New projects and Wips’

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blanket, bunny, crochet, crochet bag, crochet bags, crocheting, cross stitch, cross stitches, cross stitching, embroidery, floppy bunny, hand crochet, hand crocheted, hand stitched, handknitting, handmade, kitchen cloths, knitted blanket, knitted squares, pure cotton, stitches, Stitching

So it is already July and the middle of the year.

And with that, a lot of new small projects and new wip’s that have found their way onto my needles and hooks.

The blanket square pattern are now settled.  I am happy with the look of the pattern and will continue to knit these squares until I have used all the yarn and have enough squares for a blanket.  🙂  It is a large project that may take a bit, but in the end I will have a pretty big and cozy blanket.

Blanket squares

Then I started with some crochet.  🙂  I had been in the mood to crochet something, and small projects like these crocheted bags were just what I needed to feel very happy with taking out my hooks again.

I made a small cotton bag, and this local cotton works so well.  It is lovely and sturdy and feels good on your hands.

Crochet bag in blue

Crochet bag in blue

Crochet bag in blue

Then I also crocheted a bamboo bag.  I love bamboo yarn to crochet with, it is very smooth and easy to work with.  I added a pretty daisy that I got from a swap buddy last year.  It really adds to the bag, and makes it super cheerful.

Yellow crochet bag

Yellow crochet bag

Yellow crochet bag

Still working with cotton, I am making a small pile of cotton kitchen cloths.  This is the first one, with a few more to follow.

for the kitchen

And thanks to all the beautiful embroidery work of so many, I could no longer keep myself in check.  I have started a cross stitch project.  I am not sure yet if I will be framing it, or using it as a tea cloth or a centrepiece for something larger.  But I love the variegated floss I got and am working on this when the light is good.  (old eyes you know 🙂 )

a bit of embroidery

Also lurking in the background is this floppy bunny.  I have cut the white fur.  🙂  and had bits of white fur and fluff all over the table and workplace in the end.  I still have to cut the grey fur, which is about twice as much.  🙂  but am still working up the courage to cut into this fluffy fur again.  It is gorgeously soft and will sew up beautifully I think.

Fluffy floppy bunny

It is of course mid winter here in Johannesburg, so lots of time to relax and craft and enjoy a sunny cozy spot in the sun.

Happy crafting all.

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New Blanket in the making

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blanket, hand knitting, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, knit, knitted, Knitting, knitting blanket, squares blanket

About a year ago, or maybe even longer, I was working on this blanket, but I was really not making much progress.  The pattern I was using was not easy to follow, and you had to concentrate and count mostly all the time.  I also attempted to knit the whole blanket all in one.

After a while of not getting anywhere with it, I frogged it and put the yarn to one side.  The intention to still make a blanket from it was still there.

So finally I have started this rather ambitious project again.  🙂 This time I will rather knit big squares, that I can work on any time, and hopefully over a period of time, I will knit all the yarn that I have set out for this.  Then I can just join it and have a blanket.

After a few attempts at working on a square that I would like, and would be able to pick up and put down, I think this one is the one that I really like and enjoy.

 

Blanket Square

 

 

 

Winter is here ….

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bear, bears, blanket, crochet, crochet blanket, crocheting, handmade bear, Handmade Bears, Johannesburg, johannesburg mornings, johannesburg weather, Mini Bears, miniature bear, misty, vintage look bear, winter, winter is here

Winter is here,

Friday morning started off very cold, and very misty.  The mist burned off when the sun came out, but it remained a typical winters day here in Johannesburg.

Misty mornings

That of course, meant a cold and wintery weekend.  And lots of time for crafting.  🙂  Yay.

I finished the crochet blanket I was working on.  Miekie loved the idea and could not snuggle under it soon enough.  I used a very plain stitch and pattern and it went amazingly quick.  I love this yarn and colour, “woodpecker” colour says the label.  It works well and fast.

