About Me

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Been knitting on and off for about 50 years, sporadically trying to crochet, just bought a lucet. More details about my knitting, crochet and tunisian crochet can be seen at https://www.ravelry.com/people/Rosebark for which you need to be a member, but this is free.

Saturday 30 April 2011

Baby Stuff - Blankets

Firstly, a couple of Tunisian crochet blankets.  The one on the left was made over 24 years ago.  I purchased the yarn from a yarn shop near the corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields and made this blanket for use in the Moses basket and car seat for my daughter.  It was also of course later used for my son.  The photo is a little small to see the detail, but the yarn is mostly white with threads of different colours spun in with.  I decided it needed an edging and did two rows of crochet doubles round three edges, but probably did a few too many, as it seems to have gone a bit curly and misshapen.  The ribbon at the end was from my wedding dress.  My wedding dress had a white ribbon band around the waist with a bow sewn on as an afterthought, or so I felt, so I removed the bow and some of that got used for this blanket.

In with the same charity shop bag of yarn that the fluffy scarf yarn came in, was 100 g of multi colour acrylic double knit, which, although not the same, kind of reminded me of the blanket I had made 20 or so years previously so I started making a blanket in the same style, but part way through remembered that the first one had taken 200g, so this one probably would too, so then bought 100g of plain white acrylic DK to fill in with. Then, having just learned how to do applied I-cord, I did an edging with this - not sure if you can see from the photo, but I did the edging multi-colour on the white bits and vice versa. 

These above two blankets are for keeping, potentially for my grandchildren, should they ever arrive.  (Not hurrying my offspring, though).

Now onto ones I have done for SCBU.  I decided that, at least until I have been paid a month or two in my new job (finally got one starting end May) I am not spending any money on stuff for SCBU, so the following blankets have been made from stash and/or donations from knitting group friends.

Hang on, that first one's just a border.  Yes, when I first went to offer my services, the lady I spoke to gave me a blanket to take away to give me an idea of size, but said it was really a bit smaller than they wanted, so my blankets should be a bit bigger, so I thought if that one was not much use to them as it was, it would make sense to do the small job of making a border for it first, so I could take that back fairly quickly to check it was now the right size, having first measured it, which I did and it was, so I then had a size to work to and they had a usable blanket more quickly than if I had made a whole one straight off.


The pink diamond patterned blanket was modified from a pattern for a larger, pram blanket, but the other two are entirely my own design.  If you would like to know more about how I did them, you could look at my projects on Ravelry.com (details in the about me bit above) or leave a comment asking me, as detailing all this in full might make for a rather tedious post.

I do have some more yarn available for blankets - in fact, having decided not to spend any money on SCBU blankets, I then bought a couple of ridiculously cheap batches of yarn on ebay and have decided some of that will become at least one blanket (so much for resolutions...) - but I'm just finishing off another blue cardigan for them, then I'm going to do a white baby cardigan for the lady who has been good enough to go on maternity leave so I can have her job for at least nine months.  I also have some things I want to do for myself... 

Friday 29 April 2011

Baby stuff - cardigans

And now for some things that are not for sale! Due to lack of funds, having been made redundant last July, I cancelled all our charity direct debits and told charities I would not be buying any more raffle tickets. This made me feel bad, so I decided to offer my services to the local special care baby unit with the dual function of being useful to them and reducing my stash. They asked me to make newborn size cardigans and blankets the right size to put on babies in their fishtanks (well, that's what I think they look like!).

I was especially glad to do cardigans as I like doing baby cardigans, but particularly in 3 or 4 ply as the DK ones you see in so many charity shops and on craft tables make babies looked all bunched up to me, whereas the finer yarn gives a cardigan that gives that little bit of extra warmth without restricting baby's movement.  Well, that's my opinion anyway.  The ones featured above are ones I have given to SCBU.  I also did one like the striped one in blue with white stripes (got a lot of blue to get through, bought on ebay when I thought I was going to sell lots of stuff on Etsy - didn't happen!).

Some others I did previously are shown belown.  The plain white one like the striped one (or white with white stripes!) was made for a work-mate's baby.  The other white one was the second one I made to this pattern.  The first one was for my cousin's baby and the second one was to be sold and I actually did sell that one to the lady I was working for at the time, whose sister was pregnant.

Managed to get these photos sort of lined up how I wanted with help from Susan.  That's enough for one post, so will put up some blankets later/another day.


Wednesday 27 April 2011

For Sale - Fluffy Scarves

I'm not only going to put items for sale on here - honest!  It's just that I had things ready.  These three scarves were made from some yarn I picked up cheap at a charity shop.  If you get the impression that I frequent charity shops, well you are quite correct!  These scarves were knitted with 10mm needles and are nice and light and fluffy.  The pink one is knitted from a different brand of yarn from the other two (can't remember what any of them were!) and is a bit longer at about 38".  It is quite difficult to measure them as, because they are so loosely knit, they stretch a lot.  The others are about 34" - long enough to wrap round your neck and cross over on your chest, but not to have long dangly ends. 

I would want £3.00 for each one or £8.00 for all three.  See note to the side about P&P.  If you wanted one like these in a particular colour or one similar to these when they have gone, I would probably have to pay full price for the yarn, so would charge commensurately more.

I have started another scarf in another fluffy yarn, but it is shedding fibres all over the place as I knit, so I'm not sure whether it will end up here or not.  It has sparkly bits in so is quite fun.  I'll see how it is when I've finished it and washed it.

I am aiming to blog at least once a week and not only with sale items!

Tuesday 26 April 2011

For Sale - Little bag with matching coin purse

OK, this is supposed to be a blog about my work, but this was made by my Mum during the snowy period in December when she couldn't get out and about. The bag is about 5" across at the base and 5" in height.  The strap is 16½ long, so the bag hangs about 8".  The matching coin purse is about 3" across and 2½" high.  We think they would suit a not too "girly" little girl.

It would not be possible to make another identical set, as the buttons were ones my Mum had from way back, but no doubt one of us could make something pretty similar in similar or different colours - as a set or separately.

Price: £5.00

See note to side re P&P.

Sunday 10 April 2011

For sale - Monochrome small bag/coin purse

Width: 5"/12½cm
Height: 4½"/11½cm approx

£8.00

Please see note at side concerning P&P.

This one is available now.  I could make another one in different colours (or all one colour) if you give me about two weeks' notice.  I may have to charge very slightly more for another one (+50p perhaps) if the price of the clasp is more (which is beyond my control).