Milestones

Darkana Tarot

 A major achievement for me within the last year was to take driving lessons and pass both my theory and practical driving tests on the first attempt: I had several motivators - Mini Diva's rugby training, games and events happening more frequently and regularly in far more rural and further away locations (Titch can't perform taxi duties as he works away all week); the levels of anxiety and panic brought on by being a passenger in a car ... what do you mean, control issues ?? .... And a need to get to work not relying on public transport, which means I can do the early shifts I prefer.


I couldn't have done this without the support of my lovely MIL who doesn't understand the concept of non-drivers - living in what I would call remote rural locations for much of her life probably fuels that view (see what I did there ?) and of course, Titch, who not only helped me with major cheerleading, but enabled the purchase of the kind of car I wanted/needed although it really doesn't suit him.

 Actually, it's not quite that bad, but it is still not built to his scale.

Within about 3 months I had managed to do this:

 I was fine, just shocked and really upset. I'd only been moving at 10mph - it's amazing what damage can be done at low speeds: Shidare-zakura (Weeping Cherryblossom) was a write-off.

Titch was very keen for me to get back in the saddle asap; I think he had concerns that I'd never get into any car ever again. So we found this, same make, slightly different model:

And having learned from poor naming habits, this one has been christened Hinagiku (Daisy) - no hint of weeping this time. I love these old-style Honda CR-Vs: they sit quite high, LOTS of glass and therefore visibility, 4x4, they are chunky and sturdy, reliable, plenty of trunk/boot space (this model even includes a built-in picnic table!) and of course, an automatic, with the gear stick on the steering column. Needless to say, perhaps the most crucial design element of all, is the cup-holder .... My driving instructor considered her to be large, but Wilhelmina, of sainted memory, was what I consider large:

approx. 15 1/2 ft long, I know because we measured

 Since then, I have driven to Twickenham via the North Circular, to Wales and back to visit with my Uber Cool Brother, and up to Lincolnshire to visit with my new twin grand-nieces. And not only did I survive to tell the tale, but so did my passengers - in spite of the musical selections !

While fitting new tyres, the garage broke her hard wheel-cover; it proved too challenging to source another one in the right color, so I took it as an opportunity to customize:

 I found the pattern on Ravelry, and sourced it from an Etsy seller in Canada - I love the interwebz. How else could you find a crochet magazine from 1989 ?

It is a doily pattern, and to upsize it simply (read: lazily) I used SuperChunky acrylic yarn. I need to revisit this pattern and make it to include the daisies in the border - perhaps Aran-weight this time ....

EDITED TO ADD: I am claiming that this detailed post about my motoring triumphs (and failure) was a planned, purposeful expansion of my previous post; having spent too much time putting it together, and posting it, I realized with horror that my menopausal memory - or rather, serious lack of same - means I spoke about this last time. Apologies xx

 

So Now I'm Back ...

Housewives Tarot

.... from outer space ...

Well, no, not really. But it might as well have been, this last year. 

Hello again, my friends - I've had a quick tidy-up round the edges, removed dead links on the blog roll etc. now let's see if I can maintain a weekly post.

Visconti-Sforza

Forest Folklore

Durer

Much has happened since last we spoke - the most upsetting being the death of our quirky landlady last summer, which forced us to move house (on Hallowe'en). Our new house is a Victorian end-terrace, much smaller, much further away from school - so most unpopular with the kids, as it's a long walk to school and nowhere near any of their friends; in fact, we are only 5 minutes walk from a different high school, but Mini Diva wanted to stick with the courses she'd chosen, and Destructo Boy wants to stay in the same school as his friends. We miss our old neighbors and neighborhood, we miss the large airy rooms, the conservatory, the 2nd toilet, and Inky the cat, who roamed and hardly returns since spring. Most of our books and much of our furniture is in the garage - it simply won't fit in this house.

On the plus side, it has an actual back garden with grass, not just a patio; it could be seen as cosy and snug; the kitchen is massive; it is 5 mins from the dog park - Sebastian is pretty creaky and gray suddenly, and doesn't want or need the long walks to, round and from the big main park anymore (we have turned into those people who drive to walk their dog). It is next door to the local corner shop; it is close to 2 good bus routes into town. 

squeeze them as hard as you can

And in an attempt to master my car-related anxiety and panic attacks, I took driving lessons and passed both my theory and practical tests on the first go. We then bought a little old car that ticked all my boxes (high, lots of glass for visibility, solid, not huge) and within 3 months I did this:

Shidare-zakura

 Not bad when I was going a mere 10 mph. There were many, many tears. And my insurance is even more extortionate now. (I was fine, just shaken up and upset). We bought another new-to-me Honda CR-V, this one christened Hinagiku; the garage broke her wheel cover, which gave me the opportunity to really customize some decor:

I get lots of great comments about this, from all kinds of people

 I work full-time outside the home now, so my crochet and knitting time has really suffered - this year so far I have completed only 10 items, and 9 of those were baby items ... for my sister's middle daughter's twins, born in June. My sister would have absolutely loved them, and being a grandmother.

