Works in progress…

I have quite a lot of works in progress at the moment, which has been impacting on my ability to blog about them.  Instead of staying silent until I had something to show you, I thought I would list some of the items, and explain a little bit more about them.

The ‘Paint-by-Number’ Dress

I got this from a pattern in a recent edition of Crochet Today. The dress is done all in one, with no seams to sew together, which has only reinforced my love of crochet even more! This is how much I’ve been able to do so far:

Paint-by-Number Dress

I have a few more rounds to go to add length (I’m following the instructions for a dress to fit a 2 year old) and I have sleeves and trims to do before it’s finished.

The Squares

I mentioned this in a previous blog post.  I’m not sure where I am going with this yet, but I have made 7 of the squares and plan to make as many as I can from a large bag of pink yarn I bought from eBay. It’s going to end up as some sort of blanket, but I’m not sure if I’m going to try and add some other colours into it as otherwise it won’t be very big.

The Mandala

I came across this pattern through Ravelry and the link to the blog post is here.  I plan to adapt it slightly to make it large enough to cover a table we have in our living room. I’m using up some of my yarn stash with this one, as I have so many scraps of colours and odd balls left. I hope Mr Farr-Jones likes it.

The Teddy Bear

Amigurumi rocks. I love making stuffed toys, and have decided I should really try and make more of them.

I came across a pattern for a vintage bear, and have now completed everything except for his face, and any embellishments I may want to add to make him extra cute.  Here he is, faceless:

Vintage Bear

The Mug Cosy

I feel like I’ve blogged a lot about these. Such a simple pattern, and I keep getting requests for them. I  have several on the go now, and have just posted some more to friends.

I have also just received the yarn needed to make a throw for a good friend who has just got married. I’ll be sure to tell you more about it when I have started it.

So, overall, I’ve been very busy! But I’m struggling with prioritising my WIPs which is probably why everything feels like it is taking a long time to do.

How many WIPs does everyone else have on the go right now?

Tags: crochet, mug cozy, crochet square, crochet dress, bear

The completed (never ending) blanket

So, here is the never ending blanket I have been going on about for what feels like months:

I’m sure I mentioned previously that it wasn’t very big, so I think I have probably made a big deal out of nothing.  However, what really killed me were all the ends I had to weave in.  This is by far my least favourite part of crochet and knitting.

The pattern is the Argyll Afghan, from one of my favourite books:

Crocheted Throws & Wraps, by Melody Griffiths

This is the 5th blanket I have made from the book now, and there are still several I would love to attempt at some point.

I’m now busy making some more tea cosies – so far this weekend I’ve made 4, and I may just keep going!  This really is a great pattern, and I can make one in under an hour if I focus on nothing else.

What is everyone else making over this rather rainy bank holiday weekend?

Tags: afghan, argyll, blanket, crochet, crochet blanket, finishing, mug cozy, tea cosy

Squares are great

Squares are great. Whenever you want a context shift, just pick up a hook and a ball of yarn, and within an hour or so you’ve finished one.

It’s a great way to keep yourself motivated. I made quite a few squares while I was also working on the never ending blanket. It kept me sane, and it probably would have taken a lot longer to finish the blanket if I didn’t have a square to distract me every so often (although that sounds like a contradiction).

A lot of my fellow bloggers have been bitten by the square bug recently. It feels like not a week has gone by without reading another blog post about the crochet square. So, I thought I’d share a photo of the one I’ve enjoyed making a lot of recently, and also a few links to a few of my other favourites I’ve seen out in the blogosphere.

Jule’s Art Blog – A Find From The Basement
Crochetbug – Square 64: color me rainbow
Anastacia Knits – Friday fo

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this square yet. So far I’ve made 7 of them. It’s a bit too old fashioned for a baby blanket. Perhaps I’ll just make as many as I can in complimenting colours and see where that takes me.

What is it you do to get through a challenging project?

