CAL Wednesday: Pick 'n' Mix part 4

Oooh, lacy.  This is part 4 of the Simply Crochet Pick 'n' Mix CAL (crochet-a-long).  The colours I chose are different to the suggested palette because I adore cool colours.  I am also using Paintbox Yarns in Aran, from lovecrochet.com instead of the recommended Cascade 220.

Have I said all this before?  I probably have.

I have got two CALs on the go and I am falling ever so slightly behind... well, if there is a such thing.  I like to get the squares done when they are released, but it just isn't playing out that way at the moment.  I got these squares done quite a while ago, so not only am I behind on the actual crochet but I am also behind on blogging them!

I'm getting back into it, I promise... and no more new CALs until I get these two done and dusted!!!

Citrus crochet day

Nothing like seeing a new follower pop up on Bloglovin' to remind a gal she hasn't been blogging!!  Hello new follower!

What shall I share?  It's not Monday... so the mandala will have to wait... wednesday is for CAL updates... I had planned something for Fridays but I can't remember, so let's find a pic to share...

I guess I should catch you all up... I seem to have started selling essential oils.  I just took delivery of a lovely citrus trio of oils and so I was inspired to make this little orange crocheted car diffuser.  It has a loop on the top and bottom and I clip it to one of the vents in my car with mini clothespegs.  Then I just drop some essential oil on and presto, citrusy freshness.

Just in case you're curious and would like a look at what I've got myself into, check out my page:

http://mydoterra.com/sycares

Any questions, message me across my social media channels... Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram @hapaxstudios if you please.

Happy Friday!

CAL Wednesday: Pick 'n' Mix Part 3

I haven't been posting my Pick 'n' Mix CAL squares in a while, but I assure you, I have been making them!!  I did get a little bit behind on them as the other CAL I'm doing, the Secret Garden CAL, has been taking up a lot of my crochet time too!  I love them both!

This pair of squares, at first glance, appeared to be standard grannies, but they're not!  Instead of three treble crochets in each chain space, they in fact are 3 treble clusters!  So they make little points instead of little rectangles.  I love this small difference.  It adds character.

You'll notice the lighting conditions and background are different... this is because I was far far away in a country cottage in Herefordshire with several other mad birds this weekend just gone.  I used the time to catch up on a lot of CAL squares but I'm not quite there yet!!!

I thought I'd pace myself posting it all though, so Wednesdays will be for posting CAL squares until I run out... although I have discovered that I do love a CAL so the two I'm doing will not likely be my last.

So, Mondays are for Mandalas, Wednesdays are for CALs... What's coming up on Friday?

Watch this space!

Daisies on the Steering Wheel...

Yep, here I go again, crafting in the car.  The car is where I spend a great deal of my dedicated crafting time these days.  It's down to parking up early at the school in order to secure a legal parking place during the afternoon school run.  There just isn't enough room there to park legally and I seem to have that magic ju-ju that means that if I slip up just once, I will get caught and fined.  The ones who always do it seem to slip through the cracks, but all eyes are on me.  So I give up the possibility of doing anything useful in the house or wherever else and I get to the school an entire hour early.

I had to leave my volunteering session at Unravel & Unwind CIC early today due to an appointment with the nurse.  That appointment ran a little over, which is expected, and I ended up with too much time on my hands but not enough to do anything with, so I showed up at the school an hour and a half early!!

There were still cars there.  I am not even lying for effect.

So I just enjoyed some crochet.  This is the start of what is going to be a fantastically challenging two weeks.  The first four squares of the Secret Garden CAL (crochet-a-long) have been released and I started work on it.

This CAL is beautiful!  Please do search Facebook for Rainbow Valley Crochet to get involved in this beautiful CAL.

Cro-tat Christmas Ornaments

It's been such a long time since I'd been to a crafting class that I wasn't teaching!  When I signed up to this Cro-tat class from Rainbow Valley Crochet, I was so excited... I could hardly sleep the night before, and I got there so early the workshop wasn't even open yet and I had to go looking for a cafe that was actually open before 10am (strange, you'd think most of them would be... but apparently not on Rochester High St).

The class was being held at Unravel & Unwind CIC and when I got there and got to meet Helen from Rainbow Valley Crochet and get stuck in, I was just so thrilled.  The time went by very quickly indeed and I got nearly one entire ornament done, minus the final round, before I had to pick my daughter up from school.

