A Granny for Gran (Ripple Granny Tah Da!)

I'm excited to present my version of the Ripple Granny throw.  

Two weeks, less than10 100 gram balls of Marvel acrylic.  It is approximately 3 feet by 3 feet.  Enough for Grandma to cover her lower body down to her feet and tuck around herself when she sits in her chair.  About the size of a cot blanket.

Here is a peek at the colours.  A dusky mauve, mossy green, dusky pink, chocolate brown and cream.  Not the bright colours I generally use but definitely Grandma colours.

58 rows of Granny clusters.  108 stitches on a 5mm hook.

I adapted the pattern I found by doing a colour set and then counting in on the clusters to start in the same place so the first row of the mauve in each colour set is 5 cluster sets.  That is how I managed to get the zig zag sides 

The edge is just 3 rows of single crochet because I thought the zig zagginess was pattern enough.  I think I mentioned it was acrylic rather than wool in case it gets put in the residential care driers.  Now I just need to label it with Grandma's name, wrap it in a ribbon and I'm ready to go.

I will write up the pattern if anyone is interested.  It's a mixture I adapted from a number of different Granny ripple patterns that I googled to work out how to do it.

Now I have to get my a into g and start cooking for the party this weekend!!!  Have a wonderful day!

Home Sick

I awoke this morning to the pitter patter of feet, well not so much a pitter patter as a stamp stomp, the wee girl has elephant feet.  I usually wake around 8:30 - 9 ish on my days off.  My darling hubs gets the kids up and off, so awaking to the sound of footsteps in the house was a little odd.

It transpired that the WG had been allowed to remain home as she was "sick" with the unlikely combination of sore throat and  sore tummy.  The hubs made a call and left her home for observation.  Her colour was good, she didn't have a temperature, no sign of a cough or even a sneeze.  I was and remain a little skeptical.  A little bit of chit chat and I discovered that the WG's bff is moving away which may explain why she felt off and a day at home with Mum isn't going to hurt.

I had intended to go out and get some more yarn for the Zig Zag Granny rug and wander Spotlight looking for some monkey hat wool and a colour scheme for my next project.  The zig zag granny isn't going to take a long time because it's not going to be that big.

I have some work to do perfecting the granny zig zag foundation as well.  I started this one using a pattern on Ravelry by Birdlebee, it has a multiple of 18 but the ends are a lot longer than the actual zig zags.  I think I can work that out for the next one.  I'm liking the granny ripple!

Back at work

Sadly my holiday is over.  I can no longer devote hour upon hour to crochet.  I was just getting used to the whole idea of being a stay at home mother.  I've had a good month so I can't really complain and I still have lots of leave to take later in the year.  Meantime taking the month off has meant that I am within the target of less than 40 days of leave....just.

I made two more hats for my friends children.  The pink bowler style hat was my own adaptation of a beanie, I created the brim by doing an increase row and then two more straight rows of trebles.

The monkey helmet is an earflap hat with two circles sewn on afterward for ears.  I now have requests from a couple of different friends to make monkey hats for their little boys.  So I will be making hats for a while longer.  They are very quick so I am happy to do it.

I've also made a couple of pairs of wrist warmers for the wee girl and myself.  For those cold winter morning hockey games.

I'm also making a zigzag (ripple) granny throw for my grandmother's 100th birthday next month.  It's not going to be huge, just something she can use to sit with to keep her legs warm. She doesn't get around too much these days, so even in the warm rest home, she feels chilled.  She can walk and does, but she has cataracts which mean that she doesn't see too well.  While she's happy to trot out to the dining room for meals, she doesn't like to be in unfamiliar places and fair enough.

It's difficult to get something for her, living in a rest home means that she can't have a lot of "things" and because she can't see, photographs while appreciated are fairly meaningless because she can't enjoy them.  Which is why I decided to make her the rug.  She may not be able to see the colours but she will be able to feel the stitches and appreciate the warmth it gives her.

Because clothing and bedding is washed in the rest home laundry, I have chosen to use acrylic yarn, so that nobody can accidentally shrink her rug.

