Not much blogging lately - but lots of knitting, crochet and browsing on Ravelry. I made a hat for the DH but it turned out enormous. My fault for not checking gauge. I'm thinking of putting elastic around it and wearing it myself as a slouchy beret. I used 2 balls of RYC Alpaca Soft that I picked up in a sale. It's lovely yarn - knits up into a really soft thick fabric.
Finishing touches were completed on the striped beret from Louisa Harding's Gathering of Roses and the Half Pipe Hat from the Stitch n' Bitch for men book...
I like both of these hats very much. Also very cute is the First Hat that I made from a single ball of Noro Silk Garden. I liked the one Manos del Uruguay a lot and this one works very well in the striped yarn.
Two shrugs ! Yes two ! Each one took just an evening to knit in Rowan Biggy Print. The pattern is Bless from the new Kim Hargreaves book, Heartfelt. It is so easy to make and I think I will wear the shrug. Clare the Bear has already claimed the green/brown one.
I am loving Afya Ibomu's new book in the Get Your Crochet On series - The belt looked great in the Noro Daria from my stash. I got the buckle off a belt that I picked up for 50p at Primark. I've worn this several times. I used a ball of Elle Escapade to make the Chica belt type thing and love how it turned out. I've almost finished another one of these. The yarn is really nice for an acrylic and comes in beautiful colours.
Chanson en Crochet has turned out beautifully. I wasn't sure that this would be something I'd wear - I just fancied crocheting it. Now that it is finished, I love it and can see myself wearing it a lot.
I'm in a real crochet mood at the moment. I started the lovely sweater from the Crochet Me book at the last knitting club meeting. With just one and a half sleeves left to finish it is looking quite good.
The Cross Stitch Scarf is also complete - knitted at work over three days. I like the stitch pattern a lot and it shows up the colours of the gorgeous Manos del Uruguay really well.