I have finally finished the blue 'ripple' crocheted blanket! (there it is, adorning the bed in my son's former bedroom (aka my craft room ;-p)
Although I enjoyed making it, I'm glad it's finally done, with all the loose ends sewn in and neatened off. It seemed to take quite a while, but then I remember it was interrupted with a few other items.....
The grey cable jumper is finished, but awaiting blocking and seaming:
(spot the foam-matting squares in assorted colours to the right - actually, they're a set of 'hopscotch' tiles - a bargain from the kids' aisle in Tesco's, ready to slot together and pin out my knitting!)
I also managed to do a 'baby ripple' for my daughter's friend, who's expecting a little 'ankle-biter' in August:
So, now I'm casting around for other projects - hence a visit to the library, returning with a stack of books for inspiration:
The 'mitred-madness' creation (slung on the back of the chair) is still going strong and using up all the little oddments, as and when I get around to it!
Close-up on the books, in case any of you are interested:
However, I'm grateful to Una over at Great Balls Of Wool for making me aware of a charity knitting outlet I can contribute to....so it looks like I'll soon have a load of new projects on the 'go'! :-)
Having the younger 'chick' spread his wings again and move out, hubby and I find ourselves as 'empty-nesters' once more! (see this )
So, it's time to re-claim my 'craft' room, now it's no longer needed as a bedroom.
I've made a start :
As the days and weeks progress, I plan to move all my yarn & 'accoutrements' into this one space, instead of in bags and boxes wedged in cupboards all over the house (and the sheds outside, too!)
The large PC and printer will be going, once I have extracted all the genealogy details and images I have stored on it - all my Family History files and charts are moving in here too!
It's lovely to be able to think about getting all my 'art' stuff available - and being able to leave it out instead of the tiresome need to clear everything away all the time.
I have some shelves ready for when I come across all the knitting and sewing books I've accumulated - they'll soon fill up, I expect!
I plan to have a dedicated sewing space, with my sewing machine readily available rather than packed away at the back of beyond - this might encourage me to get back to doing some 'patchwork'. ;-)
!....and I need somewhere to store all my cross-stitch threads, too!
I'm debating whether to organise my knitting needles properly..... but they look lovely bundled into jars on the windowsill!
(and this is only some of them!)
This old metal knitting gauge belonged to my Grandmother, it still comes in handy!
It's been a few years since I last did any cross-stitch but at Easter hubby ordered this chart for me. I love Norman Rockwell paintings but I've never been able to find cross-stitch representations of his work here in the UK - until now!
What a wonderful way to make use of all the threads I inherited from hubby's Grandmother:
(this is only some of them!)
The chart calls for 89 (yes - 89!!!) different DMC shades, but my threads are Anchor, so using a conversion chart so I set to work checking off all the ones I had and those I'd need to order.
Well, it turns out I only have 18!!!!! Can you believe it :-/ So with a deep breath (and some good daylight!) I'll have to sit down and see how near a match I can get - I expect I'll still have to order a good few skeins, anyway.
But - it is such a beautiful and intricate picture that I think it'll be worth it.
(Mind you, I'll probably be in my dotage by the time I finish it!)
Rockwell's original artwork appeared as the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, 3rd April, 1948 - but for the purpose of this chart, the image has been 'reversed' in order to show his signature 'correctly'! There are a number of quirks about the picture, it was to celebrate April Fool's Day, after all - see if you can spot all the deliberate 'mistakes', or check here to find the ones you've missed! Good luck!
-oOo-
In other news, the cable jumper is progressing:
The back and front are done and now I'm onto the sleeves. Hopefully they won't take too long, being a 12-row repeat of stocking stitch with raised bands of the reversed stitch - I just have to remember when to purl and when to knit; it goes against the grain to knit on what you'd expect to normally be a purl row, and vice versa!
Isn't it amazing how fast you start gathering WIPs...........!
Work stopped abruptly on the blue 'ripple' blanket - I'd run out of one of the shades of yarn! It was one of the more frequently used colours, hence it ran out before the others. Also, I'm sure there was less yardage compared to the other balls of yarn - but as none of them carried that vital information on the ball-bands I was rather guessing how far each would go. (that ball of Robin 'Paintbox' was too hard to resist, although I have no plans as yet for its use!)
So, replenished with fibre, we're off again! Here's the latest:
I've also been adding to my 'crazy' mitred-squares:
Weird, but rather wonderful!
Another new project is a jumper using the Woodlander wool I purchased at the London Knitting show - although I will have to order more to complete this garment!
I'm really falling in love with this!
