Entries Tagged 'Crochet' ↓

The thing about being tired in the evenings is that I often don’t have the energy to sit up at the machine, and yet this is usually the only time I get to do crafty things during the week. I had planned on having the child that takes two hour naps, but my friend got that one, so I use my child’s thirty minute naps to do things like shower and half dry my hair, or eat porridge and have a hot cup of tea. I have thought of trying to sew in that time but I’ve realised that having lower expectations about a) the length of the nap and b) what I can realistically achieve in the time keeps me happier.

And then one day last month, I remembered about the crochet bag, and the balls of yarn that I picked up in a sale at John Lewis.

So I picked myself a project from the same book that gave us the kitten blanket, Simple Crochet by Erika Knight. The stripy throw is crocheted all in one piece, which really appealed after joining all the granny squares together. I love the finished blanket (and so does the cat it was intended for) but I really needed something I could pick up and put down, and not have to think about too much. The blanket is only one stitch, and all in straight lines, so all I have to do is refer to the pattern to find out when to change colours.

Of course I didn’t have enough of the yarn, and since it’s now discontinued it took a little hunt around the internet to find more, so my colour choices were partly dictated by what was available rather than my preferences, but I like what I have, and  as a bonus it was all half price. This is now my craft for weeknights, while I relax with a little Glee or some other cheerful and entertaining diversion.

Speaking of which…

Dare I add a new acronym? Finally Finished Project…

I took it up to the Lakes and spent a couple of evenings putting the last squares together, before embarking on the border. I even did a little bit of that on the train – crochet is so much easier than trying to knit on the move – which makes me one of those people who have crafted in public. Never thought I’d be able to say that…

I did attempt a mini blocking session, with it spread out on a towel and me on my knees with a water spray, but I don’t think I’ve quite got the hang of it yet (or it could be that hanging about on my knees just isn’t as much fun as it used to be and I got bored and wanted it finished). It’s a great size for the sofa, because if you’re curled up it covers your legs and feet perfectly, without that annoying extra bit of blanket making you too hot, or gathering crumbs under your chin (I have my own cardigans for that). The cat for whom it was intended thinks it’s wonderful too, and she’s had several sleeps curled up on it already, which is lovely as she’d stopped sleeping next to me on the sofa when we got the new leather one.

I started off following the pattern in Simple Crochet for the modern afghan, but departed from it slightly. I used a larger hook (4mm) than asked for, and ended up with more squares (48 in total), but I think this has increased the finished size to something slightly more useful, for me and the cats. The next crochet project will be a crib/pram blanket, which I’m going to make using a combination of squares from the 200 crochet blocks book. No pattern in particular, just whatever square I fancy at the time, which should introduce the little nugget to the random nature of his mama’s mind sooner than he realises.

Whenever I gave homework to my japanese teacher it would always come back with a jolly stamp and the words ‘keep on doing!’ on it. Well, quite. Such a simple phrase but universal in application.

Our mantlepiece is currently obscured by the kitten blanket wip, which has been a wip for well over a year. When I was younger this sort of inability to complete a project in a timely manner would have infuriated me with myself, to the point of condemning me as a ridiculous person. It’s so good to get old. You realise that time taken is not necessarily the yardstick by which everything should be measured, and that, sometimes, just continuing to take the time, when you have it spare, brings the same results, but with less gnashing of teeth.

Progress is good, and I can see an end to it, which seems amazing. My only wish is that I didn’t have to do all that tedious weaving in of tails, but then, isn’t that what box sets of Mad Men were invented for?

No, it doesn’t look much like a mouse, does it? It is though, albeit already monstered. Helen sent me this cute crochet mouse pattern so I could make toys for the cats, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to make one. The right time turns out to be the time you fancy doing some crochet but find out that actually you haven’t got another ball of wool for the edging you’re still doing…

So I whipped this up yesterday afternoon, and all was gong well until it came time to stuff it, using a combination of toy stuffing and cosmic catnip. Have you ever tried to crochet with two cats excitedly crawling in your lap trying to eat the thing you’re trying to make? I barely managed to get his bum finished and give him a rudimentary tail before this happened:

Of course, Bert is weird, so he’s just licked it until it is sopping wet (I do not know why he licks things like this – he often does it to my chair). It’s good that he loves it, but I fear the state of it now means that the poor mouse will forever remain ear-less.

