Crochet Bed Cape

I have now finished off the bed cape for the Knitting Noras raffles. It is made from some quite thick pink double knit that Sylvia donated. I have used an old Patons Cover-ups pattern 3005 which is probably well out of date by now. There are remarkable similarities to the All Shawl by Doris Chan at the start having the same segment type shaping. The edging is different though more ruffled. I had taken a close up of the ruffles and one of the ruffle spread out flat so that you can see how it is constructed. The bed cape is the bright pink of the first few photos and not the pale pink of the web cam ones.

I have almost finished an All Shawl in shades of brown. It is another stash buster shawl similar to the one I made for Lisa. I will photograph it tomorrow when it is completely finished and the tails sewn in. That is the worst part of using up odd balls. I am not a good sewer at the best of times so why I keep choosing to make things with loads of tails amazes me. Perhaps I like punishing myself ;)

I have had loads of favourable comments and e mails about the You Tube videos of the Knitting Noras that finished up on the cutting room floor. Everyone is very complimentary and say what a shame that we didn't make it to the programme.

Funnily enough there was an old programme repeat on Sky circa 2005 last night going into the spate of nude calendars that followed the famous WI original calendar. It was about the pitfalls and why some calendars were a huge success and some a failure. The opinion was that the more tongue in cheek and humorous the calendar was the more it appealed to everyone and not just a select few. I do hope that we get the balance right when ours is finished.

Poppy has just been for her daily visit and tummy rub. Next door's cat has been for his food and a sleep. Luckily they didn't arrive at the same time as Poppy thinks poor Oscar is fair game and chases him all around the house. He looks as though he has got scratched up in a cat fight so is feeling a bit sorry for himself today.

I have managed to get some washing dry before the rain started. I guess we are in for another day of drumming noise. I live nowhere near Heaton Park and yet I can hear the drums from Oasis and Kasabian. They sound like the Indian war drums in an old cowboy B movie from here. If I could actually hear the music it might not be so bad. I will be glad when they are gone though as we have had this all week. When it first started I was blaming the teenager next door until I saw him come back home and realised he had been out all the time this noise was going on.

Off to stitch in a few tails!

Slow progress on the bedcape

The bed cape progress has slowed considerably as I am up to the part where the edge is quite full and frilly and so it takes quite a lot of time and wool to get across a row. It will be all worth it in the end. You will see as it progresses. I have spread the crochet stitches out in the last photo so that you can see just how it is done.

Today has been a quiet sort of day after the last hectic two days. I didn't get much sleep last night with my knee so am feeling rather droopy today. I think all the poking and prodding that the physiotherapist did yesterday plus all the walking gave my knee the galloping twinges all evening and night so every time I nodded off I got prodded awake with a pain in my kneecap. I am off to see the GP later this afternoon so I hope he gives me some stronger painkillers and some anti inflammatory pills.

The crochet prop for the calendar has hit a stop. I have fallen out of love with it temporarily. I have done just over a half of the finished length but as it has been so warm these last few days I didn't want to wear a warm lap rug as I am crocheting. Plus my fingers got so hot and sweaty that I was sticking to the slightly fluffy wool. Short of sitting crocheting at the dining room table with the fan on I can't think of any other way of keeping the heat off my lap.That would OK in the day time but I do like to watch the TV in the evenings. Today is much cooler so maybe I can get some more done tonight.

Skills learned at my mother's knee

When I made my first pair of socks I used a 50 gram ball of Sirdar Country Style 4ply and used the Monkey Pattern. Since then I have got persuaded that socks should be lovingly hand crafted in various hand dyed wonder wools. The snag being these splendorous wools do not last two minutes on my feet whereas the slung in the washer hundreds of times Monkey socks are still living to tell the tale. I looked at this pair today and discovered a new huge hole underfoot and another at the toe and as I am a make do and mend kind of girl I decided to hone my 'taught at my mother's knee' darning skills. I had never had to use these skills much until recently and no doubt will again in the future as I have many skeins of luxury sock wool to make into more socks. Is it just me that wears through socks like this? I haven't got extra long or sharp toe nails and my shop bought socks last me forever.

As I sat in the garden doing my darning it took me back to my childhood and watching my mother painstakingly darning not only my father's socks but those of her much younger brothers plus many a sweater elbow. She used to re foot socks when they got too holey to darn any more. Economical to use the leg that was perfectly OK and just knit a new foot part. Of course it helped that sock wool only existed in about 4 shades in those days. We were no poorer than other families in my street I just think it was normal to darn rather than throw away. Perhaps darning will be a skill relearned in these credit crunch times.

