Buttons and daisies

Sometimes it's the simplest things that make me happy. I think I've just found the perfect buttons for my almost finished gilet assymetric.  Yet another set of wooden buttons but these are a little quirkier than you often find, all the more suprising seeing as they're "designer" too.  I almost never splurge on Vogue buttons as they're often pretty pricey but these, I couldn't resist and the bonus being - I got staff discount too.  How about that?  There are definate perks to working in a yarn shop!

On a completely different note, here's a little something I've been doing on and off this summer, daisy squares.  Cute hey?  I came across this pattern a while back and loved it but then after bookmarking it, promptly forgot about it as I had other things on the go. It's the Daisy Pattern by Krochet Krystal and was published for use in her charity blankets. Unfortunately by the time I went back to it the pattern was unavailable apparently due to some rather negative comments made by fellow crafters.  Something I was rather sad to hear. 

To cut a long story short I loved the pattern so much, I reverse engineered it from pictures and the like on Ravelry and hey presto, I made squares! I've since emailed the designer and made some to be included with her comfort blankets.  You can follow the story of how she started on her blanket blog. These ones are ready to be packed up and posted off and hopefully will end up as part of a lovely blanket that'll make somebody else very happy.  I've got another pile of them using up odds and ends in my stash that I'm going to make into a blanket of my own.  More of those later though.

It must be about time for some housekeeping

Before you fall off your seat, no I'm not about to turn into a domestic goddess and actually do some housework. Maybe I'm having one of those introspective moments where I reevaluate my life, who knows?  Either way, I have a new job that I'm starting in the morning and having had a troublesome couple of months with working, I'm really looking forward to it.  Even when the work balance hasn't been quite the way I'd like it, I never really stop the craft work, lose a bit of enthusiasm maybe.  Anyhow, I'm crafting again with a vengeance which is usally a good sign!  I even went through the UFO pile (in search of a particular set of missing needles I have to admit) and frogged a couple of projects that are never going to be finished.  I think perhaps there are a few more that need to go yet.  I am a serial caster on-er (is that even a word?) after all.

So back to the housekeeping, new job, new broom etc.  I know I've not been blogging much over the last while but I've also realised that my blog just isn't reflecting where I'm at at the moment so it's about time I had a little tidy up.  Perhaps a complete overhaul?

Gilet Assymetrique pt 1

Well, the knitting is done. Actually it has been for some months. Yes, it's my troublesome french cardigan, the Gilet Assymetrique.

It's a little further along than these pictures show.  The assembly of the piece is now done, I've knitted on the button bands all it should require is the purchase of the buttons.  However, months later I'm procrastinating.  Still.

I should have been wearing this months ago but I have to admit I'm struggling a little with the pocket.  Mostly to be honest I'm putting off the inevitable.  All that remains now is for me to undo the provisional cast on and catch the stitches down and hey presto, finished cardigan.  So simple you'd think?

FO - Purple Circle Socks

Circle Socks, a photo by Bearium on Flickr.

Pattern: Circle Socks by Anne Campbell
Yarn: King Cole Zig Zag
Needles: 2.5mm (magic loop)
Size: UK 7

Lovely pattern, pretty straight forward and definately a good one for variegated or patterned yarns. A really good fit with plenty of stretch too.

This is the second time I've used this yarn and it's definately one of my current favourites. Good value and plenty of meterage - there's still a fair sized ball left even after knitting for my big feet.

Tension issues and other ramblings.

The sun is shining, I should be out in the garden being busy but instead here I am inside balancing both a cat and a laptop on my lap. Not all that easy a feat as it happens.  Anyway here I am, back blogging after an extremely long hiatus.  Where on earth has the last year gone?

It's funny, looking back at my last post, I never did finish that blue cushion off.  The two panels are sat upstairs waiting patiently.  In the meantime, I have been busy as always although perhaps not as productive craft wise as I usually am over the winter. I don't know how those uber women do it,  Anyone who tells you that you can have it all, a job, a career, a beautiful home etc etc...  Personally I'm just not cut out for it, I've discovered I'm far happier working part time and actually enjoying life and everything it throws at you.

