Its that time of the month when FNSI has come around again! A big thankyou to Wendy from
Sugarlane Designs, who takes the time to host this for us! I was lucky enough to have both Thursday and Friday off work this week which meant I had plenty of time to get all the cleaning, groceries, washing and errands out the way and sit down Friday afternoon to make a start! I had seen something that got my interest on FB earlier in the day ...... Chair Socks! Have you heard of them?? I thought they could possibly be the perfect solution for our timber chairs on our timber floors (I'm sure you know what I mean by that) ........ They are a crocheted item and although there are a couple of patterns out there, I ended up doing my own to fit out chair legs (they are all pretty similar). If you think you might like to make some up (I'll need to do some for the rest of our chairs now), I'll put my pattern below for you to use.
Super easy - ch 3, join with a ss.
Round 1: dc 6 into the circle you just made and join with a ss. ch 1. (If you lay your yarn end around the ring and crochet over it in the next row you won't have to sew it in later.)
Round 2: then 2 dc into each stitch - (12 stiches) and join with ss.
Round 3: ch 1, ( 2 dc into first stitch, dc into each of next 3) repeat 2 more times giving total of 15 stitches and join with ss. This now forms the base or pad of the sock. If you need it bigger, then do another round increasing again as in Round 3.
Next Row ch 1 the dc into each stitch. Continue rounds until you reach desired length. Sew in end. I chose to turn mine inside out to pop onto the ends of the chairs as I preferred that look.
I used a size 4mm hook and dk / 8ply acrylic yarn, but a worsted weight yarn/ 10ply would work very well. Terms are in English. (US: dc = sc)
Friday night also saw a bit more progress on the jumper for DH ..... its slowly getting bigger!!! I decided I would continue on this morning with some sort of sewing ....... but first I wanted to see what was in a container I had seen in the bookcase in the room our son has been using since he moved back home ......... Well, it turned out to be all the blocks (some complete and some not started) plus the pattern and design and such that I had put together for our snail mail group a few years back. With all the upheaval around here since we moved in, I never did get the chance to get back to it. I thought this morning I might sit on the veranda with my morning coffee and do a bit of it once I'd checked my emails and FB ............
Well, as it turned out I had an invite from one of the girls who used to be in the snail mail group for a sew along about to start in an hours time!!! Amazing!! Turned out a couple of other girls that had been in our snail mail group were also invited to the FB sew along and they recognised the block I was working on as part of the quilt we had all been making lol Seems I wasn't the only one to have put it to one side for a bit lol The magpie family stopped by to check out what I was up to and have a bit of breakfast as well ...... they turn up most mornings before I head to work, and again in the evenings.
This actually sparked the interest on it a bit more, so after a bit of gardening during the day ..... weeding actually! ......... I worked on getting the basic applique cut out and pasted onto 4 more of the blocks ready for some hand stitching!
And here is that block all finished :)
So thanks to both Wendy and to Janet ......... quite a bit was achieved between Friday night and Saturday afternoon! And before I forget ....... our pooch, Scruffy turned a ripe old 13yrs of age today! ..... he was not in the mood for photos today! Happy Birthday Scruffy xo
I was wandering around the Ravelry site when up popped such a colourful crocheted blanket I had to go and have a bit of a look ...... especially when I saw it was being done as a CAL (Crochet Along) and being run by Sandra from Cherry Heart Blog . I mean, just look at it.....
Who can resist all those fun stitches and colour ....... which equals stash busting!!! Before committing to this CAL I took a walk out to my cabin and had some fun playing around with all the dk (8ply) yarns I have there. I mostly like to be able to have my lap blankets so they can be thrown into the washing machine and hung in front of the fire to dry ....... I like to use them, and I like them to be easy to look after, so I usually use acrylic yarns, or superwash yarns in my blankets. I have most of the colours I want to use,
but I really, really, really want to use some lighter, brighter colours to make my lounge room a little lighter and brighter next winter ...... which kind of meant I had to order a few extra yarns. I've heard a lot about the stylecraft DK which seems to have good feedback from most people who have used it before with blankets. The best thing I think is the fact it has 61 colours to choose from and unlike Spotlight or other stores, these colours and this yarn seem to have stayed around!! It's so frustrating to need a bit more of the same colour, but you can't get hold of it again! Anyhow, the actual blanket making doesn't kick off until the 22nd September (which may be the 23rd here in Australia) ........ so time to hopefully get a good amount done on some current WIP....... Give me a yell if you are also planning to work on this CAL, it would be fun to work it with you :)
Yep, this is Stonehaven for Pete in the navy colour (Classic Yarn by Bendigo Woollen Mills 0, which I feel like I've been working on forever! Looking back at my project notes I started it on 4th May and it is an extra large size .....
