Misty Mountain

Thursday afternoon cricket and crochet!

What could be better...

England vs Australia ODI cricket on the telly and the lovely Nordic Shawl on my hook.

What could be better!

Love O. xxx

I wanted to crochet a large rectangle... so I did!

And here it is!

Actually its a picnic blanket but I put it on the bed to show it off nicely and as protection against the Phaolin, who still likes his morning cuddle on the bed!

The yarn is a pack I bought from this lovely lady, who puts together the most amazing colour packs of lovely yarn.  This particular yarn is a hard wearing acrylic, not quite a soft as Stylecraft but soft enough and immensely practical - hence the picnic blanket.

I love it to bits, partly because I proved to myself that I could crochet a huge rectangle, (over 5 feet wide) without it getting all out of shape and wiggly and looking nothing like a rectangle at all.

So here is another picture before I go off and see what's on the hook today.

 Love O. xxx

Flowers for Memories...

Every year, for Yarndale, the lovely Lucy from Attic24 organises a massive community art project and invites all her blog readers to take part.  Last year it was Mandalas, the year before it was Bunting.  This year it is Flowers for Memories.  An idea that is very close to my heart because my Mum has Alzheimers and we are really beginning to struggle with her now. After more than five years of just about being able to cope my Dad is starting to show signs of wearing out.  So, with my Mum and Dad in mind, I set to, with hook and yarn and managed to make some brightly coloured offerings to send for this years Yarndale, Flowers for Memories, crocheting as many good memories as I could into my brightly coloured offerings.

 
And yes I am very aware that some of those colours will never been found in nature but we were asked to make them colourful - so I did. :)

I found this poem on Facebook courtesy of a friend and colleague of mine - for those of us coping with this terrible illness, it says it all.

And now we are making a massive pot of curry each for dinner!

Love O. xx

Hearts, Flowers, Mandala and My Most Favourite Crochet Sweater Ever!

Daffodils, daffodils and more daffodils!  It is my firm opinion that there can never be enough daffodils, just as there can never be enough snowdrops, only they're on the iPad so I couldn't upload them for this post.

It has been a weird couple of months, I ended up spending more time in London at the start of the year than I ever expected and then there was a travel embargo... Yay \o/!!  Nobody happier than me!  Unfortunately I couldn't embrace the time at home as I wanted because after a visit to the folks I returned with what a friend of mine called "the proper flu".  Well this was proper alright, I was off work for 3 weeks.  3weeks!!  I haven't been off work sick for 3 weeks for years.  I felt so bad I couldn't even crochet, must have been bad.  Anyway it is on the wane now thank-goodness.

It was Mum's birthday in February, what do you get for the lady well on into her nineties?  I genuinely had no idea so I made this...

And told Dad to put it in the middle of the dining room table with a vase of flowers on it.  He did.  It looked okay.  Job done.  February was also Valentine's Day so I made a flower heart for himself...

  I added a little wooden sign to it...

He liked it and hung it on the "death riding a motorcycle" on the shelves above his desk.  I'm calling it a win!

I also made some Mother's Day mandalas but put them in the post without photographing them so there are no pictures sadly.

However, the really big win on the crochet front so far this year is my absolutely favourite sweater.  At the start of the year I was trawling through some of my favourite blogs and came across this post from Vanessa.  I decided I wanted to make the sweater, so a bit more trawling back through her archives brought me to the pattern.  Oh dear!  As with a lot of the best crochet patterns out there it was Japanese and of course designed to fit someone a quarter my size, but I was determined.  I found a moderately priced yarn that I knew I could wear comfortably next to my skin (I didn't want to risk expensive yarn on a pattern I wasn't sure I could make work) and sat down to do some serious swatching and the accompanying maths.  It took me an hour or so but eventually I had the maths done and I got started.  It was always going to be a long project.  I prefer to crochet in the round, in 3D and this pattern was 2D and more like a knitting pattern, where you make the flat pieces and then join them together.  It took longer than I would normally ever take to make a garment but the result was soooooo worth it.

I love that neckline! :)

And finally, here it is, full on...

I had to lengthen, and widen it and then I had to make the collar fit my additional dimensions but it was all worth it and I now have a lovely sweater that has already been worn several times. 

I intend to make another in pink and try and get it more lacy, a bigger hook and a lot more maths in my future, I guess!

 Love O. xx

Winter Festival 2014

You know the holiday time is almost over when you find you're down to the last 2 luxury face wipes in the packet.  I had to add a drop of water to the luxury body wash himself bought me to use over the holidays in the shower this morning in order to make it last for the final three days.

It has been a good Winter Festival.  Starting with the Winter Solstice.

I wore my Winter Solsice Poncho, which I love to bits

We made one of the best Christmas dinners we've made for years.  Everything worked and tasted delicious and there were no left overs, nothing to throw away.

