Tags and Top Ten

I said in my last post I was going to make some tags. Guess what? I actually completed something I said I was going to do.

The photo is fairly awful but you can kind of see them. I added colour coordinated eyelets too.

Here's my latest journal page. I'm using a prompt from Journal52 The prompt this week is 'Top 10 Lists' I used various colour pencils and my trusty sharpie.

I've been pinning a lot of trees and swirls in the last 24 hours so I think it's fair to say these will be a big influence in my next few journal entries.

Old and new

Where does the time go?
I'm back at work now after the summer holidays. Why can't I win the lottery? I certainly wouldn't be one of those people who say they wouldn't know what to do with themselves. I have so many things I'd like to do that I'd be busy for the next 40 years!

I finished the ripple blanket...sort of.

Hubby decided it was quite big enough, thank you, and stole it. It is fit for what he wanted it for (to cover him on the sofa) but I still have visions of it fitting my bed. I may have to steal it and work on the odd row here and there when he's not looking.

 

Because he stole this one I've started another just for me and it IS going to be for me! I'm making the Realta afghan pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/realta-afghan
I'm making it in Debbie Bliss Prima yarn which is on special offer from Black Sheep Wool.
I'm using these colours and cream as a base colour

 

I'm going to have to buy at least 7 more balls of cream, more if I decide to make the connecting squares all cream instead of coloured.
I'm going to have to do a minimum of 56 octagons. I've got 10 done so it's going pretty well.

The yarn is 20% wool and 80% bamboo. It has a lovely matte look that resembles cotton.

I'm not going to think of all the weaving in of the ends....not yet anyway :)

Friday Buy and Try

I've been meaning to do something with my ever growing jewellery collection for what seems like ages. I had visions of highly organised racks and displays so I could easily see what I had. These, of course, would be colour coded. In reality I had bowls, trays and piles of necklaces, bracelets, earrings and pendants all over the bedroom. I decided that although the grand organisation thing was a brilliant idea, the likelyhood of it actually happening was somewhere around 0%. My best bet was to stash it in something that looked pretty. So that's just what I did.
One trip to TK Maxx later and I am the proud owner of these storage/accent boxes (actual TK Maxx descriptions!)

They look so nice (as long as you don't open them up)

Disaster in a box!

I'm having a bit of a rethink on my blanket. Ever since DH has claimed it he has been pestering me to finish it. He wants it to cover himself up with on the sofa (bless) This means it doesn't have to be king-sized like I origonally planned. The width is the perfect length for the sofa so instead of the ripples running width-wise I'm turning the blanket though 45 degrees so the width is now the length (are you with me?) So....I only have to make the new width single bed size which means I estimete I have to do another 5ish colour changes to finish. (It make sense to me :D)

I found the Something Pretty pattern on Millie Makes blog http://millemakes.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/something-pretty-the-pattern/
I fell in love with it but I must be a little thick because I just didn't get the pattern at all. I followed other peoples advice and watched you-tube videos of popcorn stitch for, what seems like, hours. I finally got it after the 3rd attempt. Now I understand it, it's pretty easy to do.

I'm kind of planning to make a cushion for oldest DD if she likes it......

WIP=2 :D

Wednesday blankey update

Things are almost back to normal here. We are all on a low cholesteral diet and I am so proud of DH. He's continuing to lengthen the amount of time between cigarettes. He's now up to 2 hours between them and each day he adds another 15 minutes to the time.

My Deramore order turned up on Monday. I got Stylecraft Special DK in Aspen, Spring Green, Grape, Magenta, Plum, Turquoise, Wisteria, Green, Bright Green and Violet. I also got a 10% voucher off my next order. I'm so tempted but I'd better use some of the yarn I got first I suppose.

I was trying to plan the next few colours ahead of time and I realised that red just didn't fit so I went with shades of pink, fading into lilac to get to purple.



I'm guessing I'm about 20% of the way through now.

I'm at the point where I just keep looking at all the pretty colours!

There's been a bit of a scuffle as to who will get the blanket when it's done. I originally planned for it to be on my bed but both DDs wanted it. Then DH trumped them and claimed it for him (for falling asleep in the sofa) He WAS a little put off when I told him it could take about 2 months to finish!

So.....2 more blankets for DDs, 2 for 2 friends who want them and not forgetting 1 for me.....I'll be blanketing for the next year!

