Books, Babies & Birds

Thank you all so much for embracing 'the purple bag'.  I'm thinking it may be time to actually use it - everyone has been so supportive, so perhaps I'll be brave.............LOL..........   My sewing group met last week, with ten members present, and everyone had a pleasant and productive day.  Some ladies made a start on their premmie quilts, and some have already finished a number.  I hope this isn't boring everyone, but I managed to finish another little one, in crochet this time - 8 ply acrylic.  It's very soft to the touch, and should be a nice keepsake for someone.  I like this little pattern, starting in one corner, and working on the diagonal.  It gives a lovely relief design on completion.

My friend Neitta gave me a box of old books and patterns.  It was amazing to see so many that I have myself, or have had over the years.  I am very interested in this one, which has some detailed instructions on several different stitches.............well, the names of the stitches are 'different', but they seem to have been given new names now.  One that comes to mind is 'Alston Stitch', an elaboration on chain stitching, and another called 'Flake Stitch', which we know as thread painting/long and short.  I find it interesting that the terms have changed.  There are also some lovely crochet and tatting patterns in the latter part of the booklet.  I would be interested to know if anyone else has, or has seen this publication.

As it had started to rain prior to my leaving for home, hubby phoned to let me know I should return via a slightly different route [the Council has been working on part of our road].  For some reason I kept my eyes open just in case.   Brolgas turn up every so often, and I can't help but stop and watch them for a while.  I couldn't watch for too long, I was parked on the road, and it was starting to drizzle a little heavier.  I thought I'd share them again with readers.  I know, I can't help it, I love birds, and especially brolgas [in case you hadn't noticed].  They made a good day even better.

Another project finished!

Finally....................   I've been trying to get this knee rug done for ages it seems.  I did have a break from it in December, as our air conditioning wasn't working, so having it on my lap wasn't the most comfortable thing to be doing.  This is another project I'm working on, using the yarns sent to me by my sister and niece.  It measures approximately 1.00m x 1.50m, all acrylic yarns, in the simple chevron double crochet design.  I still have more of most of these colours.

And, just for fun, and in case you think I'm almost to the end of the pile of yarn, this is a portable mesh clothes hamper I purchased to keep the yarns together.  More knee rugs, and pram covers to come..............LOL..

I really have to get onto my feather stitch sampler for Week 3 of the TAST2012 challenge.  It had to take a back seat this week, as the crochet was bothering me, plus I am back to watering, and watering, and watering.............no rain to speak of here - maybe this week.  Take care all and hope your week will be productive and fun.

And some more crochet.................

I've finally managed to be in a position to take photographs of some more pieces I've done in crochet during the last few years.  These pieces all live with my daughter in law.  We were visiting [make that working] on the weekend, so I quickly snapped them to share here.  They were in use, so have not been pressed properly, ie just a tad bit on the crumpled side in places, sorry.  All have been worked in #40 cotton, in ecru, with two featuring the long time favourite design 'pineapple'.  Two were designs in Crochet Monthly, and the small mat came from an old Paragon book I've had for years.

I am sorry this is not going to be a long post.  The last few days have been quite busy here with us, and I really don't have too much time to devote to the computer today.  I hope these pieces will be enjoyed by my blog readers.  

As always, I thank you for your interest.  Your support is sincerely appreciated.

De-stashing Projects

I'm still in a mind to reduce the various materials I have 'acquired' over the years, and have managed to make a few small things to keep in the cupboard as gifts for whenever.  The little cardigan above was done with the remaining few balls of white baby wool I bought from Pick-Up Stitches earlier in the year.

This close-up should show the little cables that are worked into the pattern.  I had never done this before, and really like the look, and will be trying more patterns like this in the future.  I feel the little rectangular MOP buttons look quite alright for this.  The pattern was one I found and purchased via Ravelry.  The designer has a website too:-  http://www.creativecrochet.co.uk/

Of course, I am still working on the 10+ kilos of yarn sent to me by my sister.  Another knee rug is in progress, but some of the yarns are quite thick.  I decided to make a few coathangers with some of these bulkier yarns.  I am always in need of these myself, so they've gone into use already.  They are nothing special, but feel really quite soft.  One is done in crochet, the other knitted.

And, continuing along the ever present baby theme I seem to have going at the moment, this fabric has become a double sided summer wrap.  Easy, peasy, two lengths right sides out, bind with the last little bit of fabric.  I've been carting this length around with me for years and years.  When I had babies, I always carried these with me.  You never know when you need to put your baby down 'somewhere', and that 'somewhere' might be a surface that is a little bit suss in my opinion.  Not that I'm any sort of clean freak I have to say, but at least the wrap gives you some peace of mind.  I have to add that my babies hardly ever had illness of any kind.

