Sunday, April 21, 2013

Don't Panic!!!


Hello,
Were you wondering where I got to? March and April turned out to busy old months.

I finished my crochet blanket and it has been universally loved by everyone who has snuggled under it.

Warm, cosy and very, very heavy. Oriana wraps it around herself using it as a cloak.

Whilst the rest of us wrap it over our laps on chilly spring evenings. A few more weeks and maybe it will venture outside.

March had school snow days, several of them so I spent one or two finishing off my crushed biscuit cardigan.
I say mine - it found a new home with Elenya before it was even off of the needles. The colours of it are just what I was hoping for and I definitely want to make myself something similar soon.

Then came Easter and I cast on a gorgeous cardigan for Oriana, based on the one Hermione wears in the first Harry Potter film. I knit the hood and that was o.k then I started the Fair isle yoke.

It was supposed to be a raglan increase. Not Good! It didn't really explain how you were supposed to do this whilst keeping the pattern straight and mine looked a mess.

So I read some of the other project notes on Ravelry and many of them had increased around the yoke. So I thought I would try that. Hmmm I knew it wasn't right virtually straight away, but the pattern looked o.k so I persevered. I finished the yoke and blocked it held it up against Oriana whilst it was still on the needles and it seemed like it might fit. Anyway to cut a long story short it didn't.

I finished the body whilst she was away and when she got back we tried it on.The yoke was too long, it came to her elbows and it wasn't wide enough there was no way that she would ever be able to do it up. So I had a change of plan it may or may not work but at this point I have nothing to lose.
I knit the sleeves separately and decided to cut the cardigan apart at the yoke.

I have thought about it for a week and this evening I took out the scissors.
Anyway till next time happy crafting
Arianwen

Sunday, February 24, 2013

February Comfort



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Did you wonder why I had been so quiet in February? No? Well I am going to tell you anyway :) I had planned that February would be called "Finish off Feb". I had photos of all the wips,a blog post written and a plan of how I was going to get through them. Hmm. It seems that I have absolutely no will power whats so ever. Whoops! The 400g of Cashmerino left over from Oriel was annoying me, I just couldn't leave it alone, what was I going to do with it maybe somebody would want it. Then I started thinking about the other balls of Cashmerino that were lying around the place white and lilac.
Maybe I could add them to the balls of Red Heart that I had bought last time I was in Canada. yes that was a good idea. I would add them to the great Granny that I had planned....I would start it at the beginning of March when I had finished everything. Yeah Right! Monday the 4th was knit night. It was snowing and I didn't want to venture out. The Granny just accidently fell onto my hook. I am a woman obsessed, my hands hurt, my elbows too but I just can't stop I am so in love with this blanket!!! The colours are my favourites and I fondly imagine that they look like a wonderful cottage garden.

M says it makes his eyes go funny in this photo but I don't care I love it. I am nearly to the point of deciding on a border.So brace yourself for lots more photos of it.
February has also been taken up with a blanket for someone else. Something to make the recipient feel loved. The RowanTree group decided that we were going to make a blanket for one of our own that was under the weather. I knit a square and waited for the others to arrive. They came from Canada, America, New-Zealand and from closer to home. In the end I didn't use my square as I had enough from other people. I just stitched them together and put the messages on the back. I love it when a plan comes together. It arrived with its new owner yesterday and I am assured that it is loved.
For our good friend Stash

Till next time

Arianwen xxx

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Oriel - A Belated Grand Reveal.


Hello, thanks for popping in. I just don't know where the time goes.
Oriel has actually been finished since the end of January ( so I am sort of on target for inswemodo2013 though Feb looks shakey) and I meant to get photos then. Indeed I even got Mario out in the snow with a camera only to realise it was out of batteries. Shame, as it was a beautiful day and would of made some really lovely photos. Mind you as it seems that Blogger will no longer let me have any size except small I may well just start taking them on my phone! Anyway last Sunday we went off to Shibden Hall for the day and as I was wearing Oriel and the camera had batteries.....



I am not quite sure what I am doing with my face but hey, least you can see the dress. It is another sucess story from Kim Hargreaves. I do love her patterns, though I wish she would make them a little longer. I added a pattern repeat to the bottom of this before the waist shaping and several inches to the sleeve length. Oh well I guess at 5"5 it is kind of nice to pretend I am really tall :) I changed the cables to proper barley twists because I prefered how they looked and I left the bobbles off of the collar as it was a bit too twee for me.I used the 20 balls of yarn specified but was left with several left as I had originally bought the yarn for something different. Those extras are alreay in use for something else but more about that later.

Oriel

Till next time
Arianwen


Thursday, January 31, 2013

Taking a Trip on the Scrappy Band Wagon

When I first started quilting, I signed up to make a trip around the world quilt top at my local adult ed. I bought meters of lovely pink fabrics and looked forward to the course. Just before the day, the course was cancelled. The fabrics were used for other quilts and time moved on.
I have always fancied making a trip around the world, the one that got away..... Now blog land is a dangerous place. One little blog post here then I discussed with various quilty friends and then another post here and so many lovely ones here. I just couldn't resist any longer.

I rummaged through all of my scraps, beautiful fabrics from my mum's trips to Canada and some wonderful ones from my favourite shop in Brugge Delander.
Scrappy trip around the world

It is so simple you cut your fabric into 2.5" strips then sew them together in a row of six. It is suggested that you cut your strips 16" long I have made mine 17" just to make allowances for wonky seams.

Scrappy trip around the world

Then you sew the first to the last making a tube, cutting this into 2.5" rings.
Scrappy trip around the world

You then unpick the tubes at varying intervals so that your fabrics "step". I seem to struggle with this so keep having to sew my tubes back up but eventually you end up with pretty blocks. I am up to 10 blocks and I think you will have to agree they are looking pretty!

