New pattern

I wanted to make Mhara a shrug to keep her covered up at nursery since they're not allowed to play outside in the sun with bare shoulders. I had very definite ideas of how I wanted it to look - just covering the shoulders & with flared cuffs - & it turned out exactly as I pictured it. I was so chuffed I did a few sums & wrote it up for 3 different sizes, 2-4, 5-7 & 8-10 & it's now up for sale on ravelry & through my etsy shop.



& here's Mhara modelling her shrug -



Tour de Fleece day 8

Not a lot to report today - hopefully tomorrow's scraps will be a bit more colourful :0D

Tour de Fleece Week 1

That's week 1 gone already!

The spindle was getting heavy enough to break the yarn last night so this morning I wound off onto a spare bobbin (I intend to ply from the kate so will need the yarn on bobbins anyway for that). There was a lot more than I thought; tho' I've no idea what the yardage may be it took ages to wind off.

I decided to break out the mosaic-maker again for my end-of-week photo so without further ado, here it is.



This isn't all the crafting I've been doing today but it is all I can show - for now ;0)

Tour de Fleece day 5

Back to muted colours. I'm missing the zingy citrus colours but I do have 700g of superwash merino fibre & lots of koolaid so I may be having a play with those once the tour is done :0D

No other crafting today, just lots of tidying. I do plan to head off to bed shortly with a cuppa & a crochet hook however . . .

Tour de Fleece day 4

Just a quickie update on the progress of the spindled scraps -



Surprisingly enough, I'm still enjoying this. I guess the constant changing of the colours is helping keep it fresh. It's also fabulously easy to pick up whenever I have a spare few minutes.

Shop update

I've been busy. This morning on etsy I listed this headband -



& this afternoon I made not one but five orifice hooks, ready to be listed tomorrow once I get decent pics taken -



I also set up a Folksy shop, YarnJunkie. There's not much in it yet but I'll see what I can get together over the next few weeks.

Stringalong

Mhara got a bead box at the pound shop this morning & Rowan was going to get one too ‘til he spotted a pack of wee cars. Sure enough, by mid-afternoon he'd decided he should’ve got the beads after all so I trawled my bead box for all the chunky plastic ones I could find. To start with he had a hairy fit every time a bead wouldn’t go on the string 1st time but after unearthing some plastic cord he was off & running.



This kept my usually hyper wee boy quiet for over an hour & he went back to it after his tea. I’ve promised them more beads next time we go up town :0D

Tour de Fleece days 2 & 3

Not a huge amount done but here's day 2's effort -



& day 3 (without all the pretty fluff as a backdrop 'cos it's upstairs & I'm too idle to go get it)-



I’ve gotten through 4 different scraps so far & am finding it a huge challenge to switch between different breeds but it’s all good, if slow :0D

Free Pattern - One Currant Bun in a Baker's Shop

Round & fat with a cherry on the top.

I made this for Mhara so she could have a princess hairdo for a friend's birthday party.



Yarn: DK weight
Hook: 4.5mm
Notions: 1 narrow covered elastic ponytail band
Pattern uses UK crochet terms

Ch4 & sl st in 1st ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch1 (does not count as st), work 6 dc into ring, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 2: Ch2, trc2tog in same st, ch3, [trc3tog, ch3] in each st to end, join with sl st to top of trc2tog at beginning of round.
Round 3: Sl st to 1st 3-ch space, [ch2, trc2tog, ch3, trc3tog] in 1st ch sp, [trc3tog, ch3, trc3tog] in each ch sp to end, join with sl st to top of trc2tog at beginning of round.
Round 4: Sl st to 2nd ch of 1st 3-ch sp, ch1, 1 dc in same ch sp, ch 5, [1 dc in next ch sp, ch 5] to end, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 5: Sl st to 5rd ch of 1st 5-ch sp, ch1, 1 dc in same ch sp, ch 4, [1 dc in next ch sp, ch 4] to end, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 6: Ch1, place ponytail elastic on top of last row worked & work 4 dcs into each ch sp making sure you crochet over the ponytail band as well, sl st into 1st dc.
Round 7*: Ch 1, dc in same st, ch2, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, dc in next st, [dc in next st, ch2, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, dc in next st] to end, sl st in 1st ds at beginning of round.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

*The picot edging gives the bun cover the look of an old-fashioned mob cap. It looks sweet but is entirely optional.



