Give me a crochet hook anyday.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Defeat !!
OK .. I'm over it !!!!!! Yes, here I am publicly admitting defeat and I hereby vow and declare that those horrid dpns can go and stick their little ends anywhere they please as long as they're nowhere near me. I did try - even managed two rounds before a stupid stitch fell off the end of a needle. It happened to be a K2tog which made it worse as I even have a battle trying to pick up a single dropped stitch on two needles ................ so, I will now have to wait till my friend gets back from Bali and speak ever so sweetly to her (pretty please) and hope she might finish the top of that slouch hat for me. I personally think we should stamp out those hats that have that rounded shape at the top .. so old hat (if you'll pardon the pun). The ones that you just gather at the top are much more chic don't you think ? Just for the record, here's a pic of what I was trying to make. I nicked it from Aussie Maria's blog - hope you don't mind Maria.
Give me a crochet hook anyday.
Give me a crochet hook anyday.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thou Shalt not Procrastinate !
Well, I have to confess I've been putting off trying to use those dpn's with every excuse (to myself) that you can imagine. I will have to do something about it in the next few days though as the interchangeable circs I have the hat on at the moment have to be returned for exchange when I go to Sydney on Monday as the join is a bit rough. Sooooo .... hopefully I'll be able to show you a finished slouch hat soon. Actually I read somewhere today that knitters and crocheters seem to get more fun out of starting projects than finishing them. I'm not real sure I agree with this but given the number of UFOs I have littered around the house, maybe there is something to it.
This week has been productive in a funny kind of way. I've been working out the format for a crochet class I'll be teaching in a few weeks time. One of the participants wants to learn how to make this ....
.... and others want to learn all the different stitches, how to keep edges straight, front and back post stitches and tunisian. Do you think we're going to be able to fit all this into a two hour lesson ?
This week has been productive in a funny kind of way. I've been working out the format for a crochet class I'll be teaching in a few weeks time. One of the participants wants to learn how to make this ....
.... and others want to learn all the different stitches, how to keep edges straight, front and back post stitches and tunisian. Do you think we're going to be able to fit all this into a two hour lesson ?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Your wish is my command (and a hat) !!
One of my lovely blog friends has asked for a pic of the mile-a-minute (sometimes known as mile-a-millenium) strips I've been making for Knit4Charities. Here you go Pat ...
I think my stripping days are over for awhile as I have lots of other WIMs tempting me. I saw this tutorial for a scoodie (scarf/hoodie) on YouTube and think I'll give it a try as DD and her husband are going to the mountains for a few days over Easter and I think this might come in handy to help keep her warm.
Last night I whipped up another little hat to go in my charity donations box. Here's Charlotte modelling it for you.
Don't you love that cute little pom-pom on the top ? Its actually a crocheted pom-pom as I don't like the ordinary ones on baby's or young children's hats for safety reasons. If they happen to start coming apart I think those little bits of wool would be quite dangerous if ingested. Anyway, if you want to make a crochet pom-pom, just ch4 and join into a circle, then do about 24 x 3ch loops into the circle with a dc (sc if you use US terminology) between each one, then do 5 trebles (dc for US) in each loop right the way around. I found this pattern somewhere on the internet but can't remember where, otherwise I'd give credit to the designer for this nifty little pom-pom that would be more than happy to double as a flower embellishment if you want one.
Update on that knitted hat which is almost ready for the crown shaping ..... no further progress and no, its not because I'm afraid of those dpn's, its just 'cause the wool is dark and the light wasn't bright enough !! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I think my stripping days are over for awhile as I have lots of other WIMs tempting me. I saw this tutorial for a scoodie (scarf/hoodie) on YouTube and think I'll give it a try as DD and her husband are going to the mountains for a few days over Easter and I think this might come in handy to help keep her warm.
Last night I whipped up another little hat to go in my charity donations box. Here's Charlotte modelling it for you.
