Time out by the water.

A couple of weeks ago, armed with my current temperature blanket and a newly-arrived letter from a friend, I headed for a local café near the waterfront (the area is one of my favourite places and I tend to head there, for walks, etc., on a regular basis).

I had filled up my loyalty card and so had earned a "freebie" of my favourite indulgent drink.

The harbour from my side window...

...and the view in front of me.
I especially love being here on rainy, blustery days; watching the waves in stormy weather is strangely relaxing.

Letter, crochet and latté: Blissful!

I live in a beautiful part of the world :)

Two kinds of news

This week has been filled with extended family news - some lovely and some sobering.

Our nephew and his wife are having a baby and I decided to try my hand at making a corner-to-corner baby blanket, using a mixture of neutral colours, though I do have some thoughts regarding the gender of the expectant little bundle (because of a dream I had several weeks ago, prior to even knowing of the pregnancy!)
You may be able to spot my subtle "tells" if you look closely (of course I could be wrong but my dream was quite specific and occurred, as I said, before any knowledge of the existence of the precious new life).

I crocheted with double strands of 3, 4 & 6 ply throughout, using mostly Portacraft yarn, and a 5.25 mm hook.
Surprisingly, it only took me two days; corner-to-corner is an amazingly quick pattern to work up;

And here it is...

The colours were chosen at random and I changed colour when I felt like it, hence it's a hodge-podge of stripes. White or cream were always one of the yarn colours and provided a base for the other colours to show through while muting them to a softness that, I think, is essential when making baby items. Baby bits not only need to be soft, they need to look soft.
Of all the colours, my favourite combo when crocheting was the white and Gelato Coffee mix (seen in the bottom right corner and further up the blanket). I loved how the two went together. (Gelato is part of the Portacraft range.)

My "label", very tightly sewn on as a safety precaution.

I love the pattern produced by a C2C stitch; it's unique, and very lovely.

I love photos that show the layers of blankets, hence my including this one!



The other extended family news was, as I said, sobering. One of the extended family has been diagnosed with cancer. I faced that ugly dragon a few years ago (and I'm still here, against all the odds - thank you, Jesus) so this was rather upsetting for us all, bringing back memories of what is ahead for our in-laws.
Feeling rather helpless, I turned to something I know how to do -crochet - and made them a beanie. When I lost my hair I wore a footy beanie and was very glad of it (you've no idea, unless you've been bald, how cold you get when you have no crowning glory to keep your head warm)!
I didn't crochet back then, or I would have probably made myself a truckload of beanies, so, now that I do crochet, I've started someone else's truckload with this one:

Basic, simple, soft, warm (with a removable flower for prettiness, if so desired).

My youngest bairn, also a crocheter, is planning to make a beanie, too. So, the truck is filling up fast!
Prayers for our relative (and their family) would be appreciated.
Hold your loved ones tight; none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.

Shalom :)

Colours of the moor

I recently finished another lap blanket using colours inspired by a blog post from Lucy of Attic 24, showcasing her Moorland Blanket and the beautiful colours chosen (see here).

I decided on the trinity stitch for my blanket (also called bramble, blackberry, raspberry and cluster stitch) and finished it in just over a week. I love this stitch; it's perfect for blankets as it feels quite thick and lush and, once you get the hang of the repeat, it's so easy to work up that you almost feel you could drift away while working on the blanket!

I used mostly Portacraft 8 ply yarn, matching the colours as closely as possible to the Attic 24 equivalents, but did manage to include some Stylecraft Special D.K., thanks to a wonderful new craft shop that's recently opened in my town.

Et voilà 

The lighting is not the best (looks a bit yellowish) but I love the colours of this blanket; they are scrumptious!

A close-up of the border: several rows of linen stitch (a.k.a. moss stitch) finished with a row of small scallops. The colours were chosen from the blanket palette.

Folded and ready for use; another one to add to my Blanket Basket Collection :)





On a different note, one of our grandbabies celebrated a birthday this week so, amongst other gifts, I made them a basket of "food".

A carrot, a banana, broccoli (more like broccolini, considering the size), a gigantic pear (just the way the pattern worked out), a lettuce, tomato and cheese sandwich and a small carton of milk.
The milk was my own pattern and, while it doesn't look anywhere near as neat as others online, I think it's cute!




I'm trying out some new stitches, practising by making dishcloths and washcloths, and they are looking quite pretty. Stay tuned... 😊

A blanket for a season...

