Things I couldn't fit in my last post —

I cut some photos and so on out of my previous Aloha post as it was getting too long and wordy.

There were a few crafty things I wanted to include so I have pasted them in a new blogpost and here they are.

Baby Olive's quilt didn't get finished before I went over but I did make this 'Sheep Ragdoll' for her. A pattern I saw and quite liked which I thought would be fun to try out.....

And delivered —

I initially bought the yarn and pattern when spending time with Mum last year. I thought it would be a good project for my itchy fingers at the time but I didn't even get it started then.

The pattern can be found *here*.

Back in 2015 I made a quilt out of my late Dad's old flannel farm shirts. I intended it to be used by his great-grandbabies (none of which he ever got to meet). Here is the post about it *here*. Olive will be the 10th grandie to use it and I was delighted to deliver it to her when I went over.

My intention was that every great grandchild would spend some time with it.

Olive with Pop's quilt —

They don't have a huge need of quilts (particularly flannel ones!) so I encouraged its use as a floor/tummy time (etc) quilt.

Sadly the pen I took with me to add her name was on its way out and I didn't get much further than drawing the heart!

And another historical make is also being used by baby Olive.

Back when I was 16, I spent some time practicing different crochet techniques as the 'hobby' part of my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

One of the techniques was hairpin crochet, a technique I really enjoyed but haven't done since.

I made a wee blanket which mostly has been stored away and seldom used ever since.

However I came across it recently and thought it might be a nice weight for a baby in Hawaii to use.

It's now officially Olive's car blanket, a nice light layer over those podgy legs —

You make long strips of the 'lace' on a hairpin shaped 'loom'/gadget which are joined together by hooking the loops at the edge of each strip together. I finished it with a standard crochet edging.

Another crafty Hawaiian-related thing I came across in a tourist market/shop was this lovely Hawaiian style quilt. I really loved it - especially how it had the additional turtles on it. I left it there but half of me has non-buyer's regret. There will be other opportunities I know!

Back home, I've been trying hard to get back into my early morning hill-climbs. After 24 hours of very wet weather, Saturday morning dawned very foggy, which meant I delayed leaving the house until a bit later. I left just in time though, beating the cows as they went up the hill to their new paddock!

The MOML (bike lights) crossing them over the road —

Following me up the hill. I was pleased I was in front of them, not behind them, that would have really slowed me down —

Walking as far as the tape across the race and an open gate —

On my way back, these girls are happy grazing at the top end of the paddock —

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Cats and Other Things

Something cute happened in our house back in August......we welcomed new family member McGeorgeous Pussycat Denton Barge.

McGeorgeous was rescued by two of my nieces after they found him and his siblings abandoned near their apartment.

They nursed him back to health and, because they already have two cats, put the word out for a home for him.

It wasn't difficult for us to succumb and once he was 'fit for travel' he came up north to our place.

After a week of living under a bed, he started getting braver, to the point of assisting me with a bit of sewing —

He was quite a shy little boy and a lot of the photos they sent through showed him sleeping in drawers, on top of towers, and generally hiding away somewhere.

Perfect I thought, I can make him a little cat house to curl up in. I'd seen a pattern online which had appealed.

It was a great way to dig into some of my non-quilting remnants and I had a merry time going through that cupboard.

Both (ginger) cats were immensely interested while I was making it.

Of course, since it's been finished, it has barely warranted a sniff. However I'm thinking that it's coincided with warmer spring temperatures so maybe it will be of interest once summer is over 😏

The 'mattress' for it was extremely fun - two old stretched beanies, padded with shredded leftover sweatshirting fabric and 'quilted' together with scraps of yarn!!

(The pattern I used is found *here*. I altered it slightly, piecing it more like a bag and using binding, rather than making a case which the 'batting' was inserted into. I used leftover Soft and Stable scraps, zig-zagged together.

It was very satisfying to make this completely from bits and pieces that were stowed away!

And catching up on (even older) news, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary during May. We held a small family affair here at home...it was really nice that Mum and my siblings were able to come up and join us. We had a lovely, fun weekend.

