These last two weeks - November 24

 

 

1. I finished some Christmas presents - two knitted boy beanies, and three crocheted cotton washcloths inspired by onecraftymumma's dishcloth swap;
2. We had visits from three cheeky frogs who found themselves in a supposed Shangrila, aka our girls' toilet. So ensued the 'frog check' routine, which soon lost its charm, especially at 3am. 
3. I finished another painting, "Mistaken Island";
4. Miss M's soccer wind-up was held on a magic day at Frenchman's Bay - heaps and heaps of kids of different ages, all playing together and helping each other in the water - truly awesome.
5. I finally got a much needed haircut;
6. The blue tutu-ed twins experienced their first ever concert week of dance extravaganza rehearsals and performances - all 3 and 1/2 hours of it - with great energy, excitement and success (not to mention relief on Mummy's part), and;
7. I had two of my paintings accepted for display and sale at the Albany Visitor Centre. Yay!

Busy, busy. As ever.

Life is good. Hope all is well with you.

xxx

This month





 

This month.....

• included two weeks of school holidays,
• we went on a family holiday and stayed at a divine cottage in Nornalup for three nights (thank you, Aunty Jan!)
• the girls all had their first fishing expedition - it didn't last long but it put smiles on their faces!
• we visited quite a few artists who were showing their work as part of the Southern Art Trail (it was awesome!!) These paintings are by Serena MacLauchlan at Hotchin Gallery.
• I got a crocheting bug - three cowls later.....
• I managed to finish another little oil seascape painting - yay!
• my love affair with the Schoolhouse Tunic entered its seventh episode, this time with a gorgeous purple linen,
• my football team did NOT win the Grand Final, but I still love them!!!
• Miss M started to learn how to use the sewing machine - she has yet to earn her learner's permit (which means she can use the machine without me having to constantly supervise), but she is almost there,
• I experienced my first ever blogger/insta-meet - I bumped into Kate from 2littlebanshees while we both happened to be browsing the fabric racks at Albany Spotty at the same time.
• we celebrated Miss M's birthday with a BIG party and the most decadent ice-cream cake of all time!! Happy Birthday, my girl!!
• I have (obviously) had a break from my blog.

And it is good to be back.

 xx



Granny Square Hot Water Bottle Cover

 

 

In recent weeks I have been trawling the net, looking for a crocheted granny square hot water bottle cover pattern to no avail. So, I made one up!

 

Now that I have finished my hottie, I now know why a pattern is so elusive - each hot water bottle is different, and each crocheter's tension is different, so a one-size-fits-all granny-square-hot-water-bottle-cover pattern remains a non-reality in most cases.

 

In spite of this, here are the links to my inspiration starters, together with the individual ideas and techniques that went into my hot water bottle cover recipe. It's worth giving it a go.

 

Inspiration from Foxslane, here*.

Granny square tutorial from Little Tin Bird, here.

Join as you go tutorial from Attic24, here (just scroll down to the end).

Construction and shaping ideas from Snaffles' Mummy, here.

Bobble shell edging tutorial from Attic24, here.  

 

• Throughout I used 8ply yarn with a 3mm hook. I tried a 4mm hook at first but the squares were too big.
• I joined the squares as I made them -  "join as you go".
• The panels of 3x4 granny squares were worked separately.
• When adding the red border, I made up the shaping, using a series of slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet stitches to gradually increase or decrease the height of the rows.
• I made sure to include five buttonholes evenly spaced in the final round on the base of the front panel.
• The panels were joined using slip stitches but leaving a gap for the neck of the cover to be crocheted. 
• The neck was worked in the round, increasing at the sides in a similar manner to that used by Snaffles' Mummy in her gorgeous hottie cover.
• I used the bobble edge border as demonstrated, once again, by Attic24 (she's so clever!).
• I sewed in the ends and added five red buttons on the back panel so the front would overlap the back when the buttons are done up.

 

Ta Dah!

 

 

 

Yay!!

 

I'm glad I took notes as I worked, but given that the other hot water bottles in our house in need of covers are different sizes to this one, I'll be using similar techniques to get the new covers to fit them, tweaking as I go.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

xx

*I didn't set out to copy the red on foxslane's hottie cover - Miss E decided red was the perfect colour, so red it is!

