Pip's rug

Next on the list of grandchildren was my grandson Pip. It seemed wise to ask what colours he and his partner Bec would like. I showed them photos of Toby's rug and a few others, and they requested blue and grey, in wide zig-zag stripes. Not my preferred colours, but I bought the wool and began experimenting.

 This didn't really float my boat.

 

 This was better, but was going to be really thick and heavy, and I wasn't confident I could join the panels successfully.

 Finally I decided on this, and so began a couple of months of misery. I just wasn't happy working with those colours, and my friends had to put up with my constant whining.

Finally it was done, and I have to admit it's a stunner! Pip and Bec seem to like it too - I didn't tell them about the whining though.

I used BWM Classic in Silver, Midnight Blue & Denim Mix, Fireside Blue Flame, Stellar Blue Agate, and Luxury in Baby Blue, 1400grams all told.

I had used a 4mm hook for Toby's rug, and thought it was a bit loose, so used a 3.5 hook this time.

Pattern - 20 tr between each increase and decrease. I used rolling stripes, 1 row of first colour, 2rows of second colour, 3 rows of next, and so on.
Border - 1 row tr pairs, 1 row tr, 1 row half tr, 1 row tr, 1 row dc. Here's a detail of the border and infill rows.

I blocked it by dunking it in cold water, spin dried, then spread out on bed and smoothed into shape.

 It grew quite a bit, to a final measurement of 48" x 65"

Toby's rug

Who doesn't love a ripple rug? So many possibilities, from sweet and pretty to bold and dramatic. As I was scrolling through Ravelry one day, I saw this one, and fell in love.

Rug by Linda74 on Ravelry

Turned out I had quite a lot of red and orange yarn already, and a trip to Bendigo Woollen Mill filled in a couple of gaps.

I was pretty sure the colours would appeal to grandson Toby, and sure enough, he visited while I was working on it, and immediately claimed it.
It turned out exactly as I hoped, and now graces his armchair.

I used a 4mm hook, which made it a bit loose I think (I didn't block it.)
Assorted BWM Classic 8ply yarns, plus some others of unknown provenance.

Measures approx 46" x 63" (117 x 160 cm)

11 pattern repeats, (7 tr between increases and decreases), 110 rows
Weighs 1280 g

I worked the border in black, row one in pairs of extended double crochet, (2 stitches in each treble along the sides) second row is plain double crochet.
Completed October 2015.

Cosy shawl

When you're working on a complex project - frequent colour changes, complex pattern, something that needs your full attention - it's good to have something simpler to take along for crafty get-togethers or car trips. This has been my more-or-less mindless project over the past few months.

I wanted a lightweight shawl for reading in bed, something soft and snuggly. I used BWM Luxury 5 ply in a soft pink, working a variety of simple stitches in rows. As I often do, I began in the centre and worked outwards, giving symmetry and matching edges.

A slightly closer view of the stitches. Worked over 90 stitches with a 3.5mm hook. I was planning to block it, but decided I like it as it is. At 60" x 18", it weighs 325g.

Nina's rug.

I love this pattern, don't know what it's called.

Very simple - Begin with an even number of chain (I used 130ch), work 1 treble, 1 dc, repeat across the row.  Turn, and repeat. Now you will be working a treble into a previous dc, then a dc into a treble. This works up as a fairly dense fabric, so I used a 4.5 mm hook.

I used a total of 14 colours, 5 greens, 7 terracotta/apricot/gold, and 2 different creams. Most were BWM 8 ply Luxury and Classic, including some discontinued colours. Used a different colour for each row, so there were LOTS of ends. Rather than darn them in, I knotted them and added extra short lengths to make a fringe along the sides.

Rug measures 44" x 58", and weighs 1230g.

Crochet for the car

I made a new steering wheel cover for my car the other week.

They are great, warm in winter, and not unbearably hot in summer. I was quite pleased with it until I saw these

available on Etsy in your choice of colours

 Investigating further, I discovered other car accessories.

