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Well we're back from taking Tom to university in Portsmouth. Its been quite a hectic weekend and I confess to very contrasting emotions about it- it is the right time for him to leave and move on so in a way I'm not sad, but I'm also a mum so I'm worrying about him all the time... gosh I hope I get past that stage quick! I have to keep busy to help forget ... cooking, crochet and blogging here I come...


I've been asked a few questions about the quantities of yarn I use to make my hexagon grannies so I've got my best maths head on and worked out a few things. 

 Firstly my Field of Flowers granny; 79 four round hexagons weighed 380g. This is with a fairly cheap acrylic wool blend- I'm not too worried that wool is softer (but then I'm the sort of person who doesn't use fabric softener in my wash as I don't really see much difference). I also use a 4mm hook with double knit wool. As I used wool from my stash I didn't buy anything to make this granny. I reckon on doing another 18 hexagons which will be another two rows. This will give a blanket that fits from lap to floor for one person - I may of course keep going and make it larger so two can snuggle under it- I still have plenty of left over wool- that will depend on how I feel about it... I make decisions with a very emotional viewpoint, ie I do what feels right for me... the best thing about doing grannies is that you can make the blanket as small or big as you like- mine mostly turn out about the size that covers my lap nicely when  I sit and watch TV so sizing them involves simply laying them over me and adding more until I'm happy with the size!


I took six complementary colours of wool with me to Portsmouth so I could crochet on the way. I've done 40 hexagons to round 3 already and really love these colours. I intend to try and make each one different. If I've worked it out right this means I can do 120 different hexagons. 


The maths part now- 40 hexagons to row 3 weighed 105g. So my six 100g balls of wool should be able to make around 240 hexagons. I plan to do row 4 in white to join the hexagons. Based on the Flowers granny 40 hexagons to round 4 is about 190g so for 40 hexagons round 4 alone would need around about 85g of wool. (If you've spotted a mistake in my maths I don't mind if you gloat quietly!) I bought 1200g of white not long ago so I've plenty and will probably do a picot edge when I'm done. 


This one is a bit special because of the link to Tom leaving- I've already called it Strands. The six colours either represent the strands of my family-the five of us plus us a whole... the strands are the way we all interact and mix in multiple ways...


or the strands of my life; wife, mother, woman, person, crafter, worker... interwined with each other...


or the stages of my life; baby, child, teenager, independent young adult, parent, independent adult.


All the strands weave in and out of each other, making the myriad colours and patterns of life.


So philosophical... must be to do with all the change in my life at the moment...


Oh and by the way, tonight I burnt the tip of my right index finger whilst cooking tea so I'm not actually sure if I can crochet today- won't stop me trying though!


So until next time
Gillian

Plymouth my way!

Here's a few of my more unusual photos of Plymouth... they are a little grey, but the weather was overcast and drizzly so I think it gives an atmospheric feel- my way of saying there wasn't much I can do about it!

We wanted to do the Plymouth wheel but didn't have time before we had to check out of the hotel.














Loved the way the bird was just sitting there... maybe it understood what it was about!








There were loads of amazing statues and monuments on Plymouth Hoe.



















We really enjoyed the Barbican area- it strikes me as a weird mix of old and new trying to look oldish- but it works for me.


My favourite photo of the day---- John








... and here is my favourite of me- sometimes I do let someone else have the camera!







Have a look at out family blog Adventures in Geoland ( http://adventuresingeoland.blogspot.com/) for more about our day in Plymouth.

So until next time
Gillian

Crochet: unfinished and new

I've only had a little time for crochet this week and so my amigurumi are making slow progress. I didn't feel like finishing my unfinished ones at the moment and so moved onto a new one....   I've never have been the sort of person who does things the sensible way if I don't feel like it!

My new amigurumi is again from Saplanet, it's going to be a pink WaWa, a sleeping baby monster. I think it's a really cute pattern...

Starting the head

Essential item 2. Stitch counter

Here are my two essential items for crochet; my comfort hook and stitch counter. My third essential is my stitch marker (the little green clip in the main photo).

Essential item 1. Comfort grip hook

On Mother's Day last week, my youngest son gave me a really sweet Blue Nose Friend soft toy badger called Bracken. I absolutely love it and was delighted when my wonderful husband bought me a second Blue Nose Friend on Thursday; a cute orangutan called Jungle.

Aren't they cute? Just adorable.

I feel a new collection coming on...











Until next time
Gillian

My Favourite Quilts

I started quilting 18 months ago. I had had a bad case of flu and was off work for a week and a half, and over the following week I had started doing a lot of crochet as I started to recover. Within a day or two I had a lot of pain down my left wrist and hand. Thinking it was 'crochet cramps' (holding the needle tightly can make your hand ache) I looked for something else to do. A new fabric shop had opened in Bodmin and so I visited, saw a pack of 5 inch squares of coordinating fabrics I really liked, bought them and started my first quilt. At that time I had not long since bought a sewing machine so it felt like a touch of destiny to find a new thing to use it for.

I learnt a lot making that first quilt, I kept visiting that shop where a lady would patiently show me what I had to do for each new step. I finished that quilt quickly, bought a couple of quilt design books and moved rapidly onto another quilt.

It wasn't long after that that I decided that I wanted to make my quilts double sided. I enjoyed piecing the fabric to make the patchwork fronts but realised I didn't particularly enjoy the actual quilting. My solution was to make two patchworks for each quilt. I also liked the idea of being able to change the look of a quilt by simply turning it over. It seemed such a good idea to me that I was shocked at the attitude I received when I asked around how I could do it. I was bluntly told that it wasn't done, proper quilting was done the way I was shown. To sum it up, there was supposedly only one right way to do quilting!

I didn't give up quilting, but I did start shopping for fabric elsewhere! I then met a lovely lady in Truro Fabrics who told me 'You do what you like. Rules are meant to be broken.' She gave me confidence to do as I pleased and I moved on to find my own way of doing things. And I've produced some pretty good double sided quilts since!!!

Here are a few of my favourites.

This one is mine. The colours and vibrancy just feel right...

My favourite quilt- its the colours that make it!

Reverse of my favourite

This one is a complete contrast, but I love it none the less. It is soothing and restful. Total elegance.

"Zen Garden" quilt - Gentle neutral blocks

Reverse of "Zen Garden"

This quilt is not reversible in the same way. The back is one patterned piece of fabric with just three alternate squares of contrasting fabric for interest.

"Strawberry Picnics" quilt

By the way, the 'crochet cramps' led to several months of physiotherapy and were latered identified as being linked to the flu virus lingering in one limb. How weird is that? My wrist had flu!

Until next time

Gillian