Extreme Knitting Redhead: Catching up!

Monday, February 8, 2016

Catching up!

I didn't have a marathon last weekend so Mike suggested I have a weekend of 'crafting'. Of course, by the time I'd caught up with everyday chores the time available shrank considerably but I still managed some odds and ends.

I crocheted these grannies last week using oddments of DK wool and wanted to see how well they would felt in the washing machine. Not as well as I expected actually so I might give them another go in a hotter wash. I'm looking for a firmer fabric to make into a cover for my sewing machine as the existing one is looking a bit tatty.

Mike's mittens have been causing me consternation as the small needles I was using made the stitches really difficult. It's a pattern using twisted, or Bavarian stitches, which is basically cables without using a needle and it's quite absorbing but hard on my fingers with the small needles so I decided to rip back and start again using slightly larger needles. Hey ho!

This is the most accurate colour

These mittens have turned into a Sisyphian task!

I managed to do a bit more of my Craftsy class on Crazy Patchwork and my mind is full of ideas. I like to listen to the whole course before doing anything so I've got a couple more modules and then I shall start on the coursework. In the meantime I've been rummaging around in my fabric collection which was great fun.

I also rooted out some old crochet doilies and linens which could be incorporated into the final design. I have loads of buttons, beads and trimmings I could add quite apart from the embroidery possibilities. I do love planning a project! I love the idea of re-purposing things rather than just discarding them - we live in a throw-away society which hoarders like me find very strange.

Old doilies and mats to be cut up and used as decoration

These are old mats I had on my dressing table when I was a child. I don't know how old I was when I embroidered them - the blanket stitch on the edges looks a bit wonky in places!

There have of course been plenty of training runs during the last week and on the days when it wasn't raining, which were few and far between, I've been taking photos for my Fair Isle cowl project. I won't be starting this until late Spring but I'll soon have enough images to make a start at the sketching/plotting stage.

The twigginess of this un-trimmed hedge interested me, as did the carpet of rusty-coloured leaves

These tractor tyre tracks made a nice pattern

It was the reflection that caught my eye here as I've been looking for something for the mid-point on the cowl and I like the idea of a transition using an upside-down image such as this.

I'll end with a photo of another of my Amaryllis flowers. This one is 'Charisma' and is very pretty:

Starting this weekend, the next few weeks are going to be rather testing on the running front as I've got lots of marathons and ultras building towards my 50 miler in April. Wish me luck!

2 comments:

Lowcarb team member said...: Susie - I'll start by wishing you luck!

Then I'll go on to say seeing your 'old mats I had on my dressing table when I was a child', brought back memories of similar ones I had too, alas long since gone.

That Amaryllis is very pretty.

Hope the week is going well for you. Have a good weekend.

All the best Jan; February 10, 2016 at 3:14:00 PM PST
Susie Hewer said...: Thanks for the good luck wishes Jan, this month looks very scary on my wall planner!

I've still got loads of old doilies, tray cloths etc that I find hard to part with. Some of them I've used in patchwork projects already and I've decided now that I really must use them up somehow rather than leave them in a drawer.

Susie x; February 11, 2016 at 12:42:00 AM PST

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Mum's Story

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