Best Laid plans.....

Wow it is Sunday again!

I am beginning to realise that lists and plans are not compatible with me.  I like making them, but somehow I do the opposite! But hey, I am retired now (since last December) and I don’t have to follow a schedule. 

I was going to work on my Around the Bases but a friend asked me to do a Baby Blanket for her soon to be granddaughter.  I thought it was a good opportunity to try doing the C2C.  I love it!  I think more C2C’s will be in my future.

I haven't yet worked out a border, but I think something simple?

I was going to finish the doilies from last week, but another friend was telling me about the antics of her cat, Julie had been in the habit of leaving a jug of water on the bench as water straight from the tap was too icy to drink.  She went into the kitchen one morning to find her Kitty drinking from it, lol.  Needless to say she now covers it.  She has been looking for one of those old fashioned milk jug covers but hasn’t been able to find one for love of money.  Then, we looked at  each other, and thought doilies.  So, I have been searching out covers.  I found one on Crochet Memories, and it is lovely and quick to make up.

Beaded Textured Cup Cover by Crochet Memories

However it is too small for the job in hand, so I have spent a lot of time this week designing my version of a jug cover.  Most doilies tend to have really open centres which is not a good thing as we don’t need flies etc crawling in!!

I am pleased with it, but when I do another one there will be some modifications.   But I know Julie will be over the moon with this one.

I will write up and it do a chart for this jug cover and post it for anyone who would like to try it.

Well, that has been my week and I will leave you with a photo of one of my favourite winter flowers from my garden, Winter Sweet. (Chimonanthus ). When the garden is bare this shrub perfumes the air as you walk by it. 

Have a wonderful week, and hopefully I will get some of the ATB done, lol.

And do please visit some of the other participants in the YOP group, just click on the button in the sidebar at the top.

Cottony Goodness

Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful week, I did.  You would think that being in the middle of winter that I would be beavering away with my snuggly warm Afghans.  No, I am having a love affair with cotton. Doilies, jam covers, and a bag has graced my hooks this week. 

First of all a bag that started out as a tea towel!!!

And yes it is grey and not a black and white photo.  While I am a colour junkie with my art and crafts I wear neutral tones a lot, although my accessories are usually full of colour.  This did really start out as a kitchen towel, a weekly cal at  2016weekly and dishcloth cals had a pattern that looked interesting, as I always wanted to try a towel, I thought it would be just the ticket. However, I did not choose the right cotton and as I crocheted I was beginning to realise it was too soft and silky for a towel.  So it sat there for a while, I was reluctant to undo it all as a lot of time had gone into it… those single crochets!  Then I had a brain wave, a bag!

It was about the right width so I added a flap using black loop sc.  Made a button flower and strap and hey presto!  I just need to line it with the material you see in first photo and I have a stylish bag I think.

Now enough of grey!  Some colour please.

I love doilies antique ones, modern ones, whatever I am a sucker for them.  This week I have been working on one I found on Pink Rose Crochet Blog

It is called Moon Beans by Fujiko Takagi. There is lots of eye candy on this blog if you like doilies etc., and even better some come with charts.

I had hoped to finish it for today’s post but as you see I didn’t, on the last round though.  The reason I didn’t finish was I got distracted by a blog I found this week called Crochet Memories.  There are some gorgeous doilies.  I couldn’t help myself.

I have been wanting to make set of coasters for gifts for ages  and she has several pattern which are gorgeous.

This Lacy Textured Mandala Coaster has so many colour possibilities, and I think I will be doing lots of them.

And gulp I started another doily, a ruffled one. the cal for it has just finished and I am up to week 2.

Also another doily Potpourri Spring Pineapple Lace Doily, I noticed that it could be stopped early and would make a jam cover, as I am in the process of gearing up to make marmalade.  I thought that would be wonderful for gifts.

I am going to carry on and do the full doily with this one, as I need to find some orange cotton for the flowers for the marmalade jam jars.

Soon I will be back to some snuggly wool Afghans.  I am taking part in the Ravellenics on Ravelry with the Colourful Cals group. 

I am entered in the WIP Wrestling and a Cowl Jump events.

For the WIP Wrestling event I decided to finish the 2015 Bam Cal Afghan

All the squares are done I just have to join them and do the border. So far only two are joined! Doable in two weeks I think.  I will show the Cowl I have decidecd on during the games.

Phew if you are still here well done.  I will leave you with a photo of some Daphne I picked today that is gracing my kitchen window sill and is scenting the whole house.  

I love Daphne, as to me it indicates that the garden is starting to wake up after its winter's rest.

Have a wonderful happy week crafting everyone and thank you for visiting.

