Misty Mountain

A Splendid Surprise!

Something rather wonderful happened last Monday and it's kept a smile on my face all week.

Babukatorium featured my rainbow nightdress case on her Facebook page and... well... the response has been more than a little surprising.

My silly bit of purely self indulgent crochet has notched up over seventeen hundred likes! Seriously, over a thousand folks clicked the like button on something I made.

I am truly staggered!!

Along with all those likes and shares came a number of requests for a pattern. Well that posed a small problem... there wasn't one. I made it up, using a collection of some of my favourite stitches. A few comments also pointed out that it would make a rather nice bag either for a laptop or a tablet or just a general bag for putting stuff in.

I never wrote about the nightdress case here, not sure why, other than 2012 didn't seem to be a big blogging year. I did post it on Flickr though, which is where it was spotted.  I've been following Babukatorium on Flickr for ages, ever since I started an account there.  Never thought for an instant to look for a Facebook page.  I only really use Facebook to keep in touch with a few family members and close friends. So imagine my surprise when I received a message on Ravelry and another on Facebook telling me that my funny little nightdress case had been featured on Babukatorium's Facebook page and was getting a lot of appreciation.  Off I went to have a look and the picture already had a few hundred likes and some lovely comments.  Made me smile a lot. 

After a bit of thought, by which time the likes had gone up to over a thousand, I decided to tell the story of my silly little nightdress case and I've done my best to write out the pattern so that anyone who wants to can make a bag or a case of their own.

I've mentioned before about my on going, never ending quest to live inside my own personal rainbow. Well back in 2012 I came across some wonderful cotton.  It comes in a real rainbow of colours that I fell in love with instantly.  Planet Penny Cotton.  It's distributed by Penny of Planet Penny and sold in her Etsy shop. 

Look at those glorious colours!  I absolutely love it!

At first I used it to make little things like covers for the pen holders on my desk and the occasional flower decoration, but I wanted to make something more substantial with it and I wanted to do something that used a number of stitch effects, especially shell or fan stitches because I love the look of rows of fan stitches done in all different colours.

Being an old fashioned kind of girl I remembered that years ago I'd always kept my nightdress in a nightdress case on the bed. In more recent times my night clothes often spent the day languishing wherever I'd taken them off which could be anywhere from the bathroom to the kitchen depending on what I was doing at the time... maybe a pretty rainbow coloured case would be the perfect solution to the nightly roam around the house looking for where I'd left my nightdress.

Did I need or even want a pattern?  Not really, this was pure self indulgence, just for me, so why not make up my own pattern.

The front of the bag is kind of a sampler of some of my favourite crochet stitches.

I used The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller as my stitch reference guide. No matter how long you have been crocheting, (in my case over 50 years now) this book is a very useful stitch and crochet basics guide. 

The Planet Penny cotton is more of a four ply than a dk and I am a "loose hooker" (stop giggling) so I use a 3.00m hook. I would happily recommend the Planet Penny Cotton for these types of projects but any yarn of your own choice will do.  Go with what you are comfortable with. If you want a nice tightly woven fabric then obviously a smaller hook size is better, if you want a lacy fabric then use a bigger hook size.

Once yarn and hook are decided you have to decide on the 'dominant stitch' that you want to use and the size of the bag you want to make.

My nightdress case is 14 inch/35cm wide and 11inch/28cm tall. It will comfortably hold a nightdress, or a pair of Pjs, or some sleepshorts and top, or a nightshirt and PJ pants, all with a pair of snuggly socks tucked in the side. I'm a pretty big girl, however, if you are more on the petite and svelt side you could probably get away with making a smaller one. If you are making a bag to fit a tablet or Kindle or some such then measure the item in question and remember to take into account the 'thickness' of what you want to put in the bag. If your item is quite thick then you will want to make the back and front a little bigger to ensure you can get what you want inside.

Once you have a size you can start on the maths... don't be put off by the maths, crochet, knitting, even patchwork all have an element of the mathematical about them but it isn't hard and can usually be done with a bit of trial and error.

Make a chain that is the width of the bag you want to make. (Try and crochet as normally as you can so that you get a standard gauge.)

Count the number of chains. Write the number down.

Now here's a tip – trying to join together two piece of crochet with 'fancy' stitching that goes right up to the edge can be something of a nightmare, so I think it makes it much easier if both ends of your rows are some kind of standard crochet stitch like a treble (US dc) or double crochet (US sc) for my bag I made a border, or a margin of 4 plain stitches down either side to make joining the back and front together a whole lot easier.

