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A Beanie Affair 2013

19th May, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Cap1

Not long after I moved to the small country town I live in, someone warned me not to scratch my nose in a meeting, or I'd end up on a board of management. Wise words! I idly suggested to a friend in the CWA (that's the formidable Country Women's Association, referred to by one young friend as 'the kwah people' ) that I might enter some hats into their Beanie Affair this year, and before I knew it, I had entry forms, bank details and swing tags in my letter box, and a short deadline to work to. So I had to get knitting.   First up was a good way to save some time: a cap I'd had sitting unfinished for some time in my collection of UFOs. It came from a free pattern I'd made up a few years ago, only to find it was too small on my head to cover the ears nicely. I had a remnant of some lovely dark blue wool and alpaca yarn, that I used to give it a band, and a pink crochet … [Read more...]

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Linda Shawlette – FREE pattern!

13th May, 2013 by 2 Comments
Linda shawl front

  For a friend's birthday, I decided to knit a small shawl - or shawlette - for keeping her shoulders warm in the cold of the country winter. I chose my yarn carefully from Zigo Zago: Classy from Dream in Colour in Cranberry Melt and Crying Dove. It's 70% merino wool, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon, and feels beautifully soft and warm. In my head was a semi circle that had been stretched at the ends, making it more long and narrow. The best way to achieve this was to increase at both ends on every row. The finished shawl used up nearly all of both colours, so it was an efficient use of the yarn, too.   And then I decided to make the pattern available for free! So here it is: Linda Shawlette pattern.   … [Read more...]

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Crochet baby blanket (another FREE pattern!)

6th May, 2011 by 6 Comments
Crochet baby blanket

I've been making something for a friend's imminent baby. Soft, thick and colourful. It's a cotton-viscose, crocheted baby blanket in a rather lovely decorative stitch I'd been wanting to try out. It's called 'shell and cluster'. Which lends itself rather nicely to a contrast stripe: It was reasonably simple to make, so I thought I'd share the pattern. As before, you have the choice of UK/Australian or US crochet terminology. Click on the one you prefer. Marlon baby blanket-UK Marlon baby blanket-US A quick update: I delivered the blanket to the baby-mama just in time; she went into labour while I was there! (Must have liked the blanket so much she wanted to start using it straight away.) A beautiful boy arrived at 1.45 am that night. Congratulations to Misty and Mike. … [Read more...]

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FREE LACE SCARF PATTERN!

25th March, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Ruffle lace scarf

Hurrah! I've finally finished writing the pattern for the crochet Ruffle Lace Scarf. It took a while because I decided to do two versions: one using British/Australian terminology and symbols, and one with those used in the USA. It always annoys me that when I download a pattern from what is sometimes known around the house as the Intertron (sometimes it's the Webernet), I often have no idea which it is, and it can take some sleuthing to work it out. So with my crochet patterns, whatever you are used to, you can choose the one you prefer. It coils up flat like this, if you're the kind of person who wants to spend the time doing it. (Time waster? moi?) Download the UK/Australian version here: the Craftorialist Ruffle Lace Scarf - UK version Download the US version here: the Craftorialist Ruffle Lace Scarf - US version … [Read more...]

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Leah’s socks

4th March, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Leah's socks

Some time ago, I was chatting online with Jessica, who lives in Ireland, about her daughter Leah's first few weeks in school. The conversation went something like this: me: How is Leah enjoying school? Jessica: Grand, but she doesn't like the muddy conditions. I haven't the heart to tell her it will be like that until April. me: You might want to break it to Leah that she's Irish. Jessica: She doesn't like potatoes either. me: What about whiskey? Jessica: She likes it :-) We went on to discuss a photo of Leah wearing a spacesuit. Jessica: It's the only acceptable form of trousers (in her mind). Her usual mode is girly girly, wearing skirt and tights. She is in this pic, but she put the spacesuit over them. me: What about leggings? You can wear a skirt over those. Jessica: Leggings? Nope—I suggested them yesterday, but she said no because she doesn't want to have to … [Read more...]

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A star is born: Ergool (1 ball project)

21st February, 2011 by 2 Comments
Hills & valleys

Remember this mysterious object? Now that it's safely in the chubby little hands of its four-month-old recipient, I can reveal its true nature, and name. Young Alby, to whom it now belongs, was asked what he wanted to call it, and his (considered, I'm sure) response was 'Ergool'. Ergool is a 12-pointed 3D star, with internal bell. The yarn used was Adriafil Knitcol, 100% washable merino wool. I love the variegated colours, especially the orange/white combination, a hue I like to think of as 'prawn'. (I'd love to be able to get whole balls just in the prawn colour.)  The crochet pattern for Ergool is here. The bell was my own addition, and a bit tricky: just putting a bell into the middle of the stuffing doesn't make for a nice sound at all. Too muffled. I had to engage the engineering part of my brain to come up with the solution. First, I had to buy one of … [Read more...]

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Alpaca ruffle scarf

6th December, 2010 by 4 Comments
Crochet beginnings

My family has sensibly dispensed with the obscenity of showering one another with Christmas presents that nobody needs. We do a 'Secret Santa', or 'Kris Kringle'. One person organises (via names in a hat, plus a little judicious tweaking) who gives a gift to whom. Every person buys one present, every person gets one present. Nobody spends more than $50. I like it. People are really thoughtful about the gift they do give, and the conspicuous consumption is kept to a minimum. I've decided to make mine this year. (Again.) Fortunately, I've scored just the right person in the draw. I have some beautiful Anny Blatt alpaca yarn in two soft blues, which will be lovely, warm and soft. I'm using this Lion Brand pattern as a starting point, but my yarn is much finer than the one they have used, so I'll have to make many more stitches and rows. Here's a picture, in case you're not a … [Read more...]

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