Crocheted novelty pillow

I found this wonderful picture whilst browsing on Flikr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mel_ancholy/1713061424/ The creator's name is Mel Ancholy and she calls these SchmusenBusen (for obvious reasons I think). Just the thing for Christmas for the man who has everything? He would be happy sleeping nestled between these pert boobs. She has a web site (link printed under the photo) selling these and I am sure she has many purchasers.

I am still in the unripping mode. I started knitting an aran sweater for my friend's brother. I was making the same pattern as before using the same brand of aran so I thought hmm no need to swatch. I did think that the yarn felt a little thicker running through my fingers but pressed on regardless. After a few inches I realised that the sweater was more a fit for the incredible hulk than Kevin plus it could stand on it's own in the corner. Unravel, unravel. I must love sitting with a pile of wool around my ankles. I knit from the centre of the ball so it is impossible to stuff it back in again. I started again with a different pattern and larger needles and whilst it is still somewhat rigid I am hoping it will soften when washed. I did quite a bit of cussing whilst I was re-knitting the spaghetti mess the yarn had tangled itself into. I read somewhere an article that said any yarn that is left loose will knot itself up. To think someone had spent huge amounts of money on this survey when they could just have asked any knitter or crocheter and got that information for free.

I read in the Manchester Evening News that the council is suing the makers of B of the Bang sculpture for 2 million as it is an unsafe structure. Why anyone paid so much for a rusting spiky creation amazes me. I think they should sue whoever agreed to buy it in the first place. They could have got any college to rustle something better up in metalwork class for free. Any fool in the street could see the dangers of it right from the start so how come the members of the public who criticised it in the beginning got shot down in flames for their opinions.

Crochet and knitted hats - no laughing please!

I am on my "2007" quest for a knitted or crochet hat that doesn't look too ridiculous atop my noggin. The contenders so far are pictured above. The multi coloured one was called Kilim Cap by Sacha Kagan from the book Crocheted Hats on the Go by Vogue Knitting. I had to adapt mine by changing hooks and doing more rows as although the pattern called for Rowan 4ply mine turned out doll sized in UK 4ply. I am not a swatcher of hats, more of a knit/crochet it and see kind of girl which means I do a lot of trying on, usually a lot of laughing, and a lot of unravelling or frogging as the US blogs call it. Why frogging? What has a frog to do with unravelling or am I missing the point somewhere? I have worn it several times so far so I must deem it to be wearable.

The Jade green hat was from a free (I love the word free) pattern from Knitty.com for a hat called Foliage. As usual I was watching tv and glancing at the pattern and so completely overlooked that there were 2 versions of the hat on the pattern in 2 thicknesses so mine is a sort of botch of the 2 as I merrily knitted the crown as for the finer version before I realised and it looked so pretty I didn't want to unrip it so consequently I have more stitches on my chunky version than I should have. It looks OK and it feels OK but I have a feeling that if I get caught in the rain or when I wash it then it will fit me like a bucket or a fireman's helmet.

Undeterred I have started hat number 3 which will be revealed at a later date. Another free pattern in some lovely yarn I bought for next to nothing from the market stall in Bury.

I have just finished crocheting the pieces for a lemon pair of Bunny Slippers from the Happy Hooker stitch n bitch book. I made my niece a pair last year in pink. This pair will probably not be photographed in their finished form as I am giving her the pieces to stitch up and embroider eyes, nose and whiskers on this time. The pink pair finished up with rather squinty eyes and lob sided noses as embroidery is not one of my finer points.

I never made it to the Pumpkin carving on Sunday as my car broke down. I have now swopped cars with my son and finished up with something that looks rather like the loser in a demolition derby but I am assured that although it is not pretty it is reliable. Who cares if it has no wheel trims. radio or aerial and the doors only open from one side? I am kind of partial to elephant grey with dents and scratches anyway! As my father used to say you can't see what the outside looks like when you are sitting in it anyway. I might have to get a radio though as I tend to sing otherwise and scare people at traffic lights etc.

White baby blanket finished

I finished one of the two baby blankets that I had planned to add to my stash to take to the pumpkin carving on Sunday. I decided to go to Tesco tonight and get my shopping and purchase my pumpkin and my car went to the top of my street and stopped. It refused to start again so I had to phone a friend to push the car into a side street. (I am not allowed to do that because of my bad back) I didn't feel like walking up to the store in the dark so I abandoned the idea and the car. A little while later I went back to the car and the *#+$!* thing started first time. I didn't want to risk going to Tesco so I just took the offending thing home and parked it in the driveway. 2 mechanics have looked at it in the past and can't find the problem. One guy kept it at his house and drove it for a week and it never happened to him. One guess is an intermittent electrical fault.

