Birthday Scarf

Here's a scarf I made for a dear friend's birthday:

My friend and I have known each other since we've been seven (*ahem* rather a long time ago ) and our friendship's still going strong. The scarf is made out of Totem, my mother's favourite wool, and the pattern comes from Ellen. There's a photo of another scarf I made using this pattern here.

...and here's a close~up. I loooooove my macro lens!

Great~Aunt Meg's Antimacassars

Antimacassars were little cloths, fashionable in the 19th and early 20th centuries, that were placed on the back of chairs to protect them from hair oil...and, in the 1930s, my great~ aunt crocheted a set for for her sister, my grandmother. I've inherited them, along with the lounge suite they were made for, and here is one of them:

Wasn't she clever? Family legend has it that Aunt Meg could turn the heel of a sock in the darkness of a movie theatre (which also illustrates how keen she was!) I remember her as a little, white haired lady who had sparkling eyes and made delicious chocolate puddings. Fond memories...

A Wild Iris and a Green Shawl

Here are some pictures of a wild iris that is blooming in my back garden, and progress shots of a shawl I've been crocheting. I don't normally wear shawls but, after seeing lots of beautiful examples on the internet, I wanted to give it a try. (I think the Victorian romances I've been immersed in of late, with their elegantly attired heroines, have got something to do with my wanting one too!)






The pattern's simple but clever. It's crocheted so that the width of the shawl increases incrementally with each row, meaning that you can try it on as you go and stop when the shawl reaches the desired length. I think I'm going to finish it off with a simple picot edging. I've crocheted it in a wool/silk blend called Cleckheaton Country Silk. It's a DK yarn but I decided to use a 7.00 mm hook hoping that this would help the shawl drape nicely. It does ~ hooray!

Copper Wire Ring with Pearls

This is a little ring I made a while ago, but have just got around to photographing.

I knitted it up (I can knit a little) with copper wire and then wove fresh water pearls into it. It was very quick to put together. ( I actually made it just after I'd broken my finger playing a scratch match of Aussie Rules football in the carpark at work. Nothing stops a determined craftster!) The construction was simple, although the wire had no give and was quite hard to knit with. I've since bought some sterling silver wire and plan on making another one with it.

Eight Random Facts About Moi

I've been tagged, by snapdragons, to complete an Eight Random Facts meme, so here goes...

1. I live ten minutes away from the CBD but I wish I lived in the bush. I grew up on the edge of national forest in the Darling Ranges and I miss being close to nature. I am a tree hugger at heart.

2. Long, long ago I used to be a goth girl. I spent a short but significant period of time in my early twenties trying to look like Morticia from The Addams Family (except for when I was dying my hair pink.)

3. I don't like my middle name and, no, I won't tell you what it is.

4. I work with little children. They are delightful and loving and full of reward...and laden with germs. I recently caught a heavy, horrible cold from them and it has lasted for over a month. Bleugh.

5. I sing...in choirs and such. In fact, I used to be a cabaret singer around about the same time I was trying to look like Morticia. I am singing in this photo, which was taken in February:



Can you guess which one is me?

6. My darling grandfather, who I loved to bits, used to illustrate for Enid Blyton. Here is one of his illustrations. I know the Enid Blyton Society would like to know more about the illustrators of her books so I am trying to convince my mother, who doesn't do anything on computers, to get onto the internet and tell them about him.

7. I am scared of knitting. I am frightened by the whole drop~stitches~and~have~to~frog~your~entire~garment scenario. I will overcome this fear. I will.

8. I love the BBC adaption of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South...and I am smitten by the male lead. The story is like Pride and Predjudice, only darker. It is fabulous to crochet along to and highly recommended.

OK. That was fun! I am now tagging picklesticks and createcraft, and anyone else who'd like to join in!

Scallop Wrap

Over the past two days I have been working on a shawl made from this pattern. Here's a progress shot:




Sadly, it looks a lot nicer on the bed than it does on me. It doesn't drape very well (the ends are all ripply) and the lace pattern gets lost when it's wrapped.
Ho hum.
Edited to add: Does anybody have a pattern for a crochet stole, wrap or shawl that they love and would like to share?

Progress Shots and Pattern Sales

Progress on my daisy granny blanket has been slow but enjoyable. I've decided that the centre panel of daisy squares will be small so I am only putting together nine squares before I start the giant granny border. I've used a different colour for each daisy square.

My next step is to block them.

I've also just bought this pattern from a site called Hass Design. There's some beautiful thread crochet available and they're having a sale!

Red Roses

It's been cold, wet and too overcast in the mornings to take photos. The weather's getting finer though so, hopefully, I'll be able to get some good pictures of the progress I've made on the Daisy Granny blanket this weekend. For now, I'm posting some photos that I took in my backgarden in the summer (and a favourite quote.)

With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy. Lope de Vega