Tuesday 21 June 2011

Granny Stripe

I'm now working on a beautiful, multi-coloured granny stripe throw. It's growing quite quickly but needs to grow a lot!!  So it may be a little while before my next update!

In the meantime here's a little taster.......................


And if you feel like making one yourself, here is where I found the pattern.

Monday 20 June 2011

The end of the day....

..... and what better way to spend it than with a nice glass of red and the beginnings of a granny stripe blanket?


Sunday 19 June 2011

Fancy Scarf

Number 3 on my Project: Seventeen Balls is an open-work scarf.  It took me a couple of days to do, and quite a lot of unpicking, as I kept losing my place on the pattern and doing it wrong!

The pattern itself I found in this book, that my good friend picked up for me at a charity shop.  It's very dated, but is full of different stitches and techniques so makes a very good reference point, and I always find something interesting every time I pick it up, although I recoil slightly each time I turn to the "His and Hers Crochet Cardigan"....


Much as I love crochet, the 1970's certainly have a lot to answer for....imagine if I made one for my partner and me - do you think he'd look as pleased with his cardi as the model in the book?  I don't think so!  Still, this page always makes me chuckle in a "thank goodness I was only a kid in the 70's" way!

The pattern I used to make the scarf is a large "diamond" pattern, although I think it actually looks more floral, and even with the unpicking, it was quite enjoyable to make - a real challenge for a person like me who's not too hot on reading patterns.


I'm not sure it's the height of fashion for now or even in the 70's ....  I wonder what the citizens of the 2040's will make of it....?

Friday 17 June 2011

Wrist Warmers

The second of my Project: Seventeen Balls creations - a pair of stripey wrist warmers!  Now, I know it's officially the middle of summer, so why do I need these?

My home office where I sit and slave away all day, is on the "dark side" of the house that gets no sun whatsover.  My desk also happens to be in the draughtiest area of the house, situated in a very cold pocket  of air in front of a boarded up fireplace.  So even in the height of summer, I can be literally (almost) freeeeeezing!




These wrist warmers are perfect for me, because while they keep me warm, my fingers are still free to type away and pack orders.

The pattern is based on the lovely wrist warmers designed by Lucy at Attic 24.  I may have to do mine again because there are so many loose threads still and they are ever so slightly baggy!

Thursday 16 June 2011

Summer Bag

The first item completed on Project: Seventeen Balls is this gorgeous summer bag.  Made up of 16 solid granny squares in assorted colours, which are joined together to create a stunning pattern, I really love it.

It did take me quite a while because it meant following a written pattern (not my forte!), and with respect to the designer, there was a slight error in the English language version, but I got there in the end, and the result was well worth it.

If you fancy making your own, you can find the pattern here.

Project: Seventeen Balls

A couple of weeks ago I made an impulse purchase of 17 mixed coloured balls of Stylecraft DK yarn.  When they arrived on my doorstep I was blown away (well, not quite, but almost) by the gorgeousness of the different colours and how well they all went together.

Now, my favourite yarn type for crocheting is chunky, so the Double Knit is a bit thinner than I'm used to, and my first thought (once I'd got over admiring the balls) was "what am I going to make with all this wool?".

And so began Project: seventeen balls!  I've been trawling Ravelry and my favourite online crochet pattern sites, and now have a huge amount of ideas!  I'm going to see how many different projects I can complete with my 17 beautiful balls, and of course I'll be sharing them with you along the way.

Sunday 5 June 2011

Tiny Money Pouch

I fancied  a quick little project, and found this Hundred Yen Pouch pattern on Ravelry.

Can Can Scarf

Recently I've moved away from Afghan Blankets, and started trying my hand at smaller projects. I've been wanting to do a lightweight fashion scarf for a while, and when I saw Mikey's tutorial on how to crochet with Frillseeker yarn, this seemed the perfect place to start.

The closest thing I could find in the UK to Frillseeker is the Rico Can Can, so gave it a go.  The yarn itself was really fun to work with, and the results were quick to see - always a bonus for those of us who prefer instant gratification!

The finished product took about 2 hours in total, but I made it quite long.  Trying it on, I'm not sure if it's something I'll wear out of the house - the aubergine/pink colour mix seems very "old".  Saying that, the scarf is very soft, and surprisingly warm, so will be perfect for wearing inside my draughty, cold home office.