Paintbox blanket

Posted on October 11, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

It’s finished!

99 squares single crocheted together (right sides together so little ridges on the back of the blanket) with a few alternating rows of trebles and doubles for edging. I could’ve gone on going around and around for a long time but it felt time to stop!

Choosing where to put each colour was quite a fun process and involved me crawling around the floor moving squares while S called out “move that yellow one left…. NO…to the right of the purple one I mean…now put the purple at the top….and the orange needs to go down a row…” We then looked at it for a day or so until it really was getting difficult to move around it without the risk of spilling coffee (the horror!) I decided it was ok, took a photo on my iPhone and then used that as a reference when I crocheted the squares together.

9 x 11 squares
Blanket measures: 110cm x 140cm ish
Weighs: 900g
Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK
Hook: 4mm

This is a surprisingly heavy weight and cosy blanket when you’re snuggled underneath it.

The light’s not so good at the moment as we have very grey skies and rainy weather so sorry about the darkish photos!

The back….

It’s happened again???

Posted on August 3, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

I’ve been merrily crocheting the edges of each coloured alternative granny target square in cream, in groups of 5 at a time. I’ve completed the last today and now have 100. Hurray! Gold medal in crochet for Team GB please :-D

But how can it have happened that I now have 100 squares worth of ends to darn? Oh how can this have happened again??? I thought I’d learnt back in May that to darn as you go is the very best thing….

Sorry Brits, I think I might have put us out of the medal category. Boo!

Colourful

Posted on July 17, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

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

Posted on June 16, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

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.

Crochet by the sea

Posted on June 2, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

A little cheeky crochet before going out to see some Jubilee celebrations, sightseeing and shopping near the sea!
I haven’t done any alternative granny squares for a long time and it’s very nice to crochet something different after lots of rippling and circles in squares!
I’ve come to a pause with the Rhubarb Ripple at the moment….I’ve run out of plum! I sense another Deramores order is about to happen.

Have a happy (Jubilee bank holiday) weekend!

This morning….

Posted on April 4, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

I only called Deramores yesterday lunchtime and here’s the new order!

I hadn’t mentioned that I bought another stash of the multi-pack last week, the second of the year already! I’m now the yarn Queen of the South.

Here’s the original lot. I really do recommend Deramores; superb service and fast delivery. Plus Stylecraft Special DK is £1.79 at the moment. It’s soft and nice to work with, no it’s not wool but it’s not bad at all for 100% acrylic.

I tried out a new pattern I’d seen online. This will be my Spring Flower blanket eventually. I used up oddments from the wave patttern I tried (below) but disliked after I compared it to Lucy’s ripple pattern. I hate waste and so every scrap turns into something else.

I’ve enjoyed trying out my new cream to edge the Alternative Granny Squares. It seems soothing after all the brightness!

Did you know I’m a leftie by the way? If you’re new and want a leftie recommendation of a great ‘learn to crochet book’ then click on the books! link to the right >>>>> it’s called Crochet Unravelled and has diagrams for lefties and those odd rights ;-p I still look at it sometimes when a bit befuddled.

Hmmm, well this my plan ahead for Easter project which hasn’t happened since there’s a lack of fun in the making. Fiddly. Squeaky horrid cheapo yarn. But it might still get completed since:

a) I hate not finishing something, even if I dislike it. (Mum’s the same I once bought us both a lovely tin of what turned out to be horrid sweets. Owning the lovely tin was the object though we both ate the horrid sweets; because it’s not good to throw things away or waste them. S thinks us both to be nutters. Obviously he’s wrong.)

b) It’s VERY cute when completed

c) I don’t like failing.

Away for trip #1 and trip #2 from tomorrow, I’ll share some pics on my return. :-D

Have a lovely Easter.

Alternative Granny

Posted on March 5, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

I saw this blog post and absolutely loved it…. I especially like seeing the edges. I love the little Vs on the edge of crochet! I really do!

When I tried using Jan Eaton’s target square pattern in her book I came a cropper with the 7 ch bit, the square was a wibbly mess. (Practise makes perfect and all that, but the * and ** and repeats instructions for this square are really confusing to a bear with little brain like me.)

I saw this pattern on CrochetQueen’s blog.

Then I tried to crochet my own AG square using the pattern, but got really confused; mostly about what to do with the 5 ch. There were holes where there weren’t meant to be holes!

I wailed to CrochetQueen that I needed help. She added some tutorial pics to her pattern in about a day. What a star!

How helpful is that?

The generosity of other bloggers in giving patterns, advice and free tutorials is very much appreciated. Maybe one day when I’m more proficient I can do the same? It would be nice to pass it on….

So anyway, using CrochetQueen’s pattern and photo tutorial here’s what I’ve come up with so far…

I know I’ve basically posted the same photograph again and again and again, but I do LOVE those edges!

I used a 3.5 mm hook because I’ve realised my tension on granny squares is always a bit loose and they looked too wibbly using a 4mm.

The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK from my pack bought from here.

While I waited for these photos to load I’ve had a think about trying a slight variation on the number of trebles in each round. I’m going to have a little play again later.

Yesterday afternoon I looked out of the window to this, they really make me smile….

Can you see it? :-)