Dishcloths

I have been on a ‘using up the cotton’ kick lately for some reason, and so after finding this pattern in Pinterest and noting the similarity to this one. decided to ‘see’ if it worked as a dishcloth. It does.
I found another one that has ‘faggoted knit stitch’ in it as well, and do you think I can find the link? I swear it was a blue cloth, with a square of the faggot stitch in it. I had to Google what faggot stitch WAS. I can’t find it in my phone browser history either. Someone on Facebook found it for me on Ravelry. It is Naked, by Kelly Broooker. Man, talk about traumatic.

Anyway, I had a good old time mucking around with dishcloths. I certainly dont need any more.

While I was at it, I started making a cotton hexagonal floor rug. I am not sure if I will ever finish it, but it is getting there.

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Invention?

I wanted to see if I could make a linked dc hat, and so I had a go at it, before looking at the directions to clarify how it was done. What I ended up doing is more like circular Tunisian crochet.

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I’m not sure what it would look like as a hat, but I’m willing to try. I don’t much like the end of the round join, coz it doesn’t ‘match,’ but I think I could sew it up tighter later.

I’m going to try again with variegated yarn to see what that looks like.

Cape Portland

long straight bit of road.

Wind farm in the distance

dawn at the edge of the world

moon rise too

crocheted rope.

Magpie hut up Tuckers Road

another edge of the world beach, from Tuckers Road

different view

Wedge tail eagle

watching me

gorgeous creature

closer view of the windmill

some island I’ve forgotten the name of.. Baynes Island.

rough sea

Home Beach (I think) The car was at the end of the bit of land you see in the distance.

windmills again

Mutton bird chick

Home Beach again. We walked over the dark knob of land.

Actual Cape Portland

Albino wallaby. He was in a crap position for photographing due to the sun

Fosters Island

For the last few days I have been away at Cape Portland. It is in the far north east of Tasmania, with only the wind farm to remember it by for the most part.

I took a few unfinished projects with me, for something to do, but never actually got around to working on them. I forgot the hook in one case. Though I did get to ‘crochet’ the caving rope. That was kind of fun, and I would have kept going, ‘to see.’

To commemorate the trip, I would like to make a blanket incorporating the colors up there. There weren’t many colors, but I think I can make it work. Colors such as pale grey, slate grey, sky blue and a mid dark blue for the sky. An orangey brown for the road. Burgandy for the beef cows. Olive green and a drab dark green for the scrub.  Maybe a sand color too. I’ve been playing with the stripe maker trying to get a nice arrangement, but it isn’t working too well. So I am wondering if I can take each photo that I took individually, and have the colors from THAT photo in a grouping, then add a black row for a divider, and then move onto the next photo. I think that could work.

DIY Rainbows and other stuff

To commemorate the removal of a rainbow crossing in Sydney, some fella started this DIY Rainbow Crossing page in Facebook. Rainbows are spreading all over the world, and I doubt half the people actually know why they are making one. I thought it was a cute idea myself until I looked into why.

Anyway, I wanted to make my very own rainbow, but I didn’t have any chalk. I recalled a Pin I’d seen about making your own chalk, and went to investigate. There are a number of Pins on how to make your own chalk. One uses cornflour. I don’t want to waste THAT much cornflour, so I gave up that idea. Another one or two I found uses plaster. Which I don’t have, so I thought my plans were scuppered. Then, thinking sideways, I remembered that there was some plaster (wet) left over from a patch job, almost a year ago. I had little hope that it was still wet, but surprise, surprise, it WAS!

So I scooped it out into a bowl, then stirred it up some. I divided it into seven cups and dug out the food coloring. Into each cup I put 2x 1/2 ts of color. So 2x red, [1x red 1x yellow], 2x yellow. Etc. The indigo and violet needed three. 2x blue, 1x red, and 2x red, 1x blue. Adding the coloring made the mixes rather sloppy, and I wondered whether they would actually set. (The proper instructions say to add the color to the dry plaster and mix) Lacking anything resembling a proper mould, I used an egg carton. The directions say it sets in an hour. Mine didnt. It wasn’t even set the next day. I thought about putting it into the oven on really low, but ended up putting them on the back step in the sun instead. Five days later, and they still feel damp. But I tried them anyway. I love the vibrancy of the colors, but they were very friable and disintegrated with use. Adding the color to dry plaster, or the water (and not a wet mix) could possibly fix that…or summer sun.

