crochet update

(this post is from aaaages ago but it was sitting in my drafts folder. don't think I can blame the stoopid fone this time either!)

My First Crochet is finished: 

(it's a washcloth, in case you're wondering!)
I made it from some bamboo DK I've had forever - I think it was the first wool I ever bought & I use it as practice wool for all new stitches, etc. It's a lovely texture & I actually like the neutral browny colour + it has a pretty sheen which you can't see in the picture; but I've never seen it 'make up' so nicely as this DC stitch. Which is why I've decided to keep it, rather than unpicking it. I wonder how it will hold up to being used as a washcloth & thrown in the washing machine ... ?

My Difficult 2nd Project was the 1st crocheted square of the horrible Knit&Stitch patchwork (there will be a post about that soon!). I proudly showed it to Mum who said, "oh, you've made another dishcloth!" (see above). Thanks Mum!
Still, I've mastered what Knit&Stitch call a half-treble stitch.

And now I'm working on this:

It's the 2nd patchwork square and it's in 'treble'. Although the wool looks ghastly up close it's actually nice to crochet with as it's very smooth and the 'fabric' feels nice.
I'm dead excited about this because when I've finished it I'm going to allow myself to try a granny square. And then ... blankets!!!!!

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crochet updates

The first side of Alice the Owl:

And I've finished the edging on the Granny Squares blanket. Just need to weave in the ends, which I plan to do today. Photo to follow ...

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WOOLGASM!!!!!!

HUGE!!!!

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crochet + roses

It was, of course, only a matter of time before this crochet-beginner and rose-lover started crocheting roses!

I started with this pattern, can't remember why this one in particular. All went well til I reached the part where it says:
"Thread yarn needle with yarn end from beginning chain. With right side facing and beginning with first petal made, refer to photo to roll Rose; sew to secure as you roll. Then thread needle with ending yarn and sew to secure."
which makes as much sense to me as 
"osmruf820ttfh789Q23(9&yhr$gkitr$"! 
So I've got this far:

and stopped.

BUT! I also found this pattern for crochet roses, which has step-by-step instructions - with photos! - for the sewing up part.
I got this far:

dug out a needle, wove in the ends and ...

... deep breath ...

... here we go!

Several F-bombs later I have this:

Then I tried a more instinctive approach, figuring the holes in the pattern must be there for a reason. It went much better but what I got was this:

which looked like this at the back:

Ho hum, the trial continues. I think I'm onto something with using the holes and a kind of running stitch but it needs some tweaking. If only it weren't so hard to unpick it every time ...

...

to be continued ...

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Update: I resorted to youtube (always a last resort for me) and found several videos that basically say 'just sew it up so it looks right' so I'm going to try that next ...

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Every cloud...

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Moggy Funday!

Predictably, I finished the 30 days thing & haven't posted since!

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend I:
- talked to my BFF for about 2 hours,
- almost finished the Random Granny Square Project; I've attached all the squares to each other, done a Granny border all round it and done just over half the V-shaped border (with thanks, again, to Bunny Mummy for her design),
- added to my stash on Ravelry,
- 'started' my next crochet project, Alice the Owl (I've done 1 row!),
- watched 3 Star Wars films,
- drank a lot of tea!

And now here I am on the bone-shaker no. 66 bus on my way to work.
It's foggy!

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a post a day for 30 days - done!

The to-do note reminder app thing on my fone which I set to nag me every day about my blog post a day for 30 days challenge didn't remind me today. This can mean one of two things:
- the app didn't start up when I last restarted the fone (which I have to do at least once/day as the battery runs down up to twice/day - did I mention I hate my fone?)
- I've reached the end of the 30 days!
It's the latter :) I've done it.

On the subject of things I've (nearly) done, the Random Granny Square Project is very near completion. I've made 53 squares:

here they are!

