Short and Sweet (but longer)

I am not sure what to call this now it is finished. Short and Sweet (but longer) or Long and Sweet? Whatever name it goes by it is basically the Short and Sweet shrug by Angela Best from the Happy Hooker Stitch and Bitch book but with longer sleeves and body. Oh and I should also mention that I made it in a finer wool so I have a lot more pattern rows to this shrug than on the pattern

As usual with a US pattern I am never sure what they mean by medium worsted 4 weight. The first time that I made it I used a UK aran weight and whilst it did come out nearer to the size on the pattern my niece found it to be far too heavy for a summer shrug. Since then I have used a UK double knit, crocheted larger sizes than I needed and just added more rows to the pattern.

I had to hold the shrug together with my scarf pin as it hasn't been blocked yet and kept curling under whilst I was trying to take it's photo. The pattern will spread when it is blocked so it will widen out and the bands will stop curling.

I had some good news today in the post. I got a letter saying that I have passed my pre operation tests. I am just waiting now for the confirmation letter saying that my operation will go ahead as planned in July. Just because I passed one bit doesn't automatically mean that I will get the operation. It is still up to the surgeon to make the final decision. I have been cancelled on the day of operations twice in the past. I once got to the operating room doors when they decided to cancel me. I never get worried about operations as I don't believe thay are going ahead until I wake up in the recovery room. When I was having my tonsils taken out I woke up still with them. When they started the operation they discovered that I had an ulcerated throat way down where they hadn't seen it so the surgeon cancelled the operation because of the risk of infection.

I think that I will start another baby jacket tonight. My niece is coming tomorrow to do my roots for me. I have left the roots showing on my hair longer than I would usually do because I wanted them to be done not only for my operation but that they would look OK for a few weeks afterwards when I am going to struggle to shower etc. I know that I have to wear surgical socks on both legs for a few weeks but I am not sure how long the dressings underneath will have to stay dry. Luckily my shower head detaches so at least I can wash one half of my body! Perhaps I can tape a large bin bag liner to the other leg?

It's a duller day today with signs of rain. I still have the patio door and the windows open though as it is quite a warm muggy day. No sign of Poppy today as yet but there is still time when they come home from work later. I must have missed her this morning. She has left me some scrabble marks on the patio door window to let me know that she was around.

Last night I was awakened by a yowling cat fight. I live on a street of cats who stay out all night. Sometimes they sound just like babies crying. I always have to get up and check that they are OK. I am nervous ever since my late cat was in a face off with a fox many years ago. Luckily when I opened the door the fox shot off and the cat came indoors. I am not sure what would have happened if I hadn't woken up.We live so close to woodland that we often get foxes prowling about during the night and I have seen them in my back garden regularly. They trigger my security light.

Time to decide what to make for dinner but I think I will choose my next project over a cup of coffee first. I am not that hungry yet.

Next - The Sleeves

As usual I am crocheting the wrong way about. I normally do the sleeves before I finish off the body as a) I don't have as much weight to twist and turn about if the sleeves are crocheted onto the body and b) I find that once the sleeves are in they pull the body up making a difference to the overall length. Besides all of that I am just a perverse creature who always does things in the wrong order - and not just in crochet! I have a bad habit of flicking through magazines from the back to the front as well. I don't know where that comes from but my Mother used to say that I did the same thing with comic and picture books when I was small.Perhaps in a previous life (if there is such a thing) I came from a culture who read from right to left!

Thanks Bev for letting me know about the CAL (crochetalong) on Ravelry for the Short and Sweet. I have never joined in one of these CAL's as I want to get things finished as soon as I have started and I wouldn't like people to think I was bragging if I finished off first - or if I have to keep a slower pace with other people I would get easily bored. I am not sure what the rules are.

Tina I am sure that your favourite shrug must be shrinking in the wash. My clothes are doing the same thing these days. Maybe it is something in the washing detergents. I think they are sponsored by slimming products to make our clothes shrink so that we will go out and buy diet products ;-)

Ana Luisa I am glad that you have finished off your baby items and I look forward to seeing them shortly. I get so much inspiration from everyone who leaves comments on my blog, their blogs and other people who I chat to on Ravelry so I know just what you mean when you say that you get inspired. I think that it is great when crafters can swap ideas. Different minds have a different slant on things and adapt patterns differently to me so I really enjoy my morning browse through new patterns and my friends activities on Ravelry.

