Wednesday WIPs - 30.04.2014

It has been another busy week here in Rose Manor but I didn't manage to work on every project. One got missed but I will make sure it gets worked on between now and next Wednesday. Here are the WIPs I have worked on this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book.

I managed to get three motifs done this week to finish off the second row of octagons.

Cheval Set

I'm almost finished the first of the smaller doilies in this set. Things go a lot smoother when you don't make mistakes and have to rip back.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

The next colour band has been done. I'm going to have to start folding this in half to photograph it as it will soon be too big for the sheet I putting it on.

Baby Blue Shell Stitch Matinee Jacket

This is the next in a series of matinee jackets.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

As the rows get bigger progress seems to be slowing down. I think I got the same number of stitches done this week as last but it just doesn't look like it.

Frida the Fish

The body and tail are done, just need to do the fins and the eyes.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

I'm sure I worked out that I would need 15 repeats of the pattern but it just isn't long enough yet. I got the width about right but I need another 60cm on the length.

That's all the WIPs I have worked on this week. Be sure to check back on Friday to see my finished items. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been working on.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 26.04.2014

This week has been a week of decisions. The first decision was to give up on my studies. Trying to keep up with housework and looking after Sue while studying just didn't seem to be working. I was getting too far behind on my studies and the housework wasn't getting done either. It is yet to be seen if the housework actually gets done now but at least there is one less thing demanding my time.

The second decision involved our online shop. I decided that I needed a Facebook page for it to see if that gets it any more attention. On that page I will be highlighting different products that we sell and showing off the newer items that I am adding each week. We will have to wait and see how that goes but I did get at least one like on the first day that I had it up.

Today we went for a little drive down to Wangaratta to check out the Wang Woolly Day. There was quite a bit there that I would have bought if we didn't have so much already on hand or had a specific project for but we didn't buy anything. In some ways it was a little disappointing as there wasn't as much there as I thought there might be but I did see a couple of ladies doing things that I hadn't tried yet, broomstick lace and hairpin lace. I don't know if I will ever try either but at least I have now seen first hand how it's done.

It being close to the end of the month and with good sales at recent markets I figured it was about time I reviewed my to-do list. This is what it looks like today.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Hanging Towels

Small Bunny

Jacket, Pants and Hat set in blue (need a couple of other colours also)

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Fans Bookmark

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Doily from an old pattern book I bought

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

Frida Fish

Matinee Jacket

Bootees

Hanging Towels

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Banner for Stall

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Dinosaurs (bought the patterns from PlanetJune)

There is plenty there for me to work on but if someone commissions something from me I will happily take it on (I know, I'm a sucker for punishment).

That's it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 25.04.2014

I have been quite busy this week and I will try to tell you something of that tomorrow, but now it's time to show off my finished objects for this week. Here they are.

A pink hanging towel

A Blue Matinee Jacket

A Pair of Pink Bootees

Trauma Teddy #33

I still need to do more baby clothes in blue so to satisfy the lack of stuff for baby boys but I still need to replace the stock I have sold so there will still be the odd pink, purple, yellow or orange item getting done. I also need to either find the pattern for the bonnet that I sold last Saturday or get the other one out of stock and reverse engineer it.

That's my crafting for this week. To see what others have been making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 23.04.2014

Wednesday is here again and it is time to show off my WIPs. I have plenty to to show you this week plus I have a bonus, you get to see what Sue is working on at the moment.

Here they are.

Cheval Set

I have started on the first of the smaller doilies in this set.

Knooked Scarf

I have managed to get past the next set of special stitch rows.

Frida the Fish

The third panel is complete. I just have to sew the pieces together and stuff the body, then I can work on the tail and the fins.

A Pink Bootee

The first of a pair.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I found some red that appears to be a close match to the one used for the other red rows as well as what I think is the rest of the blue and green used for this.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

I need to start checking the size on this to see how close I'm getting. By my calculations I should have about a dozen rows to go but it doesn't look long enough to me. I will need to have a look  at the pattern and see how long it is supposed to be.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I haven't quite made enough of these yet. I just need one more, unless I sell some.

Woollen Baby's Blanket

Another couple of octagons have been added.

And now, here is what Sue has been working on.

White Matinee Jacket

We both like these jackets that are made up in one piece and this one is great. Sue is now working across the back.

