The cure for startitis

I finally found the cure for startitis. No more barely worked pieces lurking in cupboards and baskets. None stuffed under the bed, or by the side of the bathroom chair (top tip - knitting whilst the littlies are in the bath, they're happy, you're happy....), or in the glovebox of the car. No casting on items that will be too small for the wearer before you even finish. If it doesn't have a deadline then it doesn't get started.

You want to know my cure?

Although it might not work for all of you....

Well here goes......................

Are you ready.......

Although warning you, you might just dissolve into a gooey mush.......

 

A beautiful, smiley, cuddly baby!

Since Ivy came along I finally realised that you can't spend much time knitting with an elastic baby. One that doesn't like to be separated from mama unless within complete eye distance, and still with a high level of communication going on. This baby means that what little time I get to knit needs to be spent productively. Think of item, cast on item, work on item, cast of item, use item. Two or three at a time is fine, more than that - no chance of completion....ever! 

So want to cure your startitis and knit more productively? Go get yourself an elastic baby.

By the way - the playmat? Nothing to do with me. Jen's partners mothers friend (or something like that) sent one down for Jens baby and when I professed how cute it was she sent another for Ivy. How kind was that? Acrylic yarns, DK and/or eyelash type held in 4 strands, and then worked up into a giant granny square. It's one of those things, you know, you look at it and know how it's done, but you're never going to do it. Granny squares - yeah. Giant granny squares with 4 strands of yarn and a mega sized hook? No chance! It is very cute though.

Oh well, the elastic baby is fidgetting once again.

Let me know if you try out the cure ;)

-x-

Not a present present post

This is so very late isn't it? A Christmas present post! I never did share did I?

You know that all presents given with love are just so wonderful right?So I really didn't mind that no-one picked up on the heavy, heavy hints I left. Yo know - webpages left open on Knit Pro interchangeable sets, a lovely blanket kit from an online store, yeah, you all did the same ;)

But the gifts I did receive were pretty much there.

This came from Helen:

Available here (or Amazon if you don't mind all the tax stuff!)

The commemorative edition too so lots of colour photos - lovely. Guess what I'm hoping February's project will be......

This came from Emma:

Available here

I was clicking through the John Lewis website and mentioned to Helen that it was cute and wouldn't you know it, there it sat on Christmas morning. Really really planning on using this gift and creating a lovely banner for on the mantel wall.

This came from my man himself:

Hmm, did I ever mention my husband also share my OCD type personality traits. Only his manifests itself in the need to obsessively collect things of a type. So it seems he thinks he needs to buy every spinning wheel he sees. He has no idea what he's buying but does have an ultimately trusting personality, hence this wheel DOES spin wool......! Me,well I've not even had a proper look at it yet. Still longing to get to grips with Wee Peggy upstairs when I can loosen the elastic that connects the littlest girlie to me.

Did you all remember to share your crafty gifts?

-x-

Popping in.......

So's you know I'm still around :)

So much going on around here at the moment which means I haven't enough time to either craft, or blog about crafting! There has been some making going on but not sure it's that interesting to the world in general lol. We have been having a major sort out and shift around of our downstairs space which has meant lot's of painting, decorating, upcycling of furniture, sewing of curtains etc. We have lived here for eight years now and at last I know how our kitchen space works to the best, so lots of re-arranging in there, ready for it's final touch-ups when I get the energy. Maybe I'll share then?

I have crocheted some more little dishcloths in colours that are around and about the room:

Can you tell I wasn't paying much attention when I made the stripey one - haha, hiding it under the nice one is the best idea :)

 I love crocheted dishcloths, they last for ages. The ones I made 2 years ago are just about ready to move from the kitchen to the garden so about time I made some more.

There's another pretty big project that's been taking up a lot of my time and energy, but again that is not quite ready for a big reveal. Hopefully soon :)

So yes, still here, still reading all your lovely blogs, still gathering inspiration, just finding it really hard to find time to actually do anything!

Oh there was something I  wanted to share:

Isn't that so lovely? A cute handpainted darning mushroom that was one of my birthday presents. So what if I had to buy it for myself ;)

Catch you all soon with some big ta-dah's.

-x-

Cuddling up.

Take a (4mm) hook and start making these:

Squishy Debbie Bliss baby casmerino and James C. Brett pure merino - mmmmm.

Reverse the colour sequence (more than once!):

Run out of lemon when edging the last square and make an emergency trip to the LYS for some more, feeling extraordinarily pleased to discovered that two years apart the dye lot is the same! Use the same lemon to join the squares AND edge the whole thing:

Find some pretty co-ordinating soft cord and try to avoid too much pinning and sewing by machinestitching the backing to the inner edge of the outer round (confused??) and so making a pretty little trim:

Stuff with a pillow and place not-so-artfully on the mama made throw on the Papa revamped chair, and admire:

Yes that is a potty with an L plate - a certain little girlie is finding it a bit cold up there using the toilet ans likes a potty downstairs just in case......

