Spring is here...

... and I'm back (I think).

Goodness me, that was a long hiatus. And I hadn't even planned on having one! Honestly, it just happened. 

Coming up to Christmas I was so busy, and then we had family over, and after that it was the New Year and I just kept on being really busy. My teaching resumed after the sabbatical that I'd had in the autumn, and then all the little ones were ill, and so were D and I, and well, I think you get the picture.

For a while there I was so busy that I had no time for crafting. None whatsoever.

Fortunately I'm back on a more even keel now and I have, ever so slowly, found my way back to all my projects. There are still a lot of WIPs around here from last autumn, I can tell you that, but I think my crafting mojo is coming back. A mum I know persuaded me to join in a blanket CAL - The Scheepjes CAL for Last Dance on the Beach, which is in memory of the late Marinke Slum, or Wink from the A Creative Being blog . You have to buy the yarn kit from Scheepjes, but the yarn is nice and the kit isn't too expensive, and some of the money will go to a mental health charity, so it's for a good cause. My box of yarn arrived a few days ago - there were three colour combinations to choose from. Since I have a lot of very bright-coloured blankets I went with the most neutral option - Dance in the Rain:

 Unfortunately the box of yarn has already been claimed as a cat bed. I may have a fight on my hands when I come to start the blanket...

In preparation for the CAL I felt that I should at least put one of my crochet blanket projects to bed so I focussed on the Weekender blanket that I had started oh so many months ago. After frantically crocheting and sewing on hexagons for a couple of weeks the blanket is finished. I added a thin dc border to finish it off and it's already in constant use by the boys, who love to snuggle up in the blankets on the sofa. I'm pleased with it, even though it's not a stylish project (a lot of waste yarn went in there, so there is no real colour scheme at all), but if I never crochet a hexagon again it won't be too soon. Honestly, I was so sick of them by the time I finally finished the last one!

Right now I am trying to make some progress on the Spice of Life blanket, also sadly neglected for months now. The new CAL starts on 20th April so I have little hope of finishing the blanket before then, but it would be nice to add a few inches so I can feel that I'm a bit closer to the finish line than before!

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WIP update - on a Thursday!

I normally try to update on a Wednesday, but this week is kind of getting away from me. I don't really quite know why, but I feel frazzled and tired and sort of drained. Perhaps I'm coming down with something? Or is it the colder weather that's getting me down? 

On the upside, I do have some progress to report on. I'm still crocheting the Spice of Life, but the fifth pattern piece is a bit of a monster, because it's basically a repeat of all the previous pattern pieces in order to add length to the blanket. Well then... this may take me a while! I'm plodding on with it, but in the meantime I've also been dividing my time between this project and my Christmas present plans, so I've made a pair of fingerless mitts (I'll introduce those tomorrow) and have already cast on for another pair of mitts, this time not fingerless. I am using aran yarn, which makes these projects satisfyingly quick and I'm hoping to crank out this other pair by the end of the week. I'm planning on knitting another pair after that, but I'll stick with these first so I can add them to the 'done' pile and feel good about my progress. :)

The pattern I'm using for these is 'Maize'.

I've also got a whole lot of glazed pottery back this week. Honestly, I had forgotten how much of it there was. I was pleased to see that a lot of it came out looking OK, despite the fact that I'm learning something about myself - I don't enjoy glazing. I find the process kind of tedious but nerve-wrecking at the same time, because you can ruin a perfectly good pot by applying glaze haphazardly. Overall I think I might be more interested in shape than in colour... 

That said, here are a few examples that I felt had turned out well:

And last but not least, the bowls that the boys made and told me to glaze according to their instructions were finished too - they are absolutely thrilled with them. :)

If I continue at this rate I'll run out of room soon, even if I give gifts to family and friends, so my plan is to set up a folksy shop to sell some pieces. 

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Is it Wednesday already?

Time for another Year of Projects update!

