I’m doing a row or a two now and then, and am getting near to the end of the Rhubarb Ripple!
DoNT MenTIoN tHe eNDs!!!!!
Category Archives: Blankets
Colourful
A work in progress which I laid out last night to decide the number of squares left to crochet, so please don’t judge me by the number of yellows clumped together! They were edged while I watched tv. The answer to the how many more question is probably LOTS since there’s no one who needs a baby blanket at the moment.
I don’t really need another blanket myself with the Yorkshire blanket, which I already snuggle under, and the Rhubarb Ripple which I’m taking away to finish in August (19 stripes left! Woo hoo!) So don’t really know what to do with the alternative granny square/target square one when it’s completed…..
And I’ve photographed fly fishing flies; some home-made, some new which have just arrived by post because I like looking at the intricate workmanship of them, plus it’s a celebration since I’m enjoying having trout for dinner. I always think you could make some pretty earrings out of the more feathery colourful flies!
Sorry that the above photo is a bit fuzzy, the iphone only takes good indoor pictures when the light is very bright I think.
It’s the weekend
Today for lunch I made Spiced bulghar, chickpea and squash salad It’s scrummy. Absolutely delicious.
• 1 butternut squash, about 1kg/2lb 4oz peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
• 2 red peppers, seeded and roughly sliced
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 140g bulghar wheat
• 600ml hot vegetable stock
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of ½ lemon
• 150g natural bio-yogurt
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 180g bag baby leaf spinach
::Heat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6.
::Toss the squash and red pepper in the harissa paste and oil. Spread the chunks out on a large baking tray and roast for 20 mins until softened and the edges of the vegetables are starting to char.
::Meanwhile put the Bulghar wheat in a large bowl and pour over the hot stock, then cover tightly with cling film and leave to absorb the liquid for 15 mins until the grains are tender, but still have a little bite.
::In a separate bowl, mix the garlic and lemon juice into the yogurt and season to taste.
::Let the Bulghar wheat cool slightly then toss in the roasted vegetables, chickpeas and spinach – the leaves may wilt a little.
::Season, if you want, drizzle with the garlicky yogurt and serve warm.
Recipe from the BBC Good Food website
***The changes I’d make to the recipe are to roast the garlic with the butternut and peppers, but still have a yoghurt-lemon dressing as this works really well drizzled on top. I’d also recommend seasoning the vegetables before they go in the oven.***
And with the dressing….
This is a really tasty, healthy and filling lunch. Win win!
I’m going to crochet a few more of these over the weekend…
….while I wait for the feather cushion pad I ordered for the blooming flower cushion. The circle for the back is now complete too. It’s just a case of waiting patiently for it to arrive. I’ll post a picture when the cushion’s complete. The part I’m really looking forward to is dc-ing around the edges. Joining using dc stitches is my favourite joining method, so far.
Enjoy your weekend.
Blooming ripples
This weekend in free minutes I’ve been…
…working some more rows of the Rhubarb Ripple now my order from Deramores has arrived (a mere two days after ordering online)
…And trying my hand at Lucy’s blooming flower cushion. It’s very fast to make in all its gaudy loveliness. I thought it could be an accompaniment to the rainbow Granny Stripe blanket when it’s given as a fourth birthday present later in the summer.
The ripple is in an Orla Kiely designed bag sold to raise funds for a children’s cancer charity. It was sold in Tesco’s a year or so ago. There is another one of her designs for sale at the moment if you have a Tesco’s nearby. They’re only £4 and really sturdy strong bags for carrying shopping, storing large crochet blankets in progress (and wool), books or whatever. I admit I bought the newest bag a few days ago. It’s lovely.
I’ve been nominated recently for various blogger awards and would like to say that I take this as a real compliment, thank you very much. :-D
Happy Weekend Things
::Halfway through the Rhubarb Ripple blanket now
::The first in the series of books. It’s predictable and easy, very comfy weekend reading in fact. The UK edition was originally called ‘Diva’s don’t Knit’…there are lots of not-so-happy comments on Amazon about this; disappointed buyers expecting this one to have been another in the series and finding they’d already read it…just to let you know.)
::A charity shop find for £1:50. It’s JAM-PACKED with patterns (charts as well as written patterns, so I ‘might’ crack charts soon – but I’m not concentrating on this until the blanket is finished.)
::And this page which makes my strange joining obsession happy!