Late last year I "stumbled" across a blog post that featured a truly stunning blanket (see here)
(I say "stumbled" in quotation marks because I don't think it was coincidental. I was meant to find that post at that time.)

I pored over the post, admiring the beauty of the work, to the point where I decided to try my hand at making my own version of the blog lady's Isle of Skye blanket.

I studied the photos on her blog until I felt I had the pattern in my head (helped along by a comment left in the comments' section about spacing) and then I set to work planning my colour scheme and gathering the appropriate yarn.

I decided to use as much scrap yarn as possible and keep to a blue/brown/cream theme, much like the original blanket, but with bolder hues of blues and browns rather than pastel shades.
I scoured op. shops for colours and the correct ply-thickness (8 ply - similar to D.K. in the U.K. or light worsted in the U.S.) and found a bounty of yarns, both wool and acrylic (I didn't mind a mixture).
Some yarns were no bigger than a golf ball but, if I loved the colour, they were included.
Each square in my blanket was only four rows in total so even the smallest balls of yarn seemed to be enough for at least one patch (I only remember one or two where I had to join another yarn before a square was finished.)

I used a 5mm hook, the join-as-you-go method, a border of linen stitch, and completed the project in 10 days - and I loved every minute of it; it was a balm to my soul and carried me through a challenging and difficult period of time.
I called it my "Night Season" blanket and I am deeply attached to it; when I look at it I am not reminded of the situation at that time but of the joy and comfort and deep peace I experienced whilst fashioning each and every stitch. The peace that passes all understanding, as the Bible calls it, encompassed me as I worked on what I later realised was a blessing and a gift from the Giver of all good gifts.

So, here it is, imperfect and not a patch on the original that inspired it, but much loved, nonetheless - my Night Season blanket:

I thought about taking the washing off the line before taking photos but it was only 7am and the dew was still on it!

A close-up of the border and my "button label". I did a linen stitch border but realised afterward that I should have gone up a size in the hook as it is a tight border stitch (lesson learned).

Artfully draped over our chaise longue like it was made for that spot :)

I made it big enough for a lap blanket (unlike the original, which was much larger).

Folded...

 ... or crumpled, the colours just draw me in and hold my gaze.



Did I say how much I love it? (joking!)

It's not going to be a show pony, though, it's going to be put to work, keeping people warm -family and visitors alike!
Life's too short to put away the good things, the lovely things, the expensive things; get them out and use them. Splash beauty everywhere, it's well worth the effort :)

Rural bliss

Last Summer our clan house-sat for extended family in Cowaramup, a little slice of rural W.A., and it was  wonderful.
There is nothing quite like the beauty of the Australian bush; the light, the scents, the colours - just gorgeous.

Today I'm going to share a little slice of this rural idyll:

Dawn in the Australian bush. The mist was still rising from the ground and the light was stunning.

An Aussie farm gate; I love old gates :)

The view from the verandah. Words can't do it justice so I won't bother trying! Just take it in (we did, every day).

This old bath was on one end of the verandah and is plumbed up and useable (we weren't game to do so but the owners used it regularly).




I'll share more of our rural house-sit holiday in future posts :)

Musical warmth

My better half (and he truly is) and I recently celebrated our 27th Engagement Anniversary.
He gave me a bottle of my "signature" perfume and I made him a scarf (not the usual present in the middle of an Aussie Summer but there you go!)

His scarf was my way of justifying doing a crochet pattern I'd not before attempted; musical note appliqués.

My hub is very musical (as I'm writing this I'm listening to him playing his cello) and loves anything connected to music, especially if it's of the classical kind, so I wanted to personalise his scarf accordingly and, to toot my own horn a wee bit, I'm quite pleased with the results:

The scarf pattern was from this blog: https://hearthookhome.com/simple-scarf-for-men-free-crochet-pattern/ and I adapted it to U.K. terms as that's my preference.
The treble clef symbol pattern I found on a short youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=j2SeEtH0t3U (not easy to find one but I finally did).

I could not find a pattern for the bass clef symbol so I ended up making up a pattern myself.
Easy, peasy Bass Clef appliqué pattern:
Chain 45,
Dc in 2nd chain from hook and across to final five chains.
Htr in the last five chains and slip stitch to fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing on to scarf, etc.

Dots (I'm sure there is a precise name for these little symbols but I don't know what it is):
Chain 2
8dc in 2nd chain from hook (that should make a big enough dot. If you want a bigger one, do another round of dc.)
Fasten off and leave long tail for sewing on to scarf, etc.