and Park Slope for me which has been an on and off project inbetween lots of other projects (using Wollmeise in Ballerina), and some fingerless gloves that may or may not progress! I also have a few other projects on the go including the Tundra Fern Scarf and a few sewing projects as well!
Other news around here is all about getting a start on the Spring Cleaning! With everything else going on over the past few months, the poor house has been sadly neglected and as well as the dust from having the wood fire going all Winter, there is also piles of this and that .......... and a really good, for real declutter needs to happen around here! So for now I'll leave you guessing with something else that I'm trying hard to work on at present ......... perhaps this pic can give you a bit of clue ..... I'd like to think I weigh that much :)
There's a bit of a showcase going on with a showcase of pincushions at present, being hosted by Ida over at her blog ......
So I thought I'd show you some of mine since I do love pincushions, especially those that are a bit different ...... These are a couple I've made and kept ( soo many I ve made seem to have gone as gifts - the mice have featured in some of the Christmas in July Swaps)
And these are some of the ones I've been gifted over the past few years
Friday Night With Friends (FNWF) was on again this week - a good incentive to get onto some crafty business.
I was lucky to be a winner of some 100% qiviut yarn and a pattern to go with it, (I blogged about this on another post), so I was able to make a start on that. The colour is called Artic Blue and is a real Navy Blue colour, and lovely to work with even though its only 2ply! It is tending to "fluff" up so it will be lovely and snuggly to wear.
So that was what I concentrated on for Friday Night ...... but of course I do like to try to extend these occasions into a the weekend (and after all, Sat our time is still Friday on the other side of the world ). So as Saturday dawned and it was Sunny, I had to get the washing and cleaning, groceries and such seen to first ..... but I did notice I needed a new floor mat....... time to head to the cabin and dust off the sewing machines that have been gathering dust all winter long.
I used an old towel as the backing as I find these work well for floor mats (soak up any wetness, don't slip on the floors, easy to throw in the wash). I went stash diving to find this piece which fit the bill and the towel width quiet nicely! I tend to border my home made floor mats with check gingham. I no longer got it down on the floor before I turned around to find somebody approved of it!
This morning before writing this post I thought I'd best get a bit more knitting progress made on the jumper for DH. Yes, this is still Stonehaven (by Laura Aylor), that I'm working on ...... this section has to be 15 inches long (for DH's size), before I get to the next bit of the pattern ....... its a very, very l o n g 15 inches!!! Prob no doubt due to it all being the same colour (dark, not good for night knitting).
Anyhow, hopefully I can get a bit more done on it as I would love to be able to say it is completed, rather than still a WIP. I seem to have a number of those at present, and a huge list that has knitting, crochet and sewing !! As the weather starts to warm up, the sewing machine will become more active and the knitting somewhat slower I expect!
Its overcast here today ....... I'm hoping we don't get any rain as the yard can't cope with any more. Its so soggy now, this is what it looked like the other day when it was raining........
Well, enjoy your Sunday
Hugs, Sharm
Friday night also saw a bit more progress on the jumper for DH ..... its slowly getting bigger!!! I decided I would continue on this morning with some sort of sewing ....... but first I wanted to see what was in a container I had seen in the bookcase in the room our son has been using since he moved back home ......... Well, it turned out to be all the blocks (some complete and some not started) plus the pattern and design and such that I had put together for our snail mail group a few years back. With all the upheaval around here since we moved in, I never did get the chance to get back to it. I thought this morning I might sit on the veranda with my morning coffee and do a bit of it once I'd checked my emails and FB ............ 
