Zeens and Roger

I have finally finished and blocked my second crochet granny shawl. I like it a lot. So far neither of my shawls have made it out the front door, I am not quite brave enough to go out wearing one yet. Maybe up to school and back? I’m not sure. The farthest I have ventured is into the back garden, floating about around the flowers pretending that I am not in a terrace of houses and that the neighbours aren’t there wondering what I’m up to.

It looked a bit iffy before I blocked it because I went rogue with the pattern. It’s the second time I’ve used Made by Leen‘s April Flower Shawl pattern and I will probably be tempted to make it again.  But not any time soon because I have a very long list of other things to make besides crochet granny shawls.

Once again I went for a different crochet edging. That way, you know no one else has the same. I used Edie Eckman’s Crochet Borders book again (pattern no. 22) but changed the pointy bit. In retrospect I’m not sure I should have tinkered with it so much, but I did and once I’d done it, I wasn’t going to unravel it all!

These colours are much more me than the first crochet shawl although I do love them both. It’s the same stuff; Stylecraft Life DK yarn. It has wool in it so it is nice and warm. I have loads left over which will go towards making a flowery blanket, that is somewhere on my to do list but nowhere near the top.

This is the garden that I’ve been floating about in. Actually, we have all been in the garden this weekend and no one did much floating about. The grown ups did digging, planting and building whilst the children played and partially destroyed the grown up’s hard work.

That clematis is only a few years old and looks pretty awesome already.

Look at the awesome!

 

 

I have seen loads of crochet shawls about in the last year, some really nice ones. It’s the ultimate Granny accessory. Naturally, I wanted one, so I made one! And now I’m making another.

Here is my first crochet shawl. I found a lovely free pattern, the April Flower shawl on Made by Leen.

I changed the border as I fancied something a bit pointier. I used Edie Eckman’s book, Crochet Borders, to choose which alternative crochet border I wanted. I also swapped to a different colour in the middle of the broad stripe, but for the most part, I have stuck to the original crochet pattern. I think it’s great! It was very quick to make, and now I am nearing the end of my next shawl using the same pattern.

I love the colours. They’re much better than the first one I did, where I grabbed colours without thinking. I’ve tinkered with the stripe on this one, just to make it different from the first one I made. I have no idea which border I’ll choose next, but I have a couple of ideas. I might also stick to the original pattern for this one; it’ll make it softer.

I have used Stylecraft Life DK yarn for both of these. I got it on sale in my local shop. I bought more than I know what to do with, but that’s OK!

I’ve got loads of crochet projects in, my head but I should probably finish off the granny square blanket, which I started before the shawls. There are 100 crochet circles in a bag, hiding in the cupboard under the stairs. They are waiting to have their ends sewn in. Booo.

For years I didn’t really get why people made stuff out of felt. I never really liked it as an artistic medium. Then I realised it was because the things I’d seen were cheap and nasty and probably had glue blobbed over them.

I think it was last year when I decided to give playing with felt a try. I don’t recall what it was that made me want to try. I do remember thinking that the interest would wear off quite quickly, though. But, what happened was I got more into it and more interested in adding details and seeing how small I could get things before the stitches frayed the teeny tiny pieces.

I’ve been trying to find examples of things I made first. This is the latest make:

It’s a needle case. It’s a present to myself but I haven’t swapped over any pins and needles yet because then, I might ruin it. It’s all hand-sewn and made up from my head. I’ve made a few needle cases over the last year. They make nice little presents.

Mostly, they’ve had different designs stitched on the front, too.  Here is one I made for my sister about six months ago:

This little mermaid was so lovely, I made her twice. But because they’re handmade, the same design always looks different.

I think this badger brooch was made early, about two years ago. I still like him. I gave him to a little boy whose mum hangs it on her Christmas tree! He wasn’t the first felt thing I made, but for now, I’ve given up trying to remember what was.

 

I feel like I’m late to a party. Here I am.  I have finally managed to work out how to blog! It’s something I started thinking about a very long time ago, I’ve been saying for at least two years I’d become a blogger.  Now it is time. Hello!

It’ll take a while to get my head around all the computery aspects of it but I’ve been making and creating arty things for years and would really like to record my progression and the processes it took to get there. I love to make things for others and sometimes feel sad when I say goodbye to whatever it is I’ve made. A photograph is my keepsake of the journey ( a bit like a serial killer and their weird trophies). Knowing that they’re just saved somewhere on a computer file and not getting looked at is a bit depressing so, this is one of many reasons  I have decided to actually do something about it.

I’m just a beginner, so bear with me. Things will be slow, or a bit wrong, but I will get there in the end!