A "Magic" Blanket

..... and the lessons my Grandparents taught me! 

 

My Oupa (grandfather) and Nanna (grandmother) lived in a big old rambling house when I was a little girl.

I spent most of my waking hours with my Nanna and a lot of time with my Oupa (who was semi-retired).

Oupa and me in the garden

Nanna was a true lady, and Oupa a real GENTLEman and from their example I learnt some valuable lessons:

My grandparents in Johannesburg

Always have self-respect:
Never disrespect yourself by being untidy, unruly, rude or improperly dressed!

Me - in my school uniform

Always treat others with respect:
No matter what their station in life! 

Manners Maketh Man (or woman!)
There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness or discourtesy!

Diligence: 
Anything worth doing is worth doing well!

My Grandparents - At a Police Service Awards Ceremony

Prepare Food with a Happy Heart:
Having food to prepare and eat is a blessing!   Show your thankfulness for that blessing by preparing and eating your food with a happy heart. 

I always have a good giggle when they speak of "cross-contamination of food" on Food Network - I always tell my children this means that you must never make food in a bad mood!! 

Be grateful for every meal!
Eat your food mindfully - never shovel food into your mouth!

Me - at breakfast time!

Never put off till later what you can do now:
When you are done sleeping, make up your bed!    When you are done bathing, clean the bathroom!
When you are finished using something, pack it away!
Tidy and clean the kitchen as you cook or bake!
Pack away your laundry as soon as it is done! 
Wipe your shoes and allow them to air after wearing them (they last longer and NEVER smell!!)

Doing things this way actually gives you a lot of free time to do the things you love (Crocheting!!!!!!) 

Calm Down:
If you are fretting about something make yourself a cup of tea and drink it mindfully!! 

Think before you speak or act:
Once the words have passed your lips or the actions have left your hands they can never be taken back!

Don't wait for life to happen to you:
Get out there and participate!!!

On a "Big Walk" with Oupa to raise funds for charity

Don't look for someone to blame:
Take responsibility for your own actions!

Sorry is just a word:
It means nothing if you do not atone and change your behaviour! 

About sloth:
Lazy people look for excuses - industrious people find solutions! 

Waste not - want not!
My grandparents grew up through the depression and lived through WW2.     They knew what it was to go without.   

My grandfather was taken prisoner by German Forces at TOBRUK IN EGYPT and spent many months in a Concentration Camp

Oupa - During WW2

They taught me to use my imagination to turn scraps (paper, wood, yarn..... almost anything) into fun and useful projects!

(There is a great little tutorial on You Tube if you have never used the   MAGIC KNOT)


I never was (and still never am) bored - I just need to apply a little imagination to whatever is to hand and "magic" happens!! 

Idle Hands are the Devil's Workshop
Keep your hands busy doing something constructive (knitting, crocheting, baking, cleaning, gardening, being helpful).   

When you sit around doing nothing trouble comes looking for you!!

Don't let Evil Sully you!
No matter how evil or horrible the world around you maintain your own goodness! 

Always be kind:

These blankets are a great side project to keep going and when winter comes you will have quite a few blankets to donate to your favourite cause!

The end result is a super snuggly, soft and warm blanket!   

Each and every blanket is unique and you can use up your scraps as you go!!

Border and Edging: Wades's Blanket CAL (Part 8)

Hello and welcome to Part 8 of the Wade's Blanket CAL, hosted by Zooty Owl and Kokopelli Design. 

This is our final instalment but the patterns will remain on our Blogs - so you can make Wade's Blanket at your own pace.      

Here are the links to date:
INTRODUCTION 
PART 1 - CIRCLE IN SQUARE GRANNY
PART 2 - TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARE
PART 3 - TALL STITCH DAISY SQUARE 
PART 4 - MINI GRANNY SQUARE 
PART 5 - "V" STITCH CENTRE PANEL 
PART 6 - DOUBLE CROCHET STRIPE 
PART 8 - DIAMOND STITCH GRANNY STRIPE 

So far your blanket should be looking like this:

We did not get many photos this week (if I missed any just give me a nudge on Facebook and I will include them in our next post)

We decided to surprise you with a choice of two borders and two edgings which you can mix and match as you please! 


PATTERN TERMS:    US

YARN WEIGHT:   DK (8PLY / LIGHT WORSTED WEIGHT)  

HOOK SIZE:   5.00mm

Zooty Owl's Colourway:   Denim Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Lime, Bright Green, Lemon and White.  