What a great workshop it was!  I ordered all of the kits so I could make more at home with my new skills.

Cro-tat is a combination of crochet and needle tatting and it was actually the first type of tatting that I ever learned, but I only tried it a couple of times and then years later I discovered shuttle tatting... but I think now that I've tried it, I like cro-tat better. :)  I suppose really I could now try needle tatting too!

Anyway... This is my first foray into Christmas Crafting for the year, not counting the samples I made for the beginner's cardmaking classes at Unravel & Unwind.  The first one is on Monday the 14th of November, in case you were wondering... :)

And I'm sure you were wondering what this Blogtober 2016 thing is that I keep banging on about.  Check it out on the original post.

As Blogtober 2016 draws to a close, I will be blogging my thoughts about it all... tomorrow.

Broomstick Lace Scarf

Seems like there's a halo over this, probably because it's just that good.... if I do say so myself...

I have had a go at broomstick lace several times, but have never actually persevered long enough to make anything useful... until now!

I saw a broomstick lace scarf made using the self-striping yarn with very subtle colour changes.   I love this kind of yarn, but as a crocheter, I don't often get the desired effect with them.  I still buy them because I just love to look at them.  I had started making a lacy bolero with this yarn-- King Cole Riot-- and the project sort of stalled.  I knew I needed more yarn to make it and I ordered some.  It came and I never even unwrapped the bag... until this pattern reminded me of its existence!

So I took the new balls of this yarn and started to make this.  I am really enjoying watching the colours change and watching this new pattern take shape... each time I finish a row, I enjoy just admiring it for a minute before starting on the next one.  I just love it.

Broomstick lace is one of those things that I can see my friends watching me make and going, "Oh, I could never do that, it's too fiddly!" and yeah... it was for about 3 rows.  After that, you just get into it and you get used to it.  Patience, that's all it takes.  Perseverance.  And for effect I should use one more word beginning with P.  Patience, Perseverance, and... Perniciousness?  I don't know what Pernicious means but ah well.  None of the other words I was thinking were at all appropriate.  Pernickety?  Pyewacket?  Precocious?  Pro-active?  Professional?  ... no, definitely not that.

Pumpkins!  That reminds me of October.  October?  Blogtober.  Take a look at other Blogtober 2016 participants by visiting this post.

24-hour Scarf Marathon!

I guess this one is going to take some explaining...

GMYD stands for Good Morning You Drunks, a show on Radio Free Radio, hosted by Matt Wade, Nathan Emilio, and Justin Wilson out of Hampton Roads, Virginia.

I have been listening to Matt and Nate and anyone who wishes to join them for about two years.  It started with a podcast, then a 24 hour podcast streamed onto YouTube, then an internet radio station, and now a second 24 hour YouTube stream simulcast onto their internet radio station.

These 24 hour efforts are made in order to raise money for their cause.  This year in particular, they need some funds to upgrade equipment and file paperwork to become a non-profit entity, opening pathways into becoming an FCC-licensed Community Radio Station.  Exciting!!

So I was wondering how (other than shooting them a chunk of change which I already did) I could help... perhaps using my skills?

Hmm... Crochet?

I decided to join them in their 24 hour journey, listening and watching, but also crocheting.  The resulting scarf could then be sent to them and maybe they could auction it off or something...

...then I saw the finished article and decided that no one in their right mind is going to want to bid for such a monstrosity!  I'm sending it to them anyway... but only as a creepy gift from a creepier fangirl.

The scarf was made using DK yarn already in my stash, in the colours of their show logo.  During the 24 hour part, I didn't crochet all through it but it still ended up being 6 feet long!  Any longer and it would be a trip hazard I suppose...

I decided to add the letters GMYD to the scarf, so I looked online and found Moogly's Crochet Alphabet.  Google it, it's free.  And from what I've already tried, quite easy to do with the basic crochet stitches.  It's in US terminology, if you're interested.

So Blogtober is coming to a close... if you still want to see who else is taking part so you can read their blogs too, check out this post.

Tiggy's New Friend...

Well if it isn't Paintbox Yarns making an appearance... my kitty boy Tiggy decided it would be nice to fall asleep in my yarn pile and half on top of me... so as he was totally CAT-a-tonic... I lifted up his paw and made him cuddle this yarn and took his picture.  Is that mean?  He seemed to love it.  When he woke up, he just cuddled it more and went back to sleep... silly boy.

