School holidays

I've been on school holidays and I just haven't felt like I have rested at all.  

I'm either moving furniture or sorting through stuff, cleaning or doing school work.  All these things of course need to be done but...

This afternoon was a little better because I was actually sorting through my yarn!  Putting together all the same colours and rebagging lots.  I really do have a lot of yarn.

I did sort out the yarn I need for my faux daughter's blanket that I want to make for her for Christmas.  It will probably be a late present though!

It will match her room well especially once I sort out a nice zigzag or chevron pattern.

The other blanket I am working on at the moment is for my own baby.

I wanted to see how they looked this morning.  I'm not even half way there but at least with a baby's blanket it's not too big.  Even though I have soooo much yarn - I still don't have a match for the yellow from the varigated yarn :( the rest are close enough that in photos I don't think you can really tell that they don't match perfectly.

I might have a sit down and get started on the next diamond!

On holidays at last

This term has been full on. Work has really amped up this year, I've applied for a promotion, getting stuff ready for my leave, heaps of baby appointments.

Although school holidays started yesterday, I actually needed to go into work twice...

Today, I'm not doing anything.  Not even getting out of PJs.

I made some ice cream in my new ice cream maker - OMG YUM!

Squish really likes it - but he can't have a lot.

I'm hoping to get stuck in on my baby's blanket.

Here's hoping I get some more lazy days.

Amineko

I had some great things arrive in the mail recently. One of them was 'Amineko' - I had been admiring this book for a while now and finally decided to BUY!

It's so cute and I can't wait to get started on crochet in one up!

Weekends are the best

Especially when it backs up to the holidays.  Extra lazy!

Did some crochet for my growing pile of face cloths that will become part of my Christmas presents.

I watched - am watching - Arrow episodes while eating - scoffing - Flakes.  Squish says no more chocolate for you.

Worked on my fluro pink Filofax, details to come.

Long weekends

We had a nice weekend.  Got in and did a fair bit of craft actually.  C got some tie dyeing in,  I have almost finished the squares for a blanket for my brother.  I even made some paper beads.

We also went to the show and looked at the pavilion work - photos, art work, plants, craft, cooking.  We also checked out the bird competitions.  We ate pizza and watched dogs hearing cattle under the minimum time, and then bought fairy floss.

Crochet storage

This weekend was supposed to be a really fullfilling one.  I wanted to do some housework, some 'spring' cleaning.  What I ended up doing was crochet, and watch almost all of season 1 of 'Mr Selfridge'.  I'm loving that show.

The only real organizing I got done was to go from this:

to this:

I have been working on a blanket for my brother, and another blanket for me. They were in separate bags beside the couch, and when I was working I was shoving in the finished squares with the yarn and it was getting messy.  The only thing that was working was having a pencil case for my hooks and scissors. I have one pencil case for each project.

I gave my brother's blanket a break this weekend - the colours don't excite me much but I think he will like them. Instead I started on a granny square.  That's 20 rounds!

I think it looks lovely - and can't wait to start the next square.

Anyway, I wish I had the stamina to sort out the whole of my craft room, but it's too much of a job :(

Creative

This weekend I had a few goals:

- finish my crochet blanket

- trace out patterns and sew muslins for the last two dresses

- do a little tidying up on the other dresses

- do school work. No photos of that.

Look at this thing - I love it so much. 

Now of course I'm cruising to find a new afghan project. I like to keep my hands busy when I watch TV.

Cats and Crochet

My last day of holidays was spent finishing off some planning then I sat and watched The Big Bang Theory, crocheted my blanket and talked to cats.

Crochet success

Yesterday a friend on Facebook shared a picture of crochet birds that she wanted to have for her daughter.  I happened to have the amigurumi book that they were from and made her one.

I also got around to photographing my yarn paper chains.

To make your own you need:

8 ply yarn - mine has pompoms already attached!

Size 4 crochet hook

Method:

Step 1. 

Chain 5 plus 3 more chains.  The last 3 chains will act as your first treble stitch.

Step 2.  

