Verb: pootle
poo-t(u)l To move in a leisurely unhurried way,
with no real purpose


Sunday 30 March 2014

Cosy ....

 

After including some little egg cosies in my last post I had a request from Annie at Knitsofacto asking if I had a pattern for them.
Well I didn't .....
 but by the time I got home from work on Friday I was positively
chomping at the bit to put one together.
After a quick rummage in the wool drawers I found some pretty pastel pink Sublime DK,

 
and a lovely muted green too.
I grabbed an egg from the kitchen to be my model and I was off...
 
 
Cast on 32 stitches
Rows 1, 2 and 3: K2, P2, K2. P2 to end of row, to make the rib.
Rows 4 to 12: One row K, one row purl to make stocking stitch.
Row 13: Cast off.
Sew up the side seam and along the top.

 
Add pom-poms either side.
If you don't have a handy pom-pom maker try using a fork.
I wrapped the wool around 60 times,
tied the loops tightly together through the middle prong with a long piece of wool,
 

 
carefully slid the loops off the fork
and cut the loops up each side.
Trim the pom-pom if needed.
Sew the pom-poms on to the corners of the cosy..
And that's it ... its that simple !


How cute are they !

 
And then I got a little carried away the next day because when I was shopping I saw a beautiful bunch of hyacinths and tulips that completely matched the colours
and .... foil wrapped eggs as well.
And so then followed one Easter photo shoot.
 

 

 
 


 
Whilst I was working away keeping the eggs cosy I suddenly realised that I hadn't got round to posting the results of the other wrap I had made from the JuJu Loops pattern book.
 

 
I made it with Millamia wool and to get the sizing right I ended up
working with three strands of the wool.
 
 
It was a really lovely pattern to work on and I have never made, or even worn ,
anything quite like it before.
It just kind of hugs you !
 
 


I think this is quite possibly the cosiest thing I have ever worn.
The final bit of cosiness has been getting our caravan ready for its first trip out this year.
Whilst the weather this weekend has been beautiful I don't think the same can be said for what's
coming in the next couple of days !
But that's ok - it will be good to get away anyway.
 

Sofa's ready for lounging ... and knitting / crocheting...

 
and the beds ready for jumping on !
Just before I go...
very excitingly I now have a Just Pootling Facebook page.
If you would like to Follow Me on Facebook you will see a link
to my page on the right hand sidebar of my Blog.
Once at the page, click Like and you will be notified of any new postings.
 
 
Have a lovely week.
 

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Gorgeous green...





When I got back from dog walking this weekend 
( just in time as you can see from the colour of the sky ! ) 
it suddenly hit me how beautifully green everything has got.
I think that having had so much time under big sploshy puddles of water and with this then being followed by even larger amounts of squelchy mud it struck me that maybe,
 just maybe we have turned a corner.


And I think all this time I must have been subconsciously longing for this moment because look at the colour of the wool that jumped out and made me buy it last week...


So, to make sure my colour levels were topped up to the full I decided a quick dip
 into Pinterest was needed.
And wow ... I am definitely now full to the brim of glorious green.

Spring Green Shawl

From cosy spring cowls, to all the ribbons and trimmings you could dream of.....

...to the sweetest little Easter egg cosies.


And who can resist natures ultimate colour combination of spring green and white ?


Tulipa 'Spring GreenSpring Outdoor WreathSpring Green.

I'd love this in the hallway.     Vase WOOD Key Hooks Organizer  Spring Green by OldNewAgain on Etsy, $32.00


These two pictures actually make my heart beat a little faster ..
just heavenly.


Spring Green, Swaledale, Yorkshire, England  photo via agrarian

Maybe a couple of months yet before we reach this stage but doesn't it make 
your spirit lift that this is around the corner ?

Spring Green Scenery spring http://www.mkspecials.com/  http://www.kickscenter.com

And whilst everything is shooting up outside there's just something about it that makes you
 want to sweep out the cobwebs from inside and breathe a breath of fresh air into everything.


VIBEKE DESIGN

kitchen tableSpring Green Farmhouse Chair...  painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Antibes Green with a clear wax finish.

..... gorgeous ....

And what of the green wool...
... that will be for Prairie Shawl number 2 which is currently on the needles.

I cannot say enough how much easier this pattern has been second time round
 - quite unbelievably so - 
and mostly because, 
being the complete numpty that I am, 
I didn't read the pattern properly first time round and completely overlooked
 the fact that I should have been using stitch markers ... doh !
There is no more endless counting of stitches needed,
and the row of 246 stitches is now broken down into much more manageable bunches of 16.
Yay to stitch markers .... and they're such cute ones as well being tiny little balls of yarn.




Last picture .. and I'm not sure if this is a tad too far....

Spring green nail polish

.... scrummy !




Friday 21 March 2014

Looking back ...


One quite unexpected thing that I love about blogging is that it has proved to be such a lovely way to keep a record of all the things that I have made since starting on my crochet journey.
 Its amazing how quickly I seem to forget about making projects past when I am constantly in 'head buzzing, full steam ahead, straight into the next new make, mode'. 
And looking back through the other day I came across the photo's of this blanket that I made for our bed a couple of years ago.


It instantly brought back lots of lovely memories of time spent methodically working 
away on all the squares.
 Strangely enough, even as I'm typing this now, the thing that's coming back to me the most 
 is the smell of the wool - it was just utterly delicious.
I have tingly nostrils just thinking about it !


It was the very first thing I made using Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, and oh, 
what absolute bliss it was to work with.
I think I was spoilt for ever more after that !
I chose a pale putty colour ( I think it might have been either FAYE or CARAMEL ) for the main body of the blanket and outlined each square and then the very edge of the blanket with cream ( ALABASTER ).


Everything about the wool just worked, the way it crocheted up , the colour, and the weight of it 
was so perfect that I have to admit to not blocking one single inch of 
this blanket because it came off the hook pretty much ready to go.


I had just wanted to create a blanket that was simple in its pattern, could be all one colour and that would fit into a room that had other neutral tones and shades that it would blend with.
I used the Basic Granny Square Pattern from Little Tin Bird. 
I found the way that Heather explained the pattern was so clear and concise and with pictures of all the different stages it was perfect for me being still relatively new to it all.


 This pattern has continued to be a firm favourite, taking pride of place in my file of  ideas,
 patterns, things I ♥ , and all  things of crochet and knitted gorgeousness, 
from Julies beautiful bunny
 to Jules inspirational stripy blankets.




My blanket ended up being 6 squares wide by 7 squares long,
 and I'm pretty sure each square was about 14 rounds.
I then did a couple of rounds of DC around each square in cream.


The border was so simple to do as I crocheted a couple of rounds of DC around the edge of the whole blanket and then the ruffle was made by crocheting 3 TR's into each DC all the way round. 
The finished blanket perfectly fits a Kingsize bed.



I have since used the same pattern to make blankets that are basically just one ginormous square. 
                                                These work really well as lap blankets. 


I made one for Mum for Mothers Day last year and because she found that it was rather mysteriously                                              slipping across to Dad's lap I have since made him one too.
                                                His had a much more manly border though !


( just noticed the terrible tea cup mark on the table ... I do polish, honest ...)