Getting an Owly start on Christmas.

Sorry about the punny title.

After days of rain we finally had some sunshine and blue skies today....... grrr...... had the last 5 days off and it rained for most of it, the blue skies and sun appeared just as I made the final turn into work.  Hopefully it'll be fine tomorrow, I have the day off.  Hard life hey?  I'll be working the weekend, then Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

Have had the urge to start a crochet or knitting project, chose the yarn from my stash and then set about trying to find a suitable project.  How hard is it to find a 4ply woman's cardigan/jacket when I only have ten 50g balls?  I wanted something Boho-ish and most importantly free.    Spent a lot of time yesterday searching, only found one thing I really liked but it wasn't free.  Tightwad me.  I was trying to keep with a challenge of only using what you have.

Tonight there was a show I wanted to watch and I leafed through a craft magazine I bought last week (positive it was before I read the challenge ..... I think ..... well that's my story and I'm sticking to it).  Found a project similar to one I pinned yesterday, one I had all the fixings for.

This is how far I've gotten so far, it's going to be an Owl basket and could very well be the first Christmas gift project for this year.    You can see my ingenious idea of using an earring as a row marker.   I was going to use a marker I got from a friend at Christmas but couldn't find where I put it, thought it was with my jewellery box where I found the earrings.  Which I think are easier to use than the small stitch marker for this project.

And here is the MKII version, the hook earring kept falling out, which wasn't a huge problem as I could count the stitches but once I stopped increasing stitches I didn't want to run the risk of losing place. 

The yarn is 2 strands of Lionbrand Heartland, using 5.5 hook.  It's going quite quickly, would have been quicker it I didn't put it down to watch a show on The Crystal Cave.

Harvest

Here's a pic of the first Aldi Garden bed I set up, there's Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, English Spinach and lettuce varieties in there.

Here's today's harvest, not a lot but enough for tonight's dinner. 

 Right now the sage is being heated on the stove with honey to make James Wong's Sage Honey.    I got over a nasty head cold last week and now have developed a cough and bad throat.  Sage Honey is great, it ends up thick and practically chewable, really sooths a sore throat and calms coughs.  

Hot off the Needle/hook

Owl Hand Warmers

I made 2 pair of these last week, the pattern came from Simply Knitting magazine.  One was knitted to size and the other on the next size down needles to fit my daughter's tiny hands.  They need eyes but the most suitable buttons I've found so far cost too much.  

My latest crochet project, is the Angel Wing Pinafore made in Magnum Soft 8ply.  The pattern is very easy, easily made up in an evening in front of the tv.  Mine is 1 row shorter than the pattern simply because I only had 1 ball left in my stash.  The thread to the side is all that is left.  It needs buttons but I am debating whether to sew partway up the back.  A lot of the projects on Ravelry were worked in the round after the 6th row.

H

I had almost finished the Lacy Duster, one sleeve to go and tried it on, not happy with it at all.  The pattern is great, the problem was with the yarn.  The feel and look of the cheap acrylic yarn I used wasn't what I wanted, I knew I would not wear it.  Disappointing after all that work, but a lesson learnt.   At least it wasn't an expensive lesson.


Started again, this time again in acrylic, I still wanted an easy care garment that I can wear often.  Using Magnum Soft 8 ply, which is the yarn I made this with.

The pattern was a free one from Lion Brand, was unable to get their yarns locally which is why I used Magnum Soft.  It's a finer ply and the garment made up smaller than stated, made the 6 -7 year size, which fitted my 5 year old niece. 

Debated whether to use Rose or Maroon (which in my opinion is more purple than Maroon).  Did this little trick where I ask myself a question and then note  which way my body leans.  It said no for Rose and yes for Purple Maroon. 

If you'd like to learn the trick it's easy.  Stand straight and still, ask your body to show you yes and notice that you will feel a little pull in one direction - front, back, either side - it's different for everyone.  Then ask it to show you no, again note which way the pull is.  It's bascially using your body as a pendulum and is great when making decisions - even those as mudane as choosing a yarn colour. 

When I was shown this 4 years ago the lady who taught it me told me that she would wait til after I had found my directions, before she told me hers.  Mine were the opposite of hers.  I also passed it on to a Nephew who was debating a major move - to quit his job, move to another state and live with his father.  The pull to no was so strong that it completely unbalanced him and he almost fell over.  Instead of pulling up sticks completely he arranged a 2 week vacation and when he returned he told me that he knew within 3 days that he could never have lived there. 

For me the sensation isn't that strong, there's been times when there has been a definite lean but mostly it feels like gentle movement inside my body - as if there is a small ball right in the centre of my body that moves it's balance in either direction, which can be any combination - sides, front back.  You may even note a diffeent method - twitches for example. 

Here is a shot of the blanket I made for my Mother In Law for Mother's Day.   I love the combination of colours, which are more muted that the photo shows.  The yarn crocheted up nicely and proves the difference in the quality because it's the same brand I wasn't happy with for the Duster. 

While I am still working on the Lacy Duster, only have a few more rows and then the sleeves, I've put it down and have started yet another project. 

Renaissance Tunic

I picked up some Zhivago yarn at our local Super IGA, it was only $1.99 per ball.  I'm not sure about the colour changes, my main yarn is purple I also have blue and fushia yarns.  If I do go with the colour changes it will be only around the edge of the bolero section, not the the rest.  

Am using a 5 mm hook and the yarn is crocheting up nicely, it's so soft and smooth.  The only problem I've had is with counting, apparently I can't count.  I'm on my third version of tthe front bodice, this time I kept track with pins and concentration. 

Yesterday I had the car booked in for service at the dealership, they like to have the car in early which meant an early rise.  The dealership is 45 minutes away but you can more than double that during peak hour.  Left home at 7.35 and did go a little out of my way so I could check something at work first, got to the dealer at 9.30.  Usually the latest I drop it off at is 8.30 and it's ready in an hour or two, but being so late, they said it would be ready around 3pm.  Their courtesy bus dropped me close to Bondi, I then walked to and along the beach.  There were only a few brave souls in the water, most wearing full wetsuits.  The sun came out long enough to snap some shots with my phone.

Spent a couple of hours, beach, lunching and shopping before catching a bus, then train and walking back to the dealer.  Was told the car would be 40 minutes more so I crocheted and drank tea in their lounge.  True to their word I was in the car and on my way at 3.39. 

Mother's Day Crafting

With Mother's Day fast approaching I was wondering what gifts to give our Mums.

Was over at the In Law's place the other day and noticed how cold their house is, it's not even winter yet.  MIL hasn't been well this year and had her dressing gown on with the heater on already.  Even with the cool breeze outside it was warmer outside than it was in.  Like I said it's not even Winter yet.

Decided that this year's gifts will be warming and have started on a crocheted  zigzag blanket for her.  It's turning out bigger than expected, which is what happens when using different yarn to the pattern.  The pattern is out of Simply Knitting magazine issue 82, the only change made apart from the colour is after the first 2 colours I changed the stitch in the "valley'.  Instead of using the popcorn stitch I just went with standard 3 trebles, only because I got fed up with having to go back and fix mistakes.

The yarn used is Moda Vera Marvel in 6 different colours, battery went flat before I could get shots of the colours.  I had chosen a seventh colour but it looked very much out of place.

Will also be adding other items like heat pads to add to the warmth, perhaps some teas as well.

So far for my Mum I have a Teacup planter that I am going to plant up with herbs for tea.  Still deciding what else.