Little Cotton Rabbits

germy half termy

Last weeks half term break turned into a rather germy affair for us when poor Toby came down with a mystery virus and reacted with his usual high temperature fever of 103^o - 104^o. He looked really awful and was groaning a lot and that together with the really high temperature had me on high alert. I always find these episodes rather scary as it is difficult to gauge how ill he really is because he simply can't tell anyone how he's feeling, and like all things Tobyish you have to rely on guess work and trust your instincts. After 2 days of lying flaked out in bed refusing all but the tiniest sips of water his temperature started coming down and when he started requesting chocolate ice-cream again we knew he was feeling better!  Having his big sister on hand for tickles and cuddles cheered him too.

Today they are both back at school and I'm enjoying some time to knit again. I have been working on lots of animals over the last 2 months but seem to be having difficulty with knuckling down to finishing them off. Recently I've been in a real knit phase and the thought of sewing up and stuffing is a chore, so for now I'm going with the knitting urge and as a result have this big old tangled basket of bits and pieces. I've been especially enjoying making clothes - mostly lots of dresses with flowers which are probably a result of my yearning for the arrival of spring!

 

Hopefully the desire to sew up and stuff will seize me soon and a few more finished animals will emerge from the mess!

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

Finished

Yay, I've finished my Peerie Flooers and am looking forward to wearing them on my next wood walk with Toby, which will definitely bring me a smile - I do love them!

 

 

No doubt there will be quite a few wood walks (weather permitting) over the next couple of weeks because here we are again at the last day of term. Toby went into school this morning laden down with homemade peppermint bark for all of the teachers (this is so easy to make and is really good, so it's now my first choice for teachers gifts).

 

Tomorrow is the start of 17 days of full-on Toby watching. Keeping him safe and entertained with the changes in routine and the added differences that Christmas brings will be a challenge but hopefully there will be some good times sprinkled in there too. I'm hoping for a quiet and calm Christmas with good food, plenty of sleep and some peaceful walks in the woods (with warm and pretty hands!)

All that remains is for me to wish you and those you love a very merry Christmas and a happy New year wherever you are xxx

 

Making Winter, December part 2

Like I said in the previous post, I think warm woolies are one of the very best things about winter and over the years I have built up quite a collection of mittens and scarves...

 

I do like to keep out draughts when I'm out and about, so chunky wool scarves are a big favourite on really cold days. My yarn of choice for a quick chunky scarf is Rowan's big wool. You only need 2 balls (160 metres) and a pair of size 8 or 9mm needles and within 2 or 3 evenings you can whip up a new scarf. Here's a simple tutorial:

Cast on 17 stitches and work the whole thing in moss stitch which is basically:

(K1, P1) 8 times, K1

repeat this for every row, joining in the second ball when you run out of the first and casting off in the same stitch pattern when you only have around 12 inches of yarn left. Weave in the cast on and cast off ends and you're all set for a windy winters day.

Of course I do have another one on the go at the moment...

 

 

This time I'm working in Misti Alpacas cloud-soft, hand-painted chunky baby alpaca yarn, this shade is called Swan Lake.

 

 

 

It's not quite as chunky as the Big Wool but works just as well and it really is super soft.

If you fancy grabbing your needles and casting on a scarf or a pair of mittens then pop over to ravelry where there are literally hundreds of wonderful free patterns to choose from.

Happy knitting xxx