Sunday round-up

This week has been a week of extreme lows and highs.
My DH had a heart attack on Monday and was taken to hospital by ambulance. After waiting in casualty for 7 hours he was finally given a bed on a ward at just gone midnight on Tuesday morning. Our eldest DD got on the first train down from Manchester to offer support. He was given a stent on Thursday and he was home on Friday.
We are trying to look at it in a positve light. He was a very heavy smoker who didn't want to give up. He used to say to me that he probably already had lung cancer anyway so what was the point (we lost his mum and dad and my mum to lung cancer) The hospital gave him a chest xray and his lungs were clear. Since coming home he's been brilliant. He's gone from over 60 a day to under 20 a day and is making the gaps in between cigarettes longer each day.
We are all so thankful to have him home safe and sound.

It will come as no surprise at all when I tell you I didn't work on my blanket during this time. I picked it up again yesterday though and made great progress.

Nearly finished with orange!

I'm just about to start with the red section. I'm going to use Stylecraft yarn in Shrimp as a transition colour.

I am beginning to question the sense in making a blanket when it is over 30 degrees though. It's so muggy in London.

DH must be grateful to be home. He didn't even blink when I told him I'd ordered more wool last night. I usually get a small whinge ou of him but I just got 'alright love' I feel vaguely cheated somehow! I've never ordered from Deramore before but I've heard good things so I'll be looking out for a package on Tuesday. That will be my purples and more blues and greens.
Cant wait!

I'm such a girl!

I know it shouldn't be a big shock to the system but for some reason it is! I've never been a 'girl' It's fairly obvious I'm female (yep....definitely female) but I've never been a girl. Maybe it's an age thing.....hmmm.. ..Anyway.......
There I was minding my own business, shopping for stash when I came across these colours.

Pwetty.....

I swear I squealed like a 5 year old (fortunately I squealed in my mind. I do have some control!) So, am I turning into a princess? I wander round thinking 'ohhh pretty, shiny, it's all glittery' etc. I NEVER used to do that. Honest!
I blame my youngest. She infested the house with Cath Kidston and after initially loathing it, I'm now drawn to it.....even the little sweet polka dots. Ohhhh kill me now!
The blanket is growing nicely. I got through nearly 2 colour changes yesterday. I should be set for yellow today (does the happy dance)

It covers my feet now :)

There is one bright hope in my decent towards all things girly. I came home from shopping and found the biggest moth on my window. By all accounts if I wass 100% princess then I should have screamed and legged it. I'm proud to say my first thought was 'wow' and my second thought was' where's my camera?

Ohhh look at him. He's such a pretty yellow and he's got fluffy, feathery bits.
Awww......nuts!

Sunday, Sunday

All is peaceful here. I'm taking advantage of the quiet to catch up with some reading and a little photography...oh and some washing :(

My lack of yellow yarn was preying on my mind yesterday until I couldn't take it any more. Hubby kindly drove me into Welling and I had a mooch around the homeware stores there in search of lemony relief. I came away with these...

Happiness in a ball!

The orange is quite a bit brighter than it looks in the photo. In fact I'm looking at it now (it's peeking over the top of my stash bag) and I'm wondering what on earth I was thinking (I know what I was thinking. I was thinking "ohhh I don't have that colour!")
I have a few more days before I'm at the 'orange' stage so maybe I can come up with other alternatives.
Progress was fairly slow yesterday but I stuck by my target of a colour change per day.

For some reason my cat seems to be scared of the blanket.....she legged it in the house when I put it on the table. Most odd!

 I ended up feeling bad so I came back inside!
 I STILL can't get the colours to photograph true. I may have to get the photography lamps from the loft (well, hubby can anyway) Maybe not today though :)

Crochet, Crochet, Crochet

The crochet bug has bitten. I started mucking about with various granny square variations (like I usually do) but decided I wanted a project.....so after a search I found this wonderful blog and this pattern for a bag http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/crochet-bag.html

I this realised it was posted on Ravelry and there were conpleted projects for me to browse too.

After just 1 day I completed my bag. I decided to turn it into an across the shoulder style.

After a bit of thought I decided to line it. I added 2 internal pockets and after firing up the sewing machine I ended up with this.

 All I need to do know is find some sort of magnetic clasp and it can be used.

 I'm considering making another one but this time after crochetting to the required size I'll continue to crochet half the row to form a flap over.... wathc this space...

After the success of the bag I checked out Lucy's other designs and fell in love with her ripple pattern. I had a look on Ravelry to see what others had made and loved the blending of the colours in this blanket http://www.ravelry.com/projects/KnitKnatKnotUK/neat-ripple-pattern I intend to use a mix of my stash and buy the colours I don't have. I'm going to try to keep the cost down by using DK acrylic yarn. I have a couple of shops locally that sell different brands at about £1.50 a ball.

I've made the width big enough to fit across a king size bed and I will cycle through the colours of the rainbow before repeating the colours....so after green I'll start on yellow. Oh....I don't have any yellow wool....It looks like I'll have to buy some...what a pity :D