The boys are incredibly excited, hourly counting the stockings to see if it is getting any closer by re checking the remaining filled ones.  I have decided that if they don’t calm down, making December the loonngggesttttttt month ever I may occasionally empty a couple extra, then refill them that night, just to keep them on their toes, well, it’ll make me smile anyway!

I have finished all the patches for ‘Zany’ and the jumper is now completed bar the edgings and the band around the bottom.  Which I think will take a while.  That and the fact that I HATE SEWING IN ENDS MUM, there are 104 patches and several new balls of wool, each patch has 2 tails, that makes a minimum of 208 ends to sew in. 208! I love my mum, but do I love her that much?

I can’t show you a proper picture as I don’t want mum to get either a) excited or b) disappointed.  After reading about the pattern on Raverly I was surprised that it wasn’t as difficult as it seemed but you do need some crochet knowledge as the instructions really are quite poor.

I’ll post some pics and more info when I’ve finished it, which, with 208, yes 208 mum, ends to so in, may be a while!

I thought I should have a sort of talisman and doing what I do, I thought I’d make a scarf to go with my smart coat.  I bought a reel of grey yarn from a charity shop ages ago, loads of it for 50p.  Its a lovely silvery grey colour and quite fine, laceweight I’d guess,  Idon’t know what it is, but its soft and fairly firm.  I tryed a couple of different patterns, I knew I wanted it lacy and not straight.  Nothing really looked right, so I frogged it several times and just sort of made it up as I went along, got to a point I liked and repeated it several times, then just increased stitch size on the edges, and added a picot to make the triangles.

I’m pleased with it, I used a 4mm hook and blocked it to show the pattern off.

While browsing ravelry to find a nice scarf pattern, I found this, from lionbrand and really liked it.  With Rich working away now I tend to go to bed earlier, the telly is full of dross, It’s so cold too.  But I’d just finished my last book, then I remembered we had a spare radio now Tom is in the spare room, so I got a signal in our room and I listen to 4 extra now, its great!  But my hands were itching…and that pattern was calling me, perfect for a bit of late night crocheting, simple, chunky, warm…

I had 4 and a bit balls of King Cole Aero in my stash – a week later and hey presto

I had to alter the edging a bit as I knew I didn’t have enough yarn to finish it as written, also I had added an extra repeat of the pattern as I wanted it nice and big, but I think its turned out great!  It is so warm with a nice weight to it and with my new scarf pin (whittled this weekend at the woods by my eldest!) it sits perfect.I love how it sits up like a collar, elegant and warm too.

I have been crocheting, lots actually!  3/4 way through ‘Zany’ for my mum, I am thinking of turning those crocheted and knitted squares into a blanket and have done some bigger ones, I need opinions though so will photograph and will be asking you soon, also it was a good friends 60th last week.  If it wasn’t for this lady me and my other half wouldn’t get any nights out at all really and the boys adore her and strangely she adores the boys!  She loves bright colours and chunky jewellery so I bought her a gorgeous silver and turquoise bracelet and was going to make a box to put it in, but it was a funny size, so, resort to what you know!

I’m not sure what the thread is, just a mercerised cotton I think in ecru, I used a number 2 hook.  To make the pulls for fastening I was going to do that twisty thing with a pencil and a door handle to make a cord, but I wanted neat ends that joined up, so I googled how to crochet a double crochet base which gave a lovely cord.  Before I sewed the ends together I threaded on a crocheted curtain ring so you could pull them to fasten it.

I will be back soon asking for advice re blanket!

The print is from a swap with Emma of bagladee fame, the stripe was an edging for a skirt, the grey and old blouse and the cream is an old table cloth.

I’m not sure about the cream, its quite overpowering I think.  I may just do a thin strip to break the colours up, I’m not sure till I start cutting them out and seeing how they look.

The block pattern on Rachels blog that we are all following is lovely and great as it is quite open to interpretation and more importantly, easy!  They have set up a flickr group so we can see each others progression, some of the fabric choices are gorgeous!

