Feeling like alonging

Wrapped in Jamie

https://blacksheepcrochet.com/wrapped-in-jamie-seasons/

Foundation single crochet

Love this technique

http://1000lives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/12-foundation-single-crochet.jpg

Ann

Part two of the Spincushions CAL

Ann is  affable, nonchalant and neat.

All nine blocks made using a total of 147g of yarn compared to 160g used for PAM. 

Nice pattern to follow, i am getting more used to joining the round with a dc as opposed to a slip stitch :)

CrochetingAlong

So i decided to join the CAL designed and run by Shelley at Spincushions. I mean, it's called FRAN so how could i not!

The first block is called PAM, and here are my nine. Isn't she pretty!

There are some really lovely versions being made in multiple colours but i have decided to use my cream aran stash and do the whole thing in just one colour.

This time ;)

Moogly 2014 update

They have been simmering in a box under a chair for quite some time due to a complete lack of Crojo but i have been powering through for a couple of weeks and made a further five blocks which brings my total to 19 including the duplicates that were meant to be for a second blanket but that idea has flown out of the window!
So, now i am resizing them to all have 43 stitches on each side and to all be approximately 12" to make it easier to join them. I should end up with a 4x5 block blanket which will be at least 48"x60" but i expect i will be putting borders on it ;)

Crochet balls

http://thepatchworkheartuk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/christmas-baubles.html

Moogly Block 8.1

I'm a little behind still but I am gradually getting there. My latest finish for the CAL is block #8.1 "Princess" by Melinda Miller

every little helps

Last week at The Craft Club's crochet workshop we made hedgehogs. I'm quite impressed that i followed the pattern and he came out looking like he should!

I had a slight issue with his facial features, hence the name, but i managed to sort his tache nose out eventually ;)




The Craft Club posted an update to Facebook on their total so far...

They are getting there slowly but surely! I should have another little collection of goodies to take with me next time i go to Rayleigh too :)

How to turn squares into a triangle

So i made the dishcloths and thought that would satisfy my Corner2Corner itch.

I was wrong!

It's fantastic camping crochet as like a granny square it's mindless, repetitive and soothing and i can still sit and chat while i'm crocheting too which means it's sociable (unlike the sock knitting but that's another story lol)

I had two granny squares of Elle Mexican Wave already made because i was going to make a bag with them but didn't like how the colours worked in a granny and i had a "ten stitch blanket" square made in some lime green James C Brett Marble DK that didn't get used in my blanket and they looked perfect together so i took them all off camping with us at the weekend and this is what happened!

The colours look so much better in the denser fabric, i am really happy with how it's coming out, i've done more to it since this photo was taken and i am nearly ready to start decreasing! I am going to reserve most of the green for the border and just put in one or two stripes on the decrease side. Probably.

:D

Dishcloth set

We camped last weekend and i had a washing up sponge and tea-towels but no dishcloth so ended up using a tea-towel to wipe the sides down when i was washing up and tidying up. This is not ideal so when i got home i started checking out the dishcloth/washcloth patterns on Ravelry. Of course, none of the forty or so already in my queue was right so that meant a very pleasant stroll through the pattern browser. I love playing with it! I wanted crochet, i wanted free and i wanted texture on at least one of them.
I had a rummage in the cotton stash box - i try to keep all the cotton together for this very reason, it's so hard to match up colours etc when it's separated into the colour boxes so all the cotton is in one crate - and came up with a dark brown, a beige, a burgundy and a variegated mix of all three! The solid colours were bought as part of the Munks' wedding present experiment which turned into a Click hexagon blanket cos i realised that crocheting that much cotton would kill my hands and the variegated was part of a Peaches and Cream stash enhancement that occurred in late 2008! Apparantly i bought it for "Chrimble knitting - washcloths and tribbles"... Like that was ever going to happen! :D



I wasn't sure how many i would make, i just wanted to use as much stash up as possible and it worked out just right! I had to find something else to use for the back of the potholder as i had run out of all the others by then but i found some mercerised cotton in a pale pink that "fits" with the colour theme just about!
I had to then tweak the pattern slightly to allow for the smaller gauge but it just meant doing doubletrebles on the last round instead of trebles and it all worked out great as far as i'm concerned.

I've seen "Corner to Corner" (also known as C2C) blankets popping up in my newsfeed on Facebook via the Creative Crochet group, it seems to be quite the in-thing at the moment and it had piqued my interest but not enough to want to do a blanket so a dishcloth was the perfect size to have a go at it. I can see why it's so popular! It's fast to work up and it is very rhythmic, i can see more in my future ;)
The "Squaring the Spiral" dishcloth was also another itch that needed scratching. I have tried spirals before but i end up getting really confused as to where i start and finish so i thought i would give it another go. It's not perfect but it will do and i have a better idea of how it works now. I would have liked the spiral to be bigger before it got squared off but i was following the pattern closely because i didn't muck it up again lol
Finally the "Flower Potholder" has been in my queue for about 5 ½ years and the handle on the new kettle gets quite warm so rather than have a tea-towel flapping around or burn my hand i thought i'd scratch another itch and get it made! It will also double up as a trivet to protect the worktop from the hot kettle :)

All in all, a pleasant few days of crochet. Now i just need to decide what will be next!

