This And That

 

I've been making this and that for Saturday's market table. More puppets to replace the ones I sold last month; beaded key rings to replace the ones I've sent to a gift shop. Our roof tiles are being replaced, so there's a lot of disruption, but keeping on with crafting probably helps keep me sane. 

Crosses

 I tatted two Jane's Bookmark Crosses, designed by Grace Tan, as gifts. I came to put the second one into an envelope and realised that I'd put an extra two rings on one arm. Fiddle de dee. It was too late to do anything about it, so I gave it to the recipient with a note that I will make her another one. I forgot to take pictures of either cross, so here's a picture of a Flamboyant tree in my garden that is looking splendid:

Another UFO Vanquished

 

At last I have finished the pullover that was given to me half done. The sleeves look rather short in the picture, but that's only because they're folded over.  I was tempted to just leave the abandoned sleeve, but I realised that would mean the project was still lurking, so I spent a couple of hours yesterday unravelling and untangling it. I ended up with a lot of small balls in the three colours:

One of the ladies at the retirement home I visit knits toys and I'm hoping that she will be able to make use of them. 

Plan B

 

Aha. My daughter told me another way of getting the photo on to the computer, so here we are, here's a picture of the food net I described yesterday. I do still need a new computer, but I have a bit of leeway. 

No Picture

 I have finished a food net with sunflowers and butterflies. I can't show a picture though, because my computer is misbehaving. Time to buy a new computer, I suppose. Sigh....

Evolution Of A Sunflower

 

I want to make a food cover with tatted sunflowers. I started with my own pattern, Sunflower In Maltese Tatting; there's a link to the pattern on the right of this blog page. I couldn't find Martha Ess's instructions for Maltese tatting, but my pattern is clear enough that I didn't need an update. It took me a few goes to get it right, but I did. I think my thread isn't ideal though. I don't like the way the picots tend to twist. Can anyone tell me how to avoid that? Letting the shuttle dangle didn't solve the problem.

I decided that I want a more substantial sunflower. I used the method for the centre of the Maltese flower, more or less, with the petals from the daisy I've been using for food covers.  I had to make a few changes, but it works, I think.

UFO No Longer

 

I cut this shirt out months ago but never got around to sewing it. Now, I'm trying to finish off projects that have been lurking. As an added incentive for finishing this one, Jack tore a shirt beyond repair last week, so does need another one. 

Sleeve Progress

 

Knitting goes much faster when you're working with one ball of yarn rather than 12. I've finished one sleeve, working mainly in the evenings. 

The yarn name is (mmm) interesting:

Take a quick look and you'd think it was angora. But look at the small print and it turns out to be 50% acrylic and 50% nylon. No rabbits have been anywhere near it. 

Buyer beware, I guess. 

That Sinking Feeling

 

I've almost finished knitting the first sleeve of the pullover I was asked to finish. I got the hang of colour changes and shaping, but I began to wonder if there's enough yarn for the second sleeve. Yesterday I got out my scale to help me decide. First I weighed the second needle - 16g. Then I weighed the sleeve and took off 16 - 138-16=122g. Then I measured the yarn that's left - 92g. While the method isn't terribly accurate, it's clear that there isn't enough yarn to knit the second sleeve. 

What to do, what to do? I could abandon the project; I could knit three-quarter length sleeves; or I could knit the sleeve all in white, as there's plenty of that. While option one is tempting, I'll probably go with three. Perhaps that's what the original knitter intended? I have no idea. 

Colourways

 

I thought I'd make some beaded crochet bracelets before Saturday's market. I've done two, using the same pattern in different colourways. It's interesting to see how the different colours give a really different look. I wonder which would be more popular?

Tatting Refresher

 

A few weeks ago, I saw a note on an local online group from someone looking for help with her tatting. I got in contact and on Saturday afternoon Suri arrived with her shuttles and some tatting she'd done a long time ago. She wants to tat a bookmark, but when she had a go, she realised that she'd lost the knack! With a bit of demonstration and a lecture about 'the flip' Suri got it right, tatted a few rings and chains and is on her way. I'm happy to give further help if she needs it, but I'm sure she's good to go.

I wanted to show Suri one of the patterns on my blog, but when I clicked on it, I got an error message. Oh dear. I've just investigated and it seems my account has been closed, perhaps because I haven't logged in recently. I've written to Keep and Share to ask them to reinstate it. 

A Knotty Problem

 

The person who knitted the back of the sweater I'm finishing was obviously concerned that new yarn was going to work loose. At each join they've tied a whole series of knots! Honestly, it's unnecessary and just makes a mess on the back. I had to undo all the knots before I could sew the ends in. I did sew all the ends in though and ended up with quite a  pile of orts:

I've started knitting a sleeve. With the colour changes and increases to shape the sleeve, it feels like that game where you have to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time.

Finished The Front

 I'm dawdling along on my knitting, partly because there's no deadline and partly because I'm not absolutely enthusiastic about finishing someone else's project. Nonetheless, I have finished the front of the pullover:

There are a lot of ends to thread in. 

I think I'll do them now, before I start knitting the sleeves, so the job is not overwhelming when I get all the knitting done. 

Project For Friday

 

 I was given a bunch of these lightweight, silver-coloured rings. I don't know what they were originally used for, but when I saw a picture of towel holders on Pinterest, I thought, aha, they could be used for that. I've used felt for the top part, so that we only need one layer and can cut a buttonhole without neatening it. I've decorated the towel with ribbon and a crochet flower. The members of the craft group at a retirement home are free to decorate their towels any way they please, but I'll crochet some flowers and take them along as an option. 

Busy With Bags

 

Anne, the silversmith, has ordered 50 bags this month, instead of the usual 30, so that will keep me busy for a while. 