Woodpecker Blanket

Woodpecker Blanket

And Old Ned, the little green and red bear, also got done.  He turned out so cute, and the perfect little friend for Old Blu that I did a while back.  I really like the fur with the two colours.

Old Ned

Old Ned

It is a chilly Monday here and this morning was a mere 3 degrees C but it warmed up again to a nice winters day.

Happy crafting all.

Time for some finished projects

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bag, bags, blanket, crochet, crochet bag, crochet bags, crochet blanket, crocheting, dog, dog bandanna, dog cowl, doggie, handdyed, handknitsocks, handknitted, handkntting, handmade, Little black Dog, nanhua temple, roadtrip, roadtrips, socks, yarn, yarns

It has been a very good and progressive couple of weeks.  The cooler weather has finally arrived, and it meant more time for crafting and relaxing.

Plus we have had some lovely long weekends to enjoy, and I made very good use of all the extra days.

I took a long road trip to visit the Nan Hua Temple.  It is an absolutely beautiful place to visit, and I spent the day there and enjoyed a beautiful vegetarian lunch.  I find it very peaceful and tranquil.

Temple Entrance

 

Nan Hua

Nan Hua

I crocheted a new bag that I could use the funky cheeky piece of fabric I had.  This time the fit was perfect, and I even inserted a zipper.

Crochet Bag

Crochet Bag Lining and zipper

Off my needles is my first pair of socks for the winter.  I tried a little something new / different on the heels, but I may need to practice a bit more.

Socks

The left over sock yarn became a cowl and bandanna for Miekie.  She seems happy with the new goodies.

Miekie New Cowl

Miekie New Bandanna

Do you remember this yarn I got from my daughter?  🙂  I decided to make a crocheted blanket.  The colourway is called Woodpecker, and I am calling this my “woodpecker” blanket.  The colours does remind me very much of a little woodpecker bird.

New Crochet Blanket

Happy crafting all.

So much time to craft!

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100% merino, bear, bears, blanket, cowl, crochet blanket, crocheting, granny squares, granny squares blanket, greenteatipple, hand crochet, hand knitted, handmade, Handmade Bears, Knitting, mock cable cowl, scheepjes, Scheepjes Whirl, scheepjes yarn, Shawl, stormy day shawl, stormydayshawl, triangular shawl, turkish yarn

With winter recess and taking a break from work and the office, it is just amazing how much time you have to relax in the winter sun and enjoy the weather and craft.

I took my usual winter break, and was making the most of the weather, sunny days, and time to finish some projects.

After months of patiently waiting, Becky Bear finally got stitched.  All the parts are now sewn together, and I can put some stuffing into the parts and put her together.  The fur I was gifted by my sister, is lovely.  I am loving the look of Becky and am very happy with her.  She should be a happy little girl soon.  🙂

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

Becky Bear

My quick knit of a mock cabled cowl in 100% Turkish Wool and Scheepjes Secret Garden Yarn was really quick and easy to knit.  This stitch was one of my Mom’s favourites, and she used it often in her projects.  I knitted the cowl open, and added some pearly buttons.  This makes it more versatile and I can wear it in different ways. I even had enough yarn to include a pair of fingerless mittens.

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Cowl

Cabled Cowl

My pride of course is this Stormy Day Shawl.  I can not get enough of this colour, and the finished edge is rich and dark.  The Scheepjes Whirl yarn is stunning, and this is only one to the amazing colour combinations for this Shawl.  I used GreenTeaTipple.

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

Stormy Day Shawl

And I have a small crochet project going, a smaller blanket for a small family member.  I have started on the granny squares, and are just keeping it plain and simple so she can have it for the winter to keep warm when out and about.

Another Blanket

Another Blanket

Another Blanket

And in preparation for the all to soon summer, I decided that these two little cloths needs a pretty edge to brighten my kitchen.