Bacon, the frog was taken out of storage for these photos.     I am holding on to him while my baby girl gets settled and sorted in her new home.    You can read the story of Bacon and how he got his name HERE

I chose Border 2 in the following stripe compilation:

Row 1:    Denim Blue
Row 2:    White
Row 3:    Lime
Row 4:    Denim Blue
Row 5:    Bright Green
Row 6:    White
Row 7:    Denim Blue

and Edging 2 in Lemon

BORDER 1 or 2: 
Row 1:    Crochet a round of sc around the entire blanket.   Note:   into each of the 4 corner 2ch work 2sc, 2ch, 2sc.   Where a corner of a square is joined to a stripe work 1sc into the corner 2ch, 1sc into the join.    Across your vertical stripes (the dc stripe) and the diamond granny stripe work 1sc into the first dc post, 2sc into the next dc post (alternating 1sc, 2sc into each post).   Work 1sc into each ch at the bottom of your v-stitch panel, and 1sc into the top  of each dc at the top of this panel.

Row 2:   Crochet 1dc into each sc around the entire blanket, working 2dc, 2ch, 2dc into each corner 2ch.

BORDER 1:
Rows 3 - 4:  Crochet 1dc into each dc around the entire blanket, working 2dc, 2ch, 2dc into each corner 2ch.

BORDER 2:

Row 3:  Crochet 1 sc into each dc arount the entire blanket, working 2sc, 2ch, 2sc into each corner 2ch

Row 4:  Crochet 1dc into each sc around the entire blanket, working 2dc, 2ch, 2dc into each corner 2ch.

Rows 5 and 7:  Repeat Row 3

Row 6:  Repeat Row 4

Note:    Since both borders are relatively simple and do not require any complex counting or concentration I have included links to You Tube Videos for those who have not yet been exposed to the relevant stitches (techniques) - please, please do not feel shy to ask if you have a question with regard to this post though!

EDGING 1:
Crochet a row of reverse sc (crab stitch) into each stitch around entire blanket, working 2 reverse sc into each corner 2ch.

 
EDGING 2:
Crochet a row of Pineapple Edging Stitch
around the entire blanket

Please send Andrea and I the photos of your finished blankets so that we can include them in our Ta-Dah Posts in two weeks time!!!!

We hope you enjoyed this CAL as much as we did and look forward to receiving your pics for our grand "Ta-Dah" post!!!!

Another Owl Cushion

In the process of sorting and tidying out my EMPTY NEST I have been doing some major stashbusting. 

There were a  few bits and pieces of Raeesah Cotton Soft DK;  Strawberries & Cream (a recycled cotton / acrylic blend) and Coffee Cotton (a panfibre / cotton / coffee extract blend) in one of my baskets - not enough to make anything "big" but just enough to make a cushion!!!!

I had to plan out the colours carefully so that I would only use up the scraps!     

I mixed and matched the buttons for the back too so that I could start clearing out my odd button stash!

If you would like to make one of your own the pattern can be found on RAVELRY

For the next 10 days only you will receive a 30% discount on this pattern if you use the following code:

POC0001

A RicRac Winter Blanket and A New Chapter

 

The nest is empty!

My three children have left home!

My middle daughter moved out at the beginning of last year and although we missed her terribly, there was not too much of an adjustment in terms of household management.

My youngest daughter moved out at the beginning of March 2015 and my son towards the end of March 2015.

SUDDENLY I felt quite lost!  

Mornings I would make coffee and toast for my youngest and hang out with her while she was getting ready for work!     The first week or two after she left I would get up and wander around not knowing quite what to do with that half hour!!

I had been cooking for a family and almost overnight I had to make food for just hubby and myself!   For the first two weeks dinner was a cause for panic - and we would invariably end up eating out!

Not being inclined to "mope",  hubby and I got over the shock of having an empty nest and embraced this new chapter in our lives with open arms!

I gave away most of my "big" pots, pans and bakeware - and then went on a bit of a shopping spree to buy "just for two" replacements.

I  began mercilessly cleaning out rooms and selling or giving away any excess. 

My yarn stash had to be tidied out too as there were a lot of partially used yarns which were making my space look untidy.   I wound various thicknesses of yarn together to give a total of 16ply (DK plus DK;   or 2x4ply plus DK) and then set about making a HUGE chunky scrappy blanket which is perfect for cold winter getaways!

I wound all the scrap yarns together before I started so that I would not end up with too much of a colour mishmash!

