Wool And The Gang’s Foxy Roxy Scarf

good-storage Do you remember when Wool and The Gang asked me to review their new Take Care Mohair and I thought they’d made a mistake? Well, it can’t have been much of a mistake because they got in touch again to ask if I wanted to try out one of their other products! Result! Today I’m here to tell you all about how I made my Foxy Roxy knitted scarf.

crazy-sexy-wool-midnight I chose the Foxy Roxy scarf from the WATG Hygge LookBook that I was sent to peruse. I could have chosen something to crochet but I was seduced into going a different route. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’d love to knit more (I can do the very basics but that’s all). The sock knitting phenomenon still eludes me but I do see lovely knitted shawls out there. Maybe one day…. Anyway, I thought the Foxy Roxy would be a good introduction to the world of knitting, and the fact that I was being sent the kit would be a good kick up the bum to get something done.

got-my-basics watg-kitThe kit included five balls of Crazy Sexy Wool, some fab knitting needles, the pattern and a little label to pop on the finished project. I just love the packaging it all comes in ( I didn’t take pictures this time because my mohair review has those).Β  It was Christmas again when the box was brought to my door!

wool-and-the-gang-crazy-sexy-woolI chose Midnight blue but it really was hard to decide (so many colours…). In the end I went with the sensible choice. I knew that I’d wear a shade of navy. And it’s true, I’ve been wearing it non-stop since I downed needles a week ago.

the-beginning it-beginsI took it easy at first. My parcel arrived the Saturday before last and I knitted up half a ball that afternoon and the second half the day after. By Monday I’d gotten into the swing of things; I caned through the last four balls in less than three days. For a couple of rows at the beginning I kept stabbing through the yarn with the pointy needles (these are proper vampire slaying needles). After a few rows, that stopped and I got into a good rhythm. It seems I respond well to the noise of needles. It might be the main reason I fancy taking up knitting. The noise of knitting needles is hypnotic and I really enjoyed the woody clacking I made with my chunky stakes. And oh my goodness! No achey hands! I’m used to achey hands when using a giant crochet hook but I must hold needles differently, cos no ache!

half-way-there-big-knitting knitting-with-cake-and-teaObviously I needed tea and cake to help me along the way but I did get a few crumbs on me stitches [I use the best lemon drizzle recipe there is]. I needed the energy to keep on with all the rows. One ball in and I could see that this was gonna be loooonnng. To be honest, I have no idea if there are more rows than the pattern told me. I didn’t count. I just kept going until I ran out of yarn. I got carried away with this and didn’t have enough to cast off. At that point I had to take an enormously deep breath and frog a few rows. I gathered each stitch slowly and carefully back on a needle and knit back on a couple of rows before trying the cast off again. Here, I have to admit that I don’t actually know what a row looks like. I think it’s both the wiggle chain things per row and not half of one of these. Is that right?! Er, I don’t know. Whatever the weather, I now have a knitting project under my belt and I am proud!

foxy-roxy-watg snear my-foxy-roxy-scarf-watgThank you to my eldest boy for taking some amusing photographs of me. It was very good timing that he was off sick from school. I made him take a squillion pics. To help him I even cracked open the tripod that I bought a year ago. Why haven’t I ever used the tripod before!? It makes life so much easier. Duh. How snuggly and cosy does my new scarf look though!? It is flippin’ gorgeous, I love it. I know it’s wrong but I’m wishing for colder weather so I can enjoy laughing at everyone else in their piddly, little, ineffectual scarves. I will be super warm and happy! Gleefully, manically laughing, I expect.

All I will say is this,Β  when wearing it I will have to learn to be careful. Yesterday, as I casually sauntered home from the school run (probably with a little hint of scarf smugness too) a great big gust of wind took my scarf and threw it in brambles. So embarrassing. I was there for an eternity, carefully and not so casually untangling my precious new, hand knitted scarf.

the-longest-scarf-in-the-world marceline-tortoiseshell-lovelyI’ve only included a picture of the cat, due to the fact that she was watching me whilst I took the photo’s.

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A Bunch of Handmade Gifts.

a-pile-of-christmas-makesMy blogging will is not here today. I’m not really here. I’d rather be doing my crochet. I’m looking over to the other side of the room to where my current WIPS are. Getting the balance between making stuff and blogging about it can be tricky! The problem today is that I’ve seen all this stuff, like, ages ago! I love writing a craft blog, I really do but I also must find the time to do the thing I write about. It’d be a bit futile if I didn’t do any craft wouldn’t it?!

little-fabric-basket handmade-christmas-presentI probably made this little fabric basket in October. I use a great tutorial for making these (it comes in two different sizes). Go Here for the instructions.

handmade-bag-with-bamboo-handl bag-with-bamboo-handlesI made up the pattern for this bag. I must make another and, when I do I think I’ll do a tutorial. This will hopefully happen at some point this year, it’s on a list of things to do but so are lots of other things! I also want to do a crochet version with bamboo handles as well!