I was also planning to knit something for one of my daughter's friends who's having a baby this Summer. I played around with a pattern I've knit before, but this time I was trying to separate the colours:
It was tricky and time consuming, and actually the wool I was using was mainly pinks and purples - not good if the infant turns out to be a boy!
Perhaps I could just do a baby 'ripple' in rainbow shades of 4ply instead........!
It's been positively Arctic here in the UK over the last few days! Needless to say, that has meant staying in the warm at every opportunity and catching up on boxed sets of DVDs and series on Netflix!
To accompany the constant supply of hot tea and visual stimulation I've been trying to keep my hands warm with a steady stream of yarn-action!
After the let-down of the knitting show daughter and I persuaded the OH to drive us over to Coventry (not for the faint-hearted - the ringroad is a nightmare and something I'd avoid at all cost!) last week to visit one of our local yarnshops. We propped him up in the IKEA coffee shop with a latte and a newspaper, whilst we headed across the road in search of soft and fluffy goodness (aka - yarn!)
I purchased some cheap and cheerful acrylic/wool mix yarn in shades of blue to make into yet another blanket. I really can't afford expensive yarn, so acrylic does the job - at least for large things like blankets.
So, back home, out came the hook and I was off crocheting a new 'ripple' blanket:
Unfortunately, some of the ball-bands didn't indicate yardage and I will need to go back for more! (a fair 'excuse' for a wee trawl around the shop for other items, I think!)
Although I love to 'ripple', I must confess that sometimes if I'm following an intricate plot on TV I find it hard to concentrate on both things, so I resorted to using up more of my small scraps of yarn in a mitred-square project:
I call it 'Mitred Madness'!
Given the cold weather and the distinct possibility of our boiler giving up the ghost before we get the new one fitted, I really don't care what it looks like, as long as it will hopefully keep my lap warm!
As for the idea of combining 'Bargello' pattern with crochet (see previous post) - well, I'm still working on it, but I came across a pattern I picked up when I was in Michael's in New Hampshire a couple of years ago:
I think this could be interesting!
(and I quite like those colours, too!)
Meanwhile, back to the project(s) in hand - but to knit or to crochet..........
(I wonder if it's possible to do 'mitred ripples' ?)
Well, I was REALLY excited about going to the Knitting & Sewing Show at Olympia Exhibition Centre, London - to the extent that I'd cleared the decks (see previous post) and got all my WIPs finished in anticipation of purchasing new goodies/projects to start!
Hmmmmmm......
Sad to say, I really was not that impressed with the show - it was no better than the Hobbycraft ones at Birmingham's NEC. I'd expected more of the big 'names' like Debbie Bliss and Louisa Harding to be represented but there was no sign of them and there weren't really many independent spinners/dyers at all. Considering the event was named the 'Knitting & Sewing Show' I'd have expected more. There was a fair amount of sewing items (mainly quilting) which was nice to see but I was more interested in yarn.
And WHY was there a stand selling very expensive chocolate????
In all honesty, I'll not bother to go again - the NEC shows are much cheaper and easier for me to get to, although in the past they've not had a great quantity of yarn purveyors. Then again, it's a while since I last went and it may have changed with the resurgence of yarncrafts. Still, I've 'been and seen' so I know I'm not missing much.
I DID purchase some yarn though:
400g of James 'Woodlander' DK by James C Brett.
The colour doesn't come over well from the photo on my phone - in this particular colourway, think 'wolf'! I've no idea what I'll make from it, but I was pleased to actually see the yarn, having noticed it on Brett's website - there are some gorgeous colour combinations . I plan to knit a swatch this evening to see how the colour graduation works - more later.
~oOo~
In the meantime I'm getting quite excited about a possible new crochet project! I really enjoyed doing my 'ripple' blanket and I plan to do others in particular colourways, rather than the random selection.
I'm currently trying to create a way of representing Bargello/Florentine needlework stitch in a crochet medium. I've done canvas chair covers and jackets in 'flame' stitch before, similar to this pattern:
So, now I'm experimenting with 'peaks and valleys' rather than the gentle curves of 'rippling'.
The first attempt went wrong:
- but even this happy 'accident' has possibilities, I think!
(hmmm....Christmas stars.....?!)
Anyway, once more to the 'drawing board' and I think we're getting a bit nearer:
I'll be working on this over the next few days and share progress here. later!
Now, come here, you gorgeous ball of Woodlander.........where are my needles...!
~oOo~
PS. Just HAD to share this for any of you who haven't come across it!
( http://youtu.be/M6ZjMWLqJvM )
My 20-something son was laughing at it, too - "Good job you don't have long hair, Mum!"
