Adapting the Sea Glass Shawl

First of all I have to thank you all so much for your wonderful comments about my crocheted poncho. It really made me laugh to think of a 'disappearing poncho' as some of you suggested I must have been wearing in the first photo. The invisibility poncho! Absolutely hilarious. We need a new yarn to be manufactured that would allow the wearer of any garment made using said yarn to disappear.

Anyway, I love it when a pattern can be used for more than one thing. That's why I like crocheted motifs so much.

Remember I crocheted the Sea Glass Shawl from one of the Simply Crochet magazines? Well, I had almost a full ball left of the beautiful Juniper Moon Farm Findley yarn which is 50% extra fine merino wool and 50% mulberry silk. So I decided to make a scarf using the same starfish motifs. I made the scarf using two rows of ten motifs each. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Here it is being blocked using my blocking (dressing) wires.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the scarf after being blocked and before giving it to someone special. I really despair at my stupidity sometimes!

All the best for now. I hope to get reading your blogs again soon and leaving some comments. As seems to be the norm now, I haven't been able to read anyone's blog for a couple of weeks.

Poncho Finito

Well, my poncho is finished and I've been wearing it too. I'm really pleased with how it turned it. The husband and I were going for coffee one Saturday morning recently and I asked him to take a few photos of me wearing my poncho. Here's the first one.

I really don't know what he was thinking of! Anyway, he took a few more and I'm actually in them. See how swollen the Bannn river is; we've had so much rain.

You can look back here, here and here to see some more details about the poncho. It took a lot of work as, if you spread it out, it would be almost as big as a single bed blanket.

The green yarn is from New Lanark Mills and is 90% wool and 10% silk. It smells like real wool should and has a lovely crisp feeling (if you know what I mean!). I was a bit worried that it would be itchy but it's fine. The collar is knit using a full ball of James C Brett Faux Fur in colour H2. That doesn't convey much about the colour, does it? It's a silvery grey with a slight tinge of green.

Ha, ha!! I've just noticed how long my cardigan sleeves look! Actually, it was only because my cardigan was falling off underneath the poncho.

Let me know what you think of my poncho. I hope you like it as much as I do. Sorry about not being able to do much commenting recently. My shoulders and arms are sore so I'm trying to reduce the amount of typing I do. I didn't even realise, for a while, that apart from not having much time, this pain was putting me off using a keyboard except when absolutely necessary.

By the way, have a look back here if you want to read why I say finito.

All the best for now and I hope to get reading and commenting on your blogs soon.

Autumn and Winter Crochet Plans

Thank you all for your comments on my cardigan. I was very pleased to read that almost all of you concur that cardigans are great.

I wonder do you remember me telling you about knitting an Aran coat? I think this was the last of the pictures I posted about it because when it was finished I discovered that it was huge; so huge that there was no way to correct it without ripping out and starting again.

Since then I've been looking at patterns, on and off, to try and decide what to make. Eventually I've decided to make a poncho. On a recent visit to the Avoca Mill in Wicklow (I hope to post about that soon) I saw one that I really like. Coincidentally, I had also seen an item in a recent Inside Crochet magazine giving details about a poncho kit that is to be available soon.

This is it. It looks quite easy to make so I've decided to just try and work out a pattern myself.

Well, sort of. In the same Inside Crochet magazine there's a pattern for this lovely jumper. I'm going to use the cable section in my poncho design. I've already made a start on it! It took a few attempts at understanding how the pattern was worded and should be executed but I've got it sussed now.

It is easier on my hands to make the cables in crochet rather than knitting. Hopefully it works out as I don't want to end up with another disaster!

That's one of the projects I'll be working on this Autumn and probably into the Winter. I also am working on a rug and a blanket with plans for far too many other items.

I'm joining with Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party. Go and have a look at the projects that everyone else will be working on. This is the first link up that I've been involved in so I hope I do it right!

All the best for now. Hope you're enjoying the lovely Autumn weather we're having (or that you're getting lovely Spring weather). I have lots of pictures from when we were away at the beginning of September and again at the end but just don't seem to get time to post them. Maybe soon.

The Sea Glass Shawl Goes to a Wedding

On Friday the 4th of September we headed off early to board the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead. The crossing was very calm and we arrived about lunch time in Wales. We then started our drive across Wales and into England, right down to Bournemouth, on the south coast, where we planned to stay.

The traffic was really heavy so the journey took a long time. We were so hungry when we arrived that we decided to eat in the hotel bar rather than trying to find somewhere in Bournemouth. The food was very nice; we had a sharing platter. The waiter exclaimed that we were the first couple he'd ever come across who managed to finish everything!

On the following day we drove to Salisbury for the wedding of a dear friend. That's him with the white hair in the middle of the picture. And that's his very beautiful bride. The wedding ceremony was really special.

There's my husband all decked out his new suit, shirt, tie and shoes.

