Wyrt Socks – finished.

A very happy new year to everyone. I hope that you have had a good one? I am very pleased to report that after my slight accident earlier this week I managed to complete my socks with about an hour to spare – about 11 O’clock on New Years Eve.

I love them.

I really enjoyed knitting these socks. They have the right mix of interest with the cables along with the fairly easy knitting part. Perfect knitting for when you are tired and are sat in front of the TV.

 

 

I also learnt some new techniques:

• these are toe up socks so I learnt how to do Judy’s magic loop.
• I had done short row shaping before but always nice to have another practice at something like this that I don’t do very often.
• I also learnt a new stretchy bind off. I am not sure what it is called as I simply typed stretchy bind off into google. As I came to the end of the second sock I did have a mild panic as to whether I would be able to find the same bind off again but it all turned out ok in the end (luckily!).

If you have not knitted socks before then I suggest that you try it. They are highly portable and fairly quick too.

The only question I have is when should I wear them? I love my socks and don’t want to hide them inside boots and shoes :(.

 

Settler Shawl – finished!

Before I went on holiday I wrote the post “It is meant to be.” The shawl that I was knitting is all finished. Knitted, blocked and end weaved in. I LOVE it.

This is my swatch.

We had a very long car journey (6 hours or so) and I did not want to waste a minute so got started with the swatch. It is a very important part of the process although Libby (the designer) had said that she thought that most people would not bother with a shawl but I was going to do this ‘properly’.

I say do it properly but I didn’t want to spend the time wet blocking so I gave it a good tug, let it settle and measured this (Sorry Libby). Yes it was all on my knee but I had a lot more quality knitting time ahead of me in the car.

I also took the opportunity to practice the cross over pattern that I had not done before, which was just as well because I got it completely wrong!

I didn’t read the (very clear instructions) properly which I put down to doing it in the car!

The first bit of the shawl was all garter stitch (one of the reasons as to why I was keen to get going whilst in the car.) It shows the variations in the colour of the yarn really well. It also makes the project a great one to take out and about. I went on to take this project onto the beach and was able to take part in conversations whenever I was doing it.

The criss- cross pattern done correctly 🙂

Once you get onto the cross over pattern it is still not difficult (as long as you get it correct;)) but it does require a bit more concentration – I had to look at what I was doing whereas I didn’t for the garter stitch.

Once finished the magic can take place!

Before blocking – please note that the foam blocks that I am using are small. I had to go out and buy bigger ones to fit it onto.

After a soak in water, a gentle dry within a towel and pinning out this is what you get:

I think that the transformation is amazing. I just know that I am going to get LOTS and LOTS of wear out of this.

Look at the little points on the end.

an amazing shawl

I loved knitting this and I love the end result even more. A real win – win 🙂 The good news is that you can get your hands on this pattern TODAY here, or if you fancy your chances and waiting for a bit then I have 1 copy of the pattern to give away thanks so much to Libby also known as Truly Myrtle.  All you have to do is leave a comment below and I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday 6th September.

A huge thank you to Libby for giving me this opportunity.

Good luck and enjoy.

PS: Joanne I have not deserted you, I am currently working very hard on your project 😉

Crochet Art Project finished

Remember the Crochet project that was going to Chelsea flower show that never did? Well we have completed it and it had its first showing this weekend. I am totally stunned by everyone’s work, right from the beginners to the expert.

We had one brief – to produce something that depicts what helps to keep us mentally healthy. Mine was obviously running:

 

I love all the birds in this one – the writing took ages but it is really effective.

This next one is possibly my favourite. It was completed by complete beginners, at the beginning of this project non of them had picked up a crochet hook at all before!

Here they all are. Isn’t it amazing?

Here are all the others. It amazes me how different they all are despite having the same starting point. I really hope you enjoy them:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Here they are on display at the weekend:

This is the lovely lady who organised it all, Joanne Scrace (notsogranny)

Please notice the time for tea one on the left – the amount of detail is amazing considering the lady who made this considered herself a beginner a year ago!

The one on the bottom right is also a panel that I have not photographed before.