Feel free to use the bass clef pattern but please link back to this post 😊, thank you.



My wonderful hub loved it, as did my musical progeny, although one son did ask me to make sure I placed the treble clef on the correct side if I ever made him one! (Who knew there was a "correct" side? Not me!)


Make a joyful noise unto the Lord      Psalm 100:1a (KJV)

Fine china

In January of 2018, which is the middle of our Summer, we (my clan and I) house-sat for three weeks for some extended family members of a member of our extended family (if makes sense if given some thought!)

The home was on 100acres of land in a part of the world we'd never spent much time in, so, besides being a sort of "working holiday" (lots of animals and gardens to care for), it also gave us a chance to explore the surrounding region in a leisurely, off-the-beaten-track manner (not "Tommy-Touristy" where you generally only spend a few hours or days anywhere but also not in the nonchalant manner of those who reside in the area and, often, never check out any of their local attractions. I stand guilty of the latter, myself.)

We had the time of our lives; it was memorable and blissful and so revitalising.
Even mucking out the animal areas took on an aspect of enjoyment, even fun. We loved that holiday, every single moment :)

I'll post some photos of the holiday in a later post but, for now, I wanted to share a part of the holiday that I particularly (and peculiarly) found wonderful: Op. shops.

I love op. shopping.
A large part of my wardrobe consists of clothing found in second-hand establishments, as well as quite a portion of my yarn stash! I've also got paintings, ornaments, books and various other sundries from these little places of pre-loved goods.
But, during our house-sit holiday last January, my focus was on crockery; plates, to be precise. You see, the owners of the home we babysat had mismatched dinner plates.
I don't know if this came about due to natural attrition or whether they just liked an eclectic look when they sat the table but, once I got over the ingrained "everything should match" attitude, I began to really enjoy setting the table at mealtimes, thinking about who was going to get which plate this time around and which plate I wanted to use myself today/tonight.
By the end of the first week of our stay I was so enamoured of the mismatched crockery look that I decided to adopt this idea for our home; and so began the "Great Crockery Hunt" of 2018!

I browsed every op. shop I could find in every town we visited during our three-week sojourn and, thank you, Lord, I found some absolute treasures.

Let me introduce some of my favourite finds:

I'll never forget the day I bought this plate: It was a Saturday morning in a tiny rural town, so small that their op. shop only operated three days per week (Saturday being one of them, thankfully). The outside temperature was in the high 30s (Celsius, that is) and the temperature in the op. shop, an unlined, windowless shed, must have been pushing mid-40s (110+ Fahrenheit). I stood in line in sweltering, airless heat for about 5 minutes (only two ladies behind the counter and half of the district wanting to buy something that day, or so it seemed!), clutching my plate close to my heart before handing over a whole Aussie dollar for its purchase. I was ecstatic! 

I knew nothing about crockery manufacturers (still don't) but was happy to discover that my plate was made in England by a company called Alfred Meakin (one of my buying criteria was no mass-produced "Made in blah, blah, where everything seems to be made nowadays" plates, unless I really loved the pattern).

Then, a few days later, I came across some lovely saucers in a gift shop (in the same tiny, rural town), also made by Alfred Meakin. I bought the lot for about $5-$6 (can't remember the exact amount). I didn't need saucers but I loved the painting on them.

I also found a dinner plate made in Portugal in an op. shop in a bustling regional city; all white but I liked the idea of it being Portugese and so it made its way into my Great Crockery Hunt (GCH) stash. There were some other lovely finds, both in plates and saucers and, occasionally, bowls and cups (some of which, alas, have now gone on to crockery heaven) but I didn't want to bombard this post with umpteen pictures of plates so they will wait for another entry.

I do want to share this one last treasure, though.

Technically, it does not fit in the GCH category because I did not find this until after we'd returned home but I think it is worth sharing because I was still in "eclectic crockery" mode and when I saw this plate in a local op. shop I immediately clasped it to my heart (like my first one) and made it mine, after parting with the princely sum of $3. 

I love this plate; it is beautiful, possibly my absolute favourite plate (though sometimes I look at the other rose one, above, and hum and haah over that title). But, no, I think it's this one and it was not much of a surprise for me to discover it was another Alfred Meakin. 

Both dinner plates feature roses which, I've recently realised, I am drawn to when featured on crockery.

Rose is my name and china roses are my jam, it seems!