Now we come back to that decision about the dominant stitch. Pick one that you like and use it as the base for your maths. I picked the shell or fan stitch. I love this stitch, it is just soooooo pretty.

I decided the easiest way to show the pattern was to make something else using the same pattern elements so I am making a new case for my Kindle.  This is the pattern size detailed below.

The fan stitch covers 6 stitches. These 6 stitches are the base number for the maths. How many chains did you make to get the size you want? I made 44. I want a border on each end of 4 stitches so 44 – 8 = 36. That means that I will have 6 fans in between my border, BUT I will need 1 additional stitch to close the final fan... so...

I need a chain of 45.  You will have to use common sense to decide whether to round up the number of stitches you need or whether to round down.  Remember if you have a specific item in mind you want to be sure the bag fits.  Also remember that most crochet stretches a little in the making.  

And another tip, stitch markers are your friends. You can never have too many stitch markers, they are one of the most useful tools in the crochet notions bag.

I am from the UK so my pattern is written in UK crochet terms, however, I wrote a page for the pattern in US terms here or you can access it from the 'Pages' menu in the left hand column of the blog.

So here we go...

All my pictures are clickable and zoom-able if you need to get closer to the detail.

Row 1: Ch45

4 stitches at either end for the 'border' and 6 stitches per fan plus 1 to close the final fan means I will have 4 plain stitches, 6 fans, and 4 plain stitches.

Make a turning chain (46 chains in all)  

Row 2: dc (US sc) in 2^nd chain from hook, dc (US sc) in each chain to end = 45 dcs (US sc) ch1 and turn.

Row 3: Repeat row 2

Now get out the stitch markers, place the first one in the fifth dc then skip 2 dcs and place another stitch marker in the next stitch, continue like this until you have only 4 stitches left.  The stitch markers mark each place were the hook is inserted for the fan stitches in the fan stitch row. Each marker denotes the start, centre and/finish of each fan. You should have 2 markers per fan plus 1 with 4 unmarked stitches at each end. So I have 13 markers 2 for each of the 6 fans plus 1.

 

If you have this combination then you have the right number of dcs. Lay the work out flat and count carefully, there is nothing more frustrating than getting to the end of a long row of fans only to find you have a stitch over or are one short.

{For a nightdress case the same as the one I made you would have a 69ch, comprising 4 stitches each side for the border, and 10 fans which equals 21 markers, 2 for each fan (10 fans) plus 1.}

Row 4:  dc in next 4 dc, *dc in next dc, skip 2 dcs, make 5 trs in next dc (fan) skip 2 dc,* rep from * to * until you reach the last stitch marker, dc in marked stitch to close the final fan, dc in last 4 dc, change colour, Ch 3, turn

First row of fan stitches complete:- 6 fans with a 4 stitch border on each side.

Row 5: (ch 3 counts as first tr) tr in next 3 dc, 3tr in next dc, (half fan made) *dc in 3^rd tr (central tr) of fan, 5 trs in next dc* repeat from * to * to last 5 stitches, 3 trs in next dc, 1 tr in each of next 4 dcs to end, change colour Ch1, turn.

You now have 2 rows of fans.

 

Now we need to level out the top of the fans ready for the popcorn stitch row.

Row 6: This is the popcorn stitch set up row. htr in 1^st st, 1htr in each next 6 sts, then in next 6 stitches *1tr, 1htr, 3dc, 1htr* rep from * to * to last 7 sts, 6htrs, 1htr in 3^rd ch of final st. Do NOT change colour. Ch 3, turn.

 

Row 7: This is the popcorn stitch row. (ch 3 on hook counts as first tr) tr in each of next 6 sts, *popcorn {*see below*} in next tr, tr in next 5 sts* rep from * to * until you have 6 popcorns, tr in each of next 7 sts, ch1, turn.

*{Popcorn Stitch - make 5 complete trs in one stitch (like for the fan) pull the loop left on the hook to make it a bit bigger.  Remove the hook from the loop (don't panic it's only for a few seconds) Insert hook through the top of the first of the 5 trs, capture the abandoned loop and pull it through, pulling the group of 5 stitches tight together.  At this point you can either ch1 to close the stitch or continue with the next tr.    If my explanation doesn't make sense try here for a better explanation and a video}

  

Row 8: 45dc across the row, make 45^th dc in 3^rd ch of previous row, change colour, ch3, turn.