We all had so much fun doing this. The sense of achievement was amazing too. A huge thank you to Joanne. Already looking forward to the next challenge. x

2 mice and a hat.

I realise that I have held you all in suspense for far too long….sorry about that. It was actually finished last week but you know how things take over?

This…..

…turned into this, a hat for my wonderful husband.

He requested one, in grey and when I bought the magazine – Simply Crochet (issue 12) they had the perfect design right there. (The fact that it was designed by my lovely friend Joanne Scrace was just a happy accident.) It is crocheted in King Cole Riot Chunky which has this lovely self strip effect. It worked up really quickly. I hope he likes it!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who commented and left their words of wisdom on my post last week regarding my dilemma, I really, really, appreciate it. I have decided to go ahead and make them.

My initial thought was to crochet them as I always think that it is easier but I then got my head around knitting and decided this was the way forward. Once I had got my head around it they didn’t take that long at all.

Once the features were added they really came together:

I have to say that they look so cute. I am really pleased with them.

All I have to do is add little aprons to them using the fabric that she has given me. This HAS to happen tomorrow.

I am then on to the last few details before Christmas. (Wrapping presents etc) I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas, filled with joy and happiness. xx

 

Aiming For Super Mum.

This weekend has all been about my boys (isn’t it always?), part from the usual ferrying around that is. On Thursday we had a rather odd e-mail from the school (mid OFSTED I might add) along the lines that it was rumored that The Daleks were going to spoil Christmas at the school. In order to try to prevent this they should wear bow ties, a Fez and bring sonic screw drivers in on Monday. Hmm. I truly fear that the Head has lost it.

Dalek (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a Dalek should you be unaware.

We do not have three bow ties in our house let alone 3 sonic screw drivers so I set to work straight away. I found a really cute pattern for a crochet bow here via Ravelry  (where else?) My eldest wanted black, ,my middle, yellow and my youngest multi-coloured (what else?)

The black one

The yellow one.

The multi coloured one. It is finished now but I took these photo’s when the sun was out!

In fact I have actually made 5 of these this weekend end as I made one each for my nieces too. 🙂

4 completed bow ties.

Then, this morning we made sonic screw drivers. The internet again came to my rescue in the form of Pinterest.

This is what we were sort of aiming for:

Source:

We found this brilliant tutorial using a pen, clay and a marble. Doable?

These are what we came up with.

Unfortunately I forgot to buy the marbles when I was buying the supplies yesterday but I obviously have lots of beads around which I think worked out just fine. Making your own means you can add your own little details. One added buttons by adding extra beads along the side and the others got creative with their decorations.

Showing the marble end of the screw drivers.

We did have fun making these. I don’t think that this is bad for a weekends work considering we also had all the usual activities to do as well. I just hope they defeat the Dalek’s!

We have a Pair!

For all you doubters out there….

I have finished my very first pair of socks 🙂

Yes they do fit!!!

The pattern is lovely and I am very proud of my short row heels.

The kitchener stitch that I have now mastered joins the toe to the pattern seamlessly.

To say that I am proud is a slight understatement. They are soft and very comfortable to wear. Whether I will dare to wear them I cannot yet say. They may simply sit in my drawer to be taken out and admired every now and again. The idea of wearing a hole in them is simply too painful to bear.

Will I be making more? Probably.

 

Gnarled Bark Hat

I am not sure if anyone remembers this?

At the time I was unable to share the project that this was destined for, but now I can 🙂

Photo courtesy of Kat Goldin

This is it: The Gnarled Bark Hat from the latest issue of The Crochet Project. The designer, Joanne Scarce had asked me to have a go. I am not really sure why as her patterns tend to be written beautifully but I was more than happy to oblige.

It was a new stitch pattern for me that involved working around the stitch below which is not something I had done before. The pattern was easy to follow and I really enjoyed making it. It was fairly quick and therefore very satisfying to make. I found that, once you got going it was one of those projects that is perfect for the evenings when you are tired and need something to help you de-stress.

This is the pre-blocked hat.

