… crochet!
Ooh! My new mantra!
I have a poorly man and a poorly youngest babe, so there is no out-and-abouting today. On the downside, I can’t go and collect my spinning wheel, which has had to be put off till later in the week, but on the upside, I’ve been working on my mother-in-law’s blog, and had the chance to do a bit more crochet. I’ve finally crocheted enough granny squares to complete the top of my long vest (a WIP – work in progress). I have this vision of what it’s going to look like. I even have a pattern, but I find myself in the small hours of the morning planning modifications, improvements, using things I’ve picked up on Pinterest, Crochet Me, Ravelry and all sorts of other places to make it ‘better’. I have a suspicion it will look nothing like the original when it’s done. I hope I love it as much as I plan to as it’s a lot of work 🙂 Next stage is weaving in all the ends and crocheting it all in place. Then I need to start on the ‘skirt’ of the waistcoat. My vision has it as a kind of empire line affair, with some knitted godets, or maybe granny triangles providing some shaping, but… We’ll see…
I’m also hoping to get back to my crocheted hexagon blanket, but not finding enough hours in the day. So, I needed something quick and simple, which would give me speedy results and help maintain my creative enthusiasm. I chose a little pink jacket I’ve promised to a friend for her new baby (who, rather happily coincidentally, shares my name). I’m knitting it from a very simple pattern I bought yonks ago and discovered in a pile of unfiled papers recently, and using Sirdar Balmoral yarn, which is wool, silk and alpaca and beautifully soft, in a lovely baby pink, but not too pale. I love it. This kind of thing is so quick and satisfying to do, and I have plans for some embroidery on the front, though my vision may exceed my capability… Again, we shall see. 🙂
And I finished a jingly pixie hat for my toddler’s little cousin, embellishing it with a tinkling bell and a crochet heart, which I hope is not too girly for a little boy… This is knitted with Araucania pure cotton, a very unevenly spun yarn which I love – it gives such a gorgeous homemade look. The heart is crocheted with Louisa Harding Ianthe – 50% merino 50% cotton (the same yarn as my granny square waistcoat). I confess to much preferring natural yarns to anything manmade, though it does tend to stretch the purse a bit more.
Ooh, ooh! And in other news, though I haven’t yet collected the spinning wheel, this morning a very exciting package arrived all the way from Bulgaria – some wool! This is a totally new experience for me, I’ve done absolutely no research whatever 🙂 and my mother-in-law has promised me a book on natural dyes… Gulp. Watch this space!
Alice's Adventures in Knittingland 
I absolutely LOVE the color choices and arrangement you are doing with the granny squares!! I have yet to make a blanket with granny squares, but I may just steal your colors and make one now that I’m inspired! 😀
Thanks Valerie! I haven’t made a blanket yet either, though I have one on the go… I also found a blog on tumblr whose very inventive owner makes fabric squares, edges them with crochet, then joins them, like a crochet blanket / patchwork quilt. I want to try that too! 🙂
I wonder how many squares would make a nice size throw blanket. Any idea? 🙂
You know, I haven’t the faintest clue 🙂
However, if you tell me what size you want it to be, I’ll measure a block of the squares I’ve already done and we can work it out. Of course, it will also depend on the weight of the yarn you’re using…
Thank you so much – that’s really sweet! I’ll let you know after I measure a throw we have. 😀