Count the dcs to make sure you have 45. Ignore the V stitches in this picture it's just to give you a close up of the popcorn row.

Row 9: V st row, get out your stitch markers again. Place 1 stitch marker in 4^th stitch from each end of row and 1 stitch marker in 6^th stitch from each end of row. (ch 3 on hook counts as first tr) tr in each of next 3 sts, ( remove stitch marker for 3^rd tr) skip next dc, *V in next dc, (marked with the stitch marker – remove it now) skip next dc* rep from * to * until you reach next stitch marker, remove stitch marker and place final V in this stitch, skip next st, tr in each of final 4 sts, ch 1, turn.

The Vs will seem as if there are too many so now we need to retention the row.

Row 10:  dc in first 4 stitches, dc in space between 4^th tr & 1^st V of previous row, *dc in ch1 space of V, dc between V* rep from * to * last V space, dc between V and next tr, dc in each of next 3 sts, dc in 3^rd chain of previous row. 45 dcs.

 

These 10 rows make the pattern. It is now entirely up to you how you use them.

 In the picture I have already begun to make more fans, the pattern ends with the V stitches in blue.

The chart has 11 rows because I wanted to show a row of V in V stitches which is what I did in place of popcorns further on in the pattern.

For the nightdress case I worked off a ch 69 which gave me a 4 stitch border on each side and 10 fans and did the following rows:-

 2 dc rows

4 rows fans

1 line popcorns (including set up and dc row = 3 pattern rows)

1 line Vs (including retention row = 2 pattern rows)

4 rows fans

Double V line (see chart = 3 rows)

4 rows fans

Double V line (see chart = 3 rows)

4 rows fans

Double V line (see chart = 3 rows)

4 rows fans

Fill in row (row 6)

dc row to finish.

With it's rainbow of colours, I think the back is just as pretty as the front even though it is plain stitching, 

For the back off the same number of chains I worked

1dc row

28 tr rows

1dc row to finish

This gave me 2 pieces the same size. (My trebles are quite tall so some folks may need more rows)

Join the front and back of the bag together with a round of dc stitches, keeping them as even as possible. This is tricky and for neatness can be entirely dependent on your tension. Work with the right side facing so you are using the patterned side as the stitch guide. Personally I try to hook 1dc in each row that begins or ends with a dc, 2 dcs in rows with a htr at the edge and 2 in rows with a tr at the edge. But it really is all down to what you think looks and works the best. Try to keep a record of of how you stitch the first side once you have it done to your satisfaction, so that you can mirror it on the other side. The bottom is easy as its joining the same number of dcs on each piece. I put 3 dcs in the corners, but 2 might be adequate depending on how you crochet.

 For the flap I crocheted a flat circle in plain trebles knowing that I intended to decorate it with flowers. Obviously the circle needs to be as wide as the bag :)

There are loads of crochet flower and leaf patterns out there, pick your favourites and use them. Lucy of Attic24 has several on her blog and there are plenty of others on the internet or in books like 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stansfield or Nicki Trench Cute and Easy Crocheted with Flowers. I used little heart shaped buttons for the centres of my flowers.

You can decorate the flap however you please, or not at all, or make a fancy circle. Actually the fancy circle sounds like a great idea – I may make another just to do that. The choice is entirely personal. If you want to you can do what I plan to do with the kindle case and extend the back so that it folds over like an envelope flap.

Once the closing flap is made comes the tricky business of lining. Bag lining can be a royal pain but it is worth it.

For the bag part of the nightdress case I bought a patterned silky lining fabric. The silkiness makes it easier to slide nightclothes in and out of the bag. For the kindle case I will use felt because the idea is to protect the kindle when it is getting bounced around in my handbag. I used some pretty cotton to line the flap of the nightdress case.

And there you have it. A pretty bag for whatever you want to use it for.

 

 And finally... I am no teacher, I have never written up a pattern for other people to use before and I have done my best to be clear and make things easy to understand but if anything is wrong, or not clear please let me know and I'll happily answer questions or make corrections.

Love O. xx

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Ta-dah number 3

Babukatorium

Pink Dotty Cardigan

Ta-dah number two - Shawls

And Finally!