That is most of what we have been working on this week. Come back on Friday to see the rest. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been working on.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 19.04.2014

The last couple of weeks have had me thinking about my priorities and my future. I am now quite a bit behind with my college work and am finding study very hard to concentrate as there are so many distractions like housework, Sue and my crafting. I didn't get assessment 4 in on time, I'm going to be over a week late with assessment 5 and there is little chance that I will be able to do 6 and 7 on time ( 6 is due tomorrow night). It all just seems too hard and I'm considering giving up on this diploma. Do I really need it? Will it really help me in the future? I'm not sure about either of those questions.

On a more positive note, I went to Beechworth today for the Easter Market and had a really good day. I only had 5 sales but those 5 sales added up to one of the best days I have ever had at markets. While it does seem like a lot of hard work for just $76 profit and I now have a number of items to add to the to-do list I think it was worth it. I will now also have to check my Madeit store to make sure that nothing I sold today is still listed there as it would be embarrassing to sell it twice.

There seems to be quite a bit of interest in selling through Facebook these days and I might look into it for myself. I may not actually sell on the Facebook page but instead use it to direct people to my Madeit store and try to get some extra sales that way. I could also use the Facebook page for custom orders as I'm not sure that Madeit is really set up for that sort of thing. I will definitely have to look into this as soon as I decide what I'm going to do about my study.

With this being Easter weekend there is quite a bit going on. We had our Good Friday service yesterday morning followed by the Stations of the Cross and tomorrow we need to get up very early for the dawn service. We're expecting a few people from other churches to be there to help celebrate the rising of our Lord.

That's been my week this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Friday FOs 18.04.2014

This week's FOs are only items that I have done this week, things that I can make in an afternoon.

A couple of Hanging Towels

A pair of Bootees

Trauma Teddy #32

I'm sure I will have more finished next week but that's it for this week.

If you want to see what others have been making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 16.04.2014

Well, it's that time of the week again, time to show off how much I have managed to do in a week. It has been quite a busy week here, especially with preparations for Red Shield, but I have still found time to crochet.

Here are my WIPs as they looked at 3pm this afternoon.

Woollen Baby Blanket

I managed to get a couple of octagons done in spite of crochet class being in hiatus.

Knooked Scarf

I did a few more rows on this while at the markets on Saturday.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I managed to finish the section of green that I started last week. Now I need to find the red that Sue was using so that I can continue.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

I managed to complete another lace section.

Cheval Set

I have finished the crocheting of the large doily in the set. It just needs the ends sewn in and blocking.

Frida the Fish

The second section of the fish is now complete. One more section to go and it will be ready to sew together then work on the tail.

The next three items are things that I thought I would have finished by now. It seems that I may have been a little ambitious.

A Hanging Towel

A Pair of Bootees

A Matinee Jacket 

I am pretty sure I can get the towel and the bootees finished before Friday but the matinee jacket will take a little longer.

Be sure to come back on Friday to see what I have managed to finish this week. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 11.04.2014

Well, it has been another busy week here in Rose Manor and I have managed to finish a few items this week. Here they are.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

This is the fifth one of these that I have managed to complete. I have only ever sold one but they seem to create quite a bit of interest. It does mean that I need one more to bring my stock up to the five that I like to have as a minimum.

Three Hanging Towels

I'm getting through my supply of towels and have enough stock now to have ten hanging up with some in reserve. I still have plenty more to make up though.

Blue Baby's Bootees

There have been complaints lately that I don't have enough boys stuff so I thought it was time to find some blue yarn and fix that. This is my favourite bootee pattern as it doesn't involve sewing seams.

Trauma Teddy # 31

This is number 15 for this year. I just gotta remember to take them to church with me on Sunday.

That's it for this week. As usual, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 09.04.2014

It's that time of the week again, time for me to show everyone how busy I have been this week. Here is what my WIPs looked like at about 4pm today.

Woollen Baby Blanket - Motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

Started on the second row of octagons.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

A few more rows have been added to this.

Cheval Set - large doily

I'm almost finished the first of the three doilies in this set.

Knooked Scarf

I'm past the first set of special stitch rows. I'm not sure if they look any better in rows than they do in rounds but I think they add a little bit to the piece.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I ripped back all that I had done in the last couple of weeks and redid it using a 3.5mm hook. I think it matches Sue's gauge a lot better than the 4mm hook did.

