Some knitting and some crochet !!!

Even if you are not hearing from me very often (internet service is quite a nightmare here!), this doesn't mean I stay with my hands on my belly all day long !!!!

I craft every day !!!!! Some days like a crazy, some days more quietly !!!!!

In the last two weeks I started a couple of projects with my straight knitting needles …..

I'm following a pattern from one of Fiona Goble's knitting books SCARVES and COWLS 36 quick and stylish knits : it's on page 14, the Long striped scarf and I love it !!!

I'm using different yarns ( Sirdar Sublime cashmere merino silk dk ….. discontinued !!!! sorry!) that I bought when still in Indonesia, while the pattern requires other yarns, but still from Sirdar !!! ;oD
Another different thing from the original pattern is the size of my needles : I'm working with a 3,5 mm pair, while the pattern suggests 4mm needles!

My scarf will be thinner and shorter than the original, but I'm already in love with it …

… when working with the garter stitch I always prefer the wrong side of my work, mostly when stripes are involved !!!! I like to look at the rows where I change the colours …

My "little" sister Varinia asked me to knit her socks …. scary, really scary !!!! I've never tried to use circular needles or dpns … so : what to do ?????
Well, I started to browse on Pinterest (where else ???) and I found an easy sock pattern to knit with a pair of straight needles, just to have an idea …..

I did it !!!!! At least one !!!! ;oD
The pattern I followed is HERE !!!!
I admit that I need to refresh my seam technique (!!!!), but I enjoyed this easy pattern that gave me the idea of the parts of a sock and I'm really less scared after this try!
One thing I'm sure right now : I need to understand and practise with DPNS, because they allow you to knit better socks!!!! We'll see !!!!

In the meantime, two Birtdays have been celebrated here in Maputo, so I knitted (again!!!!) two softies,
one for a little girl (3 years old!) …

I call her "piccolotta" (a sweet way to say little in Italian!) and I love it as it's a very quick knit, so simple and satisfying, as you can add small touches to make it great !!! See the bow on her head? And the buttons?? You know what I mean, right???? ;oD

The other softie, was bigger because for a bigger girl (15 years old !!!!) ….

…. ah, the little heart, embroidered using the duplicate stitch method ….

I did some crochet, too !!!!
I'm preparing a couple of photo tutorials and I hope Internet will allow me a serene photo editing in the meantime to show you very soon my new projects!!!
The Big Girl (who received the big softies) kindly asked me to crochet her some little baskets (do you remember THESE????) as party favours : she needs them to put some little cacti in! Nice idea, right?

These baskets are a little bit bigger than the original ones, as I added a couple of stitches in the first round (so they are larger) and two more rows of DCs (so they are higher, too!) !!!

See you soon ( I hope!), xxxx Alessandra

Make it ! 31 Autumnal Stripes Blanket !!!

In the previous post you had the opportunity to look at Margot on the blanket, that was still a w.i.p. ...

I love to de-stash some of my yarn from time to time and Matteo just told me some weeks ago how much he loves all the blankets I made (the Globetrotter Blanket, the Hexagons Shabby Chic Blanket, the  Spiky Baby Blanket and the Granny Patchwork Blanket) .... well, all this said by a 16 and 1/2 teen is a huge compliment, you know .... so I started a very simple pattern ....

... stripes, mon amour !!!! I think even Margot agrees with that !!!!

As I told you, I chose a very simple pattern to work with a 5,5mm hook.

The foundation chain is made of 223 chains and I used a simple stitch ( US crochet terminology) as the double crochet.
Once the foundation chain was made, I inserted the hook in the 4th chain from the hook, where I crocheted my first DC (double crochet) and I repeated the stitch until the end of the foundation chain.
So I had 220 DCs !
Every row has 220 DCs ! At the end of each row I used to crochet a turning chain of 3 chains and the first DC of each row was crochet in the same top stitch of the turning chain!
A lot of autumnal colours took place in this blanket and for each colour I worked 4 rows.
I changed the colours at the end of the 4th row, while working the last DC.

At the end of the post, I will give you the list of the colours and yarns used, but be aware that a lot of these yarns are discontinued ..... maybe you have them in your stash or maybe you could be lucky to find them on ebay !!!! Look even the Ravelry page, under "yarns" !!! ;oD

The only annoying part of this work, at the end, was all the tails to trim ....