This cover fits my 5 year old, who has a pretty decent head of hair (thick, straight & halfway down her back). If you want to make it larger, repeat round 3 another time or two, making sure that you increase the length of the chain by 1 for each additional round. You will also need to increase the length of the chains in rounds 4 & 5 by 1 chain for every extra row you work & the number of dcs in round 6 should correspond to the number of chains in round 5.

As always, if you come across a mistake or feel I'm blethering a load of nonsense, please feel free to tell me either in the comments, by email or on ravelry where I go by the name of cherryred.

You may make as many of these as you like to sell for charity as long as you give credit for the design to me, Shirley MacDonald. Please do not reproduce this pattern or use it for personal profit.

Happy crocheting :0)

Tour de Fleece 2010 - Day 1

I've been saving my scraps from the second scrap swap on ravelry's UK Spinners forum specially so I could spin them during the tour. Here they are in all their loveliness -



I have about 200g of different breeds (all next-to-skin-soft)& a rainbow of colours, all broken down & mixed up into a big fibery pudding. Colour progression will be 'lucky dip'; I'll be closing my eyes & sticking my hand in the bag & whatever comes out (as long as it's not the same as the previous bit) will get spun. I'd love to get the full 200g spun & plied *but* I want to spindle-spin the whole lot & since the most I've had the patience to spin on a spindle before was about 15g the chance of me doing all 200g is erm slim. Still, as long as I get enough spun for this hat, I'll be happy.

Day 1 saw me breaking the scraps into roughly even pieces & I even managed to get a (tiny) little bit spun -

Playing with sticks & string

So, I got my weaving sticks yesterday & since I have zero patience or willpower - who wants delayed gratification when you can have the instant kind? - I had a wee fiddle around with them last night.

The end result of a couple of happy hours cutting, winding & braiding is a hairband that is currently holding (most of) my mop out of my eyes.



Here's an action shot.



Yes, I know I look a little deranged but it's damn hard to take a decent picture of the top of your own head without a mirror, which is why I gave up & decided to go with a rotten shot instead. I'd have asked Iain to help but he's busy watching the football & I'm too impatient to wait 'til half-time - this may change if the pic I've just uploaded is really as bad as it looked on the camera screen.

Edit - woo, you can tell I didn't sleep well last night, can't you?

I love my postie

I do. I probably couldn't pick the man out of a line-up but I love him anyway because of all the pretty parcels he brings me.

Here are today's goodies -



Lurking at the bottom of the pile is a set of weaving sticks from The Handweaving Company to help keep the kids occupied during the holidays. I ordered them yesterday afternoon & they arrived today with free delivery - result!

The yarnz came in a package all the way from France & were sent by the lovely Yvette, a raveller who I'm hoping to get to meet sometime soon. There's a skein of Colinette Banyan, a cotton blend that's destined to become a crocheted hairband to keep my out-of-control hair off my face while it grows out a bit (keep an eye out 'cos the pattern will be going up on the blog as a freebie), a partial skein of Fyberspates Sparkle Sock & some glittery gold & silver yarn so I can make a properly metallic version of this -



Yes, I know it looks like a marital aid for robots but it's actually the sonic screwdriver that Rowan asked me to make so he & his sister can play Doctor Who properly.

Crafting with the kids

Two posts in one day - I'm on a roll!

It was the last day of nursery today & the kids wanted gifts for their teachers. I figured it'd be a nice touch if they helped make said gifts so we got out the fibre basket yesterday & got messy making some felt.

Choosing colours -



Working hard -





Drying in the sun (which sadly hasn't shown its face today) -



All done & ready to hand over -





The recipients were thrilled & hopefully the brooches will get at least the occasional airing.

Naughty, naughty.

Oops, has it been 6 months already? It's okay - I didn't keep any of my other resolutions either. Still, I'm here now so what have I been up to?

The short answer is not a lot. I've been making stuff but haven't been organised enough to keep track so I think I'll just start afresh from now.

Major excitement recently has been 2 new crochet patterns available either through ravelry or from my etsy shop.

First is Lady Marmalade, a burlesque-inspired washcloth (or dishcloth if that's what turns you on) -



Second is Velvet Kitty, a cat o' nine tails/flogger with optional beads for a little added sting -



I did put naughty in the title for a reason y'know ;0)