Monday, March 26, 2012

back to the hat.

Well with the weekend come and gone, the pink cowboys hat got some wear, the smallest size of the pattern was made and a new pink one was created as I wasn't happy with how the first one wore. It was great when it was set up for posing, but after that, well, especially when little hands 'pull it over their head' it really looses shape real fast.

I still am not happy with how the large size (size 2-4yrs) worked. I used a bigger hook, so that made things sit better all round, but not sure whether it was the yarn (she suggested using soft yarn) or whether the pattern is just more suited for a smaller hat. I really don't have the time this week to make another large hat, so we may just have a little lady farmer minus a hat. :) But I would like to try this size using a harder yarn, and see if that makes a difference. Just not this week.

The small one worked a treat. This (photo below) is the smallest size, 0-3 months. It was also made out of 'non-soft' yarn, so it is actually quite stiff and holds it shape really well. It fits the girls dolls (berenguer) beautifully, looks great on a shelf and would look really nice in a baby photoshoot.



 (Too much time on my hands? What else do you do when your body is zapped of its energy from a headcold...?)
Back to normal household tasks this week and finishing off the last 3/4's of the little girls gumboot. Thats my aim for this week - and looking forward to block #7 on Friday.
L.

square #6

Friday saw Spotlights block #6 released. Down with a headcold it was a good day to sit down and get it done.

Bit more of an open block then the others, but once it is joined it should pull tight and be pretty in it. Oh and in the process of redoing square #4 to get the 'x' more noticeable.

L.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

On Monday night I came across this cute hat by The Lovely Crow. With next week Farm Day and bigger hats already in the dressup box for the older girls, I new it would be nice hat for Nadia.


She had the cowboy hat pattern available for purchase on Ravelry, going up to size 2-4. With pink wool at hand and a size 6mm hook (it is worked in double strand) only 24 rows later it is completed. She puts a lot of time and effort into her patterns and they hence they are easy to read and work beautifully (considering you have the right gauge.) The gumboots on a previous post are also one of her patterns.

One happy and excited model this morning trying hard to show me a smile!

(note: I haven't even taken out my safety pin row marker or finished off the yarn at the back!)

Totally finished off now.
What I like about this one, it can be totally crumpled, and re-shaped within a minute, and no, it will not be going in the dressup box!

L.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

little zac

Remember when I started the babette? Well, it was completed in January, eagerly awaiting the birth of Bruce and Kylie's little one.
They were richly blessed that all went well and he arrived early in March. His proud mum shared a photo of handsome little ZAC AIDAN on his floor rug with me this morning. Had to share.


L.

squared

A few weeks ago Spotlight started releasing a square pattern-a-week for the next 25 weeks and it will be made up into a blanket when its done. They made their blanket only out of white, but as I had balls of yarn sitting there waiting for a project (and I could still purchase extra of the same colour!) I opted to make a coloured blanket with the outside border of each square in white. Who in mind? No one yet.
I must say as I go along it reminds me of a blackberry patch... (if you can imagine that...maybe its just me)

Here are the squares that have been released so far each friday:

Square 1: the basic Granny square, what all the squares are based on.

Square 2 - I love this one. The flower is made first and not attached afterwards as it looks. The inside of the flower is made as a 'lump' in the middle.

Square 3: Interesting pattern using circles and squares

Square 4: very similar to the granny square but this one has 'clusters' in each corner creating a 'X' thru the middle of it. I think the colours make it hard to see it, but it is there... :)

Square 5: this one caused a few problems for fellow spotlight crocheters as the pattern wasn't correct, but thanks to a lovely lady who wrote a new pattern for row 5 and 6 I managed it to look like theirs.  Again the colours of the photo make it a bit harder to see the detail of the square, but in each corner there is a nice arch.

The five completed squares at the moment. No particular order yet. Each square is approx 18cm wide, 28 stitches.
Looking forward to Fridays square.
L

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

'my first gumboots'

This is my first ever crochet pattern that I have purchased online (from ravelry), and it has been a joy to crochet. The pattern is written well and it turned out just like her pictures! A gorgeous pattern for little juniors or just a simple display on a babies shelf... I have one gumboot of the girl version made, and promise to share that one too when it is complete.


