Keeping busy over Christmas and New Year

The few weeks before Christmas found me with nothing to do so I found some wool I had bought a few months ago and made myself another virus shawl.  It was once again a quick and easy make and filled in an empty slot!

As I have mentioned many times, I am not one to sit and do nothing!   This is even at times like Christmas and the New Year when there are other things going on - if I am sitting, I have to be doing something!

Thankfully Little Box of Crochet and Craftpod both came to my rescue with projects to fill my time.

The December Little Box of Crochet was a Toft pattern for a delightful little dog.   Not that I am particularly a dog lover or a fan of amigurami, but it kept me occupied!

Even I have to admit he's cute!

The Craftpod box had two 'makes',  The first was an embroidered mistletoe sprig in a hoop which was joined by a felt fox. 

I really enjoyed both of these makes and although I have resisted a subscription to Craftpod, I am usually tempted once I see what's on offer!

Project Completed and Started

This week has seen projects completed and new ones begun and I seem to have fallen into a routine where I've worked on stitching in the afternoons and crochet in the evening.

I've been working for some weeks on a shawl for someone special but I won't say anymore about that as they still have to receive it.

Once again I have used Scheepjes Swirl which seems to be my 'go to' yarn when it comes to shawls as I just love the way the colours change. 
 

This shawl was designed by Lisa Cook and is called Custard Cream and the yarn name is Melting Macaron.

I loved the look of the pattern as it has more texture than those I've made previously and I wasn't disappointed with the result.  It's got popcorn stitches,  clusters and front post treble stripes all finished off with tassels.

I got worried as I got towards the end as I was convinced that I would not have enough yarn but everything worked out in the end and as you can seen from the photos, there was more than enough for three tassels.

My evenings were quickly filled with a new Little Box of Crochet that was for a zipped pouch in Entralac Crochet.  At first I was very wary as this is a form of Tunisian Crochet which I have never done and quite frankly never wanted to.  I always thought it was more like knitting as there seems to be loads of stiches on the very long hook and this put me off.

However, thanks to some great videos made by Little Box of Crochet, I loved it as it was a pattern of coloured squares and diamonds so there were never more than 7 stitches on the hook.  I was hooked after the first row.

After a few more evening of hooking I have finished the main piece of the pouch.

Colourful isn't it?  Another evening or two and it should be finished.

My other new creation this week is a piece of cross stitch that will one day be a Mandala Owl to go in the grandchildren's bedroom.

They inherited my collection of owls when we moved and have them displayed on the windowsill.  Each time they visit the owls are rearranged and we add to them when we see any new owls.

It is also a perfect place for me to taken photos as the light is really good so I often move the owls out of the way to make way for my work.

I'm not sure how long this is going to take as I find the light is not good this time of the year and even with a daylight lamp, I find I can only work for about two hours each afternoon.  After a week's worth of stitching it now looks like this.

Still a long way to go!

Two Little Boxes of Crochet

When the June Little Box of Crochet arrived it included two lovely patterns from Coastal Crochet, one of my favourites on Instagram.  One was a lovely nautical shawl plus a bonus pattern for crochet pebbles, something I've been meaning to have a go at for some time.

I already had the May box waiting to be done but I'm afraid the shawl and pebbles won out over a crochet cup and saucer!

 Really enjoyed making this as it was my first experience of Filet Crochet.  Just love the anchor design plus the little anchor charm hanging at the bottom.

The pebbles were so much easier than I had imagined and I plan to make some more which I think I will try putting outside our house among the gravel and see how they weather.

As you can see from the next photo, the crochet pebbles have joined my Summer display on the mantle shelf.

The cup and saucer pattern by Kate Bruning was designed to celebrate the royal wedding in May.  Yet again my relationship with tension means mine looks a little odd but nevertheless, making it was a new experience for me and one I enjoyed.

  

A little bonus in the box was this little felt corgi from the Make Arcade.

Another shawl!

I've recently completed another Maid of Honour Shawl, this time for my sister as a birthday present.  Now that it's been delivered, I can blog about it.

Once again I have used Scheepjes Whirl, this time in Rosewater Cocktail.  She said she liked bright colours and bright colours is what she got.  

The Maid of Honour pattern was designed by Buttonnose Crochet and this is the third one I have made but I love it so much and the combination of Scheepjes Whirl and the graduated colours makes it a joy to make.

A Girl Can Never Have Too Many Shawls!