I am now very unsure about going to the pumpkin carving on Sunday as my son is away in Scotland so would not be able to rescue me from Bolton if I should break down again. I guess the baby items will have to wait for another week or so to get to the hospital. At least I will have more time to finish the second blanket. Perhaps I will write to Santa and ask him to stop his sleigh on my drive and maybe he can deliver them for me.

The cold weather has made me realise that I need some new hats. I crocheted some from Afya Ibomu Hip Hats and Cool Caps but when I tried them on I realised that most of them don't cover my ears. I have found 2 nice knitted hats (Foliage) on Knitty.com so I may nip up to the market to get some chunky yarn to give these a trial. Every year I knit about 6 hats before I find one I am sort of happy with. I just don't have a hat face. I was trying on several hats one year in a large department store and one lady had a fit of the giggles. She apologised and said I hope you weren't think of buying any of those cos I am sorry I have to tell you that none of them suit you! Some people can jam a tea cosy on their heads and look super cool. I just look like Benny from Crossroads for those of you old enough to remember him. (The daft and rather gormless look)

I need to go to Tesco tomorrow and collect my lottery winnings. Don't get excited I only got 4 numbers and they are only paying out the princely sum of £39 for that privilege. I am not exactly going to go mad with that am I. By the time I have put the lottery on again and done a bit of shopping my winnings will be all gone!

Weekend is here so that means it's just me and the dog for 2 days. My son is away so I will have an explanation for his non appearance this weekend, other weeks I have to guess why he doesn't come around. I have an invite to my step great grand daughter's 2nd birthday soon so I guess I might see him then. I see my niece far more than I ever see my son. My friend Caroline came last week so that means I won't see her for another month or so. Since I retired from work with a bad back I seem to have faded from the social scene. I can't walk far and my car is unreliable so invitations rarely come my way anymore. Plus everyone I know is in a relationship and I am the solo gooseberry when I do go out anywhere. I think it makes people feel awkward. They are never quite sure that I won't make a play for their husbands which I find quite flattering in a way. The fact that they think I am capable of enticing anyone is a bit of a boost.

I got told I had exceeded my quota for uploading on Flikr so I had to delete quite a few of my older photos. I still haven't put anything more on Ravelry as I haven't had the large amount of spare time that it will take to update it. I think it is a site you can easily get sucked into and spend hours just browsing. I need the time to knit and crochet my Christmas projects and my new hats first.

Not enough crochet and too much chatter

Yesterday I had the pleasure of the company of Vicky as she was wanting to learn how to make a crochet granny square. I think we did a lot of chatting (mostly me doing the chattering) and not much tuition. Despite this she did manage to grasp how to make a square. It is such an exciting event for me to get a visitor so I do tend to gab on quite a bit.

She has some lovely kid mohair that she wants to turn into a stole but it is very fine and fluffy and I think it probably will look better in the knitting pattern that she had as a standby. Mohair is quite difficult to crochet with for the less experienced as any wrong moves result in great difficulties with unpicking and bald yarn as a result. I have resorted to scissors on many an occasion when the mohair superglues itself together as it tends to do when crocheted.

I am racing to finish 2 crochet premature baby shawls before Sunday as I want to take them to the Pumpkin carving. I have been making tiny hats as well out of scraps of yarn. They look very small to me but one site did recommend that I aimed for something the size of a tennis ball. They are quite stretchy so I hope they come in useful for the hospital.

I made a knitted top for my friend Caroline's birthday and when she wore it to work a colleague admired it and asked who knitted it. She then said she had some yarn at home as she used to knit and would donate it to me when she heard I was making things for the prem babies. I guess I will be starting knitting and crocheting for them again once this yarn arrives.

Vicky and I got to chatting about knitting machines and I have 2 languishing in my loft that I haven't used in many a year. I have all the attachments - lace carriage, ribber etc so I now have the urge to get one of them down and set it up in the spare bedroom and see if I can remember how to use it. Hopefully it is like riding a bike and it will all come back to me. I have a feeling that it will take me quite a while to clean it before I can actually use it. I am going to resist for a week or so as I have crochet and hand knit things planned for Christmas gifts which will get sidelined if I get the machine down.

My poor dog has another water infection and is on antibiotics once again. He is scheduled to be castrated next week in an attempt to stop these recurrent infections. I am not looking forward to this as he will be very fretful about being left at the vet's. He was originally a rescued dog and panics if he gets put in a cage or left anywhere strange. I wish I could spare him this but I have to think of his health as he gets older.

Victorian Crochet

Today's blog is a series of photos from a book I bought a long time ago. It may be still available. it is called Victorian Crochet by Weldon and Company. Originally published in 1895 my book was bought in 1974 and circulated by Constable and Company from London or Dover Publications in New York.

I stand in awe of the attention to detail and patience the Victorian crocheting ladies had. Some of the patterns would not be out of place in today's world. I can well imagine the chemise trimmings atop a lovely pure silk night gown. An asset to any ladies boudoir. I would also love to make the edgings for the curtain blinds. Much nicer than the ones available today. They were apparently crocheted around purchased shapes to make the size uniform and I presume weight them down for the edge of the blind.

