Miss Piggy Ponchette

Sadly, I'm too clumsy for a shawl.  Far too likely to catch it on door handles, dangle it in my soup or flick people in the eyes as I flap it around.  No, I'm much better with something a little less flouncy.

Slouchy, yes.  I love slouchy.  But not flouncy.

My Miss Piggy Ponchette is a deliciously simple project.  It's basically a large rectangle which is double (single US) crocheted together.

The science bit … I started with a chain of 60 (plus 2 to turn) and half treble (half double US) crocheted row after row until it measured approximately 120cm, which I think, in my case, was about 140 rows, using a 5mm hook.  I used Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk dk in shade number 001, Piglet.  It took four balls.

You could of course use any stitch/combination of stitches you like, edge it, decorate it with buttons, thread a ribbon … I won't go on, you're a crafty bunch of sausages and will have ideas I've not even thought of.

xxx

PS.  I have promised my daughter that I will credit her with the photographs in this post.  It's true, she did take them (for the princely sum of £2.00 and not without a large helping of mortification regarding my visible bra strap).  *sigh*

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Wasn't the weekend glorious?

I absolutely LOVE this time of year.

Two things are guaranteed to get me and my lazy bottom out of a sun lounger when the weather is so stonkingly gorgeous - an invitation to a barbecue (Saturday) and a long leisurely walk (Sunday).

D's mum lives in a little village not far from here, called Thorpe Langton.  It's chocolate box pretty.  There's a track just off the Main Street, beyond the pub, that leads the walker between several cottages, past a farm, across a little ford and out into open fields.

It was just the three of us and Bertie on Sunday morning -  me, D and his mum.

I am definitely a townie through and through.  I need to be where people are.  I've tried country-living.  Hated it.  Too quiet, too lonely, too dark at night and too many huuuuuge spiders.

I do love a walk though.  Particularly at this time of year when the English countryside is at its heart-stoppingly beautiful best.

D's mum always laughs at me carefully picking my way over dodgy terrain in flip flops and jingly-jangly jewellery while she and D stride confidently ahead with their shapely calves and sturdy boots.

I don't mind.  I'm more than happy to drop back and enjoy it alone.  Just me and my camera.  I wish I was a bit more knowledgeable about wildflowers though.  There's always the internet of course, but I'd like to buy myself a little book to keep handy.  (If you have a spare minute, type 'wild flowers' into Google images - I literally squealed with delight at the colours that filled my screen.)

Are the little white flowers in the top left of my collage above, hawthorn?  They have a very strong peppery smell which takes me straight back to the summers of my childhood.

***

Eek!  I think it's just started to rain so I must dash and bring the washing in.  It's fast approaching school pick-up time and Bertie is lying at my feet making the most foul smell which is beginning to make me feel a bit sick!

I do hope you all had an equally lovely weekend.

xxx

Ten Random Things

  

Inspired by Annie, my ….

Ten Random Things

1.  I absolutely love to laugh.  You know, really helplessly laugh.  It's true what they say, it's far better than any medicine.  I develop huge crushes on people I find funny.

2.  I eat far too many cheese and Marmite toasties.  (Jo, it's totally your fault.)

3.  I have clicky hips and am pretty sure I'll need a replacement before the age of fifty.

4.  When I was at the supermarket last week, a lady tapped me on the shoulder to tell me that my skirt was caught up on my bag and my knickers were showing.

5.  I tell my children that I love them every day.

6.  My meal hell would be goats' cheese for starter, lamb for main course and bread and butter pudding for dessert.  Or trifle.  Bleurgh!

7.  I get overwhelming feelings about things.  Like perceptions that I don't know what to do with.  I have always been convinced that nature holds the cure to all illnesses.  I feel there is a lot of untapped potential in plant life under the sea.  It does, after all, cover 75% of the earth's surface.  They mentioned on the news quite recently that this very research was beginning to be undertaken and I nearly wet myself with excitement and relief.  I want the benefits of Lycopene to be investigated further.  Oh, and I haven't worn an underwired bra in years - I'm not happy with how much pressure they put on lymph glands.

