Susan's Sardinia interpretation

Here it is then, a cotton top inspired by the pattern called Sardinia in the Rowan Summer Crochet book, but although I like the stitch and the way it's loose, the drape and so on, I don't like it on me. Mega dissappointed. It's too big and unflattering.

I thought using the pattern sideways would make it more slimming and the steeper neckline would be more flattering to my curvy self, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Could be that I used a thicker yarn? Dk instead of 4 ply?

I do like the shoulder yokes I created. I made it out of 6 panels you see, a back, 2 shoulder yokes, a centre front panel and 2 front-side panels.... All in different directions. The shoulder ones run horizontally, like the centre front. Trim borders of dc(USA sc) also please me, as do the neat side slits and the crab st( USA reverse sc) edges.

Front.

And back.

What shall I do? Give it away? Who would like to have it? Any takers, please?

Or dye it a deep blue and wear it with white top and trousers?

Or frog it and make something else, then dye it? Though I knida like the colour, I'm not sure lilac, even such a nice deep blue-y shade is quite my thing?

It weighs 434 g or 15 oz approx, size probably a 16 or 18 UK size as I'm a 12/14 and it's a bit roomy on me.

63 cm across the shoulders, inc the cap sleeve, 57 cm across the back at bust height and 57-59 cm across hem including the trim on the side-slits.

Back length 56 cm from centre back to hem. Centre front panel is 18 cm by 40 cm.

And on a cheerier note: my first African flower sample, worked from pattern directions found on the AFRICAN FLOWER group on FLICKR. It's such fun to do I'm going to make my sister her wedding present using this very motif but in different colours.

BUTTONS, crochet and Rona

At last Rona is really coming together: above is the back panel.

And here are the 2 sleeves, these I put together on the train home from York. Very satisfying on a 4 hour train journey.

one sleeve

and the other one, both unblocked as yet

and the fronts, when the sun came out so the colours are looking different,but they are all the same.

In York after an intensive course with a Prince 2 exam at the end of 2.5 days, which was passed by the way- hip hip hooray!!!- I went looking at buttons as there is in York the MOST FABULOUS button shop: DUTTONS FOR BUTTONS.

i am lucky in that I knew about them from my sewing days and had ordered buttons from them in the 1980's , but this time I went looking for Rona buttons.....or buttons for the above Rona cardigan jacket in case you're wondering what a rona button is exactly?!

I started with the pewter section:
Here I bought 2 horse buttons for Miss Y can you spot them?

Then I did also consider the blues......

Back to pewter or silver? Which do you think will be best?

Do come back to find out how it finishes. And do enjoy all this lovely sunshine we are having! I must say I have been worshipping the sun in the old way and having the most blissful warm and sunsoaked reading times. Vitamin D galore I can assure you.

See you soon?

Happy hooking!


Ps the shop also have 100's of buttons in reds, pinks, purples, yellows, orange and grey or black but I didn't photograph all of them because it was very hot and I had a train to catch.

There are also belt buckles and ribbons and buttons with multicolour patterns in resin or plastic or fimo or ceramic or even enamelled and so on and so forth. It claims to be the biggest button supply shop in Great Britain and I'm pretty sure they're right. as this is just a tiny selection.

Pure joy of an afternoon: PUNTING

Last Sunday afternoon we simply had one of those blissful beautiful afternoons: pure peace, perfect pastime: punting on a gloriously hot sunny day.
A breeze whispering past your ears and caressing your shoulders. Geese and ducks to watch and / or feed and later we saw the most delightful families of ducklings too. Dragonflies of every hue: black to blue and green to turquoise.

Cherwell Boathouse: punt #82, brand new and JJ at the helm of the pole. Everyone happy.

Serenity prevailed. I cannot remember the last time we felt so utterly relaxed and ''chilled'' and no alcohol or food involved, just water, a boat and warm sunshine.

Miss E learning a few of the technicalities.

Miss Y , determined to join in, practices her skills with the oar.

Soon distracted with simultaneous video-ing and feeding of duckling family. And hey that's not stale bread, these were organic corncrackers intended for luch/snacking.... much more appreciated by these adorable cuties.

4 hours later, back where we started. Lunch at the pub on the river, where Miss E had to keep checking the goal status of Englandv Germany. Such was the day that the ignomineous defeat did not affect us.

This was with my new camera!!!!! Now many more catch updates to come- weather permitting, being a confirmed sun worshipper I don't blog when the sun shines!!!

PGL, Portsmouth, Pure pleasures, Present and a Parcel from Japan!

Not that any of it can beat this PUNTING day but do visit soon, when the other p's will be blogged. More crochet on the way too, very Promising.

Old book, memories and MODERN designs to crochet and wear

This is IT, a lovely lovely book I discovered at a yarn shop in Bovey Tracey, Devon when we were there in the half term holiday. It was a shop copy and very old but I found it on Amazon!
It has the most terrific memories for me as it features many crochet patterns which I have seen before in a Dutch needlecraft magazine called ARIADNE to which I subscribed in the mid 1970's and all through the 1980's. My sister even had it sent to Canada for me when I lived there in the 1984/1985.

This is my all time favourite and I simply MUST try to make it , maybe in a turquoise or blue colour? It's in a wool but the pattern does not state an aran thickness. The crochet cabling is stunning.

A zigzag relief design.

More creamy snowy wooliness in crochet cables.

Terrific lattice, great for cycling on my orange bike too!

Very unusual but intriguing stitch this, still all crochet!

Fabulous patterning in mohairs too. Another fave, a must make, as soon as I have sourced the right mohairs
Boucle too.Summer jumpers in cotton for children and adults alike.

This was just a taste, there's 60 patterns in the book and I can't wait to start trying them out.