Sunny Spread - a little progress

This has been an ongoing project for over a year now. I pick it up every now and again and do a bit but i am getting bored with it now so i am trying to finish it. Actually, that's not true. I'm not bored with it. I just want to start something else!

I tried playing around with it....

But in the end i decided to stick with the pattern but not have holes in the corners.

The problem then was that when i started out i put 5 stitches into the corner then put it down for a while and when i picked it up again i had forgotten that and only put three in the corners... This has led to much frustration. Should i rip the squares out and redo them with five? Should i plow on and hope i can make it fit together?

Well, i plowed on and made them fit!

It's been a bit of a struggle but it's all of my own doing, the pattern itself is great!

I just need to decide what's next in the way of a border or more panels perhaps? It's hanging in the living room so i can ponder while i knit the Ice-Cream socks. 

Sock knitting is keeping me sane where crafting is concerned at the moment.

Too many long term projects and not enough instant gratification!!

Moogly Block #4.2

Slowly catching up. Veeeery slowly lol but i am getting there!

I've played with the colour placement again, and i also did the later rounds slightly differently to get a different look.

I kinda like it! :D

I also spent some time taking nicer pictures and playing with Aviary in Flickr although i now realise i forgot to add a frame :/

I took the pile of Moogly Blocks to knit group with me last time and spent a couple of hours sewing the ends in which was fun. I think i have three left that need tidying out of the ten blocks i have made and i now have 6 blocks to make in order to get up to date!!

Best get hooking!

Moogly Block #6.1

More V's Please by Melinda Miller
Really happy with how this block has come out. I feel like i am getting better with my colour placement on my first attempt now rather than making an ugly block and then getting it right!
Followed the instructions to round ten and then did two rounds of trebles instead of a round of half trebles.

Moogly Block #5.1

Moogly Block #5.1
a photo by franneyk on Flickr.

Lion's Mane by April Moreland
Really happy with the colour placement on this one! Nice simple to follow block, didn't have any trouble with it at all other than adding on extra rounds to get it up to size.

Moogly Block #4.1

This is installment 4 in the Moogly Blog CAL, the block is called Veronica's Rose
I made some adjustments to the final rounds to get it to the right size by repeating the eyelet round and adding another round of "ribbon" and i am really pleased with it, So pleased in fact, i have sewn my ends in LOL

Moogly CAL Block Two

So, the second block in the Moogly CAL was revealed last Thursday.
I was a bit late starting this block but i got both finished in plenty of time before the next one comes out :)



This one was a LOT easier to follow than the first and typically i prefer the colour placement of my second block to the first, you can see the flower buds much better in the second block :)

More Moogly CAL

So, after discovering that the US pattern was different to the UK version i decided to have another go and compare the two and work out what was different!

Here's my second attempt and i am much happier with it. If you're going to have a go at the square and you can "read" US terms crochet then i'd recommend doing that!

And the two blocks together for comparison, i much prefer the colour placement on my second block :)

I've got a pattern full of notes that i need to make sense of but once i have i will post it here and in the Ravelry group :)

Moogly Block #1

In an attempt to use up yet more stash i have decided to join a CAL which is being hosted by Moogly.
It will consist of 24 12" blocks, each of which will be revealed every other Thursday and run until November.
After a rummage through the stash i've decided to use some of the aran i got when Lisa closed the shop, Sirdar and Stylecraft in Blue Heather, Woodsmoke and Lavender and i'm using a 5,5mm hook. I'll use the same 3 colours throughout, adding in extra colours should i need them :)

It was quite hard but I persevered!

Some things to note:

The UK version of the pattern is missing some details that are in the US version and the photo tutorial

• It is recommended that you use a size larger hook for the surface crochet.
• On round 9 all stitches are worked through the Back Loop Only, not just the first stitch.
• On Round 10 it is recommended to "tack" the second round of surface crochet through the back post, as you do for Round 16.
•  There are also stitch count discrepancies between the photo tutorial/US instructions and the UK instructions which leads me to believe the instructions must be different.

I've decided to make a second block following the US instructions and see how it comes out in comparison

Hats for Jack

 

I got a bit carried away and made some hats for a friend's new baby :D

Going round in circles...

Going round in circles...
Originally uploaded by franneyk

I've been experimenting with my Sunny Spread circles again and i think i've nearly cracked it... Nearly but not quite!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2