The Postman Brought Goodies

The postman came this morning and brought my order from Purplelinda. As my younger niece had admired her black cardigan so much I thought that I would get some wool in advance as it is her Birthday on the 2nd April. For a change from black I have ordered her some Patons Diploma DK in charcoal grey. I have yet to decide on a pattern but I wanted to give myself plenty of time to knit something as her elder Sister has a Birthday on 3rd April.I also want to make her something. My Sister in Law must be a creature of habit to conceive two daughters ,supposed to be born on the same day, 3 yrs apart. The only other time I have known this is my friend who had a 2nd daughter on her other daughter's 1st Birthday. I suppose that it saves on the parties when they are younger. One party each year for both of them.

I treated myself to the Mission Falls goes crochet book. I had admired a couple of things on Ravelry and found that they were in the same book so although it was pricey (as a lot of US leaflets are over here) I decided to get it. I like most things in the book although I don't think that the cover sweater is one that I will be making for myself. It's a bit too openwork for me but yet being in an aran thickness too warm to wear in the Summer and yet too short sleeved for a Winter sweater even over a T shirt. I don't like wearing something with short sleeves over a long sleeved T shirt.

I can see the Hydrangea crop being popular with a lot of younger people and my nieces would probably wear it if I made it perhaps an inch or two longer to reach the waist. I have always liked the Hibiscus Car Coat in Ravelry projects so that is a possibility for myself, My elder niece says that I always like wearing things long and droopy. She is right. It hides a multitude of sins. I am carrying far too much weight at the moment for things too fitted or too short.

Although I like the Daisy Snow shawl it is a no,no for me as I have a thing about circles. I just cannot seem to link them together right. They pucker or slant and end up losing my temper. As crochet is supposed to be relaxing I steer away from anything circular.

The Gladiolus Cardigan is another 'me' cardigan. I like a close stitch as it reminds me of knitting but with all the quickness of crocheting. I am not sure that I would add the sleeve tab detail though.

I like the way that the Blue Iris has a little tab at the waistline. It gives it the illusion of some shape at the waist. I think though that I would make the tab in the same colour as the sweater.As this is sleeveless I would wear it over a fine sweater or long sleeved T shirt.

The Granny Flower purse is not for me. I am not a lover of knit or crochet handbags although I know that plenty of people are. It's probably because I am not much of a sewer and I think that they need a fabric lining to be practical.

I love the multi coloured hat but the scarf is not for me. I also like the Rock Wrap but would have to alter it slightly so that it didn't fall off the baby's shoulders quite so much. I am not sure how to alter it. Maybe the band is just too large for the wrap and that is what is making it fall from the shoulders. I will have to look on Ravelry to see other peoples projects.

I love the little boys sweater but not sure about the high neckline with a zip. It would have irritated my son when he was small so I would probably opt for a couple of buttons for a closure and a slightly shorter neckband. I wouldn't make the Green Machine Truck as unless it was well padded most boys would sit on it and flatten it. My son would have got annoyed that the wheels didn't turn around.

Although I don't crochet for any men I can see that this Granite Tread vest might be something that would actually get worn by a man. More of a zipped body warmer.

I also subscribed to Crochet! magazine but as it is digital I can't show you any of that. I do prefer the paper versions of magazines but I couldn't find a place in the UK that I could subscribe to it from. The beauty of ordering digitally is that I also got access to 2 yrs worth of back issues as well as the 6 copies that I have paid for. Needless to say I didn't do much knitting or crocheting yesterday as I was to busy browsing 2 yrs of magazines. I have found quite a few things in them that I like.

I have managed to finish one of the girls knitted jackets and it is blocking out. I will start the second one tonight. It hasn't taken me long as it is mostly plain and is in chunky.

We had a wee bit of snow today but it isn't sticking. It has left the road very icy though and if it freezes tonight then it will be like a skating rink tomorrow. Luckily I have enough food in for a few more days.

Thea Jacket

I have started the black jacket for my niece. The pattern I am using is Thea by Kim Hargreaves from her Precious Pattern Book. I have borrowed the pattern book from my other niece. As the patterns calls for Rowan Kid Classic and I am using Patons Gold DK I am having to compensate for thinner wool and using finer needles. Luckily my niece is a small size so I can make one of the larger sizes using the stitches for that but using the measurements lengthwise of the size that she really is. Sound complicated? Well it's not really just as long as I keep track of what I am doing. I have photocopied the pattern so that I can write on it what changes I am making. I don't like to deface my own books by writing on them and I know that my niece would not appreciate me spoiling her pattern book.

I am not using Rowan Kid Classic as neither of my nieces like anything with fluff on it and although I have worked with the Kid Classic before I think that my niece would prefer a smoother finish to her jacket. My only fear is that I will need some extra balls to finish it so I am putting a spurt on with the knitting to see how many I will need as I have to order it from Purplelinda and the nearer it gets the Christmas the more that the mail will be delayed.I have been waiting a week for 2 orders to be delivered. Things are taking longer than a week to arrive. Usually they come in a matter of days.

The top photo is one borrowed from the book. I hope that mine will look as good once it is finished. The lilac beads are stitch markers as the jacket has dart shaping for the waist and as they have to line up one on top of the other I need a stitch marker especially when knitting black.

Today I went for a walk/slip/slide to the Farmers Market. I could not take my scooter as the road was covered with black ice. Cars were sliding about so I would have had no chance with my small scooter. I was clinging to my shopping trolley and walking stick for grim death as the pavements were also slippy. I could not ask a neighbour to shop for me as I had run out of cash and needed to call at the hole in the wall for some money. I did manage to pay my newspaper bill. I got the hint when he sent me a second bill stapled to my newspaper.

I came home relatively unscathed apart from my knees aching from the walk. I then came to take off my winter boots and managed to fall over and twist my knee. Luckily I fell against my chair and it broke my fall. I negotiated ice and snow outside and then fell over on my own front room carpet by merely standing on one leg. Up to now apart from a bit of soreness I think that my knee is OK. It just took my breath away for a few minutes.

I haven't stitched up Charlie's brown jacket yet. I have to be in the mood for stitching anything together as I have to work at trying to be neat. If things are not stitched together nicely then it ruins the look of the garment. That is one reason why I hate making small toys that need stuffing and embroidering. I don't mind the knitting or the crochet but I hate the stitching up.

I have just enjoyed a pain du chocolat that I bought from the bread stall. They are French and make the most delicious bread. I have put some bread in the freezer. I bought quite a bit of lamb for the freezer including a leg of lamb for Christmas. It's lucky that I walk so slow as I paid for my meat and then left the bag on the stall. The butcher found me eventually and gave it back to me. Thank goodness he did as I could not have faced another walk to retrieve it. I am getting so forgetful these days.

Back to the black knitting whilst it is still fairly light. I am not fond of knitting black in the electric light although I can work better with dark colours now I have the new craft light. I still prefer to knit in daylight but there is so little of it these days. First I think that I am due a nice hot coffee, then it's knit, knit, knit.