I'm lagging behind a bit with my Spice of Life blanket. Not desperately so, but yesterday a new pattern piece was released and I haven't quite finished the previous one yet... It's not too dramatic, though, I 'm only about 6 rows behind and I'm hoping to catch up tonight.

Autumn always seems to fly by around here. It might have something to do with the three (!) kids birthdays, and Halloween, and Nicholas Day and then of course there is Christmas too. We are hosting it this year, and since we are an English/German household this might well mean not one but two celebrations - one on Christmas Eve, as is the German tradition, and another one on Christmas Day. The boys obviously think it's fantastic...

With Christmas in mind I've turned my attention more firmly to Christmas presents. I'd like to give quite a few handmade gifts this year, in particular for my step sisters, because we have agreed to not get into the habit of spending lots on each other. In previous years this has translated into little gift sets of cupcake forms and recipe book, or mug and hot chocolate mix, but once you've done that you can't really gift the same again, can you? 

This year I decided that instead it's going to be pottery and knitting. I've already introduced the chunky hat that I'm hoping to give to one of my stepsisters, and I've also completed my niece's little flower hat:



Boy #1 thinks it's a 'granny hat'. I'm choosing to take no notice...

Yesterday, while binge-watching the work of a director I'm working on (I love my job...) I managed to get a little production line going and made a number of little houses for tea lights or incense cones:

Cute, aren't they? D thinks they look industrial, like old Victorian factory buildings. I quite like the idea. By glazing them in different colours you could achieve a very different look - black or grey for a slightly sinister Halloween look (Haunted House!), or white, for a more Christmassy feel. I think I'll go with white, since they are supposed to be Christmas gifts.

I'm also contemplating a Tunesian Crochet scarf for my step mom. When I opened my email this morning I found an email from Purl Soho with a free pattern for this scarf:

Isn't it lovely? I'm not sure I'll get away without ordering some yarn, since most of the wool yarn that I have left is a bit too scratchy for a scarf, but you never know... 

My dad will also get a handmade gift this year. About 10 years ago, when I last took part in a pottery class, I made a platter which he liked and he asked me if I could make him a bowl that was large enough for his big dining table. I agreed, and then promptly had three babies and went to pottery class no more. ;)  Since I've now taken it up again I thought I was running out of excuses, so I made this bowl:

I wanted to recreate the ripple effect you get when water drops into a still pool. I'm hoping to glaze it a simple matt white and have already ordered some glaze for it. Unfortunately, when I rang Potclays this morning to enquire why they hadn't sent the glaze yet, they informed me that it's out of stock and only expected back in on 21st October, but since right now the bowl is not even fired yet, this shouldn't hold me up too much. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas!

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WIP Wednesday - a Spice of Life update

Since I am still in the firm grip of my current pottery fever, I have not been doing a lot of knitting and crocheting. I've also been fighting a cold, meaning that I 've not been terribly active in the evening, which is my usual time for crafting. 

That said, I have been keeping up with the Spice of Life CAL, and I'm enjoying it immensely. This is such a fun project, and all those colours are making me very happy. :)

Inspired by my recent quick project success with the slubby yarn hat, I've also cast on for a little crochet hat for my neice. I found this yarn at the car boot and got it for £1 for all three balls and I love the scrappy look of it. I judged it to be DK, but looking up (and crocheting with it), it works up as bulky, which is fine by me, as it makes for another very quick project. 

I cast on yesterday, but then seem to have lost the crochet hook - I assume it was in the waiting room at the doctors yesterday, but in any case I can't find it. I've ordered a new one, but it means that this project has now stalled until it arrives.

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WIP Wednesday - all the blankets...

There you go - it's official, I've started on the Spice of Life CAL.

So far I'm really enjoying it, and that I'm making it (mainly) from stash is just an added bonus, because what is more satisfying than seeing your stash slowly, slowly shrink, thereby making more room for new yarn purchases?

