Monthly Archives: September 2014

What is this Baby Project..?

Posted on September 30, 2014 | 3 comments

So here it is. A work in progress. Wooden beads, blue yarn, what will it be?

I love working with this Scheepjes Cotton 8, it really is becoming one of my favourite yarns. Although, for it to be perfect, it would be DK weight. I just like to use a bigger hook and heavier yarn, so projects work up quicker. But that’s just my instant gratification personality shining through!

I’m busy covering the wooden beads with the yarn. In the past I’ve just made balls and stuffed them with filling, but the roundness was just lacking a bit, and by using a wooden bead it just adds the right amount of weight and shape.

And look who I caught trying to run steal one as I was taking pictures. Isn’t that chubby little hand delicious? No wonder she’s always covered in kisses and cuddles!

It’s nearly finished and ready to be shipped to its new home in America, but you’ll have to wait until next week to see the end result!

3 Comments

Posted in Projects, Scheepjes, Scheepjeswol, Uncategorized, WIP, Yarn

Tagged cotton 8, crochet pattern, DIY, free pattern, haken, handcrafted, handmade, MissNeriss, scheepjes, scheepjeswol, WIP, yarn

How a Granny Became a Hexie

Posted on September 25, 2014 | 2 comments

A couple of months ago Simply Crochet magazine launched a brand new Granny Square app which I discovered via creJJtion on Instagram and although I don’t often make Grannies – as you know, I hate weaving in ends and changing colours on each round creates a tonne of ends – I loved the pics people were sharing using the #GrannySquareMonday and #SimplyCrochetApp hashtags that I wanted to join the fun!

Of course, it all went wrong right from the start! I decided to begin with Granny Audrey as she was the prettiest so far and off I went, following the chart. Or so I thought! Towards the end I started scratching my head wondering why it wasn’t looking like the picture until it hit me – I can’t count! Instead of creating a Granny Audrey, Hexie Audrey was born instead!

I decided that I may as well run with it and added a border round so I at least had something to show for the effort before going back to the chart and actually reading the instructions and counting my stitches instead of acting like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

But at the end of the day, I have to say that I like Hexie Audrey better than Granny!

So just because I love the end result so much, I’ve created a chart of the pattern for you. Bear with me, chart making is NOT my forte, and I don’t have any fancy software to do it (yet), so my hand drawn version will just have to do.

Don’t forget to check out Granny Audrey on the Simply Crochet Granny app and download the free weekly squares. And then you must share them on Instagram! You can follow me here

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Posted in Monday, Pattern, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Tagged crochet, free pattern, granny, granny audrey, granny square, granny square app, hexie, pattern, simply crochet

It’s Yarn Day!

Posted on September 23, 2014 | Leave a comment

I love it when yarn arrives. It’s like Christmas. All year round. I get really upset if I miss the postie and there are no neighbours around to take in my packages and I have to trek to the post office the next afternoon to pick it up. The anticipation is just too much for me to bear.

Here’s what’s arrived today. More Scheepjes Cotton 8. This time in blues instead of yellows. Isn’t it beautiful?

I absolutely love this yarn. It’s such a great cotton. It’s soft and strong, and the perfect weight for baby projects.

So baby project it is! But what? You’ll just have to check back next week and see for yourself. For now, the yarn has gone straight into my project box and to the top of the pile of my never-ending To Do list.

Two Shawls in a Week?

Posted on September 2, 2014 | 9 comments

I’m a bit late to the shawl game. I spent a long time making hats, scarves and amigurumis, and only really started making shawls a few months ago. Mainly because I just don’t have the patience for the big projects. But something has happened. Suddenly I finished two shawls within the space of a week! The first was a really quick project that I saw in a recent edition of Simply Crochet because I had some gorgeous Malabrigo Silky Merino that needed to become something, and the other was a Spring Shawl I promised to make my gran back in March!

Gran requested a shawl in blues and turquoise, and I found the perfect bamboo yarn by Turkish brand Alize. The yarn is so incredibly soft and light and the drape is perfection. The weight is just perfect. It won’t slip of Gran’s shoulders and will be perfect for the chilly evenings as summer approaches in South Australia. I wonder if I can use Perfect in a sentence again..?

It’ll be lovely as a scarf too.

Isn’t the colour gorgeous? The only superficial complaint I would have is that perhaps the colour change is a bit too regular. I can see that it’s not hand dyed yarn, but I think the colour blend is beautiful.

I found the yarn at yarnstreet.com which has a huge selection of yarns from Turkey, and has fantastic prices. I used a 4.5mm hook and the yarn has loads of stretch, so when I blocked it the shawl almost doubled in size. I started it back in March, but so many other projects got in the way it took six months to complete!

I have this habit of buying yarn for the sake of having beautiful yarn, so when I saw a shawl in a recent Simply Crochet edition I decided to give it a go to actually use some of it.

I love design that works is way through, and the silky merino is really my favourite shawl yarn. I used a 4.5mm hook, and two full skeins of the Silky Merino. Before blocking the shawl was very small because my stitches are always so tight, so I really had to stretch it out while blocking. Now it has a lovely lavender aroma from the Eucalan I used.

I’m not too sure what to do with it though. I already have more scarves than I can possibly wear, so I might put this one in my Etsy store. It’s a bit too soft though, I don’t really want to part with it.