Household Crochet book and 60's Style Crochet.

I opened up Blogger to write a new page. It has taken me quite a few minutes to find my way around and I have no idea what this is going to look like until I press the preview button. I haven't got used to the new Facebook time line layout and now they are messing about with Blogger.

Today I went up to the Farmers Market and chose the wrong moment to go. I got absolutely drenched right through to my underwear. The French bread and new seasons lamb will be worth it though. Needless to say the rain stopped once I got home.

I have been busy finishing off a 60's style crochet dress for a friend who lucky for me  loves the vintage crochet styles. She is very petite and a lot younger than me so she is a good model for my crochet.

I made this dress for Julie from a vintage pattern that I found on Etsy. I had this pattern years ago but had 'lost' my copy. I used some vintage Jaeger Lalique yarn that I bid for on eBay. This photo doesn't show that it has gold lurex patches of eyelash effect yarn on a white background. On the photo it just looks beige. In real life it is very glittery.

This pattern comes from the Double Stitch twins Fashionista book. It looks better when it is on worn over clothes as the increases look like mistakes on the fabric when it is viewed on a white background. I will make a few adjustments to the  pattern when I make it again to make the increases less obvious. I used Ice yarn for this. It has a lovely silky sheen to it and is quite lightweight when crocheted.

I made this bolero out of 100 grams of Patons Fab DK wool as a trial for size for my friend Claire's little girl. She is making some Ra Ra skirts for summer and wants some boleros to go with them as it is never that warm in the summer. I will use different yarns for the rest of her boleros just as soon as I am sure of her size. She will try this on and then Claire can let me know how it fits. I didn't want to use expensive yarn for the trial size. If it doesn't fit then I haven't wasted much yarn and I am sure that it will fit some other little girl.

Yarn that I bid for on eBay. The navy and plum colours are to go with other shades of plums, purples and pinks that I have already bought in Red Heart. I want to make myself an afghan for the winter in these kind of shades so am collecting them ready for when I start. The pink eyelash yarn is for a bolero for the same little girl and the Red Heart in beige shades will be for my Great Nephew for the winter.

I got this booklet from Amazon as I am thinking that this will be the style of the afghan that I would like to make. It will probably be one of those, 'ongoing for a few months'  kind of project as no doubt I will get bored if I try to crochet it all at one time.

My friend Sue introduced me to Ice Yarns from Turkey. The yarns are beautiful and ridiculously cheap but the postage is astronomical. I wasn't convinced for ages when Sue said it still worked out quite cheap but it really does despite having to pay over £30 in postage the balls of wool averages out at around £1.67p a ball and there is no-where in the UK (apart from the sale at Kemps) where I can buy good quality for this price. I have got more packs of these yarns but these are my latest buys. No wonder my credit card bill is so high ! A lot of this yarn is for Julie's holiday crochet clothes..The pink shades, and possibly the blue, are for boleros for Claire's daughter.

Two new books from Amazon. I just love the covers, The colours look so inviting they make me want to grab a crochet hook and start right now. I will review the one on the left later.

Not a very good photo but I just love the granny square blanket in the pastel shades.

Isn't this little bag simply gorgeous. I will have to brush up my sewing skills for the lining for this one. I love the Spring shades thay have used.

I am so in love with this granny square bag. I love the colours. Definitely on my 'to do' list. It will make a great project bag for my WIP's or a shopping bag on a Spring day.

I think this cosy would get stained with the drips from the cafetiere but nevertheless it looks pretty.

Wouldn't those rose curtain tie backs look lovely in a little princess's bedroom?

I have bought the cushion pads and an itching to start one of these. The shades of this cushions are so pretty. A change from the vivid colours that I usually like.

These are not shades that I would immediately think of for a baby blanket and yet for a little girl they work so well plus I do love shades of lilac.

Not a good photo but I do like the lacy scarf plus the photography in this book, using old furniture, adds so much to the display of the crochet.

Not keen on the shape of these baby shoes but I do love the pastel shades.

I don't possess a tea pot, nor do I like tea, but I do think this is such a fun tea cosy. I will make it one day and hope that someone will like it.

I don't as a rule crochet toys but these Russian dolls are so cute. I am rubbish at the embroidered details. My toys always have cross eyes and strange expressions.

Not sure why they have popped a little dress in with a book of household items but it is rather sweet and dainty. I don't think that I would have chosen such a bright pink ribbon though.

My friend Sue (the one who introduced me to Ice Yarns) is as bad as me for collecting yarn. She went to Abakhan and phoned me up to ask if I wanted her to get me the colours that I needed for the cushions. She called this range of colours Cath Kidson colours. She knows that I am always there for a bargain. I must remember to pay her the rest of the money that I owe her for this yarn. I am like the Queen. I rarely carry any money unless I draw some out of the bank for a special purpose.

At the moment I am crocheting an off the shoulder top for my friend Julie in another of the Ice yarns. This one is pale grey with grey flower sequins in the yarn. I have finished one piece of it so far.

Later today I am off to see my new Great Nephew JP who is up from London for the weekend to be shown off to the relatives from Manchester. It will be nice to see him even though I have now got a collection of photos of him.

I need to get dressed again as I had to put all of my clothes in the dryer as they were so wet when I got back from the market. Luckily there were some clothes already in the dryer that I could temporarily change into.

I will show photos from the other book on my next post. My two fur neighbours Buddy and Poppy are here to see me. They come through the patio doors to say hello. They don't usually leave until they get a doggy treat and even know which drawer I keep them in. Yesterday my visitor was Lily, the cat from 2 doors away.