::Some more Spring Flower circles completed (yes, yes I’m darning in the ends as I complete a batch. I’ve learnt my lesson now…:-D)
I’m watching episodes of the BBC’s Little Dorrit at the moment, my lovely friend N has lent me the box-set, today’s episode was when Mr X gets the news about X (no spoilers from The Little Room, oh no – not from me!) and I confess to having to put down my crochet and wipe my eyes…
::Loving my bucket still.
::OOoh a new edition. This magazine is improving all the time. Now with great shopping, craft courses, craft holidays(!) and blog and knitting/crochet fiction recommendations. I tend to ignore the knitting patterns and power on through to the crochet, but I might head back to knitting one day, so I have saved a stash of the magazines for then.
::NO NEVER (remember my 1970s poodle wine bottle cover and Barbie toilet roll cover comment?) Susie Johns what were you thinking??!?…….This must have been a blip?
::Maybe! These are pretty.
HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU ALL
HAVE A GOOD CRAFTY ONE
….maybe with a drop of something nice to drink…but please PleAsE don’t let it have come out of a knitted or crocheted bottle covered….ummm bottle. I implore you!!!!!
Of course you can’t walk on the carpet!
I’m afraid it’s been undone again…I just can’t seem to decide the colour combination. Nothing seems to fit quite right. I’ve taken out all the squares with red in them and just kept the dark pink pomegranate colour.
On a positive note all the ends are now darned in!
I think the secret might be to carry on crocheting squares (and darning!) but without making any decisions about the final joining together of the squares.
This blanket is not going to be as random and easy as I thought it would
be; but maybe the finished product will be more satisfying because of all the thought that went into it?!
We can only hope!
Bank holiday
Well, Plan B has happened this bank holiday weekend. Instead of being whisked away for a long weekend to the south coast, walking along beaches looking for messages in bottles washed up upon the sand, sea glass and interesting looking pebbles, I’ve had my leg up with ice packs on my knee and am going downstairs backwards. It seems that it is possible for your knee to go on holiday without you. You discover this when you try to get out of bed, but roll on the floor instead.
Ah well, the disappointment hasn’t lasted long since Plan A has been rebooked for another time. I’ve listened to hours of a fantastic new audio book and enjoyed the sunshine streaming into the house.
Here’s what I’ve been up to….
Now The Rainbow Granny Stripe is done and dusted its full steam ahead with The Rhubarb Ripple blanket.
Look what I’ve just bought, it stops the yarn rolling all over the place as I crochet. I might say that it also means less fluffy, bitty, velcro like yarn, but that would imply I haven’t hoovered for a while. So I won’t.
It’s a herb bucket, sooo pretty, and less than £5 from Aldi.
Then on to The Spring Flower blanket. Now this turned into a bit of a saga, enjoyable but a saga all the same today.
I’m going to start darning ends in as I go. I promise. I do like darning but it is a major faff when all you want to do is the end bit of a project as I found out last week!
Patch is right; I do have a new obsession about joining methods. If I’ve asked you 1000s of questions about your method, and you’ve answered patiently, then a big thank you to you. I’ve also watched lots of YouTube videos and scoured my magazines and crochet books. I just wanted to find the method that I enjoyed. Not necessarily the best, but the most fun. So, the above is Patch’s sewn whip-stitch method. Ho hum, the tension is bad and it was a real fiddle. I used to do lots of cross stitch, tapestry and pathwork but am out of practice and it shows.
Next I tried double crochet which I used before on the dolls blankets…
S has never been involved in my crochet endeavors so far, apart from nodding his head in a complimentary fashion (and using a piccy of The Rainbow GS on his desktop background. Now that must be high praise eh?!) but he didn’t like the green. It was just too green, he said. I tried white as I wasn’t too sure about the greenness either.
DC versus sewing is definitely the most satisfying and the tension is a perfect match too. I really like the ridge, it’s a bit different and adds a nice texture to the work. But I’m not sure about the white. It doesn’t quite make sense to me. Why would you suddenly have that white? Has it snowed in Spring?! S isn’t sure about all the random colour combinations either. I’m happy with them though. I think…
Not sure. Really not sure…
More comparison….
Bye, bye white. Zip! It’s gone!
How long should it be? I’ll see how it measures up against the RR. I’ll do some edging on it too. I’ve undone my original green joins and rearranged the colours into less random pairs. I think S was right and it is easier on the eye.
