Tag: <span>Beanies</span>

Well this was going to be the dreaded ‘week of the tax return’ ! But, when I registered online to start it, I discovered they have to send a code through the post before you can fill it in – and it took all week to arrive! Good job I didn’t leave it till the last week in January to begin the process or it would have been an expensive mistake!! However I wasn’t bored at all because as well as progressing with my Attic 24 style ripple blanket I started another beanie using the lovely Adriafil Knitcol wool.

Second week of Ripple Blanket!

Also, I went to the Abakhan sales and bought fabric to make cushions for my daughter’s new house! I have 2 weeks till her birthday so should manage to get those done in time! I am using some very nice bird patterned fabric for the front, with a plain linen look for the back.

Bird patterned fabric for daughter’s cushions

One interesting thing I found whilst doing my crochet is that real wool is much easier on the hands than acrylic, even though it is premium Stylecraft. The Adriafil Knitcol just slips through my fingers and hook with ease, but the acrylic seems to have a little resistance, and so takes more effort to work with. It’s a shame my ripple blanket is in the acrylic as it’s going to take quite a while to finish. I think I will be looking for any 100% wool bargains I can find in the future though, even if it means waiting a while as the difference it makes as to how much crochet I can do and how tiring it becomes is quite remarkable. I wonder if this is a common difference between wool and acrylic or more down to my arthritis and fibro problems?

Here is my completed Beanie which is going in my Folksy shop. My other one sold in London quite quickly.

beanie in varigated pink, yellow and orange wool

Beanie with wavy edging

I also couldn’t resist buying some more Aida and embroidery hoops from Abakhan. I find cross stitch and crochet such relaxing evening crafts whilst watching TV after doing my sewing in the day time. So tonight it’s Dancing on Ice and a bit of cross stitch and crochet and a mooch round the Handmade Harbour! What are you doing?

Like so many of you, I suffer from TMPOTG! (Too Many Projects On The Go!!) Trouble is, the more blogs I find and tutorials I read, the more I want to do! Now I’m investigating cross stitch as well as too many other things!

I am making lots of things for the O2 Handmade Market I really am, and this should be enough – what with sorting out labelling, pricing, and the display as well. But no, I’ve only got to go and get some Aida and embroidery threads and plan out a nice little xmas crosstitch as well! Oh and then that led to thinking about machine embroidery which I used on the advent calendar I showed last week – where else could I use this new found stitch?? And so on it goes – mind a whirl with possibilities, dreaming of new things to learn about and make.

At least I have managed to finish two Beanies this week – one with Sirdar Crofter which is Acrylic/Cotton/Wool mix and one with Knitcol 100% pure wool. The Sirdar is quite lightweight to use and ideal for a lightweight hat. I love the Knitcol wool – it feels nice to work with and the variegated colours go very well together once it’s knitted up.

beanie using Crofter doubleknit varigated wool

Beanie with Crofter Wool

Crochet Beanie with fluted edge

I bought this knitcol wool whilst on a visit to Wells but somehow lost the label after taking the wool out to feel/stroke/admire long before I planned to use it. Once it was knitted up I really wanted some more but had no idea what it was and how to get it. However I hit upon the idea of a virtual travel and shopping trip round Wells using google maps. It actually worked! I went up and down roads I remembered us walking along till I found the little well stocked vintage style shop in a courtyard. Amazingly I was able to enter the shop – something you can’t do in lots of other places – and I ‘walked’ up to the counter and spotted the same wool! It’s a fantastic and weird experience going into the shop again but sitting in my chair 100s miles away!

So the end result is I found the name of the wool and researched it online to get the best price 🙂 and am now stocked up again! Tonight I will be comfortably curled up on the couch with a glass of wine, the next Beanie on the hook and a little virtual stroll round the blogs of the friendly peeps at the Handmade Harbour! Cheers! 🙂

Tag Archives: Beanies

Beanies, Blankets , Cross Stitch and Cushions!

Making Beanies (and too many other things!)