could-do-betterThis project bag annoyed me. I forgot to add interfacing and it’s all floppy. The recipient didn’t mind and I guess that’s what counts.

t-shirt-yarn-crochet-bowlI made this a few months ago and it was meant to have another to nestle within. It hurt my hands so I didn’t make the other one. I think I chose a hook a size that was too small, which is what made it painful. The yarn itself is a t-shirt yarn from Tiger and felt beautifully silky. I don’t know who has t-shirts that silky, not anyone I’ve met.

rich-red-crochet-cowl gorgeous-red-crochet-cowlThis cowl was lovely to make. Very quick too. I used two balls of Drops Alaska and the pattern is from a new book by Nicki Trench. Crocheted Scarves and Cowls is the name and I bought it from The Works around November.

mustard-waffle-crochet-cushion-wiht-wooden-buttons crochet-waffle-stitch-mustard-cushion crochet-waffle-stitch-mustard-cushionAges ago I’d wanted to make a waffle stitch blanket. About a ball into the project I realised that the stitch was a massive, greedy yarn eater and it wouldn’t go as far as I’d invisaged. I frogged it and went in the cushion direction. It’s an 18″ cushion and I did 70 something stitches across with the old Stylecraft spesh. Love it. But it was a present so I gave it away.

kelpie-hat kelpie-hat-using-malabrigoThis is the Kelpie hat by The Crochet Project. Such a lovely yet simple stitch! I had to tinker with the number of stitches because I used a thicker yarn than recommended. This is a Malabrigo aran. I can’t remember the colour name and I don’t know where the label is!

red-cowl pretty-red-cowl

And this cowl is a free pattern from Here. I reduced the number of stitches so that it was a cowl and not an infinity scarf. Think this is Drops Nepal. Maybe three balls … 4? A couple of years ago I made the infinity version in a brown yarn and I wore it for about two years solid.

There really was so much more that I intended to make and time ran away from me. I also gifted lots of Christmas decorations too. Crochet baubles and lots of felt things were great for giving as little extras.

And now I’m going to dash back to my crochet pile and hide in there. It’s a lovely place to be.

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Speedy Crochet Bracelet. A Free Pattern.

easy-crochet-braceletI was working out the design for my recent crochet wrist warmers pattern; playing with different methods and whatnot, when this one popped up. It’s basically front post and back post stitches, which ended up being too bulky for the mitts but still had something I liked. It is such an easy crochet pattern, it only takes fifteen/twenty minutes from start to finish.

If you’ve not tried Front Post or Back Post stitches before, it’s a great pattern for practising. These stitches are much easier than they sound. They’re the same as normal, it’s just where you put your hook that counts. There are countless You Tube videos out there that demonstrate beautifully.

I’m not sure if this is a crochet cuff, bracelet or other thing but whatever it is, (seeing as it’s Christmas) here’s a lovely little free crochet pattern for them!

bright-and-colourful-crochetNotes: I’ve used Paintbox Aran (I used up loads of my old Stylecraft Special dk this year and allowed myself a restock of something new!!) with a 4.5mm hook.

I’ve used UK terms with US terms in brackets.

In Row 2 I work under the bumps of the foundation chain. This makes a neater finish but it does mean it looks twisty when you come to slip stich together. Ignore the twist and join anyway, it won’t be noticed in the final piece. Just double check that you’ve not got a twist in the stitches you’re going to work into next.

Crochet over the ends as you go to allow for minimal stitching at the end.

super-easy-crochet-cuff-bracelet-free-crochet-patternPattern:

Row 1: Chain 24 (I have wrists like twigs, you may need to go up to 26 or 28 stitches). Join with a slip stitch.

Row 2: Ch1 (does not count as a st), dc (US sc) in each st around. Join with a slip stitch to the first st. Fasten off. [24]

Row 3: Attach new colour to any stitch. Ch3 (counts as a st), 1tr (USdc)in each st around. Join to the top of the inital ch3. [24]

Row 4-6: Ch2 (does not count as a st), FPtr (US FPdc) in st at the base of the ch2, BPtr (US BPdc) in next st, *FPtr in next st, BPtr in next st. Repeat from* to the end. Slip st to the top of the first FPtr. Fasten off after row 6. [24]

Row 7: Attach new colour to any st. Ch1 (does not count as a st). 1dc (US sc) in each st around. Join with a slip stitch the the first st. Fasten off and sew in any ends. [24]

wristsΒ  crochet-cuff-bracelets And there you have it. Easy peasy! Now go and crochet loads of cuffs, bracelets, sweat bands, whatever they are!

Happy Christmas! See you in the New Year. 2017 is going to be amazing!! X

easy-and-speedy-crochet-project crochet-bracelets

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