Frida the Fish #2

I've started another fish. This time using dusty pink, mauve and orange.

I did start another project this evening, a blue matinee jacket, but haven't got any photos yet. I'm hoping to have it finished before next Wednesday so the first you should see of it is as an FO.

Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have managed to finish this week. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 05.04.2014

I just checked back and see that it has been at least three weeks since I last did one of these updates, and quite a bit has happened in that three weeks, although I won't go into all the gory details, unless someone asks for them.

The main one was the prostate biopsy that I went in for a couple of weeks ago. It was most uncomfortable, quite painful and made just that much more awkward because the theatre nurse was a lady from church. The reaction I get from various people when I tell them this varies depending on the gender of the person I tell. The guys are sympathetic towards me and the women want to offer the lady in question therapy. It would be amusing if it weren't so uncomfortable, and if any woman wants to tell me about how bad her mammogram was I will have no qualms in giving her all the gory details of what I went through. On a more positive note, the test came back negative, however, they miss one in ten so I have to go for further tests to make sure I'm not one that they missed.

I have managed to keep up with all my assessments for college in spite of my little meltdown a few weeks ago, although I still need to do one before midnight tomorrow, and I'm still waiting for some sort of feedback to tell me if I'm doing OK or if I'm barking up the wrong tree. Looks like I might have to spend a couple of hours tomorrow to try and get this one done anyway.

There have been a couple of markets in the last couple of weeks and, while I haven't sold a lot of stuff, it has shown up some deficiencies. Namely in the area of boys baby clothes, so it looks like I'm going to have to extend my to-do list again (and I thought I was going so well). I might have to take time out from the towels to see what I can do about this deficiency.

Today's market was at My Beauty, a 200km round trip, and, while I only sold two pair of bootees, there was a positive vibe with quite a few people complimenting me on my work. I even heard from one of the other stall holders that he had overheard a couple of ladies talking about the quality and diversity of the stock I had and their surprise that it was a guy that had made most of it. Unfortunately, compliments don't pay the bills or replenish my supplies. Ah well, maybe the next couple of markets will be better.

I have two more markets this month. The next is at Myrtleford and the second at Beechworth on Easter Saturday. Myrtleford hasn't been particularly good lately but Beechworth has been quite profitable in the past so I'm hoping it can be even better this year.

That's it for me for the last few weeks. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 04.04.2014

I might be falling a little behind on my school work but I'm pumping out the finished objects. Here are this weeks contributions.

This week's Trauma Teddy

This is number 14 for this year.

Clara the Friendly Robot

I now have two of these on my stall. Hopefully, if I do enough duplicates, this will satisfy those people with two children to buy stuffed toys for.

Four Pink Hanging Towels

I would have liked to have made more this week but this will have to do. These will add a bit more colour to my towel collection as is was looking predominantly blue.

That's it for this week. Check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 02.04.2014

I have been very busy this week, trying to get assessments done for college, visits to the doctors and crocheting like crazy. I think I managed to work on all my major projects this week and even managed to finish one.

Here are my WIPs for this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket

Another 4 motifs have been add to this one. I think I'm almost at the width that I want but I will need to measure it up just to make sure.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Not a lot has happened on this one this week but I'm sure I remember getting it out. I should of taken it with me when I went to see the specialist but I was running late and didn't expect to have much of a wait when I got there. I had to wait about 40 minutes! Just think how much I could have got done in that time.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

It looks like I'm going to have to rip out what I have done on this as my tension isn't the same as Sue's. I thought she would have used at least a 4mm hook but it looks like I need to go down to 3.5mm. I guess the yarn will go further that way.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I think I made pretty good progress on this one. About 8 rows to go and I should be ready to sew up the seams and finish this one off.

Cheval Set - Large Doily

I found another mistake in this and had to rip back a row so I only got one new row done this week. There's only a couple more rows to do and then I start working on the smaller doilies in the set.

Knooked Scarf

I got about 20 rows done on this while at the markets on Saturday afternoon. This is my first time at knooking in rows and I'm finding that the curl seems to be the wrong way. It's curling the same way my tunisian crochet does instead of the way my knitting does. I guess that is because knooked knit and purl stitches are done in much the same way as tunisian knit and purl stitches. In any case, it is unusual to see stocking stitch curling down on itself instead of in from the sides.

That's it for me for now. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have managed to finish, and check out the link in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been  making.

Richard.