After the marriage all the guests drove to a tiny village in the New Forest for a reception to be held in a marquee. We were very fortunate to have some lovely weather that day! The marquee wasn't on a slope; that's just my bad photography.

The marquee was erected in the grounds of a very old church. I'm standing at the side wall in this picture.

 This is it; the sea glass shawl and the rest of the ensemble.

The reception meal was delicious and we got a chance to talk to lots of the guests and some friends. It was all quite a relaxed affair and very enjoyable.

Afterwards we headed back to Bournemouth for a walk along the sea front. A lovely way to end our day.

If you haven't already read about me making the sea glass shawl then have a look here and here.

I'm sorry that time is being squeezed yet again and I haven't had time to comment on your blogs for a while. Hopefully I'll get it done soon. Thanks for reading my blog and leaving your comments. It's the comments that make it all worthwhile. Bye for now.

Sea Glass Shawl Finito

I told you about starting the sea glass shawl a few weeks ago. I crocheted the first two rows of motifs, plus a couple of motifs on the third row, in the car. I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn to finish, so I then brought the shawl into the house to weigh and weigh the remaining yarn. A quick calculation and I was able to determine that I needed to buy another ball of yarn. A bit annoying as it comes in 100g balls! I only needed to use it for three motifs and the edging so I have a lot left over. Never mind, I will use it for something else; maybe a nice lacy scarf.

Anyway, it didn't take long to get all the motifs crocheted and joined. They're actually joined as you go, on the last round. At this point I needed to consult the pattern to see how to work the edging. Now in my first post about starting the shawl, I said that I was using a 3.5 mm hook. And in this post I said that I'd made a mistake and should have been using a 3.25 mm hook. When I consulted the pattern about the edging, I discovered that I had been right all along; it says to use a 3.5 mm hook. It's bad enough to think you've been mistaken but to realise that you've mistakenly thought you were mistaken is a little worrying!

You'd like to see the finished shawl now, I suppose. Here it is before it had the ends sewn in and been blocked.

What a difference blocking makes to lace work especially. It really opens out the design and makes it, well, lacy. This is the dress I'll be wearing with the shawl to the wedding. It has lots of beading at the neck so I didn't do any beading on the shawl.

These pictures were taken this morning when it was nice and sunny. We've actually had some better weather recently. But it is getting cloudy now, we've had a few showers and it's very windy. Hopefully it doesn't knock the power off again. Our power was out for several hours last night even though there was no apparent reason for it.

I'll get more pictures at the wedding so you can see the whole ensemble, shoes and all.

At the stage when I realised that I needed another ball of yarn, I was really temped to add an extra row of motifs to the shawl. I'm very glad that I didn't; it's plenty big enough once it's been blocked.

A close up of one of the starfish motifs.

I always thought that starfish had five legs but it's not uncommon for them to have six. In fact, they've been known to have just about any number of legs up to twenty-three!

Please let me know what you think of my shawl. I love reading your comments. Thanks for them all and a big welcome, too, to my new followers.

If you don't already know, have a look to see why I say finito.

Starting the Sea Glass Shawl

Have you seen the Sea Glass shawl pattern in the Simply Crochet issue 33 magazine? I know Daisy has already started one of these shawls and it is looking really gorgeous so far. You can see hers here.

It just so happens that I've also started crocheting one of these shawls. Well look at it! It's so, so beautiful, who could resist making it?

Fortunately I even have a very good reason for making mine; we're going to a wedding at the beginning of September and this is what I intend to wear with my dress.

Lace weight yarn had to be purchased. I picked the colour to match my new shoes. It was tricky to match the colour as I had to buy the yarn online from the Wool Warehouse. Picture me at a screen, new shoe in hand, trying to match the colour to various yarns. This is what I finally decided was the best match and, now that it has arrived and I can see it in real life, is actually a perfect match. 

It's Juniper Moon Farm Findley yarn which is 50% extra fine merino wool and 50% mulberry silk. It feels so soft. So very, very soft.

The pattern looks difficult but it is easy enough to follow. The shawl is made up of thirty four starfish motifs, joined as you go, arranged in three rows; ten motifs in the top row, nine motifs in the middle row and eight in the bottom row. After the first two starfish motifs I was able to continue without needing to refer to the pattern.

This is the first row complete with two motifs of the middle row also done. The colour isn't quite as dark as this really.

A bit closer so you can see more detail. This is much closer to the true colour.

Actually, as a matter of interest, the colour is called Rappahannock. I have to admit that this meant nothing to me until I checked it out on the internet.The Rappahannock River is in eastern Virginia and traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River. That explains why the name has been used for this shade of blue!

The dress with which I will be wearing the sea glass shawl has a lot of beading at the neckline so I won't be doing any beading on the shawl. When it's finished I'll let you see it (it will improve immensely after being blocked). I'll also let you see the dress and shoes.

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my crocheted top. I've also done a wee cardigan which I'll have to let you see. Work continues on the big blanket!