.... but it was not hard work !!!!

The good thing was that Matteo didn't want any border, so the blanket is very very simple .... !!!!

When I completed the trimming job, I was looking for the right way to display the new blanket, which dimensions are 185cm (along the stripe base) x 170cm (along the side) ...

... even the boys tried to help mummy ... horizontally ...

.... and vertically ... !!!! ....

.... then I opted for more traditional ways ...

If you consider this last photo, look at the colours from bottom to top : my list of yarns and colours is given according to that sequence !

1. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / maroon red discontinued
2. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / blue denim discontinued
3. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / charcoal grey discontinued
4. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / sage green discontinued
5. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / beige discontinued
6. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / dark orange discontinued
7. Robin PICASSO CHUNKY  variegated (100% acrylic)/ humbug discontinued
8. Wendy QUASAR CHUNKY (70% acrylic 30% nylon)/ starburst (pink)
9. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / baby blue discontinued
10. Robin PICASSO CHUNKY variegated (100% acrylic)/ toffee mix discontinued
11. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic)/ off white discontinued and Robin FX CHUNKY (100% acrylic with neps) / moorland
12. Wendy QUASAR CHUNKY (70% acrylic 30% nylon) 100g / hubble (dark blue)
13. Sirdar CLICK CHUNKY WITH WOOL variegated (70% acrylic 30% wool) / blazer and Robin PAINTBOX CHUNKY variegated (100% acrylic) / sunset
14. Lana Gatto PERSIANO (50% acrylic 50% wool) / olive green discontinued and Wendy MERINO (100% merino wool) / dark green (2373) discontinued 
15. Patons JET (70% wool 30% alpaca) / grey
16. Katia AZTECA variegated (53% wool 47% acrylic) purple and grey (7815)
17. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO (100% acrylic) / red discontinued 
18. Tropical lane SPENDOBENE SUPER SPORT (47% wool 53% acrylic) / ochre yellow
19. Sirdar CLICK CHUNKY WITH WOOL variegated (70% acrylic 30% wool) / spicy pink
20. Patons JET (70% wool 30% alpaca) / pink
21. Nako PANDA (50% wool 50% acrylic) / dark blue jeans discontinued 
22. Robin PICASSO CHUNKY variegated (100% acrylic) / cool mint discontinued and Robin PICASSO CHUNKY variegated (100% acrylic) / steel discontinued 
23. Sirdar CLICK CHUNKY WITH WOOL (70% acrylic 30% wool) / sage green
24. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as #9
25. Robin PICASSO CHUNKY : same as # 10 and just a bit of # 22 (steel)
26. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 1
27. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 6
28. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 5
29. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 2 and a bit of Wendy QUASAR CHUNKY (70% acrylic 30% nylon) / gamma (blue)
30. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 4
31. Schachenmayr smc APOLLO : same as # 3

As you notice, while reading the yarn list, there are (few times) more than one yarn in the same row : this because my yarn was not sufficient to complete the row, so I had to choose one more colour to complete my stripe!!! I think this fact gives a more handmade feeling to the all blanket, that's is even unique!!!!

I think all these different yarns blend very well together !!!!

xxxx, Alessandra

P.S. : Matteo had to "fight" a little with Margot to obtain the full possess of the new blanket!!! ;oD

Simple crochet ...

Another Japanese crochet book, all about cushions …

…. and I "need" 4 flat cushions for the chairs around our dining table, so I tried the pattern of the yellow flower, on the right of the book cover ….

The chairs are covered in white heavy cotton fabric, so I can play with colours as I wish, but I'm thinking that this pattern is even good for some wall decorations…. so I'm still pondering what use is better for those flowers-to-be !!! ;oD


I'm still putting some order in my stuff and in a box I found 5 granny squares I crocheted a while ago, when still in Jakarta …. what to do with them?
Luckily I still have some balls of the colourful acrylic yarns I was using in Indonesia, so I decided to use some bright colours to join the squares into a little basket …

…. that is nice even on the top of the wooden cat !!! Not useful, but nice !!! ;oD


Last thing ….

…. a big project that Margot is in love with, too !!!!
I really appreciate that, but this doesn't make my job easier, you know …. !!!!

xxxx, Alessandra