Gingham mania!

I came across some gorgeous blankets on a crochet blog a few months ago and they were based on the classic gingham pattern (remember the old café tablecloths and curtains and picnic basket linings)?
I love the look of gingham but had never considered it for a crochet blanket pattern - until I saw this: Gingham blanket pattern from Daisy Farm Crafts.
I was hooked (pardon the pun)!

Problem was, it was in American crochet terms (not my go-to) and I don't like having to "carry" yarn across work 😞 So I shelved the whole idea as "out of my league" and went on with other projects.
Then, a couple of months ago, I came across this post from a U.K. blogger: The Patchwork Heart gingham blanket - a post that provided a tutorial on how to crochet a gingham blanket using the C2C pattern and incorporating the JAYG (Join As You Go) method to put it together.

U.K. terms and no having to carry yarn - yay!

So, I decided to try my hand at making my first crochet gingham blanket.

TaDa!

One of the essential things I learned from the Daisy Farm blog is that, to do a gingham blanket correctly, you only use three colours: a neutral colour and then a dark shade and a light shade of your main colour. Otherwise, you will end up with a patchwork blanket and not the proper gingham-look pattern.

The lighter shade of the main colour is used in every row and is alternated in each row (see above). The neutral colour and the dark shade are used in every second row. 

The border was my youngest son's creation, a mixture of double and half-treble crochet stitches in the three blanket colours.

I used Four Seasons Marvel in Cream as my neutral colour, Porta Craft Lavender as my light shade and Four Seasons Marvel Violet for my dark shade.
These are 8 ply yarns and generally call for a 4-5mm hook but I like using bigger hook sizes as they make the blanket feel softer and more drapey (is that a word?) in my experience.

I was so pleased with how this turned out that I've decided to make my better half one (in his preferred colours).
I can see a flurry of gingham in the near future and am already picturing in my mind's eye how certain shades might look together.
 I love choosing colours for projects 😊

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm (or cool, depending on your season). We're almost halfway through this crazy year! Wonder what's next - I'm sure we'll find out soon enough from the corporate media complex.
All musings aside, if  I was only able to say one thing to anyone who reads my blog it would be this - do not put faith in the mainstream media (MSM) to tell the truth and report facts. About anything.
When I woke up to the fact that many (if not most) of the MSM were not journalists, but rather puppets for a propaganda machine, things began to make more sense.

 Truth is out there but it is rarely found in the MSM.

Edit post: my latest gingham blanket is now finished and features below.

My better half and I recently celebrated our anniversary and this was his present from me. He loves it 😊

His present to me. We both love tea: loose leaf tea made in a proper teapot - nothing like it!
This teapot pours beautifully. Anyone who enjoys proper tea knows the importance of a good pourer.

Take care and God bless.

Rainbow spots

Back in January of this year I made a blanket for a friend who sometimes has her Grandies stay over at her home.
I had made blankets for the grandchildren but decided to make one for her, a special "Grandie blanket" she could keep at her house and use when she was babysitting.
I wanted to try a pattern I found a while ago: Granny Flower Square  but in a single colour for each square rather than multi-coloured squares as per the original pattern.

As I was basically making a baby blanket I decided on bright, primary colours - and what is brighter and more primary than a rainbow?
So, the Rainbow blanket idea was born!
The cascading, diagonal colours was originally more of a happy accident than intentional planning on my part but, when I saw how effective grouping the colours together in their spectrum looked, I continued in that vein.
Over a week later, amidst much happy hooking, one bright, sunny (they look like smiley flowers to me) blanket came into existence:

I love the colours; they are like bright suns or smiley flowers 🌸

The border was a simple one, comprised of alternating rows of half trebles (U.K.) in white and double crochets (U.K.) in various colours.

I decided on a simple, neutral button for this blanket, one that would not detract from the blanket itself.

My friend loved it, by the way 😊

Take care, everyone, and God bless.

Of masks and umbrellas

I've just stumbled across a post on another blog that was subtly berating people who are not wearing face masks if they are out and about. The poster wrote that they believed it was a form of rebellion on behalf of the non-mask group, an act of defiance against authority.

I can't speak for anyone else but I can say, for myself, that I do not wear a face mask when out in public (haven't even contemplated it) and, no, it has nothing to do with being rebellious or giving authority the English Archers' Salute.
If anyone wants to know why I don't wear a face mask, please feel free to ask :)

I want to end this post on a beautiful and colourful note, so here are a few paintings of something I quite like, something that is pretty and practical - the humble umbrella:

"Under brown umbrella" by Leonid Afremov. I love, love, love the colours in Afremov's work. Lamp posts glow and the wet paths shimmer. He was a genius.

