Zana's Homemade

Monday, 5 January 2015

Doilies and a new CAL

One of my goals for 2015 is to finally complete a vintage style bedspread. I have fluffed about with motifs rejected them because the project was too boring for my flibergibity mind. However, thanks to my RSI I have found just the right thing. Last year I brought a book Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies from Leisure Arts. There are 18 patterns by Patricia Kristoffersen. They are gorgeous, textured and very complicated! No room for boredom!

So far I have completed 2 and am well on the way on the third. Doily No 1 is Park Avenue and relatively simple.

Park Avenue

Doily No 2 - Pineapple Patch was slightly more difficult.

Pineapple Patch

Now the one I am doing this week No 3 Sunflower Bloom is another matter! I have undone rounds several times, but I am getting there.

I have decided to try and do one a week except that later on in the book they get very complicated and are larger so they might take two weeks. I am doing them all in an ecru 2 ply satin finish organic cotton from Sullivan’s. an Australian company. I have found that the best hook for it is a 2m. I am not sure yet how I will join them.

I have been given a magazine Interweave Crochet – Spring 2014 that has an article on ways to prevent RSI.

I have found it really helpful with my RSI, and I have been trying different ways to hold the hook. Normally I am an overhand holder - Butter-knife method. I have experiment and find myself comfortable with an underhand – the pencil grip. It uses different movements and I get little pain. Sooooooo…… I can now crochet using wool and bigger hooks, but have decided to take it really easy. The answer I found was via Linda of Linda's Crafty Corner. he is doing a Cal along with Kate It is the mini rings of change and it can be whatever you want it to be doily, blanket or rug. It is for turtle crocheters so will be just right for me.

I am going to do a bit of stash busting and want to make a rug for the bathroom. I am using two strands of wool and a 6mm hook. However it is not going to be as colourful as Linda’s and Kates. This week is only two rounds, how will I restrain myself!!

Well I think that’s about enough for now, except for a shot of the garden and a very difficult to photo Ambrose!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful week.

PS. If you are interested in the article on preventing crochet RSI and can’t get the magazine, I will only be too happy to send you a photo of the pages. Email me at zanasjourney(at)gmail(dot)com

Thursday, 1 January 2015

A New Year, A New Start

Yes I am still here! December was a month full of life’s dramas and I am sorry to say that crochet and blogging didn't get a look in. However, things are settling down and I am so pleased to be able to blog again and visit you all.

This is the scene that greeted me when I got home a few days ago; my poor garden is a jungle, lots of work to do. Missed the best of the roses but these carpet roses seem to thrive in the heat.

For the last few years instead of making a new year’s resolution (which tended to be broken as I made it!), I have chosen a word for the year. Last year it was Forward. This year I have chosen Streamline.

Why streamline? Well it is something I need to apply in all areas of my life. I need to declutter. I need to simplify my garden. I need lose a bit of weight especially around the midriff! I really just want to be comfortable with my body. I need to focus on a few projects instead of hopping here and there and losing track. Especially crochet!

I was unable to crochet for most of December due to RSA from crochet! In November I went mad and completed 2 blankets plus other bits and pieces, well, I have learnt! On Christmas Eve I picked up my crochet hook and some thread and started a doily. No pain! Well I managed to do this in front of the TV. The next day I picked up my hook and some wool, the pain was there. I must use a different technique for thread. Whatever, it means that I can crochet again, albeit with thread, doilies here I come. But I will not push it too hard.

I have just finished this one and one other that I started earlier in the year. (Details in my next post) I am blocking them at the moment and will show them in the weekend. One question I would like to ask you doily experts out there.

Blocking – what is the best way, I have seen various methods in books and on the net. The doilies I am doing for this project are quite textured and I want to keep that feel. The book I am using suggests washing them, but I think I would prefer to just spray water on them. What do you think?

It is great to be back and doing some crochet again, I missed you all too. I hope 2015 will be a great year for all of us.

