I posted earlier in the week about my big disaster in the Christmas present crochet arena… a calamity which at any other time I would have perceived as a mishap, but at this time of year, has escalated into an undue burden, helped only in that it was as a consequence of a school girl error on my part…in short I only had myself to blame!!
almost done!
After long evenings of hard pressed hooking I have completed the body of the ‘her’ part of the ‘his and hers’ blanket set…and have commenced the ‘his’ blanket. To relieve the pressure, I have decided to set my goal more realistically and I aim to have both blankets finished to border stage…after all Christmas is all about love and as the intended recipients are my Mom and Dad and they love me very much…I can complete the borders if necessary on Boxing Day.
even the ends have been woven in!
The Cosy Cottage blanket is just so beautifully girly and I have, despite my error, loved, loved, loved hooking it… I think my Mom will be so pleased with the colours too. I have followed the colour sequence that Lucy from Attic 24, used in her cottage ripple blanket,take a look if you want all the details of Lucy’s exquisite colour placement.
colour therapy
This is how the ‘his’ blanket, which I am naming the Eastern Bluebird Cosy blanket is looking so far…
6 bands done!
I love how the essence of the blanket changes and grows with each colour band that is lovingly added.
for my Dad
Guess what I’m off to do now…. yes, this cosy journey continues.
It is with great panic that I have to report that I am still hooking the main body of this blanket, which is my Mom’s Christmas present (I have one to start for my Dad, yet, hence the panic!!)
I had almost finished it last week, when I noticed a distinct increase in stitches, meaning the sides were not straight. The reality of this meant that I had to rip out over a weeks worth of hooking and so now I am behind…seriously! My ONLY saving grace might be that I finish work on the 18th so may be able to make some time up then.
My error…simply becoming complacent and not counting every 4th row or so as this is such a simple pattern. Anyway, let’s not dwell, lesson learnt and it is such a lovely pattern that I am still very much in love with it.
Today I have had a lovely cosy afternoon hooking happily, listening to the radio, I will show you some pictures of that gorgeousness in a minute.
down by the brook
This however, is where I walked this morning with the dogs, unbelievable that this little path which runs alongside the brook, is just 2 minutes away from my home.
going up the hill
This morning was so sunny, but very cold, in fact my little thermometer read -0.5 degrees centigrade, so I didn’t stop for long but instead walked briskly up the hill!
at the top!
Once at the top I was rewarded with this… I see this most days as this is where I walk the dogs, however, today I appreciated it more than ever…maybe the bitter cold coupled with the glorious sunshine had something to do with it.
Jess at 16 weeks
Little Jess enjoyed it too, Alf didn’t hang around for his photo! Anyway, here are the pictures of ‘that gorgeousness’ I promised you…this is what I have been hooking this afternoon
Cosy blanket by Attic 24
Yes this is the glorious, heavenly to hook Cosy blanket which is currently part of a crochet along that is being hosted by the enormously talented Lucy of Attic 24. This one is the ‘her’ part of the ‘his and hers’ set I am making for my Mom and Dad for Christmas….the colour way is beautiful and is from the Attic 24 shop at Wool Warehouse and comes as a pack called ‘cottage’… my Dad’s colours I selected individually and look like this
for my Dad
My Dad’s blanket will be the same pattern as my Mom’s to complete the set. Do you want to have a look at that pattern again… close up
Apologies for my distinct absence lately… I’ve found myself waking each morning yearning to create and yet by the time I’m home from work and the chores are done and I have the opportunity to hook, that a severe melancholy rises up from within and my hook stays in it’s case….
I fear I may have lost my crojo!!!
I’ve looked high and low…I have tried and tried… I have put my hooks away and I have got them back out… I’ve thumbed the delightful pages of books and magazines… trawled through many of your lovely project pages on ravelry, where fleetingly my heart skipped at so many inspiring creations, only to find myself with yarn and hook in hand and still no hooking action.
Holey!!!!
My brother dropped round last week, to my horror with the blanket I had made as a wedding present last year. It had a hole in it and he wanted me to repair it, as now the evenings are chillier, the blanket is required once more. A hole!!!!