Today I was back at the hospital for my physio appointment. I had to go through everything step by step with her as she had no access to any of my notes which wasn't exactly helpful. I could have told her that my head was dropping off and she would have been none the wiser! She said I had no muscle tone, nerve tremors and severe osteo arthritis in my knee. I have bone grinding on bone wearing it away. Now I didn't know that bit did I ?? I have got a set of exercises to do at home. Will they get rid of all of this pain? Oh I don't know she said - they might but at least they will strengthen your knee. I said my knee has been like this strength wise for over 50 yrs since my original accident so will these exercises cure that? Well it's doubtful she said but try them anyway they will help.I will do them but don't hold your breath. Watch this space for a miracle cure! I said don't I get any treatment like I do when I pay to see a physio? No ultrasound, heat treatment or manipulation. She said oh no but then the private physio didn't cure you did he. I said no but when I had a couple of his treatments I was OK for at least 12 months.

My crochet has suffered with all of my travelling on buses and trams. I did try to do some on the bus on both days but First Bus trains it's drivers in the Kamikaze school of motoring so if they don't throw you off the seat with their braking then they throw you off with their cornering at speed on 2 wheels. I did gather up a few interested parties to watch my crochet in the waiting room and regaled this captive audience with tales of the calendar and watching BBC 1 on Thursday to see if I am on the programme. Prizes for spotting my few seconds of fame! We formed the dodgy knee club in the waiting room today with some on their 2nd and 3rd knee ops and one on his 4th. It doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence for my knee recovery.

I decided to take along some different crochet as the mermaid tail prop was too big to squash into my bag and requires a bit of concentration so I started a bed cape in the pink wool that Sylvia kindly donated towards the raffle. I just hope that people know an old lady with a liking for pink who is ill or in hospital. The pattern is very old and I have made it a few times but this time I decided to leave the collar off as it is rather an 80's huge one and to me totally unnecessary for a bed cape.

Roll on Friday's hospital appointment for another hurtle around the bus. People pay money at amusement parks for a white knuckle ride like I get for free with my bus pass. Some days it's especially good when you get clobbered at the back of the ankles by drink bottles and cans lovingly dropped to the floor by the sweet schoolchildren as they lurch foul mouthed onto the bus. The girls with their knicker crotches on display as they sit down in too short skirts and the boys as they burp and fart as only boys can. I have never seen such a large array of fat white thighs since I last glanced in the bathroom mirror. My God at their age I was a sylph. What size are they going to be when they are my age I wonder.

Too big or too small

I don't know what it is with me lately but everything I attempt is either too big or too small. Yesterday I thought that the DROPS bolero had come out too big. Last night I crocheted something from Amazing lace in the same wool I used for the bolero and when I looked at it this morning there is no amount of blocking that would make it fit. I now have a big ball of unripped wool ready for a restart this afternoon. It's a good job that time is on my side.

I will post photos today of the crochet bedcape that I made over 2yrs ago when I was supposed to go into hospital for the first time for my op. When I did finally go in I got the only week in July that was a heatwave and so never got to wear it anyway. The bedcape pattern is a very old Patons book which is long out of print and I have made several of these over the years for the elderly or nursing mums as it just fits over the shoulders and gives warmth and modesty over the bustline in these days of mixed wards and semi see through nightwear.

Today is another miserable dull day. Where is the summer? Was it the week I was in hospital? We are fast approaching Autumn and have barely seen the sun this year. I think I suffer from SAD syndrome. I feel so much better when the sun shines. It's just so depressing to think that the winter nights will soon be here again and my summer clothes have barely been worn.

Pink and white crochet bedcape

This is a rather fuzzy web cam pic of the latest finished project as described in yesterday's blog offering. Once again the pattern is from a very old Patons leaflet 3005 Cover-ups which is probably as old as me ( Well not quite nothing is THAT old!)

My day has so far progressed as boringly as any other Friday. Maybe I should take up sky diving or motor bike racing. Small snags to either of those 2 I can't ride a bike and I can't stand heights ( I am the odd one out in aircrafts as I NEVER want the window seat - gimme the one nearest to the emergency exit please) so maybe it's back to the crochet for another day!

I organised my patterns the other day. OK OK I shuffled them and tidied them up a bit. Some patterns I have had so long that they have almost come back into fashion. Yes I really did crochet (and wear) hot pants and mini dresses but fortunately have NOT got the photos to prove it. I can't imagine what a sight that must have been with the beehive hairdo and the white PVC knee boots. Hey I thought I looked good at the time but obviously no one else did hence my not having any photos!

Today's crochet project is another bedcape in white with pink trim.I will be making them in my sleep soon! Hopefully the ladies who get them for Mother's Day will appreciate my skills with the hook.

I bought a book called "The Happy Hooker" a few weeks ago. Don't get excited guys it's just a guide to crochet but what a great title for grabbing attention! Any ladies - it's a great book but it's got US crochet terms in it so beware. For some reason they call trebles double crochet but then that's the yanks for you - look what they do to our language! The stitch has 3 stages hence the name treble! 2 stages is a double crochet OK !

If anyone is reading this (which I doubt) then have a good day and Happy Hooking!