Sunday, 23 November 2014

My Week

It has been a typical spring week, one day a taste of summer and the next a reminder of winter. One thing I love about spring is the elderflower trees in blossom. Elderflower cordial making is the top of list. I love it with its musky flavour. I have never made elderberry cordial, I mean to but the birds get the berries before I do. May be I will have to camp beside the tree!

This week I have been busy with the blanket for my niece it has to be finished before Thursday!!! I am busy sewing it up, hopefully tomorrow I can start on the border. However I have done some other crochet to lighten the load. One was a little cowl, as it still can be cold in the early morning when I leave the house and I wanted something to keep my neck warm.

I used V stitch it was super quick to do an hour or so. I have worn it most mornings, and soon as it is warm enough I slip it off and put it in my bag.

Pretty colours!

I have also done some work on my Painted Rose cushion and it is now ready to sew to the back

I am using the curtain material leftover from when I made new ones earlier in the year. I just love this pattern from Cherry Heart. I cant wait to get started on the blanket. But it will have to wait as I have other projects that require my attention.

For a change I decided to try my hand at making embroidered brooches. I had seen some on Pinterest and thought they would make great gifts.

So here is my first attempt.

Think I will keep this one for myself as it has a few errors in it! But I love it anyway.

So that has been my week, I will leave you with my recipe for Elderberry cordial.

Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients

25 - 30 elderflower heads

1.7litres/3 pints boiling water

900g/2lb caster sugar

50g/2oz citric acid

3 lemons, sliced

Preparation method

Gently rinse over the elderflowers to remove any dirt or little creatures.

Pour the boiling water over the sugar in a very large mixing bowl. Stir well and leave to cool.

Add the citric acid, the orange and lemon slices, and then the flowers.

Leave in a cool place for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.

Strain through some muslin and transfer to sterilised bottles.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week.

Saturday, 15 November 2014

Roses, Inspiration and stash busting

This week, I have been plugging away crocheting my nieces blanket. Nearly there, hopefully I will be able to start joining the squares before the end of next week.

When I have been blog reading this week I came across two inspirational projects; one from Lucy at Attic 24 and the other from Sandra at Cherry Heart. They preyed on my mind and I had to start!

First of all, the project that made my heart sing - Cherry Heart’s Painted Rose Blanket. I had decided earlier in the week that I wanted to make the blanket and it went into my queue of projects. Yesterday I succumbed and rummaged around in my stash and came up with similar colours. My hook came out and before long I had made two squares.

I just love them, makes me think of my paternal grandmother, these were her colours. I don’t have enough of these colours in my stash to make a blanket, but these squares will become a cushion for my bedroom. I think I will be able to match the colours but it will be a different dye run I suppose. But it wont matter as they wont be next to each other.

For any Kiwi readers I have used Crucci Olympus for the blue (it is not quite as bright as this in real life) and the pink petals and Patons Panda for the mustard and green, I had a lime similar to Sandra’s but it was too strong and dominated the square so I went for this khaki colour, makes it look vintage. I still am trying to suss out the joining colour, it is between a teal and the light blue I have used above.

The other inspiration I had this week was Lucy ofAttic 24 Cosy Blanket Cal. Last Monday I pulled out some wool that I had earmarked for a scarf last winter and never got around to doing. I thought that the texture of the pattern would make a wonderful scarf and it does.

It is such an easy pattern and soothing to do, and I will definitely be making a blanket at some stage using this brand of wool (Countrywide Yarns, Windsor), I have never used it before - it is so soft and the colours are quite lovely.

Both of these will be linked to Linda of Linda’sCrafty Corner November Stash-buster link party.

Now I will leave you with some close up photos of roses that I have picked for the house.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend and week.

Saturday, 8 November 2014

Blankets

This week I have been crocheting away at the blanket for my niece. I have completed all the pink squares and now doing the blue squares. I am a bit behind schedule but I will get there.

I wanted something to do as a bit of change and while blog reading I came across the Scheepjes CAL that Wink of A Creative Being is holding. It is a mystery CAL and each week she releases a PDF pattern for one of the squares. (It is free and the pdf’s come in 4 languages!) She is up to week 6 and all of the squares are rather nice so far.

