CAL Stitch directory

This week I have tried two more sample squares for my CAL blanket linking up with Chrissie and Marianne with some new stitches.

Alternate bobbles

I have seen this stitch, or similar on Pinterest in red with green wool in between and it turns into the sweetest strawberry pattern. It is on my pinterest crochet board if you want to pin it.

Treble crochet cluster

I am really enjoying learning some new techniques. Crochet has become interesting again. YAY! I am losing count of which ones I have taken photos of this so you may get a repeat... so just humour me and go with the flow. I'm off to check out everyone's crochet progress projects on the links and finish my last knitted present.

Jo xx

Little make.

When I received my Christmas swap parcel from Rosie at The Old Magnolia Tree the decoration was wrapped in a bright fat quarter. What a bonus... I wanted to use the fabric to make something for the girls.

After knitting my arms into oblivion to finish my jumper, I took half an hour out to sit at the sewing machine to make these...

I used exactly half each and I also used the ribbon which the parcel was tied up in. What are they for?

They are spare socks and pants bags for them to have in their school bags. Little M was a little indignant about this make stating "I don't wet myself anymore" but I convinced her that if she was playing outside at playtime and fell over in a puddle she might need spare undies!

Later we made our Christmas cake.

Needless to say, everyone was very excited but nobody wet themselves!

Thanks Rosie for a little bit more inspiration. Your Irish Porter Christmas cake looks wonderful. Jo x

Hooray! Collage jumper

Hooray! I am in love with my new jumper. What is the story?... 
I always have a story...

I was given THIS:

My mum's friend gave me lots of wool in May because she had sold her house and needed to make some space. It is all Sirdar Country Style DK.

I then remembered THIS:

I saw this in a knitting magazine at the Children's play barn and asked if I could take the magazine from the parent reading pile. The pattern calls for Rowan Calmer and the pattern is called Moustiers.

I cast on THIS:

in August after working out how much wool I had for each colour section it required lots of weighing and risk taking.

Lastly, I had to do lots of THIS:

it took me nearly an hour and a half to sew in the ends!

Then I wore THIS:

on 8th December. It is a great fit and the deep rib sleeves are so practical, they don't dangle in the sink! I love the Autumn/winter colours. Ideally I would not have chosen cream as the bit that will get the most wear but that was the wool quantities I was dealing with. 

I would love to say it was free but I had to buy another ball of orange to do about three stripes and a garnet one to do two stripes, but never mind, a thrifty sweater none the less.

That is one Serious WIP out of my basket. I now know how much wool I have left over to put towards my CAL picnic blanket.

 Hope you had a bit of sunshine today too. Jo x

Ouch!

We went for a walk at the weekend to Severn Valley Country Park. I had a reason I wanted to walk there specifically. I picked lots of sloes there last year and thought I could locate them again.

There were a few left and they were really ripe and a little bit frosted.

Oh but the pain!

Look at my poor hand. Ouch!

That is enough for three little bottles of gin. I don't follow a recipe my nan always did it in thirds - 1 third gin, 1 third sloes and 1 third sugar. I do it by eye splitting the bottle into thirds. I also put them in the freezer over night so that the skin splits and then I pop them in the bottle - no needle pricking for me thanks.

I walked back to the woodland playground to find the others.

Everything after that looked a bit prickly...but it will be worth it when it is done.

Can you see Layla there? The white hen, both Poppy and Layla are still laying eggs which we expected to have dropped off by now so I shall be getting Christmas cake ingredients ready this week and five of those lovely eggs would be perfect.

Jo xx

Amelia Scarf pattern

Linking up with the Crochet along with Chrissie today.(check out her sooo cute hat) Lots of people have asked me about the scarf on the Amelia Hat pattern so I have decided to write it down. Maybe you need one last quick Christmas present.

 

Rowan Big wool 7mm hook
Chunky 5.5mm hook
2 strands of DK 6mm hook

UK terms. Treble mesh stitch

Foundation row: chain 20

Row 1: Ch3, 1tr in the 3rd chain from the hook. *ch1, skip a chain, 1tr in the next stitch* repeat to end. (11 trebles and 3ch turning chain)

Row 2: Ch3, 1tr in the first space. (go under the whole stitch, don't split it, go straight into the hole.) *Ch1, 1tr* into each space. (11 trebles and ch3 turning chain)

 

Continue until you run out of wool or it is the desired length. Get hooking you might get one finished for Christmas!

 

Thanks for looking and your kind comments as always. Jo xxx

Happy Post

I was delighted to receive my Christmas decoration swap organised by Marianne at Ladybird Diaries. I genuinely didn't know how touching receiving something made by somebody else's hands actually felt. It was really emotional (not tearful) just inspiring. Somebody made this for me in their own time, with their own hands, in their own home. WOW!

This is my second parcel from a blog friend and I always forget to do that suspense shot of the unopened parcel - I just get straight in  there. But I loved the stamp.

 

So what was there in this awesome present?...

 

 A fabulous Christmas tree garland. It is funny because that is what I sent Rosie at The Old Magnolia Tree as her gift but we did different themes. I absolutely LOVE it.

 

Want a closer peek?

 

 

It is perfect on our kitchen shelves.

 

and compliments our advent calendar.

 

Rosie sent a sweet card with a heartfelt message and a little bundle of lace ribbon too.

 

Finally there was a beautiful intricate doily which I am going to put on my dressing table upstairs.

 

How lucky have I been? I am truly thankful Rosie. Thank you to Marianne for organising a really inspiring swap.

Have a Happy Chrismtas.

Love from Jo X

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous

I have a job which I love. It is only two afternoons a week but I tutor adults in community education courses. I have just finished one called Keeping up with the kids in numeracy. The learners were really quiet at the start but they loved finding out how their children learn maths and refreshed some of their own maths skills. It was a great group and they bought me these...

 

...to say thank you for making maths fun. I can make anything fun me, even fractions and multiplication! Hope you are having a proud week. Jo x