Cowls

My lovely sister knit me this gorgeous green Gaptastic Cowl. She was originally making it for herself, but I subtly planted seeds of doubt in her mind ("That colour is too bright for you, but it's perfectly suited to me!").
It's like wearing a warm hug.
My girl child was quite upset when I refused to share it with her, so I've quickly crocheted her a Calm Cowl. I used a few balls of Moda Vera Mousse in grey and brown on a 4.5mm hook. It's a little more dense than it should be, but that's what happens when you hook from the stash.

Grandma Twinkles

I'm a sucker for a new (easy) tutorial!

Mid Winter Crafty Blues

I'm not too sure what's going on with me, I am seriously lacking in motivation! Crafty motivation, that is. There has been a bit of sickness in the last couple of weeks that has sapped some of my energy, but that doesn't really account for all of the loss of motivation. Even starting new projects has lost it's shine, of late. Maybe I have a case of the mid-winter crafty blues?

Shalom Cardi

I do have one project that I manage to have a go at every day. The Shalom cardigan is available as a free download on Ravelry, or you can find it here on Meghan's blog. It's a quick and easy knit. I plan to add sleeves to mine.
I haven't touched these hexies in more than a week, and they appear to be unable to reproduce on their own. I will continue that experiment for a little while longer, though, as I can't be bothered making any more for the moment. I do enjoy looking at them, though. (maybe that's why they're not reproducing? too shy, maybe??). I've slightly adapted the pattern from here to include more rounds. More rounds hopefully means less ends to tuck in at the end....

I'm (im)patiently waiting for the postie to drop off several parcels of fabric in the next week or so. I'm really hoping that having more fabric will inspire me. My sister has expressed an interest in buying a couple of quilts from me, but I can't even drum up any motivation for that!!

Geez, bring on the pot'o'tea and choccie biscuits, I say. (the motivation for those has not waned!)

My new obsession

I so very patiently waited until I finished the Ripple before beginning this new project - which Ollie refers to as his blanket. Apparently he thinks it'll be perfect for when he's snuggled on my lap for our nightly before-bed story. I've made (and joined) 18 hexies so far, so they are coming along very quickly. Not looking forward to those ends, though!

Show and Tell

A very productive week! (see, I can do it if I put my mind to it!).

Table Runner for a birthday gift - finished. Un-ironed, but finished.

I even hand-stitched the binding!
All rolled up and ready to take to the party.
My skirt is also finished. Using this one I made in April, I embellished it with circles cut from upholstery samples (layered in 3's) which were then sewn into 2 circles. Then I bound the bottom edge in binding made from one of the upholstery samples.
I'm also wearing my new boots (yay!!).
And the most tedious of all the tasks - tucking in all the ends of the Ripple - was completed on Tuesday (whilst the 2 boys I baby-sat slept peacefully for 2.5 hours!!!). The parcel was posted on Wednesday, and surprisingly arrived in Swan hill the very next day!
I even had time to cut out circles for a new quilt...despite having several unfinished quilts calling my name for some assistance! Naughty, I know, but it's the thrill of the new...

Progress... kind of...

Thanks for all of your encouraging words re: the crochet. Unfortunately I got to nearly the halfway point of joining my granny squares when I realised the first three rows I put together were done in the wrong order! Arghh! (It looked great, though!)

I've yet to pull it apart - too much to do, so little time!!
I've tucked in over half the ends for the ripple blanket, and know I will get the rest done on Tuesday when I'm baby-sitting (the boys sleep for about 2 hours after lunch!).

Miss J is off to Paris and London for a couple of weeks on Thursday, so I've sewn her a draw-string dirty laundry bag for the trip. I need to make her another for her shoes, and probably one to house the ripple blanket (which is to be posted off this Wednesday!!). Ollie needs a couple for his toys, which I guess isn't urgent....

I'm off to a friend's 40th on Saturday night, so nave to make her a gift, and I was also hoping to embellish a skirt I made from this book to wear on the night.

That's not too ambitious for just under a week, is it?

Unfinished Business....

Only one or two rows left for this blanket, but then I have to tuck in all these ends!

I finally got off my butt the other day and bundled these granny squares according to rows. They are now patiently waiting to be sewed together.
I'm just about to watch Foyle's War (recommended by my sister for the hand knits) while I sew some squares together - that should stop my mind from wandering off to the next big project, and hopefully I will be laying under my snug granny square blanket before winter's end!

Grandma's Fancywork

I had a phone call from Grandma last week, asking if I would like her unfinished fancywork (her word) and floss. "Hell yeah!" I said (in my head - I don't actually speak to Grandma like that!).

A brown paper package (tied up with sticky tape, not string) arrived on my doorstep today (why don't the posties ring the doorbell when they drop them off?). It was filled with an abundance of embroidery floss (conveniently bundled into groups), two unfinished pieces of Grandma's fancywork, and some other random notions.
Unfortunately, Grandma's eyes don't see well enough to finish off these pieces. One is nearly finished, so I might try to get it done before her birthday next month and post it back to her. It will likely involve a little lacy crochet work, so we'll see how I go. It'd be nice, though.

Question - can I iron straight onto the fancywork? Or should I press it under a cloth? I assume that when finished I would iron straight onto it...

Ripple Blanket

You've no doubt all heard about (or experienced) the ridiculously hot heat wave we've had here in Melbourne ( and other parts of the country). The only crafting I managed during this week was a bit of crochet on this Ripple Blanket I'm making for my niece's birthday. I've been plonked on the couch, feet in a bucket of iced water, fan on, crocheting away. Oh, and reading posts like this in an effort to feel cooler.