Whoop! Whoop! I Won a Giveaway!!!!

Do you know people who often seem to win things, raffle prizes, lottery money, games of chance? I do, my son is one of them – it is a bit of a family joke. Me – no – it is not something that I’m familiar with – this winning thing – however maybe the tide has turned!

I am one to the lucky 4 winners 0f a Giveaway on Janette’s wonderful blog “the Green Dragonfly” in New Zealand.     Hurrrraaaayyyyy!!!!!

Janette (that is her picture below) made these House Slippers from a pattern by Tara at Mamachee

and wore them in a post – she got such a response that Tara was generous enough to offer not one but TWO patterns in a giveaway, to not one but FOUR lucky followers of Janette’s blog and Yippity-do-dah! It turns out I am one of the four – how happy am I!!!!!

I have chosen the pattern for the House Slippers, like Janette’s above AND the Fox Slippers, click on the links to see pictures and where you can buy the patterns.

I think my grandchildren will love the Fox Slippers – but Yikes! that means making 16!!! Hope the patterns arrive soon so that I can make a start to get them done before winter sets in. (Maybe winter 2016 is more realistic?!)

A huge thanks goes out to Janette for hosting the giveaway and to Tara for generously offering the prizes. Isn’t this blogging community ❤ GREAT! ❤

I am joining Ginny’s Yarn Along with this post, and she invites us to add a book that we are reading. Now I used to read avidly, but something happened, not sure what , and I just seemed to lose the concentration for reading. However Cathy mentioned a couple of books in our Photo Challenge, this week. The subject is ‘Wisdom’ which is a pretty tough subject to photograph, don’t you think! It is always fascinating to see the variety of interpretations within the challenge. One of the books Cathy mentioned as containing WISDOM is Charles Kingsley’s ‘The Water Babies’. I’ve never read it, and think that now might be a good time to do so. I was able to download it for free onto my iPad.

While I wait for the patterns to arrive I am still working on the edge of the Cosy Cal blanket – I think it will look great when it is finished, but oh boy – remind me never to edge a blanket in squares again – it really is demanding time and concentration to get them to work out.Are you enjoying any Yarn related fun this week? Click on the link below to join in with Ginny and all her many wonderful Yarny friends who also write great book reviews

Advertisement

Big Bro’s cushion, part 2

In Big Bro’s Cushion Part 1 you saw the cushion I made in bright zingy colours

Big Bro (then aged 4) was delighted at first, but then he started big school and somehow these bright colours lost their appeal and now his favourite colour is ……………. BLACK!

He told me quite clearly and honestly that he didn’t like his cushion any more and would like one in black. I really didn’t think I could bear to crochet one all in black, so we negotiated. And I started out with Midnight, a very dark blue.

When I was crocheting along: Cosy Cal blanket with Lucy at Attic 24, I noticed the width of the blanket would wrap nicely round a 20″ cushion pad

(Oh boy! Those colours! I will have to return to that combination again some time.)

So I started with a chain of 198, for a width of 120cm. in Stylcraft Special DK, ‘Midnight’ and a 4.5mm hook. (you could do Ch170 as a foundation, and have a smaller overlap, if you were going to use buttons to fasten). The pattern is very relaxing to work, being two rows of double crochet (DC, US style) and then 2 rows of  ‘granny ‘ groups of 3 dc in one stitch. (For the pattern and Lucy’s excellent tutorial, click on the link to the Cosy Cal above.)

I started this cushion on my few days away in Beer, continuing it over a pub lunch and discovered that this length would make a great scarf – what a versatile pattern Lucy’s Cosy Cal Blanket is turning out to be.

I managed to sneak in some other colours with Big Bro’s approval: Lipstick, Royal and Teal. (of course he must never know the red is called Lipstick!!! because at 5 he would definitely reject the cushion on that basis! It saddens me a little that this happens – but it does.)

But Royal Blue and Red are Superman colours – right?

I make a cover for the cushion pad, with an overlap like on pillows (the ones you sleep on) because I don’t like fitting zips and this is quick and easy. I just cut a strip of fabric, measured by laying the pad on the fabric. Then I put pins in where it is to fold, take out the pad and sew directly – a cinch!

In this case the overlap that seemed to fit best was about 14cm.

It is important that the width of the crochet is quite a bit smaller than the width of the cushion pad so that it stretches nicely over the inside, otherwise it goes all saggy and baggy very quickly.

Crochet along the edge that will be seen. I make small gaps for buttonholes, in case I might want to do a fastening later.

And here it is!All ready to replace the one with PINK in it!

And phew – Big Bro loved it!

Until the next time fashions change, in his 5 year old world, that is!