Last seasonal post, on the last day of my holiday.  We have been slowly packing away Christmas over the last couple of days.  Like always once New Year celebrations are over, I was ready for it to be put away.  Surfaces need dusting and space needs to be reclaimed, but before everything is packed away into its carefully labelled boxes and put back into the loft for another year, there is one last ta-dah!

Last year I gave in to a crafty urge and made some Christmas bunting.

I loved it to bits, but much as I loved the lights hanging where the picture usually hangs, I wanted something else crafty on the wall for Christmas.  We always put the tree in the other sitting room, which tends to mean that that the "den" where we sit to watch TV in an evening always had only the cards and a few odd Christmas ornaments, which seemed a shame when we put so much effort into decorating other 'less useed' rooms of the house.  So I decided to follow Lucy's example and set about making us a crochet Christmas wreath.  I made all the various component parts after Christmas last year, but put them away, when other projects became more pressing.  But I was determined to have my wreath... So as soon as I was on holiday for Christmas this year, I got all the various bits and pieces that I'd made out of their box and carefully assembled my very own crochet Christmas wreath...

Sewing everything in place wasn't easy and there were a few rather rude words filling the air but it was so worth it.

Close up!

And then, once the rest of the Christmas trimmings were up, in situ...

Love, love, love, love, love it!  Yes, perhaps it could have done with being the next size bigger but I really wasn't going to worry about that when it turned out so beautifully.

Will I ever make another?  Could I do what Lucy has done and make a wreath for each season?  I'm not sure I really have the patience but I might decide to give it a go.  For now though, I'm content with this one as I put it away in the special round box I bought to store it in, knowing I can look forward to taking it out again next Christmas!

2014 - A New Year

I guess this is not really the first post of 2014, more like the last post of 2013.  Whilst I am not usually one for getting sentimental about the passing of the year and I can't really say that 2013 was a 'great year' or anything, I was somewhat reluctant to let it go.  There are changes due to happen immediately in 2014 that I am not really looking forward to and it was nice to have a long-ish holiday where I was, for a while at least, able to continue to live in my cosy little world.  Now with only a day and a half left of my holiday I have to emerge from my cocoon and face the reality of life.  Ah well, what will be will be, we'll cope, I guess.

So... it has been a slendid Winter Festival!  Full of "pointed setters" as they are affectionately referred to in this house.

Twigs covered in teeny tiny baubles 

I always wanted to try this and I was very happy with the results...

A pretty tree...

With pretty blue lights

Bowls full of pretty baubles...

Pretty flowers all over the house...

Lots of candles

A shiny table set, ready for good food!

And with good food on it, waiting to be eaten!

And yummy drinks just waiting to be drunk!

And lovely walks - when the dreadful weather permitted of course...

It has been a splendidly relaxing holiday, quiet and peaceful, apart from the weather of course! And I have loved every day of it.  So yesterday I finally got out my gorgeous new diary...

And started 2014.

With a new crochet project on the hook... :)

Ta-dah number 3

Probably the favourite thing I have made all year...

The pattern is Jewel by Doris Chan from her book "Everyday Crochet" and I absolutely love it.  The yarn is Splendour by Easyknits and the colourway (which I couldn't resist) is Tutti Frutti.  It really works and both the pattern and the yarn are a joy to work with.

If anyone ever wants to learn to crochet garments then Doris Chan is the way to go.  Her top down style of design means that you can try on as you work and results in clothing that fits... And she goes up to splendidly big sizes for those of us not built on the petite and skinny side.

I made a slight pattern adjustment and added a different neck band from one of the other patterns in the same book.

I wore the top for my visit to Yarndale in September and as you can see from the pictures it's been worn a fair few times since!

Ta-dah number two - Shawls

I absolutely love Lily-Go patterns!  Most of her clothes are always in sizes way to small for me but her shawls are utterly sublime and always immensely practical.  I have a number of odd single skeins that I have bought either at Wonderwool or other yarny-type events, either because I liked the colour, or the yarn or because that was the only skein they had.  the problem with doing this is that you end up with loads of odd single skeins that have seriously limited usage.  This is where the wonderful Lily-Go comes in, she makes so many of her patterns in small mediium or large sizes where the small size can be made from a single skein of yarn.  A couple of years ago I made Blue Lagoon and it turned out very successfuly.  But I wanted a shawl that was more like a scarf than a deep triangle shawl so that was when I found Piquant and fell in love.  It is the perfect pattern for something that is more than just a scarf but that can be made from a single skein of yarn.  So this year I made 3...

