Saturday Shenanigans - 28.06.2014

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to things better. Trying to do my exercises as often as possible although I can find excuses for not doing them (this week my left knee has become swollen and my right knee has been playing up a bit). I have also tried to get my crafting mojo back by setting myself daily targets although I seemed to have missed today's target.

The diabetics educator wanted me to increase the number of times I check my blood sugar levels so I try to make sure I check them first thing in the morning and then 2 hours after each meal. Sometimes that isn't possible (Sunday mornings I'm in church 2 hours after breakfast). I'm still trying to figure out if the meals I'm having are actually having an effect on my bsl because it seems to be different all the time whether I've eaten the same things or not. I will just have to check with the doctor next time I see her.

This week we had the last of our Red Shield meetings for a while. We still haven't got the final figures but we are definitely down on last year. From the figures that I've see, we're not the only corps that hasn't made their target. Our next meeting is in October so we will probably get the final figures then and find out what our target is for next year.

It's getting toward the end of the month so I guess it's time to revue my to-do list, so here it is.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

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

Sunhat and Bootees in white

Large Jug Covers

Small Jug Covers

Small Penguin

Tiny Duck

Tiny Dog

Heather Hippo

Large Witch

Large Penguin

Current Work In Progress:

Toddlers Jacket
Trauma Teddies

Tartan Blanket – taken over from Sue

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Knooked Scarf

Woollen Baby Blanket using Motifs from Ellen's book

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)

I have added a few toys that I sold ages ago but never got around to remaking.

I think that's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday - 27.06.2014

Sorry for the late posting, I actually forgot to do this last night so it's Saturday morning here. It's still Friday in some parts of the world so I guess it's not too late.

Anyhow, here are my FOs for this week.

Handkerchief Border

I probably should have ironed this but the is still some embroidery to be done on it so I have handed back to the activities group organiser to handle that bit.

Matinee Jacket

I think I have plenty of blue jackets now so I will do a couple of ensembles to finish off all the boys clothes. I noticed that I didn't actually have anything in pink when I last took the stall out but I do have plenty in other girly colours. I have too much to do at the moment to worry about pink stuff but I'm sure I will get around to it eventually.

Small Bunny

This one will complete my selection of bunnies. It comes in three sizes and now I have one of each.

Trauma Teddy #42

I have kinda lost count of how many of these I have done this year but there are now 42 pictured on my Ravelry project page for these.

Knitted Trauma Teddies #5 and #6

The lady that knits these is now giving me the yarn to sew them up so the stitching isn't as noticeable as it has been.

That's it for this week. Check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 25.06.2014

This week I have concentrated on finishing off things that were almost finished so at least one of my projects has been neglected but three others have been finished. Here are the projects that I have worked on that won't feature in Friday's post.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

Hopefully the first few rows of this will work up a bit faster the second time through since some of the motifs are already done.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I seem to be getting some interesting pooling of colours going on here but I just started another ball of yarn so that might mess it up a bit.

Knooked Scarf

Another repetition of the pattern is done.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

This is almost long enough to start on the finishing touches. Just one more complete repetition of the pattern should do it.

No work was done on the tartan this week so I guess it will be first cab off the rank for next week. I will also have to think about starting a couple of other projects.

Be sure to come back on Friday to see all the finished objects. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 20.06.2014

It's Friday again and that means it's time to show you all what I have finished this week. I haven't been particularly productive this week and have only finished one item, and here it is.

Trauma Teddy # 41

I am sure I will have more to show you next week. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 18.06.2014

I have had another week where I have struggled to concentrate on my projects. As a result, two of my WIPs didn't get worked on, two others that should have been finished this week aren't and one of my other projects didn't get worked on so FO Friday is going to be a bit light on for photos this week.

Anyhow, most of my projects have been worked on so here are my WIPs for this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket

I pulled this one apart and started again. The plan is to scatter the motifs with the different yarn throughout the blanket to try and make them less obvious and kinda make it look like it was done on purpose.

Knooked Scarf

We had a knitting party at our local Spotlight store and this is the project that I took with me. A few people were somewhat intrigued with the fact that I was using a crochet hook to achieve a knitted fabric.

Small Bunny

This is one of those projects that should have been finished this week but all I did was to crochet the other ear parts, sew up the main body and start stuffing it. I need to finish stuffing, sew up the ears and sew them on, crochet the tail and sew it into place and embroider the facial features. I should be able to do that over the weekend.

Matinee Jacket

This is the other project that should have been finished by now and all I did this week was to crochet the second sleeve. I will have to see if I can find time to sew this one together over the weekend.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I finished making the mesh and now I'm onto weaving in the chains. It should start looking like a tartan soon.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Another couple of stints in waiting rooms has seen this grow a little more. I'm not sure where I will take it next. Maybe to the Knit in Public Day event that one of the local business people has organised.

That's all my WIPs for this week. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have finished but don't expect to be surprised by it. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 14.06.2014

This has been another up and down week. I haven't done my exercises as often as I should and I have been having trouble finding my crochet/knitting/knooking mojo. I seem to be too easily distracted by things I find on the internet and my tablet games. I haven't even got around to finishing off the photos from last year's holiday.

What I did do this week included making up a couple of hanging towels, making a trauma teddy and finishing two others that someone else knitted, singing at a concert at an old people's home and attending a knitting party at our local Spotlight.

On another note, my blood sugar levels have been going up and down like a yo-yo. I'm not sure if this is normal at this point in time but I'm sure the diabetes educator, dietitian and doctor will eventually tell me. Since I haven't been given a strict diet to follow or medication to keep it under control I guess I will have to wait and see.