A bell went off in my head, as some of you may know I have wanted to do a cotton blanket for ages and have fiddled around with motifs and colours only to be abandoned for various reasons.

I have a lot of cotton in my stash, so even better! The only problem she is using no 8 cotton and mine is no 10. With a bit of experimenting I have worked out that I will need to do 7 squares of each motif instead of 6 as in her pattern. (She has a pack that you can buy but I rather think the cost of postage and time getting here would rule that out for me.) That is the problem living way down under all those lovely materials that I see on blogs are not available here!)

Anyways, this where I have got to so far:

The blue one is week 5, the instructions are fine but it took a while to get use to her instructions, it is fortunate that there are rather large photos of the squares as I was a bit mystified at times. That’s why I like charts; it has been a great learning process.

There are two Facebook groups one that started 6 weeks ago and the other that started yesterday. However, I don’t do Facebook but I will post mine in the Ravelry Group. I really think I am going to like this blanket.

It has been a beautiful day to day, very summery and the flowers are starting to look wonderful. Here are two from my front garden.

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for visiting!

Saturday, 1 November 2014

How a blanket turned into a shawl!

Last July I started a blanket (see here ). It sat on the back of my small sofa for the whole winter. It looked nice there and I had serious doubts about its suitability as a blanket. The was very soft a bit like mohair, the cats adored it, and would work their little paws on it and snag it!

Well, this week I needed a little relief from a big project for a certain young lady who has a 9^th birthday at the end of November. It is very bright as you will see.

She chose the colours, big pink squares in the middle and a border of aqua colours, an artist in the making? She so wants it for her first sleepover she is hosting on her birthday. So muggins promised! 30 squares, 10 completed, 10 next week and the10 the week after and the last week sewing up and the border, whew!

Anyway I have been making bracelets (last post) as a change, and finally the Japanese flower blanket screamed at me to do something with it!

It was so lovely and soft, it had to be a shawl, so a shawl it became, I only had to do another 6 flowers, and a lot of sewing the ends this morning.

Excuse the quality of the photos, the light was very bright and I think I had the camera on the wrong setting.

I had to show it with some bright geraniums! It will be perfect for those cool evenings that we sometimes get in summer. It will go back to the sofa as I really like it there too.

I wonder what other UFO I can finish next week for relief from the bright blanket. Actually I really love the colours, warms the soul. Great for playing around with the camera.

Hope you all have a colourful week, I know I shall!

Oh and thanks for visiting.

I do so appreciate your comments and visits.

Thursday, 30 October 2014

Some bits and pieces and an Award.

First, the bits and pieces namely brooches and bracelets. In between a big project (which I will post about over the weekend) I have been making bracelets and brooches for small gifts for the family and friends. I haven’t quite decided on the buttons yet and will make the final decision after looking at the local shops tomorrow.

This bracelet is for a friend who loves these colours. It is simply a row of double crochet with a row of single crochets with three chains in between tom give a lacy edge.

This bracelet is for my sister who loves the earthy colours, khaki is her favourite colour. So I think it will go with her attire! I am not too sure about the clay button as it is quite rough and might snag her clothes.

This bracelet is for my 6 year old great niece Kendal, it is made with acrylic/cotton and is quite soft. I think I might try and see if I can find a really bright button.

These two brooches I think I will use as adornment s for the envelopes of Christmas gift vouchers. (Makes the gift feel more personal, I think.)

Now the award

Anna of : http://annasimplecrochet.blogspot.com has given me a Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Her blog is very inspiring to me with her delicate crochet and elegant doilies and fashion accessories. So thank you Anna very much.

The rules are:

Say who has given you the award, state the rules and post the award.

Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.

Then nominate 15 blogs that you find inspiring and let them know.

7 things about me

I love to crochet, garden and painting. I love my family, cats and friends. I find humour in everything, even the sad and annoying. I love to have coffee with my friends. My favourite author at the moment is David Baldacci. I have a passion for old china especially teacups! I am in the process of writing an illustrating my first children’s book. Hopefully, to be published late next year. Woohoo!

Here’s a sneak preview of the main character, Lily.