8.  I can't put the volume on the television on anything other than an even number or one ending in 5.  My son seems to have inherited this peculiar quirk.

9.  I'm quite good at mimicking people's voices and accents.

10.  I absolutely adore my husband but if Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs knocked on my door and asked me to run away with him, I'd be sorely tempted!

xxx

Colours

Do you ever feel that you're stuck in a bit of a colour combination rut?

I do.

I'm like a moth to a flame when it comes to soft pinks, turquoise blues and mint greens but there are some colours and tones that are not even on my radar.

Are you always drawn to the same colours?

I get terribly impressed with other people's clever use of colour.  Some of my recent favourites are Maaike's blanket, Wink's wrist warmers, Nikki's chevron stripes, Vanessa's scarf, Suzie's Humbugs and Sandra's version of Suzie's Humbugs.  For me, all of these combinations have an element of surprise or daring about them and I love that.

I have, over time, accumulated quite a variety of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino colours so, using them as my palette and some of my own photographs for reference, I decided to set myself a little challenge.  Remember, I'm talking inspiration here, not pantone matches ...

It's actually really good fun and does get you thinking outside the box, if you know what I mean?  It also makes you realise which colours you have perhaps been avoiding.  I was completely struck by the lack of dark colours in my stash.  Top of my yarn shopping list is now a charcoal grey and a dark clay brown.  I think I shall also keep my eyes peeled for a few red-based tones.  It's all very well having a selection of pretty colours to choose from but sometimes it takes a more earthy tone to frame or anchor them and stop them being too garish.

See how Sandra uses browns and grey in her Boho Stars capelet here ...

It's so clever, don't you think?

Of course, colour combinations are very much a case of personal taste and even mood.  I'd love to know your favourites.  Even better, if you fancy playing my 'photo inspiration' game and blogging about it, do share a link with me.

xxx

Cherry On Top - A Crochet Phone Cosy

I have three crochet WIPs on the go at the moment; two you know about (my Spring Stripes and the cornflower blue edition of my Baktus Wrap) and one you don't (I've called it Angel Delight - more on that one very soon, I promise).

Well, as much as I'm enjoying each of them, sometimes it's really rather lovely to take a break and indulge in a little gratuitous whimsy, don't you think?

As my cross stitch on crochet crush continues, I thought I might share just such a make with you.  It's delightfully simple (an evening's work, tops) and is perfect for using up those itty bitty scraps of yarn.

It's a phone cosy.  A fruity one.

Cute, huh?

I made it using purely double crochet stitches (US single crochet) in the round, a 4mm hook and some Sublime dk yarn I had left over from a previous project.

I began by making a chain a teensy bit shorter than the width of the bottom of my phone (you want it to be a snug fit).  In my case it was 12 plus an extra 1 for turning ...

Do not make a join, simply dc into stitch 1 and continue.

It's worth sliding your phone into the cosy now and again, as you progress, to ensure a good fit.  Keep crocheting until your cosy reaches the desired height.  I think mine was 26 rounds.  Slip stitch to finish and weave in the end.

Now comes the fun bit.

Double crochet lends itself to being decorated with cross stitch as the holes between in each stitch are nice and even, see?

I used a tapestry needle and some scraps of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino for my cross stitch.

Now, I made my cherry design up as I went along; any striking similarity to any other cross stitched cherry out there in the ether is therefore purely coincidental.  Consequently, I am quite happy for you to copy it/use it as you wish.  The same goes for the crochet pattern.  (A link back to me would be smashing though!)

I can't possibly go before telling you that, no sooner had I finished photographing my cherry cosy, my 12 year old daughter (who normally breaks out in a rash at the mere thought of being seen with something her Mum made) snaffled it!  I know!  I huffed and puffed with pretend indignation but was secretly tickled pink!

So I made another.  For me.  Squint and they could be little roses, non?

www.deramores.com/blog-awards: This blog entry is my submission to the Deramores Blog Awards 2014. Deramores is the UK’s number one online retailer of knitting and crochet supplies.

Pass it on.

xxx