Thursday 8 August 2013

Yummy Crochet!!




Dont you just want to dive into this!
This big basket of yarn has brought me a lot of pleasure of the last few weeks.  The bright colours have cheered me in the most stressful of times and just the thought of sitting down to crochet with it was like an instant sedative.
A couple of months ago I decided to buy an Attic 24 pack of mixed Stylecraft yarn for a blanket for Benny the studio. (Work on Benny has been severely held up due to turf!!! Very frustrating indeed).  I don't normally ike using acrylics but I wanted something that would be tough and durable and easy to wash as it was going to be used as a throw for the kids couch in my studio.  I must say this has totally won me over.  it is so easy to work with and soft to the touch.


I have not altogether stuck to Lucy's pattern and changed some of the colours and removed others that were in the pack to suit the studio when its finished.  The only mistake that I made is that I think that I may have made it a bit too long!!  I decided to make it 300 sts on the foundation chain as I need it too cover the couch.  Ehh but too much there Rosie!  Now the blanket measures a whopping 2,5m.  Hence the reason I could only get some if it in the picture!!  But I'm thinking now that in the winter I can always bring it into the house and use it on one of the kids beds to keep them nice and snug.
 For such a plain pattern it is totally addictive.  I can never wait to chose the next colour and I love seeing all the different combinations coming together.  I quite often have wrecked the heads of the family asking "what colour will come next?".  I think that they are just picking the first one that their hands land on at this stage, just to shut me up!!!

Over the last few evenings I have noticed how the nights are closing in faster and faster.  After such a long winter, it has seemed like the summer months have just not lasted long enough.  It saddens me to see the long nights returning so quickly after the glorious weather that we've been having.  I have loved this hot weather this year.  It happens so rarely here in Ireland unfortunately.  So I just couldn't understand why my kids hated it so much.  They hid in the house and cried that it was too hot to venture outside until the evening.  What?? I remember hot summers as a child where my parents would bring us swimming every day whether that was to the coast or to the nearest river or lake.  We were all good swimmers at very young ages so that was the one passtime that we all did together.  Fun times.

One other thing that I've loved most about this summer is that my garden has blossomed brilliantly and the bees and butterflies have been attracted by all of the different smells and colours.  Just sitting in the garden stitching and listening the the hum of the bees busying themselves has been pure heaven.  The unmistakable perfume of the sweet peas wafting through the breeze.


The white sweet peas here are a perennial plant and are unperfumed but are perfect for cutting.  They are more robust then the perfumed ones and last longer when brought into the house.  I like to mix them with the pretty, delicate blooms of regular ones.  It has brought me so much pleasure to bring in posies of flowers from my own garden and display them on the kitchen table or windowsill.  They have been often given as gifts too to family and friends when we visit, tied with pretty ribbons and wrapped in pretty tissue paper.


My other favourite in the garden has to be my lupins.  I have quite a few of them in quite an array of colours.  I love how the blooms last so long on them and they just keep flowering all summer long.  I have sat for long periods just watching how perfectly designed that the individual flowers are to accommodate the bees in their job collecting pollen.  As the bee lands on the bottom lip of the flower, that is the darker pink triangle at the bottom, the whole bloom opens out to reveal the golden treasure inside.  The bees finally hurry off home with their legs and tummy covered in a thick fur of sweet pollen.  Isn't nature magical?

Anyway must pop off for now.  Chat you all soon.  I have something very beautiful to show you.
Rosie xx

13 comments:

  1. Your blanket is beautiful, you will all be able to snuggle under there! A blanket like this is never too big! Yes we've had lots of bees and butterflies too, just shows you what a real summer can do, we'd almost forgotten! :) x

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  2. Rosie love your blanket and the colours you chose!! I am so looking forward to making my granny stripe. I am also a complete stylecraft lover now. Just amazing yarn to work with. I think you will end up loving the fact that its so big so you can use it for a myriad of uses. You should be proud it's a stunner! There nothing that comes close to sweet peas and your posy looks so pretty. I've never had much joy with lupins maybe it's our soil as I've tried so many times without any joy. They are so perfectly formed. Can't wait to see your next beauty. Much love xoxo

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    1. Our soil is very rich in turf so maybe that's why the lupins grow so well here. I do know that you can buy it in bags too and put it into a container and try to grow them that way.
      Rosie xx

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  3. It's so nice to see you, Rosie! The blanket is so gorgeous. You did a great job with it and I agree with Ada, a blanket can never be too big. :)

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  4. Wow, the lupin is amazing - what a shape and colour!

    The nights are closing in too quickly here too - I went out at 9 pm tonight and it was already dark - very sobering. When we were children, summer seemed to last forever, but now that we're older it just zooms by much too quickly (especially considering how long we have to wait for it).

    Your blanket is so pretty - I think the colour changes are perfect. The pattern almost looks scalloped....

    I saw a little camper for sale in someone's yard the other day and immediately thought of you and Benny. Hope you are able to make some progress there soon! :)

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    1. Oh so do I! I'm not able to think of anything else at the moment and the waiting is driving me insane. But I have a cunning plan.... I'm buying lots of things for the studio and putting them into my husbands shed. It's slowly driving him mad. Hopefully mad enough to finish his part of the work.
      Fingers crossed!
      Rosie

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  5. When I first started reading your post, my first thought was "Look at that yummy yarn, I could dive right in!"... Then I read that you wrote the same thing :)
    That blanket is gorgeous and I'm glad that it brought you happiness during stressful situations of life.
    Have a great weekend,
    Tammy

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  6. I've also noticed the nights drawing in now and keep looking over at my yarn shelves to start another yarn project. I made a similar blanket a while ago and it was far too long, however with the cooler nights me and the kids sit on our swing outside and huddle up snug and warm under it. The pattern was so easy and therapeutic. Have a wonderful weekend. xx

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  7. Just catching up here Rosie. Lovely to have you back and to hear that your Mum and Patrick are on the mend. And so many lovely things to see, starting with that glorious rainbow of yarn. When the shortest days are here that blanket will be so wonderful to snuggle into!

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  8. The blanket looks just gorgeous. The colour combination is fantastic and so cheery.

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  9. Your blanket is so beautiful. It will be so wonderful to curl up in. You flowers are beautiful too. I am glad I stopped by to visit!

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  10. Yummy yarn! Your blanket is gorgeous. The flowers are beautiful.

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  11. Hello Rosie, Your blanket is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. I love the pattern and the colour combination is beautiful. Your sweet peas are gorgeous, and one of my favourite flowers.

    luv
    ir3ne
    xxxx

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I adore to see a comment popping up. If you have the time, please do leave a few words. I try my best to reply to all the comments that I get.
Rosie xx

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