More crochet

Over the last couple of weeks, I have done plenty of crochet and totally neglected the knitting. First up is two pairs of the Turkish Slippers from Simple Crochet. The second pair still needs to have the edge trim put on - I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually. The yarn is a dk cotton/acrylic mix that I picked up in the market for a bargain price. Both pairs from two balls and quite a bit left over. I love this pattern, it is quick, simple and the finished slippers are so wearable.

There seems to be a bit of a craze for crochet ripples in blogland at the moment. After looking at all the fabulous examples on the Ripple-along blog I felt inspired to start one of my own. It is a great way to use up leftover yarn - although I must confess to purchasing a few extra balls in colours that I thought would be good for it. It is great for working on when you can't be bothered to concentrate on a pattern.It is going to be a blanket for Miss Millie's bed.

A ball of Red Heart Camouflage from my stash worked up nicely into a neckwarmer. All that needs doing is casting off and threading some elastic cord through the top. I guess this one won't get worn for a few months yet.

I found this book at the library last week and liked a few of the patterns in it. This skinny scarf is great for adding a splash of colour to an outfit. One ball of Sirdar Vegas and a few hours work. I have ordered a couple more balls to make a few more of these.

I crocheted a bag from three balls of Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim Aran and it is blocking at the moment, so pictures next post. I like the bag so I'm making another from some dk cotton that I had in stash. Yes, I'm making a real effort to use some of that stash.

Lastly, meet the latest addition to our family. Nipper the rabbit.

Phoebe - you are a disappointment

Well, Phoebe has finished blocking and sadly I am not so pleased with it as it makes me look enormous. It is completely unflattering when worn - at least by me. I so loved this jacket when I saw it in the pattern book and I did really enjoy the crochet. I am just glad that I didn't fork out a fortune on yarn. I will have to find someone to give it to.

I loved this little scarf in Vogue Knitting Crocheted Scarves Two the moment I saw it. It worked up really quickly in Rowan Wool Cotton and is very cute.

I liked the finished scarf so much that I bought another ball of Wool Cotton in black and, using the green and pink left over from the cream version, have nearly finished another one .

Also almost finished is this little bunny from Lucinda Guy's " And So To Bed..." . I've never knitted toys before and enjoyed this project. All that remains is to sew up the bunny's clothes and dress it.

Another productive week

First up this week we have the Lacy Scalloped Wrap, which was a free pattern that I found online. I can't remember where, but I'll post the link when I find the pattern again. I used three strands of Cygnet Aran to make a superchunky weight and it worked up quite well - not too expensive either. I plan to make this again, it was super easy and quick.

Still enjoying the crochet, I made a couple of these cute vase/pot holders from Rowan 41. You can get at least two of them out of a 50g ball of dk cotton, so they are great for using up odds and ends.

Also from Rowan 41 is Esme, this beautiful crochet halter top. I'm using Rowan 4ply cotton in the same colour as that used in the pattern. Not very imaginative but it just looked so perfect. This project is perfect for work. I like the way you can put crochet down and pick it up again later without losing your place in the pattern.

Phoebe is almost finished. Just a few ends to sew in. I am disappointed. For some reason I decided to give the jacket a really good blocking. What I should have given it was a light spraying and then pinned it out. Yes, you've guessed it, it is now huge ! All that chunky wool soaked up water like a sponge then seemed reluctant to give it up. It took ages to dry out properly. It feels more like a coat than a jacket now. I will try to get some modelled shots for my next post. I'm glad that I didn't spend a fortune on the yarn for this one - but then again, maybe the recommended yarn wouldn't have behaved like this. I did enjoy the crochet very much. It looked as if it was working up into a very wearable garment.

Also finished this week was another big shawl in Patons Fizz, identical in design to the green one that I made last month. It was a birthday gift for a friend and I totally forgot to take pictures of it before wrapping it up and giving it away. I also crocheted a small bag in Rowan denim which is awaiting a few stitches to attach the handles.

I leave you with a picture of my favourite girls, Miss Millie and Clare the Bear...

Aren't they beautiful !

It's all about crochet this week...

This week I have neglected my knitting in favour of crochet. All the main pieces of the Phoebe jacket are finished and there are just a couple of metres of yarn to spare. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised that I was just going to have enough. I then bought some Cygnet Aran to do the edging with and it looks a pretty close match. Hope to get this one finished soon. Meanwhile, a rummage through my stash revealed a few yarns that I had forgotten about. Ages ago I bought some Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in a sale. I used 3 balls of this fabulous purple colour to make a curly wurly scarf and a matching hat. The scarf pattern is from the book First Crochet and the Cotton Angora is the very yarn used in the book. The hat is from Vogue Knitting Crochet Hats On The Go. The hat book is excellent and I plan to make several more hats from this one. I liked the set so much that I made another in pink. This one has also been gifted to a friend so there may have to be another for me. I enjoyed the crochet a lot and it inspired me to make something more colourful. This lovely scarf is the main reason that I bought Vogue Crocet Scarves Two. I need to make a few more flowers and attach them. Admittedly, the last little bit of any project always seems to be my stumbling block - but I am hopeful of a result on this one soon.I'd like to wear it before the warm weather returns.

Here comes Phoebe

Phoebe is looking good - I think that I may just be able to get the main pieces done from my charity shop purchase of black wool. There probably won't be enough for the borders or belt but I think if I can find a close enough match it won't notice too much. I just don't want to run out with half a sleeve to finish. Being quite chunky, Phoebe is crocheting up very quickly. The pattern is simple but with enough changes to keep it interesting. If this gets finished it will be the largest thing that I've ever crocheted.

