My Giddy Aunt!

Well Saturday was a corker of a spring day here in Bedfordshire, not that HH and I got a chance to potter in the garden.

That will teach me for doing a google search aye!

Its like this. HH and I have been batting off these pesky little moths in the living room of an evening. You know the wee suicidal sort who flutter around the light then swoop down and DINK bang into the side of your head. We had turned it into quite a sport, HH was winning on the score front, I’m a shocking shot especially giving I was once a demon netball player!

By pure chance on Friday I spotted a hole in one of my soft furnishings. This went with me to bed, in my dreams and almost my first thought as I woke! Hence, the google search. To be exact “fabric eating moths”. BINGO, well bingo in a bad way not the yipee I’ve won bingo way 😉 Up popped picture of said critters that HH and I have been practising our swing arms on! DANGIT! How bad was this going to be?

We stood and looked down our lovely garden that we had planned to spend the day in, getting her ready for a fruitful, blooming summer. HH made the sensible suggestion of a reconisence mission in the living room.

Armed with our super, duper Wertheim vacuum HH went in ahead of me (he’s a brave man). Well it’s a jolly good job he did go in first, on moving speakers and stereo I heard the words you don’t want to hear when you have a pure wool carpet.

“Think they’ve been busy darling”. Nooooooooo, ran in to see hundreds of spent larvea shells.

We threw open the patio doors and proceeded to remove the contents of the living room.

My job was to inspect and clean every item before said item would be passported back into living room. HH armed with Wertheim went to work. My giddy aunt, there were hundreds of these shells. Some spent, others live AND OMG a hole in  my carpet. Not a big one and not in a visible place but we know it’s there.

Hours and hours were spent on this mission, end result most satisfying. A fully de-mothed living room. Lavender on it’s way for me to make sachets. Apparently they hate the smell and next is the wardrobes. Keep your fingers crossed for us dear reader that the little blighters didn’t bother going any further given my lush pure wool living room carpet!

Give your drawers (wooden storage type) an inspection, be sure you haven’t had the same uninvited winter visitors. I have my fingers crossed for you 🙂

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Slack Alice Returns ……

Usual dramas ensue in my home which has kept me away from my blog for longer than I would have wanted BUT a few tales to tell of my continuing creative journey to becoming either a domestic goddess OR next Richard Branson of the sewing world!

At this point may I suggest you don’t hold your breath on either 😉

As an enduring agoraphobic my rare jaunts out into the real world are carefully crafted and dictated by lists so I don’t forget anything in my haste to get home. It really does help if one remembers to take said list with one! Hence, I have gaffed and faffed about for about 2 weeks now but finally got sewing machine to the shop for servicing and a dark red acrylic yarn I have been hankering for so that I could practice some crochet stitches. I consider myself a novice in this area albeit a keen one!

In my head it was set, fingerless mitts. New, bamboo crochet hooks at the ready …. Dear reader you know all too well how frequently I don’t have the right size needle or hook. Rectified, a whole selection are now in my possession. Lack of vital list led to a GAWJUS coloured yarn being purchased, only on return home did it dawn I needed DK or simply soft not chunky. Well hey ho! How much can that matter ….. Becoming a bit of a theme that there saying.

DD2 had been my companion on shopping trip and although 19 I clearly am still the bank of mum ….. Bright yellow yarn also purchased, one of her fav colours, but more of the yellow yarn road another time.

I found amongst the MANY free online crochet patterns, one for mitts that came real close to what I had in my head so I extend thanks to Julee A Reeves for the inspiration the pattern gave and although a novice I have had a punt at jigging it about for my short, shall we say robust (chunky) hands PLUS of course the faux pas with yarn. All in all I am pretty happy with the outcome. You will see from the pictures that one is slightly more ‘baggy’ at the fingers where I added in some newly learnt shells. I rectified (almost) on the second hand but this pattern goes together so fantastically quickly in a chunky I will make more but on a smaller hook. This time I used a 6mm but I will drop a whole size to a 5mm for the next ones as I now know what EVERYONE is getting for Christmas 🙂 and my friends all have more slender hands that I !

With my chunky yarn and size 6mm hook I cast a chain of 29, it seemed from original pattern an odd number was required. Then jumped straight in on the pattern with my own amendments as

Hope my pictures help make some sense of my first pattern attempt. Initial problems with the first mitt I tried to iron out with some slight amendments. Nearly there!

Base of V visible enough to easily count how many rows you have done

Slightly different as my work in progress … My right hand is the second to be made and a MUCH better fit

Not doing the colour justice but am thinking of trimming with a couple of pretty buttons

Either way, a great pattern. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Cast 29 chain (V stitch dc, ch1, dc)
dc into 6th ch from hook.
ch1, dc into the same space as previous dc. *skip 2ch, V stitch into next ch. repeat from * to end. ch3 and turn work.