Speaking of knitting for twins - how to make things the same, but different ?

I decided to invert the colors:

 







Vintage pattern Emu Treasure 8561, using WI Soft & Silky in pink, yellow and lilac mix.

 
To use plain and self-striping colorways of the same yarn:

UKHKA6 in WYS Signature 4ply in 'Pennyroyal' and the self-striping version ' Woodpigeon'


To use a pattern that offers two versions (here, differing stitch patterns) :


 










Vintage pattern Peter Pan P551 in Hayfield Baby Blossom DK in 353 'Buttercup'.

And lastly, the same colors but different patterns:

Textured Baby Blanket and Lilac Lily Baby Blanket, both in Scheepjes Colorcrafter Weert, Urk (yes, I know, I laugh every time), Amstelveen, Amersfoort, Heerlen and Alphen - or, white, aqua, purple, pink, lilac, and teal.

 My goodness, I'm exhausted. I forgot how much time and effort creating a blog post can take ! Especially when your computer crashes halfway through ...

As ever, I welcome any comments. 

 

Sun's Out

The Sun by ZackLoup

I am constantly surprised by the sheer quality of Art that there is available on the Interwebz; my own total lack of skill just makes my awe greater.

I was searching for just the right depiction of XIX The Sun because of this post, to reflect the actual sun being out today, the topic of my post, the words on the Finished Object, and my satisfaction - and there it was, this beautiful fox created by ZackLoup. If you scroll through their other cards, one of my favorite creatures, the Wolf, features (as it does in their name) ... this is definitely a deck I'd back if it came up on Kickstarter. Thank you, ZackLoup.

I was looking for the perfect card to celebrate the completion of an overdue project - it was supposed to be a Christmas present for Titch, a popcorn 'word' blanket from designer Jody Pyott.

Yes, last Christmas, not the one before. Or the one before that. I only have one longterm UFO, and this wasn't it - I was derailed by a seasonal retail job which I loved, but the hours were tiring and left little time or energy for crochet.

Anyway. This project had Issues. Firstly, color choice - wanting several yellows that all needed to complement each other meant testing the customer service at the Wool Warehouse: the lovely lady who answered my call physically ran up to the actual warehouse to check that the colors I'd select would actually go together: and she was right. 

Secondly, my first time working with Scheepjes Colorcrafter DK yarn - I'd wanted to try it for a while since it's arrival on my radar as it has a great color palette. It is soft, but I found it splitty to crochet with even with a larger hook than recommended. It does wash well so far.

Thirdly, I had gauge issues. Major ones. In a blanket like this one needs the blocks to be very uniform, and using a few different sizes of hook was necessary for me to achieve that. It also highlighted that I cannot handle row gauge: width was fine, height .... not so much. I'd chosen to make it in DK rather than Worsted or Aran, as I wanted a smaller FO than stated in the pattern - but because of the aforementioned row gauge it came out smaller than I wanted, which meant I needed more words, that I had to create the charts for myself ... uncharted territory, ha-ha. And it was also not the right size for Titch's new truck, a MAN rather than a Mercedes.

BTW, that's a whole other discussion. Suffice it to say, the MAN is more Melania than Michelle, rhinestone than diamond, cod roe than caviar. Her one redeeming feature is that she bears the name of a beautiful angel baby.

But I was too close to the finishing line to quit. Having plenty of yarn left meant I could add a generous border ... I completed it yesterday while watching Dwayne Johnson as Hercules: quite apt, don't we think ?

 And here is the result of my Labors:

 

Sunshine & Storms

Robin Wood Tarot

Titch took a day off to drive us to Norwich for a day out, as Mini Diva wanted to go to the RAF Careers Centre - our closest one. It was no sacrifice at all as we used to live in Norwich years ago, and it's one of our favorite cities: the size of a city but with a village feel, full of unique non-chain shops too. 

