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 :)