A sneak preview of that shocking pink....

I finally made a start on using the shocking pink yarn that I mentioned a few weeks ago.  I have a huge ball of it.  I found it in a big bag of tangled yarn that someone was trying to sell at my local market.  I said "Oh, it's all tangled", offered a cheeky price, and the stallholder snapped my hand off!  I quite enjoy sorting out tangled yarn.  So I did that first and then mulled over what to do with the shocking pink.....and mulled, and mulled.

Then I remembered a pattern that I had saved on one of my Pinterest boards.  It must be good because lots of other crafters have taken the pin.  Here it is:

Observant readers might notice that I copied the colours.  That was by sheer coincidence.  They are exactly the colours I needed to use for the start of my project. The pattern and video tutorial are very well done.  I was able to follow them easily and I did so until I reached the grey rounds.  Then I winged it a little as I wanted to continue making a much bigger granny square.  

The fact that I was able to crochet something that looks like a flower and then adjust the pattern to make a larger square has me stupidly chuffed.  I might be starting to understand this crochet business!  

I usually stay well within my comfort zone when crocheting.  But this pattern has made me think that I might tackle one of those beautiful mandalas that I see on other blogs.  At least it's on my future "to do" list and that is progress for someone who always has to look at instruction books whenever she starts a new crochet project!

PS: If I regularly comment on your blog and appear to have stopped recently, it could be due to a new Blogger problem.  Some comments are coming back as "undeliverable".  I'm hoping this is just a temporary glitch.

Two little boys' hats...

I had some blue yarn left over after knitting my recent scarf and I didn't want to put it back "in the bag".  So I knitted two newborn baby hats.  The colours are possibly a little darker than most baby hats.  But I would have used these if Daughter had been a boy and I also have nieces who are crazy about a football team that wears these colours.

The pattern I used for the darker hat is by Heather Tucker and can be found here.  I like the raised stitches detail as it adds just enough interest.  It is very easy, though you do have to keep track of which round you are knitting.  For the variegated hat, I followed the Basic Baby Hat pattern which is also by Heather Tucker.  It is a complete breeze to knit as it omits the raised stitches detail.  Just point your needles and go!

The nieces I mentioned probably have at least five years living to do before they produce babies.  So I will probably send these hats off to Operation Orphan.

Newsflash: my dilemma about what to do with the shocking pink yarn has been solved.  I have actually made a start on using it in a new project.  Watch this space.....

The "One in, one out" scarf...

My scarf drawer is now officially full.  If I knit or crochet a new scarf for myself, I have to get rid of one.  Spilling over into another drawer is not an option.  Our 5-10 year plan includes the strong possibility of downsizing, though there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before then.  Meanwhile, I am trying NOT to add to my possessions.

I had lots of scraps of various blue yarns left over after crocheting a big blanket. I like blue and have a couple of blue jackets.  So I decided to crochet yet another scarf.  I used a simple v-stitch pattern and a 5.5mm hook.  Eight full v stitches plus a half stitch at each end of the row gave me a scarf measuring 6.5 inches.  

I combined some variegated 4 ply yarn with 3 different dark blue dk yarns.  I managed to reach a length of 41 inches before the dark blues were used up.  This length is fine on me as I like to tuck my scarves into my jackets and prefer not to have lots of unnecessary bulk.  

It is not a thing of beauty and I wouldn't dream of giving it to someone else.  But it looks better on than in the photo, is warm, suits me and made good use of left over yarn.  Win, win, win, win.

No scarves suffered in my scarf cull.  I found one that is small, soft and pretty.  It will be perfect for a child and is now destined for my next Operation Orphan parcel.

The Stop Gap scarf...

While I ponder what to do with some really bright pink yarn that I recently rescued, I have been busy crocheting this scarf.  I used up most of the red wool that was left over after I knitted a boy's jumper.  

This is one of my favourite crochet scarf patterns as it suits my abilities.  For some reason, I don't have any problems at the start and end of each row.  I think it is because the pattern is so well written and illustrated.. Here is the link.

For this scarf I used 136g of dk wool and a 5mm crochet hook. That produced a scarf measuring 5" x 55".  This is intended for a child and will eventually go off to Operation Orphan.  The yarn is 85% real wool and 15% nylon so it should be very warm and hard-wearing.

I now have just 25g of this wool left.  So it will probably reappear one day as a stripe or two.