Another granny square blanket finished!

Recently somebody got in touch with me through my Facebook page because she was looking for a traditional crochet blanket for her little boy.

As I  haven't made a blanket for a while, I decided to make her one, and as I have tons of yarn left still for Project: Seventeen Balls, I had plenty of lovely colours to choose from.  It's made up of 42 squares, the main colour of which is a lovely bright blue, and I confess I cheated and bought an extra ball of this colour...but I had to, in order to complete the blanket without compromising the design.  I think it looks lovely and it feels lovely too.

Scottish Crochet

Last weekend was very exciting for us, because I took my middle son on a very long train journey to Scotland to visit his best friend who's recently moved up there.  It was his first every trip on a train, and of course, his first visit to Scotland!  I've been to Scotland before but was equally excited to be returning.

For the 4+ hours between Chesterfield and Edinburgh, he had his games console and comics to occupy him, whereas I had a crochet hook, some wool, and a heavily creased hat pattern that I'd printed off the internet.  I was a little self-conscious at first, "doing it" on a train, but soon got over the initial discomfort, and the journey went in the blink of an eye.

The hat was finished off while we were at our friends' place, and I ended up giving it to my friend, as it really suited her, and lets face it, living in Scotland, she'll probably need it more than me.  I love it though, and will definitely make some more!

The pattern is one I took from a fantastic blog: April Draven Designs.  My hat came out slightly different because I used lightweight yarn instead of worsted, and a smaller hook.  Oh, and obviously, mine has no stripes!

On the return journey, I decided on something that would take a little less concentration, so decided on a 3-strand scarf, complete with tassles!   Here's me working on it in a very tight space! 

 It took a couple of hours to complete and I really like how the different colours have worked so well together.

I couldn't let a post about Scotland go by without showing some of the breathtaking scenes we saw.  The photos below were taken somewhere in the Cairngorm National Park.  The spot is called Queen's View, and if you're ever lucky enough to see it, you'll understand why.

After parking the car in an ordinary car park, next to a pretty normal cafe, you walk 150 metres up an unassuming track, until  you come out at a ledge, to the most breathtaking view.  It's impossible to capture the sheer size of the spectacle on my Canon Ixus, but if you look to the left, you see this.................

And look to the right, and you'll see this........................

Like I say, it's impossible to capture the true awesome-ness of this view, so if you ever get the chance to see it for yourself, then do.

Flower Power

Do you remember the flowers I made as part of my Project: Seventeen balls? Well, I finally managed to make them into something pretty.

Obviously, I made a garland.  I did this by chaining 2 strands of contrasting green yarn, and slip stitching the flowers in at regular intervals.  Simple!  It looks very cute, and will make a lovely little housewarming present (I hope!) for someone who has recently decamped to Scotland...

The garland used up half of the flowers, so I made the remaining 10 into another garland for myself, and used it to pretty up a bit of a dark corner.

This corner contains a dis-used bedroom shelving unit, which holds a whole array of items, including some photos of my eldest son taken when he was very young (ahh), numerous children' books, a couple of pottery items the boys made at a local paint-a-pot cafe, a beautiful fabric owl hand-made by my very good friend, and a few proper old fashioned miners' candles - essential for the winter as the area we live in is very prone to power cuts.

I think the addition of the flowers cheers this corner up no end.

Back to square one...

...and two, three, four....

After the granny stripe marathon, I'm going back to my first love - granny squares!  These are going to be a lovely traditional blanket for a little boy, so I'm taking great care to mix up the colours from my seventeen balls.  Trying not to add too many pinks...!

Granny Stripe Blanket

Finally, at last...I've reached the end of yet another item for Project: Seventeen Balls.  My rainbow granny stripe throw is done!  It's taken just under 3 weeks to complete, although it feels like longer...............

It's finished off with a simple pink shell edging.

Flowers

I've taken a small break from my granny stripe to make some lovely flowers for my project: seventeen balls.

They were missing a little something, so I added some bamboo buttons, and I think they look fab!