Machine Knitted Shawlette

I have been experimenting with machine knitting part of a shawlette and then crocheting around the edge. My crochet buddy Sue has been waiting patiently for me to press it out and take a photo. So these are for you Sue.

This first shawl came out a bit long and narrow but now I know what my machine can turn out I will change the increasing and decreasing for next time. It is worked corner to corner, First increasing every 4th row to the centre and then decreasing every 4th row. The wool was an antique cone of Argyll Neopolitan from eBay which has a cotton content and also has loops of the white cotton, which you may be able to see, giving it a slightly rough texture rather than a smooth one. My next aim is to sort out the lace carriage as I have quite a few fine machine cones in plain colours which would look better with a bit of interest in the centre V rather than plain stocking stitch.

Ooh naked dolls. These are for an idea of mine for the Christmas stall. I have got quite a few knit and crochet patterns for the teenage dolls (there are 12 of them) and I am sure that I can adapt something for the smaller dolls. The crochet finger puppets are another idea for using scraps of yarn.

More Ice bargains from eBay. The one on the left with Merino in it will probably be a crocheted shawl. The one on the right is called Sausage. It has a very thin black thread with sausages of pink and lilac fluffy bits. Not sure what that will turn into as yet.

More books and magazines. The Austentatious book is based on the crochet fashions that Jane Austen would have worn but with a modern twist of course. The middle book is a baby book that is plainer than the frilly matinee patterns that I  have. I hope to make something out of it for new baby Gracie when I get the time.

The pattern on the left is a booklet that came all the way from the USA via eBay. The pattern on the front cover is the nicest one in the book though. The cabled headband pattern is one that I bid for on eBay.

I think that the motif on the front of this jacket is pretty and unusual.

A knitted beret , as a change from crochet. This also came from a vintage hat pattern from eBay.

I used the basic turban pattern from Drew Emborsky for this headband. Mine didn't look too great when I gathered the front up as per the pattern so I crocheted a tiny strip to go over this to neaten it up. It looks great on the pattern and I am sure that it will on most people. I look like a land army girl about to go and dig some potatoes when I try it on. Or an old washerwoman. All that is missing is the pinny.

This is a headband that I adapted from a crocheted edging in a very old crochet book. I threaded maroon satin ribbon through and have  finished it off with 2 buttons at the back. If the band stretches with wash and wear then the buttons can be sewn in a different place,

The hat pattern was from a vintage crochet pattern from eBay and the flower came from Ravelry. I decided to put the row of brown around the edge of the cream flower to make it more of a match for the hat.

Today I am going to try some wristbands and a small handbag from patterns that I bought from Etsy. I will show you them when I have finished. Once again they are multi coloured and so will be great patterns for using up odds and ends.

I also bought 3 solid brown plastic alice bands and 6 covered hair bobble elastics whilst I was out shopping. I have ideas for covering them with crochet and adding flowers.

I Must Stop Bidding On eBay

My only excuse for too much bidding on eBay is that I have had some kind if a bug this last week which has made me so weak and tired that I haven't had much energy for anything. Unfortunately not crocheting much gives me too much time to eBay browse and for me that is bad for my credit card. I think that I will have to hide it for a few weeks.

These are some of my latest buys. Not just one ball ,of course, but varied amounts of each one. The white one by Ice on the end does not show that it is mohair and has multi coloured sequins wound into the thread. That will be turned into a shawl for Christmas. Not sure what to make with the other yarns yet.

These items came from Kemp's clearance sale. The pink and lilac 4ply cotton was only 99p for a 50 gram balls. That will be saved in my personal stash for Summer crochet. The rest is acrylic destined for fingerless mitts and headbands etc. Plus I needed more of the reduced price metal buttons for fingerless mitts. To buy these in a shop would put £££'s on the mitts. The circular handles are destined for crochet handbags.

I found this pattern in an accessories book. They have short row shaping which makes them a good fit. I did adapt the pattern as they were supposed to have 9 buttons on each mitt which would have out the price up. I am going to make myself a pair of these for the winter.

This is an adaptation of another pair of mitts. They were supposed to be in UK dc with a cable up the centre but the cable started looking as though it was slanting sideways for some reason. It looked OK on the hand but would have not looked good at the fair unless people tried them on. I changed the basic stitch and added a crochet bar with 2 buttons as a bit of a trim.

The patterns came from eBay bids but the Twilleys Goldfingering came from Purplelinda. I wanted that for Christmas decorations or lurex trims.

The turban style headband was so easy to make. It can be worn with the bow at the front or at the back.

This was my interpretation of a headband that I made before the pattern arrived. It is worked from side to side and I put buttons on it instead of stitching it together so that if it got larger with wash and wear then the buttons could be moved to tighten it back up again.

This cap was made from a vintage Paton's pattern that I bought from eBay. I used a DK pure wool crocheted two strands together as I didn't have any chunky in hat colours.

A couple of weeks ago I bid for a mixed bag of different balls of yarn mostly fluffy or cotton. I sorted the greens out and together with some balls that I already had in stash I made one of my multi coloured versions of Doris Chan All Shawl. They are brilliant stash busters if you have not already made one.

Today I didn't get up until lunch time but yesterday and today I seem to be sleeping the bug away. I am finally starting to feel a bit better. Thank goodness for food in the freezer as I haven't felt like stepping out of doors other than to chat to the postman for the last few days. The postman and I are now on first name terms!

I hate feeling one degree under. Anything that puts me off my crochet really annoys me. I tried to crochet but I either fell asleep over it or went wrong and had to undo it. Thankfully I think that my crochet Mojo is back today. I am making another headband. This time in a twisted imitation cable pattern. The parcel postman has just brought me two more packs of Ice wool from eBay so hopefully more photos tomorrow.