The owl has hatched

In August I blogged about a new crochet project. Confidently I wrote about how quickly I would finish it, given that it was made with four strands of super-chunky wool and the pattern was really easy. I should know better by now...

Well this particular owl took five months to hatch! He has now finally settled down to roost in the corner of our bedroom:

 

He is a bit of a monster, and is holding at least two duvet covers, sheets and assorted pillow cases. This photo gives you an idea of the colour scheme in our bedroom. It is deliberately very calm, and the owl appears quite at home.

Curtain update: I have cut out the panels of lining material, and am currently tacking them together to make the right width. 

Extreme crochet!

Back in August I embarked on a large crochet owl basket. What I didn't realise, was quite how large this particular bird would turn out to be! According to the pattern, it should take 500g of any super bulky yarn. Well, I am about half way through and I have already used more than that! Here is the beast, which I think will be challenging the European Eagle Owl for the title of largest owl:

There was no way I was going to lug that around on holiday, so I have been crocheting up a few snowflakes:

This one hasn't been blocked yet. It is from a free pattern available here, and I used a 2mm needle. From the sublime to the ridiculous!

I realise that blogging has been a little sparse lately. There has been a lot going on, both at home and at school, and I have been short of head space. I am adjusting to the new normal; service will resume shortly!

Crochet goes large!

I was wandering around Ravelry the other day when I came across this lovely fellow:

I have to say that I did fall for him in rather a big way. I could find so many uses for a basket like that. He is a very handsome chap. I was rather swept away and did something I hardly ever do; I paid for a pattern on Ravelry. Admittedly it was only a few pounds but it did feel strange! The talented designer is Deja Jetmir and she blogs at "Crochet Ever After". She also produces plenty of easy to follow tutorials to go with her patterns.

Once I'd downloaded the pattern I realised that is worked with FOUR strands of chunky wool and a size 10mm hook! The pattern itself is really easy and is made in a spiral, but the difficulty is in trying to hold everything all together!

I can't seem to get into a nice rhythm with it; I have to concentrate on each stitch. However, it is growing quickly so soon we will have another owl to add to our growing collection. I am thinking of adapting the pattern to produce his little brother, which could then hold a crocheted washcloth with some homemade soap to make Christmas presents. Probably for 2015!

Ripple cushion finish

A few months ago DD asked for a crochet cushion to go in her bedroom which was due a makeover. Bright pink is seriously uncool when you are thirteen. Apparently. She chose the colours to match her new duvet cover. (Note the ongoing owl theme!)

 

 
The pattern is from "Cute and Easy Crochet" by Nicki Trench.

I really recommend this book. It has lovely clear instructions with diagrams for the likes of me who need books with pictures! Nicki has a blog as well which has lots of yarny goodness. (Thanks Dorothy for the link!)

I have so enjoyed this project. The ripple part was relatively easy, but the finishing off took a bit of doing. It took me FOUR tries to get the two halves joined up. They still don't match perfectly, don't zoom in on the pictures!

DD really likes it, which is a bit of a relief. Her room was painted over the bank holiday weekend. Once we lifted the carpet it was obvious that it had reached the end of a long and useful life, so we have ordered a replacement. This is lilac. It was very cheap, but in no way will it match the bright pink curtains. Time for me to learn to make curtains!

A parcel from America

I love receiving parcels. Well, who doesn't? Last week I got especially excited because I was sent a parcel from America. I am part of the "Great Tea Swap" over at Lucy's blog "Lucy in the sky". I have enjoyed discovering new blogs as well as trying some new types of tea. Being typically British, I am a bit of a teapot! The very creative Gracie over at "One Saylor's Log" sent me a packet of loose Chiran black tea from Oregon.

It comes with very precise brewing instructions! I thought I knew my Darjeeling from my Earl Grey, but I hadn't heard of this variety. After a little research I have discovered that it is a premium brand from Japan, and it definitely makes a lovely cuppa. The parcel didn't just contain tea...

Gracie is a talented crocheter. (Apparently that is a word!) She has sent me a cosy for a tea glass. I love the colours of this, as it is very similar to my project bag I crocheted last year. (It took me a substantial chunk of last year - it was one of my first crochet makes!) The little brown bags are for making my own teabags to keep my pot clean. How clever is that? In actual fact, I belong to the school of thought that says that you should never use soap on the inside of a teapot. I only ever rinse mine. Does anyone else do this? The postcard has a photo of a very industrious lady knitting socks, which is apt for me as I am fond of my DPNs!

So thank you, Gracie, for my lovely parcel. I feel like I have made a friend over a cup of tea.

Waving goodbye to the ripple!

Since I started this blog I have been inspired to try a few different crafts, and one of my favourites has to be crochet. For the last few months I have been working on a ripple cushion for DD's room. I can't believe that I started it back in February! At first it went very slowly, but as my fingers found their rhythm the ripple pattern gradually took shape, albeit with a lot of unravelling.