Victorian ladies I salute you.

Scratchy crochet shawl on it's way to Ireland

I finished the scratchy shawl and washed it so it was a bit softer. I still did not like the finished shawl as I had run out of the cream and had to use some light brown to finish it off. My friend came to bleach my hair roots ( I refuse to grow old and grey gracefully I am going out as a blonde! ) and fell in love with it and said it would be perfect for her mother who lives in Ireland. So I gave it to her but forgot the photograph it first so you are spared the sight of the offending article. I have posted the picture of the pattern so you can see how nice the shawl would be made in better quality yarn. I made one in cream and one in black as gifts a few years ago. The pattern is in a Studley crochet book from the 80's.

Today I went down to the haberdashery warehouse I used to go to when I had the wool shops and surprise surprise they actually remembered me so embarrassment was spared. I had taken my niece to introduce her as she is a teacher and the school she works at could use the warehouse for a lot of their craft supplies. She was totally amazed by the Aladdin's cave of treasures that were behind the warehouse doors. She is a convert and will return with the arts and crafts teacher as the prices there were far below what they have been paying in the past so the children will benefit from more materials for the budget that school has to work with. I was very restrained and only bought a pack of white dishcloth cotton and some large yellow headed pins that will be useful when I am stitching up garments. I could have gone mad in there but I am supposed to be on a stash busting project and not a buying one!

I am trying to push on and finish off crocheting a couple more blankets for the premature baby unit so that I can take them to the Pumpkin carving next week. I really need to do more crocheting and less web and blog gazing. I still haven't done any more on my Ravelry site. I put my finished articles (apart from the scratchy shawl) on Flikr so doing Ravelry as well is just too time consuming. When I am not in a rush and can dedicate a few hours to it I will update my space on there and have a look around. I don't want to get sucked into it just now and waste even more crocheting time.

I have a whining dog to walk and then I am going to settle down to a bit of crochet. Rats - I just remembered that I have the ironing to do first. Ah well, ironing first and crochet second I suppose but then again I could hide the ironing in the cupboard and just do the crocheting instead!

Golden Oldie crochet patterns

Hands up any of you who have these patterns in your collection. Not many I bet and even fewer who actually made them and wore them. I can wave my hands in the air on both counts but I must confess it was the 60's when I made and wore them and I was considerably slimmer in those days! Fortunately there is no documented references to them in any of my archived photos so you cannot see my principal boy legs as my mother used to call them. I think it was a polite way of saying I had a quite substantial pair of pins. A legacy from my ballet dancing youth. For the doubting amongst you I can produce a photo or two of me in a tutu so be very afraid it may appear one day on my blog!

For those who don't recognise the lovelies in the patterns the lady in the shorts is Shakira Khan who married Michael Caine ( to pinch the words of Michael - not a lot of people know that) and the lovely Twiggy in her white suit who is now gracing our TV screens advertising Marks and Spencer. I bet she could still fit in that suit which is more than I could had I kept mine. For the technically minded I did line the suit and the shorts for modesty's sake. It might have been the swinging 60's but you I did have my mother to deal with. I often left the house wearing something different with the offending short outfit smuggled out in a bag to be changed into at the dance. Skirts that short did teach me how to walk, bend and sit in a ladylike way. One false move and my tonsils were on display for the world to see. I lived a large portion of my life surrounded by a halo of hairspray holding my beehive in place. We had never heard of the ozone layer in those days. Every mirror in the house was sticky with hair spray it used to drive my mother mad.

I went for my X ray today. I got a phone call at 8.45am from the hospital - can you be here by 9am. You have to be kidding - right? Rush hour traffic and the hospital half an hour away in light traffic. The car park is 10 mins walk from the hospital these days, plus the hospital is a rabbit warren of corridors. We compromised on 1pm and so I arrived crochet in my bag ready for a long wait only to be whisked in and X rayed in a blink of an eye with barely time for a starting chain. Now I have to wait for the results to find out if I am having an operation on my back - or not.

I finished the scratchy shawl and it is ready for a wash in an attempt to soften the yarn up so it can at least turn into something wearable. Not the best thing I have ever crocheted but at least it is some yarn out of the stash and into a garment even if it never gets worn. I need to crochet 2 more premature baby blankets before the 21st as Lisa from Knitting Noras has volunteered to take the outfits and blankets that I have already made to Ann who will take them to the hospital prem baby unit. I will try to fit in a couple of jackets and hats if time permits and then take a break from them until after Christmas.

Not enough hours in the day for crochet. I wonder how long it would take me to train my toes to knit and crochet? Would it be like patting your head and rubbing your tummy trying to use both feet and hands to craft with?

Time for a rum and coke. It is Friday and the sun has gone over the yard arm so it is allowed. More wiggly crochet if I have more than one glass?