In The Mood For Knitting

 Saturday's market wasn't a great success for me. I sold enough to pay for my table, but no more. I decided that if I couldn't sell, I'd better buy - I came home with a basket full of foodstuffs, from double  cream to pecan nuts. 

I'm in the mood to knit. I thought I might tackle the half finished pullover I was asked (a long time ago!) to complete.

First step was to untangle the yarns at the back of the work:

Then it took some time to work out what size was being knitted and where it was on the chart. I had to undo a few rows because there was a mistake, which wasn't altogether a bad thing because it helped me figure out where I'm at. I think I've got it now:

This is not a good take-along project, of course, so I might need to have something smaller on the go too. 

Ladybird

 

Or Ladybug. I've made a ladybird hooded towel for Saturday's morning market table.  She's not easy to photograph or display, but hopefully she will be eye catching. 

I wasn't sure if ladybird spots are symmetrical, so I looked it up and apparently they are. My ladybird duly has spots arranged symmetrically. 

Key Rings

 

With Winter disappearing so suddenly, it seems a good idea to make things other than woolens for Saturday's market. I've whizzed up some key rings with beaded crochet rope, which are usually popular. The spinning wheel has been put to one side for the moment. 

Flowers And Butterflies

 

I've been making another food cover - tatted motifs on net - for the next market. I don't mind if it doesn't sell because it's useful to have on hand in case I need a quick gift. But Summer arrived very suddenly, so it may well sell at the market. 

The 12 butterflies don't show up much in  the photo. I used them to empty shuttles. The lady I was tatting lavender bunches for has moved away, so there's no point in having shuttles filled with lavender colours. 

Alterations

 Normally on a Friday morning I'm at a retirement home with a craft group, but yesterday I received a message that there's an event on at the home and we can't use the gazebo. It feels like bonus time! So I thought I'd use the time to do a job I've been 'meaning' to do  - make alterations to a couple of garments I like but don't wear because they're too long. The first is this skirt, which I made a couple of years ago 

The fabric is rather stiff and doesn't drape well, so the long skirt just doesn't look right. I thought perhaps it would work better as a pencil skirt. Of course, I don't want to lose the tatting ( pattern number 80 on page 63 of the Tatted Artistry of Teiko Fujito) or redo the hem, so I decided to cut the top of the skirt off. I used a skirt that I like to determine how much to cut off:

 Snip

 It looks skew here, but is actually fine. I didn't bother to retrieve the elastic, I just redid the casing from scratch:

It looks more A-line than pencil, but I still think it'll be more wearable than the long version.

Then I moved on to this blouse, which I made in 2022:

I've used the pattern several times since, so as with the skirt, I laid a blouse I do like over the top to give me a clue about where to cut:

I cut, turned the edge up, and neatened it. It may not be quite as neat as the lined original, but I will hopefully feel more inclined to wear it. Neat inside but hanging in the closet is not very useful! Here's a before and after pic of the hem:

At Last

 

At last I've finished the Spring 2025 doily. Thanks very much to Renata for the pattern, given as a tatalong on her blog. It measures 70cm across, in size 40 thread. Actually, it's Spring here now, in the Southern Hemisphere. The weather has warmed up and the trees are coming into flower. So it's an appropriate time to finish. 

Diversion

 

I put the Spring doily on hold this week while I made a food net as a birthday gift for a friend. The simple flower pattern I made up, the butterflies are Jane Eborall's. 

We've been making cards and gift bags in the craft group I run in a retirement home. They're perfect to go with the net

Working On The Final Round

 

I've made a start on round 18 of the Spring 2025 doily. I've made a slight adaptation, leaving out the rings on chains, because I want a smoother outline. It enables me to work with shuttle and ball too, though I realised after I'd started that I only have one ball of thread, so I'll be stuck when I have to refill the shuttle. I'll wind a second shuttle then. 

Round 17

 

 I put some time in and have finished tatting round 17 of the Renulek doily.  I haven't blocked it because I think the next round will hold the flappy parts in place, so it would be better to block it after that. One more round to go. 

Done

 

I started knitting these gloves straight after the market, but then dawdled about finishing them, as I got on with other things. I made a bit of progress on the Renulek doily, for instance, and did some reading. But I've finished them now. The pattern is Spragues by Galt House of Yarn, and the yarn is my handspun wool. 

I saw several people wearing my fingerless gloves at the market last week; good to spot them 'in the wild'!

Slowly

 

I've had a bit of time to tat, so I've made some progress on round 17 of the 2025 Spring Doily. I still have a long way to go though! 

Restocking

 

The puppets were commented on at the market on Saturday, but I didn't sell any.  I did sell socks and gloves though. The weather was chilly and windy; knitwear was attractive! I've started knitting replacement gloves, using the pattern Spragues by Galt House of Yarn. I had spun up four balls of wool for the market, but didn't sell them, so I was able to start knitting straight away. 

Green

 

I've been making puppets for Saturday's market. I was glad to be able to buy bright lime green towels last week. I buy the towels from a factory shop and they don't always have the colours I'm looking for. 

I hope the basket is now bright enough to catch the eye of passers by. 

Variegated Yarn, Plain Knitting

 

I usually knit socks with some kind of ribbed pattern, I think that makes them fit well, but I thought that stocking stitch would show this yarn off better. I dyed it when I did the orange/red dye mix. 

I'm working on jewelry bags again. I had to do an emergency batch last week, but the regular 30 at the end of the month is needed as well. 

Seeing Red

 

Or coral perhaps? I liked the colour that emerged when I overdyed orange yarn, so I thought I'd try to dye it in one move. I mixed orange and red dyes. It came out pretty well, I reckon. I finished knitting the solid colour socks yesterday evening: