Crochet and baking

Well, another week has gone by and we have more boxes filled for moving day. Doing some crochet in the evening helps me to unwind. I think it's the rhythm of forming the stitches and counting as I'm going along. I find myself counting..... 1, 2, 3, 4.....1, 2,.......1 2 3 4.....1, 2. It sounds a bit mental but it works for me.  I've been working on a gift for the new owners of our house. It may not be to their taste, but it sort of feels a bit symbolic to give them something made in our home for their new home. I decided to make a tea light and vase set. It sound's a bit grand, but it is just a few jam jars covered with some crochet. I made them as a present before and they went down so well that this is a repeat performance, which of course makes it a lot easier to do. I used some lambswool in a natural/light brown colour which was left over from a jumper I made a few years ago. Waste not want not and all that! It actually is perfect for the job because it has a chunky rustic look to it. As mentioned before, I've been using a pattern from a magazine I bought in the summer - 'Your Crochet Home'. It does need to be adapted to fit your jam jars, though. At the risk of appearing a lady of leisure and not in the middle of a frantic packing period, I spent a happy half hour in the garden in the sun  taking photo's as I went along. Here's how I do it........

For this example I used small pesto jars. The first step is to make the base starting with a slip loop with 6 dc for the first row, 12 on the next, 18 on the next and so-on.

 Check that the base will fit the jam jar.

The next stage is to double crochet into the back of each stitch without increasing. This makes a little ridge which squares off the base ready for the cover to grow up the jar.

Then I did a row of trebles and this helps to firmly seat the jar inside the cover and hide the tea light candle. The pesto jars have bulbous bit at the bottom, so after the row of trebles I did a row of double crochet and decreased a few stitches along the row so that the cover would fit snugly.

Now the lacy pattern starts. This particular pattern is just 5 chains, miss 3 double crochet, slip stitch into the next dc then 5 chains. This is continued all the way round. When the round is completed, slip stitch to the centre of the 5 chain loop and then complete the next round with 5 chains, and slip stitch into the centre chain of the previous row 5 chain. 

The next step is a bit more tricky because the crochet cover is now a bit of a sloppy joe and we want it to be stretched out and snug to the rim of the jar. To do this I just had 2 chains and a slip stitch to the top of each 5 chain loop. This made it really quite tight and hard to slip onto the jar, particularly as this jar narrows towards the rim. In reality, this took a bit of trial and error, and you don't have to be afraid of undoing and altering a row when necessary. Now to finish off the rim which of course meant wriggling it off again to do a row of double crochet, then trebles and then a final row of double crochet. I didn't have time to finish it in the afternoon sun so the rest is sitting in front of the telly in the evening.

The Hoorah moment........

The funny bit about the garden tutorial was that I was photo bombed by the cat...... and what was even worse was that he was doing a mouse massacre! You can probably see a coating of feather's on the lawn. We are pretty sure it was not an exploding pigeon, but you can't be sure....

Quick pic of Sunday tea cake

Oooh.... I nearly forgot. I'm pretty sure that none of the children will have read this far, so here is a sneak peak of the santa special for this year. 

Just keep packing.....

just keep packing, packing, packing. I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo and am singing along as I'm packing. There's sooooo much to pack, although I had a little baking interlude as Sunday is family tea day and the tradition is to get the team together for a light bite and a chat. Today I made a victoria sponge and some sourdough cheese scones. Since I have a self imposed embargo on baking sourdough bread during the packing period, I need to keep the sourdough 'starter' alive so I've been using it for scones and pancakes. I'm missing the bread baking though. I know it sounds a bit soppy, but my little spell of baking soothed my brain from the rising packing panic. It must be something to do with the routine and normality of measuring out the ingredients, mixing the cake and watching it rise in the oven, and just making something comforting and lovely for the family to share.

Yes, I know the scones look a bit wholesome. They are made with spelt and barley flour with most of the bran sieved out, so are actually not as wholesome as they could be. They taste nice anyway as I've already done a taste test. Baker's privilege and all that! The cake is also made from spelt (again, with some bran sieved out) - it's stealth tactics to make sure the team get some goodness with the badness.