Aaaahhhhh, lovely........... the cushion, not the potty!

Now back to the Hitchhiker.

-x-

Indecisive - moi?

So last post I said I was going to get back to projects already started, right? Wrong! The Granny stripe stayed in it's bag, and the pair of socks is still only a sock and a rib. 

But remember I said the merino was going to become my crochet cushion? Until I used some for the baby set? Well the cushion in my mind was a big, squishy, round huggable circle of softness. Instead the yarn is slowly becoming these:

See the sunshine glow across that project box? It's been such a beautiful day here so between long walks, cooking the meals, cleaning the home and feeding the little girl, I have also had time to sit in the front window, feeling the sunshine and hooking away. Wonderful.

Being the indecisive type I also cast on for part of Helen's yule gift:

Not the pattern I thought I would use, but I just know she will love this quirky little knit when she sees it :)

And staying on the theme of indecisiveness I definitely think I'm going to turn some of the King Cole Riot into one of these! I have loved this little scarf since I first saw it blogged here and I knew I was going to make it for someone. Then I forgot all about it! Until I noticed it popping up in blogland just lately and so I went and downloaded the pattern. I think it's going to look great in that riot of colour, don't you?

So there we are, after posting all those plans for all that yarn, I've already changed my mind on three things! 

Oh well there's plenty of time to get back to the others one day.........

-x-

Yarn along

Joining in the Yarn along once again with Ginny at Small things.

Lot's of finished projects lately and new idea's in mind so I thought I'd share progress on the ongoing hookie thing:

That's right, it's the Granny Stripe.

It seems as if it never grows but stretching it out on our kingsize bed this morning reveals it's true size. A long way to go yet:

Reading this week - The Food our Children eat by Joanna Blythman. So-so reading, mostly what I know already, with a few wincing moments thrown in. Not sure I'll keep with it to the very end. In fact, if anyone wants it then let me know. (If more than one of you do then I'll have to pull from a hat....)

-x-

Settling for a bit of this.........

 and a bit of that:

Going one step further than the patchwork cushions:

And dipping my toe in the world of quilting:

Even the beloved man got to join in this little patch (boo!!) of creativity by tidying up this sad little thing:

Loving it's transformation:

And for the grand price of........

wait for it...........

£9!!!!!

Wicker chair from the car boot sale, the seller swore blind it was a genuine Lloyd Loom but I don't think anyone believed him as he couldn't raise his £10 asking price. The beloved one bargain him down to six whole pounds. Wandering around we found another stallholder selling cans of spray paint for £1 so bought three to transform the chair from it's sickly lilac to a lovely antique white.

The fabrics are leftovers from assorted makes - the obviously Ikea birdie print and the deeper green was left over from the bathroom blind, the light green used to be Owen's bunk bed curtains, the tiny scarp in the centre was one of Heather's slings, the granny floral was left from making the caravan curtains and the pinky satin trim was the lining of another sling. The reverse fabric is Craig's old duvet cover, he's far too grown up for a mama made wild floral bedroom don't you know? As for the crochet flowers, well surely you recognise that yarn? Yes, it's the half skein left over from the cardi I just made Sophie. 

So there we go - super happy with my bargain recycled piece of loveliness, and doubly happy with my first little foray into quilting. Not a patch ( I know - again!) on some of the beautiful quilts I covet daily on fabulous blogs, I wouldn't want you thinking that! The stitching is a bit on the wavy wandering side, and the placement is a bit skewiff in places creating a few little ruffles when the ends were reached, not to mention that a little of the lining is held in place more by luck and repeated hemming than by any level of skill, but hey it's my first attempt and it certainly won't be my last. And now I know why those books are so detailed......and to follow them too!!

Another project finished, no more to be started until I finish the ones in progress. Back tomorrow with another completed...........I hope!

-x-

Decisions, decisions.........

Which shall it be?

Getting on with this:

Or this:

Perhaps I might get another row or two done on this:

Because there's a house full of people who can do the dishes right?

-x-

Catching up.

Ooh, it's been a long time hasn't it? Shall I give a multitude of reasons, or shall I just get straight on with showing some of the things that have been keeping me busy? Well aside from family, work, and general life that is!

Plannig lot's of projects using vintage fabric and bargain yarns:

Rowan Purelife organically grown 100% wool natural plant dyed only £1.50 per skein here but very limited now

Ebay bargain - over 2m of pretty barkcloth fabric

  Sirdar Click aran £1.39 per skein from the same place - love this shop, and it's not too far away for a personal visit either.

