Tea Cosy Love

Irony, I don't actually drink tea!

This started as a favour for my Stepma.  She had an operation last month and I travelled north with the Wee Girl to help out around the house for a few days.  Stepma was somewhat nervous regarding Dad's house keeping skills while she was incapacitated so the Wee Girl and I cooked and cleaned.  I have to say though that Dad had it all in hand from what I could see.

During some down time we were discussing crochet and I mentioned I would like to try a tea cosy.  Stepma enthusiastically mentioned that her teapot was cosy less and she would just love a nice tea cosy.  And so it came to be that the teapot came south to spend some time at my place.

Making the cosy wasn't easy.  All of the patterns on line are for somewhat taller china teapots.  The shape was different on this chrome pot, the spout is higher and above the widest point.

I settled on this pattern from "Why didn't anyone tell me" but it needed some adjusting.  My cosy had to increase and decrease quite rapidly.  I winged it and have started to create a tutorial.  I think I got it right on my third effort (pictured above).  The first two work just fine, but the third one just came together and I got regular increases.

Above are all three.  What do you think?

Canisters

I haven't blogged much because I'm making a blanket and there isn't much to show.  It's also been summer holidays here and the children have just gone back to school.  I've been driving children from Auckland to Northland, Northland to Auckland and Auckland to Tauranga and back!

I did make this though.  It started life as a tin of Evil Child drinking chocolate, I use it when I make mocha's in my Nespresso.

I like the tin and I even like the Evil Child label  it's pink and retro looking.  With that in mind and a build up of empty tins I decided to make some small canisters out of the empty tins.

I simply painted over the label with turquoise blue acrylic paint and then varnished it with a matt finish varnish from the art section of Warehouse Stationery.

I did another in a paler blue and I am thinking of getting some scrap images like the rose left, to make a kind of decoupaged tin.

I think it would look really nice and the shape of the lid just makes it so retro.  I could also glue a small silver knob to the lid to change the look.

Or labels, I could paint it white and decoupage vintage labels on it.

So many possibilities, so little time!

Hotwater bottle covers and other things...

One of the best things about winter is snuggling under a blankie with a hottie to keep you cosy while you watch tv.   It's cheaper than electric heating and it's fun on a cold, damp day.

But it's not so much fun snuggling with a rubber hot water bottle, it feels wrong.

I just got some new full sized hotties for the grand price of $4.50 so they needed some dressing up.  There's a pattern in "The Art of Crochet" issue 14 so I decided to try it.  Apparently UK hot water bottles are bigger than those in NZ or 8ply was too thick, because it was far too wide.  So I turned it sideways and improvised.

<~~~~~~~~ Tah Daaaaah

Not the best pic I know, I'm currently temporarily at dial up speed because my broadband allowance "somehow" got exceeded.  Even a cellphone pic takes ages to upload.  I went grocery shopping while this one was uploading if that gives you any idea!

I am currently making a second version, with horizontal stripes, keeping a note of what I am doing so I can share the pattern with you.  I'm loving the textured stitch which consists of 1 tr and 1 sc (UK) it crochets up nicely.

I am quite please with my result, so is the Wee Girl because she's not over keen on naked hotties.  She's a snuggle on the sofa gal from way back.

I've also made a cloche style hat and some pacifier clips for my friends stall.  I've had a busy week.

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!

The Monochrome Ombre Basket

Ta daaaa!

The other day I mentioned the basket I was making to take up North.  The Ombre Basket by Crochet in Color.

What I would really like to do, is make this with more greys graduating from charcoal through to white.

I made this with a few modifications.  I don't know what worsted weight is (if anyone can tell me please leave a comment) so I winged it with some inexpensive acrylic 8 ply from Spotlight, their Thorobred, in Black, White and Grey.  I used two strands and a 7mm hook.  Using about half a 100gm ball of each colour, slightly more of the black.  I decided to use the black at the top because the white would get grubby just because of the oil we all have on our hands.

It turned out 23 cm (9 inches) deep, 30 cm (12 inches) across.  As you can see it holds itself upright and is about the same dimensions as the one by Crochet in Color.

It only took a few days because I have been working, given the right circumstances I think I could whip one up in a day and a half.  It's not a complicated pattern and once you have the bottom done, it's single crochet all the way to the top.

