Another week of enforced ‘resting’ waiting to have stitches out has been quite pleasant really! No housework and no driving has meant a lot of yarn, wool and twine crochet and watching TV! Of course I can’t just do one project, oh no, I have to have a couple on the go to switch between every so often!
I’ve kept on with the ripple blanket and the woolly Beanie but not as fast as if I hadn’t started 2 other projects at the same time I suppose! I love choosing the colours as I work but it was taking too long because I really didn’t have enough choice. One late night perusal of Wool Warehouse website led to a fat chunky parcel on the doormat 2 days later!! They are brilliant, not only are they cheaper than other online shops but they send the goods very quickly too!
I just didn’t have enough pinky, purply colours!!
I couldn’t just do my blanket as each row is very long and I need more of a quick results experience so I started on little hearts and flowers to make a spring garland! Most of these are Attic 24 patterns and some are my own random crochet! Here are some of the first ones I completed in the Stylecraft acrylic yarn again.
I’m planning on completing this for Oestara, the Spring Equinox.
Anyway, despite being quite content with my crochet I was reading my Facebook newsfeed and fell instantly in love with a picture of a tote bag crocheted using twine. It was posted by The Chunky Hooker as they sell the twine. Oh, wow! I couldn’t help myself when I saw the green twine! Such a lovely colour! I bought a ball of the natural twine and the green and decided to make a bag in each using the suggested pattern
As soon as I started to work with the natural twine I realised I wouldn’t be making it very quickly and probably wouldn’t make 2 bags as it’s quite hard work and is also ‘raspy’ on my skin. I did wear a thin gardening glove on one had most of the time and this does help (it was suggested by someone commenting on the bag post, not my bright idea!). It was hard to see all the stitches clearly and I think I interpreted some of the pattern wrongly as I didn’t end up with the correct number of stitches for the bag base and it was wonky! It’s far too much effort doing it to face unpicking so I decided to carry on anyway and just accept it will probably be a little lop sided in the end!
The pattern is much easier to follow for making the sides – I love the star stitch which forms the pattern. In the next picture I have just completed on row of stars, there are 5 to do and I will alternate with the green twine I think.
I really do enjoy making this but I have to do it in stages, letting my hands rest for a day as it is really quite hard to manipulate. The green twine feels much softer and I think it will hook much more smoothly. The Chunky Hooker is another great online shop – the parcel arrived in a couple of days with a note asking to see a picture when I’ve finished the bag!
So that was my yarny, woolly twiny week! I really am neglecting my sewing though and need to get back in the craft room before I become addicted to slumping on the settee with my crochet watching This Morning and old DVD box sets. My knee stitches ‘unpicked’ easily and I have my post-op clinic visit next Tuesday so no excuses after that. I am ‘hooking’ up with Handmade Monday as usual and looking forward to reading about everyone’s crafty lives. 🙂
My comment box is still not working for everyone – Free spirit unchecked a box to enable it to work or if you type your name etc in the boxes even though it doesn’t show when you type it does actually record it. I am missing all the lovely comments!!
Wow what a productive week! I loooove your ripple blanket! Its going to look so amazing when its finished. A great idea to make a spring garland, they always look so pretty. Your twine bag is a really fun project too, i look forward to seeing it when its done! x
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I think your bag will be all the better for a bit of wonky-ness! And I love the ripple blanket x
Hope your appointment goes well.
I also love the ripple blanket and the star stitch. That’ll be one cool bag!
It’s great that all that yarn is so readily available, it’s a good idea to have a few jobs on at the same time so you can switch them about.
Have a great week and don’t forget to rest 🙂
Jan x
I totally love your ripple blanket, it just looks better and better every week. I’m glad you’ve found lots of things to do whilst you’re recovering.
Your ripple blanket is coming along well. Never heard of a tote bag being made out of twine before. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.