The leaves have turned such amazing colours now, it's a feast for the eyes, all those rich hues of red and gold.
Where I live is very leafy and tree-lined, and I've really noticed over the last week that the colours of autumn are looking lovely.
When it's a sunny day like today, everywhere looks splendid; seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness indeed :-)
September has been quite a month ; hot weather, cold weather, stormy weather have turned into autumn with the leaves already turning, a fair bit of hooking and some wool purchases, the garden is still blooming with lots of beautiful autumn shades and some delicious fruit and veg........oh, and there was a certain visitor from Rome across the road in the park!
Hope you have a happy weekend, whatever it brings :-)
Hello! Long time no see, as I've been a busy bee, but things are a little quieter and I'm happy to be here again. Despite all that's been going on, I've tried and succeeded to find some much needed hooking time over the last week. I do find it very therapeutic and calming, in fact, I have been getting up early so I can do some before I go to work.......hmm, some might say that is going a bit too far, but I find it the perfect start to the day, a few rows of crochet with a nice cup of tea. A friend asked me to make a baby blanket for a gift ( yes, a commission, how exciting!) I made some squares using different stitches.
Purple and orange were requested colours, and I thought the cream set them off nicely. I decided to use all the squares in a random arrangement. You can see all the various stitches in the above photo; bobble stitch on the bottom right and top left, the top middle square is a new stitch to me which I found in one of my crochet books, angled clusters. moss stitch on the top right, star stitch on the bottom left and shell stitch bottom middle.
The squares were really quick to make, it was the joining up which took ages. But it came together well,and here is the finished article.
The colours really buzz, and although they might not be everyone's choice for a baby blanket, I think I like the fruity combination:-)
The purple and orange wools are a merino /cashmere mix and the crean is lamb's wool so it will be very cosy.
I edged it with a row of treble crochet in each of the 3 colours and finished off with a row of crab stitch which I have become a big fan of. It is worked by crocheting from left to right which feels weird when you first try it out, but it's worth persevering with, the rolled edging it creates looks very fine.If you want to try it out, I found this video on YouTube very helpful:-)
I'm happy that this turned out so well, now I just need to find a new WIP to make in the mornings!
Allow me to introduce my bright orange stars cushion cover; I woke up early today and did all the finishing off, buttons, buttonholes and last few rows. It looks lovely in the early morning light.
I edged this side of the cushion in pink crab stitch, another new stitch to me, made by making double crochet stitches working from left to right, which gives a rolled corded effect
I bought the wool on Ebay from one of my favourite sellers who I've mentioned before, Kingcraig Fabrics. This particular wool is a lambs wool and silk mix in an aran weight. It's lovely to crochet with (and knit too, I should think)and has a nice textured feel, especially in these 2 stitches which both have 'feel appeal'!
The other side is made using crochet moss stitch in the same wool in a cream colour, it reminds me of custard creams! I used some purple buttons to fasten and made an envelope flap for the button holes.
I am making another of these with pink stars, as a companion to this, finishing quite soon, I hope.
While I was writing this post, the postman delivered a parcel with more of this wool in some lovely bright colours. Want to see?
I'll have to put my thinking cap on, what shall I make with these?!
Life is a bit work- dominated at the moment. Not much time for anything else. Except a little gardening; despite there being an autumnal feel in the air now, there seem to be lots of plants blossoming.......like this lovely peachy rose
and this calendula, brilliant vibrant orange
And I have managed to fit in some crochet too; here's a glimpse of the nearly finished cushion cover, burnt orange and raspberry looking lovely together
Just the buttons and buttonholes to be done and I'll show it to you!
I'm off on a short trip later today to Newcastle, surely some good photo opportunities to be had there, I think. It is for a job interview, so cross your fingers for me!
I have learned 2 new stitches this week, the first is the star stitch which I really like......pretty too isn't it?!
How about orange?
This stitch is also called the daisy stitch, and I've found a couple of versions of it. This one is nicely spaced so you can see the flowers/stars - I found the pattern here.
The second is the crochet version of moss stitch; I've crocheted this in a lovely pale biscuit colour.
I knew the knitted version of this, also called seed stitch and this doesn't look anything like that. But I did a little research and discovered that there are 2 versions of moss stitch and this is very like American moss stitch. You can see the 2 different versions if you click here.
These are going to make some cushion covers, I thought the 2 different sides would be a good contrast in texture. Hopefully, there will be 2 and they'll be ready next week, all being well, if I can get my hook moving fast enough!
I can't believe August has been and gone, it flew by. I started with all the garden improvements, I went back to work, and did a humungous amount of crocheting. I took a trip across the sea, went on a hen night and I have painted, dug and chopped things down in the garden. Perhaps that's why August whizzed by, I have been very busy!
I've been working away on the big granny square blanket I showed off a couple of weeks ago, it has been quite a task! The rows were taking nearly an hour each by the end, quite an epic amount of crochet was taking place; but the weather has been so fantastic over the last week, I have sat in the garden with all my bits and pieces here
those small garden trugs are great for outdoor crafting! It's been lovely to enjoy the sunlit garden
and whizz round the blanket a few times.So, at last, I have finished! I'm breathing a big sigh of relief but I'm delighted with it.
I finished it off with some rows of double crochet using a mixture of the colours in the blanket, then a row of arch chain edging.
It used up a lot of wool, I have used 17 different colours! All the balls of wool were 100gs and I haven't run out of any colour, but haven't got much left of some and had to start a second ball of wool for a couple of shades.
But it is a biggie, here it is on the spare bed (double)
And here it is on my king size bed
It will be keeping someone cosy this winter!
My next project will definitely be something slightly smaller!!:-)
We're having an Indian summer here in Glasgow this week, and I keep finding more lovely flowers in the garden, late visitors but they are very welcome. This dahlia is as lovely as the one in my last post; a beautiful, rich red, and a prolific flowerer, I hope it will last for a while.
Just blooming in the garden this week, isn't it lovely?!
I think this is my 'best in show' for this year :-)
I am Marie, a musician who likes to take photographs and write about what I'm making, reading and enjoying.
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