So the tension thing.  After spending the last few months dicing with my Gilet Assymetrique - (that's a Rav link btw) fabulous looking cardigan, my first French pattern, total pain to understand (even with the handy translation), and I'm still not done with it.  I don't think I've ever spent so long knitting one pattern. So I thought I know, I'm going to try something new that doesn't need any fiddling around with.  I'll get tension straight away and bingo, I can have a brand new cardigan in a couple of weeks or so. Well, that was the plan anyhow.  I found the most beautiful cardigan pattern -  Talamh by Stolen Stitches, purchased it, found a suitable sub yarn (King Cole Moods Duet in a Kingfisher blue colour).  After the total nightmare of running out of yarn with the G.A.  (yes, I know, total school girl error, more explanations another time), I bought an extra ball and have done a tension square.

Now the pattern calls for a 3.5mm needle, the smallest size on my Knit Pros is a 3.75mm.  UK needles of course don't come in a 3.5mm.  I can't get tension with the 3.75!!!  Ahhhhh.  Insert much swearing.  I put it all back in the bag and sulked.  Still, not to be defeated, I'm going to have to dig out a set of 3.25mm straights and see if those work then it looks like I'll be ordering a new set of circs!

crochet crazy?

I have been on a bit of a crocheting bender recently, perhaps a little inspired by Lucy of attic24 fame or maybe it's just that time of year.  When I look at all the things I'm working on, I keep adding new crochet projects.  It's not like I don't have enough things on the go already!  I've dusted off a couple of old projects and finished them off too which is always a bonus.  So how about some pictures then?

 Always a sucker for all things mathmatical, I caved in and bought the "squaring the spiral" dishcloth pattern.  I've been pretty disparaging about people that make dishcloths in the past, I probably will be again in the future if I'm honest.  Still, I just love this pattern.  Not sure I'll use it for a dishcloth though, it just seems too nice!  I think I might do some more and make another cushion.

 Now for something I've drag out of the UFO pile and also expanded on.  My pile of squares from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks book.  This square's called Willow.  It started out as a stash buster as I'd no end of bits of blue yarn after everyone I knew (including me) managed to have boys.  As much as I love blue, you can really go off it after a while and this languished with the other UFOs until I said I'd teach a Granny Square class at our last weekend meet up.  I dragged this out to use as an example and thought, you know, I rather like those.  I finished off enough to make up for a cushion side and then decided to make something different for the reverse.

I noticed this pattern on the back of a magazine and fell in love with it.  It looked completely different in multicolours but I knew it'd work in the blues and hey presto, the reverse side.  The pattern's called Pokey Dots and is available on the Coats/Red Heart site for free.  My sister moved back home at around the time I started making this and fell in love with it.  It's supposed to be for me but the little man has his eye on this so "we'll see" as I seem to say so often around here.  Anyway, here's pokey dots mark 2 which is destined to brighten up Hazel's office chair.

It's not exactly subtle, but she loves it already!

Out and about part 2

The thing about living near to the sea is that you have this wonderful free resource that to be honest, we really don't make the most of.  We actually spend more time at the beach in the winter than we do in the summer as that way, we avoid the tourists! So anyway, in the spirit of trying to find lots of (cheap) things to do to fill up the half term holiday we decided to try out something new.  Crabbing.  So last week the little man and I headed off to our favourite seaside haunt (Brightlingsea) armed with a crabbing line, a bucket and a slice of ham pinched from the fridge.  

I thought it would be a much trickier operation but popped the ham in the bag unwound a bit of line and lobbed it off the steps.  Waited a few mins and reeled it back in to find this monster trying for a meal. A crab on the first strike.  Admittedly not big enough to eat but certainly feisty enough to snap at our fingers.   Next time we'll have to take a bigger bucket as there was only space for one crab at a time in it and we actually caught loads.  Brilliant fun and a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon. We were as they say, hooked.