I think I'll stop at 54 as I've finished all the pink wool (I gave some to Mum to make a Micro Scarf when she saw my Micro Scarf and decided she wanted the same thing). So the next thing is to join 'em together. Ho hum.
This being a Random Granny Square Project, I haven't/hadn't thought ahead re. wool/colours to join 'em up. This could get interesting. I had a quick play with the numbers (54 squares, 8 colours, no more pink wool, etc, etc.) and decided any attempt at planning this is going to be a migraine. All I'm going to do is try very hard not to put the same colours next to each other, although tbh I'm not sure if I'm even going to manage that.

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something old

(Great-) Granny's biscuit barrel (I think!)

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My First Doily

I finished it! There was a lot of muttering, counting loops & a modicum of swearing yesterday, I had to unpick & re-do rounds 7 & 8 about 5 times, but I finished it! Mum is now the proud owner of a doily made by her FirstBorn, lucky her. 
Here it is in situ on her dressing table:

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white

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looking down (& touch - sort of!)

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floral

(not roses, for a change)

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Books

Tee hee!

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more drooling, roses, blue!!!!!

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stillness

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random drools from Achica!

Vintage hermes scarf 

Essey illusion side table

digital print cushion cover

owl table

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home...

... is where he is!

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Knit the Bridge - AWESOME!!!!!

http://knitthebridge.wordpress.com/

(with thanks to http://theknittingneedleandthedamagedone.blogspot.co.uk/ for posting about it)

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far away

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success, and not-so-much

Success: I managed to work out what size hook I need for the cotton thread in Mum's prehistoric crochet stuff, by looking on ravelry - yay! and I've ordered the hook (I figure at less that £4 - just! - it doesn't break my no-spending-money-on-knitting-or-crochet-til-after-first-payday rule, especially as the thread is free!).

Not-so-much: I'm bo-red with all my WIP's, so I've spent all day faffing about sorting my 'stash' and trawling ravelry for ideas. My 'stash' consists of lots of Bergere de France wool that I was getting through a subscription to Knit&Stitch, which I've cancelled. I've sorted it into weights/thicknesses, which is a big help, the most I've got is chunky/aran weight stuff. And I remembered a pattern I've been wanting to try of a crochet shell stitch baby blanket. I'm a bit wary of baby blankets - what the hell am I going to do with a collection of baby blankets? But I really wanted to try the shell stitch. 
I did a practice swatch, thank heavens, because although some of the wool is 'normal'; some of it is fluffy, which it transpires is pure hell to crochet and even worse to unpick!! And it doesn't look fabulous in shell stitch. There's also some stuff called 'Pompons' which has lumpy bits of foam sticking out of it - the texture put my teeth on edge, it's like polystyrene - ugh! And it looks horrid in shell stitch. 
During all this unpleasantness I worked out that I don't have enough wool for the baby blanket (my wool-maths is really bad/slow) and I really really don't want to end up with a UFO baby blanket. 
So, project cancelled. Day mostly wasted. The normal DK wool I will use for granny squares, the fluffy stuff I might use for jewellery or decorations, the polystyrene stuff is going, I'm not sure where, but it's going. Is there a Big Stash in the Sky for wool nobody could love, I wonder?

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mum's never-used, prehistoric crochet stuff

(previously mentioned in Disaster!)

Mum found this crochet stuff she'd never used and 'gave' it to me (more on that later).

It's Very Old.

Even the bag is retro:

There are 2 balls of crochet thread:

But it's the books that are the best value.

1st, the Ladybird Book:

with detailed instructions!

Some of which are surprisingly unclear:

And patterns at best old-fashioned:

This is a handkerchief case - bless!

Patronising and un-PC:

Or a bit odd ugly ... ?

here's that last one again, I just can't stop looking at it!

Moving on, the Other Book.

Well.

What can I say?

There are a few high(er) points:

And then it's downhill pretty quickly!

the phone! the jumper! the collar!

nothing. I'm saying nothing.

if only the frame were nicer

But I've saved the piece de resistance for last:

AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!

Anyway, Mum handed this to me a while ago and said something along the lines of "you can have this for now". Which is a bit weird, no? You can't really borrow crochet stuff can you, I mean, what happens when she wants it back? I have, however, decided to use a smidgen of the cream thread to try crocheting a lacy doily. I am not a doily-user, but Mum is so I'll make it for her.

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