miss marie's miscellany

A splash of red

I thought it was about time I did another colour-themed post;  it's cold and grey and wet outside so I think something bright is called for;  I choose red!

 

I love my  Ipod. I still marvel at how something so small can hold so many songs.

This is my mystery flower from the garden, I've no idea what it is or how it got there, but it's so pretty I'm very glad it is!

Making a cherry cake

Scarlet wool, waiting to be made into who knows what!?

I love these funky ice-cube trays

Dahlia, 'City of  Rotterdam', looking lovely in the garden just now.

Gorgeous sparkling heart-shaped lights, brightening the evening.

Wishing you a happy weekend whatever you're up to!

August collage

My favourite shots from August. I was thinking what a quiet month it has been, and also how awful the weather has been, as I look out at the pouring rain and grey clouds; but I'm cheered up looking at this collection of photos because of the variety of colour and all the good memories it's brought back. Especially the sunshine!

Woolly weekend

Yesterday  I went with friends to John Lewis for a Rowan yarn show. We enjoyed a slideshow of the latest designs, had a feel of some of the newest yarns and knitted them too,  and saw (and tried on)some of the designs made up. There were patterns books to look at and free tea and coffee and delicious Danish pastries. We all got a Rowan magazine, 2 patterns and a 10% off voucher for purchases of Rowan goods, and all this was FREE. Excellent value, I'd say! Well worth checking out your nearest JL store as they have lots of these on all over the UK. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, away from the hustle and bustle of the retail-crazed Saturday shoppers and nice to meet other yarn lovers too.

A browse in the wool department was necessary afterwards, of course.  I picked up some bargains in their sale corner. Here they are

These will be used in my hexagon blanket project, more of that below!

And I couldn't resist these pretty buttons

So, as I'm in a woolly frame of mind, I thought I'd show you my crochet hexagon blanket. I'm still miles away from being finished, in fact, I think this will go on well into the winter months. It's the joining up which has taken ages, although it's been great seeing it coming together. I'm liking how it looks, and it already feels cosy.

Soft greens, pinks, purple, and blue with a little black and brown and random splashes of red, yellow and orange.

I think I need to make another 150 or so hexagons, so I'd better go and get crocheting! 

Hope you are having a lovely weekend, whatever you're up to!

Knit a Poem

I read with interest about the Poetry Society's latest project;  the world's first knitted poem, being made to mark the PS's centenary. I wonder if Carol Ann Duffy will be getting her needles out!  The poem will be assembled from letters on 12"  knitted and crocheted squares into a 40 feet long work. As yet, the selected poem is being kept a secret, which adds a bit of mystery too! I'm not sure my knitting or crochet skills are up to the job, but if you fancy having a go, they are still looking for volunteers to make more letters, take a look at the Poetry Society's website. Lots of stuff of the poetic kind there too, so if you like a bit of verse, it's a interesting read too.

Works in progress

Here's how this week's crochet is faring. Hexagons keep getting made here and there 

So my planned blanket is taking shape, although I still have a lot more to make!

I bought this wool to use for hexagons

But it's a little more chunky when crocheted up than the other wools I'm using, so I started this

I think it will end up being a basket storage type thing, that's the plan, so let's see how it evolves.

Hexagons and flowers

I thought I'd show my ever-growing collection of  hexagons today. I'm still experimenting with the colours I like, but these seem to work together...... they're very 'me' colours!

I'm certainly using up a lot of my stash which is good, as I seem to have accumulated rather a lot of wool recently. Now the pattern is familiar it only takes 20 minutes to make 1, so they're good for a quick crochet fix when there's not much time.

I've been enjoying looking at other peoples hexagons at Flickr...... there are some beautiful images and a lot of inspiration to be found there.

The garden is looking lovely now;  it's rained a lot this week, but we had sunshine yesterday and today so everything's blooming. i particularly like these drumstick alliums

This blue hydrangea

And these cheery mesembryanthemums

TV crochet

Back at home in Glasgow now, and am enjoying some quiet time; pottering in the garden (trying to control the weeds which seem to have GROWN while I was away), reading, meeting friends, going to the cinema(new Harry Potter film which was OK). Basically chilling out! It's such a luxury to be able to do this, and I'm loving every minute. In addition, there has been some crocheting whilst watching TV, property-related programmes which I enjoy, seem to be a-plenty, and don't require the undivided attention that a good film or documentary needs, so I can keep one eye on Sarah Beeny, Kirstie and Phil and Kevin McCloud while I enjoy some hooking.