It’s been really satisfying deciding on a method of joining, rearranging the squares and realizing that my Dublin hotel crocheted squares are going to come together nicely to make a blanket.
PLeAse DONt TelL mE YoU PReferReD ThE WhItE.
:-D
Rainbow Granny Stripe – FINISHED!
After the first row of edging…
And this morning…
Folded in half…
The blanket is laid across a king-sized bed here, just to give you a sense of its size.
Just before Easter I asked a certain 3 year old what her favourite colours are, and without hesitation she told me ‘Yellow….pink…..and purple.’ That’s why I’ve used these particular colours for the edging.
Now I’ll put the surprise blanket away until August when she turns 4. I imagine I will be starting another Rainbow Granny Stripe in the Autumn for her sister’s 6th birthday!
Ok…now I get it
I’m on the last leg of my Rainbow Granny Stripe blanket and my fingers are itching to complete the border. BUT I have to darn those pesky ends in! I still like darning in, it feels soothing and productive, but actually I just want them gone at this point so I can carry on crocheting! I understand why people advise to darn as you go…
As you see the hook is chasing the darning needle around the last edge!
Sunny Days
I’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we’ve been having lately.
I even had to move into some shade, it became so hot!
And ironically I’ve finished the chunky seashell scarf! I’m sure I’ll need to use it soon enough though…
Details:
Pattern is from Nicki Trench: Cute & Easy Crochet (see books link on sidebar >>>>)
James C. Brett Marble Chunky acrylic yarn
Used 245g (Balls are 200g 341yards/312m each)
9″ wide
67″ long
Made 26 ch (inc turning chn) for 4 seashells width
54 seashells in length
6mm hook
————————————–
I’ve also made a few more of these…
Part of me sometimes wonders if crocheted jar covers are a 21st C) version of the 20th C) poodle bottle covers and Barbie doll dress toilet roll holders?! But I have an idea for another one so I’m carrying on crocheting.
I made this with Planet Penny Cotton and am really happy with the colours. It’s my Peach Melba jar cover.
It’s good to see that these little blankets are being put to good use!
Blogalicious!
I discovered this blog According to Matt and I LOVE it!
- the colours of the blog: the simple white background and the glorious photos
- the straightforward writing style
- also I admit it’s the fact that I’ve found male crocheters whose stuff I actually like (nice colours, designs, enthusiasm and inspiration plus plus plus, and aren’t they easy on the eye too? ;-p)
Have a look at this, this is the winner for me, a gorgeous blanket…though I also love this thick grey ripple blanket. There’s even a tutorial for learning how to crochet a jammy dodger! I grew up eating those yummy biscuits.
Do share some of the blogs you love with me below, I click on people’s side-bars but I think more current links are neglected to be added sometimes.
*************************
This week I’ve had some tea breaks, using my pint mug which says ‘the bigger the better’ around it (!) and worked on:
PS: I cleaned the tannin stains off my mug yesterday, in case you keen eyed clean-freaks noticed them :-D
Rhubarbing & Rainbowing
So, this is how the newly christened Rhubarb Ripple blanket’s going. (Imagine you’ve gone to the end of the garden to cut some rhubarb for a Sunday crumble, and have taken your blue colander to place the sticks into. See? Everything needs a name.)
The Rainbow Granny Stripe is progressing in a very random fashion. It’s not at all challenging to make and so the ‘what next?’ element of choosing the colours keeps it interesting. Meanwhile I’ve planned the colours for the RR, but there’s no taping tufts of yarn to a card for me…that would be far too professional!
I’ve almost certainly broken the cardinal rule of crochet by changing from a 4mm hook to a 3.5mm as I go, but there was no way I was undoing it all. The tension was definitely going to be too loose with the larger hook. I can see where it changes, but if I hadn’t told you would you have guessed? Be honest if you spotted it – I’m interested, but not changing it now! :-)
The blankets are for small girls who like pretty, that’s why they’re so bright. The next one will probably be more sutble.
The little cotton strip on the top of the pile is for a jar cover.
Sadly I’ve got another streamer of a cold and so am not feeling very dynamic today. It’s particularly a shame when you’ve had a busy week and have plans to do fun stuff at the weekend.
I’ve instructed friends & family to hit me on the head with a large box of balm tissues if I crow about how many colds I used to have when I was younger and how much healthier I am these days….I’ve had two corkers of a cold since I said that last. What a wally.