These are pretty, but life is too short, methinks.

 But these, wow! What a great idea!

seen on the front of a Campervan

And I couldn't resist including this

Meanwhile, work on the current rug continues.

 Plan - make 257 of these (I have 237 done) and join them together....

Warm hands

On chilly winter days, warm gloves are a great comfort, but sometimes they get in the way.

Fingerless mittens keep you almost as warm, but leave your fingers free.

I have a very cosy pair knitted for me by my friend Susan.

 I even tried knitting a pair for myself. Nope. I needed crochet mittens.

 

 So I made these

and these fuchsia ones

Then I made these, guaranteed to bring a bit of cheer on the gloomiest day. 

Worked in extended double crochet from the fingers upwards, with a little picot edging.

And yes, I did end up making a couple of extra pairs for family....

Hannah's rug

This rug took over four years from start to finish. Here’s the story.

In 2011 I saw these blocks on Attic24’s blog, and fell in love. 

blocks by Lucy of Attic24

Grand daughter Hannah was due to turn 21 at the end of the year, so I decided to use them in a rug for her. I tweaked Lucy’s pattern slightly, and began to make squares.

 

As it was called Summer Garden, each block had a flower in the centre, and the third row was blue or green. I darned in the ends as I went, and blocked them individually.

By the time Hannah's birthday arrived, I had assembled the squares, but decided it wasn’t quite big enough. So Hannah received a different present, and I kept working on the rug.

Then my daughter Susie – Hannah’s Mum, fell ill. Very ill indeed. She was in Intensive Care for ten days, and we weren’t sure if she would pull through. Happily she did (and is now perfectly healthy again.)

During her time in hospital, and the slow convalescence that followed, I was glad to have those little crochet blocks to occupy my hands.

But strangely, when Susie was all better, and life returned to normal, I just couldn’t bring myself to work on Hannah’s rug. Every time I picked it up, the memories from that anxious time came flooding back.

So I packed it away, with all the spare wool, and went on to other things.

Occasionally over the next few years, I was tempted to pilfer some of the wool for another project, but I managed to resist, still hoping to finish it, one day…

Hannah and Tom

Then last year, Hannah and her longtime boyfriend, the lovely Tom, got engaged, and I thought the time had come to finish that rug. When I saw it again, I still loved it, and the bad memories had faded. I finished it in time to hand it over at Christmas 2015. I think they liked it.

 The rug measures 42" X 58”, weight 1340 grams. I used a 4mm hook, and assorted 8 ply yarns, mostly BWM Classic and Luxury.

The humble hook

 Have you ever looked at your crochet hook, and marvelled at the simplicity of the concept? Such a simple tool, no moving parts, cheaply and readily available in a multitude of sizes.

But if you add a ball of yarn, that little hook can create wondrous things,

from  fine, airy lace, 

to a thick, warm fabric.

 Crochet is a relatively young art – according to an interesting article on the Crochet Guild of America website http://www.crochet.org/?page=CrochetHistory, the crochet hook probably evolved from the tambour hooks used in a form of embroidery known as tambour work. In the 1800’s fine threads were used to make lace, but gradually other domestic items were created, and by the early 1900’s woolen articles were also being made.

In the 1960s and 70s crochet took off, and colour and innovation took over as crafters began to realise how versatile the medium could be. Who remembers the poncho?

There are many talented designers now, creating beautiful patterns, like this one by Robyn Chachula

Celadon jacket by Robyn Chachula

Crochet is still evolving, and today you can use your little hook to make, well, almost anything…just remember to ply your hook for good 

crochet rug by Lucy of Attic24 blog

and not for evil!

from Lordvonn Schmitt on Etsy

 

Sister's rug

I seemed to have quite a lot of blue wool in the stash, and my sister was having a birthday, so I decided to make her a rug too. But after sewing all those green blocks together, I was looking for something a bit simpler this time. Random stripes would use up all those blues, and I could mix and match the colours.

