PS to yesterday

I scanned this little cardi when I first got the Weekend Crochet for Baby book from the library and forgot to include it in yesterday's post. I think this is so cute.

Not much else for today. Made another two squares for charity and did some more of the toddlers cardigan I'm knitting. Just got home from having dinner out and think I might go to bed early so I can read for a few hours. The library emailed me this afternoon letting me know the 200 Blocks book I'd requested was ready to pick up so I'll have a bit of fun with that on the weekend.

Books to tempt you

I need to return some library books tomorrow but thought you might be interested in having a peek inside these two English books. The first one is "Crochet in No Time" by Melody Griffiths.



The contents page will give you an idea of what's inside but I'll show you a few more pics of patterns that caught my eye.


This beret requires a chunky yarn and has 492 medium glass beads worked into it - can you imagine the weight ?


This red cardigan is probably my favourite pattern in the book.


And for the little lady in your life ...


Not forgetting the little boy ...


A toy for the boy (and girl) ..


Finally, for Mum ...


The other book is called "Weekend Crochet for Babies" by Sue Whiting. Some beautiful patterns in this book but again, here's a little look at just a few.


How about a hoodie ..


Or a bunny ...


And a great one for charity crochet ...


Think that should be enough to whet your pattern appetite.

I must be getting tired

Can't be bothered doing any more crochet ... can't be bothered playing Bejeweled Blitz ... talk-back radio is getting a bit boring ... desperately need a cup of coffee !!!! Perhaps I should have an early night.

Today's been busy but not overly productive. Did some knitting this morning, read emails this afternoon while waiting for today's CAL square pattern to be posted. It arrived at 4pm and so far I've made three. Its a nice easy circle in a square pattern -



The yellow one in the front is machine washable Bendigo Woolen Mills Classic, the dark brown one at the back is an American yarn, Bernat Pounder (worsted weight), and the other is Marvel. I have to show you this ....



The green yarn beside the brown one is a 200g ball of Bendigo Woolen Mills Classic. Had to put something there to give you an idea of the size of this Bernat which I found lurking in the back of one of my shelves. I think I'm going to have to wind it into smaller balls as its just too big to work from. The wool I'm knitting with (Magnum Soft) fell to bits last night and I had a terrible job getting it untangled. If this huge ball did that I'm afraid my patience or lack of, would get the better of me and the whole lot would probably be thrown out. Better to spend the time winding it into smaller balls.

Ah, now for that cup of coffee.

Oops, nearly forgot

Was just about to shut down and go to bed with that book I was telling you about yesterday, and remembered I hadn't told you about today's FO. Its always a great moment for me to finish something knitted as I'm not very good at knitting. This hat has been sitting on the dining room table just screaming to be finished so today was the day.



This is from the Head Huggers site and is called the Inside Out Hat. I used Patons Jet which I absolutely loved. Its 30% alpaca 70% wool and is SO soft. Had two balls in my stash but unfortunately I had to use some of the second ball so I won't have enough for another hat. Perhaps I might have enough for a neck warmer.

Tomorrow the second pattern in the Knit4Charities CAL will be posted so it'll be back to squares tomorrow.

Squared off

Needed some brain dead type stuff to do today as I read till 3.15am and didn't feel up to concentrating too much on anything. Made more of those granny squares for Knit4Charities CAL (crochet-a-long) but I think I'll give them a rest till the next pattern is posted on Tuesday. Don't know what it will be but I'm tipping it might be the 'other' type of granny where you do all trebles along the sides and a shell in the corner. We'll see .... Here's a pic of what I've done so far.



We were asked to use autumn colours so I hope these will be ok. It was interesting how the different yarns worked up. All were 8ply but some felt thick, some thin, one really soft, another quite stiff, one needed an extra round of half trebles to make it the right size and another needed an extra round of trebles. The lesson I think I learnt here was that if you're making a garment it really is important to do a gauge swatch - something I must admit I haven't worried about much in the past.

I'll be starting another book tonight so perhaps I should get an early start. The book is by Michael Marshall and is called "The Straw Men". One reviewer said ....
"The book centers around two different protagonists, each tracking down what appears to be a serial killer, but in the end, turns out to be much, much more. The main, first-person protagonist attempts to unravel and come to grips with a very intriguing set of clues that shed light on an extremely bizarre past that he'd never imagined. At the same time, a pair of detectives are drawn into a similarly bizarre serial killer case that turns out to be much bigger than what appears on the surface, and as we come to learn, anything the world has ever seen. As more is learned and the story progresses, the two sets of protagonists find themselves on the same case, with a satisfying conclusion that still begs a sequel. Not to be trite, but this truly is one of those rare page-turners that melts the hours away as you read it."

Hmmm ... just as well there's nothing in my diary for tomorrow !

Memories of Granny

Today I started the CAL being run by Knit4Charities. This is the first of three squares and will be going to support one of our charities in August. We will be sending the squares to the member collecting for this charity and she will join them into rugs for Project Love and Care. My square still needs to be finished and blocked but anyway, here it is .....




We've also been talking about squares on Australiacrochet today and I found myself on Ravelry again, looking for a pattern similar to the square Val sent me (picture in previous post). Found one which is a bit like it but I had to modify it a bit to make it the size I wanted. Haven't blocked it yet but this is what its looking like .....