I feel so blah that I’ve just text downstairs to ask for another cup of Lady Grey and a pint of water…well I’m ill….
A few drinks, and some chatty comments below would definitely cheer me up in fact. I seem to have a lot of visitors to The Little Room but few cheery hellos….go on…introduce yourself, I like meeting new people. :-)
Rippling & Striping on a rainy weekend
I’d forgotten that there were tulips in this pot last year, what a lovely surprise!
There are signs of Spring everywhere…
Friday night I started a ripple blanket. It’s not such a good idea when you find that you’ve increased trebles four times instead of two, the following morning! Crochet after wine is probably not recommended. (Unless you love undoing crochet!)
I’m enjoying choosing the next colour for my rainbow granny stripe. I haven’t got a plan and that’s the way I like it.
Oops! The ripple is shorter than the granny stripe…but edging should sort that little issue.
I prefer Lucy’s ripple pattern (see her Attic 24 blog for pattern, link to the right), rather than the wave stitch I tried for the cushion cover featured in Nicki Trench’s Cute and Easy Crochet book (see link). My tension’s loose usually and Lucy’s ripple seems to suit it better. I do wonder if the rainbow granny stripe blanket will be more popular as it’s thicker, and probably warmer, than the ripple.
Finally look who surprised me…..
Ha! As I added these last two pics I heard this playing on my ipod:
“Tell her I’ll be waiting in the usual place….”
Hahaha!!
(Bryan Ferry’s Slave to Love)
Powered by Cadbury’s
I’ve had a lovely hour or two this afternoon….
A little bit of sweetness with a few rows of wave
“Ta-dah! Here I am!”
Mr Scrappy is finally finished.
Want to make your own Mr Scrappy? Click here for the free pattern
Next it was nice to do a few more rows of granny stripes for the rainbow blanket…
Soooo relaxing. It’s getting cosy as it grows and keeps my legs warm as I work.
I hope you’re having a good weekend too? After a busy week I think there’s nothing better than sunshine streaming through the windows, a little bit of chocolate (or whatever makes you feel like you’re having a treat) and something relaxing to make or do.
Lovely!
Brightness!
It’s growing very fast, I find that I can’t do fewer than 2 stripes at a sitting, even if time is pressing and I need to do just half a row….addictive or what?!
I think the next bit is going to go into bluey greens and I’ll try the yacky green out too; but if it fails the audition it’s OUT!
I’m enjoying the trebling but wanted to try something new. I find that I can’t just concentrate on one project, I have to try a few alongside each other. It’s like me and books. I usually have a poem anthology, a non-fiction, a fiction and maybe something else I’m dipping in and out of. Variety is the spice of life, and all that. :-)
I’m using Nicki Trench’s pattern for the wave cushion (see link at the side for the book.) I suspect this is what everyone else is calling ripple pattern. It’s great. I enjoyed it last night, but if you’re wondering why I stopped in the middle…there was a bombshell in the middle of Roger and Val have just got in that required me to stop! and talk! Then it was time for bed Zebedee…
If, unlike me, you’re a crochet expert and notice a flaw in my waves tell me please. Gently!
PS: Sorry that the pics are a bit fuzzy but I wanted to show you how I’m getting on. The flash had to do the job as the sun is in bed now, and it’s never as good as natural sunlight.
Getting zingy!
My instinct is to work through the colours gradually but this is not going to happen. I’m challenging my sense of colour comfort!
Crochet news
Yesterday I made myself not start any new projects until I’d a) darned in the ends on the dolls blanket b) sewed up Mr Scrappy c) ordered eyes for Mr S and d) sorted out the Hilton crochet
a) Done. Tick!
It’s finished, all ends darned in and ready to go to two little girls. I thought one blanket between the two of them for their dollies was a bit mean.
This is the other one when it was a WIP. I saw it being used in dolly covering mode last weekend….
Mr Scrappy being assembled
b) Done. Tick!
c) Done. Tick! Eyes ordered from a seller on ebay
and ummmm d) didn’t get done but I did start a new hat based on Stacey Trock’s FREE pattern available on Ravelry.
Stacey’s patterns are very clear and easy to follow. I can’t recommend her enough. Mr Scrappy is another of her free patterns on her great website ‘Fresh Stitches’
Happy Valentine’s Day! xx
The Little Room of Rachell 
You must be logged in to post a comment.