As I became a little more confident I have taken my crochet out and about with me. A large part of motherhood seems to involve waiting around for assorted offspring, so I have taken up crocheting at the swimming pool and at DS's music centre. In fact, there were three of us yarnaholics at last week's music session! I have finally finished the ripple section; now all I need to do is finish it off. I hope this doesn't take three months!

A first ripple

DD has decided that her room decor needs some attention. She has a point - it's a long time since she has been into pink. Her room is overwhelmingly pink; definitely not the look for a near teenager. At the moment she is thinking of a career in something vaguely design based, so she is coming up with her own ideas. I'm pretty sure this will not extend to wielding a paint brush; she sees herself more in a supervisory role!

She chose some very cheap duvet covers as a starting point. They combine owls, her current favourite, with lots of colours. Next on the list was a cushion cover. Could I oblige with my new found but limited crochet skills? 

Fortunately I had just the pattern from a fabulous book "Cute and Easy Crochet" which Angela recommended. I bought it with some birthday money and have been admiring it ever since.

The pattern is a wavy ripple pattern which seems to be relatively simple. I had to adapt it a little as I bought cheap DK yarn rather than the chunky yarn recommended. 

DD and I spent quite a while matching up the colours with the pillowcase. In the end I was really pleased that we managed to get budget yarn brands for nearly all the colours. After all, she's not going to be wearing it!

Although I enjoy crochet I haven't got to the stage where I don't have to think about it. It is still a slow process for me; hopefully it will be finished before she leaves home!

A timely parcel!

For various reasons I have been feeling a little down for the last few weeks - not helped by an old fashioned cold. DD has been very generous and shared hers with the entire household. I have the immune system of an ox but this one makes me wish I'd taken out shares in Kleenex! So I was very happy to receive my first parcel from The Great Tea Swap started by Lucy at Lucy 'In the sky'. Joan from Just Joan had put together a lovely package for me. It was a great surprise because I was honestly only expecting some tea.

Joan is very talented at crochet - just look at this doily!

The package really cheered me up. The sweets have been eaten, (children in the house), but the tea will be savoured. Especially the camomile and spiced apple, which I had forgotten I liked so much! So, thank you very much Joan!

Snow

It's snowing outside... 

and inside!

                                                 

Crochet bag finally finished

Last year I decided to learn to crochet, after a few failed attempts in the past. So what did I do for my first project? Something nice and small? Maybe some squares for a blanket? No, I decided that my living room would not be complete without a bag to store my various crafty projects in. So I found a pattern by the talented Lucy at Attic 24 and set off. And got distracted. And got going again. And got distracted....and picked it up again in a rush of determination. Last weekend I sewed on the handles and it was finished! 

 

It is a large bag and comfortably carries at least three projects of different sizes. I used far more yarn than I expected. Rather naively I bought three balls to start with and had to keep going back to top up! There is a bit of a line halfway up the bag where I changed lots, which proves that you should always buy your yarn in one batch. I actually quite like it that way but I can see it would be annoying in a scarf or jumper. 

DD modelling for me!

Lucy has flowers on her bag; I don't have enough yarn left for that but I do rather like the shell-edging.

Although it was time-consuming, it was a simple pattern. I can honestly say that I can now manage double crochet and treble crochet successfully! My living room corner also looks a lot tidier and DH, who has an aversion to extraneous carrier bags, is a happier man.

Learning to crochet

For years I have tried, and failed, to learn to crochet. After all, I have been knitting for ever, so how hard can it be? My lovely Mother-in-Law, whose hook flies as she turns out square after square, bravely took on the challenge of teaching me. It was fine when she was there, and a hopeless tangle of knots when she wasn't. I tried to learn from the internet, but got lost in a maze of double crochets and turning chains, not helped by the different English and American terms. Finally I bought a couple of "teach yourself crochet" magazines. I bought the first two in the series, which were reduced and came with hook, yarn and clear pictures. I have resisted the rest of the series! Slowly, stitch by stitch, mistake by mistake, I am making progress.

Now I have embarked on my first project. My stash of yarn is slowly growing and my craft supplies are taking over the corner of our living room. This offends DH's ordered soul, although he has been very patient. To put him out of his misery I am attempting to make a project bag designed by Lucy from Attic 24. For my birthday DH foolishly let me loose in our local craft shop. Lucy's bag is stripy, but I am trying to reduce my stash rather than add to it, so I bought some variegated yarn. I needed new yarn because mine was all DK weight, whereas this bag needed something with more muscle.

It is Sirdar "Click" chunky yarn. The bag is worked in treble crochet if you are British, or double crochet if you are American. It is a simple pattern, even for a complete novice like me. At first it was very frustrating as I felt I was doing each stitch three times, but now I feel it might actually be finished one day.

It will not be perfect; my "rounds" are anything but circular! However, one day I may be able to see the corner of my living room again.