Crochet seems to have taken over

A useful bag for storing nappies and various other items of baby sundries.

 A beautiful star blanket in Baby Bamboo and cotton for Diana's new baby - her choice of colours.

Now this is to cover a bench in our village in our yarn bombing for the village fete - hopefully more photos to follow on fete day when all is revealed.

Again for the fete - to decorate some borders.

C2C

My latest craze on the crochet front - the corner to corner blanket. Had so much fun doing these and another huge one on the hook at the moment.

Creepers and Ocelots

I had always tried to keep in touch with what I suppose is called youth culture but as music and language started to baffle me some time ago I rather lost the plot. When I hear the words -"listen to this, you will like it" I immediately doubt if I will and it is often a surprise when it is tolerable and sometimes rather good and enjoyable. Computer or console games are another matter. I really do not like the violent, shooting games and I just don't understand the fantasy. I was never that into The Lord of the Rings or even The Hobbit - although I did sit through the film a couple of weeks ago and it was alright, just not my taste. I am reliably informed that I will not like Game of Thrones so I will believe that and not bother. So when's heard that the latest craze amongst younger children was a game called Minecraft I was prepared to be confused. I still am. I think I understand the concept but, well I haven't actually played it so I can't really comment. However, having a six year old in our midst has meant that some vague knowledge is required, if only to know what to look for when the cry rings out - "Has anyone seen my Ocelot?" A visit from the said six year old led to a discussion about the various characters and a desire to make him something relevant. Searches online brought forward some knitting charts for some of the characters and discussions and bits of graph paper produced some more. I started to knit and here is the result. Needless to say it went down well.

The turtles on the sleeves totally the design of the young recipient.

Baby boys

Are a joy!!

Hence some knitting for boys:

More star blankets

I have stopped for a while - after 12 I think - and trying out a new pattern. I can't quite believe just how much time I must have spent in the past few weeks crocheting.

Star blankets and Spider-Man

This is definitely my latest addiction. I am loving making star blankets. Some are coming out better than others but they are coming out at a fantastic rate. No wonder people like to crochet blankets - you can make them in record time, especially if you go for chunky yarn and a larger hook too.

A delicate one:

A chunky one:

 A special one for a little boy:

Learning how to crochet

My great grandmother could crochet. She made the most intricate and delicate doilies and mats and dressed tiny dolls in beautiful outfits. She taught me how to do a chain, a double and a treble crochet but I never really picked up the skill.

I inherited all her old crochet patterns, needles, cottons and works in progress but they have been sitting in a box with no prospect of ever being even looked at. The fine work she did will, I fear, always be beyond me but, this past week or so I have finally given crochet a go.

To begin with I found a couple of needles and some cotton yarn and had a go at a granny square. I tried following patterns in a book, online tutorials and YouTube tutorials. Many squares were made and abandoned. I despaired of ever getting it right but then I made something that was reasonably presentable. I still hadn't mastered the pattern correctly but it looked ok.

I gained confidence and decided to try something a little more complex. Needless to say I have done little else over the past 2 weeks. I saw some star patterned blankets online and decided to have a go. I started and unravelled so many times but again, eventually, came up with something presentable.

Not prepared to cut my losses and run back to knitting I was determined to master something slightly more complex. A 12 point star blanket. I think it was probably a whole morning before I could get to the stage when I believed that it was going to work. Crochet could well become the new addiction and I read today in the newspaper that a crochet dress is the thing to have. Maybe not for me but I am clearly "on trend" as they say.

A batch of baby blankets

Go to wool shop, buy 5 balls of yarn from the sale basket, cast on 10 stitches, garter stitch 10 ridges, cast off, turn, pick up, repeat until wool runs out. Result:

Go to wool stash and select double knitting yarn in colours vaguely resembling Elmer the elephant. Make 20 mini log cabin squares. Join with 3 needle cast offs. Make borders. Result:

Hedgehogs, finishing off and looking back.

Yesterday had a certain poignancy. It was Valentine's Day and the dear husband actually splashed out on a card that wasn't buy one get one free or heavily reduced stock. We had a lovely lunch in a riverside pub with the pregnant daughter and her husband and then, being so close by, decided to try to pay a visit to an elderly sort of relative.

I'm not sure how old Ann is but I am guessing 80s. She was the second wife of my uncle, John, who was my father's best man at my parents' wedding. To complicate matters John wasn't his real name. He married my Dad's sister then they divorced and he married Ann then they divorced and he married again. We kept in touch over the years as he was the father of my cousin and, travelling to this part of the country frequently, we would sometimes call in to see them on the farm. 

I had last seen Ann at my uncle's funeral about 6 years ago and she is now rather frail but still has the most beautiful voice and is as sharp and bright as she ever was. I learned a great deal about wood burning stoves in our short visit, heard about a new place for Sunday lunch and the range of events that can be held in a village hall - very helpful.

The mind does tend to wander back though. This beautiful woman who is now confined to her home used to pilot a light aircraft. I took my husband to be to meet them some 30 odd years ago and they separately took us up in their little plane to fly across the amazing countryside around the Wye valley. I loved it but the fiancé was a little anxious going up in such a tiny aircraft with this lovely delicate woman whom he had only just met. She is a delight to know,

Back home it is a hive of activity. I am anxious to complete items of knitting for the new baby and to get on with so many outstanding projects. Spring is beckoning and the garden is more than beckoning for attention and it is time now to start to work on the house. The decorating which was needed when we moved in is still needed - that isn't going away and, to add to the work, the middlest child is buying her first house so work will be needed there. Retirement is fun.

Some completed projects:

New Year projects

A wonderful Christmas with all the family in our new home. This house suits family and Christmas so long as the younger members don't mind mattresses on the floor and uncomfortable, elderly sofa beds.

The new year brings nearer the prospect of a new grandchild, Masters degree graduations, a first real winter in the new house and the delights of getting to know our new neighbours better.

Knitting for the new baby carries on apace with so many works I progress that I have been forced to seriously organise my stash, the needles and knitting paraphernalia and the current projects. Only 3 projects allowed in the sitting room at any one time and everything else on show and easily accessible upstairs.

The weather has dictated the wearing of warm clothes and the production of warm hats.

There is also an ongoing project - hedgehogs for next Christmas!