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Showing posts from March, 2015

Understanding Crochet with the Rowan Spring Crochet Along!

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Rowan's Spring Crochet Along - Week 1 Motif ! Rowan has run two blanket knit-a-longs; the first a Martin Storey patchwork type design , followed by the Kaffe Fassett Geometric blanket design.  I have done both! My Martin Storey afghan is finished and is used every night when watching tv after the heat has turned down. My Kaffe afghan is all knit up, just needs to be sewn together. I intend to have this done by next Fall.  In the meantime... So, it was exciting to hear that Rowan had chosen  Spring Crochet Along , and who better to design it than Lisa Richardson! I am not a crocheter really, but this has spurred me on. While I'm not doing the CAL itself, I am going to use the motifs to fine tune my crochet skills.  It would be nice to be able to look at a crochet design and understand the instructions. Then if you loved it, you could crochet it. Well, that's the plan! :) I can hold a crochet hook and make the basic stitches, and granny squares, no proble

Emley.....finally a FP!

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FP  =  F inished P roject! Finally - yeah! I have no idea why this took so long....but I do know that at certain points in a sweater project, I am liable to stall. Finished the body? Want to tweak that neckline just a touch? Just need to sit down and sew it together, finish off those ends? These are all points in a project where I sometimes just get paralyzed and can't move on. With Emley, everything was done....body knit, seamed together, neckline finished! The sleeves were even knit!  This is when the Emley stall happened....but I made a vow to finish this before I turned the calendar page this month....so here it is...I actually finished this on Sunday, March 22 It was really hard to take a photo of Emley with me wearing it...honestly....the way the yarn started to pool over my womanly bosoms! My husband loves it, says it is very flattering. Of course he would say this :) When I am wearing it, I don't mind it at all. I guess from my vantage point I don't no

Liquorice Delights!

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a little touch of fair isle as a "palate cleanser" in preparation for my next "big" project! an adorable design by Carol Meldrum in Felted Tweed and Rowan Tweed Sheil Wrist Warmers , a free pattern on the Rowan web site! (I shopped my stash and chose these shades, with no inspiration in mind) The first one knit up really fast and it seemed like no time at all and they were done! (The pattern calls for them to be knit flat, then seamed. I knit them in the round, on 4 double pointed needles!) I realized that for some bizarre reason, they reminded me of Liquorice Allsorts :) How could I resist? Seems purple is a popular shade! Nails by Jamberry! These are the "Reminisce" design and I sort of love them! Have you tried Jamberry Wraps? If you love having your nails done, but don't like the muss, fuss and fumes of regular nail polish, you really need to try Jamberry! You do them yourself, at home! If you want to give Jambe

Palate Cleansers.....

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In the world of good food, a palate cleanser is offered between courses....to cleanse the palate of lingering tastes...to help you digest...to prepare you for the taste delights of the next course! Sorbet is a traditional palate cleanser.... a light delicious pop of flavour that gets your taste buds ready for the next course! Want to be more adventurous?  In Normandy, locals rely on apple brandy as a digestive aid. Le trou Normand , or the Norman break, is a  fiery shot  of Calvados right in the middle of the meal.  Hmmm, Apple Brandy ! If you want to keep it simple, serve sparkling or still water, with a twist of citrus as a palate cleanser. I can hear you saying.... "What does this have to do with knitting?" Recently I have come to realize that small projects help me to cleanse my knitting palate so to speak. With a quick project that I can say is finished, I can go back to my main project with a regained enthusiasm for the next "course" of t

Martin's Marvellous Mette

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ha ha ha....alliteration, you gotta love it! on a bright, but not sunny, cold day Mette + Muddy = a rather warm combo! Seriously, I thought I'd be freezing with a short-sleeved  sweater over a long-sleeved cotton T shirt! (so hard to get the right exposure) I love this no button, knee length "duster" coat! I was ridiculously warm....but when I took that scarf off, boy was my neck cold! Moral of the story? Your Mother was right... Always wear your hat and scarf! (you can tell, I am happy with my "Mette" cardigan! and I love my "Muddy" scarf!) Details: Mette from the Brushed Fleece Collection by Martin Storey Rowan Brushed Fleece Yarn (I used shade 252, Cavern) Muddy from "North" by Kim Hargreaves in Rowan Brushed Fleece and Rowan Fur (I used shade 092, Brown Bear) Ravelry Links - Mette and Muddy It's another snowy March day here! While Lackie and Daisy LOVE IT! Me...well, I'm drea