Don't you love that cute little pom-pom on the top ? Its actually a crocheted pom-pom as I don't like the ordinary ones on baby's or young children's hats for safety reasons. If they happen to start coming apart I think those little bits of wool would be quite dangerous if ingested. Anyway, if you want to make a crochet pom-pom, just ch4 and join into a circle, then do about 24 x 3ch loops into the circle with a dc (sc if you use US terminology) between each one, then do 5 trebles (dc for US) in each loop right the way around. I found this pattern somewhere on the internet but can't remember where, otherwise I'd give credit to the designer for this nifty little pom-pom that would be more than happy to double as a flower embellishment if you want one.
Update on that knitted hat which is almost ready for the crown shaping ..... no further progress and no, its not because I'm afraid of those dpn's, its just 'cause the wool is dark and the light wasn't bright enough !! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Knitting Rules !
That's the name of the book I received a few days ago.
If you want a good laugh, if you want some good advice and if you want some inspiration and motivation, then you must read this book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. There are no patterns as such in this book but a wealth of 'recipes' and information on making just about every basic item of clothing you'd want to make. Stephanie has an amazing sense of humour which really shows through in her writing. I loved this snippet in the glossary ..
"UFO (unfinished object), A project that's incomplete, and proud of it. A UFO is seldom found alone but instead roams the knitter's home in packs. The discovery of one UFO should be regarded as a warning sign that there are many, many more. There are reports of mythic "one thing-at-a-time"knitters but these are only anecdotal. A thorough search usually reveals several objects the knitter abandoned and consequently banished from memory" ..
sound familiar ?
Not a lot of crochet being done here at the moment - just another mile-a-minute strip to be made into a blanket for Sydney Homeless Connect day which is being supported for Knit4Charities. I'm also working on a baby's blanket for one of my DD's work colleagues and when I'm feeling really brave, I do a few more rounds on a slouch hat I'm knitting and getting fearfully close to when I'll need to transfer from the circs to the scary dpn's ----- my first attempt at anything on such beasts. If it works out ok it will certainly become a ta-dah post. Wish me luck.
If you want a good laugh, if you want some good advice and if you want some inspiration and motivation, then you must read this book by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. There are no patterns as such in this book but a wealth of 'recipes' and information on making just about every basic item of clothing you'd want to make. Stephanie has an amazing sense of humour which really shows through in her writing. I loved this snippet in the glossary ..
"UFO (unfinished object), A project that's incomplete, and proud of it. A UFO is seldom found alone but instead roams the knitter's home in packs. The discovery of one UFO should be regarded as a warning sign that there are many, many more. There are reports of mythic "one thing-at-a-time"knitters but these are only anecdotal. A thorough search usually reveals several objects the knitter abandoned and consequently banished from memory" ..
sound familiar ?
Not a lot of crochet being done here at the moment - just another mile-a-minute strip to be made into a blanket for Sydney Homeless Connect day which is being supported for Knit4Charities. I'm also working on a baby's blanket for one of my DD's work colleagues and when I'm feeling really brave, I do a few more rounds on a slouch hat I'm knitting and getting fearfully close to when I'll need to transfer from the circs to the scary dpn's ----- my first attempt at anything on such beasts. If it works out ok it will certainly become a ta-dah post. Wish me luck.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Back in Time
After leaving home and heading north to Sydney, it was like turning the calendar back a month or two. The temperature was a beautiful ten degrees warmer, skies blue and very very easy to take !! Only drawback was that we were off to see a show in the evening and I’d taken winter woollies but fortunately I had a lightweight shirt with me which was suitable to wear. After a quick shopping spree by daughter we relaxed awhile in Pitt Street Mall and listened to the most beautiful music performed by a guy with a name I wouldn’t even attempt but I think goes by the name of Sky.