Yarn shopping

I couldn't resist a visit to the nearest wool shop when we had an almost spontaneous stay in Buxton this weekend. We needed a break after a rather hectic holiday at home which included a daughter’s wedding, a kitchen fire (don't ask), and house move preparations. Anyway, the shop is Sew-In of Buxton and though small, has a marvelous selection of yarns. I spent forever in there dilly dallying while my exceedingly patient man pottered off around the shops and then settled down in a coffee shop to wait for me. I was looking for some DK cotton and drooled a bit over the Rowan Softknit cotton, but I really couldn’t justify the cost for the current Santa Special and plumped for some craft cotton and Sirdar Simply Recycled instead. This was rather handily on offer and although it is a cotton/acrylic mix it has exactly the soft unglazed look and feel that I was looking for.

Sew-In of Buxton

I would recommend a visit to Buxton if you have not been before. It is like a mini Bath with lots of Georgian architecture. We stayed at the Palace Hotel which has a charming air of faded grandeur. There are so many things to see; the opera house, the Pavilion Gardens, the Crescent (a semi circular set of buildings like the Grand Crescent in Bath, though not quite so big), and even the Derby University 'Devonshire Dome'. This is a huge and grand domed entrance hall which was built by the Duke of Devonshire of the time for his stables! We haven't seen all the delights Buxton has to to offer yet, which of course give's a reason to go again!

A flock of crochet sheep

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Wendy is joined by Webecca and her lambs! Shirls has been crocheting like a mad thing and really putting me to shame, although my recent creations are under wraps at the moment due to a Santa embargo!

baby blanket

This is another retrospective post as we had a beautiful new baby in the family at the beginning of August......Oscar became the newest member of the family and for once I had a present finished and waiting. 

The blanket is a ripple pattern made from King Cole Pricewise yarn in Natural, Mushroom, Fallow and Oyster. It's a lovely soft DK acrylic yarn which is not expensive. I bought the first batch from a little shop called 'Excelsior Crafts and Interiors' in Sutton on Sea in Lincolnshire while on holiday. It's a great little shop and I also couldn't resist a bargain of some Katia - a linen and cotton blend. I have plans to make a jumper for the summer. It will have to be next summer now -  I've been distracted with some xmas presents......shhhhh it's a secret!

Happy Birthday Jane!

A surprise birthday party and some crocheted jam jar tea light holders as a little pressie. A happy afternoon sitting in the garden chatting and eating some delicious food and quaffing wine.  The tea light holders look a treat all lit up at night. The tall ones needed a long match to light them but they do look lovely. Beauty before practicality every time!

Wendy Wensleydale wins gold at Bakewell Show!

I entered the 'Show us yer sheep' competition at Bakewell Show. Bakewell is a lovely market town in the Peak District in Derbyshire and the show is a typical countryside agricultural affair with animals, local food and crafts. The competition was run by Peak FM radio and was for a home made sheep. It was originally a competition for local schools but so many adults wanted to make a sheep that the competition was opened to everyone.

Having recently been on holiday to Wensleydale in Yorkshire, I had an idea for making sheep shaped cushion that would make me smile, which is always a good reason for doing something. The cushion cover was made from an old cardigan which was cut up and stitched with an overlocker (serger). I made some buttonholes on the sewing machine and then added some nice big wooden buttons which you can't actually see unless you dig into the sheepy hair - I know that they are there and that's good enough for me.  I then pinched some co-ordinating wool from another project and worked out how to make ringlets (or dreadlocks) that are typical of the coat of a wensleydale sheep. Mine of course are in a funky pink and purple combination not quite so typical of a real sheep. I made the head and legs from the cardigan and some more ringlets for a fringe. I spent far too long making eyes and ears and legs, but hey, I was having fun playing in my little sewing room. Anyway, one sheep later and I can boast that I entered a sheep in the show and won!

Since making Wendy, a friend was so taken with it that she wanted to make her own. In fact she is making a whole flock. She is a crochet beginner so we had a few weekly crochet and overlocking sessions (with the help of some chilled white wine and lots of nattering) and the result is wonderful Webecca Wensleydale (so far).