I’m also getting on with my patchwork crochet/knit cushion, what do you think?

Yes, you are right, there are 3, yes 3 knitted blocks, two in stocking stitch and one in cable!  Me, knitted cable!  I don’t think I could manage more than a square, and a 4″ one at that!  But I’m pleased with how its coming on.  I really enjoy working new stitch patterns, the yellow is Relief Trebles, the blue is a Woven Stitch,

the red is an Up and Down Stitch and the green is Basketweave Stitch.  All taken from The Crochet Stitch Bible,  my favourite stitch book.

Strangely, to get the colours looking something like they actually do, the camera is changing them, the function that gave the best similarity was the ‘retro’ setting – what do that say about my colour choices?!

Talk about an amazing find, Dan-yr-Ogof, the Welsh Show Caves, (which are brilliant by the way, you can even get married in one, its gorgeous) have a campsite on the side, in the middle of the Black Mountains.  It was bliss.

We got there on Saturday afternoon, had a little explore then settled down to just, well, chill.  There was a little bubbling stream running through the site that provided some welcome shade, I pitched up with some cushions and my crochet

Adam built dams and picked a couple of pound of blackberries

and Tom whittled a fishing rod cum weapon, hours went by in complete contentment!

The next day we went for a trek up one of the Black Mountains, hard going but so worth it, just us, a few sheep and shed loads of fluffy catapillars!

Look who figured out the timer on her camera!!

We were in fact away for less than 24 hours, but if felt like a week, I love where we live!

 Look at this, isn’t it fab, my mum was working on this last  time she came down to stay, I love it.   I did manage something similar in crochet when she had explained how it worked, but it just wasn’t the same.

4ish years ago I sat down and finally taught myself to crochet and its the best thing I have ever done, I love it, I feel i have found ‘my thing’.  But no matter what stitch you do, you can’t get that fineness of knit.  lacey, yes, crochet is indeed better for that but I love basic stocking stitch, I don’t know why, I just love the fabric it produces.  I have achieved it with tunisian crochet but boy is that time consuming.  I can also crochet cable that looks really good, but not quite as good as knitted cable, in my opinion.

So as I like to have a cople of projects on the go and I wanted a break from ‘Zany’ I found an old pair of needles size 8 which looks like a 4/ 4.5mm crochet hook and a ball of dk.  Suprisning I could remember how to cast on, knit and even purl.  Its not the neatest, I thought you slipped the first stitch, but they are too loose, but for a first attempt I am mega impressed with myself!  Look

Not bad for a first go eh!  So as I can’t imagine ever managing anything above a square I have a plan.  I’m going to crochet another cushion cover for the setee’s but in patchwork.  I’m going to buy several balls the same colour, I think and crochet lacy squares and knit stocking stitch squares, and maybe a bit of cable if I’m feeling brave.  Actually as I write this I may do it in several autumnal colours, I don’t know.

Zany is progressing too

not sure where to go next though, I keep looking at the schemetic but can’t quite work it out.  I think I need to draw it out myself.  I’ll keep you updated.

I’ve done 4 of the 104 motif’s required and joined them and suprisingly it seems pretty straight forward so far. The motif is a simple 3 rounds and the joins are lovely.  Am I missing something?  I worry I am, it can’t be this easy…

The schematic seems a little unclear but having joined 4 I can read it better now, the cross in the circle being the 9 chain loop

I don’t know, I don’t want to count my chickens before they have laid, or is it roosted, either way mum, you might have it for Christmas!

Disclaimer: I won’t specify which Christmas.

Zany by Robyn Chachula from issue 2 of Inside Crochet.

I know I’m awful.  I promised my mum I would crochet her something, thats not a scarf… and she requested this.  Awful because she has knitted me so many jumpers and cardigans over the years, recently including an especially gorgeous cable cardy that fits perfectly, not bulky, with longer sleeves in a gorgeous dark moss green.