Right now, I have my very own rainbow, with a wonky color scheme (gosh I felt like an idiot when I realised) on my bit of driveway. I love it!

~*~

Yesterday I spent the day watching Man Vs Wild, and creating a beret from a picture. I think I have most of the pattern right, but the sc brim is driving me insane. At the end of the double crochet part of the hat, it fits rather loosely on my head. My brain says this is a good size and I crochet something like 6 rows of single crochet and end up well pleased that it was done before bed.

Then I tried it on. Or tried to anyway. It could get on my head, but it felt like I had a wicked migraine. So what the hell happened? I figure single crochets aren’t half as stretchy as double crochets. This morning I frog it all the way back to the first row of sc and try again. On the second row I increase 4 times. 4 times is about an inch, yeah? Heaps of room. Nope.  Try again. Increase 4 times on row 4 and 5. So now I have increased an extra 12 times. And STILL it is too tight! I’m not sure what is going on. I am half wondering if I am missing  the joining stitch (thus effectively decreasing one stitch every row.)

Right about now, I think I will frog it back to the 2nd row again and add all the decreases there. Or going to find the pattern and doing it the easy way.

DIY Rainbow at City Park

Still wet plaster

Sloppy colored plaster

Gorgeous colors though

Beret

Lacy Square.

~*~

An acquaintance of mine had been looking for the source of a picture she had found many years ago. I asked in Ravelry and someone there found it. I had been looking in flower squares. I shared the link on her page, and then set about making some of the squares – to see. Using 8ply yarn and a 4mm hook makes then wonky, but they do straighten out. They straighten out even better when you add another row of single crochet. So I have kept going. I want to make a whole pile using two shades of the same color, then edging with black.

~*~

Finally, nothing to do with craft, but about resumes. As part of a course I am doing at the job place, I have homework that I need to do over the next week while the trainer is on leave. I have created a survey (I think) on how employers REALLY want to see resumes. We are being told to do them this way and that way, and Bob over here likes them this way.

If you could see your way to filling out this 9 question survey, I’d be grateful. Thanks muchly!

 

Long, people filled week

On Cooking: After careful consideration, I don’t think I like the pizza casserole. The fact that I never had it as leftovers would attest to that. the leftovers are in the freezer, for when I get hungry enough to eat them.

A couple of days after I made that, I made Family Luncheon Casserole out of the Central Cookery Book. I’m looking for a recipe on line for it, but it is basically mince, onion, bacon browned, added to a casserole dish with a can of pineapple NOT drained, a can of corn kernels and a can of tomato soup. Oh..and you were meant to add cooked rice – I didn’t. This was baked for an hour or so. I seem to recall having something similar about 25 years ago at the Harvest Festival. It was made by someones mum, but in those days I didn’t have the balls to ask for recipes. A quick search doesn’t bring up anything immediately. I steamed some broccoli and cauli to have with it. The rest of this also went into the freezer, mainly due to the sugar content that doesn’t agree with me.

I scored some leeks on special and frozen those, and now I have some swede that I want to freeze as well. Swede is one of my must have vegetables with roast lamb. I wont roast a leg of lamb if I don’t have any, so freezing it would be ideal. This page says you can freeze mashed swede, while this link says you can freeze it raw. I’ll try it raw first.

On Craft: Work on the circles has paused, as has anything else that resembles craft work. I was just too busy this week. Right now I am in the process of making a granny style beret, but winging it. I think I will frog it and start again, using the pattern I’ve used before. I want a black one to replace the original black one I made for funerals. I’m not sure where the original has gone.

Sideways on craft. I’ve just washed more socks using the unshrinking technique. That works well for socks that are vaguely felted, not so well on my trackies. With the trackies, you have to redo the unshrinking every time, and that just annoys me. I may unpick the hem on those and look foolish. I could add an extra bit of fabric I guess. I wonder how much black fleece costs? I’d only need 5cm of it. Or I could lop a bit off the old polar fleece pants and use that.

On Gardening: I have deconstructed the lattice that was surrounding the garden. While it looked pretty and it was useful for keeping animals out of the garden, I found it served to make me ‘forget’ that the garden was there and needed attending to. All I got out of the garden was a stack of broad beans which I gave away, and a pumpkin. The tomatoes didn’t do anything at all. The self seeded tomato fruited quite well though, even if they were cherry tomatoes.