A pink one

A rust coloured one

And a red a blue multi coloured one...

Definitely one of the best shawl/scarf patterns out there and one day I will actually make the larger version!

Pink Dotty Cardigan

A little "ta-dah" for a cardigan I made earlier in the year.

The pattern is Doris Chan's Cinnabar and the yarn is Sublime Cashmere/Merino.Silk blend.  I actually had tension problems with this one as the yarn is very stretchy, it took a couple of false starts before I was certain I had the right size hook and was making the right size cardigan.  And this one is much more of a cardigan and less of a jacket.  Very cuddly to wear and featuring some splendid polka dot buttons!

I love it!

Peace, quiet, relaxation and a new car!

There are fressias in my bathrooms, roses on my kitchen table, calla lillies on my mantle, and even a dinky little vase on my bedside table, crochet and knitting magazines on my couch, raspberries, balckberries and strawberries in my fridge, interesting drinks (cherry wine) in my drinks cabinet and a new crochet project already well on its way to comletion... I'm on holiday!!  \o/ Yay! Three glorious weeks free from emails, crises, conference calls, IT and all the rest of the gubbins that goes with doing a demanding full time job!

My holiday actually started last Friday.  I slept in, actually slept for 5 hours woke up and then dozed for another 2 and spent the day pottering around, ironing, cleaning, crocheting and relaxing.  I repeated the same routine on Saturday, then on Sunday I got myself in gear and went and did the holiday shopping.  That was where the raspberries and blackberries came from and of course the magazines...

I only ever buy magazines when I'm on holiday becasue I don't have time to read them any other time.   There are some good patterns in these three and some excellent yarn sites I shall be visiting.  It's thanks to a magazine that I discovered Easyknits and the lovely John, a splended source of some of the most wonderful yarn I have in my stash.

Yesterday I went to the opticians for an eye test and ordered two new pairs of glasses.  Last time I had problems finding even one set of frames that I liked, this time, platsic frames are apparently back in fashion and before I knew it I had 8 frames in my hands to pick from.  I finally managed to narrow it down to 2, a big bright one from Osiris and a wonderful quirky one from Gok Wan.  My current frames are Gok's and they have been wonderfully comfortable and very hard wearing for the last 2 years.  So that was that done, I managed some other errands in town too before driving home in my lovely new car...

My first ever brand new car!  Never had a brand new car before, I've always bought second hand or ex-demonstrators so getting a totally new car has been kinda exciting.  I got a brilliant deal from the garage, but, I was still incredibly sad to see the old car go.  It was an excellent car, a Citroen Picasso, never once let me down, but it was 10 years old and had over ninety thousand miles on the clock and to be honest, it was starting to sound terribly rattley whenever we drove it.  So I bought another Citroen, in the hopes that it will be just as reliable.  A smaller car, diesel, with zero road tax, a 'special edition' with some great features, like bluetooth so that I can make calls directly from the car and listen to music from the iPhone/iPod, cruise control and a speed limiter which, in theory, should stop me getting done for speeding on the long drives up to see the folks.  It is incredibly comfortable to drive but it just needed that little personal touch to make it entirely mine, so I set about making something...

Yes - even the car has become part of my quest to live inside my own personal rainbow!!  I'll probably make more for it, seat covers etc in the coming months, but for now I'm happy with my new steering wheel cover!

Of course being on holiday there has to be new crochet and knitting projects on the go...

I have just one sleeve to go on a new crochet top, a couple of knitted face cloths underway and in the basket above the start of the Christmas knitting.  Aren't those needles hilarious?  15mm needles, it's like knitting with a pair of pokers.  I am using the Texere yarn I got at Wonderwool shown in my Wonderwool post here and one of their novelty scarf patterns.  It's kinda fun in a wierd sort of way!

As the weather is pretty decent we are trying to get out and about this holiday and have already had a couple of outings which I will write about in the next post or so.  Meanwhile here are more of my lovely flowers...

 

 

Sunshine weekend, The Ashes, bunting triangles and a blanket

So it was another week of blisteringly hot weather!  Whilst I am not quite ready for it to be Autumn yet there were a couple of days this week when I wouldn't have minded it being a few degrees cooler.  I find the heat very draining and so good intentions to 'get stuff done' fall by the wayside in a puddle of melting ambition and depleted energy and at times a feeling of being almost ill.  I do not do well in the heat it seems.