Progress picture - still lots of ends to darn in!

I used Bendigo Luxury 8 ply, and a 4.5 hook. There were 16 colours, mostly blues, with a couple of aquas and lavendars. Some colours are now superseded.

Finished rug

 Beginning with 180 chain, pattern was a five row repeat of 1 row treble, 1 row dc, 1 row treble, 2 rows half treble (British terminology).

Close up view of stitches and edging

 One row of shell edging in darkish blue.
Not sure exactly how much wool I used, but the finished rug weighs 1300 grams, and measured 48" x 60".

Doing it my way

There's a long tradition of crocheting in my family. My father's family came to Australia in the early 1850's, from the Harz mountains of Germany, where the women made crochet lace to earn extra income.The skill was passed down through the generations, and that is how I learned too.

 The woman who taught me was Louise Dahlenburg, my father's first cousin.

Here she is as a teenager, with her brothers Heinie and Ernie, probably around 1906. She was a lot older than Dad, and would have been in her fifties when she taught me to crochet.

Like Dad, Louise was of German descent, and she taught me to crochet the European way, which is why I work differently from most people I know. They hold the hook in their right hand, and the yarn in the left.

  I hold both hook and yarn in my right hand, and pass the yarn over the hook from the right forefinger, much as knitters do. When I occasionally meet someone who does it "my way" they always turn out to be of European origin,  Swiss, or Dutch, perhaps.

My mother, who was of Irish descent and convent educated, crocheted in the conventional way, but I could never manage it.

I learned to knit as a child too, but I always preferred crochet. I'm a slow knitter, but crochet is fast, and fun! 

Crochet wasn't particularly fashionable when I was growing up, being reserved for dainty lace doilies and trims, or baby jackets and shawls. Most women knitted, making woolen jumpers for themselves and their families; socks, hats and gloves were popular too.

When I married and had babies, I made my share of little jackets too, and as the girls grew they had the odd crochet vest or hat. This was the sixties, and crochet was popular - too popular, some might say, as enthusiasm often triumphed over taste and good sense. Thankfully I was busy with a young family, and not overly tempted. 

 

My daughters grew up, and had children of their own. I crocheted quite a few baby blankets - my eldest granddaughter Nina still has hers, and her brother's, carefully stored away.

Then I fell in love with quilting, and everyone in the family was well supplied with quilts. Four daughters, ten grandchildren, everyone had a quilt, (some people got more than one). And a few other people, too.

Now I'm pretty much done with quilting, and have returned to crochet as my main obsession creative outlet. 

When I made a rug for one daughter, then one for my sister, then a third... the family sensed a trend developing, and I heard "Where's mine Mum?"

Four daughters, ten grandchildren, four great grandchildren to date; am I up for the challenge?
I'm working on it...

My first rug

Although I learned to crochet as a child, it was only an occasional pastime until recently.
I grew up, married and raised a family, joined the workforce, and finally retired. Over the years I sewed clothes for myself and my daughters, took up quilting, and explored embroidery. Occasionally I crocheted a baby rug for a new grandchild, or a cardigan for myself.

About five or six years ago, my daughter Liz asked me to make a rug for her meditation space, something calm and peaceful. This is what I made.

I used 11 colours of Bendigo Woollen Mills 8 ply pure wool yarns - Oceanic, Olive Moss, Barley, Leaf, Bracken, Forest, Guava, Pale Eucalypt, Lichen, Seaquest, Sea Green.

Not sure of exact yardage, but the blanket weighs approx 1200g., so about 2400 metres.

The pattern for the squares is similar to the one used for Babette Blanket. Individual squares measured 4.5” when blocked. I made 130 squares (10 x 13) all different.The finished rug measures 47" x 60".

Liz loved it, and I was pretty pleased with it too. It was the biggest thing I had ever crocheted.