But the revues on ravelry aren’t the most inspiring, though the pattern looks gorgeous and it would look fab on my mum, especially in the flecked grey wool we choose last time she came for a visit.

Last night, after having nothing else on the go now (I’ve even sewn up the boys cushions they made in the summer) I made this, isn’t she lovely!

However my mum can’t wear it.  I’m starting ‘the project’ tonight, I’ll keep you updated…

I know, shocking isn’t it.  We’ve had these for I don’t know, 13 years and they still have bought cushions covers on!  In my house!  Okay, melodramatics aside it is pretty poor that they are not handmade.  But what to do, they have to look right, subtle, not too chunky, possible a mix of techniques.

I looked through my  books and I saw an idea in ‘Essential Crochet’ by Erika Knight, the first book I bought, insidently I did the throw over the leather settee from this book, it was the first thing I ever crocheted actually.

So, an improvement?

A brill project if you fancy a new cover, quick and simple and quite effective.  Made using Patons washed haze dk in teal, from stash and while is good for this pattern, not being fluffy, each ball did have a couple of knotted joins in which is really annoying.  The pad is one of the smaller red cushions that I cut up and sewed back together into a circle.  (The pad is feathers so the house and back garden look like I have plucked several seagulls…)

It going to be a work in progress, not sure what to do next, I’m thinking crocheted cable in sock wool, but I don’t have enough of one in my stash so it maybe patchworky, I don’t know.  I fancy doing some tapestry too, maybe a bargello one and a made up design, the only problem with them is they take a while, and i’d have to buy the canvas an the wools.  Either way, at least I have started to right a too long forgotton wrong!!

- a crochet cardigan for me

- a crochet baby blanket for soon to be parents

- A sewn top for me, that fits

- a mosaic bowl from shards found at Loch Fyne

- I’ve decorated Toms new bedroom (the old guest room/work room, in fact I could dedicate a whole post to where I have secretred all my bits over the house…) and the decoration includes decorated waredrobe doors and 3 fab picture frames that I will share

- I’ve finally finished the lamp that I have been coveringfor the past 3 years and it looks fab

- I made up the 4 patchworked seat pads from the fabric swap over on Ali’s blog.

Now for pictures.  Starting with my fabulous cardie.  The pattern is a lionbrand pattern, click for a link, using 7 balls of Twilleys freedom gorgeous.  I love this pattern, it is easy to follow and I love the way you crochet it in one piece and the gorgous yoke type neckline.  I was a bit worried that it was going to be too tight, I did keep checking it, but with blocking it fits beautifully.  The only change I made was to make the sleeves a bit longer and the cardie one row longer before the side splits.  I am so happy with this, it was easy to do, I did it all on our 10 day holiday the other week at Gower, bits here and there, the beach, round our fire… and I love the colour, its just perfect!

When we got back I was browsing some favourite blogs and saw this on Gone to Earth.  A link to make a fab little summer top called sorbetto from Colettes pattern blog.  Well I’d finished my crochet and it said easy, which it needs to be as my sewing skills aren’t very good.  Well I can highly recommend this pattern too!   You print it off in about 25 pages, stick them all together, then cut out your size and follow the instructions.  The only thing I would say, as indeed she recommends is to print the 4″ square first to make sure you are printing at the correct size, I had to adjust my printer settings to get it right.  The instructions are really clear, especially the binding ones, I’ve never know how to finish off binding and have always sort of muddled it till it looks ok, the way she says is great, it works and is easy.  Before I made it i checked out her link to  to see what others had done.  I liked the front pleat inverted so I changed that, and I used 3 buttons to both hold the pleat down a little so it fitted better, also for decoration.  I used an old duvet bought from a charity shops years ago (with the aim of making some pajama bottoms, I will) so all it cost was the binding and the buttons.  It is so nice to make things that work out and fit and you actually like when finished.  I do have to state that this is not a common occurence, but when it happens – bliss!

More pics in the next few days, all this blogging is making me light headed!