A mandala, a WIP & some Grannies

Hello,

In peace I come again :-)

I'm very pleased to see that this blog has had

over 2000 page views

*blush*

Thank you for your support.  It really does motivate me.

Although I've been 'on hook' a lot this week, there isn't much to show for it... just some Works in Progress and a mandala I made following Lucy's pattern.

I'll begin with the mandala.  I really do want to send one in for Yarndale, but it needs to be one that's ME.  The pattern, the colours, the style... I want my mandala to represent ME.  Am I being silly?

It's not very often that I can say this, but

I'm running low on stash *gasp* :-O

so the colours in this mandala really AREN'T me!  But I was itching to work on a mandala using Lucy's pattern and this is what I ended up with...

CrochetBTW:  2nd Mandala attempt

CrochetBTW Mandala 2

Besides the one side being a bit wonky (it set wrong when I steamed it), it's 1" too big, I'm afraid.  My tension obviously differs significantly from hers :-/

So, I dusted off my mandala woes and spent some time with my new Mood Blanket.

The colours really do up my mood :-)

This is how far I've come.

CrochetBTW Mood Blanket in progress

CrochetBTW Mood Blanket - Loving the colours!

It measures about 1.5 metres width-wise and it's coming along nicely.  I'm using a Ridged Ripple stitch pattern.  This simply means that I'm working in either the front loop only or the back loop only, keeping all the 'ridges' on one side of the blanket.

 

The ridges make the ripple pattern stand out.  I'm considering doing a weave stitch in and out of the ripples, as you see at the bottom of the picture.  I thought I'd do it in a contrasting colour, but I can't decide what colour to use!  The idea is to use the contrast colour in the edging, eventually.  So the colours need to 'get married'.  Your input would be most welcome :-)

~

On another note, I've wanted to do a Granny Square project for a while now, so I started making some three-round squares last night.  I'll tell you more about these in my next post.  Here a pic of them being blocked instead :-)

CrochetBTW Granny Squares

 And with that, I'll leave you.

Till next time, keep smiling :-)

Making a mark

Hi there

My regular salutation of Peace is of special significance today since today is the day South Africans flock in their millions to vote for what they stand for.  Democracy is 20 years old this year.  That's something we are very proud of here in SA.

My little family and I made our way to the voting station, just up our road, at about 8am this morning.  Not even 15 minutes later, we were back home having breakfast :-)  What a wonderful feeling.  I made sure to take Little Man with me.  I explained what 'voting' means and why everyone who can should do it.  He was thrilled, especially since he also got a 'voting mark' on his thumb, just like his dad and me.  I also let him 'post' my vote into the ballot box.  He felt very involved and thanked me for it later.

To mark the occasion, I crocheted the South African flag freehand.  If you'd like the pattern, please do leave a comment.

 

 
 
 
 After breakfast, we were invited to N's aunt's house.  It was a lovely day for a swim so that's exactly what Little Man did.  Oh, the fun he had.  And I'm also quite pleased with the progress he's made in his swimming.  The lessons have really paid off! :-)

 

Aunty Zee (as I'll refer to her here) is a very crafty lady herself.  I've always known she was very into scrapbooking, but I was surprised at the amount of crochet and knit she's done in her time.  She showed off some works in progress and also some abandoned projects.  I offered to complete one of her projects to give to her mum to use as a lap blanket.  See the picture.  What luscious soft yarn.  I can't wait to get started.  I'll probably do a round of dc to edge it, with a picot to finish it off, maybe.  I'll keep you posted on the progress right here on my blog. 

 

The yarn to complete the project +  some extra for me :-)

 

 

To end...  I've been meaning to start a 'big project'... Something that I can work on at the beach, at the park, at home, in the car, while I'm catching up on my favourite Series (Suits & Elementary, FYI), in the waiting room... you get the picture.  Winter is nearly upon us, and a blankie in the car will be much needed... so a car blanket it is... or maybe a TV blanket to cuddle up with...  Hmmm, I'll just get it started while I decide.

 

I couldn't decide on a pattern.  But I wanted needed to get started on something to keep my sanity!  So I went with a ripple theme.  The colours will vary, the pattern will vary, there'll probably be a twist, I don't know yet.  But I'll keep you updated.  I'll call it my Mood Blanket.

 

Here's the start of it:

 



That's all for now.  Stay tuned for both the blanket updates.  If you don't want to miss out, follow my blog :-)  Lot's of options for that on the RIGHT.

Keep well.

Peace out.

 

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