Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Granny Shrug

 Well maybe it is more of a Cardigan than a Shrug ;)
I've been making this project for about a month, not that it takes long to make...but I usually have several things on the go at on time to keep me motivated.  This was a lovely relaxing project to work on and I decided to make it a little longer than the original.
This is a very clever yet simple pattern, made of two hexagons folded in half to form upside down L's which are joined down the centre back and along the top of the sleeve. 
The beauty of this design is you can use any type of yarn, just keep working until the hexagons are the right size for your requirements.
 I made a little loop at the front to hook around this lovely button I found at spotlight.
I used 7.5balls of Lincraft Veronica yarn and a 9mm
This made a lovely roomy plus sized cardigan for me :)

You can find the pattern on Here along with a helpful video
and the Ravelry project page is here
Thank you very much to Kirsty from the blog Thornberry
for sharing this lovely pattern.

Have a lovely day
~ Gillian ♥

Thursday, April 19, 2012

long trip in the car = crochet :)

 We are on school holidays here at the moment....
and last weekend we made the long trip up to Brisbane in the car
to help celebrate my Mother in Laws 70th B'day.
7ish hours in the car one way!
Most of my crochet projects are big ones at the moment,
too big to take in the front passenger seat ;)
 so I decided we needed some more washcloths.
This was a great car trip project,
as it was small to hold, little concentration needed.
I used Moda Vera Beetle 50% Cotton 50% Acrylic
Holding two strands together & 5mm hook
I love using this yarn,
the mix of 50% Cotton, 50% Acrylic makes it soft and durable
I know with the acrylic in the mix it isn’t quite as absorbent as 100%cotton when dry, but when wet the cloth works really well and keeps its shape beautifully over many, many washes.

The pattern is a free one from Bernat you can find it here
(you will need to sign in to access the pattern, but its a great site if you haven't already used it)
and the Ravelry page is here

Have a great day!
~ Gillian ♥

ps...I'm teaching myself to bake bread at the moment, if anyone knows of a good book on bread making please feel free to leave me book title & author in the comments :)