Crochet Shawl Heaven

We had a long weekend this weekend, which was rainy, windy and cold, the perfect weather for curling up with a nice hot drink and crocheting. Not that one needs an excuse to crochet!

What's On Our Hooks:

This week I have started a new project. The Florentina Triangle Shawl By Annie Design Crochet, using a colour cake from stash. It is a two-row repeat that is quick to work up and makes a really pretty pattern. I am absolutely loving it, a very relaxing pattern that you don't have to think about.  The colours are so pastel and pretty. Colour changing yarn is quite addictive as you want to keep crocheting to see the next colour change!

Miss C also has a new project, the Tiara Sweater, which is part of the   #makenine2022mal that we are participating in as mentioned here. She is using Mayflower 1 Class Sock yarn from Hobbii in the gorgeous colour Ocean Blue. It is a very interesting pattern with lots of different stitches and a lovely lace pattern starting to emerge. 

Miss C has made some progress on her second Gorse Sweater. It has been put aside since starting a new project, the Tiara Sweater.

After completing the neck on the Desert Irony Poncho I have moved on to the body. The colours are looking beautiful, I like the soft pastels. Upon reflection one of the colours we had chosen to use the Indigo, is too dark and detracts from the other colours. Looking at the basket of yarn now, it is very different from the others. We have decided to omit it and use another softer colour. This has put this project on hold for the moment as I will have to order more yarn.

Finished Objects:

Miss C has completed her first pair of knitted socks, using Mayflower 1 class sock yarn in "Tobacco" for toes, heels and cuffs and Wisdom Yarns Pix in the "Street Art" colourway. She has done an amazing job and has come a long way with her knitting. You can read about her knitting journey here.

Until next week,

Samantha & Miss C xx

Autumn Crochet.

We hope everyone had a lovely Easter. We spent an enjoyable, relaxing long weekend away, catching up with family, that we haven't seen in a long time. The weather is really starting to change with cool crisp Autumn mornings and evenings. In preparation for the cooler weather, we have been crocheting sweaters, gloves, and scarves. 

What's on our hooks:

Miss C made a Gorse Sweater by Eleven Handmade a couple of months ago, as mentioned here. She really loved it and has started making another using Hobbii Tweed Delight - Wisteria Bloom. The colour is absolutely gorgeous. She has only been working on it for a few days and has already made great progress.

Using one of our favourite crochet patterns, the Winter Wishes Scarf we have made significant progress on our current projects. Miss C has almost doubled the size of hers, using Country Naturals 10 ply Toffee. My navy one is almost complete with a tiny bit to go before the keyhole. We went to Lincraft, whilst we were away and purchased some cute buttons to add the finishing touch to our scarves. 

We have also both begun working on our Gelato Gloves by Nancy Said, which we didn't manage to finish for the Love Your Stash CAL. This is a lovely pattern that has very good instructions and is a joy to crochet. We are using leftover yarn, from the Little Stories Cowls to make matching gloves. 

The neck has been started on the Desert Irony Poncho by Crafternoon Treats. I am looking forward to making this using yarn from stash. 

Until next week,

Samantha & Miss C xx

Up North Cardigan Progress.

My Up North Cardigan is progressing really well. It is a very easy crochet pattern and works up so quickly. I think it is the perfect pattern to crochet as a beginner in garment making. I pinned the cardigan together at the shoulders to see how it was looking. I absolutely love it! It is a perfect fit and I am so looking forward to wrapping myself up in the cooler weather. The Bendigo Woollen Mills Bloom 8 ply Marble Statue yarn is looking gorgeous. I have basically finished the main body, one sleeve, and have begun work on the second sleeve.

Even though Miss C has made more complex garments, after seeing mine she has been inspired to make one for herself.  She has the Bloom yarn in Plum which she will be starting soon.

We have both been crocheting more Winter Wishes Scarves. One which is almost complete, using Red Heart Aran Charcoal Print. I love the way the variegated yarn has worked up. The other is in Country Naturals 10 ply Toffee. It is such an enjoyable pattern to crochet with a variety of stitches which creates a very textured scarf.

Miss C has started a pair of Rhinebeck Roomies knitted socks using a pattern by the Crazy Sock Lady. She is using a Fiddlesticks yarn that is now discontinued. She has made the large size using 72 stitches and loves the pattern. The last socks she made were using DPN this time she is using circular needles. Aren't the colours just gorgeous?

In addition to our crochet projects we recently made some journals using scrapbooking paper. They were inspired by our favourite podcaster Kathryn of Crafternoon Treats. A lot of fun was had mixing and matching papers and finding embellishments to complete the covers. We are really pleased with the finished products and looking forward to using them. Although they are almost too pretty to use!

Until next week,

Samantha & Miss C

Sock Extravaganza!

This week Miss C is taking over the blog, with her knitting journey and how she came to start crochet.

I have had many experiences with socks, crochet and knitting, not all of them successful!! Last year, I made a pair of crochet socks for myself, using a free pattern online, with some King Cole Zig Zag sock yarn. I can't remember the colour, however, I think it has been discontinued. I was very pleased with this, and I then decided to crochet socks for my whole family for Christmas.

 I was using the Segue Socks pattern by Deanne Ramsey of Addydae designs, and Happy Sheep Magic Sock Wool as the main colour (Hot 'n Spicy) and Mayflower 1 class sock yarn (Deep Sea) as the toes, heels and cuffs. I was pleased with the finished object, however, they did not fit the recipient. After that, I sort of abandoned that idea, but it was still in the back of my mind.

I watch a lot of podcasts, knitting and crochet, and have been seeing heaps of gorgeous socks and decided that it would be a  great first knitting project! Before I started crocheting a couple of years ago, my Grandma had tried to teach me to knit. It was a simple garter stitch blanket, but somehow, I managed to drop stitches and add them and do all sorts of things, driving my grandma insane. Finally, we decided it was a lost cause, and later, I started to crochet after my mum and grandma went to crochet lessons at the local library. We later became locked down in 2020, developing my love for crochet, like so many others, being stuck at home.

I found some DPN's, which were the wrong size, just to see if I could figure it out. I followed the "Vanilla Socks on DPN's" video tutorial by The Crazy Sock Lady, and miraculously, I managed!! I ordered Knit Pro Zing DPN's in 2.25mm, and have started again with socks for the whole family, and will gift them for Xmas. I have started with my brothers, I used Mayflower 1 class sock yarn in the "Tobacco" colourway for toes, heels and cuffs and Wisdom Yarns Pix in the "Street Art" colourway. I am so pleased with how they have turned out, and they actually fit!!! They are cuff down and I did 72 sts (Large size in Kay's pattern), 5rnds ribbing, 15rnds leg, heel flap and gusset, 8.5inches on the foot and then the toe.

I am super excited that I can now knit socks, and I can't wait to fill our sock drawers!! I ordered some needles so I can try magic loop.

Until next week,

Miss C