Friday FOs - 29.08.2014

I have been quite busy with the crochet hooks this week and have managed to finish four items, and here they are.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I have now made six of these jackets and now have five for the stall (I have managed to sell one since starting to make these) which means that I can now find something else to make until I sell more of these. I think I should try and find something that is a bit more boyish.

Baby Bootees

I have been experimenting with Crocodile Stitch lately (called it dragon scale the other day, slight brain fade I think) and decided to make my standard bootees with a Crocodile Stitch cuff. I think they worked out quite well.

Tiny Duck

Just because I like to have two of all the smaller toys that I make (after someone complained that I didn't) I needed to make a second duck, and here it is.

Trauma Teddy #51

This is the 33rd Trauma Teddy for this year and I am quite liking the new design even if others aren't (they seem to prefer the ones that are made flat and stitched up the back). The other is a bit easier in some respects (like figuring out the middle for separating the legs) but I have never been into doing a lot of sewing and I like being able to pull the stitches a bit tighter around the neck in order to make it look like they have necks.

That's it for the FOs this week. To see more FOs just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 27.08.2014

I have made quite a bit of progress on my WIPs this week and even managed to turn one of them into a FO.

Here are all the items that I have worked one this week that won't be featured on Friday.

Woollen Baby Blanket

I managed to add four more octagons to this one on Friday morning then found that I still had a bit of time to spare so I worked on the tunisian spiral blanket also.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

Managed another couple of colour changes.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I have reached the halfway mark for weaving in the chains. Now I just reverse the pattern all the way to the end.

Dragon Scale Christmas Tree

I thought I might have a go at this one for a change of pace. I'm not following the pattern exactly but it is still looking quite good.

Experimental Bear

I started making the arms and legs but didn't get very far. I think I can get this finished for next week though.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

I managed to add a few more row to the pants. still a bit to do before I start on the legs though.

That's all my WIPs for this week. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what items 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 working on.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 22.08.2014

I haven't finished anything major this week, just another tiny toy and another trauma teddy. Here they are.

Tiny Duck

This is to replace the one I sold a couple of months back. I will be making another of these just to make sure I have a couple on hand.

Trauma Teddy #50

This is number 32 for this year. If I manage to finish one per week for the rest of the year I should have completed 50 this year and 68 all up. The ears on this one are a bit odd. Maybe I can improve on the next one.

That's it for me for this week. As usual, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 20.08.2014

When I went out to take photos of all my WIPs this afternoon I thought I had worked on all my projects this week but discovered that there was one that missed out, so it will have to be the first cab off the rank tomorrow. I also had a small problem when I went to crochet class on Friday. I forgot to take the project I wanted to work on so I had to work on something else instead.

Here are this week's WIP photos.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

I hadn't intended to work on this this week but it was the only project I had in my bag at crochet class so I worked on it until I got to a point where I couldn't continue because I didn't have the colour I wanted to use next. I will have to make sure I have more colours available for the next time I get this out.

I then had the problem of what to do for the rest of the class so I started another new blanket.

Yarn Eater (Hungarian crochet) Blanket 

This was one of those future projects that I had listed on the to-do list but was going to happen next year or maybe the year after. I still have so many other things that I want to get done but I just didn't have the yarn available at the time.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

This was the project that I had intended to take with me on Friday. I still managed to add 4 hexagons to it so it is still on track.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

I am almost half way with the weaving of the chains and it is starting to look more like a tartan each week. Still plenty of work to be done.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

The second sleeve is almost done. I might even be able to finish this before next Wednesday.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

I managed to start on the pants this week. The first few rows are always a bit fiddly as I crochet over the hat elastic but I'm past that now so the rest should make up fairly quickly.

As usual, this isn't all that I have worked on this week. I have managed to finish a couple of items so you can check back on Friday to see them. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 15.08.2014

Hello and welcome to another FO Friday post. I have the usual finish as well as a couple of others, and here they are.

Knooked Scarf

I'm not sure if my special stitches show up real well but I don't think that this was a failed experiment. Knooking does allow for easily mixing Crochet, Tunisian and Knitting stitches and I may do further experimenting with this.

Tiny Dog

Now I have two of these I can move on to the next toy.

Trauma Teddy #49

I'm still experimenting with making these in the round and one of the ladies at Craft'n'Cuppa on Wednesday suggested making the arms a bit bulkier. I'm not so sure about these and will probably switch back to the less bulky arms for the next one.

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

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 13.08.2014

Well, progress has been made this week and it is now time to show you how much. This week all WIPs have been worked on and three items have been finished. Here are the items that are still WIPs.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

Another row of squares has been added. I bought some more wool for the outer rows of the motifs and it's paler than the first lot so now I'm going to have to get creative with how I fit this into the scheme of things. I'm sure I can figure something out.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

Progress on this seems a bit slow but it is quite a big job making the chains and weaving them in.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I think I'm about halfway on the second sleeve. A couple more weeks and I will be able to weave in the ends, sew on a button and call it finished.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set.