Commission + Crochet

 

  

Oh, it's been lovely! I have been lucky enough to have a painting commission to work on for the last couple of weeks, in the days when all the girls have been at school.  It's a seascape of a local area - hooray - and I would love to show you how it's progressing, but this little painting is intended as a surprise so it will just have to stay under wraps. Just for a bit.

 

Instead I am delighted to show you the progress I have been making in my most recent of yarny undertakings - a granny square hottie cover.

 

Inspired by the colourful crochet of Kate at www.foxslane.blogspot.com.au/ and her granny square hottie which you can see here, I have been playing with my many small woolly scrappy bits and creating a hottie cover that is in high demand among a certain group of young girlies. Miss E will be the ultimate recipient of this piece as it's HER TURN!! Apparently!

 

 

I'm making it up as I go along - free(yarn)balling, as it were! There are a couple of other crochet creatives who have written 'recipes' for their hottie covers, but it is generally instinct, misguided or other, that is directing me in this. And it's fun. Of course!

 

 

Finally, I'm hoping this finds you all well because I know there are some who aren't. And I pray you will become well once again, Mandi. Love and strength to you and yours.

 

xx

Hexagon Blanket Ta-dah!

Hooray - it's finished!!

Sometimes I have liked it, sometimes I loathed it (it hibernated for about 10 months), but now I absolutely love it!

And the part I enjoyed crocheting the most? The edging. I enjoyed the rhythm of crocheting the dc stitches around the outside, and found it quite meditative and soothing, especially with the warmth of the blanket covering my knees on these colder nights.

 

The edging consists of two rows of double crochet with ripply decreases in the inside corners, and increases similar to those used on the hexagons on the outside corners. It is finished with a row of the bobble edge stitch, as demonstrated in a tutorial on Attic24's blog here. A solid colour border for solid colour hexagons.

 

 

And here is the blanket as best as I could photograph before it was whisked away, already in use with today's kid on the couch.



 

 (Miss J has a very sore tummy!)

 

 

Hexagon Pattern:: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/hexagon-howto.html

Yarn:: 8 ply wool

Colours:: an assortment, mostly from Shepherd Colour 4 me and Cleckheaton Country yarn ranges

Hook:: 4mm

 

Will I make another one? I'm thinking of it - I particularly like the circle version made by Greedy for Colour (photograph in this post), where she uses solids for the centres, and finishes the final round of each hexagon in the same colour. Result? Circles. Clever!

 

 

So happy!

 

xx

 



Hexagon Update and Inspiration

 

 

It has been an interesting project, this hexagon blanket of mine. There have been times when I have loved it, and times when I have just not had any more hexagon love to give! But when I see those solid brights, the colours bouncing off each other and resonating with energy, I fall in love with it all over again.

 

In love once more after sewing in all the ends, I am now at the edging stage.

 

I considered squaring off my hexagons but decided to embrace and celebrate the hexagon! Let's keep the distinctively hexagony shape! I initially thought about using Attic 24's single crochet and scallop edging that she had used on her first hexi blanket. After all, the hexi pattern I used was hers. However, I just didn't feel that it suited the blockiness of the solid colour hexis.

 

Instead, I have settled on two rows of double crochet with increases reflecting those used in the hexagons on the corners, and Attic 24 ripply decreases on the inside corners. When that is finished, I will consider my final row options - at this stage it is most likely that I will use Attic 24's bobble edging, but we will see.

 

And there it is. My crochet inspiration blog of choice, Attic 24. Thank you for all your brilliant online tutorials.

 

Loving the hexis!

 

xx

  

 

Hexagon Happy

My hexagons are finally out of hibernation. Hooray!

 

I started following Attic 24 Lucy's pattern (in solid colours) last year as an attempt to use up all my yarny leftovers, but I have, of course, found I've had to buy more wool along the way. How strange! Some of the original yarn labels have run away, some of the yarns were easy to match, some are substitutions, and some are newly introduced to spice things up!

 

 

 

I've recently become a bit (!) obsessed with instagram (@wildplumhill) which brought me one day to discover the crochet blankets made by @babylovebrand which can be found here. These are supremely sublime blankets and, joy oh joy, she also sells her patterns - I'm considering using her squaring off and edging pattern from her gorgeous Geometric Lace blanket for my hexagon hooky. Hmmm. Thinking, thinking......

 

And one thing is for sure - it's been rather lovely having all this colour surrounding me after my gorgeous greys!

 

Sharing with other Creative Spaces here.

