Yarny Play Time!

A new wool order in the Craft and Sewing Basket was unpacked last week...quite yummy! And GUESS who got to play with the new yarns...in order to make up samples...of course!!

Pick me! Pick me!

Firstly there is 'Weave' by Tivoli Spinners:

Spread out it is about 2 1/2" wide and very soft to work with. The ruffled scarf is a bit passé we decided so I am going to try knitting a plain DK wool collar and use the blue to work a ruffle detail. Then I want to try it on a cushion as edging...and there's a black and white version I thought would look good on an evening bag...Its kinda different, as yarns go.

 

Then there is this ribbon yarn by Amazon which comes in various polka dot colours as well as a leopard print!

This was firmer to work and turned out a bit funkier than I thought- the photo does not do it justice...a bit like a ribbon boa (do I mean boa? or is that the constrictor snake thing? I mean the feather twirly yoke).

And then today they were unpacking new bolts of fabric when I went in- whoopee! What's not to like about helping out in a Craft and Sewing shop????

Granny Squares

Yesterday, after hauling my butt round various government offices, the library, the bank, and sundry other really exciting places (including a short cut to the river which was more of a looooong cut...) I sat me down with me feets on the table (hobbit-like) and crocheted. Well I knat (past tense of knit) too, but that was in the evening during Star Trek!

I needed a jug cover, but couldn't remember where the muslin was so just crocheted a doily...a good strong colour of a doily, as my granny would have said. And, in the hopes of it draping ever so slightly I strung a bunch of beads around the edge...horrible plastic beads remaining from an old children's kit of my girls I think.

The result is quite hideous, but for the sake of self-esteem we will refer to it as 'funky'...my #*#*!

Funky doily

It doesn't drape or look good but heck! it'll keep out the dust and the bugs, and I can use it as a coaster later! (or give it away?) Besides which, does this face look bovvered to you?

Then I decided to look up Granny Squares because I couldn't remember how many chains between groups of double crochet and I thought it would save the boggles if I got it right first time. I'm sure boggles have their place but with me they do tend to turn up in the wrong places. I've lots of wool oddments and have wanted to make a Granny Squares afghan for ages.

So, here's the trial sample:

Trial Granny Square.

(There are two chain stitches in between clumps, in case you wondered!)

Short question here:
Just why are they called 'Granny' squares?
Does it mean they should only be crocheted by grannies?
Or they are only fit to be made by grannies?
Or only grannies have the time?
But if they have the time wouldn't grannies be doing far more complicated fancy work?

I was intending to get to some sewing over the next few weeks, partly because I need to do some dressmaking, but firstly I need to clear the sewing table:

A well tidy sewing table.

(Just a little tidying?)

I finished school on Wednesday so am now officially either 'on holiday' or 'unemployed' depending on one's point of view. I am chasing up a few jobs, hours here and there, so we will see. But, either because I'm the eternal optimist or because I'm just a total feather-head, I feel more at peace than I have in months. Maybe its just a combination of faith that God and The State will provide!

Don't know.

Meanwhile I have Granny Squares to crochet! A woman with a mission, ha ha!!

To Knit and Knots

Well these photos are in the wrong order, but never mind. I was about to say that in the time I was hors de combat, I knat and crocheted...well the family will tell you I'm always crochety, but that would be another issue entirely!

Ulla would be proud of me, as despite using no fabric, I finished over fifteen balls of wool from my stash (some dating from when Eldest was a baby and I knitted her cardigans!) besides another five balls I bought recently.

Howzat!!

For this cushion cover I tried to use up as many ends as possible, and then I found the really fluffy ball in the back of a drawer, which I bought years ago on a trip to Tenerife:
Then as I still had even smaller ends left over...I crocheted the next one...

(actually, I think someone gave me a bag full of ends and scraps some time ago, and these are some of them)...obviously, there's a bit of finishing yet to do!!

This is the new wool I bought as I wanted to knit me a cowl big enough to pull over my head since my winter jacket has no hood. Well I won't be cold this winter coming!! Its enormous!

This photo was meant to be first, as it is a bagful of scarves and headbands I knitted since Easter for Youngest's fund-raising. It kept my hands busy, and was very portable when I was constantly up and down to Dublin, so served its purpose that way.

Since the fundraising is almost complete, I'll be putting these in the shop in the Autumn, if anyone is looking for neck-warmers and mobius scarves. These provided much of the scrap ends I used in the cushion covers, and I've some more yet!!

...but now and again a project just doesn't work out...

So since I was brought up on the 'waste not, want not' philosophy, it is re-made!

And there you have today's ripping yarn!!!

Dis 'n' Dat

Youngest kindly brought home the latest bug from school...and here it is!
Nah! jokin'! I saw it when I was waiting for a lift one day- its he lovely? The photo didn't do him justice as the brown parts were iridescent in the sunshine.

But we have all been down with some horrid 'bug'- guess its the start of winter- whoop-di-doo!

I found this wool in a shop in Ballymote and its lovely and soft, so I'm scarf knitting at the mo.
When Youngest was poorly last week (and before I went down!) she decided she wanted Oreos, so I made these for her:

They sure don't look much like Oreos, but she liked them so that was OK. She's recovered and back at school now, I was going to say she's better...but then I thought,

better than what? and

define better?

so I think I'll leave it at

recovered!!

Chooseday!

This morning B wanted to go spend the day with a friend, so after we'd delivered her, the Hub took me to the wool shop in Sligo. I still HAD some Christmas money left...
Good haul hmm? You'll just have to wait and see what I do with it now!

Yesterday I listed a few new items on Etsy, and also finished knitting another cowl. This morning I sewed it up, and then Sos decided it was just the thing so it's gone! I doubled the stitches, from 70 to 140. Think it was a little wide so next time perhaps I'll try c/on 120 sts. I decided I'd better start a wool note book to keep track of the changes I've recently made to patterns!

Today we have gale force winds from the south west, sleet and snow on the wind. But temperatures are up above freezing for the second day in three weeks so we are hoping our water pipes will thaw. Today I am choosing to sit by the fire to work, with CDs of Brahms' Symphonies on at full blast, and later I'll play Saint-Saens Organ Concerto- they should drown out the howling gale!

There are beans slow cooking in the oven so now I am going to finish the redwork labels I'm working on, then start some new knitting with my yummy wool. Do'n'cha love new wool?