I intended to finish the kitten blanket before the winter arrived, but with one thing and another (namely ny own lack of interest in all things woolen over the summer months) I ended up with a bag full of squares, which do not quite have the same impact as a blanket. I thought it would be a relatively simple task to join them all together, right up until I opened the book and read the pattern again, when I realised that each of these little squares is supposed to have a nice border before they can be joined.

Now I realise that there will be those of you who will say ‘pattern schmattern’ and suggest that I could have just plunged on, joined the squares and finished the thing at Christmas. I’m afraid that’s just not possible for me – if I’m following a pattern then I’m following a pattern. Well, at least the first time I make something. Being a new crochet convert makes it seem all the more important that I follow it through, simply because I don’t have that innate sense of what would happen if I did or didn’t. When you can cook you can look at a recipe and mentally subtract an egg, or the rosemary, because your experience tells you what it can and can’t do without, and with this I simply don’t know what I’d get if I subtracted the egg, aside from a smaller blanket.  I’m sure I’ll get there with the wool thing, but for now I’m edging.

As part of my commitment to wool I bought this in the sale at Johnny L. It’s a silk/rayon/cotton mix and feels very soft to the touch. Mr J asked me what it was for. ‘It’ll be the next blanket,’ I said. He looked at the pile of squares, some edged, some not, looked back at me with his mouth open to ask the inevitable question, but then said ‘oh never mind’ and went back to his laptop.  Sensible fellow.

I bought this book for the next blanket, which has been on my wishlist for ages. I can see this keeping me happy for a good number of years to come, since I’m not feeling the need to branch out from making squares. Crochet is something I do to keep my hands busy while watching TV or listening to an audio book, so I’m not sure I’ll want to complicate it. When Helen said this week that working with wool is a craft that keeps itself to itself I knew exactly what she meant, since I too have been neglecting my sewing machine. Like all things I’m sure it’s temporary, and it probably has a lot to do with it being so cold and wanting to sit in front of the fire.

Proof of door! Our friendly family joiner came around at the weekend and fixed up our house so it is fit for visitors again. Who knew so many people would be so picky about privacy? Ok, so the lock isn’t quite finished, being currently secured with some of those red elastic bands that the postman so kindly drops on my doorstep every single day, but since there is an actual door I am beyond carping about small details.

The weekend was exceedingly pleasant, even considering that I walked to Deptford. I don’t know how to explain Deptford to you lovely overseas readers, but it is not what you would call ‘a destination’. But I was surprised, as I often am in London, to find that it isn’t as bad as it is painted out to be. There’s a beautiful church just off the high street, where we sat and contemplated the storm clouds, and a very nice cafe serving homemade soup and tasty salads, as well as a proper market, where I could have bought any amount of cheap zips (but didn’t).

The point of the trip was to visit the sewing machine shop because I have half a mind to invest in a new machine. It wasn’t really a shop. It was a workshop masquerading as a shop, staffed by a very nice man who just wanted to repair and service sewing machines all day. The walls were lined with new and old machines, including a couple of beautiful old singers with foot pedals, and workbenches covered in tools stretched off into the back of the building. It smelled of oil and parts, and was oddly comforting. Unfortunately the machine I am interested in was only in their Maidstone shop, but he’s bringing one up for me and I should ‘come in with some material and give it a good go.’ The sad thing is knowing that it’s little shops like this that are the victims when an area up and comes, so selfishly I hope Deptford stays just the same.

Aside from that, work continues on the blanket, as you can see.

I have this laid out on the coffee table so that when I sit down to watch an episode of something or other I can pick up a square and do a round. It’s low pressure and easy to do, so much so that I’m tempted by this book, 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix-and-Match, so that I can just carry on making blankets right through the summer. Planning more things and not even finished this one yet…No change there, then.

I’ve made one each of the six patterns required for the blanket (I’m calling it a blanket just so you know) just so that I don’t have to keep referring to the book all the time. I think I have the granny square down now so it’s safe to take my eyes off the instructions. Just five more of each to go and it’s practically done.

Being bemused by the afghan question (this is all crochet and no politics mind you) I decided to look it up. It seems that afghan crochet is a different beast altogether from the kind of crochet I’m getting caught up in, being done with a hook that has a stopper at the other end and seems to be more like a one hook form of knitting. Wikipedia explains all. Since it makes a denser fabric than normal crochet perhaps the traditional use for it was as a blanket, although this wikipedia article doesn’t make the connection.