 

 

Sam xx

 

Edit:: I tried to link to the current My Creative Space but it doesn't seem to be working for me right now. I'll try again later! Sorry about that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 Peels Place

You gotta love a cafe that yarn bombs its own shopfront!

And inside there are other yarny delights to behold or purchase - bags and blankets, together with a bookcase full of recipe books to peruse. Lovely!

"14 Peels Place" in Albany.

Time for a coffee?


Sam xx

My Creative Space - Olearia Cardigan Ta-dah!!

Miss E's cardi is finished!

Pattern :: Olearia cardigan version 2 by Georgie Hallam aka Tikki on ravelry

Size :: 3

Yarn:: Tosh DK Oceana, approximately 320m - so very soft!

Needles :: 3.75mm and 4mm

And I like this Tikkis' pattern so much, I am checking out her others for future reference.

However, my next planned project will be a birthday gift but, given that the person to be on the receiving end reads this blog*, I can't give any details as yet. Rest assured, I have already chosen the pattern and ordered the wool, even before I had completed the cardi - as I usually do! I get so excited about the next project that I sometimes have trouble finishing the first one!!

In the meantime, while I wait for the new wool to arrive, I have picked up the Hexagon Blanket again, crocheting while watching the 'Fast Bikes'.... er.... Tour de France. As if I'm not already sleep deprived......

More Creative Spaces here.

Sam xx

*thereby narrowing the recipient possibilities considerably!

Here comes another one...

Another Olearia cardigan, that is! This time I am knitting it for Miss E - cardigan number three - in Madeleinetosh Tosh DK Oceana. Mmmmm, lovely! This photo gives a much more realistic representation of the colour, compared to the photo I included in this post.

I am determined to get it finished so I can start something new, and also because the weather has declared that it is, most definitely, winter. This morning was rather chilly; it was only 3°C when we left for school. Funnily enough, Miss J wasn't too keen to go to her swimming lesson but Miss E wasn't so shy. Did I mention that the pool is heated and indoors?

And I haven't forgotten the hexagon blanket! That will get a work out as soon as I get this project completed. It is waiting patiently in its basket, waiting, waiting.....

And don't forget to check out the other Creative Spaces here.

Sam xx

Creative Space - Happy Holiday Hexagon Hooky!

There's nothing quite like a holiday project, and of course I had to take something with me when we went bush camping on the weekend. 

Admittedly, I didn't get any crochet done while actually camping but I did get some done on the drives.

And I have also discovered that it isn't, perhaps, the wisest thing to do while trying to navigate.....

It helps to make the drives more fun, though!

Sam xx

More amazing Creative Spaces here.

My Creative Space - hexagon update

The progress of my crochet hexagon blanket so far........

Sam xx

An amazing variety of other Creative Spaces here.

Edited to add: In response to one lovely comment, Yes! I love the join-as-you-go method because you can see it grow-as-you-go! Very motivating and rather exciting. Plus, it keeps you warm and toasty while you are attaching them. It is a winning technique, all in all.

My Creative Space - Hexagon WIP

When I set out to use all my 8ply wool leftovers in my 'Every Day in May'* hexagon blanket, I certainly didn't expect that I had quite so many bright colours. And bright they are! But I have to be honest - I'm not using all the leftovers; for some yarns there is just not enough for a whole hexi, while I didn't feel that some of the others suited the look I was vying for. Maybe they are just a bit too neutral and stood out too much? Too many middle tones?? Too many purple hues???

But my biggest questions is "Where did they all come from??"

Sam xx

View more Creative Spaces here.


*Every Day in May challenge instigated by Kate at Foxslane.blogspot.com.au

Every Day in May

I like Kate's blog, Foxslane. Yes I do. And on Tuesday, Kate set herself the challenge of creating something Every day in May. She will crochet a motif a day. Brilliant!! So, yesterday I committed to playing along as well.

Hexagons!

I have always loved the hexagon blanket made by Attic24 Lucy. And Kate at Greedy for Colour made this version of Lucy's pattern (just scroll to the end of the post), so her blanket ended up looking spotty. And then I saw this version in solids, made by Cocorose Diaries.

But which one shall I make?

Miss M decided - solid colours. "Can I have it when it's finished?"

And so I have started. See?

Crochet, accompanied by Scrabble, Lemon Cake and three good buddies.

Not to mention the wine, laughter and the late hour I finally got home!

Having more fun!

Sam xx