry until slightly wider and longer than baking sheet.
Put pastry on baking sheet and put apple mixture down the middle of the pastry lengthwise.
Fold the pastry lengthwise around the mixture. Seal edges together by using water on your fingers and crimping pastry edges together.
Cut three or four lines across width of pastry.
Whisk egg and milk together and brush on top of pastry.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 mins.
Serve with ice cream.

It was very more-ish so if you like apples, it's well worth a try!

That's me for now.

Til soon.

xxx

Miss Potter's Shawl

Do you remember recently I was whittering on about shawls and Miss Potter? Well, I put hook to yarn and made this ....

I've called her Miss Potter and I have to say that I'm rather proud of her as she was completely random with very little planning and just flew off the hook! The colours are all favourites of mine and altho I think the blue is a tad bright, in general I think they all work pretty well together.

The edging is just a shell cluster which keeps to the simplicity of the shawl. I didn't want to go with anything too fancy after all, this is a shawl designed for tramping across the Lake District.... or at least around my garden looking for kindling!

I used Vinnis Serina which is a locally produced 100% bamboo yarn. The drape is fantastic and the colour range second to none. You can see it here. I've worked with this yarn for quite a few projects now and it really is stunning. I have a feeling there'll be a few more of these shawls coming off the hook pretty soon. Here's a last look at Miss Potter draped across the back of a chair just waiting to be worn. My beauty.....

I've put up her details on my Ravelry page so please pop over and have a look. She was really easy and a joy to make!

Til soon.

xxx

Just found this ....

I'm meant to be working but I'm not ... am trawling Pinterest instead. It's a dangerous thing to do. I thought - "I'll just have a look for 5 mins whilst drinking my coffee" but that was an hour ago....

I found this.

Is it not perfect? For a colourholic like me, that much colour in one space could ONLY make me smile every time I saw it! No matter the weather, wouldn't you just have to smile?

If you're as keen as I am to make it, here's the link: Flower Valance Pattern

It made my day.
Til soon.
x

67 Blankets for Madiba Day 2014

Hello!

Earlier this year I became involved in a wonderful initiative that (like many other wonderful initiatives) started with a single idea by a single individual and has blossomed into a Worldwide phenomenon. It's called 67 Blankets for Madiba Day and some of you may already have heard about it but if not, HERE'S a link to a short Youtube video about how it started and what it is..... please have a look.

So I decided to knit a blanket using all the odd bits and pieces that I had in my stash. I didn't think I had very much and I envisaged buying at least 4 balls of wool at some point. I was wrong. I have completed the blanket without buying a single ball!!!

Take a look ....

I wasn't too bothered about colour co-ordination and literally just used up every scrap of yarn that I had. At the end I laid it out on my bed just as the squares came out of the bag and started crocheting them together.

Then I decided on a simple edging (thanks Lucy)....

And I could see it finally coming together.....

A quick swirl around in the bath with some Woolite and out on the line to dry....

My Beautiful Blanket for Madiba Day!!!

Til soon....

x

Brights and Buttons....

Hello! Yikes it's been a while. I haven't yet managed to get into a rhythm with my blog posts this year but promise to be a little more organised from now on!

So, Feb has been and gone. Why does time speed up as you get older? It seems I've just got things organised at the beginning of the month when suddenly it's month end and I haven't done anything! Does anyone else get that? (Or is it just me????)

I have managed to finish the first of my 12 of 12 Challenge. It's this -

What do you think? I'm really happy with it altho I didn't do the side shaping as I wanted a kind of "tunic" thing going on rather than a fitted sweater. Its this pattern (Gabbro by Carol Feller). Do you like the lace panel down the sides and at the neck? I do. Here's some more pics.....

It looks fab with jeans and is roomy enough for a long-sleeve T in those cold winter months .... always useful.

On a completely different subject, fruit salad!!!! DH and I had a sudden yearning the other day for fresh fruit salad and seeing as we're in the middle of Summer here with lots of fruit in the shops (well, what's left after we've exported it all to Tescos and the like....)

we made this -

And it was just as delicious as it looks - so much so that DH made another one 2 days later!

On the home front (literally), my army-loving youngest boy is having to make a model dog kennel for a school project so we got busy with the paper mache yesterday .......

There was much squidging and squelching (are there such words?) with the wallpaper paste and altho he seemed a little reluctant at first with the stickiness of it all, once he got stuck in (literally) there was no stopping him. Once it's dry, painted and suitably decorated I shall include pics in a future post. I don't know who had more fun tho, him or me!