The Jacket is all but done. Now to find my hat elastic and start on the pants.

Experimental Teddy

I'm sure this won't be the final design for the Teddies I'm doing for the guy at church but I will still finish it and see how it looks.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

More time in waiting rooms means more time working on this one. I don't think I have any more appointments for a few weeks so this might get put away for a little while.

That's all I have to show you for today. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have managed to finish this week and check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 08.08.2014

On Wednesday I said that I had three FOs to show off today but I managed to finish off another item this morning so now I have four, and here they are.

Small Santa Stocking

The first of many Santa Stockings.

Tiny Dog

I've used a 5c coin for a size comparison as I think this is one coin that is the same (or at least comparable) size with coins of other currencies. I think our 5c is similar in size to both the US nickel and the UK 5p.

Trauma Teddy #48

I have decided to experiment a bit with making these in the round to save on stitching. It also gives me the option of doing the legs separately, which will fulfill a request from a friend at church, and draw the neck in a bit. I think this new teddy needs a bit of tweaking but it's close.

Bordered Place-mat

I finished this one during crochet class this morning so it will go back to the group organiser next week. It is surprising how much work a tutor can get through when he doesn't have any students.

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

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 06.08.2014

Well, in spite of the fact that I haven't been feeling particularly productive this week, I have managed to work on all my projects, even finishing one of them, started three new projects and finished one of them, and almost finished my weekly Trauma Teddy, which was started after I took the photos and will be finished sometime tomorrow ready for Friday.

Here are all this week's WIPs.

Place-mat Border

The organizer of the Mirambeena Activities Group gave me this at the same time she gave me the handkerchief so I figured I had better get it done this term. I'm about halfway there already.

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

Added another four octagons to finish off the row. I am a bit concerned that I may still not have enough of the cream and may have to look at purchasing more. Hopefully I can get the same dye lot or at least one that is close enough that it won't be noticed.

Knooked Scarf

I think I may have done my last repeat of the pattern and am heading for the finish. I will check it for length when I get to where the next special rows would normally be.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

The next section of chains has been made and woven in.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

The main part of the jacket is done, just need to do the fancy edging on the bottom.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

One sleeve finished and the second started.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

Another corner rounded and another change of colour done while waiting for my blood test yesterday.

Teddy Bear

One of the guys from church wants three bears to give as gifts so I'm experimenting. I think I may have made the neck a bit small on this one but  I'm sure it will be OK for someone. I may not let him have this one and just do some more experimenting until I get one that I'm happy with.

Well, that's it from me until Friday. Check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 02.08.2014

Today I have decided to focus on what I did last weekend, to put some of what I learnt in writing before it fades from memory.

Last weekend I attended the "Men Only" bible convention at the Salvation Army's Collaroy Centre. Our guest speaker was a scotsman by the name of Chick Yuill, who brought his wife along to do the bible readings which she does from memory. The title of the camp was "Dynamic Discipleship With a little Jazz"

Chick told us that we shouldn't use the Bible as God's instruction manual but look at it the way that jazzmen look at music. Jazzmen listen to music, soak it in and then let it flow out and while the music that comes out may sound quite a bit different to what they heard the melody is still there. I the same way we are to listen to what the Bible tells us, soak it in and then let it flow out. It doesn't matter if it sound a little different as long as the message remains intact.

Another thing that Chick told us was that we shouldn't call ourselves "Christians". The word "Christian" was first used as a derogatory term. We should call ourselves "Disciples of Jesus Christ". Disciples at the time of Jesus' birth were told that they should follow their rabbi so close that they wore his dust. We should follow Jesus closely and learn everything that He has to tell us.

On the Saturday afternoon we got to choose from a set of electives and I chose to attend the "Being the Man in the Marriage" session. During this session I received a little more insight into a passage that is often abused my men. Ephesians 5:22&23 says "22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body." Two words in this passage are somewhat ambiguous and a lot of men take them to mean that they should be the boss of the household. The word "head" can refer to the "person in charge" or the "source" (as in the head of a river) and the word "submit" can be "allowing yourself to be dictated to" (as in submitting to authority) or "offering a proposal" (as in a builder submitting plans for approval). Personally, I don't want to be Sue's boss or have her submit to my authority (I doubt if she would anyway).

There was quite a bit more that happened during my weekend away but quite a bit of it can't be spoken about because "what happens at Men's Camp stays there". I didn't take any notes during the sessions so I have been relying on memory, at least until I can download the video and get it refreshed in my mind.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 01.08.2014

It's time to catch up on two week's worth of finished objects, although I have been a bit slack this week and only managed to finish one item.

Here are last week's finished objects.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

Finally managed to finish this. Now I just need to decide what to do with the remaining yarn.

Trauma Teddy # 46

This is my 28th Trauma Teddy for this year.

Now for this week's finished object.

Trauma Teddy # 47

My 29th Trauma Teddy for this year.

I really should have had at least one more item finished this week but it has been hard to get myself motivated.

As usual, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.