I'm actually considering this one to a friend and whipping up another to take up north.  Or maybe a couple because I am sure when my stepmother sees it, she's going to want one for herself.

This would make an awesome basket for works in progress providing they aren't too big.

So in short.  If you are looking for a quick and easy bag to make, this is it!

Stash busting

Making the granny stripe for the wee girl, and various other blankets, has left me with a stash of dribs and drabs of wool, some the better part of a ball, others just a small amount.  I was surfing yesterday evening and found this alternative granny on one of my favorite blogs, The Little Room of Rachel.  This is exactly what I need to get rid of some of those bits and pieces.

It looks a little like a Maltese Cross.  When you join the squares, the holes create a diamond pattern.

I started straight away and before bedtime, I had a dozen 4 inch granny squares.

They are extremely quick to make and much easier than they appear.  No fiddling around with different colours at this point, I am making solid blocks of colour.  They are also firmer than your average granny square.

I love Granny Squares because they are quick and awesomely portable.

It's also a bit warm still to be draping myself in wool as I crochet.

I'm also conscious I have a couple of unfinished projects on the go.  I have an Attic 24 striped bag to sew handles on to help keep my wool stash tidy.  I had my granny bucket bag to line and the blue and white granny stripe to carry on with when it cools down.

I've gone off the idea of the top, the bamboo cotton will be put to good use though.

So I got to work and lined the granny bucket with a remnant of dark green material I had in a cupboard.

I made a basic barrel bag open at one end.

Turned it inside out and sewed it in with the right side showing inside the bag.

I'm not the tidiest sewer so I plan to get some binding tape or pretty binding edging and sew it over my hand stitching at the top.

I made it fairly large, I wish I could give you measurements but I did it by eye seeing as I had no idea how to get the diameter of the circle base.

Somewhere in Auckland my math teacher is shaking her head and saying, I told you that you would need to know about Pi one day in the future!

The husband was going to help me (he's a math wiz!), but he's been busy all week, doing station visits both Monday and Tuesday.  On Sunday he spent the entire day at a fund raising gala for a new volunteer fire fighters station.  So I went ahead and did it myself.

The past 3 Months

Looking back over the past 3 months (give or take) since I began this little blog, I've had some adventures!


Over 800 views: Which surprises me.  I don't count, but blogger does.  It's amazing, incredible to me that people have looked my little project over 800 times.  I'm currently searching for some free software for my macbook that will help me to  position photographs in a more aesthetically pleasing way.

I've travelled: Twice by air, once by boat and many times by car.  I've driven to Whangarei twice, took a boat trip to Waiheke.  Flown to Christchurch and Wellington.  Not bad really for such a short time period. I've seen the devastation of earthquakes, the seat of Government and basked in the Northland sun.

I've made: Bags, Blankets, headbands, bracelets, flowers, wallets, pencil cases and stepped well outside my comfort zone to make a work of art for the Wee Girl.

I organized: my kitchen cabinets and drawers!  In a fit of domesticity, I lined my cabinets with pretty blue and white spotty wallpaper, sorted, cleaned and put away in a coherent order.  So exhausted was I by this task that I have failed to do the same with my plastics cupboard yet.  I actually dread opening that cupboard full of containers and lids but I vow to complete this before I commence the annual Autumnal clutter bust.

I've photographed, devastation: beautiful scenery, animals, children and so much more.

And I thought I lived a fairly mundane existence!  Speaking of which, it's time to get the Wee Girl from School!

Pencil Case or pouch

African flowers have been put aside briefly.  I had issues sewing them together for some reason, maybe I was tired? Who knows, but I needed a confidence booster and to do something I had been mentally planning.  I mentioned making the wee girl a pencil case and she got her stationery on Friday.

I had an idea for baby granny squares in a frame.  I also knew a pencil case would need a lining, or all the pens and pencils would fall out.  Sewing is not my forte, well not on a machine at any rate.  I've also never put a zip in anything, I confess when I was at school, I took the projects home to finish and persuaded my stepmother to do the hard stuff.

So I made six teeny tiny granny squares out of two tones of purple (the wee girls fav colour) and crocheted them together.  Then I crocheted a row of single crochet and a row of treble crochets in black.

Another row all around in the light purple trebles and fasten off.

Then two rows of the dark purple above and below to make it longer but not wider.

A row all around of singles.

I crocheted a rectangle the same size in trebles for the back and crocheted the two together with single crochet.

