All done #34 Colour Lab Yarn

 Anyone knitting? This is the post where I show you how I have used up a craft material to the very end. I have reached this heady position 34 times since writing these posts - hence All Done #34

 I had a bit of a break over summer while I was gardening a lot but enjoyed making the owl sweater on the odd few rainy days but then I fancied some quick projects for late summer.

There were two balls a grey left from my crochet blanket. I made this newborn cardigan from a vintage pattern and really enjoyed making it for my pregnant friend.

As ever, I just about made it yarnwise watching the yarn wind down on the last sleeve. One of my most satisfying All done moments.

The chain effect was really easy to do but so effective for both boy and girl cardigans I thought.

 

I would also like to try the one on the top another day in a gender neutral colour because I think it is a lovely design on the front.

Before I made the cardigan I made this little vest top called Like Sleeves. I forget how many of these I have made now but it is an easy no- brainer make which can be lengthened to make a tunic dress or can be made short like this one. All done Colour Lab DK. Thank you for being so kind to me.

Next I spotted this amazingly soft bamboo yarn in a sale bin the other day and bought two. I wanted to make a little girl sweater for my pregnant friend's second girl. I made one for Heidi when she was small but it was a sublime cashmerino yarn, then she wore it for one day and I shrunk it! This yarn has more favourable washing temperatures. I also remember that Heidi's curled up at the front and on the cuffs so on this one I added four rows of rib which worked a treat.

I remember how much I liked knitting it all over again. Repeating my usual self induced stress, I was running short of yarn. I just made it. I knit this on bamboo needles which I seem to get a better tension on than metal ones. It is a bit large for said girl but I will keep it for her birthday next year. Another satisfying make without leftovers.

Autumn Knitting plans.

Anyway enough of this selfless knitting, back to me. I saw this rather lovely tank in The Knitter this month and bought a soft rose cotton yarn to make one for myself. I don't know if I will wear it as the photo or over a white shirt but I am enjoying a few rows a night so as not to make mistakes on the cables which are made up with a 16 row set pattern. I have marked each set of 15 stitches with markers too to make sure the cable repeats are correct. There is a lot of meticulous crossing off with a pen to make sure I don't go wrong because it is virtually impossible to rip this back part way and know what row you are on.

This top should take me to my Christmas knitting frenzy which I do every year. I have a few ideas up my sleeve for presents.

Thanks for dropping in. Jo xx

Happiness is Easy Crochet

Sometimes happiness comes from the most simple things. Reaching the end of a few complex knits and garments, my brain wanted something simple to truck along with - something more inline with cruise control rather than a four stage rally.

One evening, I reached into the yarn basket and started to make a granny square, then I simply kept on going.

The yarn is Araucania Luxury Merino blend 4ply which I made an Ankers sweater from but I still had loads left. I can't find a link for it unfortunately. My old neighbour gave it to me after she got a bad wrist and couldn't knit anymore.

I made a little car seat/pram blanket for my friend who is having a baby in January. This one is all tied up ready for the gift box.

Other things that are making me happy at the moment are: progress in the new garden; a jug of flowers I knocked off while gardening and everyday sunsets.

Hope you find some happiness this week even if Covid19 news is sounding bleak? 

Jo xx

Wet Play Days

We are well and truly wet but luckily located here in Shropshire. We live on the top of the Ironbridge valley out of the way of flood water but floods are affecting all of the roads out of our small town with many road closures. Others have their wheat crops devasted or their homes ruined. It is a devastating case of affairs. For us, this half term holiday consists of mostly wet play days.

It is one of those weeks where you hunker down and crochet a wacky baby blanket.

I decided to well and truly bust the last bit of acrylic stash I had left in the donated basket. This wool was all given to me in mixed bags over the last few years. By holding two similar coloured strands together and using a 5mm hook it was a very quick make. 

I don't actually love it but I think it is interesting and it will be the right gift for somebody - a carefully chosen someone. I totally get that this is not everyone's cup of tea.

The pattern is called St. Peterburg which is from the book above. The book comes to you highly recommended; all of the blankets are very manageable. 

The version in the book has a lovely soft palette of cotton yarn. Mine isn't! It is one of the first blankets I have ever made that has a very straight edge which did not require a border. 