Bev has made a lovely shawl/shrug using a vintage pattern and updating it for her daughter. Bev knows that I love vintage patterns and sent me a couple of gorgeous vintage baby books in the post. Fashions may change but with a slight adjustment many vintage patterns can be brought right up to date. If you want a peek at her crochet just click on my blog title and it will take you there. Bev has days when her &$£!* back pain gets a bit too much for her but despite that she manages to keep smiling - well mostly - and crocheting her way through it all.

I have just collected my prescriptions, paid off my credit card and the newspaper bill so I am now ready in case I go in hospital. Still no news as yet but I didn't even get any junk mail today.

Time to start the sleeves of the Short and Sweet now. I can maybe get an hour of crochet in, with my ice packs on, to cool my knees, after my walk to the shops, before it's dinner time. Mmmm I smell coffee.

Short and Sweet

I think that I should have changed the title of this blog to longer and sweet. Short and Sweet is the title of the shrug by Angela Best that features in the Stitch and Bitch Happy Hooker book. The first time that I made this shrug I used an aran wool but I found it to be rather thick so I now use a double knitting instead. It does need a bit of adjustment in that I have to work extra rows and make a larger size than is required to compensate for using thinner yarn.

Some people struggle with this shrug as they don't quite understand that it starts at the shoulder and works downwards but to work the fronts you return to the cast on chain and work the opposite way along it thus eliminating the shoulder seam. I have taken photos that show the start of the front as I have stopped crocheting the back until it is time to link the back with the fronts to make the body. Sylvia tried on the one that I was wearing on Sunday and decided that she would like hers a bit longer. There will be no problem with that but I may go on a larger hook as I get to the waist to give the shrug a bit more room as it goes to the hip area. The pattern looks far more complicated than it actually is. It does take a bit of concentration at first to get the pattern set in my head but after that it is all plain sailing.

The weather is quite nice again today and I am doing a bit of hoovering. I have found out that if I walk about bare footed then my knees seem more stable than if I wear my slippers or shoes. It's OK being bare footed in the hot weather so I do hope that I get my op before the colder weather comes. I have had no word as yet so hopefully no news is good news. I do hope that they don't tell me bad news with a letter that won't arrive for a couple of weeks. I still haven't had my confirmation letter about my operation date which is slightly worrying.

Short n' Sweet child sized

As the soon to be born baby girl has an older sister I decided to make a little something for her so that when I give presents for the new baby there will be something for her also. I am making the Short n' Sweet shrug by Angela Best from the Stitch n' Bitch Happy Hooker book. The smallest size in the pattern is 27" so in order to make it a little smaller I am using a smaller hook. The yarn I am using is called Fantasia but is a little rough to the touch. I am hoping that it will soften with washing. I will leave it to soak in some softener before I parcel it up to send. I don't know much about the yarn except that it is from Romania.

I got it from a wool swap at the Knitting Noras and when I tried to look it up on the net there is nothing coming up on the search except one blog that seems to think that it is wool. It feels very cottony to me but there are many synthetics on the market that feel like cotton so it is difficult to tell and the label gives no clues at all, not even a needle size. Ravelry also insists that it is wool but I have never felt wool so harsh and cottony as this before. It is making up quite stiff so I am really hoping that it will soften before I give it to the little girl. There are no washing instructions on it either so I hope that it will wash OK in the machine as I have a feeling that it will end up in the machine when the mother washes it.

This is the second pattern that I have tried with this yarn. The first cardigan I started was using far too much wool and so I had to unravel it. If I cannot find out any information about the yarn then I certainly won't be able to get another ball if I run short.