Tags: crochet, crochet square

21st century craft

I often wonder what it would have been like to learn how to knit and crochet 20 years ago, before the Internet became what it is today. Having to rely on relatives and friends to teach you, passing their craft on to the next generation. Having to buy books and magazines, or even go to libraries to get hold of patterns you can use again and again.

I count myself lucky to be part of the Internet generation. Having all the information I need at my fingertips whenever I switch on my computer, my tablet or my phone is almost like expecting there to always be electricity or water. It’s almost harder to be without access to the Internet than with.

But part of me wonders whether we have lost something amongst all the benefits that an ‘always on’ society brings.

I learned to crochet by myself, using only the Internet for help and guidance. Having YouTube was like having a virtual tutor at my beck and call. Forums and fellow bloggers provided me with advice, hints and tips. I found patterns for virtually anything without having to hunt through book shops and libraries. I even got praise for my completed work through Facebook and Twitter.

But I never had the experience of sitting with someone and learning my craft and the bonding this brings to your relationship. Mother teaches daughter (or son) and a family tradition survives. Lessons are learned from someone wiser who has already made the mistakes so you don’t have to. Learning what is perhaps a unique way of doing something. I feel like in some way I’ve missed out.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Internet is a marvellous resource that gives us all access to things we would never have imagined before. I imagine it has a large part to play in helping lesser known skills and crafts survive. But what I’m concerned about is losing that social aspect of craft.

I’ve grown up right on the cusp of the Internet age, and still have friends and family who have followed the more traditional method of learning. But as our society evolves and adapts to having a wealth of human knowledge at their fingertips, will this disappear? Is this part of a wider issue the Internet brings to our society?

Tags: crochet, Internet, knitting, learning

Quilting my way out of boredom

Last weekend was quite a boring one. Aside from writing my blog posts, all I had to work on was my never ending blanket.

Feeling a bit restless, I decided to get out my issues of The Art of Quilting magazine which I’ve been receiving since subscribing at the beginning of the year.

One of my New Year Resolutions was to learn how to quilt, but I was also afraid that I wouldn’t have the patience for it, or the time, with everything else I wanted to try and achieve. So I figured that spending £3.99 per issue, which gives me the materials I need each week to create a new square, was a big motivation to learn. However, it’s taken until now for me to seriously give it a go, and I have a backlog of 12 issues (and squares) to work through.

I’m still trying to get to grips with my sewing machine. I bought it at the beginning of last year, but I’ve hardly used it. So I set aside Sunday to create the first square in the series, and this was the result:

I have to say I am really pleased with it. I was expecting it to be a really fiddly endeavour, with the seam allowances, pinning and construction, but it was really quite straight forward to do.

Of course, the first square is the easiest to attempt (the double four patch), and what awaits me in later issues does scare me a little. But for a first attempt I couldn’t be happier!

Has anyone else tried their hand at quilting? Are you subscribing to the same magazine? If so, what are your thoughts?

Tags: double four patch, quilt, quilting

The never ending blanket, and something Tunisian…

The never ending blanket is, well, never ending. I’ve found it very monotonous and rather dull to spend so much time weaving in the ends. In a week I’ve managed to weave in the ends covering half the blanket. Still another half to go… Then I can start adding the embellishments and the border. It’s actually quite embarrassing, because it’s not actually that big! I almost don’t want to share the finished article, because people will wonder why on earth it’s taken me so long!

In other news, I’m quite excited. Because I haven’t got enough going on right now (read that line laced with sarcasm), I’ve decided that I want to try something new. After a bit of googling, and asking the Twitterverse their opinion, I’ve decided to give Tunisian crochet a try.

I’ve ordered a book on Amazon, and once I figure out what I want to make I’ll be ordering the Tunisian crochet hooks.

Has anyone else had any experience with Tunisian crochet? From what I’ve read, I think it could be something special. It would be great to hear your views.

Tags: crochet, crochet blanket, tunisian crochet

Progress

The never ending blanket is progressing. I have finished the main body but before I continue with some of the embellishments and border I have to start weaving in all the loose ends…

Wish me luck! This is going to take a while, hence why it is the never ending blanket!

Tags: crochet, crochet blanket, finishing