As I mended, I certainly didn’t feel inspired and worried about other gifts I had made… what if?….!!!!
repair in progress
With the repair done and my brother gone, I reflected that actually, that wedding blanket is super heavy and probably with hindsight, should have had a more substantial joining method than the pretty but delicate flat braid join that I gave it… hence the hole. I did take some close up pics to cheer my soul a little…
crocodile flower by Joyce Lewisdouble treble burst, Crochetvillewedding present
In other news, Little Jess has finally found a best friend in Alfie and this has really warmed my heart, after 2 weeks of grumbling and growling our Alf decided that Jess was not so bad after all.
best friends now x
Importantly, the evenings are now drawing in nicely, I so love this time of year,
The evenings are really beginning to draw in now…
drawing the curtains, lighting the candles and snuggling in for the evening… what could be better… maybe just a little crochet
settling in for the evening
So, please would you have a little look to see if you have any extra crojo that you could send to me… I’m desperate!
So this week has seen the start of the Roses and Posies tea cosy by Nicki Trench. It is the tea cosy that you can see on the front of this book….
Nicki Trench book
So here is my progress this week…
components for roses and posies tea cosy designed by Nicki Trench
I really enjoyed whipping up these roses and hooked them all over the place this week, mostly in the car, whilst waiting for one or more of my Little Robins (as their social life is so much better than mine!!).
naked tea cosy
these little roses are gorgeous to hook
and here it is my second Finished Object
roses and posies tea cosy by Nicki Trench
If you knew my friend, then you would know that she is just going to love this tea cosy!!
Tea Time x
I have also made a start on my scrappy afghan… I want this to be huge at least big enough for Mr R and I to snuggle under together, so I’m not even going to do the maths and work out how many squares… as that may be rather disheartening to know! But, this is the width and I’m x3 rows in, so I’m a happy Robin. It’s a long term project always in the back ground, but always a joy to hook. It’s a bit like having an old friend that you get excited to see, you know you can always pick up where you left off from, easy and relaxing and just a pleasure to be with, well that’s this blanket!!
tiny little granny squares
I love a simple granny!
The happy ripple is almost done too, no pictures this week, but there will be some next week… About x5 more rows and a border and it will be done ready to gift at the end of this month.
Progress this week has been good… despite a trapped nerve! I have started the ripple afghan by Lucy over at Attic 24, which I am making for a friend at work who has just been made redundant… that bit sucks!
I have chosen happy colours, so that she can snuggle under a rainbow and remember that she will be missed greatly, but also that their is a bright future ahead of her. So with out any further ado here is the proof of myprogress!
happy ripple in progress
ripple so far
I have also made a start on the headbands for bowdazzling a charity for young girls undergoing chemotherapy….
I joined a group on Ravelry back in August 2013 called the Global Square Exchange. It is a fab group of ladies from all around the world who swap squares both crochet and knitted… the beauty of this group is that there is no pressure or time deadlines and you can just dip in and out as life lets you… which gives the whole group a really relaxed feeling, which is definatley what I like about it the most.
So off I went about swapping squares from all around the world. Some from very far away…..
some from a bit closer to home!
Squares from all arond the Globe, India, Australia, USA, Germany and Finland as well as the UK.
My only request was any colours, any design! Which was a big thing for me as I love to plan out colours and designs and keep lists and make lists and generally be in CONTROL!!
I cant describe the lovely excitement that rises in you when the postman drops that little parcel through your door, or how a carefully placed parcel on the kitchen table enthuses your energy after a long day at work. It is joyful!
To see what has been created lovingly especially for you, each square stitched and parcelled up, sometimes with extra goodies such as tea/ coffee, postcards or a little letter, stitch markers, ribbon, buttons, recipies, bookmarks, patterns, pens, stickers for the boys and sometimes even yarn itself, caused me to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I think too, I should mention how oozingly happy it is to make someone a parcel also. To send it off and then to wait to hear that it arrived and that its owner is as delighted as you are. So all round happiness. Everyone could use some more of that!
Slowly my squares were accumlating in number and I stored them in an allocated basket, wandering honestly if I would ever put them together, or if I would ever have enough to make a blanket. I decided I wished to make a camping blanket as if I’m honest, I thought that the randomness of the squares, although individually beautiful, would not coordinate into a handsome blanket, so a tent may be the perfect place for such an object, where usefulness succeeds prettiness. HOW WRONG WAS I!!!
friends around the globe x
I honestly dont think I ever imagined that random squares could make such a beautiful blanket, not only is it beautiful, it is quirky, bespoke, and totally gorgous!…. I am definatley taking it camping, and then definatley keeping it on show and snuggling in it!
This blanket has become very special to me…. perhaps because it has connected me with people around the world whom I shall never meet, but who have become special to me through this project. And I have learned that planning and order have their place…. but actually to surround myself with the things that I love, whether they match or not makes my life richer x
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