We spent quiet evenings by candlelight

With excellent drinks

Rose Petal Martini complete with dried edible rose petal! And himself able to drink properly for the first time for years which meant he could really enjoy the scotch I bought him and we had a splendid bottle of Running Duck red with our Christmas lunch.

We managed to make both sitting rooms look festive.  The Christmas tree always goes into the more formal sitting room so that it is out of the way of the dog and where more room can be made for it, but that always used to mean that the dog den, where we probably spend most of our time looked a little neglected so it gets the wreath and the bunting and once again I made a twig tree.

We tried to be sensible with presents this year.  Not sure we entirely managed it.  Yes that is a retro style pink radio in the first picture on this post and my new PIP Studio rucksack has been peeping into some of the crochet pictures I took for the crochet round up.

And speaking of round ups...

I'm not a great one for looking back, it tends to lead to looking back in anger and I'd really rather not but 2014 was an odd kind of year.

On the home front for us it was quite definitely the "year of the garden."  We bought this house partly because of the garden, all the trees and fruit bushes and green was the perfect balm after life in the centre of the city surrounded by nothing but bricks and neglected council trees.  But those tress and fruit bushes had become a serious problem over the years.  They were old to start with and the maintenance factor was just too high.  The idea of trying to do anything in the garden was fraught with difficulty for both of us, because just clearing the ground to be able to actually do anything resulted in two worn out middle aged hippies with chronically bad backs.  So after a couple of days wrestling with the strimmer and the branch loppers resulted in himself being flat on his back for a week I decided it was time to call in the cavalry and engage a gardener.  Best. Decision. Ever.  I had the money from last years bonus to be able to spend a few bob getting the garden into something we could manage and it was worth every penny.  It's sleeping now of course...

But it is no longer overgrown.  The path is visible and useable all the way to the top.  There is new trellis replacing the tress that had to be cut down and the bushes that we removed.  The green house has been repaired and the old shed repainted and all the borders cleared so that we can plant things.  I can stroll all the way up to the newly planted meadow at the top without having to fight my way like Livingstone through the jungle.  I love it so much!

I guess for this to be the first part of a complete round up I must mention the job.  2014 was in the end a year of tremendous change.  We moved offices in London to two grand new buildings within a short stroll of each other in Kensington and whilst the main building may have a fabulour restaurant, a bar and an indoor garden complete with swing the new IT building has the most fabulous art deco loos.  They are actually listed and cannot be changed in any way!

It's not a grat picture but I think you get the idea.

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that the last 3 years at work have been far from easy.  The change of ownership of the company resulted in some changes in IT that have left most of the old legacy IT folks, myself included, feeling very battered and left some of us, again myself in particular, asking some very hard questions.  Like 'is it time to perhaps move on.'  Despite the fact that it was lovely to hear many of my colleagues from the business side telling me to please just hang on in there, and things would change, I admit I came very close to putting the house on the market and seeking employment (including significant salary drop) elsewhere.  Well two weeks before the holiday I was glad I'd stuck it out.  Changes were made at the top of IT that resulted in a lot of us heading into Christmas with much lighter hearts and a great deal more optimism about the future.  Let's hope it stays that way for a while.

On a personal note 2014 was the year of a realisation that I never expected in a million years.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, a much younger me went through an experience I would never wish on anyone ever in a million years.  I dealt with it as best I could at the time, but I have always known that it was a big contributory factor to a lot of stuff in my life, including the breakdown of my first marriage.  I have also always known, that had what happened to me happened, say at work, I would have handled it a lot better than I did.  The fact that it all happened in a religious/church environment put everything in a different context and left me floundering.  It is strange how totally unrelated yet similar events trigger realisations that suddenly bring a level of clarity and release you never expected.  One evening after watching the news about yet another round of trials of old men on trial for sexual misconduct with young women I suddenly turned to himself and said.  "It's only just occured to me that I could go to the police about what happened at church all those years ago."  Himself grinned and replied "I wondered when you'd realise."  He then asked if I wanted to.  I don't, of course, but just knowing that I could, that men are going to prison for doing far less than what happened to me at the hands of a so called christian man, in a so called christian setting has made a boat load of difference.  I was abused by a man who should have known better and it wasn't all my fault, the way I was lead to believe it was at the time.  I truly was innocent.  I might have been a married woman, but I was innocent in so many ways and he was the sinner, the one doing wrong, the one who many years later was punished in a way, kind of, but not enough, never enough.  But... the best revenge is to live well and oh boy do I live well and I have done it all my own way, on my own nickel with himself beside me every step.  Life is pretty good here in the delapidated old farm house, half way up a mountain in the middle of rural Wales.