Crochet edges

Crochet edges

Crochet edges

Great timing

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blanket, crochet blanket, crocheting, granny squares, granny squares blanket, Johannesburg, Johannesburg sunset, love jozi, progress, stratus wrap, sunset, winter, winterwrap, wip, Wrap

Saturday morning dawned with with clouds and cooler weather.  But the end of the day surprised us with this stunning view.  The clouds reminded me of an oil painting.  This is the view from my kitchen, and I used no filters and no touch ups.

Sunset

My Granny Square blanket now has a border, and just in time for the more chilly weather that rolled in on Saturday.  Even though the days are still pretty awesome, and gets warm enough to get by with just a light sweater, the mornings and evenings are now chilly enough for something warmer.

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

And with that said, I am very happy with the progress on my Stratus Wrap.  It is going to be a nice big and warm wrap and I can already tell that it is going to be with me wherever I go this winter.

Stratus Wrap

Happy Crafting!

A quick update before a very long weekend. :)

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blanket, crochet, crochet blanket, crocheting, granny squares, granny squares blanket, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, Johannesburg, Johannesburg sunset, knit, Knitting, love jozi, Shawl, stratus wrap, triangular, triangular shawl, Wrap

With the Easter weekend, I have been able to craft a bit on my WIPs’ and I am so happy with the Granny Square blanket that I am making.  The blanket squares have all been joined, and I am working on a border.  The border may take a bit longer, as I have decided to just keep going at it with the colours and wool I have for this project until I run out.

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

Granny Square Blanket

My Tanis Triangular Shawl is complete.  It blocked beautifully, and I would recommend this easy to knit shawl to anyone.  I am considering knitting a second one, and doing the large lace border, as I stopped after a short piece of the lace border, and although I love this shawl, I think another one is definitely a must knit.

Completed – Tanis Triangular Shawl

Completed – Tanis Triangular Shawl

Completed – Tanis Triangular Shawl

I also started on a Stratus Wrap for myself.  This is a great pattern, and it is so easy and knits up so fast.  I am able to take it with me, and during the Easter weekend my sister and I enjoyed a good lot of knitting while the men in the family tended to the fire and a typical South African braai.  It will probably become a bit to big to carry around for much longer, but I have yarn and ideas for the next projects ready as well.  I added a spot of colour to the stratus wrap, specially since our Johannesburg sunsets are just so beautiful and you can not resist the evenings and the fiery colours.

The Stratus Wrap

The Stratus Wrap

The Stratus Wrap

Johannesburg Sunsets

I am working on a small embroidery piece and unfortunately the grey rainy chilly weather on the weekend was not so good for getting good pictures, it was a good time to hibernate with tea and stitching.  I will hopefully be able to show my embroidery soon.

It is a very short week for me, only 2 working days and a day workshop (work not craft related) and then a 5 day weekend.  LOL.  Yes I am ready for the long weekend here, and have loads and loads of projects and ideas to keep me busy, regardless of what the weather is bringing this time of the year.  It has started to become cooler, and some trees have now started to turn colour and drop leaves.  It is beautiful and I am so happy to have Winter coming to visit.

Take care and enjoy the new week.

WIP’s – Making good progress

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blanket, blocking, crochet blanket, crocheting, granny squares, granny squares blanket, handcrochet, handknitted, handmade, Knitting, lace knitting, lace shawl, on my needles, Shawl

Even though it should be Fall here, it is still stunning weather, with warm and sunny days.  The weekend was perfect, and being outside and enjoying the sunny weather was delightful.

I did however work a lot on the Blues Blanket, and completed the final round, in a pretty grey colour “Fog”.  And as it should happen, I ran out of yarn, less than 3 squares to go.  Lucky for me the LYS has stock, and I need to drop by for a bit more.

Blues Blanket Square progress

Ran out of yarn

Ran out of yarn

 

But that gave me time to finish my Tanis Triangular shawl.  I did stop the lacy edge shorter than the pattern, and I am still very pleased with it.  It is already blocking.  I may have to wait a bit before wearing it, as Fall is not really here yet.  Today is a stunning 30 degrees Celsius here, very hot still.

