miss marie's miscellany

Looking lovely in the garden this week

I was thinking how few photos I've taken this year of flowers in my garden, somehow up till now, there don't seem to have been as many as last year. But this week some beautiful colours have appeared .

Blue, blue anemone - this is sitting on the front doorstep, every time I go out, I have to stop and stare.

 

Pretty pink geranium

 

Frothy creaminess of this beautiful hydrangea

 

Lovely rose :-)

 

I love this two-tone geum, it's so unusual and the colours almost seem to glow, I find it mesmerising, especially when the sun is shining.

 

Green apples galore, it'll be a good harvest this year.

 

Cheery yellow calendula

 

All the bright and beautiful colours are having a good effect on my latest WIP, I thought I'd take a photo of it in the great outdoors.

 

Nearly finished! I'm loving how it's turning out, the random choice of colour is working a treat. I hope to be able to show you the completed blanket after the weekend.

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 

July collage

This year is passing by rather quickly, I can't believe it's the end of another month. There's been lots of crochet, some trips away and a mix of good and bloomin'  awful weather, sounds about right for the good old British summertime!

 

Heather shawl

I finished my granny stripes shawl :-) I'm made up with how it looks, the colours are just right for me and it's very cosy. I tried to take a photo of me wearing it, almost impossible, but after lots of shots of the side of my head, I succeeded in taking a presentable image.

 

It was a lot of crocheting once the sides started to get longer, but it was worth the work to get such a lovely finished article. I used a mixture of wools, some Sirdar Countrystyle and Bonus DK, King Cole Big Value DK and the purply-pink is from my Ebay wool from Kingcraig Fabrics. 

 

Thanks to Jenny for her comment on my last post, she said it reminded her of moorland colours and so, inspired by her idea, I've decide to call it my Heather shawl. 

I hope your weekend is full of colour and good things!
 
 

 

Playing with colour

It's a while since I talked about crochet and wool. but I haven't been idle, in fact quite the opposite, I can't stop with the crochet hook!
 
I found some fabulous wool/silk mix yarn on Ebay, from this seller. Their shop has lots of beautiful wool in a rainbow of shades; much of it comes on cones, good for those larger projects, and they have now started selling 100g balls, which is ideal for my purposes.  I chose an autumnal mix of aubergine, dusky pink, mustard, oatmeal and lemon and lime twist (sounds like a recipe) in this lovely nubbly yarn which has turned into this round cushion.

It is an unusual mix but I think it works :-) 


When I was in Liverpool, my sister-in-law took me to an Aladdin's cave of a shop, Abakhan, a treasure trove of supplies for every craft under the sun, and of course, that includes lots and lots of lovely wool. They have an online shop too, worth a butcher's.  It was like being let loose in a sweet shop, I left with a huge bag filled with brightly coloured wool. I decided to make a granny square blanket using lots of colour and a random combination of them.



A freefall colour experience for me, I usually like to be symmetrical ; I'm just keeping going till it's BIG.



Still a way to go before it's ready, but it's turning out nicely!

Continuing with the granny theme, I've seen a couple of lovely granny shawls recently and had a real attack of the wanties. Just the ticket for a cool summer evening in the garden, I thought, and it will definitely come in handy if we have another baltic winter! I'm just playing with the colours, but think I've found a good combination with these.



These are very 'me' colours! A concerted effort over the next couple of days and I should be able to show the FO shawl.

I hope your weekend is full of colour too.

Tom's stained glass blanket

I've been working away making my nephew's multi-coloured blanket, a square here and there, but I got behind when I had to go on my travels for work and missed last weekend's birthday deadline. My nephew was very understanding and patient, he knows you can't hurry a good thing! So this weekend I had time for a final push...... this was the state of play on Friday.

 

After a Herculean effort,  all that joining up and starting an edging which just didn't work and had to be frogged, it is complete.

 

I'm really pleased with the end result - I wasn't sure about the colours when I began making this, but I have to hand it to my nephew, he has picked a winning combination and I have tried a palette which I wouldn't have done, but for his choices. He loves it too :-) 

The bright colours against the black edges put me in mind of stained glass, hence the inspiration for the name of this latest crochet creation......

 

Tom's stained glass blanket!
 