Tiggy has been around yarn all but 8 weeks of his life.  As such, he isn't a yarn chaser.  He happily will sit and watch me crochet... sometimes between me and the crochet... and he won't interfere with it at all.  As for his sister Lady... I have no explanation for why she is convinced that all yarn is alive and it's her job to kill it... she's had exactly the same upbringing as Tiggy.  Tiggy has attached himself to me, where Lady Whitefoot has imprinted on my 13 year old son Cameron.   Perhaps that's why-- Tiggy is closer to the yarn!

Sleep tight, boy... stay warm!

Cat Cave... post-surgery!

Issue 43 of Simply Crochet has this pattern for a Cat Cave... it does stay up on its own... just.  I needed to try and fix the left-hand side of the opening, and it's still a bit weird but there is just that little improvement in the support of the opening so the cats can go in....

I used a 10mm hook and Hoooked Zpagetti yarn in brown.... yeah, I know what it looks like.  I know that in any other colour it would not look like that... but hey, it matches my decor better than any other colour... and it's right up our family's alley humour-wise.  So it's ok.

I was planning to make two, and I bought two rolls of this fabric yarn, but after sore fingers, RSI and using up way more than I'd planned to, I think I will stop at one.  Now what to use the leftover bit for?  Hmmm.... it is still brown... it makes everything look like a.... well, you know.  Not sure it would be the best choice for a water bottle cover... ick.

Once Upon a Cable, colour change!

Wow.... I have been incredibly lucky...

I decided to change colours by adding a white background, reducing the pink to just the criss-crosses, then changing to teal for the criss-crosses... then go to solid teal.  It just so happened that this extra bit of white Aran lasted exactly as long as I needed it to.  Whew!!!

Now, I am solely crocheting in teal, back to one ball, no need to fasten off after every other row.  Now I can go back to mindlessly crocheting!

I really love this pattern.  It's for sale on Ravelry, and the name of it is actually Once Upon a Cable Blanket.  The pattern can be made at a variety of widths, so you can make a scarf, a baby blanket, or a quilt!  It is very heavy the way I've done it, with Aran yarn and a 5mm hook... I will be rolling mine around a bolster cushion and making circles for the ends, and one side will be pink and the other teal, and will go on our bed... cool :)

Remember... Blogtoberfest 2016 continues!  Click the link to see more.

Simply Crochet CAL, Month 2

Here's the second pair of squares from the Simply Crochet CAL!  I'm happy to see how these colours are mixing together as they colourways change.  I love how I have nearly an all-purple one and nearly and all-blue one, each with their own appropriate green.

These photos were taken at different times of the day, so you can compare the purple squares in the two pictures and see the differences in tone... the background image behind the purple square is one of the original colourways.  I do love that teal...

Again, this is part of Blogtober 2016.  How is your Blogtober going?

Simply Crochet CAL, Month 1

CAL: That means Crochet-A-Long.  Everyone's doing it... aren't you?  I used to feel left out because it always seemed to be a KAL, or Knit-A-Long that was being done and I didn't know how to knit back then... now I am a happy bunny, because although I do know how to knit now, I still far prefer crochet.  So Crochet-A-Long it is!!!

This CAL is appearing in subscriber copies of Simply Crochet magazine.  Their recommended colour pack was more or less a rainbow- it had a cerise pink, an orangey red, yellow, lime green, teal, blue etc etc... I can't remember it all, but it was 8 rainbow colours plus grey.  I saw the preview photos and decided that I wanted all cool colours for my CAL so I chose my own yarns... artistic license, right?

The recommended yarn was Cascade 220 wool.  I couldn't really afford £50 for a yarn pack, so I went over to LoveCrochet.com and picked a bunch of Paintbox Yarns in aran, and this is how my first two squares came out.  I'm happy with them!

This CAL is going to be going for a year at least... so you will be seeing two squares a month.  Except for this month, because I'm playing catch-up and already have another two squares done!

This blog entry is part of Blogtober 2016.  Check the original post for more information.  It's never too late to join in... unless it's November!

Irish Crochet Pincushion

I have always wanted to try Irish Crochet, and there was a small pattern and an introduction to Irish Crochet in Simply Crochet Magazine several months back.  I decided to give it a try!