Tanis Triangular Shawl – Now blocking

Tanis Triangular Shawl – Now blocking

Tanis Triangular Shawl – Now blocking

I may just knit another one of these, with the bigger lace edge, it is an absolutely stunning pattern, and it knits so extremely quickly and easily.

A busy crafty weekend

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bear, bear fur, bears, birgit freyer, blanket, ceramic, ceramics, crochet blanket, granny squares, granny squares blanket, handknit, handknitted, handknitting, handmade, Handmade Bears, hartlam, hartlam yarns, Knitting, magazines, mongoose, Shawl, shetlace yarn, travel, undercoverotter, visits, weekend, yarn, yarncakes, yarns

It has been a lovely and busy crafty long weekend, and I am extremely happy with the time I could enjoy at home and out and about, still enjoying the last warm weather, as Fall has not arrived just yet and the days are still warm and so comfortable to be outside.  While visiting a friend in the countryside, these two came to visit and loved the fruits we shared with them.

Mother and Baby

 

Of course, I made the most of the time and cakes some yarns, cut the fabulous fur that I got from my sister for my next bear project and knitted on my Tanis Triangular Shawl.  The bear is slightly bigger than those I usually make, and I am so loving this fur.  My shawl is growing so fast, I am already at the lacy edge.

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

New Yarn

Becky Bear

Blue Shawl Progress

 

Sitting still and knitting and crafting was not all I did.  Having bought pretty little ceramic pieces and tiles over the last few months, it was time to get these into good use. A colleague (who knows me way to well) gave me two precious little wooden boxes, and I decorated them for use in my guest room / craft corner.  And as I love drinking tea, I made a stand for my teapot and another for my mugs.  (the last one still needs to dry a little longer before I dust off the grout)

Storage Boxes

Storage Boxes

Ceramics

 

And all my magazines got sorted and stored properly.  This little shelf is a self assembly project, and took a little work, but the holes were all pre-drilled and it was not to difficult in the end, with a little help of course.

Storage of Magazines

 

The granny square blanket is my daughter’s blanket, made for her more than twenty plus years ago, by my Grandmother, my daughters’ great-grandmother.  It is still in use and now have a precious place in my reading corner, along with my little porcelain doll that is more than 30 years old already.

Happy 2017 to all!

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bear, bears, blanket, fall sweater, Frogged, handmade, handmade bear, knitting blanket, miniature bear, moss and diamond blanket, Rowan summer tweed, Summer Tweed, sweater, vintage, vintage look, vintage look bear

Happy 2017 to you all.

It has already been a pretty busy year, with 2016 WIP’s now being completed firstly before I allow any new WIP’s to make their way onto my needles and hooks.

The first one out the door for 2017 is Wilhelmina.  She is a cute vintage looking little green bear, and I am happy that I finished her during the holidays and she gets her special place now.

Handmade little vintage look bear

Handmade little vintage look bear

Handmade little vintage look bear

Handmade little vintage look bear

Then my green Rowan Summer Tweed Sweater.  We have had a very rainy weekend, and I took great advantage of it and worked on this sweater.  The drape is lovely, but I did not get good or proper tension on the yarn at all.  I don’t think this is a yarn I would use again, definitely not for a knitted item.  I’ve done the hems and even added the buttons.  It just needs the collar and then it is done.  I can still wear it in the Fall days, when we have the odd cold day.

Summer Tweed Sweater in Green Rowan

Summer Tweed Sweater in Green Rowan

Summer Tweed Sweater in Green Rowan

Summer Tweed Sweater in Green Rowan

And then on 1 Jan 2017 I made the decision to Frog!  Yes, I actually frogged this blanket I was working on.  It has now been nearly 18 months in progress, and despite the fact that I love this pattern, it is not going anywhere, at least not fast enough.  It will still be a blanket, and I hope to restart it in a pattern that I will knit up faster, and who knows, maybe even have a blanket pretty soon.

Blanket Frogged 😦

Blanket Frogged 😦

All the best to you all for 2017.