Buttons

Ahh its been a busy week. I started back at college which was fun but also means an awful lot of walking everywhere and sorting new stuff out. However I have time to show what I've been doing. Above is a WIP (only one of the buttons shown is actually sewn on) of the orange scarf I've been meaning to decorate for far too long. To be honest that is not what I planned but when what I was planning fell apart and these buttons I bought this morning (for another project) just looked too good to not put on. I need to go buy three more buttons to put onto the other end of the scarf now though. Another long walk...

... Think Calm Thoughts

Sorry no pictures today. I would have the start of a hat to show you but I suddenly found half the stitches hanging off my needles while I was working on it. It was in 2ply wool to be felted so I'm in no mood to cast on 300 stitches again. Quite stressful.

At least I started back at college this morning which I'm quite enthusiastic about. Also I've just had a brain wave about how I'm decorating the orange scarf so maybe that will get done and be up for sale I hope before the end of the week. I really like that I know the way my brain works, I know that if I leave a problem to churn around at the back of my head its bound to sort something out with out me having to do an awful lot.

12% Goat Presents

At last the first birthday present is finished. My sister's birthday is the day before my Mum's so its always a rush getting presents sorted with the start of term looming. This year I'm making two scarves from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Blue (colour 300205 if your interested) Each one is 6 inches wide and 55.5 inches long (which is three full balls). I love crocheted scarves because they look great from both sides and have a lovely texture. This yarn is perfect for both scarves as its gorgeously soft (12% cashmere - hence the goat) and warm and crochet because it has a lovely sheen that picks out each stitch beautifully. I used a uniform pattern of double crochet and triple crochet in alternating rows. Its my favourite combination at the moment.

In other news my orange hat is now for sale. Here is the direct link or feel free to go through the Etsy shop link at the side.

Orange Hat

Pretty Orange Hat!!
It's garter stitch knitted in a round and grafted together at the top for a neat edge. It will be on sale on Etsy in the next few days (I have to figure out how much postage will cost as the postage pricing system here has changed in the last month or so and I haven't really any idea how much anything will cost to send. Oh that's me modeling the hat by the way.

I also ordered cashmere yarn for my Mum's and sister's birthday presents and accidentally ... ordered a ball of 100% bamboo yarn ... Mmmm.

Jolly Hats for Jolly Heads

I really enjoyed using this yarn to make a scarf so I figured a hat would be next. It an exciting battle whether the yarn will run out before I finish. I'll have to buy some more it's great stuff. It seems though that my local wool shop has gone completely now. It's quite sad. The lady who owned it and ran it had to sell out because of illness. Its a real shame.

In other head accessory type news I had my hair cut yesterday. It's quite terrible. Too short to put up but long enough to get in my way and look a mess. Also the girl who cut it asked me if I was still at school. I'm kind of young looking but surely by now I look older than 16?

My Kuk Sool Won (Korean martial art) class has stopped for a few weeks while the lovely lady who teaches us gets married and goes on her honeymoon. However when shes back the class moves from its little hall 5 minutes walk from me to the college about 40 minutes away down a road I don't like walking down alone, (it's full of strange people).

Bug-eyed Monsters

Another unfocused picture... I hate my crappy camera

Anyway, I lined the purse I made the other day. Its done fairly roughly because I'm impatient for it to be finished so I can test it. Even the buttons don't match, but at least their the same size.

Monster's in the Mist

This is my most recent WIP. It's made from some of the yarn I recently ordered that is too coarse for snugly scarves. I wanted to test the strength of this stuff as it seems to look nice and feel like it can put up with a lot of everyday grief. (I apologise for the photo my camera is throwing a wobbler - it needs chucking in the bin.) So this purse is just for me as a prototype. Its going to have a bright pink inner and bi button eyes to fasten it up. It wasn't going to be a monster but I realised the double button holes are great eyes. I think its a sea monster. Roar!

Yarny Yawny

I started this which is going to be a bag. The bag itself was going to be felted in the original design but felting isn't what I want to do right now so its crochet. Its kind of hard to see but the yarn is a deep blue with flecks of cyan and magenta. It was going to be a scarf but it's a bit too rough to be next to the skin which is a shame as it's real pretty. Another yarn I ordered was going to be a scarf but that's too rough as well. Bit of a bummer really I had it all planned out.

Moo Moo Meow Meow

Its generally surprising how life seems to like to throw events at you in such a little amount of time it hardly seems possible.

So since thursday evening till now has been non stop. Firstly Mouse (our landlady's cat) became really ill and we had to contact her friends to get poor little Moo moo to the vet asap. He was throwing up all day then suddenly started yowling telling us he was in pain and he couldn't move about properly. It turned out he had kitty cystitis and couldn't wee because it was all blocked up. He's fine now thankfully. He stayed at the vets till this morning. He was very happy to be home and made us all feel it by making us fuss him no end.


Yesterday morning saw a happier event when my order of wool arrived at the door. I've already made a scarf that after some cute decorations are added will be for sale on Etsy. It's pure wool and has a lovely random texture. (Sorry about the photo the bulb in the studio has gone - quite literally someone has walked off with it!) I want to put an embroidered fabric character of a cute fire demon or something. That would be really sweet.

And then the kitchen sink broke.

And then I burnt my hand really badly draining rice in the utility sink.

And then I found that the good fabric shop I hadn't been to in a while was closing down.

But then all is not lost as my cheerful postlady delivered my new bag from Etsy from a fabulous shop: katrinakaye. I have so far discovered it's fantastic for carrying cheese back from the supermarket. (Which is all I've had the chance to use it for). It was packaged up like a present in tissue paper and tied with a brown ribbon. I'll have to get a picture of it.