I've finished my wavy shell blanket at last!

It has taken me months to complete, but the blanket I started soon after taking up crochet again is finished at last :)

As I needed to make it fit a double bed, I decided to make it in 4 quarters, especially as I knew how heavy it would be and, as I only worked on it in between other projects, I must admit I thought I'd never complete it - but complete it I did, and last night!



I used a 6mm crochet hook, and around 2.75 Kg of terracotta, yellow and dusky lilac DK wool to complete it and, as usual, I used 100% acrylic, due to my wool allergy - but I think the colours go really well with those I already use in my bedroom and, even though I say so myself, I think it's worked a treat - it certainly brightens up the room, without it being too much :)

As you may imagine, the minute I put it on the bed my cat, Kushka, adopted a corner of it for herself, and nothing seems to have budged her from her chosen spot, except food - and toilet breaks, of course {grin} 







As I've finished the blanket, and haven't started on my next project yet (a pair of leg-warmers for my daughter's friend, who admired the ones I had made for Brex), I decided to start on the blanket I had promised to make for Brex as soon as I finished my own.

I'm using Royal Blue, Emerald green, and a lovely Turquoise as my daughter's colour choices, and I decided to use a 5mm crochet hook for this one, to make the weave a little tighter than my own blanket, so that it will be warmer for her, as she doesn't have central heating as I do.

Here's a photo of the colour choices - I think it's going to look lovely once it's finished :)

The turquoise doesn't show up as well as the actual colour, in this photo, which is a shame, as it's a gorgeous shade :/ 

I'm going to make Brex's blanket in two sections, I think, just to make it easier to crochet the sections together, as mine was a pig to do! Lol

I'm also hoping to finish it a lot quicker than my own - which I'm sure Brex will appreciate with the cold weather we're having :)

I'll post up a photo of it, once it's complete, before I post it off to her :)

And, in the meantime, I'm sure there'll be other projects to work on - after all, I don't want to get bored! 

. . . and the gifts were well received! :)

I've had a lovely phone conversation with my daughter this evening :)

She got home from work, and her landlord handed her the parcel I'd sent her. She opened it as soon as she got in her flat, and she tells me she's over the moon with everything I sent her - and it all fits perfectly as well!

She apparently did a little fashion show for her friend who lives in the same house, and she is really happy to be keeping so much warmer now!

I'm really pleased about this, as I've just finished another couple of bits for her - a pair of mittens that convert to fingerless, so that Brex can text without having to take her gloves off, but keep her fingers warm otherwise. I made them with a colour-flecked, cotton-rich, yarn, and I used a small square of Velcro to keep the flap closed when she wears them. I also made another pair of leggings, made with the emerald green 100% acrylic wool that I like to use:)

The gloves are a first attempt at a mix of a few patterns I'd found around the internet - they're a bit rough around the edges, but I'm hoping to improve on them with some more practice :)

I really enjoyed embellishing the leggings with some buttons I'd got from eBay - a place where I tend to purchase so much of my yarn as, being housebound, it's the easiest, and more cheaper, way to get the amount I'm using at the moment :)

One thing Brex, my daughter, did say to me, though, is that, if I can make a steady supply of stuff like I've made for her, it's possible she could sell it for me in Bristol.

This is something I'll definitely think of, as I'm hoping I could at least recoup the cost of the yarns etc.

I'll definitely not be stopping making stuff, so I guess this is the next road to travel - and I've already thought up my own label, as the change in name for my Blog shows - I've been a night owl for years, so I might as well use that name for my own logo! Lol

Sending gifts is always nice :)

Even though I don't do the Christmas thing - or maybe because I don't - I do enjoy sending surprises to my daughter. I normally get her things I know she needs, which she says is even better than when we used to do birthdays and Christmas as, instead of saving the gift-giving to specific times of the year, she now gets what she needs, when she actually needs it :)

I mention this, because I've just sent her a parcel of stuff I crocheted for her - a parcel that ended up weighing 2 KG! Lol

As it's got really cold in Bristol, I've crocheted her a selection of different hats, a scarf, 4 pairs of gloves, and some leg warmers - these are the things I actually completed in time to put into the parcel. I've now just finished a pair of mittens that convert easily into fingerless gloves, and I'm in the process of making her another pair of leg warmers - apparently, you can never have enough of these . . . 

All of this has kept me particularly busy but, now the pressure is off, and I don't meed to worry that she'll feel the cold so much, I decided to get back to finishing off the blanket I've been making for myself, while also crocheting a crochet hook holder, which I desperately need, as I've got so many different hooks now.

I managed to find a couple of free patterns on the internet, but I went with my favourite crocheter, Claire, or BobWilson123 as she's known as. I used her pattern from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTHUfNjBFm4&list=PL39C531267927A347&index=64&feature=plpp_video

I used her basic pattern, but I converted it into more of a purse than a roll, as I wanted to keep all of my crochet stuff together in one package.

I used a multi-coloured yarn that my daughter had given to me, although, as there wasn't a label, I'm not sure exactly just what it is called, and I also used a yarn I already had in stock, a Foxy DK in an emerald green 100% acrylic, which I've enjoyed using for various projects, including my daughter's first set of fingerless gloves, and the leg warmers I'm completing right now :)

The crochet hook holder is in 2 layers - the outer layer all done in SC, with the inner layer done in a lovely dusky lilac acrylic wool, and crocheted in DC, so that the hooks can slide through the gaps and be held.

I sewed the two layers together, then folded the resultant piece into 3, so it formed into a large clutch-type bag, which measures around 29 cms wide, and 22 cms high. I then fastened it together with a chain made of the multi-coloured wool, sewn on to the front opening, and held closed with a loop sewn onto the bottom-front.

I've been able to fit the zipped pouch containing my very first set of crochet hooks, some of my spare hooks (with more being added very soon), and some sewing needles and other bits and pieces into the pouch section that I created when I folded the work into 3, so I'm really pleased that I can now keep everything together in one place - and it'll be great if I ever need to travel any place, too :)

I took some photos of the finished article, and I don't think I did too badly for my first attempt, so I hope you like what you see? :)

Front view

Back view

 













Inside view 





I think this whole thing could easily be converted to hold knitting needles, or sewing equipment, too :)

Ugly - and compassion. . .

I came across a link to this Blog today and, having read this entry, sat there crying like a baby for a while. 

I'm not ashamed of my tears, as I know that it never hurts to be able to feel compassion for any of God's creatures. 

Unfortunately, the kind of treatment this poor cat had suffered from the people around it, both of injury, neglect, and disinterest is, sadly, more the norm than an exception in the world we live in today, so it was nice to read that somebody had given this poor creature a few minutes of compassion before he died.

http://jotter-journal.tumblr.com/post/19738385573/ugly-everyone-in-the-apartment-complex-i-lived

Ugly.

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat.

Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly.

To start with, he had only one eye, and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot has appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail has long since been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs.

Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. “That’s one UGLY cat!!”

All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave.

Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness. Whenever he spied children, he would come running meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.

One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbors huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly’s sad life was almost at an end.

Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. I must be hurting him terribly I thought.

Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear – Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.

At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.

Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.

Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me, I will always try to be Ugly.