Category: Uncategorized

Stash busting #3

Scarf-gate!

Well I have finished the scarf but it has not made much of a dent on the stash!

I would have taken a selfie wearing it but I look a bit like a tomato, having got caught in the sun yesterday!!! But it looks just dandy on the pretty bird bath my aunt bought me.

As I said before I bought the wool from my local Aldi and the instructions said 450g required for the scarf on the inside of the ball band.

I have used 200g and I bought enough yarn to make 3 so at that rate I have enough to make 6 plus a stripey one with left over balls.. .

The wavy yarn has a nice soft, slightly stretchy finish. It is 87% cotton and 13% polymide and it is just a double rib stitch so knit two, purl two. Five tassels on each end, I found my crochet hook came in very handy pulling the yarn through.

I am sure there will be another update on scarf-gate as I work my way through the yarn and work out what I am going to do with all of the scarves. Not many people are thinking about scarves at the end of June during a heatwave!!

Does anyone have any quick fixes for a sunburnt nose? I am at a posh frock event tomorrow…

Self-help #3 1/2

Looking after your hands ♡♡♡

The sign of a disorganised mind I forgot part of my self-help post…

Now gardening and wool craft are not necessarily the best bed fellows. All of that weeding and pruning can play havoc with your hands. And as us knitters know rough skin or nails can tag your yarn and not in a good way. Dirty fingernails can also cause your yarn distress. And no-one wants distressed yarn…

I am currently looking after my hands with a handcream made by Spear and Jackson.

They are known for their gardening tools – spades and forks, hoes and rakes in fact it says on the tube they have neen going since 1760. That is a lot of gardening! I found this handcream at Christmas which really combats the damage done by pottering in the garden and general household chores. I bought 3 tubes of it in case it was just a seasonal item and I have to admit I haven’t seen it in the shops since. I also have some little cotton gloves which I wear over hands that are smothered in cream when my hands are really rough.

I have picked some little white hedge roses and some orange blossom and plonked them into a jam jar. Doesn’t look very grand but the lounge is filled with the delicious scent of the garden.

Happy days…

Self-help #3

A sunny day!

The sun is out today, it feels like the first time this year. A little sunshine really gives me a lift.

Managed to get a handful of strawberries out of my garden for my breakfast. They taste so much nicer straight off the plant. I have not enjoyed this treat often this year due to the rain. Strawberries and kitchen herbs are the only foods I grow in my garden.

Yoga this morning. A few sun salutations, I hope they work and the good weather continues. I always feel ready to take on the world after practice. Head clear and body tingling.

I am also feeling uplifted from giving. I have woven in the ends of the baby blanket and packed it up with the booties and mitts and passed it on to a friend who has just had a beautiful little girl. There is a lot to be said about the power of gifting.

So back to my stash to work my way through my clutter.

STASH-BUSTING #2

Small and cute

I cannot remember what I bought this wool for originally, something for a baby I am sure. Anyway I had just enough to make these little mitts and booties. Quite literally just enough!! I had to use cut off ends for sewing up.

So all ready for the next little girl and a little less in my stash…

STASH-BUSTING #1

Wavy yarn scarf

My local Aldi had this wavy yarn in the middle isle so I bought a ball and opened it so that I could read the pattern inside. The pattern is for a scarf, it says you need 450g of the yarn. Now maths isn’t my strong point but at 100g a ball I worked out that I would need 5 balls. Unfortunately I thought these would make nice presents so I bought enough to make 3 scarves…

You have read my mind, you know what is coming don’t you?

I have used a ball and a half and I really think the scarf is long enough. I am sure the tassels will not take 3 1/2 balls.

So yes I have made a start on working through my stash but the declutter is going to take a long time if I have been over buying out of sheer ignorance.

Self-help #2

Any one for crochet?

It is Sunday afternoon and here I sit with a mug of darjeeling and a quiet sense of achievement. No I haven’t started working through the heap of woolly animal kits yet but they are safely stashed!!

I have been to yoga and had an hour focusing on my breathing and emptying my mind. My head is decluttered for the time being and what about my house? Well there lies a story…

I am afraid I still have wool and craft kits and other useful bits and pieces stashed everywhere. However, I have used up some of my odds and ends of baby wool on a blanket.

The yarn used is King Cole baby double knitting in primrose, princess and turquoise and I have used a 3.5mm crochet hook.

Crochet does not come naturally to me, I keep getting the wool tangled around my fingers but I have enjoyed doing something different. I started teaching myself how to do a granny square and just continued until it was big enough to be called a baby blanket but in reality it is just a giant granny square. The stitches used are trebles and then doubles to edge it.

Sadly I have all of those ends to weave in and then I have only to press it.

I do have a confession to make…

I didn’t have enough of the turquoise so I popped into my local Co Op only to find there were only six balls of wool on the shelf (2 turquoise, 2 silver, 1 purple and 1 rather grubby white). I was distraught thinking that this was discontinued. I panic-buyer, grabbing the turquoise and silver yarn I really dislike the colour purple (not the book or film, the Alice Walker novel is one of my favourites) and the white had seen better days. On paying for them I learned that the lady who oversaw the wool department had left and no one had taken responsibility for it but a new order had gone in so the shelves should be full again soon. PHEW, PANIC OVER…

Self-help #1

The closet crafter

The boot of my Fiesta!!!

Those of us who enjoy a spot of craft tend to have a bit of a stash of useful bits and pieces that might come in handy one day….

Now my stash is hidden in all manner of nooks and crannies around the house and I was becoming so fed up of my partner and son’s sarcastic comments about there being wool everywhere that I have started filling the boot of my car… This cannot be healthy???

So I have emptied it out and hidden it in the garage and I am going to try to work through it all. Maybe I could set up a stall at a festive or craft fair to get rid of some of it once complete. I am determined to complete as much as possible as it was all bought to learn new skills or develop existing ones.

I could not believe how many kits I have bought from Aldi to make various woolly animals – I can’t resist a bargain!! Along with balls of wool that were on 3 for 2 offers…

So here we go. Declutter and learn/develop new skills. This has got to be the start of some sort of journey of wellbeing. Fingers crossed xx

A fresh start!

I have just finished a bigger project. Quite pleased with the results but the sleeves are a bit long for my little arms. Not that I have T Rex arms or anything but I should have measured sooner! Still I suppose they will keep my hands warm in the winter…

I am rather pleased with the cable detail in the yoke.

The pattern is a Debbie Bliss pattern that I found in a Prima magazine. I have used a Hayfield Aran weight wool/acrylic yarn which will make laundry more straight forward.

The pattern was quite straight forward to follow but it has taken me a while to complete, procrastination is a dreadful thing. Now it is complete I feel more motivated to start to create and work my way through my stash.

More about my stash in a day or two…