Count 4 chains back from the hook. 

Step 3. 

Treble stitch into the previous chain. 

Step 4. 

Treble into remaining chains. You should now have 6 trebles.

Step 5.  

Chain 2 and turn your work around so that you can continue. The 2 chain becomes your first treble.

Step 6. 

This bit can be tricky - count 4 chain shapes from your hook. The last two chain shapes will actually be above the previous row's trebles.

Step 7. 

Treble into remaining chain shapes. You should have 6 trebles now on this row.

Step 8. 

Repeat steps 5-7 for a total of 16 rows. Cut thread leaving it long so that you can sew with it in the next step, and then finish off using a slip stitch knot thing.

Step 9. 

Sew into a chain link - I used whip stich. Weave in ends.

Step 10. 

Pick a different colour. Repeat all over again - make sure to sew the new chain through the previous chain loop. I sometimes forgot to do that.

Blue

My Lincraft order of yarn arrived today. I needed a turquoise for my blanket so I ordered a few blues. I ended up with two possibles but I'm going with the brighter blue.

Of course I ended up with a 'few' other colours as well.

Yarns

My big crochet project has come to a halt!  I've decided that I need to do a row of blue or turquoise next but the perfect colour is ear marked for a different project. So this week I decided to take a break for the big blanket and go with the smaller project while I await Lincraft's parcel of yarn to arrive.

See this yarn???

Perfect turquoise - but it also has pompoms! This yarn is full of win I tell you. 

I bought it from Spotlight.

I bought it in red, white, and turquoise. 

I wish I had bought more but I was under the scrutiny of my husband. 

Spotlight really needs to sort out a proper online shop because you can only get Moda Vera yarns from them!

I had to roll it up into a ball to make it useful. The pompoms made it somewhat difficult.

I'm going to make some crochet 'paper chains'. I got the idea from Love Stitches - here. But I'm not using her pattern.

Bonus - Our next door neighbour gave us some fresh veggies from his garden so I made a yummy stir-fry!

This weekend couldn't have come soon enough. Although I'm almost over my flu/cold (which ever one it was) I still feel dull.  Luckily I had a prac student with me for the last 2 weeks so I didn't actually have to teach as much and let her take over.

Crochet cloth

I think I'm addicted to this - finished a dish/face/oven cloth.

It feels so lovely and looks so pretty.

Although now I know why some people don't like using cotton yarn - it feels a little squeaky and it's stupid to say but if you don't like cotton balls because of how it feels then you won't like the yarn.

I'm giving this one to a friend when we go over to her house for afternoon tea.

New projects

What's in my hook? New blanket for me and I'm trying cotton. I'm making face clothes or maybe dish clothes - very pretty.

Yarn sorting

Between last minute preparation for school tomorrow, I got to play with my yarn.

I try not to buy yarn that I don't kind of have a plan for. It's safe to say that most of my yarn is for blankets, but what I love is picking out colours.

Here are my current projects sorted into their colour combos. In one of the photos you can see how they are stored - in ziplock bags in a plastic basket. One project per basket. Remaining yarn is stuffed into a big plastic tub.

I buy acrylic as a rule - cotton would be nice but it's pretty expensive and wool doesn't stand a chance. My white cat, Chihiro, LOVES wool. It's safer not having any in the house.

What do you think of my colour choices? I can't pick a favorite.

Sunday Pretties

Colored hair - thinking about cutting in a fringe again.

Caught up of Grimm, started watching Beauty and the Best, printed out stuff for work, washed towels, got some crochet done, bought new plates from Target online, hugged by a cat.

Don't you love the pencil case? It's from Typo and it holds my crochet hooks and stuff.

Yarn about yarn

There is a great eBay store that is selling off yarns - I bought up on acrylic 8 ply of course.

I really don't know what I'll use them in but at least I will have options.

I have just finished my crochet bag. I think I want to tweak the pattern and make another. Actually I want to make a few small things this year as well as finish my zigzag blanket.

I like to start a new blanket each year but I haven't decided what to do yet :) so many options.