Happier

Sometimes, it's little things which can cheer you up the most

 

A visit to see friends who live by the sea

 
 

Some new arrivals in the garden

 

A new WIP

 

And if all else fails, something sweet will hit the spot (sorry this pic is a bit blurred, I must have been excited at the impending sugar rush)

 

(In case you're wondering, the lovely pudding above was rhubarb creme brulee with ginger biscuits and was to die for!)
 
  

 

May collage

A month of contrasts of temperature, starting off cold and ending warm and promising. A month of tulips galore, they have brought wonderful colour to the garden. A month of happy crochet projects, including a special gift. A month when I visited some old haunts and places I'm glad I re-acquainted myself with.

 

This is the first time this year I've been able to post lots of flower photos, something which makes me very happy! Enjoy :-)
 

Wool, new and old (and a new crochet cushion)

In these cash-strapped times, it's always good to find something that seems good value. Buying wool can be an expensive business, especially if you go for pure new wool. I'd love to be able to use this more than I do, but just like the UK government, I'm having to make drastic cuts to my out-goings. All my recent makes have been blankets or cushion covers, things which (in my opinion) are better made with wool which can take some wear and tear and is machine washable.  I know some people turn their nose up at acrylic yarns, but I don't have a problem with them, I think they are reasonably priced, crochet up well and keep their shape and don't shrink after washing. I found a new brand recently which I'm liking a lot, Stylecraft Life DK, which is a blend of 75% acrylic and 25% wool.   

The colours are rich and vivid and it has a nice soft feel with enough wool content to make you forget about the man-made stuff.  I got these for £2.25 a 100g ball, pretty good value I'd say. I've been making a little something with some of the colours......

I started making these squares a couple of weekends ago  just to see how the wool fared. I can report favourably, it doesn't split and feels soft on the hands, the stitches look nice and neat and uniform too. 

 

It's a homage to the Babette blanket! The pattern is from Jan Eaton's book 200 Crochet Blocks; I made one of the large squares to start with and then varied the repetitions of rows to get the small and medium sizes. 

  

The lighter green wool in those squares is made with Sirdar Countrystyle DK which is a firm favourite of mine. This is a 45% acrylic, 40% nylon, 15% wool blend. The range of colours is wide and it's about £3.20 for a 100g ball. It feels wonderfully soft and crochets up beautifully. I've used it mixed with other wools in all my granny square cushions, my hexagon blanket, 2 baby blankets and my WIP blanket for my nephew. This green went so well with the other colours, they just seemed made for each other. And I've finished the cushion, what do you think?

 

I'm delighted with how this has turned out.

 

Some buttons to match the wool to fasten

 

Job done; I'm all crocheted out now! And pleased that I've found some new wool which won't break the bank and looks good.
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 

Granny green and black

When I was down in Liverpool at Easter, my sister-in-law asked me to make a granny square cushion to go with their living room decor. She liked the ones I'd made already, and I was happy to oblige. Their living room colour scheme is soft grey with accents of green, black and red, so I chose a mix of light and dark grey, black, apple and moss green, red and white.

 

This is one side, a large granny square, just like my 2 previous granny square cushions. There are already some cushions with large flower designs in all of these colours in their room, so for the other side, I decided to use this design,  Sarah London's wonderful  Rose Motif pattern.

 

I made 12 of these 

 

In these 4 variations of the colours used.

 

 

Here they are all joined together

 

I love making granny squares so that bit was easy, I'm a dab hand at them now! The rose squares appear complicated but were not too tricky at all, and they really look the business. I like the contrast between the flat granny square side and the raised texture of the roses side. I used a 4mm hook, and a mixture of wools, all from my stash. 

Black and apple green -  Sirdar Countrystyle DK

Red - Patons Diploma Gold DK.

Dark grey, light grey and moss green - Rowan Pure Wool DK.

White  - Sirdar Snuggly DK.

And here's the finished article

 

 

Fastened with some red flower buttons

 

 As luck would have it,  it was my SIL's birthday yesterday, so I managed to finish in time for the big day :-)

Happy Birthday, Deb!
 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

April collage

Time for another monthly round-up; during April there has been a trip to Liverpool, the garden has started to come to life, colourful crochet, time spent with friends and family, and the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week rounded it off nicely; all in all a good month with plenty to be happy about:-)