Hello Summer

As far as my temperature blanket is concerned the end of May marks the end of Spring. June is the start of summer regardless of the equinox or anyone else 😉

May was a very busy month. It was partly so due to a holiday which meant little contribution to the temperature blankets until I returned home. I managed to secrete a little crochet in my packing, but also including balls of numerous colours to cover all eventualities would have been very obvious. Consequently the last couple of weeks of the month were spent doing ‘catch up’.

I didn’t make an individual blanket for May, instead I finished the Spring Blankets. Did I tell you that I was making two?

The first one concentrated on the morning temperatures

and the second displays the temperatures at their height for the day.

I’m really suprised at how easy it is to see the progression from March through April and into the heat of May. It was a surprisingly warm month, although we always do have good weather during this time – that’s why we have taken our UK holiday then for over 30 years.

These are both now on the back burner as far as the border is concerned. I have begun a Very Important Blanket which is a secret (I love secret blankets). It’s going well so far, but it’s larger than anything I’ve made before so we’ll have to see how it goes!

I’m also keeping up to date with my Scrap Busting 100 days project! There’ll be more about that another day. I have so many ideas – but so little time! I bet you are the same……

Happy crocheting.

It’s been a month!

I had no intention of not posting for so long, but sometimes Life gets in the way, and it’s a question of just running with it.

Flu turned to Bronchitis and then I was forced to go on a cruise to recover! Crochet took a little backseat but I did manage at least one square a day. Here are a few pictures of work in progress and more. Some are finished, but they are for another day.

Now I have some catching up! I also need some more yarn, a big project is about to be started, so I’m off to take advantage of some special offers.

Back soon.

Slow progress

Well, it’s moved along a little, but I won’t be wearing it this weekend!

I began it during the ‘flu, and didn’t pick it up again until Sunday evening. Wow! Now that I’m further on I can tell you that I love this yarn!

Northern Lights by James C Brett has a small proportion of viscose mixed with the main fibre . Viscose is a plant based fibre and always gives a good handle. It can also have a warm cosy feel.

I’m using a size 5 hook and following the rules for a normal c2c at each edge but substituting 1tr, 1ch, 1tr, into each 3 chain of the previous row. Hopefully the following quick image will help to illustrate.

If you are looking for a new yarn to try I suggest you give this one a go. It comes with a free knitting pattern for a shawl, so if you don’t crochet, or want to try a new skill, you know that it will work. It’s currently on offer in various places, but I have to admit that the cheapest I could find is here, at the moment.

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A Mean Post

Flu! I wouldn’t have embarked upon so many variations last month if I had known! Never mind. There was no deadline except in my head. There is still more to do, but today’s reveals are finished apart from borders.

So, what’s the above? It’s a Mean Spirit Square. Each round is the mean temperature for the day in question. Not the average! The mean is midway between the high and the low.

It was made alongside the Spirit of March blanket and a couple of others.

Here’s the Spirit of March showing comparative temperatures for 2017 and 2018.

The Temperature blanket is progressing and up to date. Another strip was begun just 3 days ago.

The joining square is Denim, That representing the most frequent temperature of the month, but only by a minute margin.

This week won’t have much crochet as I’m off on a 3 day adventure at the end of the week. I’ll be travelling with 2 of my favourite people and can’t wait! In the meantime I think I’m going to have to order some more yarn. March has seriously depleted my stocks of blue – and if I don’t hurry I’ll miss the end of the Deramores Sale which is currently offering even better deals than usual.

First of two?

Yes, this might be the first post of two today, but I may run out of time!

Firstly, did you catch the recent post on Stashbusters Anonymous? You may like to read it, it might fill in a few gaps! The main purpose of this post, however, is to hilight a project in which you may like to get involved.

I recently spotted a request for granny squares by @purplestarmonkey on Instagram. She is making a blanket to be raffled to raise money for #sepsisawareness. Her request is relatively specific, but not difficult to fulfil, and even one square would be a help and a support.  I managed to find a few of the colour she is using and have made 10 squares. The ends need weaving in, that will be my next step, but my eyes have not been up to the task while I’ve been poorly.

All you need is a 4mm hook and some Stylecraft Special DK in one or more of the following colours: Copper, Graphite, Mustard, Spice, Lipstick, Buttermilk, Gold, Parchment, Grey.

I may get some more made, but in truth I have taken on too many projects for this month. I didn’t expect to be poorly! But then, we never do, do we?

Happy Hooking.

 

Stay away!

Don’t come close. I have a lurgy and it’s horrible.

I went shopping last Saturday and was fine, had a lovely walk on Sunday, still fine. Felt a bit ‘off’ on Monday but nothing specific, as it were. Then Tuesday happened, and with it all the symptoms of a sinus infection.

These have been part of my life since I was a child. They aren’t fun and can go on for months if not treated kindly. In the ‘old days’ antibiotics would have knocked it on its head quite quickly, but these days they are few and far between. Hot honey and lemon and plain boiled water has been my liquid intake for the past few days, and not much food. I won’t fade away, don’t worry about that!

Yesterday things changed, though. It isn’t just a sinus infection. I won’t go into the rest of the symptoms but they have changed, and to make matters worse the rest of the house is suffering too, and it just a few short days!

Crochet has definitely taken a back seat. It’s been a bit of a chore, which is a shame because I was going to show you a new project.

Have you seen Northern Lights by James Brett? It’s one of the oh so popular ‘cake’ yarns. This one has a good proportion of viscose in it I gather, and that is well known for its silky softness. It comes with a pattern for a knitted shawl. I’ve decided to crochet one, but it hasn’t got very far …

I’ve corrupted the C2C pattern to give it more texture. I’ll tell you more when I feel better. The reason I’m showing you now is that DERAMORES has a 10% discount on the yarn -others too. This one is definitely worth a try. I see that some of the colourways are out of stock, I’m not surprised, but they are all gorgeous – I found it very difficult to choose…..

February, not quite over!

Well, the month may be over, but in truth some of the deadlines haven’t been met, crochet-wise, I’m almost there, but here’s the story.

In fact, none of the ‘deadlines’ matter, but I won’t put them to one side – I’ll carry on until they are finished. Firstly, let me tell you about the ‘Spirit of February’ blanket.

This is the one that’s really running behindhand! I miscounted the squares, and began to add the border before adding the final strip! My next step is to take out the border and add the strip before redoing the border. You may remember that this blanket is a comparison between last year and this year – it’s been interesting to see the differences in the temperatures, especially the last few days of the month. Of course, 28 days would make a strange shape, so I determined 5 x 5 blocks with the last three days in the border.

I like the border, but it will have to be redone, and that may be slow!

Inspiration strikes when it will, and it was probably inspiration for the next project that took my concentration from the above.

Have you ever wondered what winter looks like? This blanket, which I’m calling ‘Spirit of Winter’ gives an idea. The centre squares are the high later day temperatures for December, January and February. The border illustrates the morning temperatures, and there are a couple more rounds to go. I didn’t start it until 21st February, and it’s just about finished. I’ll press on and finish this first, then go back to the ‘Spirit of February’.

The temperature blanket is up to date, apart from today’s square which will be made later. Will there be a Spirit of March? Yes, and it’s already on the hook, but more of that later in the month. This is the second post today, if you missed the first you can find it here.