I'd like to make a blanket;  I was going to say ready for the winter, but the rain is pouring today and it's not that warm, so it may be used sooner than that!  I made these granny squares

But I'm not sure I like them; I think a whole blanket of these is a little too flowery for my taste. I also made these hexagons, and find these more pleasing, quick to make and the colour combinations are endless. 

I can envisage them in a finished project, unlike the above squares,which I think I'm going to unpick. I found the pattern for these at Attic 24, courtesy of Lucy. I have a consignment of wool on its way from here, some contrasting and brighter shades to compliment the above, so I'm sorted and looking forward to seeing how it turns out!  I'll keep you posted on my progress. 

Crochet books acquired!

I bought 2 new books to expand my knowledge and jazz up my crochet repertoire.

 The first is this one, 200 crochet blocks by Jan Eaton.

 It's a crochet reference book. It contains an amazing array of different patterns, granny squares, blocks of colour, textured patterns.......just about everything you could imagine. There are lots of ideas and examples for matching different patterns together to make one's one design, so this book would be good if you don't want to stick rigidly to a pattern or like making your own up.  I've wanted a compendium of squares and blocks since I started enjoying crochet and I'm looking forward to trying some of them out in new projects.

The second book is one I have seen mentioned on quite a few crochet-loving blogs; it's 100 Flowers to knit & crochet by Lesley Stanfield.

Firstly I just sat and oohed and aaahed at the beautiful flowers; what a wonderful array. If you have read this blog for a while, you'll know by now I love flowers! I couldn't resist trying to re-create what I see and love  in the garden in crochet or knitting. I attempted the Lazy Daisy; it's not perfect by any means, but I felt a little daunted by the patterns, so I'm pleased that I could make something, anything, from this book. 

It's definitely weighted in favour of knitting, which perhaps makes it an expensive buy for those exclusively into crochet.  But I think it demonstrates beautifully the possibilities of how delicate the results of working with wool can be.

There will definitely be some summer holiday crocheting going on here!

I'd be interested in hearing anyone else's views on these books. Did you find them helpful/informative and have the patterns been successful in your projects?

Busy bee

I've been busy for the last few days, so not much time for posting. In between real money-paying work, I've been toiling away in the garden, getting the grass cut and doing lots of  weeding. A bit of drama.......yesterday afternoon whilst gardening, I was stung on my forearm by a bee and had quite a bad delayed reaction to it. I didn't think anything of it at the time, made sure the sting was gone and cleaned it up. But I had a concert last night and by the end of it my arm was much more sore and swollen (perhaps holding one's arm up in a cello playing position for several hours wasn't helpful? Unavoidable though!)

Yuk! The white pasty flesh doesn't make it look any better. Note to self; a light fake tan might not go amiss! Anyway, medicine has been taken and ice-packs and lotions applied and I'm well on the mend now, thankfully. But do watch out for those bees! 

On a more positive note, I have managed some crocheting, a new project. I bought some new wool and together with a few bits from my stash, decided on this colour scheme.

And I sat for a while this morning making these

Which will turn into something cushiony for the bedroom, I think.

And I had to show my new shoes.....

They do seem to tone in with my crochet very well. I've had my eye on these for a while, and now the weather is more summery, I feel I can justify the purchase!

And just to keep the purple harmony going, here's a lovely rhododendron from the garden...... looking good!

Wishing you a happy weekend! 

Yet another cushion!

I'm ablaze with crochet this week. You may remember a few weeks ago I was crocheting a ripple pattern

Here it is as a work in progress

It got put to one side after I'd finished rippling while I made all those granny squares. But I finally had time to sit down and assemble this into a cushion. I used another bit of my old scarf as the fabric back and tried a different way of fastening it.

Just one row of double crochet x 4 tied in bows

And here is the finished article

I think it's not too bad at all for a first attempt, but I'll keep practising!