Well that was all a bit cathartic and probably needed saying so I will be back tomorrow with the rest of 2014 and my thoughts on the biggest happiest event of the year along with my thoughts on the world of crochet blogging and other... stuff!

Love O. xx

2014 in Yarn

The early part of 2014 was all about the baby.  Discovering that we were going to be grandparents was the most wonderful news and within minutes I was planning all the things I could make for the newest addition to our little family.

My most favourite piece of the whole year was this...

I was so pleased with the way it turned out. (So it gets 2 pictures.)

But it was soon followed by a whole plethora of 'little items.'

It is staggering the amount of time it takes to make teeny tiny little clothes and shoes!  And much as I love love loved making things for baby there were times when I just had to get stuck into something that wasn't miniature.  So I made a few things for me to wear.

I am so in love with that V necked cardigan and my flower decorated smock.  I actually did two smocks a navy blue one and a beige one but I only have pictures of the navy one.  I'm also rather proud of Henry Humpty.  He, of course, went to Belgium with himself for our little boy.

The biggest hit of the year for present making are those wonderful bandana cowls, there are 6 pictured here, I have made 10 in all and so far failed miserably to make one either for myself or himself :)

Probably my other favourite make is the poncho.  I am so not a poncho person but the pattern was in Simply Crochet number 25 and I just had to have a go.  I wear it as a kind of additional dressing gown and it is perfect for keeping warm late at night or for dashing out for an early delivery in the morning.

I sent a second baby blanket over to Belgium in the summer, to fulfill a need for a lighter weight one and there my baby crafting stopped.  Our grandson is a big lad so this year I will be moving on to childrens sizes to accomodate his rather rapid growth.  Oh the pattern possibilities!  And of course the blanket possibilities for a proper sized bed when he get's big enough, it's just so exciting.

However, a pre-winter Festival sort out of the yarn room revealed a number of bags with some almost finished projects in the them that got shelved when I got involved with baby stuff making so I have determined that they will have to be completed in the first half of the year.  Plus I have begun to knit two cardigans for himself, an aran and a sirdar crofter.  This is fairly major for me, because although I can knit perfectly well I have never knitted for another adult other than myself.

So there we have it, there are about a dozen or so items that either haven't been photographed yet or got given away without being photographed.  Like the scarf I made for my Mother in Law or the shawl I made for my Sister in Law.  So I reckon I made around 72 items this year in total.  I guess 2014 was a good year for crafting!

Love O. xx

Holiday - Day the Second

It must be nice to be able to brag about having fresh flowers in a jug on your table every day.  Sadly, I cannot.  I wish I could but sometimes life just doesn't allow for it.  But I am on holiday, so right now I have jugs of fresh flowers in my bathrooms, in both sitting rooms, and in the kitchen!  Yay!  I do, however, have a wonderful garden that brings me much happiness.  I wander out there every morning with my first cup of tea of the day.  Through the apple tree and rose archway...

Past the old grinding wheel and the old shed that badly needs painting.

And up to where the old outside loo used to be...

And over to the multi coloured hydrangea.

So I guess it makes up for not having flowers in a jug on my table every day.

I am busy making things, as usual.

My new grandson needed a lighter weight blanket for park visiting so this turned into this.

And I added in some face cloths for baby and his mummies.

Some guest soaps for the girls, a couple of hats that I didn't take pictures of and a couple of onesies from BHS and I had another box ready to send.  And the really really best thing is that on Friday I will be on my way to Belgium for the weekend to see my baby grandson.  Cuddles for me!!

Now I have mojito in hand and I'm busy knitting a teddy to take with me on Friday so... hopefully more tomorrow!

O. xx

A Glorious Solstice

Our first grandson was born on Wednesday 18th so we truly did have something to be grateful for this year!  We are still excited and thrilled and look forward to every little picture emailed our way and every phone call telling us how lovely he is.  He should come home from hospital today, to begin his life with his two very proud Mums.

For the first time for years we actually saw the sun on the Solstice.  It was a glorious day here, so we got up for the sunrise as usual and did our sunrise ceremony just before 5am.  Then after a brief snooze we set the table...

Complete with Solstice candle, and sat down to a splendid Solstice breakfast.

Full English with Pussyfoot cocktail, toast and marmalade or home made jam, and lovely fresh coffee!

Fortunately for me but sadly for the pictures there is plenty of shade for me to sit in.

I did sit outside with my crocheting for a short while but it was only a short while.  It soon became far too hot outside for me so I came back in to watch the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying and celebrate a brilliant pole for Williams and then the cricket.  Both of which make a pleasant change from the football.

Well I am in London next week for work and I need to pack and make sure I'm ready for the morning.  So finally... here's Phaolin lying in the herb garden.

All in all a lovely, sunny, happy, Solstice!