Bendigo 8ply Classic, 4.50mm hook.

By the way, if you're wanting the pattern for the square Val sent me, you can find it here.

The 'kids' haven't appeared on my blog for awhile - here's a shot of the Chinnies taken about 10 minutes ago ...



Reminds me of that childrens ditty "There were three in the bed and the middle one said roll over, roll over".

Madison has had such a busy day today. She spent the first 16 hours or so of it as a big lump in my daughter's bed but now she's stretched out on a warm fluffy bankie in front of the telly and wants to wish you all a very good night.

Today's mail

I received this lovely square today from my partner in the July round of Australiacrochet's 7" square exchange and thought you might like a peek.



Thanks Val. I hope you don't mind me sharing with my friends in the blog-world.

Have a great weekend.

The first one bites the dust !

Remember those six potholders I made for gifts ? Well, I've decided to do six dishcloths to go with them. Just finished No.1 ...



Did this in Bendigo Woolen Mills 8ply cotton with a 3.50mm hook. Its just a basic V-stitch pattern with a few rounds of dc (or sc if you're American) around the edge and finished off with a round of crab stitch. The main part is a mocha type colour and the border is cream (or I think they call it parchment). Might do No. 2 the other way around.

I am so tempted to buy that book on eBay but I'm trying to be strong. The cost of the book isn't so bad but the postage is about $15 so all up it would be a bit pricey. The pattern I really like is the dog bed (pic in yesterdays post)but I'm thinking it wouldn't be all that hard to work out a similar pattern. To take my mind off it last night, I trawled around a bit on Ravelry and came across a nice square pattern. So, out with the yarn and hook and a little while later ...



Had to modify the pattern a bit to make it 7" square so I could use it for the Australiacrochet square exchange. Used Naturally Loyal 8ply (machine washable) with a 4.50mm hook. If you're interested in the pattern and you're on Ravelry, you'll find it here.

Is it recipe time ? Let's go back awhile - do you remember this one ?

NUTS & BOLTS

1 large pkt Nutrigrain (about 600g I think)
1 pkt French Onion Soup powder
1 pkt Cream of Chicken soup powder
1 desertspoon Curry powder
½ cup warm oil
1 cup sultanas (optional)
1 cup unsalted peanuts

Mix all together and don't eat all at once. !!!!

Stay away from eBay

I really should stay away from eBay but am being very tempted to buy a new book (just what I need) which contains a mixture of different type of patterns including this example of super cute-ness which I simply must share with you .....



Now how gorgeous is that ? If you're interested in taking a peek at the other things in the book, you can check it out here.

I also found something else on eBay but its not for sale. This is fun - have a look



Now try and get that song out of your head :)

Tired of seeing Julia

I visit my blog every day so I can read the latest posts from the blog list (on right hand side) ... and I am so sick of seeing that picture of Julia that I thought the best way to overcome this problem was to post something myself so she'll just move on down the page. Mind you, having said that, I think we'll all be seeing lots of Julia and her colleagues and/or opponents in the next few weeks leading up to August 21 !!!!

The weather here has been so cold and miserable lately that staying indoors and playing with the hooks and yarn in front of a nice warm heater has been the best option. So, I have a few things to show you .....



The pattern for this little doily was from The Crochet Spot and is called Hipster Doily. Its very easy but quite pretty I think. I used bedspread weight thread (No.10) with a 3.00mm hook. Finished size is 7 inches.



Spent most of last week working on these potholders which I made as gifts. I love this fun pattern and really enjoy playing with the different colour combinations. These ones are made with Naturally Loyal 8ply machine washable wool and a 4.50mm hook. The pattern used to be free on the internet but unfortunately I can't find it now. I kept a copy and there is one in the files of Australiacrochet group on yahoo. I believe Naturally Loyal wool is relatively new in Australia - its from New Zealand and they have an amazing range of colours. I think there are about 46 in all. It cost me $4.95 for a 50g ball at my local store but you can get it for $3.95 online at Craftee Cottage but they would no doubt charge for postage on top of that.



Patons Tasman Sport 8ply caught my eye last time I was in Lincraft. I think its called Sport because of the footy team colours. Naturally I had to buy a few balls to see what it was like. The way the colours worked in this crochet hat was interesting. I also have a blue and white ball which I think I may knit up to see how that turns out. I'm collecting chemo beanies/caps on behalf of Knit4Charities in support of the Beanie Basket project being run by a lady in Canberra so these hats will be added to that collection.

Before I finish this post, I want to show you something which I think is absolutely amazing. The vest was knitted many years ago by a man and was brought in to CWA by one of our members for display in one of our recent craft exhibitions. Have a look at this ...........



... and here's a close-up



Talking of CWA, here's an interesting little recipe for you.

Three Ingredient Fruit Cake

1kg mixed dried fruit
600ml chocolate flavoured milk
2 cups self raising flour

Soak fruit in milk overnight.
Mix in flour.
Bake at 160 degrees C for about 1 and 1/2 hours(or bottom shelf at 130 degrees for 2 hours).

Can substitute milk with 2 cups strong black coffee or tea, or 600ml unsweetened orange juice.

Note: If top is getting too dark, cover with foil towards the end of cooking time.
Keep 2-3 days before cutting.

Enjoy !!