Big Bad Berries Blanket

Big Bad Berries Blanket

Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook
Yarn: Wendy Fusion. Colour Juniper Berries. Used 256g.
Needles: 5mm Knit Picks Options Interchangables
Time taken to knit: February 5th 2009 - May 24th 2009.
Size: 78cm x 73cm


Big Bad Berries Blanket

Inspired by another project on Ravelry I sewed 4 flowers onto the corners of the blanket so that they wouldn't cause discomfort if the baby was laid onto the blanket.


Full frontal of the Big Bad Berries Blanket

I wonder how many people will find my blog for the wrong reasons with that title!


Big Bad Berries Blanket

A friend reminded me of my rusty crochet skills when she showed me how to make these:


crocheted flowers

then I got a bit more adventurous and made these:


Meconopsis Flower from 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet


Scabious Flower from 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet

A number of friends are due to give birth very soon & it'll be given to the first baby girl!

Forgotten dishcloths

Every now & then I do a small project but they don't always make it to my blog & these were forgotten about until now. Since Christmas I've made a few dishcloths mainly to try new techniques or play with colour & apart from one none made it to my blog so that is about to be fixed.

In the lazy days between Christmas & New Year I made a cloth for another knitter in a swap. I actually made two using the same pattern as I was experimenting with colours and then couldn't decide which to send. So I asked a few friends which one they preferred & this cloth won, was duely wrapped up & put in the post:


Ballband Dishcloth in Turquoise & Green varigated cotton

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

and this cloth stayed at home:


Ballband Dishcloth in Turquoise & White cotton

I added i-cords to both so they could be hung up.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

Then I made a Garterlac Dishcloth which was good TV knitting:


Garterlac Dishcloth

and you can see a close up of the pattern here.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

Finally I decided to be brave & had a play with crochet:


Pinwheel crocheted dishcloth

This pattern was loaned to me by a friend & was out of an old book that had belonged to her Grandmother so I can't link to it I'm afraid.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

The dishclothes that stayed at home are being used to brighten up our foul kitchen but not really working as it's such a horrible room :(

So that's me nearly up to date on forgotten projects. I've got one more from last year but need to find the photos. My WIP's are progressing slowly but so far no photos have been taken so I've got nothing to share on those yet.....

Back in the land of the living

Thanks to everyone who left a comment or emailed me after my last post. I'm back at work now & the dogs returned home yesterday after 11 days in kennels. Both have lost a lot of muscle & Oscar looks like a shaggy mutt but I'll get them back up to scratch soon. I'm gutted as I'm going to have to start my running from scratch again but not yet as I'm tired after half an hours walk at the moment.

Some knitting has been happening over the past week:


Twin Rib socks in progress

but not a lot progress on this:


Rowan Tapestry crochet scarf

I've been spoilt rotten over the past couple of days due to a couple of parcels arriving. Part of one was a purchase of a Goknits sock bag from Socktopus but there was more included which was a wonderful surprise. However the photos have yet to be taken so you'll have to wait I'm afraid.

So as a thank you for Alice at Socktopus a photo as promised of one of the trees in our garden. It has the most gorgeous purpley red leaves & looks absolutely stunning in the sunshine.


Purple Norway Maple

The Dark Side

I spent a very enjoyable weekend at Rowan on a crochet workshop. Much fun was had & apart from being late as I got hopelessly lost (and very stressed) it was a lovely relaxing time. A couple of small projects were undertaken:


Crocheted felted bowl in Rowan Big Wool

The fawn colour was quite plain so I added two rows of a beautiful chocolate brown which i think just lifted it a bit:


Crocheted felted bowl

I'm considering filling it with lovely things & giving it to my SIL for her birthday next month but then again it might stay here:


Crocheted felted bowl

and still in progress a curly scarf:


Curly scarf in Rowan Tapestry Highland

I haven't made one of these for ages but the colours in the yarn are so subtle & I'm really enjoying using it. I've never had the chance to squidge this before as I don't have a local Rowan stockist & I love it. Then to edge it a ball of Kidsilk Spray, or Kidsilk Crack as Susoolu calls it, to finish it off:


Kidsilk Spray in Regal

Arianwen & I shared a room in a local hotel but didn't get much sleep thanks to an over enthusiastic DJ celebrating an 80th birthday party downstairs. Then my rather loud phone woke us up with a text from DH at 6:20 a.m. informing me that the dogs aren't ever going to have a raw bone again, as they'd both been rather ill during the night & he'd had a lot of cleaning up to do I think I had the better weekend don't you!

Travelling project

Flowering around

I took part in a book swap recently on the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns forum & sent to gilraen. I sent her the first of the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel as the series is a real favourite of mine & I return to the books again & again.

I also sent something else with it but had to keep it under £2 which was quite difficult:


Crocheted flower book marks

Hello Mango taught me how to make the flower which is her own design & then I worked a chain & then secured a bead onto the chain with a few double crochets. The parcel was well received & she had to convinced her two year old son that the books marks were for Mummy! If they weren't so unsuitable for such a little tot I'd make him one just to keep the peace.

DD & her friend were with me when I wrapped up both the book & book marks & the pleading just went on & on & on & on....


so I made these the night before we went on holiday (as you do!):


Cream cotton with a black glass bead for DD


Purple cotton with a glass heart bead for DD


Brown cotton with a yellow wooden bead for DD's friend


Lilac cotton with a purple glass bead for DD's friend


Orange cotton with a Fair Trade Wire bead from Africa for my friend who happens to the other childs mother

and finally one for me:


Brown cotton with a cream wooden bead

A few more have been made since these photos were taken but I didn't want anymore photos. Just imagine different coloured cotton yarns with pretty beads & you've got it.

Crochet bag & more

Last month I made my second ever crochet project & I really enjoyed making it:


Crochet shopping bag


Double crochet base

I filled it up with tins from our food cupboards to demonstrate how much this bag 'grows' when full:


Crochet shopping bag full of tins

I'm planning to make a lot more of these to use up some cottons lurking in my stash. However in future will make the base both wider & longer so that the bag can take a large cereal box or similar.

Pattern: From Marie of 'In Stitches' the knitting club that I set up & run. She is a lapsed blogger so has requested that I don't link to her. The pattern consists of a double crocheted base, trebles to give the 'lattice efffect' & then doubles again for the handles.
Yarn: 120g of Colorado Mutti-color from Lidl bought earlier this year.
Hook: 5mmm


Colorado Mutti-color

I'm getting quite bad at making small things & forgetting to put them on here but will do another post soon. The photos are done I just haven't had time to blog about it. Have also made a something else recently but it's a gift so & the person I'm gifting it to reads this so nothing about that yet.

Life has been busy as ever in the blueadt house but perhaps a bit 'quieter' this week as DD is away & doesn't return until tonight. So DH using the second week of his holiday has decorated her bedroom & built a wardrobe to hide an 'awkward' part of her room. So the rest of the day will be taken with removing the dust sheets & cleaning the carpet thereby removing the last visible signs of the mucky people who lived here before us & replacing DD's furniture.

Finally MissMalice has awarded me with this:


Rockin' Girl Blogger

Thank you so much Alice. Now to chose my 5 nominees..........