While we were there, she also blew most of her birthday money on posh sports clothes, so she was happy; I found 2 posh yarn shops: Norfolk Yarn which stocked Tibetan Yak yarn, and The Crafty Ewe which does late night opening once a week ! Plus a Hobbycraft, all of which made me happy - but (making Titch happy) from a stall on the huge market bought only a crochet hook and cute buttons for this:

Sirdar Tiny Tots DK 1561

The rest of the weekend was spent in clearing out our shed in order to put a 2nd-hand chest freezer there ready for storing supplies for the cricket season which starts next week - I am amazed, if not gobsmacked, that Titch volunteered to do the snack kitchen again this year; quite frankly I am really not looking forward to it: after an autumn and winter of merely showing up to watch the kids play rugby at a semi-civilized 10am, being out of bed every Sunday at 6:30am for an 8am start from now until August has NO appeal whatsoever.

Which brings me to the reason for the 3 of Swords. In clearing the shed, we found a box that we both thought had been stored in the house. Unfortunately it and its contents have been ruined by damp and mold:

This is Mini Diva's baby 'coming home' outfit, her first pairs of baby shoes, first lock of hair .... you get the idea. Every single one of the congratulations cards was ruined too. The tears ran down my face like Niagara.

 

Well Hello There ....

Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

Wow.

So I think this needs a soundtrack, don't you ?

Something classy but a little unusual and unexpected, like me.




 
Yeah ... I swear it was just last week when I posted, not nearly 4 months ago ! My 2 year tenure as co-Chair (with my Good Twin) of TABI ended, I went to Witchfest for the first time in years to read tarot with my Eviller Twin, I had a temporary Christmas job which I loved, and a little sideline making tea cosies, and then I lost my blogging mojo. I'm not quite sure it's 100% back yet, so no empty promises, let's be spontaneous and uncommitted and see where the breeze blows us. 

Yes, I was a small child in the 70s, why do you ask ? It left me with a morbid fear - nay, phobia - of wide lapels, flared slacks, clompy ugly shoes and bowl haircuts done by my Mum. I can barely control the shudder.

This year looks like it might be mainly crochet - I have lots of cushions to make to replace the well-used manky ones currently on the sofas, and at least two blankeys - one of which will be a BAMCAL (Block-A-Month Crochet-A-Long) with the aforementioned Eviller Twin. As far as I am concerned, it will be impromptu, because I don't want to know her Plan.

So this is a 70s-influenced post for sure - free spiritedness, crochet, and our house.

'Afghan Reincarnation'

And guess what - even more 70s-type colors:

Cow Parsley Afghan Square

Square 24 from '99 Granny Squares to Crochet'

The 2 above were made using King Cole Value Chunky and Hayfield Bonus Chunky: with a 6mm hook, they were super-quick to do, and using Chunky meant the squares came out large enough for a 16'' cushion.

SAL Wednesday 36/15: Scratching the Itch

Gendron Tarot

Well, I've been having a bit of a lull. That's what we'll call it, anyway, because it sounds so much more normal than admitting I'm jonesing for a fix since I hadn't knitted or crocheted from Friday until yesterday. It's just as well you couldn't see me, because I was having trouble concealing the itch:





So having tried a couple of stitch patterns and motifs in the King Cole Flash DK, I didn't like any of them - the colors were pooling in blotches that didn't suit the pattern - I gave up and found some random turquoise yarn (it might be Robin DK) and a pretty pattern which I thought I'd downsize for the back of a cushion cover ... this is what we have so far:

The pattern, yarn and my tension are combining to make me pay attention as if I'm not careful I'll have wavy or ruffley edges ... now if I could just work out how to do this in a rectangle rather than a square ...

FO Friday 35/15: Scrumptious Stripes

Sacred Isle Tarot

So you may remember my forlorn aspiration of making an afghan for Destructo Boy in a week and a half. Of course, I didn't manage it, as you know real life things and especially people are so blimmin' selfish, wanting your attention, time, company and things like food and clean clothes.

I couldn't even use the approx. 5 hour round trip to pick the kids up effectively, as the deathgrip I had on the armrests meant I couldn't use a crochet hook. It also means Titch won't be able to sell the car on as the upholstery has been permanently dented ... And then I ran short of yarn.

Anyway, according to my Rav notes, it took me 18 days, which I don't think is too bad, considering; it's about 65 inches wide and maybe 72 inches long ? I should have measured the length I guess. It was 60'' wide before I added the border, that bit I did check.

The colors pick up the wallpaper quite nicely, I think. And more to the point, Destructo Boy is chuffed with it, and even though he's always too hot to need it, he sleeps under it.

I used 3660m of aran-weight yarn (none of which were scraps for a pattern named Scrumptious Scraps Afghan) - but that includes the border, which I took from Leisure Arts  #4531 '50 More Crocheted Borders'.

Having completed this large project means that I am also almost back in the mood to knit another shawl for my longterm Big 6 project ... but I can't choose which to do ...