Crafting gifts for lovely mama's:

Knitted bamboo facecloth, soapbag, cross stitch trimmed scented sachet, and a trim for the carryall.

Starting on the christmas gifting:

Knitted dolly for Heather with removable clothes, just a couple more outfits to make.

Knitted cardi for Sophie with yet more of the bargain Sirdar Click

Sewing pretty cushions:

Enjoying patchwork and getting to grips with zips too.

Preparing for winter:

Granny stripe blanket 200cms wide, 110 treble clusters, 50cms high, another 130cms to go. And the edging.

Oh yes, I've been a busy crafting mama lately, with lot's more makes all jostling to show themselves off.

Sorry it's only a flying visit but maybe the changing weather will mean more time snuggling inside with the hooks and needles, and lot's more idea's to share.

-x-

Great Granny's.

 

So I said I was working on a little something for Owen? A little something using an old stash of granny squares and lovely yarn? Well I finally finished weaving in the last few ends and decided on the nicest way to join them altogether. 

In fact the hardest part of this whole make was deciding how the squares would fit together and I ended up removing two reds and adding two blues instead. It's a little harder to settle for the right design when limited by using only stash of a particular yarn. For this make I was using only Mirasol T'ika cotton DK and as it is no longer available I only had what was in the stash - 7 skeins of red, 6 of fuchsia, 3 of royal blue and 1 of green.

I wasn't sure that the one green would be enough to complete a border row so I decided to use it to join the squares together instead. When the squares were all joined I needed to think of a way to edge it, and as this is a make for a boy boy I decided on a simple treble crochet border all the way round in alternating stripes of red, blue and fuchsia. I repeated the red and blue once more and was going to add another fuchsia but decided that the blue final row gave just the right contrast and set off the limited blue squares perfectly.

Ideally I would have liked to have another skein of the lime to work the first border row but I didn't and so that was that. I could have done with blocking the squares a little better too but  it's quite a heavy blanket anyway so it will drop into it's own shape soon enough, and Owen was too impatient to wait fr me to do much more with it.

So here we go in all it's glory:

And now back to that in between stage of deciding whether to work my way through the W.I.P.'S, or to work on a little easy finished quick fix, or to start on the next big project......although I haven't decided what that will be yet!

Old projects.

Otherwise known as "the post where I tried to save on photo's"!

The camera battery is down to two dot's now so don't think it has much life left and with no trip planned to the caravan, and therefore getting the charger, for a few more weeks yet I'm trying to save camera usage as much as possible. Just wanted to give a sneak look at what I'm up to right now though :)

Remember this? And this? Or even this? Well after coming across a lovely find at the car boot sale last week I thought I would get creative and make it even lovelier. This is very much a gift for Owen so his favourite colours in use, which just happened to be the very colours I had stashed away and already started with.

I know a few of you  fell for this Mirasol yarn in a big way and started your own little projects after clearing it from the sales and I know that someone zoomed through the Granny squares  (Shell?) but I don't remember a finished project? :) 

So not quite ready for a reveal yet but the squares for this make are all done and I've even woven in all the ends so far. Just the joining up now (the part I like the least!) and then deciding on how to finish it off. Here's a peek of the colours in use, including the extra three skeins of blue I bought recently in the end of line at Blacksheepwools:

Really enjoying making this and half wondering why it has been stashed away for so long, whilst half pleased it was as I am really liking working with the yarn again. Funny seeing how my crochet has come on too - when I started it I wasn't sure what I was doing and it looks like I worked the treble clusters into the chain on the previous round rather than into the chain space! Phew, glad I understand crochet a little better now, it looks much nicer done the proper way! But I'll be using the older squares anyway as they are a reminder to myself of all I have learnt. And I'm fairly certain Owen won't mind or even notice the "wrong" squares.

Right, enough putting it off, back to joining the squares.....

-x-

For myself.

The reason I wanted to learn this art - those crochet doilies so loved by an almost lost generation.

So feeling confident enough to give it a go I armed myself with  a teensy 1.25mm hook, a ball of barely there cotton thread and a 1977 copy of Stitchcraft magazine.

It started well enough, round and round with basic double crochet stitches and a round of picots:

And then it got to the lacy design, still manageable but needing lot's of quiet and concentration:

And then the lacy pattern got, well, lacier! Twice I pulled back a whole round destroying almost an hour of work each time, but determined to get it just right. And finally, I finished. 

