Hannah's Blanket

I have two of the cutest great-nieces on the planet ..... bright as buttons, very cute and the apples of their mamma and pappa's eyes!

This year I committed to making them each a snuggly blanket for their respective birthdays. 

Hannah Denise is dark haired and dainty, loves modern dancing, is in her school choir and enjoys drama, clearly music plays a defined role in her everyday!  She loves art and drawing too ... a very accomplished little lady! She has a quaint sense of style, and has been choosing her outfits for her day from when she was just a teeny tot .. and she is a little girl who likes a neat and tidy space around her! Spends fun time with her sister in their beautiful Wendy House, and loves to play with her many friends, a kind and caring, very special and sweet child.

This is her blanket ~

Yarn is our very good local brand Elle Family DK, Hook size 4mm, and the pattern is Priscilla Hewitt's Sunburst Square.
I added an extra row of Hdc in Lilac before adding the joining rows in white.  I used Attic 24's Join-asyougo method.

For the border I did 4 rows of granny clusters, and then a shell border of 7 dcs in each shell.

Have a most wonderful weekend lovely friends,

Pat xxxxxxxxxxx

Stripey Blanket Part 5

So good to be working again on my favourite WIP at the moment!!

We commence with 
Row 45 ::  Sc row in Shrimp
Row 46 - 47 :: A repeat of the Star Stitch rows in Magenta
Row 48 :: Sc row in Shrimp
Row 49 :: Hdc row in Bluebell
Row 50 :: HDc row in Saffron
Rows 51 - 53 :: A repeat of the Bobble Stitch rows in Saffron, Plum and Saffron
Rows 54 - 56 :: Hdc rows in Saffron, Pomegranate and Saffron

This is my new favourite stitch, the Star Stitch!  If you are on Instagram, go to #starstitch, the most amazingly fabulous creations can be found in this easy and fast little two row pattern.

For yarn, pattern references and other info, follow my posts Stripey Blankets Parts 1 - 4.

Hope you are having a great week!

Love and Hugs

Pat xxxxxxxxxx

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A blanket and two hats!

Gee I've missed everyone!! Life is sometimes too hectic to have a moment to sit and contemplate what comes next!! So even though I have had every intention of getting down to a bit of blog writing, in the words of John Lennon "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans".

I have had to put my beautiful Stripey Blanket WIP on the back burner for a couple of weeks ..... a Snuggle Blanket for a little niece's birthday present and an order for two hats popped up and have had all my attention.  And to be honest, I have rather enjoyed the diversity in yarns and patterns!

I am using a square based on one of my favourites, the Sunburst square, for the blanket in White, Fuschia, Violet, Crocus (a lilac) and Just Pink, all shades in our Elle Family Double Knit, a really good value for money yarn.  Hook is 4mm, and I am using the join-as-you-go method (link here).

All the squares are nearly up to the last row before the joining row, so my weekend hooky fix is organised!

In between making squares, I have made two hats for a friend's grand-daughter in the UK.  For the one pictured hereunder, I used a pattern that I keep on coming back to .. do you do that? .. it's featured in a Simply Crochet magazine Issue 26, and it has worked up beautifully!  Again I have used an Elle yarn, this one is called Rustic Double Knit and the colour is Cobalt blue, and for interest I have layered the dc rows with 'Seed pattern' rows in Dark Navy.

I hope the weekend is a good one,

until next post

Pat xxxxxx

Spring Roses Tea Cosy

We have had the hottest weather of late; a heatwave of note, prolonged and uncomfortable .... more so because it makes working with wool a big no-no!! And so when we woke to a cloudy and cool Saturday here in my neck of the woods, I literally fell on my yarn and hook with such delight, and finished a WIP .. 

Spring Roses Tea Cosy Ta-dahhh!

I did not have the tea pot to hand to work around, just measurements, quite a challenge.  After scrapping two designs, I was finally happy with this sweet cosy, in white with leaves in beautiful Spring Green, and roses in Soft Yellow, Wisteria and Fondant, these all being gorgeous colours in the Stylecraft Special DK range.  

There is no complete pattern as such, I have notes on the body in white, and details of how I finished it off. The pattern consists of two rows :: 1 row in hdc, 1 row in hdc but including the bobble stitch every 6th stitch.  The bobbles are offset (see photo).  The widest measurement around the 'belly' of the pot is 40cm. I worked the body in two pieces and sewed the pieces together

First side:

I started with around 42 chains.

Row 1 ~ First hdc in 2nd chain from hook, hdc to end, turn

Row 2 ~ 2ch, hdc to last 3 sts, ch 1, miss one st, hdc to end. This forms the buttonhole, turn

Row 3 ~ 2ch, 9hdc, bobble st in next stitch (note here :: the bobble st is worked on the wrong side of your work), *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Row 4 ~ 2ch, hdc to last 5 sts, and turn.  This forms the button hole strip.

Row 5 ~ 2ch, 1hdc, bobble st in next stitch, *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Row 6 ~ 2ch, hdc to end of row

Row 7 ~ 2ch, 4hdc, bobble st in next stitch, *5hdc, bobble st, continue to end, turn

Now continue until you have the height you need minus about 2cm, which we will take up with decreasing rows. For this cosy, that worked out to a total of 19 rows from the start row ( 9 bobble rows and 10 plain hdc rows).

