Wednesday 21 January 2009

Birthday Pansies

Well, it seems I can't stay away from my blog for long! I wanted to take advantage of a sunny day and take some photos - we seem to have been living in a semi-permanent state of twilight here lately.

You've seen this doily pattern before, but now I've made one with pink pansies for my daughter, whose birthday was last week. She was apparently 25! Can that be right? Surely it was only the other day that I was 25 myself?

This is the third time I've made the pansy doily and I'm still not sick of it, LOL.
There are so many different colour schemes it can be done in.

The pansy pincushion is a few years old and is from an old Need'l Love pattern.
Edit: The doily pattern can be found here.

Thursday 8 January 2009

New Year, New Blanket

During the strange timewarp that is Christmas and New Year, I managed to get my blanket finished. I crocheted the squares together with dc (or sc if you're in the US). With this method of joining, the seam becomes part of the design.
I added a narrow stripe of green around the edge to add a bit of definition. I think I could have put fewer green stitches at the corners, but what the heck, it's done now.

Then I made miles of lacy edging and sewed it in place, gathering and easing it at the corners. If you're interested in the edging pattern, it's from Leisure Arts 2876, 99 Edgings. I used pattern no. 13 which I modified slightly. It was worked the short way and was quicker than you might think, as it's only a 2-row repeat which is easily memorised.

I wanted to use the yellow because I already had several balls of it. Would you believe the joining alone took almost a whole 100 gram ball of yarn!
The square motif is from 101 Granny Squares, published by Annie's Attic.

The whole thing is about 42 x 48 inches. The yarns are a mixture of different brands of standard dk weight, most of which I already had in my stash. The only thing I had to buy more of was the off-white.
I enjoyed making it and I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. To me it looks fresh, sunny and springlike.
I like the way that if you take elements from different sources and put them together in your own way, you can finish up with a unique, individual piece.


Well, after 2 years of blogging I think the time has come for a pause. If you have regularly read my blog, I want you to know how much I appreciate your interest in my creative efforts. I will be posting more occasionally in the future, but for now I wish you a very happy although belated New Year.
Knot Garden