I spoke about Mum's ill health in a previous post. Unfortunately she's been unwell again and I've spent some more time back down at my sister's, and spending long hours at the hospital. I packed to leave home in a bit of a rush so had nothing to occupy my hands with. I found a ball of yarn and a crochet hook at the local Spotlight store. The new kitten needed his own afghan (see Tammy Cat's one *here*); I used a variegated ball and crocheted around and around until it was all used up.

I nearly got a photo of it being used but McGeorgeous emerged from his castle before I could grab a photo!

And then decided to lie just above it —

As Mum was still in hospital, I started another!! 

I love this neutral coloured yarn so may buy a second ball to make an even bigger afghan!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Winter Woollies ---

While I was down at Mum's, my sister's and/or the hospital, I kept any idle hands moments at bay with some knitting. 

I'd been given a couple of balls of wool which didn't/wouldn't really go with anything else. I thought they would be good for beanies for the kids but wasn't sure if there was quite enough in each skein for a full sized one. I hunted around and found a pattern that started from the crown. That way, I could just cast off at the brim when I ran out of wool.

The first little bit was a bit tricky with few stitches, 4 needles and lots of stitch markers, however as it grew, it got easier and easier.

It was hard to get an idea of the colouring of the yarn from the unopened ball. I fully expected there to be a lot more turquoise  than there was (only some at the start) so it was an 'interesting' knit!

I ended up making two 'short' beanies. 

While the design was fresh in my mind, I found some more yarn and made two beanies with a fold over brim. 

The pattern was 'Top Down' by PurlJam/Kevin Haggerty - found *here* on Ravelry.

If none of the kids claim/need them, I will be happy to donate them to charity.

Last winter was a funny old one for me; I got little crafting done but really enjoyed spending my time crocheting a jersey.

I used 'Highlander Heathers' wool from Skeinz, in the colour Scotch Mist. I loved the smell of it - it still smelt like real wool - and it was lovely to use. And the motivation was spotting the design, Low-rider jumper by Iron Lamb. As soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to make one.

This was a well written pattern that started from the top so that you could easily fit it as you went.

I learnt some new techniques - yes, the 'ribbing' is crochet!😲!

And it fits perfectly. I was a bit concerned I might overheat in it but the open weave style of crochet must help and I find it a comfortable cosy wear.

Once I finished the jersey I was still in crochet mode. Inspired by Miss Tammy's cuteness and her love of things cosy and warm - 

-and also by friends in blogland making Afghans at the time, I decided that Miss Tammy needed her own blanket. In a moment of brilliance, I decided to make it yellow to match her colouring, and contrasted it with a blue. I didn't purchase anything new for this, I went through odds and sods that I had accumulated over the years (including some from when Mum cleaned out her cupboard - Oh how good it is to have a daughter who also crafts!!!). 

(Helping Ganma make her afghan)

I finished the blanket at the point where I was having trouble finding enough of the right coloured remnants to use, and it turned out to be a perfect size.

(There was one yarn that could have been made for heavy duty carpets (!!) which was really horrible to use - after finishing the round, I decided it could be biffed - that's very unlike me, so it must have been bad!)

So it's a fun little rug to have on the floor in front of the fire for Tammy Cat to sleep on.

While I was in oddment using mode, I found some acrylic yarn which I made into peggy squares for the blankets kiwikid Sue puts together for the Kogo organisation. I delivered those in April when I went over for Scrub Stitching.

Well I think that is my knitting and crocheting caught up with for now 😀

See you next time, 
Raewyn

A new crochet project....

I was pleased with myself when I remembered to join in with Friday Night Sew In on Friday, and equally displeased with  myself when I forgot to do a blogpost about it before the end of the weekend!!

On Friday night I snuggled into my comfy chair and continued on with the the Quinn Blanket I started a few weeks ago when we were on a road trip.

I made a good start and was part way through another one when wee Tammy woke up and decided that the crochet she had (mostly) ignored previously looked very tempting after all.......

After a bit of untangling I was able to continue!

I've amounted a good number of them but still need a lot more if I want a decent sized blanket!

These will be crocheted together so we leave a long tail to do that (meaning there are messy threads everywhere just at the moment!).

And here are the half hexagons for evening out the edges -

I'm really enjoying making these, as long as Tammy keeps her paws to herself!!

To see what others got up to on Friday night, please visit *here*. Thank  you Wendy for hosting us :-)

'til next time,

Happy stitches,
Raewyn