Ripple stitch rainbow blanket or afghan : progress!!!

This was taken on Sunday 10 May 2009 and I have progresses a bit further in that there are 5 more double rows, ie 5 colours added to the above picture. It's still totally absorbing and it's very relaxing to add a few rows at a time.
Today I had a half hour lunchbreak with no access to anywhere much so I very happily added 2 rows( 1 colour) to the blanket and the colours simply filled me with joy and peace and a contented happiness.

There are instructions in detail on my crochet blog: www.merrysusan.blogspot.com

and by that I mean a step by step tutorial in the form of photographs.

I am still using a 4mm hook and DK pure wool from Yeoman Yarns: available from www.yeomanyarns.co.uk

You have to phone up and ask for the handknitting shade card which they print for you and send in the post, then you can order by phone: It's not online yet.

I have been playing with the colours, not repeating any particular sequence as yet and there are different areas which are my favourites on any given day, my daughters too have their ''most loved'' bits but they also like the choice and the variety.

In that respect it's kind of like a sampler for me. A colourplay crochet sampler.

SEE? I love the sequence from pale blue to the palest turquoise above: from right to left after the red? Not too sure about the 2 orange tones right by the dark navy blue....

But the orange does spark the blue quite well?

I also like the hippy chick bit with all the 70's colours: pink,lime,orange and purple....

And I like the pinks/oranges and reds together.

By last weekend I was on a ''preppy colours'' roll: or classics: you know the sky blue, ''pine'' ( or racing car green as it used to be called) green, royal blue, navy and burgundy.....with a dash of pillarbox red.

It now weighs 666 grammes for 82 rows or 41 stripes and I timed myself today- each single row takes me about 12 minutes so I can do a double row for a single colour in about 24-30 minutes but I tend to do it in very short bursts so it's not really like that most of the time.

It's 112cm wide and the 82 rows are measuring: 82cm.

You're going to have to take my word for it but it's lovely and soft and very very warm and just great to snuggle under - while still crocheting!!!- late at night when the temperature drops and the heating is NOT on to save the planet etc etc etc.....Woolley wonderfulness.

Widthwise it fits nicely from my toes to my chin when sitting down on the comfy sofa.....still crocheting.....

GO ON!!! JOIN ME AND HAVE A GO????

And PLEASE let me know if you do: it would be SUCH a thrill!!!!!

Easter 2009 retrospective catching up

It's been a while and a lot has been happening but I wanted to just catch up with all the textile-y things that happened over Easter as well as all the puppy- stuff!

I thought I'd start with a picture- I made this a while ago now admittedly -which is nicely floral and of a tiger lily which I would have had for my birthday ..... It's to tally free machined no computers or embroidery machined involved whatsoever- simply DRAWING with my sewing machine needle.....

Also I absolutely LOVED my anemones as above: aren't those colours just scrummy?!!!

My hyacinths were out very early and very blue but not as much scent as expected this year or maybe I just had too much blockage due to the early start of the hayfever season???

There were narcissi too and they lookes so good in my jolly blue jug!!!

OH NO! You'll be disgusted at my scrumped up cottons- well they were just washed but I was NOT going to iron them just for the photo as I DYED them over the EASTER weekend.

I decided it was a weekend all about death and dying and resurrection: AND VOILA! I joined in by dye-ing some new pyamas and thus resurrecting them for lots of loving wear later on.....

These are the only affordable pure cotton pyamas I could find and they were cheap but UGLY so I washed them and then dyed them in the washing machine. I have to have pure cotton woven pyamas as it alleviates my eczema.....Knitted cotton just isn't the same as it never gets to feel as ''cool or cold'' as the finely WOVEN fabric.


So beware the ugliness, here are the ''before'' pictures: owls and stripes...

Just before Easter I also quickly crocheted a pair of baby bootees for the sister of a colleague who's having her first baby: a girl!
Easter and SPRING are all around us and it made us VERY EXCITED to find that a collared dove chose to set up her nest on our fence in a bush just outside the kitchen door.....

She let us walk past and even ignored a barking Pippa but when direct eye contact was made she flew off for a few minutes... Can you see her? I didn't want to disturb her- or is it he? There were two distinct doves taking turns on this nest.

And here are more nests: this time less functional more decorative, celabratory and fun! Bunnies and chicks galore as we decorate the house to celebrate Easter.....
Remember my carrot tops? Here they are in mid April growing and cheering us all along in their feathery greenery.

There was more dye-ing done than the pyama variety too!!! I had acquired on impulse- happens a bit too often according to some who must not be mentioned- some 20 balls of cashmerino wool- OOOOH SOOOOOOOO SOFT ABSOLUTE HEAVENLY SOFTNESS- but they were not really ''my'' kind of colour and they were bought for a blanket or a jumper but then I could not get to grips with it as : well....COLOUR means such a lot to me. Now this blue ain't bad as blues go but it's very very PALE and I don't do very pale very well......

There's a lilac too and that was worse: a greyed apology of a colour,'' hint of depressed lilac ''I'd say.

So I decided to try to dye it: I left a few messages on Ravelry and got advice on using KOOL- AID but I have not had much luck in the blues/pink spectrum with this although I did get a few nice greens and a red/orange mix with a started kool-aid pack last year......

I had a very old packet of FUSCHIA Dylon Cold dye in a tiny circular tin and used this. It dyes 500g so I used half the tin and dyed 2 skeins. Tap hot water into a plastic bucket, add washed wet wool in skeins, add vinegar and stir continuously for 10 minutes then sporadically for another 45 minutes, drain rinse till the water runs clear and then wash it in Stergene.

I turned the balls into skeins for dye-ing with my skein winder- set up in the garden above. And below as it happens....

The pale bue one I dyed with the new Dylon packets : it was a plastic packet called Ocean blue ( hand dye)and I used 10 g of the dye powder in 100 ml of very hot water, then added this to a bucket of 1.2 litres of hot water and added 50 g of salt. Stir as before, add wet washed wool in a skein.

The wool in this case was Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. JUST 1 BALL: ie 50 g.

Here's the before- lilac and AFTER: PINK OR MAGENTA!!!

And here's the blues before and after!!!

Alltogether now: balls and dyed skeins- I think they look together now? What do you think?

Here's the machine dye for the PJ's.

This is what you do: dye into drum and cover with LOTS of SALT.

VOILA!!Resurrected bright jolly pink pyamas!!! The only things that refused to dye were the buttons- duh- and the piping.....

And the owls have all turned pink also: all in the same lot!Ironed this time and ready to wear!!!

HOW'S THAT for a resurrection?!!! That was some of the time at EASTER in 2009......

( the rest was fully occupied with the puppies!!!!)