All the best for now.

Mount Usher Gardens and Finnstown Castle Hotel

Last Thursday and Friday we took ourselves down to Dublin for a wee break. We got a very good deal at the hotel using a scheme run by one of our local supermarkets. Before going to check-in to the hotel we paid a visit to Mount Usher Gardens where we had a nice walk round.

 

We had to cross this bridge over the river. You can see the warning notices that were at both ends of the bridge; no jumping allowed on the bridge! Just walking across the bridge made it bounce so I didn't spend too long on it.

I didn't photograph everything; just a few of the trees and plants that I thought looked unusual.

This cherry tree was blossoming in early December.

We came across this little pet cemetery.

There were quite a few plants flowering. This one was very striking.

After our walk we just had to visit the Avoca Garden Cafe for some refreshments. The carrot cake and coffee were delicious.

We did a bit of shopping though mainly just looking round some lovely shops such as the Avoca shop at Kilmacanogue. Then we headed to our hotel, the Finnstown Castle Hotel, just outside the picturesque village of Lucan, to the west of Dublin. We were very impressed with this place!

There were several peacocks and peahens strutting around the grounds. Sorry it's not a very good picture.

While we were there I took the opportunity to start knitting my Aran coat. The wool is from New Lanark Mill shop; actually 90% wool and 10% silk; the colour is Forest. It's the same yarn I used for my bag (see here and here). My still-hasn't-been-lined-or-got-handles-attached bag! Anyway, back to the coat. I knit the first six rows in garter stitch and then I was supposed to change from 5mm to 5.5mm needles. Arrrghhhh!! I hadn't brought any 5.5mm needles with me. Fortunately I had brought some of the King Cole tinsel yarn and owl pattern with me. So I started an owl. To be honest though, I was totally loaded with the cold and didn't feel much like knitting anything. By the way, since coming home, I accidentally pulled the needle out of what I'd managed to knit of the owl and had to rip it all out. There's no way you can pick up stitches with the tinsel yarn! On the bright side though, I've managed to knit quite a bit of my coat.

On the Friday we drove to the Dundrum Centre where we parked and took the Luas light rail/tram to St. Stephen's Green in Dublin. We wandered round the shops and really enjoyed looking in Brown Thomas especially. Gorgeous but extremely pricey! We ended up in the lovely Powerscourt Centre to have coffee. Oh look. We must have had some biscuit cake as well. You won't believe it, but we were seated right outside a yarn shop for our coffee!! They had needles too, so I bought a pair of 5.5mm wooden ones.

We then returned to Dundrum on the Luas and browsed some of the shops there. Hamleys is a favourite of the husband's. Just a very relaxed day. That evening we had a fantastic four course dinner in the hotel. Free! It was part of the deal we had. The food was really, really good.

So that was our wee pre-Christmas treat. Thoroughly enjoyable. I hope you enjoyed it too. It's great to see I have another few followers and I'm still delighted to read your comments. I've also found some our your lovely blogs to follow too! All the best for now.

Heading South

Hello again. Thanks for all your comments on my last post; it seems you all liked that mischievous donkey. Welcome to some more new followers too.

Before I tell you some more about our recent holiday I have to tell you that I actually won a Giveaway!! I've never won anything before so this was a real surprise. Thanks to Jo, writer of her great blog The Good Life, for sending me a packet of Mini Munch cucumber seeds (together with a lovely wee card).

Well, after spending a week on the Isle of Skye, we headed south to where we were going to stay for the next few days. The scenery driving through Scotland was magnificent.

We stayed in one of the self-catering cottages at New Lanark Mill. It is a great place to stay with plenty to see and do. We were right beside the river and could hear the water making gentle music outside our window.

I went for a bit of a wander about and took a few photos.

The mill complex was huge! I walked along the river to the Clyde Falls. It was very quiet and peaceful.

Walking back towards the mill this was the view I had first down river and then back towards the falls.

There is a lovely shop in the old mill where they sell mostly gift type items but also their own wool. They have DK, Aran and chunky weight in an array of gorgeous colours. Some are 100% wool and the rest are 90% wool with 10% silk. I chose five balls of Aran weight wool with silk.

Their yarns are all very reasonably priced and are also available to buy online.

One of the reasons we stayed in this location was so that I could go to the James Inglis shoe shop in Peebles on the following Monday! I had an appointment to have a fitting and try shoes in the hope of getting something to fit my long, narrow feet. I'm sure I must have tried on fifty pairs of shoes!! That poor sales assistant carried them to me in huge piles. Thankfully I was able to find two pairs to buy. And that's not unusual, apparently; that one would only find two pairs out of fifty that are suitable. It was an experience anyway and I now know what's the best fitting type of shoes to get in future.

I'm busy crocheting and knitting and weaving. My peg loom arrived while I was away on holiday but it has since been unpacked and tried out. I'll let you see how things are coming along in another post.

All the best for now. Make my day and leave a comment!