It's a.....

Granny Stripe!!
Well I suppose to be grammatically correct I should say "It's an Attic24 Granny Stripe"
& I am totally in love with it!

I started it the other day, it's blanket number 9 for the Neonatal Funday. I got bored (well bored is the wrong word, but I needed a change from millions of half treble crochets!!) and just had to try and see if I could do the Granny Stripe. Turns out I can!

The wool is one of the ones I picked up at the market for £1.90 a ball so it's not really the perfect wool for prem babies so the blankets made of this wool will probably end up going home with someone not on the unit, but it's got a strand of something in it that gives it a shiney effect (I can't describe it but its there!)

I have to say Granny Stripe is one of my fave patterns that I've just picked up & had a go at. Although I did fluff up the foundation chain by one stitch, but I'll hide that when I finish up (shh don't tell anyone haha!)

The other day the postman came and brought me some presents...

I was so excited!

The book is the one referred to in Attic24's snake Tah-dah! blog post and I had a massive case of the wanties! And it finally arrived! I haven't managed to sit and look through it properly yet (I couldn't divert my attention further) but on flicking through the pages there's so many gorgeous pictures I can't wait! I've put my name down for a craft swap on the parenting forum for Christmas so I'll hopefully get to use some bits!

And the giant bag, oh how I love you giant bag!! It is for my wool stash. All those pictures from the stash blog entry are happily tucked up in there as well as more. Oh how I love it! Its the Night Owl bag from wantneedlove.com There's so much beautiful stuff on their site!

Right, back to crocheting. These blankets won't make themselves!
xx

(oh & to add, no UTI but the pain is still there, they just don't know what it is but I'm ok)

2nd edit to add.. take a look at Country Rose's blog. Gorgeous blog & she's currently running a giveaway!

Woolyness

Right, so I wasn't going to do two posts today.. but Mr. Me will be off work for the next few nights so I probably won't be on the laptop in the evenings (hopefully we'll be off to the Trafford Centre on Saturday night yay!)

So once I put Little H to bed I got out my "downstairs stash" not a rude stash, but the wool that is currently living in a box next to the sofa downstairs. & I wanted to do a run through what I have, and what I'm hoping to do, and hopefully in a few months I'll actually have done some of what I have in my head right now!

First.. the most expensive wool that I have brought "for myself" Sirdar Snuggly Smiley Stripes

I normally only buy the more expensive stuff when I'm making for other people as new baby presents. I'm really hoping it works when crocheted, I'm not 100% what I want to do with it yet, but I'm thinking maybe Attic24 Granny Stripe. Will have to see if it works!

Then my "bargain" that I just can't resist picking up when I see it. BlackSheepWools have had it in-store for £1.50 a ball (off the top of my head) but its not listed on their website. Its Rowan Luxury Cotton DK, and it makes me smile.

I think that I will turn it into a Hexagon blanket, I'm sure thats what was going through my head when I picked the first few balls up, and I've added a few more since then! I just love how it looks and feels. I just hope I can do it justice!!

Now.. the wool I forgot that I had. Its so snuggly! Rico Baby DK



Its so yummy and soft. I've made a 2 coloured Attic24 Ripple Blanket out of this, and I've just finished another blanket in this wool too and they're the softest snuggliest blankets ever. I picked these 4 balls up at the same time as I picked up the wool for the blanket I've just finished and only re-discovered them whilst on this photo taking mission.

Next my mixed bundle of acrylics which is what is being used for my neonatal blankets...



There's 4ply in there that was given to me by one of my mums friends who had bags of wool from when her mum passed away and she gave loads to me (literally 2 bin bags full) and the 4ply out of that is in amongst this. Sounds silly but I figured that the lady would like to know that her wool had been passed on and was being used for good. (I just hope she likes them if she's watching how they turn out!) The DK that is in there is stuff that I've picked up at the local market just stuff that I've liked how it feels. There's something re-assuring about me working with acrylic wool, if I mess up I don't feel so bad!

And finally, the 2 balls of wool that made me smile.

These were brought for me by my brother and his girlfriend for my birthday earlier this month, they were so chuffed with their purchase. I didn't have the heart to tell them that you don't have to go to John Lewis to buy nice wool. But I have great plans for these 2 little balls. Hopefully I will manage to turn them into a wee hat for baby #2 who is currently cooking away in my tummy! I just need to feel brave and do it!

& yes, that is a white plastic bag I have used as my backdrop.

You can buy yarn, but you just can't buy class!! =P
x

The blanket stash

Well, its not so much of a proper stash considering 5 of them aren't actually for us.
But as I can't blog about how many stitches I've done on the Neonatal blankets everyday I dug out Little H's blankets for a bit of a stash session.

I love his blankets so much. There are only 3 that I have made, he does have more, but they weren't made by me (they were made by my much more experienced Nanna and no way am I putting my work next to hers! haha)

First of all we have my shell blanket (left). I *think* I made this in 2007, when being a mummy felt like such a pipe dream but I discovered youtube & "The Art of Crochet by Theresa" (as it was then!) and her shell tutorial (that I can't actually find the video for, but it was kind of like this one) And I just made it into a blanket by working out the multiples and going from there.
It was the first time I'd actually "followed" a pattern, even though it was more watching the video, rewinding it and watching some more to make sure I did it right. And then I made up the ruffly edging by chaining 6, doing a slip stitch back in the blanket and chaining 6 again to give it a wee ruffly effect.

Then on the right is my first attempt at Attic24's Ripple Blanket I saw the link to her blog on a parenting/pregnancy forum I go on in the home & hobbies section. I think my eyes popped out of my head all cartoon like when I saw the pattern. And it truly was the first time I'd seen a written pattern (the pictures at the bottom with the 2tr's etc totally freaked me out)
So I bookmarked it and went back to it when I was feeling brave, and that was the result.

Since then I have made 3 more Ripple Blankets. One for a craft swap on the parenting/pregnancy forum for my recipients little girl (the wool is my blog background, Rico Baby DK) and 2 were custom made for members of the forum, they picked the colours and I just got to work. I also sent the link for the pattern to my Nanna, and much to her annoyance she can't do it, *but* she's insanely proud of me that I've taught myself to read the patterns as she never did and can now only crochet her way!

Next up is the only blanket I made when I was pregnant with Little H. I started it with the colours I had laying around the house (amazing how much my wool stash has grown since then!) and I said at the time "Now I've put pink in a blanket Flo (bump) will be a boy!" and of course, bump was a boy!




Unfortunately I can't remember where I got the pattern for the edging from, it was probably from youtube but I have no idea, and the laptop that I was using back then broke shortly after Little H's arrival so I have none of my bookmarks. But it was easy to do and I still have it written on a scrap of paper somewhere!
& I must find a "proper" pattern for a granny square, the off-square-ness of it bugs me when I see it but its my "totally made up way to do a granny square"

And finally a quick picture of all of the blankets that are made by me and are in the house all together.... Cheese! :)