On Reading: By accident (when I popped into a 2nd hand book shop) I found that John Marsden, of "Tomorrow, When the War Began" fame, has written three more books that follow on from that series. Collectively they are called the "Ellie Chronicles." I’ve managed to source them online, and right now they are waiting for me to turn on my Kindle and be downloaded. Just in time too, coz I am half way through the 7th book. I was severely temped to buy all ten books at the book shop, but at 5$ each and taking up a good 18 inches of space, I decided I could live without them. If I *didn’t* have the first 7 I could have convinced myself better.

Flatter square, pizza casserole

without border

with border (duh) Looks nicer, for sure.

two squares

pizza casserole

with cheese

dawn at the edge of the world

So I have made a couple of the flatter squares, and edged them in HDC. I’m not sure the blues effectively shows off the petals, but I like them. I could make another two and make a cat blanket though. Or undo them.

On Saturday I was hanging out for pizza, so I decided to make the pizza casserole (this is just one of them) that I have seen in Pinterest many times. I wandered down the street and got the missing things (salami, cabana, mushrooms, fresh capsicum, pasta sauce). I couldn’t wait for tea time, so I whacked it together and had it for ..a late lunch, early tea.

I didn’t add the pasta, or the block of cream cheese, and mine STILL came out at 1760 cals!! Most of that was the cheese at 750 cals for 176 grams though. Still, take the cheese out, and that is still 500cals for a serve – it doesn’t make as much as you’d think, so I’d say my one was just two serves. Perhaps this is why SOME carbs would be good. Still, I’m not overly impressed. Not enough ‘pizza’ flavor and way too much sauce. I may make it again, perhaps with a cup of cooked pasta to see, but other than that, I don’t think I’ll add it to the menu.

African flower square, and a circle.

spot the error

color matching

the purples aren’t *quite* right

pinks are ok.

To further make Ava’s blanket, I decided that African flower squares would be just the thing. But of course, the proper ones are hexagons, and I need squares. I found an African flower square pattern and had a go at that. Halfway through the attempt I realised that the squares I’d started with were African flower construction, but in a 4 ‘petaled’ square, meaning that an eight petaled one would match nicely. I got all the way to the final row before realising I only have 7 petals. :s I swear I counted at the beginning! My 7 petaled version is way too buckely to work well though. So this morning I have found this other African flower square, that looks to lie flatter, but looks exactly the same in stitch count. R3 on the flatter one skips the space between the petals though, and by R5 you add more stitches. “sk 1 st, 1 hdc, 3sc, 1hdc, sk 1 st*, then 2 tc, ch 3, 2 tc all into the same stitch (corner). *sk 1 st, 1 hdc, 3sc, 1hdc, sk 1 st* 1 hdc” vs “sc’s into the next 4 sc’s, 1 hdc into the next sc, dc’s into the next 2 sc’s, (1tr, ch-3, 1tr) into the next spike-sc, dc’s into the next 2 sc’s, 1 hdc into the next sc, sc’s into the next 4 sc’s, 1 hdc into the next spike-sc*” 

Ah, the K-town one has an extra row! Maybe thats why it lays better!

 

Anyway, following the first example (because the squares I have are 5 rounds), I have tweaked it to lay flat.

Flatter ‘Somalia’ Square

2dc, ch2, x 8

[2dc, ch1, 2dc] in 1st sp, ch1 [1dc, ch1, 1dc] in 2nd space, rpt around.

5dc in each of the V-st’s.

1sc in each st, long sc between the ‘petals’

attach yarn in a stitch to the LEFT of a LSC. Hdc in same st, *sc in next 3sc, hdc in next, [1dc, ch 3, 1dc] in next. Hdc in next, sc in 3, hdc in 3. rpt from * to end.

 

And thus, you should end up with a flat, African flower type square. Problem is, due to the sc’s of that round, it isn’t going to have the same dimensions as the other squares I’ve made. :s Perhaps a row of hdc’s would fix that? I need to try one in the yarns I am using to have a look. Or perhaps using Dc’s and using those as joining stitches would work? I’ll need to experiment.

My plan is to make a small blanket, for the car seat/pram, and back it with either polar fleece or cotton. Polar fleece is more likely, due to her being a winter baby, and likely being a great deal bigger by summer.

Trying to find all  the possible combinations of the colors for the squares is tricky. I know there are formulas to arrange them, but surely there has to be an easier way to organise 5 colors in a 4 color block.

ABCD

BCDE

CDEA

DEAB

EABC

ACEB

BDAC

ACBE

BDEA

DAEC

EADB

etc et al.

Well, I’m off to play with this pattern .