I did a little more work on my Grownup Bonnet. The recent spell of good weather has eroded my enthusuasm for this project a little. It will be finished ! I am determined not to add to my pile of UFOs this year

Oh no, not more neckwarmers !

I gifted my last pair of Ladylike Lace Gloves to Clare the Bear and immediately had to make another pair for myself. I raided my stash and found some Cygnet 4 ply that was going to be for socks that never got knitted. So, here are my pink Ladylikes...

I love them - they are fun to crochet and great to wear. They took less than one ball of yarn.

I particularly like the ribbed effect on the palms.

I know that these neckwarmers have become a bit of an obsession lately but I just love them. Two more flew off my needles last week. The green one is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK used double. It is so soft and a lovely shade of green - this one is for me. The second is Sirdar Denim Tweed dk doubled up and is for Clare the Bear. There is enough left to make matching wristwarmers.

I have done really well for yarn in charity shops lately. Last week I found 8 balls of Lopi in my local Oxfam for a couple of pounds the lot. I have been meaning to make the lovely felted bowls from One Skein for ages and this stuff is perfect for felting. Once I started there was no stopping me and I made two large bowls and two small bowls from just two balls of the Lopi. I am planning to try a felted bucket hat with some of the leftovers. Another charity shop yielded a huge bag of black aran weight yarn that feels like pure wool. I am hoping that there will be enough to crochet the Phoebe jacket from Rowan's Arabesque booklet. It will have to be doubled up but I really hope there will be enough yardage. This is such a great pattern but would work out quite expensive if I purchased the recommended yarn. If I can make it from my £2.75 bargain wool it will be cause for celebration. Swatching tonight !

New FOs and some frogging

First up this week was a simple but fun project - the Twitterpated Purse, a free pattern from Zephyr Style. I used two balls of Debbie Bliss Soho in a gorgeous purple colour. On refection, I think I would prefer this bag knitted in a more even textured yarn. I like it and will use it but think I may have another go with diferent yarn.
One of my sale bargain balls of Jaeger Natural Fleece almost became a hat, but has now been frogged as there wasn't quite enough to complete the project. I am now wondering what I could make from a single ball of this yarn. I actually have two balls but the colours don't go together particularly well.
Last night I finished this pair of Ladylike Lace Gloves from Happy Hooker. I used some wool that that I picked up in a charity shop ages ago for about £2 for a bag containing 12 balls. I thought it would be perfect for socks. These gloves took exactly two balls, so there is plenty left. The gloves were quite interesting to crochet but required some concentration. I have started another pair in a softer pink yarn from my stash.
The shrug is nearly finished. I only need to sew the lace trim around one armhole but for some reason I can't bring myself to do it.
A few people have asked where the pattern for the brown cap came from. It is Sirdar pattern no. 8582, which has several different styles to knit. It was really easy and I will definitely be making it again it a different colour.

Warm things...

Yet another neckwarmer...

This one is for Karen and is knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. I'm not done with this pattern yet. There are several more planned.

This next knit was a very quick project in Rowan Big Wool. I got this ball reduced to £1 in the John Lewis sale and knitted up "Vinster" from Rowan's Big Just Got Bigger in just a couple of hours. I quite like it.

A big warm hat was just the thing as we woke up to this the day after I knitted it -

Much fun was had in the snow and we were sad that it melted so quickly. The school was closed for 2 days so Miss Millie's having an extended half-term holiday.
Next up is a scarf /shawl that I knitted from just two and a half balls of Patons Fizz. I got this idea from an entry on Glittyknittykitty. It's just garter stitch on size 20mm needles. It bunches up as a great fluffy scarf or opens out as a fabulous warm shawl, so it's really versatile. I love the way this turned out and it only took about two evenings of knitting. The colours of Fizz are lovely and I would make this again.

The Lacy Hug-Me-Tight shrug is nearly finished ! Unfortunately I have run out of yarn about 2 inches from the end of the lace border and will have to buy another. Hopefully this will get finished tomorrow.

Hooray for neckwarmers !

There has been lots of knitting over the last week. The groovy brown cap got finished and is my favourite hat to wear at the moment. I love it ! It is warm, cute and easy to knit. I intend to make the cabled version at some point.
Also finished is the We Call Them Pirates hat. This was great fun to knit and has reawakened my interest in fairisle. The hat is very warm.
Next came a couple of quick projects that used up small amounts of leftover yarn. Another Calorimetry with the Silk Garden yarn left over from my Garden Scarf. Then, a pair of chunky armwarmers with the Rowan Chunky Print that was left after I made a hat and mittens set last year. Clare the Bear visited last week and went home wearing these. They suited her far better than me!
The rest of last week was all about neck warmers. I made a pale pink version of the Luxe Neck Warmer from Knit 2 Together out of Debbie Bliss Cashemerino Chunky and liked it so much that I immediately cast on another with a pale green acrylic/wool mix from my stash. Clare the Bear liked this so much that she had to have it and also asked me to make another for her friend. So we purchased more Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and I made one for Clare and one for me in a lovely dark purple. I then whipped up another in some pale blue Rowan Alpaca Soft - lovely yarn, both thick and soft. I was then asked to make another by my friend Karen , so I am casting on this evening in brown Cashmerino. It may not stop here - everyone loves the neckwarmer. I've memorised the pattern so it is a great project to take to work with me. Speaking of which , I started back at work again yesterday and am enjoying it a lot.