The colouring is a bit deceiving, and looks better in real life. It is bright blue and bright green, not yellow as appears in the above photo. I'll take another shot with the finished girls gumboots.

L.

Friday, March 16, 2012

natural bridge

This past week has been a sad week in regards to picking up the crochet hook. Being busy with an upcoming school activity has taken up much of my spare (and housework) time, and so the hook gets dropped first of all.

But don't worry, I have something to share today for all my readers.

A fellow crocheter in Albany has just completed a project which she has adapted from a counted cross-stitch pattern to make this beautiful Natural Bridge, which she has let me share with you. Those of us that have lived or holidayed in Albany are bound to have visit this Natural Bridge on the South-West Coast corner.


I have a couple of projects that I am itching to share with you, but that will happen hopefully next week. Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.

L.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

extra special craft post: bobbin lace

Back in January I promised that I would be posting a special craft post. This isn't work that I have been doing, but my Mum, Bobbin Lace which she started over 10 years ago. I have really wanted to share this long lost craft with my fellow crafters, even though it isn't something that you will just pick up and start doing tonight.

I guess it has a special spot in my heart, as Mum has handmade all the lace work for the baptism dress for each of her children and their husband/wives when they were expecting their first baby. All lacework pattern was different for each couples dress.

I'll quote a bit from a book to introduce Bobbin Lace:

'Bobbin lace and pillow lace are the generic terms for a large group of laces made by tisting and crossing threads. The work is supported on an overgrown pincushion called a pillow; the thread used to produce the lace is wound on bobbins, and the bobbins are manipulated so that the threads are woven in a variety of ways; the pattern is made by positiong of pins, around which the threads pass.'

'Bobbin Lace first appeared in Europe early in the sixteenth century and probably reached its peak of excellence in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. For almost three hundred years it was a thriving industry of considerable importance to the economies of many European countries. '

Here are some photos of Mum's work taken in January 2012 at our campsite.

Before you can even start work on the pillow (polystyrene cut to shape), you need to pick your pattern, wind up the wooden Bobbins with thread, and pin prick the pattern.

The project: bobbins on material to help keep bobbins clean. They all get covered with material at the end of each working session to keep dust and dirt off.
Then the pattern and pins on a rolling piece of foam which then gets wound onto the wooden roller at the end.

Mums hands working the lace. The lace is made up of two movements; right over left, and left over right. They are not knots.


Close up of pins and the roller when the lace comes off the pillow.

Spangles: the end beadwork of each Bobbin. These are made from glass beads for extra weight and to stop the bobbins from rolling. They are made in pairs and for tension extra heavy spangles are used for heavier thread, lighter spangles for thinner thread.

WIP: Close up of lace being worked. See the pattern on paper underneath with the pins holding the work in place. These pins need to stay in for 24 hours before being removed.



Mum has been with a lace group in Albany for many years now. They have an annual lace day and have a pair of bobbins hand painted for each year. Mum has also had her own painted with each grandchilds name and date of birth painted on it.


Beautiful finished work coming off the pillow. It took mum approx an hour and 15mins to do one pattern repeat from the above lacework. 60 pattern repeats made 150cms of lacework.  Each repeat is about 2.5cm. You figure the hours it took to make this length of lace! This is the lacework that is ready for the baptism dress for Bruce and Kylie and their little blessing.
Then she sews a baptism dress out of voile, carefully selecting the right white to go with the white thread. 
She also makes a much thinner lacework (not as wide) to go around the wrists of the sleeve.
Below is the baptism dress she made for us when Kimberley was born. All four children have worn it, and it has plans of staying in our family.
Here is Nadia on her Bapistim day, when she received the sign and seal of the Covenant.
The dress is made with removeable ribbon so we can give each child their own colour and Jordan didn't have to wear pink ribbon!
Hope you enjoyed this craft post as it is a craft: made for you.
Till next time:
L.