A "Green" day

No.1 son's birthday is not far away so I have decided to make him a blanket - my thought was shades of green but I checked with him first, just in case he preferred another colour. Turns out, green is his preference, too :)

So, I headed off to a yarn store this morning and bought four balls of Caron Tea Cakes in Green Tea, a rich, deep, variegated colour scheme, perfect for our young man, methinks.

This yarn is thick and soft and lovely with which to work (yes, started it already!) and I am very much looking forward to seeing the colour change as it progresses.

Big, soft, squishy balls of yarn - love 'em :)

Wonderful (and different) colour variations throughout each yarn ball.

The first few rows already done!

A close-up look at the pattern - the waffle stitch (courtesy of a Bella Coco youtube tutorial; she is a great teacher) The yarn calls for a 10mm hook and I'm using the Boye brand, one of my favourites.

As well as starting a green blanket I've also been stewing the first batch of home-grown rhubarb that I've ever harvested from my garden!

I planted the plants two years ago and, according to the gardening experts, it takes two years before they grow well enough to be harvested. I can vouch for that as last year there was not much growth, stalk-wise, but mostly foliage. 

My first crop of rhubarb

Bubbling away nicely :)

It's cooling at present but I'm already planning stewed rhubarb and custard for a special dessert treat this evening. 

Memories of childhood comfort food...

Trellis Stripes

I think I can confidently say that I love making crochet blankets because I've just finished the latest pattern and am already planning the next one!
My latest blanket is a design from the Attic 24 blog (found here: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/2019/01/sweet-pea-blanket-cal-part-1.html)

Lucy has created yet another gorgeous design, which she has named the Trellis Stripe, and when I saw it I was immediately smitten.
Lucy is doing hers as a CAL (short for Crochet-ALong) and is releasing it in parts. I chose the colourwash version and began it, only to discover that this version was designed to make a blanket 6ft long - too long for what I wanted. (Note to self: read the whole pattern before starting a project!).

So, I decided to modify the colourwash pattern slightly and here is the result:


[N.B. I put my comments under my photos, not above them. I see it done both ways on other blogs and sometimes get confused. Hope this helps from the outset :)]

My colour scheme, matched as closely as possible to Lucy's colours. I used Porta Craft acrylic 8 ply yarn as we don't have Stylecraft DK in my neck of the woods. I love the Porta Craft range; it's soft, good quality and reasonably priced, plus they're an Aussie company.

The finished blanket (with my woeful photo editing!). I love the colours.

A close-up of the Trellis Stripe pattern. So beautiful looking and yet quite an easy pattern. Lucy from Attic 24 is a clever, talented lady.

Folded up and looking super-soft and squishy (with the obligatory button "label"). I find most of my buttons at op. shops.

I couldn't resist squishing it up and letting it sit in a heap.

Another squishy heap, showing the delicious colours and the cute button!

One more photo - this time showing it draped over a chair. Gorgeous colours, gorgeous pattern; a joy and a pleasure to make. Thank you, Lucy.

Now, on to the next blanket.

Temperature Blanket

Last year, when I had not long picked up a crochet hook again (after many, many years away from it) I came across the idea of crocheting a Temperature Blanket, a blanket that recorded the daily maximum temperature of your area for a whole year.
Intrigued by the idea, yet daunted at the same time (never having tackled anything so large before), I decided to give it a go.

What a journey! 

I searched online for some suggestions, came up with my own temperature chart (which I amended several times), included rain days, stormy days and family birthdays, and started it in January 2018.

A year of crocheting a blanket, bit by bit, until, at last, I had a record of a year's worth of temperatures, all in one large, colourful palette.

Once the blanket was finished I turned to the border. I decided to do several rows of moss stitch (a.k.a. linen stitch) using some of the temperature chart colours. What a difference it made - I heartily recommend doing blanket borders :)

Now it sits on the bed, along with Fresnel and Emily (both given to me by wonderful friends).

Frezzy and Em have given it their seal of approval!

Finally, the finishing touch - my version of a "label" (usually adorned with a lighthouse sticker but this time I decided the button needed no further adornment).

I love how chunky and warm it looks when it is folded up (even though we are sweltering through some hot, Summer weather right now. Come the cooler months this is going to come into its own.)

I love the colours, I love the softness, I love the button - I love everything about it!

When I started this Temperature Blanket journey I felt a bit daunted but I am so glad I attempted something outside of my comfort zone. I can't remember where I first came across the idea but, hats off  and danke, merci, and thank you to the clever, unknown lady.

New Year, new beginnings.

Well, after six years I did not even realise this blog still existed until I did a cursory search - but, here it is and I even figured out how to access it again (not bad, considering my lack of tech-savviness).

Life has changed a lot in the past six years but it's nice to be able to revive this little corner of the internet, even if I'm the only one who ever reads my musings.

I intend to post a lot about crochet as I've rediscovered how wonderful it is after many, many years of not picking up a hook at all. When I figure out how to post photos I'll add them to my posts (just spotted the "insert image" button at the top so, hopefully, this will be relatively easy).

I will also post about lighthouses, my family, my faith and the beautiful town where I live.

For now, I'm going to try and end with a photo of one of my latest crochet projects (I'll share more about it in my next post).

Blog confusion

I still find it difficult to navigate this blog site. I need to spend more time on here figuring it all out.

Libris laudo

I visited our local library a few days ago (for the second time in a week, nothing unusual for me).

I love libraries.

They are a wonderful resource and source of pleasure and there's always a great ambience in a library. I've yet to meet one I don't like!
A friend of mine, M, works in a library in Perth (our state capital) and he has told me some funny stories about some of the library patrons. There are quite a few who have nicknames given them by the staff, unbeknown to the patrons, of course. Most of them funny, some sad, but none unkind. The only negative moniker a patron carries at his branch is self-appointed, and she announces herself every time she enters the library with the strident tones of, "The bitch from hell is here!" Charming!!

I'll often go to our library when I've had a stressful day and just browse for ages looking at nothing in particular, simply de-stressing among the ocean of lovely books. One of my lj friends is even in there! (not literally, though!)
There's a thousand worlds at my fingertips just waiting to be explored; whoever said the best things in life are free was spot-on. Thank God for civilisations that believe libraries are essential to a community and a nation.

Imagine a world without libraries...*shudder*

Tags:

• communities,
• libraries

Welcome, Divine Mummy and cook!

My eldest daughter, who is a divine mummy and a fabulous cook, has just started two blogs on here so I guess I should actually start blogging myself and follow hers, too.
Welcome, Chicky...love you :) xox