Pumpkins

Pumpkins aren't really a thing here, except for a couple of weeks in October. Jack o'lanterns were invented here, but originally they were carved turnips and, judging from photos I've seen, they really do look creepy. But these days Halloween decorations involve pumpkins, not turnips. The seamstress' shop down the road has this very creative pumpkin in the window. I love her!

Someone clearly has no plans to drive anywhere for the time being.

The barm brack has been eaten and we changed our clocks back last weekend. Tomorrow we turn another calendar page and move deeper into autumn and closer to winter. Yay!

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Colourful New Bag

A friend returned from a trip the other day and gave me a skein of funky, bright, chunky yarn. As it happened, I'd been thinking for a while about making myself a bag that was just big enough to fit a few things that I almost always have with me when I leave the house. I'd been having ideas here and there but hadn't settled on anything. Then I got this skein of yarn and it told me it wanted to be the bag, so I started that very night. Because the colours take centre stage, it needed to be done in a very simple stitch. Tunisian crochet can be great for bags because it can be quite dense and with little stretch. Tunisian simple stitch was perfect for this project.

Using this chunky yarn, I chained 23 with a size K (6.5mm) Tunisian crochet hook and did 25 rows of simple stitch. To bind off, I did slip stitches across the last row, inserting my hook and pulling up a loop in between the stitches. This created small eyelets. I made another rectangle the same way, then slip stitched them together. I made a chain as long as I wanted to strap to be, slip stitched in each chain, then turned and slip stitched again in in each stitch. Hid all the ends, chained 123 for the drawstring and wove that through the eyelets. Simple stitch, simple construction, and the colour really stands out! This was a fun little project and now I have a bag that will get lots of use--thanks, Karen 😊🌈

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Christmasy Bits

I've been having fun with needles and hooks of all kinds lately, working on various projects and trying out ideas. Included in the mix have been a few Christmasy bits.

I just finished this one a few minutes ago.

I needle felted a few pieces this afternoon with the intention of embellishing them. I tried a few things with this one while I was felting and liked none of them, so I decided to set it aside and see about adding sea glass later. As I was going through the jars of sea glass, I came across this piece and saw a potential Christmas tree. I went into the bag of yarn snips in my needle felting box, found a length of brown and felted it in before sewing the sea glass on. It's about 2 1/2 inches across.

The other night I decided it was finally time to do something with the large roundish piece of white sea glass that had been sitting on my bedside locker for a couple of months while I waited for inspiration to strike. I'd gotten as far as knowing that I'd use red and green, but no further. I grabbed my thread and my pouch of crochet hooks and started crocheting. I did a bit of frogging and restarting, mostly to make things more simple.

I have a few more felted pieces to embellish and my plan is to do some of that tonight. Or I might work on the bag I started last night. Maybe I'll do a little bit of both!

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A Stitch Here and a Stitch There Eventually Makes Socks

I've had socks on the needles in a pouch next to my spot on the couch for months. I'd pick them up when I felt like it and do a few stitches. Sometimes I did a needle or two, sometimes a few rounds, and sometimes I'd work on them for a little bit longer. I finished sock one, cast on sock two and continued to do some stitches here and there. I was not in a hurry and I like to always have a project like that available. The other day, I picked up the needles and did a few stitches. They turned into a few rounds. I kept going and when I put the project down, I had a good portion of a foot done. The next day I continued to the point where I'd start the toe decreases. Last night I made the toe, cut the yarn and got the ends woven it.

 

This morning I grabbed another skein of sock yarn and stuck it in my pouch. Bill commented the other day that he could use another pair of socks, so the next pair will be for him. It's not urgent, so I have no idea when they will be finished, but by doing a few stitches here and a few stitches there, eventually he'll have a new pair of socks.

For the socks pictured, I cast on 68 stitches with a size 1 needle and some sock yarn. I did a 2x2 cuff, changed to size 0 needles and did a regular heel flap over 34 stitches (sl1, k1 across on the right side and sl1 and purl the rest across on the wrong side until 34 rows were completed) and heel turn. When doing the gusset decreases, I stopped when I had 72 stitches on the needles and did the rest of the sock on the 72 stitches. For the top of the foot that is shown in the picture, I worked over 34 stitches--k3, p6, k1, p6, k1, p6, k1, p6, k4. I did a round toe, starting with a round of k10, k2tog and then decreasing on every other round (k9, k2tog, then k8, k2tog, and so on) until I had 6 stitches left. I threaded my yarn through those stitches, pulled the hole closed, and hid the ends. I will decide how I want to do the next socks as I am doing the cuff and heel on the first one. It's going to have to be simple because the yarn is busy and anything other than simple would get lost. 