The work week was busy as ever, and I am still getting used to not having to look over my shoulder anymore after what happened a few weeks ago. Now I just think that it's sad that a person's major contribution to other people's job satisfaction is to leave, but it is oddly satisfying when other colleagues go out of their way to tell me how much they value what I do and that it was only a matter of time before things swung around again.  I don't expect the current peace to last but it is extremely good to not be feeling on edge and worried all the time.

Life has it's ups and downs and this last few weeks have been specially down for one of my closest and oldest friends.  I can't say that other folks problems don't affect me because when it's someone I care deeply about they do.  I wish there was a way to fix everything for everyone, but sadly I have no magic wand, just an available ear, the capacity and strength to ask the hard questions and the offer of a place to run to should it become necessary.  

So it has been a contemplative week, reflective and strangely peacful here on Misty Mountain...

at the house in the trees.  I always think the contrast between our rampant over grown trees and my neighbours well manicured lawns is oddly amusing.

The weekend has actually been very restful despite the heat.  Helped of course by the start of the second test of The Ashes series on Thursday.  My enjoyment of cricket is one of the few things I share with my Father, so it is always cool fun to call him at close of play, or lunch or tea to discuss the day's cricketing events.  Helped of course by the fact that several of the current team's stars are Yorkshire men!  Saturday was truly glorious and I shared a couple of excited enthusiastic calls with Dad where we talked about Yorkshire vs Australia and the fact that Joe Root doesn't look old enough to be out of short trousers let alone scoring a hundred and eighty at Lords!

This morning we did our usual hot Sunday thing of getting up early and heading out to the beach with Phaolin so he could have a good walk before it got too hot for him to want to do any more than make a den in the shady bushes in the garden and lie in it for the rest of the day trying to keep cool.

This morning we went the other way, from the car park and along the pier to the newly painted lighthouse...

Looking very smart and rather sparkly in the morning sun.

There were a few more clouds in the view looking over the Gower this weekend. 

And a little boy who has limited patience with all this view gazing lark and who is raring to get on with HIS walk along the beach.

So we put cameras/iPhones away and headed off for a stroll in my case, run and bound in Phaolin's case along the beach.  There was much sniffing, some paddling and of course lots and lots of hole digging.  (We gave up on the garden years ago when we realised Phaolin wasn't ever going to stop digging large holes in everything he could dig holes in including lawns, flower beds, herb gardens and shrubbery.)  Malamutes are world champion diggers and the beach is the perfect place for Phaolin to get the days digging requirement out of his system!

After the beach we strolled past Shoreline, the rather grand caravan park hidden down by the beach behind the pickle factory.  Yes I do mean the pickle factory, Parsons Pickles of Burry Port to be exact.  Seriously good pickles if you like pickles, which I do.  Walking past the really quite lovely static caravans at Shoreline always makes me wonder... should we invest in one, would it be worth it. We had a caravan at Swithland Woods when we lived in Leicestershire and it made for some great memories... or would it just be another overhead I can do without in these days of tenuous job security at best?

Anyway after the beach and the dunes and the caravans we walked back across the park past the pretty coloured houses to the car.

And home for a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea for breakfast before it got too hot!  And another day of cricket watching and crocheting.

And speaking of crocheting I promised a propoer 'ta-dah' post for Tara's blanket so...

After the girl's (Tara and her girlfriend) had been home at Christmas and showed us all the pictures and plans for their new house in Brussells himself asked if I would crochet them a blanket so he could take it as a housewarming present when he went over.  Yes, I said, of course, no problem, crocheting blankets is what I do!  So I looked at the various pictures we had of the house and the new furniture and realised everything was very modern and... white... Well I could make a white blanket but the practicalities of using it and constantly washing it made it seem pointless.  The only colour I had to go on was the rusty orange of the draft stopper they had asked for for Christmas.  I thought about making something like a Flowers in the Snow blanket but that requires a variety of bright colours set off by the white border and I wasnt sure that a rainbow of bright colours was really the way to go.  Bright colours in large varieties did not really seem to be the girls thing.  So on a trip to Cardiff with a friend earlier in the year I took a punt and bought some Rowan baby merino silk dk in cantaloupe, strawberry and sunshine.  The strawberry and cantaloupe were the colours of the Christmas draft stopper. Then I decided on Lucy's Interlocking Ripple pattern and got to work.

Here is the result!

I was so happy with the way this came out.  Here it is on our bed!

And a close up of the white border.