I am still quite busy with the watering duties, but as I type, I can hear a slight drizzle, and can smell that wonderful smell of rain on dry earth!!  We have been told to expect some rain this week, so bring it on I say.

Knitting & Crochet Fun

In between my embroidery, and animal duties, I've been playing with some woolwork.  My sister and niece recently sent me their yarn stash, so I've made a start at using it.   I plan to use it for small projects, ie knee rugs, scarves, baby accessories.  Much of it is acrylic, easy to launder.  The knee rug above is the first of my experiments.  I had five large skeins of this multi-coloured pink/purple, and really wasn't sure how far it would go, so I began with the crochet design that starts in one corner and works out on the diagonal.  I kept going until I had used just over two skeins, and then began working my way back into the other corner.  It will make a nice little knee rug to pack in my 'nursing home kit'................  If you see a slight colour variation, you are quite correct.  Despite all the bands displaying the same dyelot number, there still seems to be some difference.  Never mind, this was a project I could work on at night, with a repetitive pattern, and it didn't require a lot of counting and thought.

I have also managed to knit a child's beanie using the wool I purchased recently from Pick Up Stitches.  I love this strong colour contrasting wool.  It is very soft.

This was my first piece of Fishermens' Rib/Brioche Stitch, and I really enjoyed working it.  However, it is VERY elastic, so I needed to use needles one size smaller than I would normally use for traditional rib.  I would love to knit a good sweater in this pattern, perhaps in a colour a little more suited to my age group..........LOL..........

I've not long started a little baby cardigan in red 4 ply pure wool, having almost completed the back, and hope to have it finished by the end of next week.  I really love knitting for babies and toddlers, so will try to do a few things in the coming months, before the real heat sets in here.

I've only just noticed that Blogger seems to have given us a new photograph viewing capability.  I quite like it.  Hope others do too.

A Crochet Table Runner

I've been busy lately trying to finish a table runner I started a few years ago.  I had only actually made six of the main motifs, so I've really done most of it in the last week.  This is made up of 18 small 'pineapple' motifs, four picot wheel motifs, and several picot half and two-third motifs [lots of ends to weave in], and then a simple outer area is done to finish it all off.

The design is in this booklet, Crochet Monthly, an English publication which I used to buy years ago.  I have quite a number of them, but I've done almost all of the pieces in this issue.  Many of them are based on the 'pineapple' design which I know is a little old hat, but these are quite delicate, and I find they look lovely on timber furniture.  My daughter in law has claimed all of the mats I've made so far.  

Perhaps this close-up will show a bit more of the design.  This mat has been made using DMC Cebelia #40 thread, using almost all of a 50gm ball.   The sweet little lady bug clock is a gift from a lovely friend in the UK, something I shall always treasure.

I'm Hooked!!

 

There seems to be a renewed interest in crochet at the moment.  I had drifted away from it over the years, as it went into serious decline for various reasons.  I suppose there is a whole new generation of 'hookers' now, all striving to perfect their stitches.  The one technique I had not tried in depth is Irish crochet.  The little motif above was taken from an ANNA magazine, August 1990.  This is supposed to be used as a brooch, but I can see it's potential as a dimensional addition to a tablemat.

The little grapes are fiddly to do, and are supposed to be 'filled' with wooden beads, but I've just pushed some fibrefill into them, as having used white thread, most wooden beads would be a little unsightly in my opinion.  All of the work has been done using #20 cotton.

Another motif I wanted to try entailed making mountains of loops which formed a frilly effect.  The instructions for this flower are in a Dover publication I bought years ago.  I didn't follow the instructions completely because they leave a lot to be desired.  After a general perusal of them, I went off and did a Frank Sinatra!!

I hope this photograph gives you an idea of the thickness of the work.  I'd like to try this 'flower' in a much finer thread, and perhaps use it with picot joining meshwork.  I think it reminds me of an aster.

Another type of lacework which I've become interested in uses a form of crochet tape.  The lengths of tape are made and fashioned into designs for leaves, flowers etc.  It is commonly known as Romanian Point Lace, or as ANNA calls it Macramé crochet lace.  It took me quite a while to work out exactly how to do the tape, ie where to put the hook through the correct two loops.  I can now say I'm totally hooked on making this tape, and can see it's use in other forms of textile work.  One really has no need to buy braid, just find an appropriate thread/yarn in your stash, and away you go.  It curves beautifully, and after forming petals and leaves, you fill the voided areas with lacework stitching.  I've again used #20 crochet thread, and apologize if it's a little small to see well.   I will play a little more with this and post some work in due course, but I now have to get myself back into my hardanger.  It won't get done doing this!!

