Monday 4 November 2013

woolly updates!

Long time, no blog, soz. I've been up & down a bit with work but I've found my Zen again (it was underneath something - who knew?!?!?) 
I haven't really stopped crocheting & knitting, just haven't got around to taking any photos or blogging about it but that's all about to change ...

The baby blanket for cousin Chris and his wife Kate's (hereafter known as Kiss and Crate) second baby, due in mid Dec, started as a garter stitch blanket with cables, which I really enjoyed knitting, the needles were lovely to work with and the pattern juuuust complicated enough to keep me interested but still watching TV! BUT I wasn't pleased with the product, it looked lumpy and the ickle cables were all bunchy. 






This made me feel a bit miserable so I had a stab at a crochet shells blanket with the same wool and it's much better so I've now officially abandoned and frogged the cable blanket and the crochet one is almost done - yay!
It took me a while to get the hang of the shell stitch, my first efforts were too tight and looked angry (no photos!). I ended up going back to basics and re-learning to hold the wool for crochet, partly because I wasn't happy with the shell stitch and partly because I was getting pain in my middle finger from holding the work. I was holding the work between middle finger and thumb and using my first finger to life the wool and get tension but now I'm using the middle finger for that and holding the work between first finger and thumb. Maintaining tension is a bit trickier but I get nicer-looking stitches and my hand doesn't ache as much which must be a good thing!
Here's the almost-finished baby blanket:





I've also nearly finished mum's blue baktus:



There are soooo many things I want to crochet right now!!! I've bought the wool for a cardigan and for make-up remover pads (of which I've calculated I need about 50!) and I really really want to get started on my friend Kate's (not married to any of my cousins) baby blanket, though I haven't got the wool for that yet AND I've started some nesting baskets and I've got a silly Cath Kidston cushion cover kit to make up and a snowflake kit and, ANNNNDDDD....

oof!

I WILL finish the projects I've got on the go before I start anything else, I will! 

-x-

PS. Here's the largest (& first) of the nesting baskets, rather dramatically lit thanks to my over-enthusiastic phone:


-x-

PPS. I'VE GOT A NEW PHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a Samsung so I've optimistically named it Samwise The Brave Phone and so far it's been miraculous. I love it. And I have so much free time now I'm not spending two hours a day waiting for the stoopid old fone to do ... something ... anything!

-x-




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