I don't use sock patterns, since I prefer to just make the socks in the way I know fits best and is most comfortable for us to wear. I vary the stitch combinations I use on the stitches that make up the top of the foot and leave the rest. Because I am usually making socks for Bill or myself using sock yarn and size 1 and 0 needles, I know the numbers now for the cast-on, heel flap, heel turn, etc. But I came across this handy chart a while back and I saved it. It looks like it could come in handy for a time when I might want to use different yarn and need different numbers. Perhaps it might be useful for some of you, too. 😀

Happy Tuesday!

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A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove

Years ago, Bill gave me a hardcover copy of this book for either my birthday or Christmas. I always thought it was one of the best book titles I'd ever seen. The subtitle is A History of American Women Told Through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances. It's just my kind of thing and I loved the book when I read it.

It moved with us once or twice, but, being hardback, it was heavy and so it did not travel with us across the pond.

We were talking about something recently and I mentioned the book. I did not know that Bill looked it up, found a copy, and ordered it. The postman just delivered it. What a great surprise! This one is softcover, so easier to cart around--it's definitely a keeper and I'm so looking forward to reading it again--it's been years since I read it the first time!

I've been trying to cut back a little bit on the number of library books I request, other than needlework/stitching books. I have succumbed to temptation recently and my list is back up to 12, but I am reading some of the books we've accumulated from charity shops and the wee free library. A few of those are keepers, but most are brought home with the intention of reading them and then either giving them to a charity shop or back to the wee free library. We have been doing well lately. In the past week, we've put 5 books in the wee free library with another ready to go today. I'll be heading for the library this afternoon to pick up a book that has arrived--a collection of essays and stories on the topic of knitting, written by various writers. I read the first volume a few years ago and did not know that a second volume had been published until I was scrolling through the results of my search for 'knitting' on the library website. I check back once in a while to see what new stuff comes up. I am often happily surprised.

Hope your day includes some happy surprises too!

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Posh Scraps

This morning as I was getting dressed, the doorbell rang. I assumed it was the postman and sure enough, I heard something coming through the mail slot. Deciding it was best not to try to hurry down the stairs on my still-not-normal leg, I continued what I was doing. I heard the mail slot again and realised that he was trying to stuff the roving scraps Bill had found on ebay.uk through the slot. He gave up and left before I was able to get down there.

Knowing that he goes a bit further up this side of the street and then crosses and goes back towards the post office, I unlocked the door, went outside, and when I saw him cross, I walked over to meet him. He still had the packet in his hand and was holding it out to me as I walked up to him. 'Sorry,' I said, 'I didn't make it downstairs in time.' 'Sure, you're alright,' he said with a smile.

I brought my packet home, pushed the button to start the coffee brewing, and opened the packet. I was happily surprised when I pulled out the roving. I expected small pieces of plain roving in various sizes and fibres, but what I did not know until I looked at the invoice was that they are 'posh scraps.'

It is all so beautiful and so soft! I was thrilled when I saw it--I love the multi-colours and the pieces with iridescent threads. I will have so much fun with this! He got these from Heidi Feathers, the same place where he got a kit for me a couple of years ago. I was quite pleased with the quality of the supplies in the kit, as I am with the 'posh scraps.'

I had no idea what the first packet was--the one the postman easily tossed through the slot. I saw that it was from a needlework place, so felt it was safe to assume it was also for me. Bill had picked up a grab bag of 16 count aida cloth scraps and offcuts when the seller was down to her last one. This was another great collection. There are several good-sized pieces of cloth and each is a different colour--off white, navy, light blue, peach, brown, oatmeal, and a couple shades of grey. I'll use this for cross-stitching and huck embroidery.

I wanted to sit right down with my coffee and start stitching, but I had plenty of chores to do first, so I was good and got laundry done, a few groceries purchased, food cooked, and the resulting dirty dishes washed. Then I finished a library book so I can return it tomorrow. Tonight I'll have more coffee and I'll do some stitching with that. Yay!

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Leaves

The other day, I came across this link from Red Heart. It took me to a pattern for crocheted maple leaves that they strung into a garland. I bookmarked it and then shared it. I decided to try it out using scraps from the blanket I made.

They have you make a loop at the end of the stem so that it can be strung with beads to make the garland. I am not going to make it into a garland so I left the loop off. I will make a few more to hang around the place.

These are quick and easy to make and I like the way the leaf came out! It's just three rounds and a couple of ends to weave in.I have not tried this, but it looks like you could make a few of these in a thinner yarn (I used worsted weight and an H hook) and join as you go in a circle to make a doily. Should work to join at the ends of the stems and at each 'petal' on either side of the stem.

Happy autumn crocheting!

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