miss marie's miscellany

Lime and violet

 

I bought some more wool.......which was probably a bit naughty of me, as there is plenty in this house already but, well, the colours are lovely, and very 'me',  and they were a bargain! Resistance was futile!

I started making some of these rose motifs on Friday (pattern by Sarah London)

Over the weekend I've made some more squares and I also began making a large granny stripe square (pattern is found in this book......or you can just pop over to Lucy's blog where she has done a great tutorial for this pattern).

And this is how things look today

 

A while back, I bought these great lime green buttons on Etsy

So one of them was used to make this flower brooch (pattern found here)

I think I'm craving bright colours just now as the weather in Scotland has been awful for the last 3 weeks or so, more autumnal than spring going into summer. So I think there will be lots of vivid and zingy colours on this blog for the foreseeable future :-)

 

 

 

More African flowers

Do you remember a little while ago I showed you these African flower hexagons?

I wasn't exactly sure what they would become........but I kept on making them and joining them together

and over the weekend, and with final finishing off today,  they have turned into this

lovely cushion cover. I used 2 shades of pink, light and deep raspberry, leaf green and white, edged all the hexagons in black and joined them together with the black yarn too. I think the black makes the lighter colours sing out.

i used some mother of pearl buttons for fastening

I sewed the buttons on at the point where the hexagons meet, made an extra row of hexagons with chain loops at the bottom point on the other side, et voila, a nice tidy envelope fastening.

I'm still loving making these, they look so pretty and with every colour combination, they have a completely different character.

I'm thinking about making a bag next; possibly pyschedelic, I feel like mixing colours up big style! Plus, I still have 3 half made items on the go, so I really should get those completed so I can show them here. Best get on with it!!

 

 

 

 

April 2011

Cherry blossom inspired - part 2

Just in time for the cherry trees to be in full bloom, I have finished my African flowers with a Japanese twist cushion cover.

I really loved this pattern, it has a nice relaxing rhythm to it, and I enjoyed all the different variations of the colour combinations.......very pretty, in my opinion.

I made one side of African flowers, 18 hexagons in total and 4 half hexagons (very useful pattern to be found here, and a big thank you to Anne at Andamento for providing me with the link to this) and the other side is a large granny square in the same colours.

I couldn't find any buttons to match the colours, so I decided to try a tie fastening, just 2 colours chained together and crocheted onto the hexagon edging.

I think the little bows look pretty and they seem more secure than a button fastening, so after a great deal of hesitation and procrastination on my part, I think it was the right way to go.

Now I am hooked on these, so I've started making some more in a different colour scheme.

I hope your Easter weekend has been fantastic!

 

 

 

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Tantalising tulips

It's time for my favourite flower of all, the tulip, to burst forth in the garden.......I know in warmer climes you will have been enjoying them for a couple of weeks (head over to Jane Brocket's blog for some floral eye candy, she is the Queen of Tulips!) but we have to wait a bit longer in Scotland. Today I spied a couple of lovely flowers already starting to show their gorgeous silky petals.

This lovely deep pink tulip is looking so good - I planted this a couple of years ago but it didn't appear last year, so I thought it had been a casualty of the freezing winter weather. But it must have just been having a year off!

I love this tulip so much; it really looks like it's on fire, with its glowing orange petals. I happily spend quite a few long moments just gazing at this beauty, it is completely mesmerising.

There are lots more ready to burst forth, some old  and some new; something really special to look forward to.

Wishing you a happy weekend!

All loved up

 

Something nice and mellow for  you today............I am a massive fan of Scott Matthews. I first heard him a few years ago on Mark Radcliffe's much missed last night show on Radio 2 and was totally bowled over.  I can't understand why he isn't a mega-star: his voice is just to die for, he's a fantastic songwriter and to top it all, he plays a mean guitar, so I'm just spreading the love!

Have a love-tastic weekend!

March

Photographic pickings were slim this month; I seem to be saying I'm busy a lot, it's becoming my mantra but I have been, very much so! In the end I chose this photo on the beach by the sea, because I like the sky and the sun light breaking through the clouds.  A hint at the spring weather on the way soon after this was taken:-)

I will try harder to take more photos in April!!

Sunday crochet links

I love hunting the internet for all kinds of interesting stuff, particularly of the crochet kind. I found a few great sites, some new and some old and much loved favourites, which I thought you may want to have a look at.

10 for 10 - Sarah London is having a pattern sale, 10 patterns for $10; there are some fab things, including a wonderful Granny Square Sweater, which I'm loving. I think it may go in my queue of things to make!

Sarah is also still hosting the Crochet a Rainbow appeal, originally set up to help the victims of the terrible flooding in Australia and which is now also making blankets for Japan;  if you have time to make even a few sqaures and send them, it will make a big difference to people whose lives have been shattered.

A new find which I'm very happy to have discovered is Tangled,  a fantastic online magazine for knitters and crocheters, with loads of very lovely patterns, with many of them in both a knit and crochet version. Another garment to go in my must-make list is this cardigan, which I'm very taken with, it's beautiful!

The 2nd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week starts tomorrow! Everyone who signs up for it must post daily about a specific topic for each day, it makes for diverse and entertaining reading. I took part last year, but sadly,  I'm just too busy at the moment for this year. But I'm looking forward to catching up with some of this year's posts :-)

Crochet Spot is a great site with lots of stitches and techniques explained with lots of photos and clear written instructions. I've learned a lot of new stitches from here  and I like its friendly vibe.  This week it features how to make chainless foundation rows which sounds like a dream come true to me.

Today has been lovely here in Glasgow, sunny and warm. Perfect for garden crochet!

I hope your weekend has been fab!

 

 

 

Crochet a rainbow

Sarah London has a wonderful blog which I have mentioned loads of times here. She has put together a great idea to help Australian families who have lost everything in the recent devastating floods - a worldwide making of granny squares which will be joined up into blankets to be given to those who have lost their homes and belongings. I have signed up to make my own small contribution, and so far,  just over 200 others have done so, but I'm sure as many as possible would be welcome. Here's a link to Sarah's blog with all the details, do pop over and take a look.

2010 retrospective

2010 seems to have sped by with great speed, and to be honest, some of the ride has been very bumpy. But despite that, when I looked back over my photos, there were lots of good recollections and happy moments.

The weather and seasons have been quite a feast for the eyes, sunsets and snow seem to be greatly featured in this collage.

I have carried on my love affair with crochet. It has kept me sane over some difficult times this year, and it makes me really happy to see how far I've travelled since I first picked up a hook early in 2009. And I made all of these! 

I've been on a few trips to places interesting and beautiful

And last but not least, the garden has been a wonderful source of inspiration and pleasure

Thanks to you all for reading and commenting, lovely blog friends; let's hope 2011 is full of adventures and new wonderful opportunities for us all!

Happy New Year  xxxxxxx