New projects

I've been meaning to write another blog post for at least a month now but life always seems to get in the way!
Back in August we spent almost two weeks in Perth, celebrating two birthdays and a graduation. Since then, I've been catching up with a backlog of domestics and, of course, crochet :)

Which brings me to the subject of this blog post - blankets!

I've made several since my last post, one of which is winging its way to my sis as I write. I'll show that one in my next post (I don't want to spoil the visual surprise for my sis).
I'm also continuing with my seasonal temperature blanket, which will finish at the end of November.

This photo shows my temperature blanket back in August ,when I was working the Winter palette colours (bottom of blanket). I think the seasonal demarcations are shown fairly clearly in the palettes.

...and this is my latest creation. The pattern is called Spice of Life and can be found (here)
I chose my own colours for this blanket, as I am more of a blue-toned person, but the original pattern colours are lovely in themselves.

This shows the various stitch patterns a bit more clearly. I loved making this blanket, it was an opportunity to learn new stitches as well as blend my own colour selections.

Finally, this is a tentative colour palette for my latest blanket project, titled Dance in the Sea;
details can be found (here)
Reading about this blanket pattern was bittersweet. The designer was a talented lady who took her own life several years ago while working on this pattern. Some crochet friends got together and finished the pattern in honour of her memory.
My brother's anniversary is coming up in November and, to honour his memory, I'm going to make this blanket. I don't know if it will be finished by mid-November but it doesn't matter if it isn't. I'm just going to take my time and enjoy every stitch.
My sis and I are collaborating on this blanket and the colours are not yet finalised (hence the use of "tentative") but we are having a wonderful time reminiscing about the colours of his many Lacrosse polo shirts and his various favourite outfits.
Stay tuned for more updates on this new work in progress.

One last photo - the first square of my brother's blanket - I think it represents kelp, the fat, grapey-looking kind that you feel like you could "pop" with your fingers, except it's too tough to do so!

Until next time, God bless everyone and Shalom to you and yours.

The skies above

I've been taking photos of the sky for quite a while now, recording how different it looks from the skies I remember from years past.
I started doing this when I began to wake up about what was really going on in our atmosphere -through people like Dane Wiggington and youtube channels such as Jeff P and Niges View on Things (these are only a start; there are many more folk out there reporting, some good and some not. Tread wisely if you decide to go down this rabbit hole. Oh, and be prepared to be labelled a "nutter" or a "tinfoil-hat wearer" or similar! Water off a duck's back now 😊)

All of the photos that follow are my own snaps - taken on a basic camera (not a camera phone) over the last six months or so. I am no photographer but even I can capture, to an extent, some of what is transpiring above us.

I would have thought this beautiful at one time - not so now.

Natural?

Sunrise...

Mid-morning sun.

More crazy colours as the sun rises.

For so long I've watched our skies being sprayed to death, with all of the attendant craziness that follows, so, imagine my surprise when, only a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly realised what I was looking at - A real cloud - yay!

Another real cloud in a clear sky.

These last two photos were actually taken the day after my first realisation I was seeing real clouds and a clear sky again. I was so shocked at first that I did not even think to take a photo; I just stood on the footbridge leading to the harbour and looked up in wonder and gratitude. The next day I went out with my camera and recorded these photos. Winter in my home town under an almost cloudless sky - thank you, Jesus.

Spring cushion

I made a cushion cover for a dear friend and, now that it's been gifted to her, I can show it on my blog!

I chose what, to me, are Spring shades because I believe my friend is a Spring person (if you're not sure what I am talking about, check this book cover link: Colour Me Beautiful)

"Front" side...

I love these soft, creamy buttons (op. shop rescues) and the colour two rows below the buttons (that is similar to flesh tone) is called "Toy" and it's from Stylecraft. I bought it just for the name but I think it really tones well with the cream and the buttons.

...other side.


I used a granny square pattern from this  blog -  Betsy Makes - that was originally designed for a blanket she named "Collecting Dust" (love the name and, one day, I intend to make this blanket).

Material details:
I used a variety of yarn brands -
 Stylecraft (S.C.)
 Porta Craft (P.C.)
 4 Seasons Marvel (4SM)
4 Seasons Stallion (4SS)

 and a baker's dozen colours for the cushion cover:
Square No.1 (top square in photo just above)
Cornish Blue (S.C.)`
Vanilla (P.C.)
Dusty Pink (P.C.)
Sage (4SM)
Lemon Sorbet (4SM)
Spring Green (S.C.)


Square No.2 (bottom square in photo just above)
Apricot (P.C.)
Denim (4SS)
Fawn (P.C.)
Toy (S.C.)
Duck Egg (S.C.)
Soft Shrimp (4SM)*

The other two small squares are both done in Cream (4SM)
The "front"side of the cushion was done using the full range of colours in a random selection.

I joined the four smaller squares using the join-as-you-go method: excellent Bella Coco tutorial on JAYG method

I did a row of trebles (U.K. terms) around, which doubled as a border and to join the two sides of the cushion, and sewed the buttons, equally spaced, on the inside of one side of the border. The spaces between the trebles make the perfect buttonhole 😊

Making this cushion was a lot of fun; my friend loved it and I've got several bare cushions around the place that might soon be getting a "makeover" of sorts!

Shalom to all 🌹

Winter chilling.