When my trip to the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show had to be abandoned because of the snow, I had to do something with all the money I did not spend so I treated myself to a pattern and yarn to make a new shawl.   The purchase was made through Lusciously Loopy who was selling a special pack of yarn with a new pattern by Lisa Cook for a Cumbria Way Shawl.  The yarn was Scheepjes Stone Washed and I chose to use  Moonstone, Brown Agate and Morganite.

.

The pattern was made in two half hexagons which were them joined together before the border was stitched.

First half hexi finished

It was quite quick to get done – ideal if you are doing several things at once and chop and change between projects.    I love the way the tassels finish off the shawl.  I nearly didn’t put them one but I’m so glad I have.

Now I can’t wait to use it.

Holiday Crochet

Before we went on holiday I had a big debate, mainly with myself, about whether or not to take any crochet work with me.   I couldn't really see when I would be able to do any and the thought of hot sweaty hands crocheting on a sandy beach didn't really encourage me.

When I shared this with my crochet daughter, she was horrified as she wouldn't go anywhere without something to do.  I also mentioned it when I was visiting a wool shop and again the lady there said she was sure I'd regret it if I didn't take anything.

So, as I had started a shawl for my non-crochet daughter and had rather neglected it once I had started on my Woodland Blanket, I decided to take it with me and see what happened.

Well I'm glad I did, because it filled the time between getting back to the hotel after and day on the beach while relaxing before dinner.  And as a bonus I got it finished!

I yet again used the Maid of Honour Shawl pattern by Buttonnose Crochet, and again made it using Scheepjes Whirl this time in Blueberry Bambam.   I don't think I will ever tire of this yarn as the graduations of colour really do all the work for you.

  

Block Printing

I have a growing collection of wooden printing blocks which I pick up mainly at shows as I find them lovely to work with, especially when using my gelli plate.

I was therefore thrilled when I received a late birthday present from my daughter Clare which was a kit for hand printing a scarf with a wooded block.   It came from The Arty Crafty Place who we saw when we went to the Sewing Bee Live Show.

The scarf if huge and I didn't know quite where to start and what to do.  I was also worried I'd start and then not have enough paint to finish as the pot in the kit looked very small against the scarf.  After a lot of deliberation and general phaffing I decided to start printing from one end, see how it went and then do the same from the other end, figuring that if I had enough paint and they met in the middle then great.

I worked on my ironing board as I thought that was the printed bit could remain fairly free and have time to dry.  I put a towel under the scarf to give a soft base to print into as well as protecting my ironing board.   I did give the scarf a gentle press as it had been heavily twisted and creased when I unwrapped it and although I preferred this look to a pristine flat surface, I was worried that if it was too creased it would affect the print.

  

My plan worked well and I managed to print about 20" in from each end which left quite a gap unprinted in the middle but I think it looks better for it.  My only problem was trying to make the printing look random - I don't do random so I had to concentrate hard.

I love it and look forward to wearing it somewhere warm!

Completed Crochet Projects

I have a couple of crochet project that have been finished for a few weeks but seem to have slipped through the blog net!

The first is a Lazy Waves Shawlette that I made for myself.  The pattern was from Dedri Uys who you can find at Look What I Made where you can see a great range of crochet patterns to tempt you. The yarn was bought from RiverKnitsYarn, a independent yarn dyer who lives and work on a narrowboat.  You can check her out on Etsy and Instagram.

The wool I chose was  Superwash Blue Faced Leicester 4 Ply in a colour called  Impressionist which is definitely an accurate name as I felt like I was living in a Monet lily-pad while I was making it.

I love it have worn it so much since I finished it.

Another crochet make was a couple of Frozen Snowflakes which are now hanging in our Christmas Tree.   This pattern is by LillaBjorn Crochet Design and again it is worth checking out her website as she is another wonderful crochet designer.   Many of her patterns involve overlay crochet techniques which I love for a challenge. I used cotton yarn left from other projects.   

I had intended to make more but that will have to wait until next Christmas.

Virus Shawl

The virus shawl I mentioned a few days ago is  blocked and dried and photographed.

The pattern I used was one from Ravelry and was designed by Julia Marquardt.  It has been very popular with over 4,000 projects recorded on Ravelry. It only made a small one, just one ball of wool, as I intend to wear it just as a neck shawl, secured with a pin.

I bought the wool at The Slipped Stitch in Sherborne and it is 80% Blue Faced Leicester and 20% nylon and was hand dyed.  The colour is called Olive Groves and it's only when you are working it that you can see just how mane shades of green there are in it.