On the needles at the moment are socks (as always) and I'm steaming ahead on the Magic Loop! So much easier than DPNs and you don't get those terrible ladders when you jump from one needle to the next! If you haven't tried Magic Loop then give it a go (just Google "Magic Loop" cos there are loads of video tutorials).

I'm also making a couple of gifts so I can't show you too much at the moment ....
there's this ....

together with this ....

and this .... isn't this blue heavenly?

But more about those another time.

In the meanwhile I leave you with my basket of beautiful stash yarn in the sunshine .....

Til soon.

xxx

Some FOs, some WIPs, two new additions and the ocean....

For those of you that are not "yarnie types", FOs stands for Finished Objects and WIPs are Works In Progress....

Let's start with my latest FOs. A while ago now a fellow blogger (Shelley who has since deleted her blog - so sad....) sent me these in a yarn swap.

They were four balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace yarn in the most gorgeous deep claret colour. For months I have looked at them in my yarn stash quite unable to decide what to make with them. I wanted to do them justice, to find a pattern that would merit this spectacular yarn. It is extremely fine (lace weight) and extremely light. I spent hours on Ravelry trying to find a pattern that I could do (I had never worked with lace before) and finally, F I N A L L Y after months and months of deliberation, I settled on the Holden Shawlette and here is my finished version...

I have to say, I am very proud of myself although this pattern is very very easy and was a great first lace project. Working with such fine yarn is an experience but it grows much quicker than I had thought it would and because it's so light I never felt as though I were carrying a ton of bricks around with me (which can happen when making shawls and wraps). Anyway, it only used one ball of the yarn that Shelley sent me so I have three left to make another shawl.....does that mean I have to make another decision....cripes!

My next FO was an attempt to use up some of the bits and bobs in my stash that will never stretch to a garment of any degree. I am always reluctant to throw away or discard those half balls and quarter balls that remain when a project is finished and I try and keep them in bags by yarn weight. My 'cotton' bag was feeling nicely plump so I decided to crochet a couple of dishcloths.

These are about 15cm square and they really do make washing dishes so much easier and more enjoyable. I know that I need to get a life, but there you go.....

Next up is my WIP which proved to be very difficult to capture on my camera. The colour of the yarn is called Sea Mist and it's a greeny blue (in fact, the very colour of the sea!) but for some reason my camera didn't like that particular shade. This was the best I could get and it looks more like a baby blue which it isn't.

The pattern is the Texture Shawl Recipe by Orlane and I'm doing it in double knitting wool although I think it would be fab in 4 ply. Again the pattern is very easy and the textured stitch really does break up the stocking stitch with great effect. Am thinking this will be a fab shawl.

I am still working on my Readers Wrap which I previously posted about here but am hopeful I will finish it this weekend! It's been a really great project to do - just simple stocking stitch, melodic and therapeutic....

My two new additions are these -

Two new bags - YAY!  The first I received from Elizabeth at Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse (one of my favourite blogs). She made it herself and it's quite exquisite.

Front view

Closeup of the bird whom I've named Charlie (don't ask me why...)

Closeup of the flower made up of four layers of fabric with a button through the centre - delightful!

Back view (LOVE the red flowers!)

It really is beautiful and will be my bag of choice to take to work when I start my new business next month. Thanks again Elizabeth....

The second bag came from Yarndale which for those of you that don't know, is a huge craft and yarn festival being held in Skipton in North Yorkshire at the end of September. Seeing as I live in South Africa and cannot jump on a train to attend, I thought buying one of their bags was the next best thing.. (Excuse the creases but I couldn't be bothered to get the iron out ....)

Is that sheep logo not the cutest thing? I've nicknamed her Shirley (well she can't be Shaun) and in true Yorkshire fashion 'I think she's a grand lass!'. Sigh, still wish I could go though.....

And on a final note (this post seems to have gotten longer and longer) we went to the beach last week for 5 days and it was G-R-E-A-T!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are some pics....

The view from our apartment

A Wagtail on the rocks (and no, that's not the name of a cocktail!)

DH pretending his trying out for Brighton & Hove Albion (his team)!

And finally, sunrise on the Natal coast. (This pic has not been enhanced in any way. This is how sunrises are in this amazing country.)

Thanks for stopping by.

Till soon.

xxx