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 Creating - 18th September 2014

I really didn't mean for my Currently Creative posts to die in August.  I really did mean to keep them up.  But...

Anyway, we're back, so I'd like to get going from here on in: and I'll warn you now that gardening is being included as creative.

 I think this is the only piece of crochet I've properly finished in the past couple of months.  I also have a purple neckwarmer scarf for me, but I still need to put the buttons on that for it to be finished.

This is a Swans bobble scarf made for my Swans-fan GF.  

I was quite proud of the creativity used in this PL card for my August wrap-up layout.

We got this potting table from ALDI and build it with a minimum of drama (sadly the drawer will not open).  I also started some seedlings, and some cat grass for the kitty boys.  We've also got a bunch of vegetable seedlings planted, including lots of basil.  I'll try to document the garden properly NEXT week.

In addition to all this, the Write Around the Murray writing festival last weekend had its annual effect of at least temporarily kicking me in the butt re: my writing.  I'm trying very hard at the moment to put in at least 30 minutes of writing per day (not counting blog posts).

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.

[Finished object]: Headbands Three

I've finished three headbands in the last week, all of them from the same initial pattern, but with my own adjustments: two with bows and one without.

The first was my purple headband, one of the UFOs that I wanted to get finished listed in this post. It took maybe an hour and a half total to finish up.

Then there was the rainbow headband, made from the leftover Moda Vera Marvel printed wool (color way: parrot) that I used for the Eddieblanket and the cat mat. This is the one I did without a bow.

Finally, while I was working on the purple headband, our young friend Ella came to meet Bishop and Bard, and asked for a headband in TARDIS blue. I finished that within a day.

Like I said in my Currently Creative post, these headbands almost take more time to blog and post on Ravelry than they do to make.  Depending on the decisions made about a craft stall for the church fete this year, I may find myself making more of these as we get closer to November.

[Finished Object]: a mat for cats

Bishop helpfully wanders into shot with his cat mat

I'm always reading more than one book at a time.

When it comes to craft projects, I'm the same (have you seen my UFOs list?  And that's the short one.)

I don't always jump into a new project the moment I have the inspiration for it, but this one had a timeline involved.  Two days before we were due to pick up our adorable new cats, I realised that they might like a blanket for their carrier.

Having frogged my first attempt at the baby afghan, I had multiple balls of Patons Jet with no intended project any more. And as I was sorting out my craft room I found the Modal Vera Marvel 'Parrot' that I'd bought for the edging of the LoriBlankeet, a fabulous rainbow yarn perfect for the kitties joining a queer household.

I used the same basic principle as the baby afghan; two yarns, a large hook (10mm) and loose tension. But I changed the pattern, to two rows of trebles and one of DC. It's worked up beautifully quickly, although I don't think I've followed the pattern entirely without mistakes.

What I've learned from this project:

The great thing about the large tension in this is I've finally been able to work out where I've been accidentally adding stitches all this time. It's fantastic to finally work that out and it's going to make other projects much more straight forward in the future.

A bonus:
I had a small amount of the Moda Vera "Parrot" left over, and I worked it up into a headband for me.  There are times when you just want something subtle-but-not-subtle in rainbow colours, and this seemed just right.

From the depths of the drafts folder [Finished Object]: The Annablanket

This post (well, the beginning of it) was buried deep in my drafts folder.  I was going to delete it, but the blanket is just so pretty and it was the first big project that I completed.  So - here you go:

The Annablanket is complete!

It's my first biggish project finished, and I'm really quite pleased with it.

The Annablanket has been with its rightful owner, Annabel, for about six months now.  I've done another blanket in this pattern for another new baby, with more reds and blues than the pinks and purples in this. 

 It's all done in pure wool (Moda Vera) to a Martha Brooks Stein pattern.  The GF suggested the extra round of white between the colour repeats, I altered the final round to add a Double V edging by Bunny Mummy.

The only real downside to this pattern is that it starts off working up so quickly, then gets slower and slower, and slower as the rounds get bigger.  It does keep your lap warm during the winter, though.

What I Am Up To Wednesday

My current big project is a TARDIS blanket.  (See here if you're a Ravelry member.)  It's based on a

picture I found on Pinterest, and is intended to be a Christmas gift for the son of a friend.

For the windows, I'm using a crappy, sale-price acrylic+sequins yarn that is a pain in the bloomin' neck to do anything with, and once this project is done, I'm never ever using it again. (Panda Mimosa, for the record.)  I've finished the first window, and will be putting off starting on the second window because I hate that yarn a LOT.

I'm working on the side pieces at the moment,  It's a lot of work.  My other half keeps telling me that various friends will be demanding their own TARDIS blankets once I finish the first:  Tell 'em they're dreamin'.

Meanwhile, I made a hat. I really rather love my hat.  And I'm proud of my hat.  And the pompom I added to the hat.

For project notes: I finished the hat.