Then I made the lining.  I used some spare purple material remnants I purchased about 6 months ago for the WG to learn to sew on.  I cut it about the same size as the crochet pouch with the right side as the inside.  I sewed seams to prevent fraying, turned it and pinned the zip into place then sewed it on.  I don't have a zipper foot for my very simple machine, so that was a little difficult.  Then I sewed up the side seams and trimmed it.  I hand stitched it into the pouch so that the stitching didn't show too much on the outside.  It looks a little uneven but I think that adds to the charm.

The Wee Girl is very happy with the result.

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!

Making the leap

So far, the closest I have got to crocheting apparel is scarf making.  I've yet to make anything that requires more shaping than an increase here and there.  Well I am taking the plunge.

I've been collecting a weekly magazine called the "Art of Crochet" it's my weekly luxury and I have 35 issues now which gives me quite a few different patterns, some easy and some not so easy.  This is one of them.

Shaping is minimal and the stitches are just alternate rows of trebles and doubles.

Looks simple and appropriate for a first apparel project right?

Soooo

My parents offered to take the kids for a week.  My parents live many hundreds of kilometers away in the far, far north.  When the not so little ones go to stay there sans us, we usually arrange to meet half way.  Halfway is a 2.5 hour drive to Whangarei.

Yesterday the four of us drove north.  On the way we stopped at Warkworth and picked up my 9 year old "great niece" (yes I am a great aunt twice over now) and drove three kids to Whangarei, had a picnic of bacon and egg pies, cheerios (small sausages not the American cereal) and sauce, lemonade and cake at a park by the Whangarei Visitor Centre on the outskirts of Whangarei, swapped the kids and then I dragged the Hubs to go shopping!

I found some Bamboo cotton on sale for $2 a 50g ball.  I purchased 10 balls, more than enough to start this project.  Excited? You betcha!!!

The hubs also found me this, it came with all the hooks pictured.  I now have a collection of steel hooks for crochet cotton to make lace etc.  A couple of them are so fine I can barely see the hook!

By now I was in the midst of toe curling ecstasy! New materials, new tools!  The 2.5 hr drive to get home was slow and I was impatient.  We got stuck in traffic North of Warkworth due to the 3 sets of traffic lights spanning the stretch of highway just outside the town.  Not fun!

I spent the time planning and admiring my cotton and new hooks, singing to the music from my iPod and bugging the hubs.

As soon as we got home and got the dogs settled (they'd been stuck inside for a good 5 hours for the first time in weeks) from the excitement of our return and resentment at being left behind, I pulled out the pattern, made a nice cup of coffee and started.

I'm a little nervous about this, but I am underway.

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.

An artwork for the wee girls room

About a year ago, the wee girl and her brother swapped rooms.  She has moved into a room with teal blue walls and it's just not very girl like, kind of stark and boy like.

Her old room was powder blue with white clouds on the walls (her teenaged brother has come to terms with the clouds) a net/tulle curtain made of a remnant I found with silver stars on it and deeper blue curtains.  I decorated it on a budget when she was still in utero.

She wants her stamp on her new room, she's older now and she wants feminine yet fun.  I'm currently making her a new blanket in colors she likes and she recently inherited my grandmothers dressing table and tall boy, with a small corner whatnot set of shelves.

To soften the stark blue of the walls, we are changing the curtains and bringing pinks and purples into the room.  Today we embarked on an artwork for her wall.  It consists of a massive canvas about 3ft by 2ft.  We purchased a wooden J (the wee girls initial) and 6 words from Spotlight.  We are going to paint the words and glue them to the canvas.

This evening the WG and I spent a pleasant hour or so, in the warm spring evening sun on the deck painting words with their first coat.

The words are currently drying on newspaper on a cloth on my dining room table.

Dream
Believe
Inspire
Imagine




Laugh and Hope are the final two.

I was sitting opposite the WG at the bbq table on the deck while we painted.

Once I got the project inside I immediately noticed that the WG had painted her J backwards.  No biggie it's imminently fixable by painting the other side, I really should have checked as she still has a propensity to reverse the odd letter.

She is very excited with the project.  I will finish painting the sides (fiddly for little fingers) while she is at school tomorrow and then after school we will put 2nd coats on the fronts of the words.

We finished Sunday with new season strawberries with French Vanilla ice cream.  It almost seemed like summer!