Tom’s new jumper

Here is Tom wearing his new jumper. He looks very happy with it, doesn’t he?!

I’m not much of a knitter, and this is the first time that I have attempted picking up and knitting stitches, but I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out. I got the pattern from Ravelry here and armed with a ball of trusted Stylecraft Special DK (not sure of the colour as the band has long gone) I set about my mission to provide Tom with a snuggly jumper to keep him cosy in the cold weather that we have been experiencing recently. The ‘T’ on the front was sewn on afterwards…it’s a bit rough, but Tom doesn’t seem to mind!

Another gift…a cushion this time

One of the blogs that I regularly read is Coco Rose Diaries – such beautiful pictures, gorgeous crochet and I was particularly inspired by one of posts that had the loveliest blanket. The pattern is taken from another blog, Mille Makes.
A throw was a bit daunting and I didn’t have the patience to make quite so many squares, so I went for a more manageable cushion cover. I searched the web for suitable yarns and colours (I can’t give exact details as my record keeping is very slack (something to improve on for the future)) but I got the majority from Deramores.

For the reverse I just made a regular granny square (was that a bit lazy?).

A good friend of mine was moving house, so I wrapped it up and gave it to her. It fits beautifully with her colour scheme. I am currently making a second cushion with the remaining yarn. Now, when I say ‘currently’, what I actually mean is ‘I have done a few squares and stuffed it all in a bag while I start but not finish a gazillion other projects’. I think that I will create a few posts detailing my WIP’s – that will give me a fair bit of blog material to be getting on with!

Another wedding, another throw

Can you believe that my husband’s cousin (the one that I made the monster throw for as a wedding gift) has a younger sister and she got married just 5 months later? 2012 must have been a very busy year for that part of the clan. Naturally, I had to make another squishy yarn delight as a gift. This particular cousin has a passion for black and white, so I came across the Vintage Crochet Blanket from the lovely Churchmouse Yarns website. Here is the link to the pattern.

 

This was also well received, and was a delight to make. It is made using Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran, which is super squishy. The result was a gorgeously warm and snugly throw which I hope will keep them warm this winter. I find it very rewarding, if a little nerve-wracking, to make gifts – so much more personal than shop bought, don’t you think?

 

After reading so many blogs…

…here I am writing my very first post. How do I start? As I am using this blog as a way of recording my crafty endeavours, I thought that I should create a little round-up of my completed projects so far. This will make me feel very pleased with myself and hopefully spur me on to create more lovely, squishy yarn goodness.

So, I am starting with one of my biggest and most favourite makes: the monster throw

 

I can’t remember how many of these motifs I made (it’s a bit like childbirth, I’ve blocked it out now), but the throw was big enough to be a kind of ‘bed runner’ for a king-sized bed. I made it for my husband’s cousin (cousin-in-law???) for her wedding. She likes a bit of the vintage vibe, and I wasn’t sure of her colour schemes at home, so I kept the colour palette very neutral. The motif comes from this book:

The yarn is the gorgeous and (dare I say it), squishy, Sirdar Baby Bamboo in the Putty colourway. I packaged it up in a brown box decorated with doilies and Fimo love hearts. Unfortunately, after much cursing, I have been unable to locate pictures of the box due to the excessive numbers of photo taking devices that we have, used to have or have but can’t find. One day I will find them…

Anyway, she wrote me the most beautiful card to say thank you, and later told me that she cried for 15 minutes after opening it (I think that this was a good thing…she wasn’t crying because she hated it!). And this is why it is one of my favourite makes so far – because she loved it so much and appreciated the time and effort that had gone into it. What a lovely feeling…