A bit of a catch up!

Goodness me! I hadn't realised that it had been quite so long since my last blog post. No real excuses apart from just feeling a bit 'meh' and lacking in enthusiasm. I am really missing Flo's company and it's so easy to get into a slump.

I did do a bit of spinning to join in with the Tour de Fleece. To be truthful, it was more plying than spinning. I spun a couple of bobbins of singles last year and I'm ashamed to say that they sat there untouched for a whole year. I decided to ply them with some fluffy yarn, so used Drops Kid Silk mohair yarn. I have a vague idea of combining various skeins of handspun yarn into a sweater so let's see how far I get with that idea. I also finished spinning some pink fibre but that still needs to be plied so I will save that for another blog post.

I have added a few rows to my Chunky Striations blanket. I'm using various balls of Stylecraft Special Chunky yarn and it is a total explosion of colour! I still have quite a way to go to get it to a decent blanket size and then I need to decide how to finish off the edges. There is a garter stitch border around the edge but I am thinking that an I-cord might be a nice touch too. Watch this space!

I have finished the matching pair of each of my Grannies in a Row socks. They were a lot of fun to knit. There is a KAL running until the end of August if you'd like to join in. Jen, who is EveryThing ShapesUs on Instagram, is the organiser, so check out her Instagram for details. There are prizes to be won (more on that a little later!) It's a perfect pattern for using up scraps of yarn (of which I have many!)

I joined in the Contrast Blast KAL which was run by Stephen West. I used two gorgeous yarns from Beth over at Beehive Yarns and really enjoyed knitting clues 1 and 2. The pattern on the heel flap is fabulous. I haven't got round to knitting the remaining clues yet, but I have at least printed them out! My aim is to finish these before starting any more pairs of socks!

I finished my Hush sweater by Tin Can Knits. The yarn was a birthday present from my knitting pal Snoopydog and is so beautiful. You knit with a strand of fingering and a strand of fluff and it creates a wonderful cosy fabric. The cable pattern around the yoke was fun to knit and I also knitted an I-cord neckline. I'm looking forward to wearing it when the weather is cooler. I did miss my furry photobomber Flo who could be relied upon to climb the tree and feature in a photo or two.

I sewed a project bag as a prize for the Grannies in a Row socks KAL. I thought that the granny square fabric made it the perfect choice! I added in a set of miniskeins and hope that whoever wins it will like it. It's been a long time since I dusted off my sewing machine and I did enjoy making it. 

My darling Flo is back home. I have never had a pet cremated before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I chose a wooden photo frame to store her ashes inside (they are in a satin bag in the middle of the frame.) The vet had also taken a paw print and a little vial containing her fur and they were given to me when I collected her ashes from the vet. She really was my best girl and I miss her. xxx

Harbour blanket ta-da!

I have, at long last, finished my Attic24 Harbour blanket. Lucy released the pattern for a crochet-along back in January 2022. The pattern was shared over several weeks, with the aim of completing each week's rows in time for the next block. I got behind and the blanket got consigned to a project bag by the side of the sofa. In no time at all, it became buried under more project bags and I only got round to digging it out again after Flo was put to sleep. The colours in the blanket were inspired by boats and other seafaring bits and pieces and looking at some of my photos of harbours (mostly in Cornwall, a couple in Whitby and one from Greece), Lucy has the colours nailed perfectly.

Although Flo is no longer here to give it her seal of approval, she did give it the paws up early on in its making. I'm glad it's had a squish from Flo 🐾🐾🐾

It's currently on the back of one of the sofas, but I plan to use it out in the garden when the days get a little cooler, so I can be nice and cosy while I'm reading. You can find details of the pattern here on the Attic24 website and yarn packs are available from Woolwarehouse if you don't have a bricks and mortar Stylecraft stockist close by. Have you ever made any of Lucy's blankets? xxx

Grannies-in-a-Row socks

I was lucky enough to be part of the test knitters for a crazy new sock pattern called 'Grannies-in-a-Row' which has been designed by Jen Yard who is Every.thing.Shapes.Us over on Instagram. The design uses both crocheted granny squares and traditional sock knitting to create a really fun sock. The first sock was made using lots of oddments of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply yarn.

I wanted to knit a pair using self-striping yarn, so I used leftovers from my Advent skein from The Yarn Badger and made the granny squares one solid colour. 

Copyright Jen Yard

Jen is running a KAL over on Instagram which starts today and ends on August 31st, so there's loads of time to join in. The pattern is currently on sale until this coming Monday (June 26th) from Jen's Ravelry store here. I will be joining in and hope to knit a matching sock for each of my test knits as well as another pair or two. There will be prizes too and I am donating something! I really hope you come and join the fun! xxx

 

Free Motion Stitching

I took part in a Zoom stitching class with Janine Pope earlier this year. She creates a very distinctive kind of figure and the class was learning about her drawing style and teaching the basics so that we would be able to create our own figure. I can't find a website for Janine, but she does occasionally post on her Instagram page and it was there that I found out about her online classes. You can find her Instagram page here. It was a completely different way of doing free motion stitching for me. If you have been following me for a while, you will know that I have made cushions in the style of Poppy Treffry in the past. Using Poppy's technique, fabrics are cut to the right size and shape and stitched onto the front of the backing fabric. With Janine's approach, you stitch on the wrong side of the fabric, attaching fabric in different layers on the reverse (the right side of the fabric) and then trim the fabric close to the stitching. The workshop was several hours long, but it certainly didn't feel it as we were so busy drawing and then stitching. You can see my first effort in the photo above. I definitely want to try again. I think that they would make perfect presents for people, making personalised portraits of them, don't you? xxx

 

Farewell dear friend

I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Flo last week. She had been unwell for the last couple of weeks and an ultrasound scan showed several masses in her abdomen as well as enlarged lymph nodes. The vet said that there was nothing that could be done to help her so I made the decision for her to slip away while she was still sedated from her scan. She was my best girl and constant companion, especially after Mr JK died and throughout lockdown and the house feels horribly empty and quiet without her. I hope that she's curled up on Mr JK's lap with unlimited cheese Dreamies close at hand. Sleep well Flo. xxx