It was quite hard to choose just one photo this month; should it be something crafty, something garden-related or to do with the advent of spring. In the end I decide to pick this photo, for the colour and the oncoming season which brings us such lovely flowers.
I'll be showing you my big green blanket later this week, it's turned out very nicely and is also very spring-themed......soon :-)
Sorry I haven't been here for a while, time has run away since I last stuck my head round the door. But I've been busy with all of the different parts of my life and work, and I have lots to tell you about. Enought for a few posts worth certainly! Just so that I make up for being AWOL.
So I'll start with some snapshots of my recent crochet/crafty makings
This blanket is nearly finished!
I have been enjoying using my garden studio, it's such a lovely space to be in, cosy and comfortable, and the light on a good day is so bright and clear. And I have re-discovered the contents of my iPod too, it's been quite inspiring to listen to old and much-loved songs with fresh ears.
Trying out some new colour combos
I have a big stack of things waiting to be made too; I have 5 commissions, which is fantastic, so I will be showing them off when they are completed.
So that's all the yarny stuff up to date; next time I'll be out in the garden :-)
Here are the granny squares I've made so far for the Crochet a Rainbow appeal.
I'm going to make some more over the weekend and send them off on Monday.
I've enjoyed making these so much that I decided to experiment with some colour combinations for possible blankets.Trying to think of a name for each of them.........
Green goddess - I have every ball of green wool out of my stash for this!
Spring flowers, as this puts me in mind of the colourful primroses that will appear soon. (Sorry this photo is not great,it's been pouring down and blowing a gale today with grey skies so I had to use a flash, which makes it look a little more garish than it really is - better pic to follow soon)
I think my colour choices are definitely a look forward to the spring and hopes of warmer climes and the start of the growing season in the garden. Bring it on!
All very busy here at MMM Towers. Which is good, I'm definitely glad to be in demand!
But there's always time for some crochet.
Experimenting with Valentine's cards
Trying something new, 4 colour square
And a commission from someone special, I hope they like it!
I hope your week has been full of good things :-)
After all the excitement of Christmas, I had a day of total leisure on Monday; absolutely nothing to do but sit, relax and enjoy watching Pride and Prejudice and Upstairs Downstairs and crochet. I have been keeping some of this lovely wool, Brown Sheep Worsted, for a rainy day, and I ended up making these wristwarmers for me.
I used a beautiful green, Kiwi, for the hand part. I wanted a bit of texture to these so I plumped for moss stitch.
Then I edged the top and bottom with a deep pink, Fuschsia; at the top I did a row of double crochet stitches and then a row of crab stitch
and at the bottom I made a long strip of rows of double crochet, working each alternate row in the back loops only to give a ribbed effect.
They are very cosy as the wool is lovely and thick; very luxourious.
They go very well with my new pink coat too!
1) Hmm, the first batch of mince pies; the house smells wonderful with the spice and fruit scenting the air.
2) I meet my lovely friend M for coffee and chat; with all the hustle and bustle of getting shopping and presents bought, it's good to step back and make time to sit and catch up and wish each other a happy Christmas.
3) I made a crochet Christmas tree!
I've seen people do this kind of thing with all sorts of objects,Christmas cards and old polaroids to name a few; I used various crochet shapes I made for Christmas last year (stars, snowflakes, hearts and flowers) and fixed them on the wall in a tree shape. I am quite taken with it, in fact next year I may do this on a grander scale!
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!
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!
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.
I came across this fantastic smart car with its own multi-coloured crocheted cover........I love it!
It is the work of Magda Sayeg, an American lady who is a guerilla knitter. I've heard of guerrila gardening, but not knitting; but it sounds like an excellent idea to me, brightening up your surroundings with some lovely knitting or crochet, putting it in locations where you'd least expect to see such a thing; lampposts, road signs, a bus .........yes,really, if you don't believe me, look at this.
Magda Sayeg has a blog called KnittaPlease where she posts all her latest projects. Absolutely fascinating and inventive, it takes yarn and what one can do with it to a whole new level.
I wish my car looked like this!
I am Marie, a musician who likes to take photographs and write about what I'm making, reading and enjoying.
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