Short n Sweet shrug once again

This is my latest version of the Short n Sweet Shrug by Angela 'La Vonne' Best in the Stitch n Bitch book The Happy Hooker. It is beautifully modelled by Perran, Vicky's daughter, and was made in honour of her 7th birthday. I had taken some photos of the shrug but decided to wait for the better photos taken by Vicky before posting on my blog. It is made in a double knit cotton that I bought from Lidl. Although it was economically priced I have found that my garments have washed well and will certainly buy it again if Lidl ever has it on offer again. I had to adapt the pattern slightly to scale it to Perran's size as the pattern starts at size 27" but then the next size is 36".

I started my niece Vicky's sock last night and after 8 rows I fell asleep so my Knit Picks were not smokin last night! It must have been the excitement of my last trip to Tesco in my car. I decided to take it for a final spin before I SORN it today. I guess the excitement was too much for me as I fell asleep shortly after I returned home.

Today I went to water aerobics there was a very strange smell in there (no it wasn't us honestly) and it caught at the back of my throat. A lot of the ladies were coughing and a couple had to leave before the end of the lesson. My throat feels a little scratchy now. They must have been using something chemical somewhere in the centre and the smell was drifting around.

I snagged another bargain in the charity shop on the way home (photos later) I found a bag of Purple wool and one of Lilac so I was over the moon. It has no labels but I presume it is double knit acrylic, I also got a bag of white flecked baby yarn. More details later when I count up and weigh my stash. I found it very hard walking to the tram for aerobics today as my back has still not recovered from Monday. I have written an e mail to the hospital saying that I have gone worse and can they tell me when my op date is.

I need to walk the dog but first it's coffee time and feet up with my sock knitting for an hour whilst I watch 60 min makeover and see what the team are doing to someone's house today. I will try to finish off Perran's shawl tonight. I have the edging still to do. I might wait for Vicky's superior photos to post on the blog once it is finished.

The designer likes my work!

I was so surprised and honoured when Lavonne3ca commented on Ravelry about my versions of her Short n Sweet shrug from the book Stitch n Bitch - The Happy Hooker. Wow. The actual designer likes my work ! I wonder if it was all of my photos of various shrugs that gave her a clue that I liked hers?

She said

Hmm - I get the idea that you like the pattern - nice job

and when I thanked her she said

Its crocheters like you that make my design popular my friend! I like to hear when someone likes my designs enough to make more than one. Keep on hookin’

I will come back down to earth sometime later. I am so glad that my humble efforts with the pattern reached her eyes and met with her approval, I shall follow her blog with interest from now on. She has an amazing multi coloured shawl on her blog this week and when I asked she said the pattern was from another design and she adapted it and used it for a shawl. Sounds like a lady after my own heart. I do that all the time!

I still haven't finished the second pair of soakers. I spent too long soaking in the bath to ease my aches and pains from lawn mowing and hedge trimming yesterday. I am so glad that I did it though as today it is raining once again.

Vicky has got my set of needles from Knit Pics and my other sock wool. Yippee. I am so looking forward to seeing them on Sunday at the next Knit Out so expect lots of photos later. I think I have said before that I am a complete numb skull when it comes to ordering things on the net. One day technology will reach me. One day I will find out how to organize this blog the way it should be with proper links and photos that don't turn out in a row like little ducks!

For now I shall just bask in my five minutes of glory from Ravelry. I would like to add more projects to my Ravelry but as every photos comes through Flickr and that site tells me I can only have 200 photos on it at one time unless I buy a pro setting (which is in dollars so numb skull can't work that bit out). If I delete anything from Flickr it disappears from Ravelry so I just can't win.

Why I should never crochet with black

I have just finished my 5th short n sweet shrug from Stitch n Bitch The Happy Hooker. The friend I made a white one for asked for another in black which I finished off last night. I know now why I don't crochet with black yarn anymore. Not only does it affect my eyesight crocheting it in artificial light but I found this morning (even after being washed) that I had crocheted several hairs from Buster the boxer cross in with it. He will be forever interwoven into the shrug. I am hoping to get a break from the shrug for a while as I find I can crochet it now without the pattern which is somewhat worrying.