I've chosen a brown, sage green, soft muted pink and cream as colours and I am using mode vera marvel 8 ply (DK).  The ripple in granny clusters is growing quickly and as soon as I have a respectable number of rows, I shall post a picture.

Here is the inspiration for my next blanket, blue and white porcelain.

I'm still working away on my top but I need something that I can mindlessly crochet, something that requires less thought than shaping.  Something that is familiar, soothing at the end of a busy day.

I'm saving my top for days off when I can give it my full concentration.

In between I entertain myself with little things for the wee girl, bracelets, purses etc.  She's coming home to a vast collection of little things I've made whilst she's been away, living it up on the farm with her grandparents and brother.

Here is the beginnings of it.  23 rows of trebles so far.  This is pick up and put down.  I have yet to decide where it will be utilized, probably on the sofa this winter.

I finally realized it's ok to have more than one project at a time on the go.  So long as they all get finished eventually.

Pintrest has been a pleasant diversion and an inspiration, the bracelet was inspired by the wrap bracelets I have seen there but I made the pattern up myself and I feel inordinately proud of my first wholly my own creation.

Monday was my birthday.  It's been many years since I had a birthday without the kids around.  The husband was mine for the day, I had his undivided attention, he handed off his pager and turned off his phone.  To tell the truth, it was the best gift I got, having my husband all for me.  It's easy to forget how much time and energy children take.

My darling found me this beautiful watch, isn't it elegant? It's a watch for a lifetime this one.  It's not a fun,whimsical watch or even my usual practical watch.  It's a watch that says I feel like Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" today.  I'm elegant and classy.  It makes me feel pretty.

Back to my darling, who took me on a birthday adventure!  We went to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf.  We left the car in a park and ride carpark and caught the train to the city. Then we hopped a ferry to the island and hired a car.

We had so much fun!  Lunch in a cafe, we wandered the island on foot and in the car.  We went to the Stony Batter a world war 2 gun emplacement and explored the tunnels.

The ferry ride on the quick cat was the best part though.  It was gorgeous weather and I love a boat ride.  Our harbor and the gulf are gorgeous.  Here are some of the shots I took on my wonderful adventure.

Leaving Auckland

Onetangi Beach on the island

Looking out toward the Coromandel Penninsula

Sheep on the road to Stoney Batter

Heading home

I had the best birthday a girl could ever want, the undivided attention of my handsome husband, exploring unknown parts with him and talking, so much talking.

I love summer!

The granny stripe reveal

So here it is, two months in the making.....

Personally I would have liked it a bit wider but the wee girl was sick of waiting.  For weeks she had been playing with it, fingering the soft wool and asking if it was finished yet, so I gave in and edged it.  To say that she is thrilled is an understatement.  It's big enough for her bed and big enough to snuggle with on the sofa.

Granny Stripe Blankie

To the left there is a mauve, aubergine and white granny striped crib blanket I made for my great niece.

Granny stripes are fairly easy for a beginner and there is something comforting about crocheting a blanket in winter.  As the blanket grows you sit with it draped on your lap and hook, hook, hook.  It's rhythmic and soothing.

Granny stripes are clusters of 3 trebles (UK) or 3 double crochet stitches for our US friends.

You need to make your foundation chain in multiples of 3.  For the blanket I am currently working on, big enough for a single bed, my foundation row was 210 stitches.  That's 77 clusters with ends of two clusters so it stays nice and straight.

This one to the right is the one I am working on for the wee girls bed.  It's inspired by Lucy from Attic24's colorful granny stripes.  She has an awesome beginner tutorial.

The WG is very pleased with her blanket and constantly asks if I am done making it.  It's only about two feet long at the moment so there is a long way to go.

I am using pure wool, 8 ply and a brand called Shepherd Very Crafty which I have purchased from a local craft chain store called Spotlight.  It's machine washable on a gentle cycle.

I made a blanket for the Eldest son a couple of years ago in a basket weave pattern that is a little more complicated.  It's going strong and the WG had at the time a ripple blanket I'd made her.  Unfortunately her father threw it in the dryer and it turned into a felt dolly blanket.  So she's been longing for another blankie for a while.