Test knitting

A little peek at what I've got on my needles at the moment - my first test knit (via ravelry). I've been drawn to the test knitting group on ravelry for ages. I keep looking and thinking "No, I don't really have time right now" or "No, I don't really need one of those". Or, by the time I read the post 3 billion people have already offered to test. So it seemed a little bit like fate when I stumbled across this pattern, that I just LOVE, even though I really don't need it, and I probably should be finishing off some other projects! I think I was the first to offer my testing services, and even as a first-time-tester I was welcomed aboard!

 

It will be a beautiful shawl, I say it will be, I think it's already pretty gorgeous! The yarn is just lovely to knit with, and the pattern is very enjoyable. I'm flying though it, which is just as well as I'm working to a deadline!

 

 

And I've been scrubbing blocking mats today ready to block the green shawl that I finished last week!

 

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Dr Seuss

My sister loves Dr Seuss, so when I received a few squares of Dr Seuss fabrics they just had to be used to make something for her.

 

I was going to make a pin cushion, but thought cutting the fabrics would spoil them.

 

So I made her a kindle cover - cute!

 

I found a few other prints that seemed to match the craziness!

And a fantastic star shaped button that is just perfect!

 

Both front and back are quilted to give the kindle a little protection.

 

And I just couldn't resist a little pin cushion to match!

Do a kindle cover and a pin cushion need to match?!

 

If you look carefully you can see Henry's whiskers in this photo - he is such a nosey cat!!!

 

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A bit of knitting and a delivery

I managed to sneak a teeny-tiny bit of knitting in the garden today.

It has been a beautiful day, bright and sunny and warm.

My teeny-tiny bit of knitting was in the shade though. The sun had gone from our garden by the time I got home. But it was still nice and warm, so I made the most of the opportunity!

 

 

Nearly finished!

 

I had a lovely delivery today too!

Waiting for me when I got home was a squishy parcel.

Woo-hooo! Must be yarn!

 

 

Mmmmm. Alpaca. Ready for my next knitting project.

 

Miss M has a banana loaf in the oven so I'm going to sit and knit the last few rows of my little green shawl and enjoy the yummy smell :)

 

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I love crochet!

Ah! Crochet!

I do love to crochet!

I so badly want to start another ripple blanket...

...or another granny square blanket...

...or another granny stripe...

But I have this giant mixed stitch blanket to finish.

 

 

It's not that I don't love it, because I really do.

But it is big. Really big. Too big.

I started it as a bed blanket, to go on our double bed.

It is wide enough for a super-king!! I don't know HOW that happened!

Obviously my measuring skills need some work!

 

 

So I am plodding on, because I know if I start something else crocheted, that this massive blanket will get shoved behind the sofa again.

 

 

I will need to order another Lucy pack of stylecraft soon though!!

Hehe! Love yarn deliveries!

 

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Le Challenge - Geometrics

Here it is!
My entry for Le Challenge!
I had so many ideas, soooo many!!
And there are a few more geometric inspired projects (in various states of completeness) around the house.
But this is my entry.
 

A table runner for my mum.

I realised when it was finished that I didn't really have anywhere to photograph a 2.5m table runner!!

So these photos were taken by my mum, and show you the runner on the table it was made for!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else made!

And excited to see what the next challenge will be?!!!

 

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Fussy cutting

So, as promised, this is what I amused myself with last Sunday while nursing a sore neck.

 

Inspired by the lovely Clare at selfsewn I drew this lovely shape on some thick paper, cut it all up and then had a rummage in my fabric stash.

I cut each of the pieces really carefully and then tacked them around the papers.

Sewing them together was such fun, watching the pieces fit together perfectly, seeing all the flowers sitting so prettily.

Ah, EPP how I love you!

 

No idea what to do with this now.

I have considered turning it into a mug-rug, or a pin cushion.

I really enjoyed it so I'm thinking about keeping it as it is and making some more, in different fabrics.

Then joining them all together into a mini quilt.

Or maybe a big quilt?!?!

 

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Saturday sampler - March blocks

Another late post!

 

These blocks were just finished for the April 6th deadline, I now have a little pile of fabrics waiting to be turned into April blocks.