Bright Blessings!  O. xx

Heirloom

When I was younger we called them christening shawls.  These days with the shifts in the religious concepts they seem to be called heirloom shawls.  Well whatever they're called... I have finished the one for my grandson.

I posted this picture of it a week or so ago...

The centre stars were complete and so were the lace panels all the shawl needed was a border.  I had already begun making the shawl when we learned that our first grandchild was going to be a little boy, so knowing that I didn't want to make anything too frilly or fancy so I decided that a plain border was probably the way to go.  By the time I got to crocheting the rounds had gotten very long and the work was almost hypnotic in nature.  I was also concerned that I was going to run out of yarn.  Traditionally circular-ish shawls are between fifty and fifty four inches in diameter.  In the picture above the shawl isn't even forty inches across.  Still I kept going  laying the work out, adjusting the maths and checking the tension as I went. Finally I felt I had something that would be big enough and I was on the last ball of my lovely Sublime Baby Cashmere, Merino, Silk 4 ply yarn, so I added the final rows and hoped it would all work.

Then I realised my blocking boards weren't gonna be big enough so I had to order a four by four pack of children's play mats off the internet to make sure I had enough!

After that himself and I spent hours measuring and pinning, adjusting and pinning and measuring again until finally I was satisfied.

And this was the result!

It isn't perfect by any means, but there is a lot of work and a load of love and I don't think I could have done much better.  

I just hope the girls like it and use it.

Well I am almost packed.  My boarding pass is printed and I have an electronic version on my phone.  I have almost finished a nice little crochet shrug to take with me.  So Madrid here I come!   Love O. xx

Wonderwool and Happy Holidays

I am having a really good holiday!  I needed it.  Exhaustion was beginning to set in and it has been good to get a break.  The weather hasn't exactly been brilliant most of the time but it hasn't really mattered too much.  I'm just as happy sat at home with me crocheting and Miss Marple on the TV as I am out walking with himself and the dog.  I've gotten quite a lot done.  Some baby stuff finished, a couple of garments finished for me, and other stuff started on the hook already.

The magnolia has been in bloom over the last week or so...

I am no gardener but I love my magnolia tree; and my jugs of tulips.

And yes that is Miss Marple on the TV.

So... yesterday was Wonderwool!  One of the highlight days out of the year.  It has all been a bit strange actually, because usually Wonderwool Sunday kicks off my holiday, but this year it fell in the middle of it.  Also this year I took my friend and neighbour with me.  Our Stitch 'n' bitch group has grown this past year and we needed to take two cars so I invited my friend along on an impulse and then spend time worrying that she would be bored witless, I needn't have worried.  :)

It was a bit of a grey and rainy day, which is a shame because the drive is a lovely one.  We left early, as usual, and met up in Llandeilo, as usual.  There is something strangely comforting about this familiar routine, just as I love knowing that we will probably do the same thing again next year!

Wonderwool was bigger this year, they had added an extra hall and there was a truly splendid amount to see.

I indulged in my on going love affair with Alpacas...

What an utterly cute fringe!

People manage to create some of the most amazing things...

And I just absolutely loved this dragon!

There were some excellent stalls, with fabulous yarn and some amazing crafted items that I stupidly didn't take pictures of and it was good to catch up with some of my favourite suppliers.  I spent a good while hanging out with Amanda and Phil from The Natural Dye Studio and had a good chat with Jon at Easyknits and of course I bought stuff.  I was very organised this year.  I had a notebook with the yarn requirements for 5 patterns in it and I only allowed myself a couple of 'inpulse extras.'  I also wanted a couple of specific items that were not actual yarn itself, a yarn bowl and a blocking kit.  Well there were no blocking kits to be had anywhere (so I ordered one on line when I got home) but I did get a lovely yarn bowl and a rather handsome oak Yarn Pal, both of which will stop balls of yarn rolling across the carpet collecting dog hair, or being collected by the dog!

So here is the Wonderwool booty in all it's glory.

Pink silk from Willowknits, yellow blue faced leicester and silk mix from Sparkleduck, some gorgeous cream alpaca from Toft Alpacas (the ones in the picture above), my lovely yarn bowl, (already in use) and some merino silk blend from Fivemoons Yarn.

On the other side...

Some rainbow dyed silk and blue faced Leicester from The Natural Dye Studio and some fabulous pink Splendour (blue faced Leicester and silk mix) from Easyknits and of course my lovely oak yarn pal.

And finally in the middle... some really fun stuff from Tile Productions that I just loved to bits!

The "Yarn is cheaper than therapy" one is really for himself!  Just sayin'.

As usual it was a "grand day out."  I came home tired but satisfied that I had spent my money on yarn that would get used rather than just random odd skeins I might love but spend the next year wondering what to do with.

Now I must go and find a basket for all my yummy new yarn!

O. xx