I was originally planning on spending the day in Barnawatha with the ladies of the North East Victoria Yarn Lovers but we didn't get up until late and didn't get out of the house until after 1pm so we opted for the knitting party at Spotlight instead. There were a few of the regulars there and I we met a a couple of new people. We tried to get some of them interested in our Craft'n'Cuppa or the Friday morning crochet classes but time will tell if we were successful.

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

Richard.

Friday FOs - 13.06.2014

Well, in spite of the loss of my mojo and being distracted by other things I have still managed to finish a few items this week. Here they are.

2 Hanging Towels

1 Crocheted Trauma Teddy (#40)

2 Knitted Trauma Teddies

I'm only sewing up the knitted teddies while the person that usually does these is on holidays. The lady that knits them can't do it herself.

That's it from me for this week. Be sure to check the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making, and if you get the chance, don't forget to knit or crochet in public sometime over the next week or so.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 11.06.2014

This week has been a bit up and down for me. Some days I was crocheting away quite well, others it seemed that I had lost my mojo. It didn't help that we had a house inspection today so have had to spend some time cleaning up the place to make at least semi-presentable. As a result, a couple of items missed out on getting any attention.

Here are the items that did get worked on and remain WIPs.

Handkerchief Border

Just one more side then it will be time to sew in the ends, block and iron and it will be ready to hand back to the activities group to be included in their next raffle.

Woollen Baby Blanket - Motifs from Ellen Gormley's Book

I have a small dilemma with this. I started on a new ball of cream for the outer rounds and it is noticeably different to the previous. It doesn't look it in this photo and I didn't notice it when I was sewing the new octagons into place but it is very noticeable when out in the daylight. I have to decide whether to continue, undo and replace the old cream with the new or something different. I might pull it apart then intersperse the older cream throughout the blanket which will save me having to redo the outer rounds. Whatever I do, it's going to mean a lot of work.

Knooked Scarf

Just like knitted projects, progress on this is quite slow, and the extended crossed knit stitches aren't speeding things up, if anything, they're slowing me down, but I will get there in the end.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I didn't make the 8 rows this week, I think I managed just 6.

Matinee Jacket

Just one more sleeve then sew it all together. I might have this done for next week so long as my mojo hangs around.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

I have had a couple of sessions on this one with doctors visits and x-rays and ultrasound for Sue's sore shoulder. Still have a bit to do before it's long enough.

That's it for the WIPs this week. The tartan rug and the rabbit will have to be first off the rank for next week. Check back on Friday for my usual FOs and check out the links in the sidebar in the mean time.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 07.06.2014

I have had an up and down week this week. Some days I have been full of energy, ready to do anything that need to be done and others I've been quite tired and ready to go back to bed. I don't know if that has anything to do with the diabetes or if it's simply because I don't sleep through the night due to circulation problems.

Both Sue and I have had problems with our right shoulders this week. Sue felt that hers was bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor's but the doc seemed to think it was just bursitis and has sent her in for ultrasound. Mine may be similar (it feels much the same as my left shoulder) and the best thing I can do for it is keep moving it.

Today was market day in Mt Beauty and I had a good day. It wasn't really anything to write home about (no cartwheels today) but I ended up in profit so that was good. Once I got home though all I could do was sit in front of the TV and go to sleep. That could be because I got up at 5:00am to get to Mt Beauty by 7:30.

We have an inspection this week so the next couple of days will be spent making sure everything is reasonably tidy and all floors, walls, benches and anything else that needs to be are clean.

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

Richard.

Friday FOs - 06.06.2014

I have a bit of a surprise this week. I don't have any towels. Don't worry, I'm sure I will have some for next week.

Here are my FOs for this week.

Cheval Set

I found this pattern in an old booklet that I bought at a market some time ago.

Trauma Teddy #39

I think I should have started a new Ravelry project for these this year as I keep forgetting how many I've done since the beginning of the year. I think I have missed one week.

2 knitted Trauma Teddies

These are the reason that I don't have any towels done this week. I was given a couple of squares knitted by one of the ladies at church and asked to sew them up, so that's what I did.

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

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 04.06.2014

This week has been a bit of a different week as far as my projects go. I was given a couple of items to finish off for someone else and that kinda made it difficult for me to get as much done on my other projects as I would have liked. As a result of this one project didn't get worked on at all but it's not one that would normally show up as a WIP anyway as I normally manage to finish one or two of these in a week. What this means is that there will be extra FOs on Friday. In the mean time, here are my WIPs.

Handkerchief Border

I'm about halfway with the round of picots. I'm finding working picots in #40 cotton a bit tedious so I'm taking it a bit slow. It will be another couple of weeks before this is ready for blocking.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

A couple more octagons have been added. Still quite slow by my standards. I might have to consider not starting anything new until I have finished this.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I made a concerted effort to add 8 rows to this one. If I can add 8 rows each week I will be happy.

Matinee Jacket

Now that I have finished with the body and made a start on the yoke this is looking less like a blanket and more like a jacket.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

Just a few more rows on the mesh and then I start make and weaving in the chains.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

You probably can't see what I have added to this as it was only a row and a bit. That was all I had time to do while in the podiatrists waiting room.

Small Bunny

The second half of the body is finished and two halves on the ears are done. I think I was a bit ambitious in thinking I could get this finished this week. Maybe one more session.

Knooked Scarf

I almost forgot to take a photo of this one as it was kinda hiding under my bag of stuffing. I actually added 24 rows to this which included the special stitch rows.

That's it for this week. I will have some finished items to show you on Friday so be sure to check back then to see what I've got done. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others are making.

Richard.