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Showing posts from January, 2015

a new granny stripe blanket

I started a new granny stripe blanket late last year, managed about ten rows, got bored, started other projects and it sat unloved in a basket. A week ago I was rummaging through my craft room, like you do, and pulled it out to give it another spurt of attention. I'm so glad I did, it's so very satisfying making blankets in a cold spell, with snow falling, sitting in front of the TV.  I had a look back at my Pinterest boards, being careful not to loose an entire evening, and came across this pattern and this one . The colours are very similar and I like the name. I don't give my blankets names, they deserve to be named after all the hours that go into making them. I just refer to mine as the granny spots and stripes. I got the idea from another Pinterest blanket , and here is my finished blanket Here are the colours in the Stylecraft special DK range. Cloud blue, Meadow, Denim, Aster, Bluebell, Parchment, Sherbert, Lavender, Spring Green, Aspen, Wisteria, Turquio

Knitting, my first love

My first love is knitting,  I learnt to knit again back in 1991 and although I can crochet now I always go back to knitting. Last night I finished my second slouch hat or beanie,  I love the blackberry stitch and the way it grows after a few rows. It's not a complex pattern but to those people who don't knit it looks interesting and difficult. It's a little work of art made from just two balls of wool, a few hours here and there and I've made something pretty and very practical. My winter swimming means I wear one if these after every swim, keeps my head warm and cosy for the drive home. So now it's a swimming hat! I started a new hat straight away and I love this vibrant aqua colour.    

a snuggly hand knitted striped blanket

I gifted a hand knitted merino wool blanket to my sister Danielle for Christmas last year. The pattern started off from Purl Bee and evolved into my own design with knitted borders to both long edges. Danielle said she liked stripey blankets and she got just that. I knitted some borders with a whole ball of yarn and then others smaller with yarn in my stash.It was all knitted in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK in red, duck egg, apple, dark lavender, bluebell, pink plus another I can't remember! It took me just under 5 months to knit and I finished it at midnight (or just about) on the 23rd December 2014! I started it early but because I added to the plain design it took a little longer. If you want to make one yourself I cast on 135 stitches onto size 4.5mm circular needed. Each and every row is knitted making it the perfect tv companion project and at the beginning I took it to work until it got too heavy. You don't have to use merino, I'd like to try my next one in Women's

Sundays are made for crochet blankets

This weekend has been nice, quiet and cosy. Sunday afternoon walk with Moss, wet and muddy and needing a hot bath (Moss not me) then watching a film cuddled up under hand made crochet blankets. Mind kind of Sunday and it's lovely to get so much use out of all the hours I spent making the blankets. My first one was made after I bought my first crochet book called Crochet Workshop by Erika Knight (for a bargain £5) I was never happy with the blanket and hid it away. I was new to crochet then and had an odd way of doing the stitches and then one day I had a light bulb moment and I realised I'd been doing it slightly cack handed. But today I snuggled under that blanket and fell asleep, so it was warm and fit or the purpose and I made it, imperfections and all :-) a my first granny blanket from a few years ago old trees line the farmers fields muddy fields, muddy boots crochet infinity scarf in progress blackberry beanie in Mulberry

Colour and crochet granny squares

my Little Knit keeping my granny squares company (and smelling of lavender) My new Cath Kidston kniting or crochet bag :-) Debbie Bliss Rialto DK granny square blanket almost half way there #ilovecrochetblankets   This is my weekend, all about colour. I changed my hair colour, it took over our hours yesterday. I've picked up my crochet granny blanket after months of neglect in a corner of my craft room. Now I'm having another spurt of enthusiasm to get it completed by only 54 squares and 46 roughly to go!I'll probably end up putting it down again and working on another UFO but I would like to get it finished, its cold! I recently bought a Little Knit on Folksy and he's so cute. Other designs are available, the owls are cute to. He smells of lavender so I've popped him in my new Cath Kidston knitting bag (a January sales bargain I couldn't resist!) I hope your weekend has been full of colour and sunshine. We had a lovely

Swimathon 2015

As you all know (because I keep going on about it) I took up swimming again during 2014! I've kept going since I started in July 2014 and an average week I swim three times. So when my cousin Simone told me about Swimathon I took on the challenge! I'm raising funds for Marie Curie to help them to provide care to over 40,000 people living with terminal illnesses across the UK. Your sponsorship will ensure Marie Curie can continue the amazing work they do - helping to provide thousands of hours of nursing care and support to terminally ill people and their families. http://my.swimathon.org/sponsor/amandahurrell

Crochet cowel scarf

  A scrummy Italian merino wool cowel scarf finished and ready for my Folksy shop.  I used Debbie Bliss Rialto DK prints with self stripe colour changes. Raspberry,  blue, grey, burgundy and off white give this cowel a vintage feel. 140cm of half treble crochet stitch, simple and effective for a soft merino yarn. I started back in October on the Norfolk Broads