This blanket has seen me through a weeks worth of evenings with easy repetitive stripes, allowing time for fretful climate change thoughts.

Stay Dry Folks. Jo xxxx

When things get busy...

...make a blanket. Sometimes when I am really busy to the point that I don't sit down until 9pm at night, the only crafting relaxation I can manage is to crochet a blanket. Easy-peasy rows of chevrons are perfect for an hour. In this instance it has even been row counted to save me having to make the taxing decision: "When shall I change colour?"

Sometimes this is all I can do at the end of the day especially when bloke is on a late shift 2pm until 10pm. The routine of doing an hour of something with my hands and switching off works a treat. 

I didn't intend to start a blanket but my friend gave me a beautiful book of crochet blanket patterns by Haafner Linssen. It was hard to choose one because they were all so beautiful and achievable but I chose something simple to relax my mind.

One of my new year crafting resolutions was to make a stash busting blanket, which I have done, but there is always some donated acrylic in this house languishing in a basket. 

I don't have anyone in mind for it but when you need a pram blanket as a gift very often there is not enough time to make one so this can wait patiently in my gift chest.

It was a simple choice which had straight sides. I sometimes struggle with the sides on blankets but there were eight trebles after the last hole so it was easy to keep track. 

Now back to the trickier crochet top on 2mm needle and a colourwork jumper. They won't make themselves you know!

Jo xxxx

Spice for Life Blanket

This should been a long term stash busting project but it turned out to be such a row turner that the yarn was simply gobbled up night after night. I have really enjoyed making this blanket, it has been the most fulfilling project. One of my new years crafting resolutions eaten away as quickly as I made it.

These kind of blankets are always a little bonkers but I simply love making them. If they turnout really awful you can always donate them to a dog basket nearby. As it turned out, this one was a corker.

I thought that the little bit of orange I had in my original basket would end up being rejected but I found another whole ball of orange. I felt that if I could repeat orange within the overall blanket it would look more intentional rather than just one rogue stripe of orange and I am glad I used it now. I am normally a little frightened of yellow but again ensuring that it was evenly distributed on slimmer rows gave it a real colour lift.

I sewed the ends in at about every third point of the blanket so that it wasn't too daunting. Did I follow the pattern? A little bit here and there. Unfortunately,I started with more chains than the original pattern stated to get a bigger blanket but was then unable to use the waypoint stitch counts to keep me on track so there are some wobbly edges. I repeated my favourite stitch combinations and left some others after I had tried them once. I found out that I really like doing a V-stitch.

I don't mind the wobbly edge though, it is just for us to use as a TV blanket when we all sit down together. I did however rather enjoy making it in February. February is definitely the time to make a blanket. It kept me warm as I made it. 

For the border, I kept some yarn back. I used a granny stitch to give some movement on the uneven edge and stayed away from a double crochet edge which would have exacerbated the issue. The final row is crab stitch or reverse double crochet.

This is Bruce today not knowing that he was going to go to the dog groomers in an hours time. 

We had put him on a diet because we thought he was getting a bit chubby but...

...it turns out he was just really really hairy!

Anyway, The spice for life blanket is especially good as a stash busting choice because it is very versatile and you can dip in and out of the pattern and colour choices. I recommend it.

Are you stash busting? Stupid question really - you probably all are! Thanks for dropping in. Jo xxx

The Neapolitan Blanket

Everso aptly named by Jennifer from Thistlebear, my baby blanket which echoes the palette of a Neapolitan ice cream tub is complete. 

Gentle strawberry, chocolate and mint colours ripple into a pleasing baby blanket.

I left the wavy edge and finished it with two rounds of double crochet and my favourite border, crab stitch. I could have been all girly and added a shell edge but the wavy edge made that quite perplexing.

This project has well and truly allowed me to fall back in love with my evening yarn time all over again. After a run of bad luck with the needles this one made me feel successful once more.

No rhyme or reason, I just added another two rows of whichever colour came out of the basket. Yarn wise I used Sirdar Country style which was in a donated bag given to me last year. I have one whole ball of mint and one whole ball of pale pink left to make a little baby knit to go with it: maybe a cardigan, hat or booties.

Such a soothing photo. Happy days!

Jo xxxxx