Colour Explosions

.... It wasn't just me apparently, Blogger is having some issues at the moment. I have skirted around the problem by using a different browser. If only it would find the wordy part of the post that Blogger helpfully lost too!

 

Anyway, are you ready to have your day brightened up? These funky ripples are from the secret project I was working on before Christmas. They were to be turned into a cushion for Mr Magpie's sister.



 

I revisited the Neat Ripple pattern from Attic 24 for the cushion, it is so simple and effective and works up quickly. I did the ripples randomly, unlike my Baby Blanket, which was more of a repeat.

To begin, I made a chain slightly shorter than the width of the cushion pad. I then rippled happily away until I was just short of the height, then made the reverse side with the same starting chain and the same number of ripples (forty-ish I think). Although the pattern was random, I did try to make sure that colours weren't used together too often and that the two sides weren't the same.

I intentionally made the two sides smaller than the cushion pad as I wanted to use a new contrasting colour on the edgings. I did this by making two trebles in the end of each row along the sides, once I had woven in all the pesky ends.



 

I had intended to flatten the ripple on the top and bottom but when I held the sides together I realised that they interlocked perfectly and all that was needed to join them together was a row of single crochet.

 

 

 

When I had joined the wavy ends, I turned the cushion inside out and sewed a zip along the row of treble pairs. Once that was in place I trebled all down each side again and then joined all the edges with a final row of singles. I'm afraid I forgot to take close-ups of this part.

 

 

So this is the finished result. I must say I was very pleased with it left it on the sofa for a few days so I could admire it! The recipient was pleased too and has requested more cushions on each birthday and Christmas for several years to come.

 

The next present was the Spectra scarf I was making for my daughter, which ended up being finished over the holidays. Again, I was really happy with the finished item so wasn't too cross when, after trying it on for the first time and keeping it on for all of seven seconds it was pronounced 'too itchy' and handed straight back to me!

I've been struggling to find a way of photographing this scarf in a flattering way, it really does look a lot brighter in 'real life' and I love the way it drapes when worn.

 

 

 

As predicted, I have enough of the colourful Poems yarn left over to make another, which I will probably do.

 

 

The next colourful creation is my Granny Stripe blanket, which gets the odd row added here and there when I can wrestle it away from whoever is snuggling under it of an evening (or afternoon, it has been in great demand by the various poorly Magpies who have been using it as a comforter). It really is huge now and unless I continue with my original plan to make it double-bed sized, I think I will be adding a border soon so that I can pronounce it finished.

 





My thoughts have already been working out the next sofa blanket I need to make (necessitated by the arguments over the Granny Stripe) and I have been steadily stashing the Stylecraft ready to make a start.

 

Until I make a decision, I have decided to embark upon my own crochet cushion covers and am planning to make several in different colours, but using the same group of colours for each, starting with the purple shades.

 

 

To the untrained eye it looks as though I am rippling again. I am, but this time using a different pattern from my Handbook of Crochet Stitches. This pattern does a TR3TOG at the bottom of the valley, five trebles in between and a TR, CH, TR into the mountain, which produces the holes you can see below.

 

Currently I am trying to find a combination of knitting pattern and yarn I like, but not having much success. Looks like the crochet will be taking over again!

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x







In Which I Actually Make Something

Firstly, I will say that I am no longer going to apologise for my irregular blogging. I used to aim to post on a weekly basis, but lately life gets in the way far too much and I am still sans laptop. This is likely to be an ongoing problem for some time, so from now on I will be a more infrequent blogger but I hope you will keep visiting me when I have something to show you.

Secondly, thank you for all your kind words regarding the burglary. Unfortunately, the police haven't managed to recover any of our possessions and as predicted, the insurance company is so far refusing to cough up; they don't know yet what a determined little beast I can be when I put my mind to something so I am hopeful that we may get some good news yet.

So, all that having been said, let me show you  a little of what has been keeping me cosy of an evening.

First up is a shawl that has been incredilbly popular on Ravelry, the Color Affection. The idea is to take three different yarns (either lace weight or 4ply) and combine them in garter stitch rows to make a cosy wrap.

I had been wanting to try this for ages but hadn't found a colour combination I was happy with, so made sure to buy something specifically at Ally Pally. I cast on the day after I got back and finished last week. The last few rows are a bit hard-going as they take about 30 -40 minutes to complete.

I haven't blocked this monster yet; I need to get some advice from the girls at SnB. My problem is that as a tight knitter, my shawl has come out quite a bit shallower than it should have done and the top left edge (where the three-colour stripes start) is incredibly tight and I don't think blocking will relax it.

