Little Cotton Rabbits

me old china, finished

 

 

In some ways I'm a little sad to have fastened off the last stitch in the edging of this blanket.

 

It has been a pleasure to make; rhythmic, undemanding and soothing.

 

After a bit of a false start (when I had a crisis in confidence about the colour choice and unpicked 20 squares) I started again and I'm now very pleased that I did take out that yellowy colour.

 

 

The colours to me are rich and comforting and it has turned out just as I had hoped.

 

In fact I am ridiculously pleased with it.

 

So here it is, all finished (though it's not easy to photograph)

 

 

And here are some stats:

:: Started on August 31st 2011 and finished on January 27th 2012

:: Worked with a 3.5mm crochet hook in 10 colours of DK yarn:

5 balls of Rich 911 (red) Rowan wool cotton (including 2 for the outer edge),

3 balls each of Geranium 976 (dark pink), Tender 951 (pale pink), Antique 900 (cream),  all in Rowan wool cotton, Basil (green) in Rowan Belle Organic DK and Mirage (pale blue) in Rowan Classic cashsoft DK

2 balls each of Cypress 968 (aqua), Clear 941 (silver grey), Blue Wash (dark blue) all in Rowan wool cotton,

9 balls for the main background Celandon 979 (pale green/aqua) in Rowan wool cotton

:: There are 99 squares (9 x 11) and it measures 133cm x 163cm

:: Each square is a traditional granny square (there are lots of tutorials on the internet such as this one) and each square has 6 rounds of different colours. There's a sort of checkerboard pattern, alternating between squares with red near the centre and those with it near the edge but it's fairly random.

:: Each square is surrounded by a round of the background colour and I worked 3 rows of this around the 99 squares.

:: The edging is worked as follows: 1 row of single crochet, 1 row of double crochet, another row of single crochet and a row of picot edging.

 

I've got used to working on a little crochet in the evening so now I'll have to ponder what to make next as my one a day project, though I think I'm a little blanketed out.

Any ideas?

(part of the one a day project)

making winter January

Part of the Making Winter series started by Silverpebble and Thriftyhousehold.

This month the Making Winter theme is cosiness and comfort. For me these are two words which conjure up images of warm woollen blankets, a mug of hot chocolate and a fire crackling in the grate. I've not made any hot chocolate today but the fire is lit and I do have a pile of snuggly blankets to make a little knitting nest from.

 

Over the last couple of years I've been a bit of a blanket collector. Starting off with this one which I bought in 2008 to commemorate my Grandparents following the death of my Gangan. I sewed on an embroidered a linen patch and I often think of them when I'm sitting snuggled in this blanket. It's a nice way of remembering what special people they were and how much they contributed to my happy childhood and my love of making and growing things.

 

 

More recently I've been making my own blankets. I like working on these one square a day (or thereabouts) and while I'm making my squares in the quiet of the evening I like to mull over the pleasurable bits of the day just passed. So far I've made two; a 'flowers in the snow' and I'm just finishing off my 'old china' granny square blanket.

 

 

 

I'll post some more pictures of it when it's completely finished. If you feel the need for a little cosiness & comfort then pop over and visit the January Making Winter Blog Hop at Silverpebble, there are lots of lovely ideas and some delicious recipes.

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PS: if you are looking to buy a blanket for snuggling, these are my favourite blanket shops:

The Atlantic Blanket Company

Melin Tregwynt

Avoca

Hat

 

We've had quite a few cold and frosty mornings of late.

 

And since there is still a fair bit of yarn left over from my mitten knitting, I thought I'd put it to good use. So I now have a hat to match my mittens.

 

Considering how cleverly designed and gorgeous Kate Davies's pattern is, it would have been rude not to, but I think I've satisfied my fairisle fixation for now. I can feel a major bunny knitting phase approaching.

 

 

I shall be warm and toasty in the woods this weekend. Wishing you a warm and happy weekend wherever you are x

...recharging...

...by knitting,

more mittens (could be that there's a slight obsession going on here!)

 

 

 

I even like how they look in-side-out

 

and some bunnies in Orkney Angoras St magnus yarn, (50% angora, 50% lambswool) a truly delicious yarn from lovely people

 

...and by listening (and singing along loudly and very badly) to Polly Paulusma's Running with Scissors. She has such an enviable voice and I like her rather dark and quirky lyrics.

All in all it's been a quiet week of settling back into routines. Toby is much happier and I'm building up my energy reserves so I'm ready to plead, beg or battle with social services for an increase in our paltry 6 hours a month of respite care.

Thank you so much for all of the kind, supportive and encouraging comments recently. They mean so very much to me and I am deeply and truly grateful for them and for your visits here.

Thank you x

And breathe...

 

 

It's very wet and windy outside today, but I don't much mind because here in my little corner of the world all is quiet and cosy and peaceful.

 

Christmas this year was really tough going for Toby, and therefore for us too. Each year I think that it can't get worse and each year I am surprised to find that it can - you'd think I'd learn, but then I suppose I am an optimist. The change in routine means that Toby finds all school holidays incredibly stressful and coupled with the Christmas tree and decorations making the house look different we had a lot more hand-biting, meltdowns, screaming flinging fits and awful nights. He couldn't cope with some of the decorations so we had to take them down and as usual we didn't get to eat Christmas lunch all together - I spent most of it in the garden blowing bubbles for Toby while Amy & H ate.

'Special days' really accentuate the difference between how our family lives and how family life is for most and I know it's particularly hard for Amy despite the considerable effort H & I make to be upbeat and jolly. I do try to focus on all that I have to be grateful for, but deep down I wish with all my heart that Toby could experience a little of the magic of Christmas and as a consequence I felt tearful for much of Christmas day.

Anyway, I'm not going to dwell on all that could be better because, like many who deal with difficult circumstances, I'm aware of the deep well of despair and bitterness that it would be all to easy to fall into. I have seen it claim some that I know and that is not how I want to live my life. Instead I'm going to take up my knitting, enjoy my cup of tea and revel in the peace, quiet and calm that has returned here now that Toby is back at school. Thank goodness for familiar, comforting routines and the simple, quiet pleasures of knitting.

Time to recharge my batteries.