I have finally finished sock number 2 in Opal from the Jaywalker pattern I found free on Knitty.com. I have started another pair of socks using a ball of wool kindly given to me by my friend Vicky and using my smaller 2.25mm needles as I feel my tension is still somewhat loose when I knit on a set despite using my makkin ( see previous posts for explanation). The set I am using is from the set of sets that I got through E bay (see previous post) as I never did receive anything from the less than Angelic Yarn site. I found out yesterday that they took the full amount of my order (£28) from my credit card on the day I placed my order even though one month later I have not received anything. They informed me by e mail that I shall be getting a full refund to my credit card but this may take some time !!! I am definitely NOT impressed with this and shall not be using the company again. They have known for some time that they could not supply me with the Sale yarn I ordered but yet still kept my money and it was only when I wrote to cancel the order that they said they would instigate a refund. Were they hoping I wouldn't notice I had already been charged for goods not dispatched? I am sorry but that is not very good business practise and not good customer service. I have never been charged automatically at the point of order with any other online company I have used. I am now faced with a bill for 2 orders on my credit card this month which is not funny when I live my life on a small budget. I will get charged for the interest on the balance that I am getting refunded as I can only afford to pay for my 2nd order from E bay. I am definitely NOT amused.

I am trying to organise what I will buy or make for family and friends for this Christmas. I left it rather late last year and it was rather a scrabble at the last moment. I have a few ideas in mind but of course I am not going to post anything on here just in case they read it.

I am still making some things for the premature babies for Bolton Hospital in between my normal knitting and crochet and have finished off one jacket. It looks very small but when I looked online I found that really premature babies have a chest size of 10" and my jacket measures 12" so perhaps it will fit. I am still going to make the next one a wee bit larger.

Crochet short n sweet shrug 3 sizes

I have just finished my umpteenth version of the short n sweet shrug from the Stitch n Bitch The Happy Hooker book. I know the stitch off by heart now and have done so many variations to use up different yarn from my stash for different sizes. The photo shown my own UK size 18, My friend's UK size 8 and the small version adapted for the teeny tiny teenager who lives next door. She is just like a doll. I made hers from some Sirdar Silky Look DK I had in my stash. I made it on a 4mm hook and just scaled the pattern down somewhat.

I have also finished knitting a short tie fronted bolero in Aran thickness from a free pattern I found on the DROPPS site (Garnstudio) rnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=87&d_id=15&lang=us I do find their patterns very hard to follow. They seem to be very loosely translated into English. I cannot follow the charts with the lace stitches on. In the end I blew up the photo of the cardigan and zoomed in on the stitch and did my own version of it. If I make this garment again though I would make the ties a little longer as there is scant enough to tie at the waist. I have started another of their patterns which is supposed to have mock eyelet style panels and I wasted all evening trying to make head or tale of that chart and gave up once again and decided to make my own version of a panel. They have some wonderful patterns and yarns. I haven't tried any of the crochet patterns as yet so will see if they are any easier to follow.

I have also started to crochet a baby blanket in 3 colours from Cute Crochet for Tiny Tots. My knitting groups is making things for the premature baby unit at Bolton so I thought it was time I started to make a few things for our next meet. I have not as yet been given any sizes of chests or blanket sizes so am just going to hope for the best and do a selection of garments and see which one they think is the most useful.

I am still sock knitting. I am on my second sock from the Knitty Jaywalker pattern and waiting for my order from Angel Yarns to arrive. I have waited 2 weeks and when nothing arrived I e mailed and got told sorry no more of that yarn available and yet 3 weeks later the site is still showing the Sale yarn as being available! I think it says somewhere is small print subject to availability but surely if 3 weeks has passed and they know there is none of that yarn left they should in all fairness take the offer down from the web as how many other people besides me have placed an order in? I have written back to say I will accept 3 different colours of any sock yarn for the same Sale price but as yet have not received an answer. Surely this is false advertising if they continue to advertise the yarn in the Sale knowing they have none left? This whole thing has put me off from ordering from them in the future. Garnstudio advertises sock yarn at a very reasonable price so maybe next time I will give them a whirl if I get no success with Angel.