Blogland friends are wonderful

This morning I've received this bead angel from an Angel.

Thank you Julie, it's beautiful and will be hanging on my tree each Christmas.

 It came in this cutie little pink gauze bag too, it's so lovely Julie, my heart is dancing to think you thought of me with all that you have going on in your life

Thank you again Julie

xx

Finished at last

 I have no idea how many stitches I ended up with but it was the two diagonally sides.

I am happy it's bigger and now just right for round my shoulders when I am reading in bed.  I have another 500g so am looking at a pair of bed socks, although being DB knit I 'll have to look out a pattern. Anyone know of a sock pattern using DB knit?

XX

So I knit on

I hit a snag with my little boys jumper, I ran out of wool and my LYS had run out too.

But no matter I decided to make a shawl bigger just to keep knitting. I had to cut off the crochet edge and then struggled to get it undone.. but I did and so now I'm knitting this with hundreds of stitches. I have no idea how many but my circular needles are only just coping.

So I knit on!

Anyone else have to do something to keep busy?

XX

Getting on but...

....is it too big? I thought I should stop and do something else?

But I 'm carrying on because I shall knit something as well and hope this can be kept for when it fits him. I am enjoying knitting it, its a simple 4 row pattern. It's going slowly because after just a short time my arm aches and I put it to one side, where perhaps I should keep going and then perhaps my arm would improve. Anyway I like knitting it.
What would you do, would you give up on it?

XX

And now I 'm making ....

This little jumper for ….

 ..this little man.. This my SD and her son.. he laughs and smiles all day long.

I'm really enjoying knitting it and have bought new circular needles as I love using them.. you can't lose a needle when it's attached to the other one!

What knitting needles do you like to use?

XX

TA-DA... At last

I have finished my latest blanket. These 16 balls of yarn have become ...

…. this lovely ripple style blanket of gorgeous softness in pastel shades.

I used Lucy of Attic 24's woodland pattern except on the return row,  I did a half treble stitch and not double.

The colours I used in order all Style Craft Special DK bought from my LYS.

Storm blue

Denim

Grape

Pale Rose

Powder Pink

Mushroom

Parchment

Cream

Silver

Parma Violet

Lavender

Violet

Cloud Blue

Lincoln 

Duck Egg

Sage

Just to show the border of linen stitch.

I have loved crocheting this and now feel just a bit lost. And I have learnt that I have quite a loose stitch, but I wasn't making any particular size just the pleasure of crocheting. 

I think I'll just keep this on the stool in the lounge so I can  feast my eyes on it's beauty.. oh I do love it.

What have you completed lately?

XX

What next?

I have finished the crocheting of my blanket, just sewing in the last few ends, then there's the border to do.. but then what's next?

I love the idea of a hexagon quilt, I have the cut hexagons and plenty of fabric.

I have the wool to knit this for my SD's son.

I love this quilt design and I have the same fabric bought ages ago.

I have this quilt pack with some of the blocks completed

But I like this too, crocheted squares into another blanket.

A Christmas cross stitch for a friend would be nice to do too

and this would be quite quick to do. 

So many things I could do, and I do feel blessed that I am able to do so many crafts..but so many decisions! 

What would you choose?

XX

I haven't given up.

Never mind where's the mouse where am I?

I am busy crochting the blanket, I suppose I could have given you all a sneak peak but I decided to just keep going.

We're getting a bit staid at home, this afternoon we've even been talking about Brexit and shall we give up on the Archers,  as the story lines are all a bit odd lately and some of the characters are getting on DH nerves! LOL 

The garden needs an overhaul, some plants have grown much too tall, so we've decided to prune, prune, prune and cut back some of the shrubs and move other plants.. won't you guess when we decide to start it will pour with rain. At the monent I'm suffering, I strained a muscle or something in my back and walking is very painful so gardening will have to wait a week or two. 

(not my photo)

These are the main culprits, too tall and hardly any flowers.. so I 'm pulling them all out and next time grow the dwarf variety.

But apart from the cosmos we have had a lovely garden, with success with the small amount of veg we've grown.

I must get on with my blanket I 'm on the 4th repeat of the 16 colours! And enjoying it immensely.

XX

Where's the mouse?

We've had a little girl visit this morning and loved 'mousie' so she's gone home with her.. so happy clutching it to her chest.
I love to know that it has gone and has given happiness.


                                         Chris xx

I gave in and ....

....and popped to my LYS and bought 16 balls of yarn to make....?

...yes another blanket. I don't need it but I miss crocheting.. it keeps me from eating snacky stuff!
Not good pics,  but I just wanted to 'show and tell.' They didn't cost a lot more than Wool Warehouse, and she knocked off the odd amount over the £30 so a bargain really, wasn't it?
Next photos will be the start of my blanket.  I'm happily crocheting each evening, in fact very happy.
What's your favourite craft?

