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 - 23.07.2014

It has been another busy week for me this week. I almost didn't get to work on all of my WIPs. I still haven't worked on any toys for the market stall which is a bit of a worry as I really need to replace some that I sold recently. Maybe I will get to them next week.

He are my WIPs for this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs for Ellen Gormley's book

I managed to complete another row of squares.

Knooked Scarf

I had a bit of trouble with this one having made a mistake and not finding out until I realised that I didn't have enough stitches to complete the patter so I had to frog quite a few rows to fix it. As a result I didn't complete a full repeat of the pattern so I may have to try and make up for that this week.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket in Rainbow colours

I spent a bit of time on this while waiting for Sue to get an injection.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

I finished the crocheting on the main body of the Jacket this week. Just have to sew it up and get to work on the edging.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I managed to do a bit more work on the sleeve this week.

Small Santa Stocking

Finished the main part of the stocking and started sewing it up. This one should be finished for next Friday.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

A few more chains made and woven in.It's quite slow going with this one.

That's all my WIPs for this week. While I have a couple of items finished I won't be doing an FO Friday post this week as I will be going away for the weekend and won't have opportunity to take photos and won't have my laptop with me so you will have to wait until next week to see them. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 16.07.2014

It has been another busy week here in Rose Manor with quite a bit of progress and a couple of new projects. We got home from Craft'n'Cuppa a little late today and while it was bright and sunny for most of the day by the time we got home it was quite dull so my photos may reflect that lake of light.

Here are my WIPs for this week.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

Four octagons were added to this.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

Seven more chains have been woven in.

Knooked Scarf

One more repeat of the pattern has been completed.

Tunisian Lace Scarf

The border on the wrap has been done and the ruffle on one end has been completed. Just need to do the ruffle on the other end and sew in the ends and this will be done.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

One side of the front is done.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

The first sleeve has been started.

Small Santa Stocking

The last time I did this I increased the number of stitches by about 25%. This one is done to the pattern but is coming out a little narrower that the pattern say because I'm using 8 ply (DK) instead of worsted weight.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

I wasn't planning on starting this at this time but I found myself in a waiting room without the correct tools for the project I had taken with me but I had a suitable hook and yarn so I started it anyway. I don't think there will be a lot of progress made on this for a while as I will only be working on it in waiting rooms until I get other things finished.

As usual, come back on Friday to see what I have finished this week and check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Friday FOs 03.01.2014

The first week of the near year and I figured I would start the year off right with a few FOs. I can't promise that I will have FOs every week but I will do my best. Here are this weeks FOs.

Trauma Teddy # 17

Trauma Teddy # 18

Two more Trauma Teddies to be given away. I guess if I keep doing these I should be able to have something to show every week.

Large Santa Stocking

I didn't manage to finish this in time for Christmas so I guess it's ready for this year.

If you want to see what everyone else has been making then just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 01.01.2014

Happy New Year everyone. It's time for the first Wednesday WIPs of 2014.

These are the WIPs that I'm officially carrying forward from last year. Since I started last year with 6 WIPs I didn't want to start this year with more than 6, but I'm kinda cheating as I have one in hibernation and there are still a couple of Sue's projects that I will be taking over as well as the 2 ongoing projects (Trauma Teddies and hanging towels) that I'm not counting.

Here is what my WIPs currently look like.

Large Santa Stocking

Almost finished this one, just the top couple of rows and the hanging loop, so expect to see this as a FO on Friday.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

 I've made good progress on this one in the last couple of weeks.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

I'm not sure that I have worked on this since last time I showed it but figured I would show it again as it is the start of a new year.

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat set

I haven't worked on this one either. I need to find my hat elastic so I can start on the pants.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

Another one that is close to being finished. Maybe next week's FO, but don't hold your breath.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

Now that I'm working towards the last corner the rows will be getting shorter.

That's all the items I'm calling WIPs at the moment. I will be looking to start all the projects that I want to enter into the show this year shortly so expect the number of WIPs to grow over the next few weeks. I do have a couple of items finished this week so come back Friday to see what they are.

As usual, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

The year that was 2013

So, it's New Years Eve and time to look back on what has happened this year and what I've achieved and look forward to what I hope to do in 2014.

At the start of the year I turned 55. Since I no longer work full time (I was retrenched in 2010 and haven't worked since) I was allowed to withdraw my Superannuation which came to a total of around $44000. Not really much to show for 34 years in the workforce but it was better than nothing and it did pay for some new teeth and a great holiday.

Of course, the most outstanding thing that we did this year was our trip around the UK and Ireland. It's hard to remember anything else we did this year, but it was a fantastic trip. I'm not sure if I would ever do such a long trip ever again as we were kinda over it before we finished and were ready to get back on the plane for the return flight. There were a lot of memorable moments on the trip and one of the first things I plan on doing in the new year is to put the rest of the photos up for everyone to see. The first three weeks have been put into Google+ albums and can be found here.

On the crafting front I completed quite a few projects and here is the montage.

In this photo there should be 3 Blankets,  9 Toys,  16 Trauma Teddies, 24 Hanging Towels, 1 Mug Cosy, 3 Pairs of Baby's Bootees, 2 Santa Stockings, 1 Christmas Tree, 1 Angel Book Mark, 1 Toddler's Jacket,  1 Child's Hat, 1 Table Runner, 1 Baby's Ensemble and 1 Shopping Bag, although a couple of the Trauma Teddies could be missing (there are 16 in my Ravelry project page).

Sue wasn't quite as productive as I was with only 4 completed projects.

My main focus for 2014 will be toys, novelty hats and things that I plan on entering into the shows in October/November. My current to-do list looks something like this:-

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

2 String bags

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Koala

Small Bunny

Robot

Wine Glass Socks

Current Work In Progress:

Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Toddlers Jacket (on hold due to lack of yarn)
AustralianaV2

Trauma Teddies

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

Hanging Towels

Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat Ensemble

Santa Stockings

Box Stitch Baby Blanket – taken over from Sue

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
Something in Tunisian Crochet Lace (I'm thinking of modifying Ellen's Jacket pattern by substituting a lace stitch in the main body of the pattern)
Something from Ellen's new book.
A doily from an old pattern book I bought.

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)

This is quite a long list and I doubt that I will make much of a dent in it (some of these things have been on the list for a couple of years already) but I intend to try.

That's it for this year, Happy New Year to all.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 11.12.2013

Things have been a little slow on the crochet front this week with 3 of my WIPs not seeing any progress at all. I guess they will need to be the first ones I work on this coming week. On the flip side, there were 4 projects that did see some progress this week, and here they are.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

I finished one end and started the other. It won't be long now until I weave in the ends and call this one finished.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

I've managed to get a few more rows done on this one.

Large Santa Stocking

I finished the main part of the stocking. Now all I have to do is sew it up and do the final rows and hanging loop and it will be done. I hope to find time to finish this next week.

Tunisian Spiral Blanket

I'm almost finished going around  but it's still quite small. I think I may need to go around again.

Well, that's all that I've been working on this week. Check out the links in the sidebar if you want to see what others have been working on.

Richard.