Old Crochet Pattern

A number of years ago I was given this old magazine.  I believe the Home Journal was a very popular magazine in years gone by.  I actually remember my mother having them, and using the paper tissue patterns included for sewing.  Sadly, I don't have any others.  I've lost the cover for this one, but after doing a little research, I know it's from 1955 [there was a movie review, so I googled the movie to find out when it was made - The Man from Laramie, starring James Stewart].  The reason I've kept this particualr magazine is for the beautiful crochet pattern in it.

I have made the large mat, using thread given to me by a family I met years ago.  The husband's mother used to crochet, and he gave me all her threads and hooks.  This was made from some of her thread.  It's in #60 thread.  I love the pattern, it's so intricate, compared with many of the newer designs we get these days.  This mat is approximately 14ins in diameter.  I really should make it again, with the little mats to match, in ecru, which is really my preferred colour choice these days.  I have another few pieces of crochet that I shall share in the coming weeks, one in particular from another old publication.  I just need to track down the booklet so I can photograph it to include in the post.  Some of these old books and leaflets are my pride and joy.  I've carted them with me on all of our various moves from job to job.  I suppose they mean a lot to me because they belonged to my old [now deceased] maiden aunt.

On behalf of the people in my district, I say thank you to all who have voiced concern for the situation here.  I believe the people will be allowed to return to their homes tomorrow, Thursday, and one of the large Coal Seam Gas companies will be supplying men and equipment to help with the clean up and recovery.  We have been led to believe that we should stay away, unless asked specifically by friends for help.  There is a definite risk of disease/infection due to the state of the place.  Thank you everyone for any offers of help.  I am as much at a loss to help as any of you at this stage.  Surely we will find some way we can be of some assistance, even if it's only to take some washing to do, or provide food for workers.  

I notice this is post #91 for me, and as I count towards 100, I am excited.  I will have a give-away when that post is reached, so watch this space.

At the moment I'm back to working on my hardanger, which I will share with you soon.  Cheers to all, and happy stitching. 

A Change of Pace

Hello again to everyone.  I decided I'd change the pace a little with this post.  I will have higher water to photograph, as it is STILL rising, but will leave those photos for a few days, and go back to some of the needlework I do.  The table centre in the above photo is one I did a few years ago.  The pattern was in an Anna magazine.  It is done in #20 crochet cotton, and about 30 inches in diameter.  We have a very glossy cream top on our dining table, with brown upholstery on the chairs, so I thought this might make a nice piece for the table [it is hardly ever used, and the table is used for 'stuff'].

Over the years, I've done lots of things in crochet, learning when I was only about nine years old.  I particularly love working around handkerchiefs.  This is another Anna pattern [and an Irish Linen handkerchief].   I use this handkerchief myself, hence it's slightly used appearance [does Blogger have an embarrassed face to use??].

This is another one I use a lot, so do apologize if it is not in pristine condition.  Again, an Anna pattern, with the monogram design from the little book by Christine Harris, Embroidered Initials.  For some reason, every edge pattern I've used from the Anna magazines has just fit perfectly into the handkerchief edge, with no 'fudging' to get the corners nice.  This is a tad smaller than the one above and a pure cotton.  

Hopefully these closeup shots will allow you to see the monogramming.  The embroidery is done with a single strand using my favourite DMC colours, 225/224 pink, and 523 green.  All of the edging has been done using #100 crochet cotton.  








Thank you again to everyone for sending good wishes to us because of the flooding.  Thankfully, we have nothing to worry about, we are on a high area of the property, and we have sufficient food supplies for a number of days, and most definitely enough needlework supplies...........LOL..  I put these pictures on to show people just how much water actually spreads out on this flat river country.  My husband tells me it is higher still this morning.  It appears to be going to break the 1942 record at the bridge in Condamine.  We won't see that, as several small backing up lagoons will be too high for us to cross.  The sun is out now and it's drying out in the paddocks.  When the water recedes there will be fences to be seen to, and the levy bank has broken, so lots of repairs.  I am sure there are others who will have much more damage than we have here.  For those people, all I can do is offer my sympathy and hope they recover quickly from this devestation.