Winter has set in here (last night was the Winter Solstice) and the days are chilly, which means more time inside and, hence, more crochet-time :)

Here are some of my latest projects:

A lap blanket for someone very special to me (the mum I would have chosen had I had a choice).
Made with three cakes of  yarn in Turkish Delight (Caron Cakes), Sea, Sand, Sky (Portacraft Ice Cream) and Ocean Swirl (Portacraft Ice Cream).

I used an 8mm hook and the border was done in linen stitch.

I'm currently working on a patchwork Four Seasons' blanket (which I will detail in another post) and decided to make a cushion to go with it, using four of the colours from each season's palette.
From left to right, vertically - Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
I hadn't chosen the Spring palette when I decided to do this, so the colours are just four colours I liked that I will incorporate into my palette when I finally do get around to making the colour choices.

The other side of the cushion, with the seasonal colours going horizontally this time - Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.
I did a border of trebles (U.K. terms) and then used four red buttons, purchased from a local op. shop, to close the cover (you can see them in the first cushion photo).

One of my "big" projects is this blanket that I call my "Buttercream blanket" (so named because I used Caron Cakes Buttercream for the main body).
6.5mm hook and the stitch is called blanket stitch (it's wonderful for blankets as it's such a lovely texture and the lack of "holes" means it's warm).

Another look at this yummy blanket, in better lighting.

Squishy and soft and so comforting.

A close up of the border:
I did the spot-on edging pattern from Lucy of Attic 24 (here)
The "spot" row (R2) was done in Portacraft Ice Cream yarn in Purple Haze (yes, it's pink, I know. Personally, I think I would have called the colour Strawberry Parfait or some such, but that's me.) 😊

This blanket was a present for my baby girl, who loves it and has since "requested" another blanket in a different cake yarn! (I'm partway through that one as I write.)

Finally, a photo of the Winter Solstice sky here in my home town.


Take care, everyone, and stay warm (or cool, if you're in the Northern hemisphere - though, going by the cricket, that's not a problem in some places!)

Seashells in dune colours

Lucy from Attic 24 blogged about her latest blanket design a few weeks ago (here) and I decided to give it a go.
I loved her colour choice but my preference was for thicker stripes so I decided to make each stripe twice as wide as the pattern suggested.
As well, I wanted to follow a more ordered, flow-on colour choice than Lucy's random pattern and, true to her lovely, thoughtful form, Lucy had anticipated this and also listed her chosen colours in a colourwash palette - which I followed.
And hereunder is my dune blanket:

If you read the Attic 24 post above you will see why it's called the seashell stripe and in dune colours (Lucy's post is worth reading, trust me 😊).

Here's a close-up of the seashell stripe pattern and the scrumptious colours (I love, love, love these colours).

The border: I used the spot-on edging from the blog post in five of the blanket colours (which I'll detail at the bottom of this post).

A photo showing the blanket folded and looking soft and squishy! I used a larger than suggested hook size as I've found this seems to make the blankets feel softer and I am all for soft blankets 💖

My "Blankie Basket" is slowly being filled.

An outside shot in the glowing Autumn sunshine.

From a distance it's easier to see the beautiful flow of colour along this blanket; it's just gorgeous!

Now, on to the material details (for anyone interested) -

I used a variety of 8 ply acrylic yarn in the following brands:

Stylecraft, 4 Seasons, Porta Craft and Panda.

Colours:

Storm Blue, Laguna, Mintox, Sage, Mocha, Camel, Fawn, Parchment, Pink, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Light Mauve, Parma Violet, Silver Grey, Duck Egg, Denim.

Border Colours:

Light Mauve, Camel, Mintox, Pink, Storm Blue.

6.5mm Boye hook used throughout (larger than suggested for these yarns but, as I said above, it seems to make the blankets softer if you go up a size or two - personal preference is the best guide).

It's a toss up as to whether this blanket, or my patchwork blanket (see here), is my current favourite blanket. Winter is on the way here so I'll get lots of opportunities to test out both!

Shalom and God bless

A secret garden

I haven't been in the best of health lately but an upside to this is that I've been able to finish some crochet projects - namely some blankets :)

The first one was a present for my youngest girl and I made it with the thought in mind that it had to be bordered in that particular blue, which she loves.
I wanted it to be a lap blanket or one that goes on top of her bed for decorative effect.

I chose five colours for the flower:
Bottle Green
Aqua
Mintox
Taupe
Wheat

All except wheat are from the Porta Craft acrylic 8 ply yarn range and the wheat is an 8 ply acrylic yarn from Textile Traders (their bricks and mortar stores no longer exist)

I chose two colours for the squared-off border:
Fawn
Hot Blue

Both these colours are Porta Craft 8 ply acrylic

The flower part pattern of this one above is called "Secret Garden" flower and is from this blog: https://www.dadasplace.com/2015/10/secret-garden-shawl-free-crochet-tutorial.html

I squared it off myself (the first time I've attempted to do so and I was very pleased with the outcome) and then joined each square, using the join-as-you-go method, with the Hot Blue colour.

If anyone would like the square-off pattern please let me know and I will type it up and link it here :)

The border was done in four rows of moss stitch (a.k.a. linen stitch) and then finished off with a row of dc (sc in the U.S.)
Border colours:
Taupe
Aqua
Wheat
Hot Blue (also colour for final dc row).

Here it is displayed on my fancy couch. Only seven colours but I was really pleased with how varied the flowers looked.

More blanket posts to follow!

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 :)