 

I was full of good intentions and arranged a sewing day with my sister on Sunday so we could get started on these blocks. But then I slept funny and had the most painful neck EVER and couldn't even sit at my sewing machine let alone drive to my sister's house! So Sunday was spent hand sewing - bliss! There was fussy cutting and EPP and it made me very happy :) I will share these little projects with you soon!

 

But for now, here are my March blocks...

 

 

4 blocks so far...

 

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March

Good evening! We have had some sunshine here today, so lovely! I have been busy working on a few new little projects, but then I remembered my March collage! So, sorry it is a bit late, but here is a little collage of my March crafting :)

1 & 2. Star blanket and card for baby Isobella, finished.

3. Puppy blanket, finished.

4. 'Lessons in Lavender' - my sampler quilt - finished!

5. 'Florence' scarf, started.

6. Lots of hexagons ready for the border on Miss M's quilt.

7, 8 & 9. Star patchwork blocks - finished. These are part of a mini quilt that I will share with you soon.

 

I feel that I achieved loads during March. Finishing the sampler quilt was a biggy, and it has freed up lots of time for other things :) So look out April!!

 

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Puppy Love

Another ta-dah post today!! I am on fire with finishing things off at the moment!!

 

A few weeks ago my very good friend got a puppy. I don't do puppies, or dogs. I'm a cat person. But that is not the point. The point is that puppies need blankets, just like babies do. Or at least they do in my head!! Before I show you the blanket I'll show you the puppy. This is a very unusual photo. It has me in it. Holding a puppy. Not something that happens often!!

 

Yes, ah, very cute! He was asleep and tiny. He is not tiny now, and not often asleep!

So the sight of his little bed with a towel in was too much for me.

"This puppy needs a blanket!" I cried, and off I rushed home to get started.

I had a bag of old acrylics, odd bits of different brands, a funny mix of colours. I discarded the pinks and the whites and was left with a fairly big pile, just right for a puppy blanket. I decided that a patchwork blanket would be most sensible as I had different amounts of each colour. Plus I really wanted to make a patchwork blanket - perfect excuse.

So I got started, using the fabulous join-as-you-go method.

 

 

A bit bright. A bit scratchy if I'm honest. But I'm sure it will be fine for a puppy!

 

 

Ooh, I have enjoyed making this blanket! So easy, and I had no problem with random!

 

 

The edge was as many rows of granny stripes as I could manage with the wool I had left! This was actually a pretty fun way of doing it - no planning, no worrying about which colours to use.

It's not the prettiest blanket in the world I know. But that was not what I made it for.

 

So here it is, all finished and enjoying a rare bit of sunshine in the garden...

Ta-dah!!!!

 

 

And all folded up prettily...

 

 

99 four-round granny squares.

Very colourful!!

 

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Lessons in Lavender

Finally, a ta-dah post is here!! It would have been here last week but I am without internet!! I had no idea just how much I use it, I am missing it soooo much! So, today I am at Poppy Cottage, borrowing internet! Hopefully our new router should arrive soon and then normal internetting shall resume!

I have actually managed to completely finish 2 projects, so another ta-dah post will be coming really soon J

But for today, I’ll stick with just the one. Because it’s a big one. My quilt is finished!!

 

I started a ‘beginner’s sampler quilt’ course way back in October and my quilt has slowly grown, block by block over almost 6 months.

 

We used the quilt-as-you-go method, so until very recently I just had a pile of blocks, nothing that looked quilt sized! But now, it is massive.

 

The light in our house, unless the sun actually shines brightly, is terrible, so I brought my quilt to Poppy Cottage to be photographed (and to show it off to my parents!). Mum took the photos for me on her fancy camera, as I had only brought my little camera, which doesn’t seem to like the colours of my quilt and just makes it look grey and ucky.

So here it is, 6 months in the making…………

 

Ta-dah!!!!!!!!!

 

I have still got to embroider a label and sew it on to the back, but other than that it is totally, completely finished!! I am so happy! Also, I am very glad that I was stubborn about my fabric choices. Quite a lot of people (ladies in the fabric shop included) tried to persuade me to bring in another colour, but I had a very clear idea of what I wanted and it has turned out beautifully! I did add green to the back of the quilt though, a little surprise when you turn it over!!

 

 

 

So that’s it for ta-dah-ing today. I will be back with another ta-dah and lots of other project updates soon!  Hopefully our internet will be back with us soon, I miss blog-land so much!!

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