 

An error still there but hardly noticeable (ok, I know you will spot it)  and overall I am completely enamoured with my first ever handmade lace doily. Maybe a little more blocking is needed as the petals to the left are a little skewhiff, but I just couldn't wait to see it in it's long dreamed of place on the cupboard at the bedside. Ignoring that dearest one held up two at the car boot sale today  for the princely sum of 20p each (not handmade from the quick glance I gave fortunately, imagine having all that time and effort priced at 20 pence!!)  and preparing to start all over again on it's partner for my bedside cupboard.

A wonderfully enjoyable make, despite the many hours (22 rounds and each round from number 10 onwards taking up to an hour), the mistakes and ripping back, the blister on my middle finger, and the poor half knitted socks looking longingly towards me everytime I chose my crochet bag instead. At last, I did it, the one thing I knew crochet held the crown over knitting for - the humble lace doily!

And yes, I know I could have knitted just as pretty of a doily in far less time, I have done in the past. But this was a test of commitment and dreams, and I did it.

Next up - an easy finish. I finally cast on the second sock of this pair.

Now to go see what you've all been up to, and to see if Blogger will let me comment at last!

-x-

Ring a rosie.

 

A change of crafting this weekend. I don't want to get frustrated over the spinning, slow but steady is the key there I think. John spent the whole of Saturday evening, around four hours, dismantling, waxing, and rebuilding my Peggy and it now has it's own little corner in the living room. He also helped me to work out the problem with the Saxony wheel, the flyer and whorl kept locking up. Between us we found that the maidens weren't lined up properly and after a little repair work they now spin independently and it appears to be doing what it should. It still needs a new tension knob but I already have details of someone who can do that for me.

So the crafting? Still with wool but needlefelting this time:

Sorry about the photo quality :( The camera is in limited use right now and the I had to choose between overbright flowers or overdark leaves!

And how about this for a way of using up scraps of fabric? Initially spotted and admired here, and with the addition of a scrap fabric patchwork lavender filled heart, it makes a lovely wall hanging don't you think?

Did you spot the row of crochet flowers just above the wreath? 

I made them a while ago using lot's of scraps of yarn but wasn't sure what to do with them. In the end I glued them all around the edge of the bedroom mirror just to see what it looks like. Not sure I like it and I'll properly take them off again but I like the "idea" so might try again with some different colours. And paint the mirror first!

So that's about it for this post. It's a rainy day here so the children are already getting stir crazy, Owen is telling Cain that they aren't brothers any longer so I think it's time for mama to suggest a few ideas. Hope you're enjoying your day whatever the weather.

-x-

Slowly does it.

At a guess I'm around one sixth of the way through the blanket: 

I think a trip to the LYS is needed as I was clearly way, WAY out on my estimations of how much acrylic DK I had in my stash ;-)

And talking of yarn shops, if you're ever around mid Wales then there's a wonderful little shop in Machynlleth that has such lovely scrummy goodies for the crafty types. I can't remember the name of the shop but it has a lovely selection of Colinette yarns, Brittany needles, peg looms, and felt creations. I could have spent soooo much money in there but I didn't. I have fleece to spin and carders to buy before I can buy anything else remotely yarny. Well apart from the acrylic DK of course!

Off now to see what crafty things you've been up to whilst I've been away.

A tale of two loves.

I think Mr. Knitty and I are going through a bit of a difficult phase of late. I just seem to have grown bored with him, you see. 34 years we've been together and I have been enticed away by a newcomer - Mr. Crochet. Ah, Mr C. - so new, so exciting, so versatile, and so easygoing, just a hook and some yarn and we're off. And Mr. C comes in all shapes and sizes, from Granny striped blanket to teensy delicate doilies. And both at the same time too.

So I've already given you a peek at the granny blanket and to be honest it's progress has slowed a little so I think an update wouldn't be that interesting right now. But the doily - ah yes, I'm sure you'd like a peek at this?

Well let me tell you, I know it's infatuation with Mr. C as I have even decided that reading a chart isn't that bad, something I avoid at all costs with longterm companion Mr. K. 

This is the chart I am following:

And this is the hook and threads I am using:

1.25mm hooks and crochet cotton thread, so delicate.

And this is how the work is coming along:

Kind of sweet don't you think?

The original pattern is found in a copy of StitchCraft and is worked in all white but I wanted it to be a bit more cheerful and fit in with my bedroom decor so I'm using the pastel colours instead. I'm amazing myself at how I am doing with this, I never ever thought I would be able to crochet something this intricate. 

Sorry Mr. K, I know you've been here for such a long time, and now I haven't even thought of you in weeks. I know you'll stay waiting patiently for me though and we'll get back together soon enough. But for now this woman is enjoying the charms of Mr. C and all the tricks he has waiting to show me.

How about you? Ar you sticking with a familiar craft? Or do you enjoy having your head turned by new pastimes?

Hope you're enjoying whatever you're up to.

-x-