Row 2 to end
V into each ch1 space across (i identified this as being the top centre of each V stitch on previous row thus keeping all V’s in a neat line).

Please note, at the end of every even row I finish on a V, at the end of every odd row I end with a dc only.

For me I needed to work 14 rows and found it easy to count the rows as the base of each V is so visible.

Having looked at the web last night I now consider myself a shell stitch expert (sort of) so was keen to trim with shell.

ch1, sc into 2nd ch then create shell in a multiple of 6 dc into the space presenting at the top of a V stitch, skip 1ch, sc into next …….. Repeat to end.

My initial math did not work out so on the second mitt I worked by eye and it came out so much better, I finished up with 4 complete shells this time.

Finishing was super easy as I sew …. Yee ha! There is something I do with some competence 😉

Right side together, whip stitch with yarn and darning needle remembering to leave an opening for your thumb. This opening will vary depending on the size of your hands of course. Tie off, darn loose end into work and voila! Time to turn through to reveal the finished item!

Not a perfect pattern yet but as I am a real novice I feel sure any beginner could make a darn good go of it!

A quick Christmas shout out before the closet that must not be opened is opened by muggin’s here tomorrow for the sort out of the century.

Rachel you’ve been a doll, with all my craziness this year you have stood firmly by my side, thank you. Dellis…. Well who would have thought a cyber space friendship could be a real thing!!?? IT IS and I am so blessed to have ‘met’ you this year, thank you too for your kindness, guidance and support.

Merry Christmas to all and for your delight and delectation here is my christmas tree offering for 2013 ……. It near on resulted in the men with the special white jacket coming to collect me but victory was mine in the end ….. Only with the intervention of HH and DD2, nevertheless its up with strict instructions to all who enter. DO NOT TOUCH THE TREE!

The tree that nearly finished me!

Best Laid Plans …

Go to waste!

So much for the Oh Yes! I’m making a tunic top next…… ha ha! Life has an uncanny way of getting in the way don ‘t you find? In a bid to avoid a non creative day, what with my post flu lethargy being pushed aside with some mojo for the creatives i found a simple crochet pattern on the internet for a beenie hat. DD2 fancied one as she is really feeling the cold having only recently returned from Aruba after an 8 week adventure, making interesting and fun international friends ….. My little loon even did a sky dive with Aruba Sky Dive!

Surprise I digress AGAIN!

Crochet beenie, had the right size hook, there’s one better than the knitting aye? Wool, mmmmm a bit too chunky but how much difference can that make? I know ….. A LOT. Undeterred, with gusto I threw myself at the task. Never hving done a hat before it was all a bit perplexing and a little exciting 🙂

The baby blue yarn (looks grey in pictures) took shape very quickly on such a large hook and before I knew it I had a hat. HOORAH. The chunky wool however gave me a somewhat baggier beenie so some rapid creative thought processing, I added in a couple of extra rows for length, threaded fine elastic around the base and made a bobble. Attached bobble so it dangles a bit, whipped my hair brush through said bobble to make it fluffy and hey presto a hat that DD2 is delighted with.

At this point I would like to say if you think her varied ways of wearing one hat and unique modelling is funny or cute then she is my daughter. If however you think she is a few sandwiches short of a picnic then she is my Husbands !!!!

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Knit Whit, Twit ……..

Here’s the real deal

And other rhyming derivatives.

Do you recall my advising just a few days ago that I can’t really knit?

Well for you delight and delectation here is the living proof!!!!!  Dear one Rachel and I spent the day together yesterday, amongst the many topics of the day was knitting. Among my stash of all things creative was a wee pattern for egg cosy in the form of rabbits.

The pattern seemed so simple we both agreed to give it a go. Generous to a fault I gave R a pair of needles….. Correct size, for her to use when she finds time. This morning I lunged at my wool stash, none quite the right size but hey how much difference can that make? Now needles….. Mmmmm none the right size but a pair only 0.75 too big…. That wont matter…. Off I go, 7 rows in I had 2 more stitches than I had started with but soon rectified the matter losing them in the next row..  HaHa! On a roll now.

Head complete and onto the ears. Loved the ears ALL knit no purl/pearl/pirl it only took 2 hours to knit. UhHa not bad.  I feel you nod approvingly, now to construct and put face on.

So why does mine look like an owl/funky bat????

Either way I am pretty pleased with my first effort in probably 20+ years. Wrong wool, wrong needles, wrong face BUT ITS PINK!

Do hope you get as much of a laugh as HH, R and I did, not promising to stick to what I know best as I can’t possibly let the egg cozy get the better of me…… Next a cable knit woolie, what do you think.

Owl, Bat or Wabbit …. For you delight and delectation