Fabulousness

My word for the day is Fabulous...

And with these little smashers it is hard not to smile, whatever the weather.



Aren't they fabulous.

I must 'fess up here and admit that I didn't buy them, but rather I won them on a facebook competition on the YHA website.

But they are so amazingly comfortable that I may well buy more pairs in the future.

Normal service is resumed

A bit of knitting to share with you today - the crochet blocks being on the back burner for the time being.

With Christmas rapidly approaching and no sign of the missing yarn I have on order to finish mum's sweater I decided that a Plan B might be a good idea in case it doesn't turn up in time. I have no desire to be blocking the thing with a hairdryer on Christmas Eve, and I can always re-purpose it as a Mothers Day gift later.

Sometimes you see a pattern that you want to cast on immediately and this one did it for me. The Crosswords at the Coffee Shop Shawlette was designed by the very talented Karrie of the KnitPurlGurl podcast who tragically passed away very recently. A KAL was being held in her honour over on Ravelry and it seemed like the ideal way to join in the celebration of her life, as well as mourn her passing.




Using just 1.5 skeins of Cascade 220, this little shawl/shawlette knit up in a few evenings and it is perfect for my petite mum. Large shawls and scarves can swamp her but this is perfect to just drape across her shoulders or to wrap once around her neck for a cosy scarf.

I haven't knit much lace with heavier weight yarns before this, but I can certainly see the attraction. A very quick and satisfying knit - so much so that I'm tempted to make one for myself. Next time around I might just start off with a few rows of garter stitch to prevent the predictable curling that occurs at the bottom of the lace section, but otherwise, this is perfect.

Bitten by the bug

Yes, I know that I should be industriously working my way through a pile of Christmas gift knitting, and that I still have two sleeves to go of a sweater for mum, but some chance wandering around the web lead me to this rather wonderful group: SIBOL (International Sunshine Blankets of Love).

Am amazing and inspiring bunch of crafters who create lovely crocheted and knitting squares to be sewn into blankets and given to elderly residents of care homes, some of whom have little outside contact and few friends and family to provide comfort. I must admit that I was rather touched and more than a little motivated to browse their patterns and lovely, friendly ravelry group.

Next thing I knew, I had a crochet hook in hand, and guided by this fabuluous tutorial and I was cranking out Granny Squares like nobodies business,




I must admit to feeling rather pleased with myself. My previous attemtps at crochet have not been without their problems and although I have done a simple Ripple Blanket before - a la Lucy of Attic 24 fame, my previous Granny Squares have been decidedly mis-shapen and often, not very square which is a bit of a problem when making a blanket.

But this time, something clicked and I was away...

Now I really must get on with the Christmas knitting!