 

SAL Wednesday 34/15: Scales

Spiral Tarot

I have just a moment to update you, as I have escaped for a breather from cleaning up the aftermath of a sleepover for 7 12 year old girls - there is one bin full of sweetie wrappers already. I don't even want to think about the bathrooms ...

After I had shovelled as much pizza into them as was humanly possible last night, I hid out in a darkened corner of the house and played with my latest project, a cushion cover.

I know, I know, don't keel over with all the excitement. 

I'd bought a ball of King Cole Flash DK in the colorway 150 'Waterfall', and wanted a pattern where the color changes wouldn't be lost or wasted, and a textured stitch seemed the way to go. I found an interesting pattern for a Crocodile Stitch Pillow, and this is what I have so far:

I'm really liking it; however, it EATS yarn - I am definitely going to need another ball if I want to do the back in the same yarn ... perhaps I will call it a reward for all the pizza, pancakes and cleaning up ...

 

SAL Wednesday 32/15: The Quest

Radiant Rider Waite

Having taken a forced break from the annual deep clean of the kids' rooms (I need Titch to do a bunch of stuff involving power tools and high things) I decided that it seemed perfectly rational to make an afghan/bedspread for Destructo Boy within a week and a half.

Yes, for a full size single bed.

The kids are due back this Sunday.

I know, you're quite right, it has about as much chance of success as Scott's merry little jaunt. I have reached the 'crochet or die' stage, and this is what I have to show so far:

Yeah, sorry about the eye-bleeding scream of color. It reflects the color scheme of his room, but that is not quite so in-your-face, I promise.

I had been looking for a pattern with colorwork ie. stripes, and not motifs/modular because of all the ends and sewing up. 

I have since been brought to realize that stripes also involve many ends. Many, many ends. But I have come too far to go back, in the very restricted time I have left.

And speaking of which, I must abandon you for the moment to pursue my crazy unachievable goal ...

 

FO Friday 32/15: Cold Collation

Gaian Tarot

Yep, this is not only the weather right now, but my mood. All the baby things I made have reached the two respective Mamas-to-Be, so I can put all the photos together in one mehusive FO post before I run off to weed the patio. I know, the excitement never ends, right ?

There were 4 cardigans:

L to R, Top to Bottom: BHKC 6 Baby Cardigan in King Cole ZigZag 'Burgundy';
Sirdar Snuggly DK 3946 in Sirdar Snuggly Tiny Tots DK in 'Green' ; Sublime Little Bertie in random DKs from my basket; (Vintage) Robin 1139 4ply Baby Cardigan in Sirdar Country Style 4ply in 'Camel'.

And then there were two blankeys, both crocheted:

The top one is a pretty, light and lacy pattern called 'Sweet Dreams' - I love the final work, but it was completely off-gauge, whatever I did. Looking at other people's project notes, I wasn't the only one ... 

The second blankey is 'Ruffles & Stripes', which is altogether more substantial. Both patterns were from the 'Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghans', a great pattern book that I've used a couple of times before.

Anyway. That post has taken me waaaay longer than I expected as I used a photo montage maker which kept crashing ... note to self: let's not overreach ourselves when time is at a premium ...

 

SAL Wednesday 17/15: Personal Growth

Housewives Tarot

 Ha ! Gotcha !

You should know better than to think I'd be writing some kind of New Agey type of self-development navel-awareness guff.

But I must definitely be turning into a grown-up, as I have managed to control myself and resist temptation for nearly a whole week ! Last Thursday, a package arrived - it had been delayed from the retailer, which didn't matter as that meant I had less time to actually discipline myself:

It sat there like this until yesterday afternoon, because I had promised myself I would finish the ruby baby cardigan before starting anything else. Yesterday morning I bought the final touch for the cardigan, 5 buttons - only to get home and find that the light had deceived me and they totally don't match the yarn. It would have been really unfair and unrealistic, let alone a waste of time, to expect me to sit twiddling my thumbs until after I've bought more buttons, wouldn't it ?

I'm glad we agree. I knew we were friends for a reason.

Ripping open the packaging revealed 6 balls of King Cole Baby Comfort DK, lovely soft quality acrylic with good stitch definition and machine-washable to boot - enough to start the 2 baby blankets I want to make; of course, I started with the one that isn't in my queue, the 'Ruffles & Stripes' baby blanket from the 'Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghans' book; it uses US crochet terms, but that's easy once one has made the mental adjustment, and here is what it looks like so far:

Yeah, I know - classic neutral colors, perhaps not especially baby-like, but totally what the Mama will like.

Titch ? 

What about him ? 

Oh, right. In Aberdeen right now, which is almost suitable justice for his actions.

See what other beginnings have been made when you pop over to Life & Yarn ...