Works in Progress

In previous posts I have mentioned that I have several WIPs and I have to do a bit of each every day so that I get them all finished.  I thought I'd let you see just what is on the go at the moment.....

Temperature Blanket

I keep this up to date, usually once a week so I don't get behind.  This photo shows it up to the end of August.   I didn't realise how obsessive it can become watching the daily temperature and then remembering just what we did on this hot day or that cold day!   This is definitely going to be a blanket of memories.

Blanket for Hope

My granddaughter Hope requested a blanket for her 10th birthday in October so I started it last month while she was staying with us.   She wanted it in shades of blue and went through the Stylecraft colour chart choosing the colours she liked.   I had several blues left from the Last Dance blanket, picked up some off balls on my travels and them ordered some from Wool Warehouse to hopefully give me enough.

Hope then had a look at all the blankets on Attic24 and chose the Hydrangea blanket which I was pleased with as it is straightforward and works up quickly.  I've worked out that to get it finished in plenty of time I must do six rows each day and so far I have stuck to it.

The photo was taken at the beginning so it is much longer now.

Maid of Honour Shawl

I decided I wanted something for myself so I'm making a shawl.  It's called Maid of Honour and was designed by Natasha of Buttonnose Crochet.

I'm using Scheepjes Whirl in the Salted Caramel Matcha colour which is blue, through green to caramel and I'm just loving the way the colours blend through the changes.  I haven't got far at the moment as this has been number three on my schedule and only gets done if I have completed the others on the day's schedule.

Little Box of Crochet

Although technically, this is not a WIP as all I've done so far is open the box have a peek and quickly close it again so I don't get sucked in.   I know what's in there - a lovely crochet purse project and a cross stitch project so I have to call on all my often not very strong willpower and wait until I can do it with a clear conscience.   Trouble is another Little Box will be coming soon so I can't leave it too long!

Mandala

I have long been a fan of Mandalas, mainly through colouring them in one of the many books on sale for adults or drawing them as part of Zentangles - two things I do to relax and keep my fingers busy on the very rare occasions that I have nothing to do!

When Little Box of Crochet included a mandala in their May box I just had to do one, loved every minute of making it and am very thrilled with the finished result.

 It measures about 15" across so I will mount it and frame it so it can hang somewhere in the house. 

I have already bought some more yarn - Scheepjes Catona - to make another one to match the colours in our bedroom.

Last Dance on the Beach Blanket finished

Very pleased to say my Last Dance on the Beach blanket is all finished.   This is the first blanket I have made and I have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot on the way.

My main reason for making it was to learn new stitches and techniques as I felt I was very stuck in only basic doubles and trebles in my crochet projects but I now know there is another crochet world out there and although stitches are generally based on doubles and trebles, it is how you use them that counts.

I even got through the piecing together and the border - not my favourite part of any project whether it's patchwork, quilting or crochet.   I think what helped was that I have far too many crochet projects on the go at the moment with several more waiting in the wings so each day I set myself goals with the WIPs so that I can get them all finished and once the target was met I could move on to the next one.  This always works for me as I do love ticking things off on a list!

I now want to use this new knowledge to experiment with some freeform crochet, but not until I've finished a few more WIPs.

Anniversary Gift

Back in March I shared some textile art I had created based on a Workshop on the Web workshop and inspired by some Dorset buttons I had made.  Here's a reminder....

My daughter Clare loved it so I decided to make another for her wedding anniversary and as they were decorating their bedroom at the time, I made it in shades of yellow and grey to match their new room.    The anniversary has now been and gone so I can share it with the world!

The background was once again made using strips of different papers and as Clare enjoys sewing and dressmaking I included some garment patterns and instructions.  After painting, I printed some random lines using an old credit card as the new bedding they had bought had similar lines.  Again I was using Dorset buttons so decided to use the circular shapes as part of the design.   So with the addition of fabrics and lace, beads, washers, sequins, machine stitching and hand stitches - again reflecting the same linear design - the Dorset buttons finished the design.

  

  

I'm glad to report that it was well received.

September Journal Quilt

This months quilt is inspired by the many cactus we saw in and around the hotel in Gran Canaria. 

For the construction I was inspired by some videos of Hilary Beattie that I have been watching on You Tube.   She is really a great inspiration and I have admired her work for some years.  She is also a very generous artist who openly shares her way of creating not just in workshops she runs from her studio but also on the internet.

Using her methods, I printed and dyed some fabrics inspired by the spines and form of the cactus.  Using the fabrics I arranged a collage of shapes, together with photos of the cactus.  I did minimal machine quilting around the square shapes but added hand stitching to reflect the spines of the cactus.

  

I think this is definitely going to be one of my favourites this year.

Last Dance squares all finished!

The last four sets of squares for my Last Dance on the Beach blanket are all finished and all I have to do now is put them together!  Sounds so easy but it's not a task I look forward to.

The ninth square was a particular favourite of mine.  It had a cable skip in it, something I've never done before so yet again I've learnt something new.

The next one was probably my least favourite mainly because I found it physically difficult to do as every other row had to be worked in the loop behind the back loop.   By the fourth square I was getting the hand of it but I don't think I made a particularly good job of it so I hope it looks okay once it is together with the other blocks.

Week 11 was one of my favourites too, probably because it worked up very quickly and I got them done quickly.   Another new stitch so another learning experience.

The final set also made up quite quickly - maybe I was just eager to get them finished!   Loved this one too although it took me a time to be able to know where I was in the pattern and had to resort to keeping count on paper!

To give me an idea of what the finished blanket will look like, I've laid the blocks out on our spare bed.  The photo is not brilliant but it does give an you an idea.

Little Boxes of Challenges

I mentioned last month that I've signed up for a Little Box of Crochet each month but I seem to have forgotten to post the results.

The first month saw the challenge of tapestry crochet - a bit like cross stitch but with crochet stitches and from my vast experience with cross stitch, it's much more difficult with crochet stitches.

The first piece was a small tag, just to get the hang of it.   My first mistake was not reading the instructions!   This resulted in me working back to front which brought challenges when reading the chart but I persevered and was pleased with the end result although it's not perfect.

The second piece was larger and had more colours so with this I cut smaller lengths of some colours as I felt this would help untangling the yarns which I found became very twisted in the first piece. This certainly helped.  I also read the pattern and instructions through first and this definitely helped!
The end result was certainly better that the first one but still not perfect.

They were both worked in cotton and this is the first time I have used it.  I did find it quite hard at times as there was not much give in it and I do tend to crochet a bit on the tight side.  I'm glad that I was challenged to do something new and probably not something I would have chosen to do.  However, I don't think I will be rushing to do anymore!

This month's box was again a new challenge for me - amigurami.   That's stuffed animals to any non-crocheters out there!   I've never been drawn to them so once again it meant I was challenged to do something that I wouldn't have chosen myself.

It was once again crocheted in cotton yarn which I found even more difficult when you got to the smaller bits.   It also included using magic rings which after watching a YouTube video several times I think I've now mastered.

You can't really see from the look on my grandson's face, but it was love at first sight!  As there is only one (and there will not be another one!) the duck is going to live at the caravan where it can be loved by all the grandchildren when they visit.