I'm also enjoying the unapologetic bright colourful nature of this project. Truly anything goes with a crochet blanket. It's not dissimilar to socks in that regard, isn't it? All those colours that you just wouldn't dare use in a jumper or cardigan just sit cheerfully together and have a big ol'party. 

Yesterday the next pattern piece came out, so I'm busy adding the next part to the blanket.

I do have to admit, though, that my blanket love at the moment is ever so slightly over the top. D wisely refrains from commenting, and the boys are only delighted to see more blankets in the making, but really, if I am perfectly honest I have to admit that it's a bit crazy to have three (!!) big blankets on the go at the same time. Together with the Weekender, and Ripple, the Spice of Life is going to keep me busy for some time. 

And that's not my only WIP either. 

There is Black Acer, once again sadly neglected.

There is the Boneyard Shawl, which also hasn't got a look in for well over a week now.

And there is a pair of socks that I started while on holiday, which I haven't even blogged about yet, because I haven't really worked on it ever since we came home from Borkum.

When, you might rightly ask, am I going to start all those Christmas projects that I was planning on making this year? That would be a good question indeed.

In order to battle my guilt about not working on any presents I cast on for a hat this morning. I'm using an ancient HipKnits super-bulky slubby yarn for this that I've had lying around for years, so it's a stash-busting project too, which can never be a bad thing...

As you can no doubt imagine, this is a very quick knit. I'm not even sure what needle size I am using, but I am adding on average 1 inch every two rows. The pattern I'm using is the Holbrook Hat, and it couldn't be simpler:

Cast on 42 stitches

knit in a k1 p1 pattern until you get to 11 inches

k2tog until you can't do so comfortably with a 16' circular needle

bind off

I'm currently at 7 inches and the ball of yarn is getting smaller... I'm hoping I'll get to 11 inches. The bind-off shouldn't take too much yarn I hope.

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And relax...

The older boys are at school, boy #3 is at pre-school, and I've decided to take a little break.

Sometimes all you need is some tea, toast, and a new yarn project to play with. :) 

WIP Wednesday Project Update

I've joined another CAL.

Yes, I know, I have enough to do as it is, and I'm not even mentioning the 2 (!) partially finished crochet blankets that I am currently working on, but this CAL was just too tempting to pass up.

It's called the Spice of Life CAL and yes, it is another blanket.

What I like about it is that it will work in lines, but with a variety of colours and stitches, so it should be a good stash buster for the selection of acrylic yarns that I bought for the Weekender blanket. The Weekender isn't finished, but because of the amount of colours I doubt that I will use up any of the big 100g and 200g balls that I bought for it and well, I'm unlikely to use acrylic for anything other than hard-wearing family blankets that need to withstand frequent washes. 

Why do I need another blanket, you might ask...

Well, I happen to think that you can never have too many crochet blankets in your life! Seriously, though, our blankets are in constant use. The boys, like us, are blanket fans, and whenever they curl up on the sofa to watch TV or to just sit with us, they will curl up under a cozy blanket. These blankets see a lot of use - they are dragged around the house, they are snuggled up in wherever the boys happen to be, and they even become walls, ceilings and bedding for an infinite number of elaborate dens.

So yes, I do think we can do with yet another blanket! ;)

In other news, I've been steadly working on all projects. A few more rows have been added to Black Acer, but not enough to warrant a photograph. 

Similarly, I've been knitting away on the Boneyard Shawl, but you can't really tell, so again, I'm not  going to bore you with a WIP shot.

I've also re-started work on the Weekender blanket. I've had this on the go for some time, but to be honest, that was always the idea. It's an easy and satisfying project, and one that allows me to take a ball of yarn along with me when I go to the doctor, or take the boys swimming. A little hexie is quickly finished, and once I've collected a few I pull out the blanket and sew them on. It's a long way from finished, but it's reached that critical point when a scrap becomes a blanket, and I've noticed that the boys have started using it as such. ;)

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