Currently creating - 25th February

Wow - how did it get to the 25th of February already!

So - my weekly contribution to the Champagne and Socks virtual craft circle - this time with actual photos!

This week I intend to finally send the finished Elphieblanket on its way.  I really love the yarn I used for this one - Patons Rainbow in "Rainforest".  I bought some more of it while it was on sale, in a different colourway - I'll have to find an appropriate project for that.

On the Jabyblanket, I've so far kept to my intention to complete at least one repeat of the pattern per day, and I'm up to 19 of 27.

Our cat Bard insisted on being included in my photo of progress so far.

In other types of creativity - after many tries, and *just* before they officially discontinued the set (damn you, LEGO), we finally got our hands on the Research Institute set - this being the three female scientists set that was voted for by the public and was made in such ludicrously low numbers for such things... but anyway...

We finally got our Research Institute and had great fun building it.  Have a LEGO dinosaur.

Currently Creative/Finished object: the Elphieblanket

 It’s that time of week again!

Last night I finished the Elphieblanket, and I’m really pleased with it.

It still needs to be blocked, but that won’t change the look of it all that much, other than the edging. This is the quickest baby blanket I’ve ever made, but also the smallest. The pattern turns out beautifully, and I think this will be something of a go-to pattern for babies I get around to crocheting for before they arrive.

What I’ve learned

I’ve gotten much better at the straight edge thing, as I expected after my discoveries with the Cat Mat. However, I should have read the pattern more closely in the first few rounds of the border: I made a couple of mistakes at the corners that had implications on the outer rounds, although they’re not really obvious to the untrained eye.

  

It’s been a rough re-entry at work this week, but one of the things that has done is motivate me to refocus on my writing (fiction, rather than blog posts). I need to take a good look at my routines and activities in order to find a way of spending some time every single day on either writing or, in the longer term promoting my writing. Writing is one of the ways I’ve been creative for the majority of my life, and it’s something I want to get back to properly.

On the hook: the Elphieblanket

A friend is having her first baby, and is moving away from the area at the end of the month, and my GF declared that I was going to make a baby blanket.

Attempt No 1 - I chose a pattern via Pinterest - although I'm using a slightly smaller hook.

I'm using Patons Jet in emerald (which is getting used up ridiculously quickly) and Patons Rainbow in Rainforest.  The Rainbow is gorgeous yarn, comes in a massive 200g ball, and I was grateful that I got balls of both Rainforest and Horizon during Lincraft's sale.

It's a lot plainer than my other blankets, and the edges are no where near as tidy as they should be.

On the evening on June 17, I decided I'd had enough.  I began to frog.

The same day, I'd recieved my copy of issue 19 of Simply Crochet, containing an utterly gorgeous pattern for a baby blanket.  So attempt 2 is using that pattern.

With the second attempt I'll only be using the "Rainbow" yarn, putting the Jet aside for something else.  (I don't know what.)  It will also be a far smaller hook size.

Because either way the blanket will be green, and because we're going to see the musical "Wicked" this weekend, I've christened this particular project "the Elphieblanket".

You can find the appropriate Ravelry entries here (attempt 1) and here.