The atmosphere was incredible and it was hard to draw ourselves away to go find somewhere to have dinner prior to taking our seats in the beautiful State theatre to go back not months, but over 50 years, for “The Class of 59”. What a change from Sky’s music !!!! The place really rocked as we were entertained by Lonnie Lee and a group of tribute artists who were truly amazing. Songs by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and the Fonz !! I was most impressed by a young guy called Anthony Pettruci as Elvis
but they all looked and sounded like the artist they were portraying and it was just like being back 50 odd years when rock and roll emerged and took over the music industry. Here are a few pics we managed to get .... sorry about the quality of the on stage one but believe me when I say the place was rocking – the woman who was sitting behind us was jigging around so much in her seat that the balcony was literally rocking and it was near impossible to try for an in-focus shot.
My other daughter is an avid Elvis Presley fan and she's going to love this little guitar which 'Elvis' autographed for her .. it says "To Karen - xoxo Elvis".
It was back to normal when we got home yesterday – drop of ten degrees in temperature and house heating turned on again. Today I think I’ll relax with Sky’s music and play around with some yarn and a hook.
The atmosphere was incredible and it was hard to draw ourselves away to go find somewhere to have dinner prior to taking our seats in the beautiful State theatre to go back not months, but over 50 years, for “The Class of 59”. What a change from Sky’s music !!!! The place really rocked as we were entertained by Lonnie Lee and a group of tribute artists who were truly amazing. Songs by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and the Fonz !! I was most impressed by a young guy called Anthony Pettruci as Elvis
but they all looked and sounded like the artist they were portraying and it was just like being back 50 odd years when rock and roll emerged and took over the music industry. Here are a few pics we managed to get .... sorry about the quality of the on stage one but believe me when I say the place was rocking – the woman who was sitting behind us was jigging around so much in her seat that the balcony was literally rocking and it was near impossible to try for an in-focus shot.
My other daughter is an avid Elvis Presley fan and she's going to love this little guitar which 'Elvis' autographed for her .. it says "To Karen - xoxo Elvis".
It was back to normal when we got home yesterday – drop of ten degrees in temperature and house heating turned on again. Today I think I’ll relax with Sky’s music and play around with some yarn and a hook.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
I've got a lovely bunch of .... Coasters
I participate in a coaster exchange on AustraliaCrochet and received these cuties from my partner this month ..
The exchange requires you to send two coasters but as you can see, Kathy got a bit carried away. Thank you Kathy, I think the coasters are lovely and am going to work out the pattern and do a few for one of my partners somewhere down the track.
My friend and I went to a "Clayton's" meeting this morning - you know, the one you have when there isn't one on !!!! We sat in the car outside the venue for about half an hour waiting for other people to appear but alas, we remained alone. I won't bore you with the details but after checking with the equally confused staff who also thought there was a meeting today, we figured the best thing to do would be to hit the shops ..... the wool one of course. Two balls of yarn and a set of dpn's later, it was home for lunch and a bit of a play with that yarn. Reminds me of a couple of quotes I read from a book preview on the BookDepository site the other night.
SABLE - Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy
WHACO - Acronym for "Wool Housing & Containment Overload". This will happen to almost all knitters/crocheters eventually. Its the state reached where a knitters stash outgrows her particular ability and her resourses to contain it. This is usually a chronic condition, but periods of remission may occur when a knitter runs out of money (and is thus forced to knit some stash yarn) or moves to a bigger house.
Those snippets are from the book Knitting Rules - The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. At $14.41 Australian with free postage, how could I not buy it ?
The exchange requires you to send two coasters but as you can see, Kathy got a bit carried away. Thank you Kathy, I think the coasters are lovely and am going to work out the pattern and do a few for one of my partners somewhere down the track.