Till next time
Arianwen x

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Joining Up The Dots




I have been a bit leary of connecting all of my social stuff up. Perhaps a little too much information out there. Maybe I should of used alias's when I started - it is too late now. But I really like the quick updates that I get from certain blogs on Facebook So another snow day and I have been having a real play with the other venues of expression that are out there. Ironically I have managed nothing crafty the blocks from the picture were made yesterday. HoweverI have joined the technical age, become a member of Pinterest and given my Blog a face book page. Yeah me! You can find links on the sidebar to both hope you like them:)
Arianwen xx

Monday, January 21, 2013

Ahhhhh Snow Days


Like pretty much all of the UK we have woken the last couple of days to a thick blanket of snow. Yesterday it did look like we might have school today but we were blessed with several more inches over night. Indeed the local college has closed for the second time in 40 years and of course the schools are closed so we are all home. I love snow days, the delicious silence. I guess it is the lack of cars and the stillness of everyone snuggled inside in the warm.feeding the birds Of course the silence doesn't continue as soon as I put food out for the birds the air fills with their grateful song.
Closely followed by children tramping outside to play.
snow days
Snowman have been built and the sled has been dragged around the neighbourhood looking for the best hills (not really a problem in yorkshire).
14970_10151653751329848_664114477_n
But the thing that I like best is the cosy crafts, when everyone has had enough of the cold and the wet.
Oriel
I have finished the body of Oriel I was glad to get it off the needles as it was starting to get really heavy. Don't you just love the way the cables change direction at the waist? OrielI have also started on the sleeves for my Crushed biscuit, now these I am a little bit worried about as I am making them up, the original doesn't have sleeves, and I am just hoping that I have made them wide enough!Crushed Biscuit
But the best bits of the snow days have been that both Oriana and Inigo have been playing witht the sewing Machine.Sewing together If you are wondering about all the lovely flowers on the window sill they are a combination of cyclmen and Orchids. I love orchids as they flower forever which definately makes them more eccomical than buying cut flowers. Anyway I digress, Inigo has been fiddling with freehand machine embroidery and applique for his cushion for school and Oriana has been busy with a project that she bought in Belgium over a year ago.

Can you tell what I am yet?
Oriana and her bear Snow

And here she is all finished! Her name is Snow in honor of lovely snow days.

Oriana and her bear Snow

Till next time
Arianwen

Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Little Knitting Update

Hello
The first week back at the usual house routine and I have been knitting furiously away on Oriel, my Christmas cast on. I am now at the waist even though I have lengthened it by a couple of inches. I am hoping to have it finished for the end of the month as I would like to actually complete NaSweMoDo for 2013 ( I failed dismally in 2012) but I do have a couple of other surprise things that I need to cast on. I will let you know about those in the next couple of weeks.
Oriel
I have also managed to finish the back of the sweater for my brother in law. I was a little worried as when I finished the piece the tension on each of the sections looked really different. In some places it was smooth and in others it looked distinctly screwed up. I dunked it in water and left it soaking - it took ages to wet completely and then just lay it flat for days on end whilst it dried. It now looks pretty good I think. The pattern really is very striking and as soon as I finish Oriel it is back on the needles!
warming the cockles
Arianwen xx


Monday, January 07, 2013

My Pretties

Over a year ago a company called Accuquilt got in contact with me and asked me if I would like to do a piece on their clever gadget ( at the time I didn't know that it was clever) but I couldn't get onto their site so couldn't see what they did and decided to ignore their offer. Shame! Anyway a good friend of mine BlueADT decided to save her pennies up and she bought one. So this weekend when she gave me this
pretties
I couldn't resist asking if I could have a go.
Now I had never seen anything like these scrap bags before, probably just as well really as I have a inability to throw out fabric or yarn so I really am going to try and use up as many of these as possible. Moda Scrap bags are like pick and mix, fabric yum. This range is called Bliss and it really is my idea of Bliss, beautiful colours and great slightly retro prints. Pretties What do you think? The bags contain long 2-3" strips sometimes with the selvage. Lets face it, straightening strips and then cutting them into 2.5" squares can't be many people's idea of fun but the Accuquilt meant no straightening and easy enough for 11 year olds to cut the squares ( Oriana and Inigo tried it out). It also cut out the triangles!!
pretties
Seizing the moment I started rummaging through quilt books andI was initally inspired by a quilt from a Jelly roll quilt book. I started putting all of it together butit was too busy I couldn't see the stars. pretties 2So I now have five star blocks and I am going to start saving my pennies so that there are some plain blocks in between. So that is the start of my pretties Quilt.
Till next time
Arianwen x

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Restless

Well three days into the new year and I am restless. Oriel This is the start of my Christmas knitting it turns out that it is a very easy to remember pattern which means that I can only manage a couple of rows before I am ready to move onto something else. I can't seem to settle to anything.I have started cleaning out drawers and dusting but I don't seem to have the staying power.
Every year at this time I take a new look at my blog, I started it so that I would have a diary of my accomplishments. Other people reading it turned out to be a bonus:)I started it in blogger because that was the first blog host that I came to on a google search but I didn't do any research. But I can never get it to look the way that I want. I fiddle with colours and format it has changed about twenty times today alone.


Thought a pink might be nice but really Blogger@s violent puce wasn't really what I had in mind.


Usually I end up putting it back the way it was before. This also may happen this time. The photos are also often a problem my little box camera just can't cope with the poor indoor light. I also keep being told that comments are virtually impossible to leave I have taken off the word verification again. Though I have already had spam so this could be fun. So anyway it could all change again

Arianwen xxx

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