A Busy Week

Phew, at last I have peace and quiet to write my post.  Its school holidays here and I have two excitable kiddies staying with me, as I don’t get to see them often I am giving them my undivided attention.  They are spending the next two days with a friend who has a farm with horses, sheep and dogs etc. (They are city kids.)  Needless to say I have managed to get a lot of crochet done mainly in the evening and it had to be mindless as I was knackered.

Cowl

It is not on the list, but I was given some lovely wool, so I crocheted this using a simple “V” stitch on a 5.5mm hook.  Its lovely and warm, just right for the bitter cold we are experiencing here.

Wash Cloths

I find that I can do a washcloth in an evening and they make good mindless crocheting in front of the TV.  These three are  from the top Thick and Bumpy Potholder, Crossroad ribbed washcloth and Simplestripes washcloth. (click on the names for pattern)

I felt in the mood for bright colours, so the top one is the simple stripes again and the other two are from the Wednesday cal from the 2016 Weekly dishcloth and cals group on Ravelry – Simple Dishcloth. 

A Mystery

For a long time I have been ogling the rustic lace square that is doing the rounds.

I finally found a chart on Instagram you have to scroll down and I believe the chart is also on Pinterest.  Here

The mystery is despite repeated calls for the designer to come forward no one has, so far it has been attributed to coming from a Spanish mag and they have not responded.  So, I am adding my two penny worth to call for the designer to come forth.  Crochet Tea Party has done a written version of it on Ravelry

The other mystery is that I don’t know what it is going to turn into yet!  A table cloth, a bed cover or a curtain?  My inspiration has come from a wonderful blog – Pigtails, she has made a table cloth, gorgeous. 

I have actually more to show but will leave it for next week as I am not sure how much crochet I will get done before the kids go home. Lol.

So see you all on my rounds

Afghans and Shells

I have had a productive week!  Mainly because the weather has been terrible, we are definitely are now in the thick of winter so lots of sitting in front of the fire doing yarny stuff and painting. 

Afghans

I have decided to get stuck into my Around the Bases Afghan that I have not touched since October.  To be fair to myself I was suffering terribly with Carpal Tunnel and eventually had to have operations on both wrists in December.  (Anyone who is putting off the idea of an operation for it, don’t, they have changed my life.)

For the centre which you chose yourself I used Bursting with Pride by Amber Schaaf, up to round 11, then I adapted elements from Sophies Universe by Dedri Uys.

I had got up to Part 3 I had to stop.  This week I have reached part 8. There are 8 more to go.  I had hope to get a better picture of it this afternoon but the kitties decided it was lovely to nap on I being the softy  I am I let them be.  You can see the rounds I added in the bottom corner!

Shells

The other thing that has been grabbing my attention is freeform = shells  In the IFFF group on Ravelry there is a kcal Down by the Seashore 

This week hosted by Nell, she designed a limpet and other goodies.  These are my efforts.

 I love shells and have a collection in my bathroom so they had to adorn them.

 Doing the shells awaken my desire to paint which has been dormant for a while, so I got the watercolours out and ended up with three pieces of art. Thanks Nell.

On this last one I am toying with the idea of using  pastels to make shell like marks, but I will brew on it for a bit.

Well its Sunday night  and so another week begins and I will leave you with this funny my sister emailed me this week.

A YEAR OF PROJECTS

Here goes …..

Afghans

I have many Afghans on the go, I think I suffer startitis!  So I want to rein in the impulse to start each new Cal I see!

Current WIPs

Frida

Bamm Shazamm

Bam2016

(the above three are up to date as they current Cals)

Sophie

Around the Bases

Puffed Wheat

Power of Love

Also I am letting myself do one in September as there are Cals that look interesting starting them, but before I start it I have to have finished Sophie or around the Bases.

Doilies

There are two directions I want to take with doilies, one traditional ( I am making an off white bed cover made up of doilies from Patricia Kristoffersens book Fabulous Doilies: two I want to experiment using modern colours with antique patterns.

New Ventures

I have just discovered Freeform crochet and so I would like to make a bag and a wall-hanging.

Household items

I would like to make more things that are useful, like dishcloths and try some with knitting rather than crochet.

On the sewing front I want to make new curtains for my home as I discovered there are some wonderful fabrics out there.  Also ah hem I would like to have a go at recovering one of my sofas!!!!

Art

I would like to take a foray into making a journal out of fabric, crochet knitting needlework and paint!

Well I think that is enough to go on; knowing me the list will get ever bigger as the year goes on!  I think it is going to be a great productive year with the blog along keeping me motivated.  I look forward to seeing the other participants’ lists!