My friend and I went to a "Clayton's" meeting this morning - you know, the one you have when there isn't one on !!!! We sat in the car outside the venue for about half an hour waiting for other people to appear but alas, we remained alone. I won't bore you with the details but after checking with the equally confused staff who also thought there was a meeting today, we figured the best thing to do would be to hit the shops ..... the wool one of course. Two balls of yarn and a set of dpn's later, it was home for lunch and a bit of a play with that yarn. Reminds me of a couple of quotes I read from a book preview on the BookDepository site the other night.
SABLE - Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy
WHACO - Acronym for "Wool Housing & Containment Overload". This will happen to almost all knitters/crocheters eventually. Its the state reached where a knitters stash outgrows her particular ability and her resourses to contain it. This is usually a chronic condition, but periods of remission may occur when a knitter runs out of money (and is thus forced to knit some stash yarn) or moves to a bigger house.
Those snippets are from the book Knitting Rules - The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. At $14.41 Australian with free postage, how could I not buy it ?
Monday, April 4, 2011
Memories and M-A-M
I've decided its time to clean up some of the files on my computer and have just spent about an hour or so browsing. All the old photos brought back lots of memories and in the recipe folder I found some great dishes I'd forgotten about. Since its been forever since I've shared a recipe with you, here's an oldie but a goodie, especially if you're watching your weight. You can eat the whole cheesecake without doing any damage .... so, enjoy !!
PINEAPPLE CHEESE CAKE
BASE
1 pkt lo-cal raspberry jelly crystals
1 ½ cups hot water
1 tsp gelatine
Add gelatine to jelly crystals. Pour hot water over and stir until dissolved. Pour into pie dish to set.
FILLING
125g ricotta cheese
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
100g unsweetened pineapple pieces
4 tsp gelatine
30g skim milk powder
10 drops liquid sugarine
½ tsp pineapple essence
Dissolve gelatine in ½ cup of boiling water, add unsweetened pineapple juice. Put ricotta cheese, skim milk powder, sweetener and essence in blender. Add gelatine mix and blend for 20 seconds. Add pineapple pieces. Blend for 10 seconds. Pour onto jelly base and allow to set.
My crochet projects are all over the place at the moment. I have several things on the go but have spent the past few days having fun with a CAL (crochet-a-long) on Knit4Charities. We're making these Mile-a-Minute strips which one of our members will be joining together to make blankets for the Sydney Homeless Connect Day later this year. Here's two I finished today ..
Each strip is 62 inches long, made in Aussie 8ply with a 4.50mm hook. These are as much fun as the Crochet-a-Rainbow squares - love playing around with the colours.
And finally for today's post, little dogs have played a major role in our family for many years. Here's one last memory from waaaaay back. Aren't newborns beautiful ?
PINEAPPLE CHEESE CAKE
BASE
1 pkt lo-cal raspberry jelly crystals
1 ½ cups hot water
1 tsp gelatine
Add gelatine to jelly crystals. Pour hot water over and stir until dissolved. Pour into pie dish to set.
FILLING
125g ricotta cheese
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
100g unsweetened pineapple pieces
4 tsp gelatine
30g skim milk powder
10 drops liquid sugarine
½ tsp pineapple essence
Dissolve gelatine in ½ cup of boiling water, add unsweetened pineapple juice. Put ricotta cheese, skim milk powder, sweetener and essence in blender. Add gelatine mix and blend for 20 seconds. Add pineapple pieces. Blend for 10 seconds. Pour onto jelly base and allow to set.
My crochet projects are all over the place at the moment. I have several things on the go but have spent the past few days having fun with a CAL (crochet-a-long) on Knit4Charities. We're making these Mile-a-Minute strips which one of our members will be joining together to make blankets for the Sydney Homeless Connect Day later this year. Here's two I finished today ..
Each strip is 62 inches long, made in Aussie 8ply with a 4.50mm hook. These are as much fun as the Crochet-a-Rainbow squares - love playing around with the colours.
And finally for today's post, little dogs have played a major role in our family for many years. Here's one last memory from waaaaay back. Aren't newborns beautiful ?
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