Yarn Weight:   Super Chunky (16ply)
Hook:  7.00mm
Foundation Chain:    250
Stitch used:   V-Stitch

You can find a tutorial for this V-stitch Andrea HERE

I just kept going until the yarn was all finished and I had a blanket which covered the top of my King Size bed.

There were way too many ends when I was finished so I used them to make braids instead of working them in.

All in all a very rewarding exercise!     My yarn stash is once again tidy and we have a lovely snuggly RicRac Blanket!!

Inspiration from Abroad

Inspired by this photo my schoolfriend, Vivienne, took in Berlin Germany:

I made the "Viv the Owl" Cushion:

Just tidying up the pattern (which I actually wrote as I went!!!). - to be posted on my blog soon!!

Diamond Sitch Granny Stripe: Wade's Blanket CAL (Part 7)

Hello and welcome to Part 7 of the Wade's Blanket CAL, hosted by Zooty Owl and Kokopelli Design. 

The patterns will remain on our Blogs - so you can make Wade's Blanket at your own pace.      

Here are the links to date:
INTRODUCTION 
PART 1 - CIRCLE IN SQUARE GRANNY
PART 2 - TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARE
PART 3 - TALL STITCH DAISY SQUARE 
PART 4 - MINI GRANNY SQUARE 
PART 5 - "V" STITCH CENTRE PANEL 
PART 6 - DOUBLE CROCHET STRIPE 

So far your blanket should be looking like this:

Feel free to share your progress photos with Andrea and/or me on Facebook so that we can include your photos in our Gallery.

Of course I left the tutorial to the VERY last minute, and then it started to rain - so please, please, please excuse the poor quality photos!


Diamond Stitch Granny Stripe Side Panel:  

The Diamond Stitch Granny Stripe is just as easy to do as the simple Granny Stripe - the only difference being that your dc groups are 2dc instead of 3dc.


This section of the pattern is worked onto the Circle In Squares Granny strip (to which you will then join your Traditional Granny strip)
 
PATTERN TERMS:    US

YARN WEIGHT:   DK (8PLY / LIGHT WORSTED WEIGHT)  

HOOK SIZE:   5.00mm

Zooty Owl's Colourway:   Denim Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Lime, Bright Green, Lemon and White.  

I crocheted 12 rows using the following composition:

Row 1 - Denim Blue
Rows 2 & 3 - White
Row 4 - Blue
Rows 5 & 6 - White
Row 7 - Turquoise
Rows 8 & 9 - White
Row 10 - Bright Green
Rows 11 & 12 - White

Row 1:  Working on the right side of your work, join your into the corner 3ch of the first square in the row,  1ch, 1sc into same place as join (counts as 1sc);   1sc into the top of each dc, when you reach a corner on a block 1sc into corner, 1sc into loop of  join (if you have used my visible join:  alternatively 1ch over a join - which will count as 1sc), 1sc into corner on next block.   Repeat this to the end of the row of blocks.  1sc into the last corner 3ch.

Row 2:  Into top of first sc on the right side of your work, crochet  4ch (counts as 1dc, 1ch);   (skip 1sc,  2dc into 2nd sc from hook)  rep to last 2sc;   skip 1sc;   1ch, 1dc into last sc;   turn work

Row 3:  turn work - now working on the wrong side;  ch 3 (counts as 1dc);  1dc into 1ch space;  (2dc into space between 2dc groups) rep to end of row, with your last 2dc being worked into the 4ch at the start of your previous row;   turn work.

Row 4:   Working on the right side of your work;  4ch (counts as 1dc, 1ch);  (2dc into space between each 2dc group) repeat to last 2dc group;   1ch, 1dc into last dc;    Turn work

Rows 3 and 4 form the pattern repeat.      Continue until your stripe is the required size.

Join your Traditional Granny Squares to the last row of your Diamond Granny Stripe - and your blanket is ready for the border and edging which will be posted on the 26th of June!!

Have fun - and don't forget to share your photos!!!!

Popcorn Owl Cushion

Last year I was asked by a South African Group to do an "OWL" project for a crochet along.

I totally forgot about it was in a bit of a pickle when I realized I had a week to come up with a project worthy of a crochet along!

I merged a few ideas that I had been playing around with and came up with a Popcorn Owl Cushion:  The pattern is for sale on RAVELRY!!

I adapted the back from a cushion I had made some time back

A few very kind crochet buddies helped me test out the pattern with lightening speed!!!

Due to the time difference I have not received all the photos yet!    I will do a follow up post with more photos!

In the meantime!     Thank you so much Lezelda Barocci Faul for your exceptional work, late night chats and endless stitch counting!!!!!