Showing posts with label present. Show all posts
Showing posts with label present. Show all posts

Saturday, 11 February 2017

Day Brighteners!

In sunny summer I had a great time at Yarningham and purchased two fabulously colourful skeins of hand dyed wool from Yarn Angels
I have been squidging and admiring the two beauties all through autumn and ideas for their use began to blossom!
'Neon That 80s Movie' just had to be hooked into an accessory that many fashion conscious trend setters (in the glorious ever changing 80s) sported - fingerless gloves!
Legwarmers were contemplated....but less.... practical?!
As I recall, some of the fingerless gloves were quite lacy so I consulted my stitch directory and settled on Peephole Chevron.


Just look at those zingy colours!


Can you spot my trusty TARDIS stitch  marker another goody from Yarningham by Owl about Yarn


They hooked up quickly and smoothly and the wool was a delight to work with  - many colour changes every row - when you have wool this exciting  its a pleasure to watch it grow and savour every stitch!




The thumb hole was placed off centre so the gloves can be worn low on the wrist


or high on the fingers


These were designed and made especially for a fabulous friend's 50th and have been well received!


With half a ball left I was keen to keep going....and to make the neon shine even longer!
Another amazing friend, celebrating her birthday is more of a 60s and 70s fan.....


Granny squares  - the perfect choice!


The dimensions needed tweaking a little so each square has an extra granny row down each side to make them wider. Once the first mitt was constructed the second was a breeze!


 Every alternate row is a jazzy neon!


I tried to join as I went, but preferred to stitch the squares together...also trying to reduce the number of ends to sew in I kept the neon in use... with a few extra chains, at the back, it could be incorporated into the next but one row chain space!



 The thumb holes are offset again..


Whilst working, I kept the squares and the cut ends on the arm of the settee...I think it took me longer to make both sets of mitts as they brightened the room so much I wanted to keep them a little longer!


Given as gifts, these gave me so much too - the colours and texture lifted my mood, the construction and design kept me thinking and the rhythmical stitching induced calm.

Thank you to Yarn Angels for such delightful yarn, Sarah for your fun stitches, Tracey for your initial mitt pattern that set me off...and to my appreciative friends x

Yarnistry stitch markers....Yarningham bought!
As I was on a roll, the ball of Bird of Paradise was immediately put to use...more rainbows in the next post!

Friday, 7 October 2016

Give us a wave!

I've long admired fingerless mitten patterns, they have been on my to do list for more months than I can count on two hands!!
Having bought some beautifully hand-dyed wool over the year I thought I'd try my hand! 


 This silky soft BFL DK, entitled From Deep Sea to Coral Reef is from Stitch Solihull. 
It was wound as the Olympic cyclists were whizzing round and round the velodrome, 
and as I went round in circles with the ball in my hand, the remaining wool rippled like waves beneath. 
That experience inspired my pattern choice.....it had to be wavy!
I used a soft wave from Tracey's fabulous book, adding a row of trs between each row and hooking in back loops gave extra texture.





I LoVe the colours - they reminded me of summer seaside days, the sand mingling with the sea!



They were given to my coast loving friend for her summer birthday, sounds strange, woolly gloves in the height of the hot season, but I know they will have lots of use in the autumn on the touchline at footie practice!

A friend's granddaughter is raising money to fill some bags of care for homeless people. Each is going to contain a pair of gloves, a perfect chance to use some of my gifted acrylic and try out some patterns.


These camo mitts are a htr version of Tracey's any gauge mittens 
and the pink ones below made from a chunky rectangle of 'Silt' from Sarah Hazell's 200 crochet stitches



Hooking the wavy mitts made me realise how much a yarn influences your mood!
I was eager to finish the acrylic items, and they grew quickly due to the big stitch pattern and chunky yarn. On the other hand I took my time with the hand-dyed, watching the colour changes, and the ripples, feeling the wool on the tips of my fingers, a very mindful activity!

The good news is there's plenty left for more peaceful rippling, and more hanks of hand-dyed!

 



Saturday, 14 November 2015

Happy Birthday!

A very special young lady has a special birthday today


She is a talented textiles student, so her card was made full of colour and texture! 
The back reveals the greeting - rolled and tucked under the bows!


Part of her present is something small and shiny
packed into an extra tiny bag - pass the parcel!


It is made with Blossom stitch from Sarah Hazell's book, packed full of inspiration!


Happy Birthday!

Sunday, 9 August 2015

Time off!

I had some time off free-styling and free-forming to follow a pattern!
This was a birthday present for a friend of RW Jnr!


 The easy to follow pattern can be found here:


As my big fingers found the arms rather fiddly I adapted that body part!



He was well received...and I have had another couple of orders! 
Will be giving my stitch counting a break first!



Sunday, 26 July 2015

Oh I do like...

...to be beside the seaside...which is a little ironic living in the middle of England!
We recently revived memories of a friend's Woolacombe wedding,  enjoying the photos of a beautifully sunny and warm weekend.
For an anniversary present a window of woolly Woolacombe was hooked!


Many sandy strands and bubbly wavelets...





...the green hill in the distance..


 surfs up?!


back view...


...and a different background...


It takes a while to gather materials, so while they were all to hand....




and back





 This has surface crochet footprints on the sand


and in the water



Cuffs have been on my mind for a while....




Loved my visit to a local independent haberdashery shop with an abundant button bounty!







There are a couple of techniques I stumbled upon by happy accident, which I hope to use again!
I really enjoyed my time dipping into the woolly waves!
Hope to wiggle my toes in some real sand sometime this summer! 
Happy Holidays!