Row 20 ~ (or your next row depending on how many rows you have for the height you need) and (Right side) 2ch and 4hdc, 2hdc tog., *4hdc, 2hdc tog., continue from * to end of row, turn

Row 21 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch and 3hdc, bobble st in next st, *4hdc. bobble st, continue to end and hdc last however many sts you have left, I had 2 so I worked 2hdc, turn

Row 22 ~Right side ::  2 ch and 1hdc, 2hdc tog, *3hdc, 2hdc tog; continue to end, turn

Row 23 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch, hdc to end, turn

Row 24 ~ Right side :: 2ch,and 1hdc, *2hdc tog, 2hdc, continue from * to end, turn

Row 25 ~ Wrong side :: 2ch, hdc to end. That completes one side.

Second side ~

Repeat the instructions for the first side, except cast on stitches minus the buttonhole strip .. so I started with 36 chains instead of 42 chains.

Note:  once you have started the decrease rows, just work with the stitches you have.  You may have fewer or more sts that I had, remember that you are going to cover the decrease rows with masses of flowers and leaves, which will cover up with decrease rows anyway!

Once you have completed the two sides, fit to your tea pot and sew up the sides where necessary.  One seam will be short to come up to the bottom of the spout. The handle side closes with a pretty button and buttonhole.  I left the gaps open to the top of the cosy almost all the way, just stitching the last 1.5cm of each side together so that I had a complete round 'cap' onto which I attached the leaves and flowers 

I embellished the cosy with May roses and leaves from Lucy's pattern on Attic 24.  I added a row of slip stitches in green for a small neat edging along the handle and spout edges. For the finish on the bottom edge, I used a braid stitch in green :: see my post on Braid edging here

Hope you are having a good Sunday wherever you are, take care until next time,

Pat xxxxxxxxxx

Stripey Blanket ~ Part 4

I have added a few more rows to my gorgeous Stripey Blanket, despite the searing heat we are experiencing down here in South Africa.  Most of the country is in the grip of a heatwave making working with wool so very uncomfortable!

At the end of Part 3, I was just starting the first row of the Catherine Wheel section.

So:

Rows 35 - 38 :: Catherine Wheel pattern in Magenta, Pomegranate x 2 rows and Wisteria for the fourth row.

Rows 39 - 41 :: Hdc rows in Saffron, Plum and Saffron

Rows 42 - 44 :: Granny pattern rows x 3 rows in Aspen, Bluebell and Aspen.  If you are not familiar with how to crochet the usual granny pattern, you work like so:
3dcs in st, miss 2 sts, 3 dcs in next st, miss 2 sts and so on. I start with 3ch (stands as first dc) then, miss 2 sts, and 3dcs in next st.  Depending on how many sts you have cast on in the beginning, at the end of row you need to end with at least 1dc into the last st.  

 I continue to be delighted by the brightness and clarity of the colours in the Stylecraft Special DK range.  One can practically not go wrong, whatever colours you place side by side.

So nice to see you,

 take care until next time,

Pat xxxxxx

Stripey Blanket - Part 3

Hello ladies (and gents if there any gentlemen readers this lovely morning!) Has January not just whizzed by? I am personally so looking forward to moving along to end of Feb and into March;  this is when our cooler months start.  We have had wickedly hot weather lately .. too hot to crochet, too hot to do much of anything actually!

My As-we-go Stripey blanket is beginning to look really stunning #saysIwithnomodestywhatsoever !!!

Here are the next few rows:

Row 32-34 : Hdc rows in Bluebell, Meadow and Bluebell

Row 35 : Sc row in Pomegranate  ~ this is where I started the Star Stitch pattern rows.

Row 36-37 : Star stitch rows in Wisteria

Rows 36 : Sc row in Pomegranate ~ ends the Star Stitch section

Rows 37-39 : Hdc rows in Saffron, Magenta and Saffron

Rows 38 - 41 : Repeat of rows 18-21 ~ 4 Dc Shell sts in Meadow, Sc row in Fondant, Dc Shell rows in Plum and Sc row in Fondant again.

Rows 42 - 44 : Hdc rows in Meadow, Shrimp and Meadow

Row 43 : First row of Catherine Wheel pattern in Magenta

Just take a look at my edges .... as I finish a section I am tidying away the threads, it is the only way and works for me!

I am dashing to my wool shop this morning .. I need more Aspen Green ..... AND they are having their January sale.. this could be an exciting albeit pricey trip .. who can resist a wool sale!!  And gosh, my days are just disappearing in a blur lately, taking my dear David to work and then collecting him again in the afternoon takes huge chunks of time out of my daily round.  His wrist is healing nicely but no driving for another seven weeks .. it must be done not so?

Have a super weekend everyone

much love

Pat xxxxx

Stripey Blanket - Part 2

Hello there, how is your week panning out so far?  I had the best time adding more rows to my Stripey Blanket .... I seriously cannot see me trying to stretch this project over a whole year, or even a half a year ... such fun!!

Here are the next rows,

Rows 18-21  :  4dc shells, rows of sc alternating. The shells are in every 4th st.  The sc row:  3sc into the loops on top of the shell and 1sc between shells.

Rows 22 - 24  :  Hdc rows in Fondant, Wisteria and Fondant

Rows 25 - 27  :  Bobble section.  3 dc rows in Saffron, with bobbles in Plum after every 12 sts.  You can insert as many bobbles into the row as you wish, with however many stitches inbetween, it's your choice;  this was how it best worked out for me.

Row 28 - 31  :  Hdc rows in Aqua, Shrimp and Aqua.

Rows 29 - 31  :  Granny rows in Plum, Fondant and Plum

Short aside: my hubby fell through a breaking ladder yesterday and broke his wrist .. he has had surgery and all is good.  Will fetch him home today .. I will probably only get the next few rows done and posted by the end of the week!

Until next time

Happy hooking!

Pat xxxxx