Home Projects

While we are all staying at home I've got plenty to keep myself occupied. The ABC news website a few days ago had this article: "Coronavirus quarantine fine time to get out sewing machine and indulge in new hobby". Not a new hobby for me, but I will definitely be getting some sewing done. Maybe I'll even sew up some t-shirts I cut out months ago!

One member of my quilting group came up with a "Super, scrap-using, stay at home sew-along", making X-plus blocks. The blocks can be assembled into donation quilts, or used for ourselves. The point is to do something and keep in touch while we can't have our regular meetings and sit and sew days. Someone else came up with the idea of a WhatsApp group so we can share progress. That was a bit of a challenge for me as I've never used that app before.

Anyway, here's my test block made this afternoon:

I think the aqua I used is too light - it gets lost against the background. But maybe among a bunch of other blocks it will be fine.

Another new challenge is making a crochet pattern I bought after seeing pictures of the "Rainbow Barf Cat Scarf" online. Of course I don't have the yarn that the pattern calls for, or anything like it. Apparently the standard yarn in North America is similar to 10-ply in our system. All I have is 8-ply, so I will have to see if I can make it work somehow. I've also never done the stitch the scarf uses, so this was my test piece:

I wasn't sure that was how it was meant to look, so fortunately with a bit of googling I found that the stitch in the pattern is called "Cable stitch", and I found clearer pictures and instructions here. Both the pattern and that page are written using American rather than British stitch names, so that just adds to the fun. Anyway, I will try another sample before I tackle the scarf.

Out in the garden there is lots to be done. Today I made a start on cutting back the lambs ears dead flower stems, so that the plants go from this:

 to this:

Much neater! I got two clumps done, and there are quite a few to go. There are several other plants that will benefit from dead-heading, as well as lots of weeding to do, so I don't think I'll be running out of things to do in the garden for quite a while.

Hope you are managing to be productive while not going out!

Crocheted Christmas Tree

Tomorrow I am going to a "Christmas in June" lunch, and part of the fun involves a swap of hand-made Christmas ornaments.

Here's my completed offering:

I'm not totally happy with it, but it will have to do.

I found this picture on Pinterest:

which linked to the pattern on Annoo's Crochet World. However, my tree is not the same shape as the ones in the picture. It is much squatter. I can see that both the red and white trees in that picture have more rows than specified in the pattern, but I think they must also have less stitches added in each row of increasing, to give a narrower taper.

I don't have time to make another one right now, but if I ever try it again I would experiment with the increasing a bit, and also make the base a bit smaller than I did on this one.

Crochet Progress

I've got a bit further with my crochet thing than the last time:

But I'm not sure it looks like what it is meant to be turning into. It's not finished yet, though. so we'll see...

Snap

I need to make a small something by next Saturday. I found a pattern for a crocheted item that might do, but then I had to search for a crochet hook (found in a box in the shed) and some wool. I found a tiny amount of wool in a box in my sewing room. I have no idea how old this wool is, but this is as far as I got before the wool just snapped:

So then I went to visit my mother, who has a stash of left-over wool. I chose a couple of bits, and will try this pattern again tomorrow.

Cactus Pincushions

This cute display is at Morris and Sons in Melbourne, where a group of my quilting friends from Southern Cross Quilters (SCQuilters) get together once a month.

Just last week I found a sewn version of a cactus pincushion on a German blog (link removed because the blog no longer exists) and thought I would have to try making one. These crochet ones are very cute, though. Perhaps I could make a sewn one with a crocheted flower?

Beanie Take Two

Finished another beanie today. That's it on the left, and the previous one on the right.

This pattern is definitely much better. I think the pointiness on top may have been my mistake rather than the pattern, because I've started another one and it isn't so pointy. Apart from that this one is much more human-head shaped, although it is still smaller than I would want. Not such a problem, as it is not for me, but I think I was worrying about making it too large and stopped too soon.

I learnt from this pattern how to start with a "magic ring" instead of a circle of chain stitches:

It gives a much nicer closed centre instead of a hole in the middle. If like me you've never heard of the magic ring before, you can find instructions here.

Beanie Weather?

Today I crocheted a beanie. The pattern was for an adult, but I think my beanie ended up smaller than the picture in the pattern.

I put the ball of wool and the crochet hook there to try and give some idea of the scale. The beanie might go on the head of a toddler. Maybe. The hook I used is one size larger than the pattern called for; if I'd used the specified size the end result might not have even fitted a baby.

I'm also not too keen on the shape of the finished beanie; it doesn't look quite like a human head to me. Can anyone recommend a nice crochet beanie pattern using 8-ply?

Wasn't this a lovely sunny weekend? Didn't it feel like a bit like spring? Well look at this:

Blossom. In June. In Victoria. Amazing!