Whenever I think of umbrellas I always think of this stunning piece of art - Les Parapluies by Renoir.
Those blues...

Finally, "Umbrellas" by Stanislav Sidorov. Gorgeous use of colour amidst a grey backdrop.

Wherever you are, I hope your spirits are buoyed by these little slices of colour.

Take care and God bless.

Making lemonade

This post is about my latest blanket (surprise!) but I'm listening to an absolutely fascinating interview with Dr. David Starkey as I write this and I keep spitting out my tea at his frank, occasionally coarse, blisteringly honest comments.
He says what a lot of people think but are too afraid to voice for fear of being attacked by screechy, virtue-signalling, heretic-hunting "Wokeists". He has a formidable intellect and a captivating way of expressing himself, and is such a breath of fresh air.

So, back to the post at hand - I'm not going to make mention of the bat stew flu (by far my favourite moniker of the many names that have developed over this time) except in reference to what I've been doing during this period:
Deep cleaning, board games, reading and crochet are at the top of the list, especially crochet (no surprise there).

I even made a blanket to commemorate the event in a positive way (turning lemons into lemonade sort of thing) and, thusly, have named it my "Lemonade blanket."

So, without further ado - ta da!

I wanted the colours to be positive and happy and uplifting. The pattern is another of Lucy's (from Attic 24), the Cupcake blanket, and I matched the colours as closely as possible and then added more of my own so that none were repeated.

My label - this time I chose a Big Ben button. If anything says "iconic" to me it is structures such as this magnificent clock. Instantly recognisable to most people and such a classic design.
My only complaint? The flippin' button holes were too small for normal yarn and it had to be sewn on with thread and a very thin needle - FWP!
I'm now making a blanket, a commission from my sis, in a lovely, bright colour palette and using another great Attic 24 stitch pattern (Lucy is amazing. Her blog can be found here)

I hope everyone is doing well and making their own unique lemonade :)

Take care and God bless.

The Waxman Murders

I have rediscovered the wonderful Hugh Corbett mysteries (by author Paul Doherty) and am meandering my way through the 15th book in the series:

I've read most of the Hugh Corbett series of books but the last one was at least two years ago.
So, when I came across The Waxman Murders on display at my local library it was like seeing a photo of a dear friend one hasn't caught up with in ages; I just had to borrow it and get reacquainted - and I'm so glad I did.
There's always the fear (as there is with neglected friendships) that reacquainting yourself with a once-beloved character may prove a disappointment but, thankfully, that was not the case.

I used the word "meandering" in my opening sentence because that is exactly how I'm reading this book. Taking in every word, searching out the meaning of obscure words and terms (and, being a mediaeval mystery, there are a few of them), looking up places (like Buttery Cross) and generally thoroughly enjoying this outing with Sir Hugh and his sidekick, Ranulf, the green-eyed Ranga he rescued from prison (curiously enough, in the first book, Ranulf had blue eyes. I don't know why his eye colour has been changed but I notice weird things like that.)

I've also discovered that Mr. Doherty has added more books to the series since Mysterium (the last one I read) so I am very much looking forward to continuing the journey with Corbett.

Beautiful artwork

Leonid Afremov and Evgeny Lushpin - two incredibly talented Russian artists whose artwork is a joy to behold. I love their use of colour, their style and their subject matter. I love everything about their work!

So, I decided to share some of my favourite pieces:

Rainy Path by Leonid Afremov.

Montmartre by Evgeny Lushpin - Lushpin's colours, especially his blue shades, are just incredible.

Under the red umbrella by Leonid Afremov - love the lamp posts!

Evening tea time by Evgeny Lushpin.

There are lots more wonderful artists out there; these are just two of them. Enjoy :)

Nature's Walk and another year...

This last year of the second decade of the 21st century is already over a week old and I'm only just logging on to the lighthouse - belated Happy New Year to everyone 😊

We went away for the Christmas period and spent a quiet, low-key few days with family; it was blissful.
On 1st January some of us headed down to a café at the marina and enjoyed our surroundings:

There was a very slight breeze and it was balmy - absolutely glorious.




A dear friend celebrated her birthday just before Christmas and, now that she's received her present, I can show it on this blog!

This pattern is Nature's Walk, from a wonderful blog called Cherry Heart
I loved everything about this blanket but especially the colours. I matched yarn with Sandra's choices on her blog as closely as possible and was rapt with the results. My friend loved her birthday gift.

Another friend, who loves red, also celebrated her birthday around the same time so I made her some doilies to match this etched glass candle holder. Such a great find and something rather different.



May 2020 be a blessed and enlightening year for all 🙏