Now the question vexing me is whether or not it’s possible to become allergic to alcohol. Over the last year or so I’ve noticed that whenever I drink I wake up with a stuffed up nose that lasts all day. Not only are my hangovers growing as I get older but lovely wine is making feel as if I have a cold? Too cruel. I will have to consume more chocolate instead.

I spent some money in John Lewis. It had been a while what with the builders and everything but I was under strict orders to get differently coloured wool, although I expanded those orders to include buying a crochet book (Simple Crochet by Erika Knight). I like a) the title and b) the contents so it was an easy decision.

It has lots of simple projects that aren’t garments, so I can make things without getting too hung up on tension but still practising, divided into four sections: cushions, throws, containers and at home. There are also some intriguing patterns which use crochet in unusual ways, like these funky basket type containers, made with string, and edged with fabric strips.

There’s also a log basket crocheted in leather, and a rug made entirely from fabric strips, which I thought would be a nice ongoing project for my scrap bag.

I still think the instructions of how to crochet are better in The Happy Hooker, but this book has okay instructions, with the crucial difference of using the UK names for stitches. This has thrown me for a bit of a loop, but there’s a chart in the Happy Hooker that tells you what is what, so until I get used to swapping between the two I’ll have both books open. Anyway I chose a simple project:

I’d love to know the difference between an afghan and a throw. I don’t get it. Which no doubt marks me out as a complete crochet newbie. So from now on I’ll be making a lot of granny squares but with different coloured yarn:

I’m quite excited. And my writing friend wants to learn how to crochet as well, which will make her, me and the poet capable with the hook. Perhaps we could make some kind of modern bayeux tapestry in yarn…

Oh – one last thing:

In my defense it was on sale…

Even if you aren’t sick of it, Isaac is. I’m under strict instructions to buy different yarn, but truth be told I have little option since I’ve almost finished the ball. I made these flowers from the pattern for the Garden Scarf in the Happy Hooker, although I have neglected to join them together or make them out of different colours, or even make enough – these two would make one short scarf.

So I feel the time has come to choose a ‘real’ project, something that won’t end up being used as a coaster. I got my invitation to Ravelry last week and I’ve spent some time looking at patterns trying to figure out what I might not get frustrated with. Really, I feel a bit of a fraud being on there since it’s not my number one craft of choice and I don’t have a yarn stash and I don’t really understand the lingo either. But there’s a lot of knowledge in there, and I find the ratings of patterns quite useful since I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t want to rush the choosing, considering I already have a hundred or so UFOs on the fabric side of things, but you know how it is to get excited by the new…

As for the old, I haven’t forgotten about the Sophia – it’s just taken me until today to rescue the vital piece that the kitten threw down the back of my cupboard. There should be some progress this week, unless he does it again.

We have a blanket on our bed. It’s big enough to comfortably cover our kingsize bed, and it’s so heavy it pins us down at night, snug and safe. It’s handmade from 100% wool, and when I say handmade I mean right down to the spinning. I know this because my mother-in-law made it.

She is quite some woman. In the 70s she ran off to Anglesey, feeling that there was something missing from modern life even then. She learned to knit, crochet, make baskets from willow and spin her own wool from fleece on an old-fashioned wheel. She can shear sheep and chop trees down with a chainsaw. She was eating whole and organic foods twenty years ago. Everything that seems like common sense now was something that she had to fight for, branded a ‘hippy’ and a ‘weirdo’.

About ten years ago she began to make this blanket. She took the fleeces, and spun them into skeins she could knit with, none of it treated with bleach or chemicals, all of it left undyed so you can see the beauty of the natural wool. With the creamier wool she knitted the main part of the blanket in long strips and joined them all together. With the darker wool she crocheted the edge, fifteen inches deep, all the way round. Hours and hours of work.

When you run your hand over the surface you catch knobbly bits and rough bits, because the wool is so close to the sheep, because it wasn’t combed over by a machine, because every strand was put together by a real person. The cats love lying on it because of the natural lanolin, and I love lying under it because it really does make me warmer.

I’m trying to persuade her to spin some more wool from the fleeces she has at home. I would love to crochet something with wool I could trace to specific sheep on a specific hill. Knowing where things come from and the hands that bring them to you makes things so much more precious.