It's very interesting- mostly using rings, loops and chains.  It reminds me of tatting, which I have also been doing, but not so much of late.

There is a free-form side to Irish Crochet which I'm keen to try as well, but at the moment, my crochet dance-card is full.  Overflowing, actually.  And I love it!!

Here's Claude!

 Introducing Claude the Octopus!!  He is my buddy.  I made him.  I even had to unravel a little bit of something else I made in order to complete him... he is forever grateful for this, and the donor doily is now his security blanket.  It goes everywhere with him!  Here he is, for once *not* caught in a compromising position... just cuddling his doily.

Claude was made from a pattern of the same name (Claude the Octopus) from Simply Crochet Magazine.  I ordered his eyes from Amazon, his topside is yarn from the pound shop, and his underside and edges (and suckers!) are scraps from my stash... and I'm pretty proud of myself for using them up!

This post is part of Blogtober 2016.  To participate, check out the original post.

A second Peacock Throw?

Yes, a year ago on this very blog, one of my crochet-labeled entries contained a photo of my cat sitting on a nearly-done peacock throw.  And if you look at that photo and compare it to this one, you will see that the colours are very different.  That's because this one's for me!

Having done this throw already, I have decided to take another tack with this one- and tack I shall!

The previous throw had each feather pattern sewn on individually, regular spacing be damned!  (but don't tell Wendy)

This time I have decided to tack the motifs together.  Initially, I tried to sew them together along several stitches, but the piece had no movement and started to look like a hexagonal tesselation rather than a collection of teardrop shapes.  So I took them apart and tacked them together in three places.  Much better!

I haven't worked on this one for a few months, but as the cooler weather sets in and I don't mind sitting underneath a mass of crochet, it will come out again!  I can't wait.

This blog entry is part of Blogtober 2016.  To read other Blogtober blogs, or to register your own blog, please check out the original post.

Yellow Baby Blanket

This was a stream-of-consciousness make.  A friend asked me for a favour in return for giving me a crafty item of hers that I couldn't take my eyes or hands off of!  The favour was called in-- to make a blanket for a friend's upcoming new baby!

I fancied trying Sedge Stitch, so I made a square of that... then I wanted to move on to something different, so I went around the edge in a dc-ch-dc-ch way, making corners as I went, and then dc in the chain space, chain, etc etc, for the next rounds.... got bored of that, started doing granny rounds, then went back to that dc-chain thing again, then back to granny again... that's as far as I got in the photo below.  The only thing I added to it was a ruffle around the edge, which was just 3tr in each stitch around, maybe more for the corners but I can't remember for the life of me!

The top photo is the blanket folded into quarters and then rolled.  A nice ribbon would have made for good presentation... but I only just thought of this now!!

This blog entry is part of Blogtober 2016.  To participate, visit the original post.

Feline interloper!

A very stern and a teensy bit sleepy looking Tiggy is monitoring my progress on the crochet throw.  I have 12 rows to do horizontally.  I have gone up the middle to confirm the spacing of the rows and now I'm just working left and right of that line.  Three rows complete, 4th in progress... when the cat allows!

Finished? Not yet!

This is the photo from the front of the pattern book. I'm nearly finished making this throw and we shall see if it looks like the picture...

Peacock Throw!

This is a small portion of the base throw onto which I will sew 102 peacock feather motifs.

I have chronicled the making of these motifs on my Facebook page,  Happy Accident Studios.  For the sake of the blog, I will use some of the photos in future posts. 

This pattern has a four - row repeat consisting of a 9dc shell pattern followed by a 9dc decrease offset halfway between , a shell pattern to match up with the decrease and then another decrease offset to match up with the first row pattern.  The result is circles in dc. (For UK crocheters, just replace dc with tr and you too will understand!) 

I am taking part in Blogtober 2015.  To see the others involved, go to Karen's blog.

Crafting in the car: Barry box

My Blogger app gives me no control over photo placement.  It's at the bottom of the entry so go have a look and come back.

I'll wait.

Okay?  No comments from the peanut gallery.  Those are Barry's legs.  LEGS.
This is a box from an online makeup shop that I have re purposed for yarn storage and dispensing expressly for making many Barrys.  I have decided that I want Barry bunting in my craft room,  so I will need to take this box with me so that every spare moment can result in an arm, a leg, a body or a head.  As you can see,  it fits quite nicely on my dashboard.