Himself took the blanket with him when he went to Belgium at the start of the month.  I will admit that I was vrey nervous as to how it would be received.  I am very aware that not everyone likes hand made things, many people consider them a cheap alternative when you can't affford to buy something rather than the labour of love they actually are. So I was really chuffed to receive a very enthusiastic thank-you phone call after he had handed it over, pointing out that the colours I had been so concerned about toned in perfectly with the natural wooden floors throughout the house.  But what really had me dancing with glee was when the girls called the other week and talked about how lovely it was to sit side by side on their new couch late in the evening watching TV snuggled together under their handmade blanket!  I was just so pleased!!  I have since received a lovely thank-you card so I am pretty sure my work is well appreciated.  It's kind of a good thing seeing as I have already made their Christmas presents for this year!

And one final picture of the blanket all folded up ready to head to its new and very appreciateve home.

The other thing I managed to get done was my Yarndale bunting.  I only did a few triangles because I had real problems with the tension but I was rather pleased with how they came out.

I need to get them in the post this week now there is an address to send them to.  Not going to bother to try and personalise them. I am sure I'll have better things to do that weekend than spend time trying to spot one of my triangles amidst the thousands that will be fluttering at the Yarndale venue.  I am strangely looking forward to my solo visit back to the Dales.  It's been years!  I will stop off at the folks on the way and then head off to Skipton on the Friday.  I'm staying at the the Woolly Sheep.  I really couldn't resist, although its actually a pub and I'm a bit concerned about how good the accomodation will actually be, but I figured I'm going for the event and to see the Dales again not to spend hours in my room!

Well the weekend is nearly over so I'm going finish off my weekend jug of Pimms.

And settle down for a bit more hooky time before bed.  So I'll leave you with another picture from our morning walk.

 O. xx

Nothing but blue skies...

What glorious weather!!  So much to post about and yet so little time to actually post about it all. Splendid weekend, England going okay in the Ashes and something happened at work a week ago that has made life much improved, for now anyway and I finally finished Tara's blanket but I think it deserves a post all to itself because I really am very please with the way it came out.

The above was taken yesterday morning on our walk.  We left it too late, my fault entirely, and by the time we were halfway along our usual walk on the coastal path it was far too hot for Phaolin so we turned around and came back.

A very hot dog, just before we turned around and headed back.

Needless to say I spent the rest of the day with my lovely crochet, in front of the Ashes.  Got a bit worried there for a while but the latter end of the day picked up tremendously.

And so, not wanting to make the same mistake as yesteday we were up at 6am today and by 7 we were on our way to the sea for an early morning walk in the cool(er) part of the day.

We parked the car and headed towards the marina... I didn't have my camera with me so these pictures were all taken with my iPhone!

Which looked really lovely and sparkly in the early morning sun.

Round the marina and down on to the beach where Phaolin wasted no time in finding a 'paddling pool' to cool his hot doggy paws.

The tide was out so we didn't go right down to the sea, it wasn't really necessary when there were plenty of pools and channels for Phaolin to play in.

Because it was so early we had the beach mainly to ourselves...

It really was a beautiful morning...

The view across the bay to the Gower Peninsula...

Back towards the lighthouse and pier at Burry Port...

And further round you can just see the taller masts from the marina...

Finally it was time for a drink and to turn round and head back along the coastal path towards the car.

A quick look back towards the Gower...

And then it was back to the car and home for breakfast in the garden with an early treat of one of the classic tastes of Summer...

And a brand new crochet project - well 2 actually... aren't those colours absolutely yummy!

O. xx

Crochet Mandalas

Lucy at Attic24 posted a picture on facebook today of a crochet mandala that she made which reminded me that I made a bunch of the same pattern for Mother's day and never posted any pictures of them. I love this pattern and I'm sorry I never took individual pictures of all of the ones I made.

And this has also reminded me that I made a bunch of hearts and never did anything with them.  Wonder where I put them?

Well it has been a quiet but productive bank holiday so far.  This one really couldn't come soon enough. I have made two cushions and started another blanket which pleases me immensely.  All for me too, which makes a change this year as so much of my crochet seems to have been for other people.  

I also forgot to post any pictures of my Easter Baskets too...

I know they're a bit tacky but I put little bags of mini eggs in them and sent them off to my Mother and my two Aunts who loved them and so did I.  What's not to love about crochet eggs and flowers and fluffy chicks!

Love O. xx