I am very ashamed to admit that I have not yet got around to properly cast off or block despite finishing a couple a weeks ago. Now the weather has changed I feel that this may become a bit more of a priority!

To help give you an idea of the finished hat I put it over a bowl. This is the view from the top!

Doesn’t it really open the pattern out? I really, really like this pattern.

This is the wrong side of the hat. I think it is lovely in its own way – almost a reversible pattern.

Now I am not really a hat person but I would recommend this hat – I may even wear it!! The pattern is a bargain at £3. In addition, yesterday I went to a hat clinic with Wooly Wormhead who is the master of hats, at The Sheep Shop (my LYS.) It was really fab and I may well have bought another hat pattern so watch this space 😉

Do pop over to Handmade Harbour to catch up with all the other wonderful crafty events of this past week.  Hope you have a really great week. x

 

A Polar Bear

Meet Paul the Polar Bear

My son did all the knitting himself, learning how to knit 2 together, ssk and pearl 2 or 3 together. Can you see the little tail?

A very, very proud moment for me 🙂 He is now making a penguin!

I am sorry for this second slightly self-absorbed post in as many days….will try to resume normal posts asap. Thanks for being patient.

Today is the day!

My 2nd crochet pattern has been published! Looking at the other patterns that are included in this latest issue, ( no. 2) I really cannot quite believe it as there are some beautiful patterns included.

The theme this issue is WOODLAND WHIMSY. The projects really capture this with the warm, colours that we associate with autumn: browns, rusts, oranges etc. Not all muted though as there are some pieces with a real POP of colour.

This is one, a tunic with a beautiful detail designed by Joanne Scrace.

This is another. A stole by Essie Doyle. This has a lovely texture as well as colour.

The photographs are all stunning, as we are coming to expect, taken by the multi-talented Kat Goldin, who also designed some mittens and is the co-producer of the publication.

So what about my pattern? Well you will remember this teaser from earlier this month?

No-one managed to guess the item itself …….

It’s a scarf!!! The yarn I used was Manos Silk Blend which is a dream to work with. The colours remind me of a dappled autumnal avenue of trees. (Which also happens to full of ‘my’ colours :))

If you are a crocheter then do pop over and have a look at the patterns – they are beautiful. They come in both US and UK terms (UK coming soon). If you are a knitter then do not despair as the website suggests that there may well be a ‘Knitting Project’ coming in the future.  I would like to thank Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin for all their hard work on this project (and esp to Kat for allowing me to use her wonderful photographs).

Finally I would like to thank all of you reading this, for letting me share some of my excitement with you 🙂

Exciting Times.

On Thursday our year-long crochet project culminated in an amazing display in the houses at the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens (read their take on it here). I think we are all quite amazed at how amazing they look scattered about in amongst the other plants.

We made Lichen which was put amongst the rocks.

This plant is housed in a pot complete with soil, all crocheted of course!

There are actually 2 crocheted plants in this shot. Each plant had an embroidered name card. This is so realistic it is hard to tell where the real begins and ends!

This plant was amazing – it is all held up with wire and the detail in the flower is amazing.

OK, so now this is not in situ – it is my groups sea onion before it has been tarted up!

And here it is in situ. It looks so much better and I have to say that I am so relieved! I had been really worried. It has been actually buried in the soil!

What makes this project really amazing is that many of the participants were not able to crochet before the project started at the beginning of the year. It is a really tactile display and during our ‘meet and greet’ session yesterday everyone was touching them – including us!! Should you be in the Cambridge area at all this week it is on all week so do pop along and see it for yourself.

We all loved it so much that we are desperately trying to find another project to work on next year.
If you pop over to Claire’s blog from Monday you will probably find some better photographs to look at. I also know that Michaela is also putting it up on her blog – go and see their take on it.

I apologise to other Handmade Mondayers who will have read a very similar post already but I shall be linking up anyway.

A couple of other points to note:

1 – I have a giveaway that ends on Wednesday.

2. My son completed his first knitting project – a polar bear, pictures will follow (I am so proud).

3. I am about to have my very second  crochet pattern published – hopefully tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled 🙂

As I said – exciting times 🙂