For the bottom edge I used a different technique to cast off which made the edge loose. This was the most fiddly and time-consuming cast off I have ever done and I had to break it down over three sessions! I wish I had tried this technique on my Changeling Shawlette though as it would have solved the stretch issue, but you live and learn.

I have worn the Color Affection, which is more of  scarf really and am happy to report that it matches my winter coat perfectly and the alpaca yarn (the green colour) makes it really swishy and snuggly. I might attempt another one day but I will have to address my tension issues first!

Before I had completed the marathon cast off, I snuck this little treasure onto the needles. It is another pattern that I have been itching to make, due to it's clever use of slow colour-changing yarn. Usually people kit it with Noro Yarns, but although I like the pictures I see of finished results with Noro, to me it looks un-appealing when I have seen it for sale and it feels really scratchy.

My alternative is the Poems yarn I used in my Changeling Shawlette. It is lovely and soft and a good deal cheaper than the Noro too. I have a different colourway this time.

For this scarf you knit little wedges of the colourful yarn in between the solid sections of the contrast. So far I am still on the purple but you can see from the yarn that I will eventually have a myriad of jewel-coloured wedges, that turn inwards in a spiral.

Miss Magpie Jr has already staked a claim on this one, which I am really pleased about as she usually turns her nose up at my latest creations. Also, I think the Poems is long enough to get two scarves out of, and as a short-row project it is much easier to make time for.

I can't reveal too much of the final project as it is under construction for a present, but I can happily report that I have re-kindled my passion for crochet, which had been rather doused during Larmer Tree. I am also using my cheap acrylic yarn again and have surprised myself by loving it as much if not more than some of the 'posh' stuff I have been knitting with.

So much so that I will be 'forced' to go and buy some more now ;). All I can give you is a little close-up,  I don't want to ruin the surprise.

We have had the sniffles around these parts. Yesterday I spent a glorious day on the sofa in front of the fire with the littlest Magpie as we were both poorly but I got lots of hooking done and it was nice to be indoors. Today we are all going about our usual routines and I'd better get some housework done!

Thanks so much for reading,

Beth x

Ally Pally 2012

Yesterday was my first visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show, which is held at Alexandra Palace each October. Just out of interest, you can read about the history of the building here.

 

The inside of the show was vast, with two large (mahoosive) rooms and then further stands and displays in other smaller areas. The picture doesn't convey the scale of the area, the size was almost overwhelming.

 

 

From talking to other members of my knitting group who have been to the show before, I was expecting to want to spend lots of money, so had been saving in anticipation. I wasn't let down on the shopping front, there were LOTS of things I wanted to buy, but I had gone with a list of things I really wanted, which I stuck to, allowing myself to choose a few skeins of yarn too.

 

I have been looking at interchangeable knitting needles on line for a while and found this set for a good price, with no additional postage costs of course. Instead of buying a larger set, which I had considered, I decided to get a smaller starter set and bought additional needles in the sizes I know I will actually use as the bigger set had lots of larger sizes that I wouldn't use at the moment, given that all my latest yarn purchases have been 4ply and lace weight.

Mostly, I used the day to visit retailers I have previously bought from on line, so that I could get a feel for un-tried products in the flesh and also make some postage-free purchases. I visited Blooming Felt to stock up a little.

 

 

The Eternal Maker was selling Sherbet Pips fabric for a massively reduced £3 per meter. I stood patiently waiting to add to my collection but two ladies in front of me had also spotted the bargain, so by the time my turn came I only got one meter. I was still pleased. I love this fabric.

 

 

One of my favourite stands was Fyberspates. I have long admired and coveted this yard when I have seen it being knitted up by SnB members and I made three separate visits to the stand before deciding on a couple of skeins. This picture does the yarn no justice, especially the colours. The bottom one is a really gorgeous kind of racing green with beautifully rich and deep tones. It is soft and lovely too.

 

 

Another lovely stand was The Crochet Chain. I have looked at their website a few times as they sell Drops Alpaca at a really good price. It was good to have a squish.

 

 

As the name suggests, the show is not just aimed at knitters and crocheters; there is also plenty to tempt the sewer. Lately, I have got my knitting head on and I really don't need any fabric but inspired by the quilt that Fiona made for her daughters sixteenth ( read about it here) I had decided that I will make my daughter a quilt for her birthday, which is in December.