XX

All in pink

Although I 've finished this,  I feel it's not as good as previous 'mouses' I've knitted, but I 've had enough of teeny tiny bits of knitting,  so my  next project will be bigger.
I 'm popping out to my LYS because altho' I have some yarn, well just a bit, not bags and bags but maybe one or two, they are not the colours I want! And as we all know if you don't like the colours you won't finish it..so I shall be happily making something sooooon,
Don't you love starting new projects? (WIPs what are they???)

XX

I'm happy!!

Just filling my time doing what I love.

I knittted quite a few of these little mice a while ago, but when I started the other evening I thought the pattern for the shoes and legs quite difficult. But got them done.

 Love that little mousie nose

 And the pretty dresses.. I don't know if I 'll use one of these which I did last year, I bought a few patterns, so I might try something different.

If you'd like to try one of these,  the patterns are sold on Ravelry and on her blog and are by the very talented Julie Williams  Her blog is beautiful as she is also a very talented photographer. Also she is very generous with her explanations, if you ever get stuck.

https://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk

XX

A Post Script

Thank you for the lovely comments and emails re:- my sweet pea coloured yarn lopsided throw on my previous post. 

That little sweetie of a girl isn't my grand daughter but is the GD of my son's girlfriend. 

They just popped in to see me which was a lovely surprise. I hope she comes again. 

And really I can't take full credit for the colour choice as it was Lucy with Attic24 blog who chose those colours.

And my crocheting is even because I have a lovely husband who cooks and irons and lets me sit and crochet all day if I want to!

XX

A past crocheted blanket.

Big gaff sorted!!

And sorted beautifully..Sunday saw this little beauty popping in for a visit with her Nanny. As the afternoon progressed the sun disappeared and it was chilly.

I produced this and I wrapped it round her.

Nanny asked did she want to leave it at Nanny's so she could have it when she visited again.

No, she wanted to take it home to put on her bed!

And it looked gorgeous wrapped round her. I was delighted she wanted it, those sweet pea colours are so pretty, just like her.
Don't you think she looks gorgeous?


                            Chris  xx

A much easier decision

I was knitting a little boys cardigan, up to the sleeves in one piece. 

Then adding the sleeves using  these colours instead of just the yellow colour. 

I sat and knitted last evening then stopped, looked at it and thought I really don't like it, so bruuumpt …. this morning I woke early crept downstairs and undid the lot.
So now something else on my needles to keep me busy, maybe another baby blanket for the charity shop. I am after all....
…..'knitting to quit.' No, not smoking nor drinking but eating, unnecessarily. 
What do you do to get rid of those evening munchie feelings?

XX

I can't decide ...

….what to do At the moment I am loath to undo so much. I always sew my ends into the work and then back to the edge and then these are hidden by the border... so all those will be quite tight.. I'm thinking I might undo the border, 2 rows of dbl crochet, mark out the excess and the machine through the throw two or three times and then cut off the excess. Would that work I wonder? I haven't done anything today as we were wake for two hours in the night with the storm, so too tired to do anything.
The best of the storm was, we had tea and biscuits and the dog at just after 2:00am and then we read our books, but gosh we are both very tired today!

XX

Change of plan and shall I or shan't I?

This the throw I posted about using up my sweet pea coloured yarns. Well as I was folding it up it wouldn't square up, why ??
Yes... you might have guessed I had increased the stitches so the top was as much as 4 inches wider than the cast on edge. I 'd show you a picture,  but I am so devastated that I could do that without noticing, I ashamed to show it.  To put it right means a lot of rip-it rip-it, can I do that? Would you?

I will have to,  even though it means undoing probably half, but I know I 'll never be happy with it, so I 'm starting this afternoon to rip it back.. and my pleasure is in the making so I will enjoy the crocheting even though it will take me a while. I 'm not doing anything else!! 

XX

What shall I do now?

First I must thank my faithful followers after my long absence who emailed and left comments, thank you. I am getting round to reading your lovely blogs again, all very talented women who write such interesting blogs.  
So here are some of my wips.
This is a cardigan,  which I finished knitting just before I broke my arm, never blocked and not sewn up

 This quilt top is waiting to be sandwiched, again sewn before my accident. 

These are just 2 of 6 that I 've sewn off and on since my accident.

 And this is a BOM that I bought about 6 years ago, I 've only sewn 3 blocks.

 And I started this when we had the kitchen done here so fairly new.

 My cleaner's little girl would love one of these,  and in my craft room ( little bedroom) are the sections of one waiting to be sewn up.

I have also 4 cross stitch projects not touched since April 2015 when I tripped and ended up with this duff arm! 
So what to do?? I think something simple so perhaps the little  mouse, knitting is easy for my arm, but I may also sew a block like the two photographed here, 'cos I like it.
Happy crafting days are here again!
So honestly hand on heart how many wips have you got?

XX