Bottle Flowers

 

I think I've said before, I hate working with paint and glue! But last week's project for a craft group in a retirement home involved glue and this week's needs paint. So be it; it probably does me good to do things I'm uncomfortable with. We're making flowers out of plastic bottles. There are a lot of posts on Pinterest showing ways of doing it.  I like that we'll be able to get two flowers from each bottle. 

Spring Doily Resumed

 

I've gone back to work on the 2025 Spring Doily, done one repeat on round 17. There was a bit of thread left on the ball I've been using, but I decided it would be better to use the different thread for the whole round, rather than changing mid way. I don't think it's going to be noticeable that I'm using a different brand. 

I'm also working on the rest of the soap bag order. I hope to finish today.

Story Puppets

 

I didn't sell any puppets at the market, but I did get an order from a traiinee teacher for four puppets to illustrate the Gruffalo story. I did the mouse but put the project on hold to knit leg warmers that were needed urgently. I promised to finish the puppets over the weekend. And did. 

Overdyeing

 On Tuesday I received a message asking if I could knit a pair of leg warmers. Sure. By Saturday. Mmm, not so sure. That wasn't long to spin wool, wash it, dye it and dry it before I could begin knitting. Plan B required. Remember the orange/blue yarn I dyed last week for the market? I rewound the balls into skeins and then overdyed them with red dye. 

It worked fine. I didn't think there was enough for leg warmers, so I dyed a couple of half skeins of pink as well. The picture I was sent showed striped leg warmers, so that was fine. Once the wool was dry, I started knitting in earnest, in between other tasks that life requires. I finished at 5pm yesterday. 

They've just been collected. so that's mission accomplished. It was difficult to get the colour to look correct in photos. The top picture is more representative than the bottom one. 

Revisiting Interlocking Crochet

 

 I bought two balls of cotton yarn some time ago with the idea of revisiting interlocking crochet. At last I got around to it. I was a bit appalled at how much effort it took to relearn the technique, but after half a dozen false starts I did get going. I played yarn chicken and lost, so the top square has one more row than the bottom one. I could undo one row, but I think I'll leave it, it's not obvious that they're not the same size. And they make a fraternal pair to use as pot holders. 

Sunday Sewing

 

I have an order for four puppets and I still have to finish the soap bag order, but I decided to take some time to sew for myself. I really need a new nightie or two. Jack went off to watch cricket, so I was able to sew without interruption.

I used my favourite dress pattern, but made the bodice band longer, for a looser fit. 

I sold the pink/grey gloves at the market on Saturday, and a scarf. It was a warm and sunny day, in spite of us being in the middle of Winter; lovely, but not ideal for selling knitwear. 

Soap Bags

 

I share a table at the market with a friend who makes soap. Sarah wants small bags to put soap in. She thought that my sewing pupil might like to do the job. He did 10, but that was enough for him. He's only 11 years old, so an order  for 50 bags was more than he could manage.  I said I'd have a go. This is half the order, which I'll take to the market, and then I'll do the rest next week. They take a bit longer to do than the jewelry bags and I'm still developing my rhythm, but I'm sure I'll soon have the hang of it. 

I have finished the pink/grey gloves and made a start on the blue/grey ones

I'll use the same Spragues pattern. Diane did some research and discovered that sprague is a word derived from Old English that means alert or lively. Thanks Diane! 

Colour

 

I dyed the wool in the microwave on Monday afternoon, one skein pink and grey, one blue and grey and two blue and orange. I like how they came out. I'm knitting the pink and grey, using a pattern called Spragues by the Galt House of Yarn. 

I'm doing the short wrist version, though I think the long one is rather elegant. I wonder what spragues means?