 

I had already stared a quilt for her, using Clarke and Clarke fabric which she had chosen before the current Goth, sorry, 'Emo' phase but that has now been discarded as being too pink and flowery. Considering her current colour of choice (note, singular) and her love of horses, I chose these fabrics to try again with.

 

I couldn't resist sneaking in some Summersville
 

 

 

By the early afternoon, I was getting uncomfortably hot and was really rather shopped out, so I had a little stroll around the outside of the palace, which has the most amazing views of London sprawling away to the south.

 

I returned inside for the last hour and wandered around the exhibition pieces, which we were politely asked not to photograph. We were allowed to take pictures of this knitted village though, which was brilliant.

 

Whilst outside, I had a quick look at Twitter to see if anyone had mentioned the show. Angela from This is Wiss had tweeted to say that she was helping out on the Ray-Stitch stand so when I went back in I went along to meet her which was lovely as I have been reading her blog for some time now.

Overall, I was pleased to be able to stock up on such lovely yarns and supplies in one place but was rather disappointed by the lack of inspirational content; it seems unfair to ask people to pay £15 to shop when you know that it would have cost the stallholders a small fortune to be at the show.

Travelling home on the coach, I managed to finish the shawlette I stared in this post. It needs blocking to finish it, which I have never attempted before, but I will poop back again soon to show you the results.

I can't wait to get started on my next project now that  have lovely new needles and really lovely yarn so I will be getting lost in Ravelry for a few hours to decide on a project.

What are you working on at the moment?

Thanks for reading,
Beth x

More Zips, More Ripples and a Tangled Mess

After the success of my little Union Jack purse/accessory cover last week, this week I have been mostly making some more. I started off with the remainder of the scraps of blue fabric to make three more identical versions.

Blue fabric all gone, I turned to the rest of the hessian-type remnant and got busy with other scraps of fabrics and some more ribbons from my stash. The Cath Kidston Stars ribbon is a recent purchase. I finally got to visit the new store in Bournemouth, which unbelievably took me about three weeks to get round to!

More stash-busting.

And finally, at Mum's suggestion (thank you Mum!) a way of using up some more Cath Kidston scraps and keeping our friends from across the pond happy. I really love how these two turned out but am resisting temptation to claim one of them. I need some stock to sell!

In crochet news, lots of happy outdoor time at the park in the thankfully arrived sunshine has provided plenty of hooking opportunity, and my baby ripple blanket is almost complete.

Having never got to this stage of crochet before, I asked my crochet guru Bex at SnB last night if I was edging it the right way. Apparently I am, so Yay! I firstly went along the edge in double crochet, and am now making my way back along with trebles. In some versions I have seen, people 'fill in' the ripples along the top and bottom, but it is the shape of the ripples that I love about this blanket so I want to keep them.

At the beginning, I shaped the corner by using a double crochet, then a half treble, before going on to the main trebling. I'm quite pleased with how it's looking so far.

A little gratuitous close-up shot to make your eyes go funny!

 

As well as being a crochet and knitting guru, Bex is also a spinner and dyer of yarns. She has a shop online which you can visit here. I had been admiring many of the Hitchhiker shawls knitted by members of SnB and decided to have a go at one myself. I ordered the pattern and a needle and Bex very kindly brought me a lovely selection of yarns (see, I'm slowly coming around) to look through last night.

I settled on a lovely wool/nylon 4ply sock yarn dyed in gorgeous deep purple and turquoise tones and last night after SnB set about turning a skein into a ball. This was my progress as of 12.37 a.m.

Not really sure what I did wrong, but another hour or so this afternoon has left me with this.

I'm off dancing tonight so can't make a start just yet and it feels a bit ridiculous to start knitting a shawl when it's so blinking hot, but no doubt this will be another WIP by the end of the weekend!

Wishing you a lovely hot weekend with sun loungers and pina coladas.

Beth x

Getting Down to Business

It has been a bit of a strange week here at Magpie HQ. To start with I have only had to do one night shift instead of the three I had been doing of late, so I have almost felt human again. Dare I say it but there have been no accidents or illnesses either, so another nice change!

Before much crafting could happen, there were a few jobs that have been waiting patiently for me to finish. The first one involved quite a lot of this.

I am in charge of painting around these parts. Pale walls and four children mean that this is almost a full-time occupation in itself. This week I gave the hall stairs and landing a much needed freshen up. It's hard to ignore this part of the house, it's the one space that can't be shut off but at least I can now ascend the stairs without cringeing. The trouble is, some of the other rooms look grubbier in comparison now so I might be plying the brushes and rollers again sometime soon. Ish.

Next on the list was a spot of gardening. I had bought a tray of bedding plants a few (ahem) weeks ago, but between accidents, illnesses and torrential rain, they had remained in their polystyrene tray, taunting me each time I looked out of the back windows. I took advantage of a break in the downpours on Tuesday to transplant them to my pots and gave the decking a little tidy while I was out there.

Thankfully you can't see my 'herbaceous border' in this picture (it runs down the right hand side of the garden) as it too requires a little attention. You might just be able to make out our raised veg patch on the left. The green stuff you can see on it is our strawberry plants, which seem to have benefitted from the rain. We have got a few flowers on them here and there so now need some sunshine to bring on the fruit.

I hadn't made it to either Wednesday morning Knit and Natter or Thursday evening Stitch and Bitch for a while because of work, so this week I actually went to both. I rescued this little project from the bottom of my knitting bag and am now well on my way to completing it.

Unfortunately (well, not really) I was once again tempted by the shelves of goodies I was surrounded by on Wednesday and this little pile found it's way home with me. Spurred on by the success of my blanket, I have got a few other items in the queue for future crocheting and I think these colours will fit the bill perfectly.

On Wednesday evening it was my craft group that I have at home fortnightly. I used the time to start a batch of leaves and stalks that I will need for my fruit pincushions that I will be starting soon.

I also made a start on the cushion back for the crochet cushion covers.

In between all of this, I had a very long catch-up with an old friend I haven't seen for about a year over a lovely lunch, and also had a nice lunch out with my Mum. With such a busy week, progress on the brooches hasn't been as good as I'd hoped but, all in all, it has been quite a productive week and the extra sleep and a few treats have done wonders for my soul!

I know I promised you a tour of the craft room, but to be honest, all the production has messed it up a bit, so you will have to be patient a while longer.

I hope you have had a good week, and wish you all a lovely weekend.

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

Progress

Although I have been doing lots of extra night shifts lately and have been feeling slightly zombie-d, there have been some crafty things happening here.

Crochet has become my new addiction. From initially hooking up little granny squares for pure pleasure, I progressed onto sorting them out a little and choosing nine to turn into one large square which I am intending to become a cushion.

Having finished this square I am trying to decide what to do about the reverse of the cushion. Do I make another square, use fabric or try and thrift an old jumper to adapt as I have seen done very successfully elsewhere? Any thoughts or suggestions welcome!

My thoughts are already turning to what I want to crochet next. I have found plenty of inspiration in both my trusty old craft books and from the internet. I took an opportuntity to pop into my local wool shop the other morning whilst it was quiet and I was on my own so that I could have a proper browse. My intention was to add some more shades to my acrylic collection so that I can make something really colourful.

These are the acrylics I already had and below are the new ones. I have been playing around with different combinations but as yet remain undecided on the exact palette to use.

Since this knitting and sewing obsession has been growing, I have been gathering up all the little bundles of wool/yarn squirrelled away in various parts of the house. I need to address my storage issues! Out of interest, I laid it all out on the sofa. Grannie Magpie please look away now.

I was a bit shocked myself at how much there was when seeing it all together. I just need to look at this picture next time I feel an urge to buy some more. Rachael from Sew Ray Me kindly emailed me a pattern to make fabric baskets last week. I am thinking of making some to accomodate some of my stash.

Talking of storage, I have been taking pictures of the dining room as it's make-over is in progress. This has been a gradual process since Christmas but I think we will be paying a visit to the big blue and yellow shop in the next few weeks where I can get the last few bits and bobs I need. Hopefully I will have it all arranged how I want it soon, then I will give you a tour of my crafty space.

In crochet-related sewing, I spent a happy few hours yesterday creating these little lovlies. I wanted to make one for myself and the other two are for presents. I used three fabrics from my Cath Kidston cotton duck stash for the exterior, with coordinating haberdashery fabrics for the lining.

To make them, I used a tutorial from Joanne's blog; you can find it here. The tutorial is really well written with lots of pictures. I think it took me about three hours in total to make these. An enjoyable afternoon!

The only thing I would change if making this again would be the needle pocket. My needles kept falling out when the roll was closed. Possibly this is due to me using cotton duck fabric and not the recommended quilting weight cotton (which also made the whole process rather trickier, why didn't I learn from the jewellery rolls I made?!) but the problem would be easily rectified by replacing the pocket with a piece of felt to keep the needles in.

Today the boss has told me that I need to get on with the brick path that I am creating in the back garden out of our old kitchen wall. Better get on then.

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x