laptop crashes

umm, so, sorry about the lack of transmission. it seems that recovering a crashed laptop is a longer process than one would like. we will return to our regular blogging soon...

not about crochet (really this time)

ok, so, i'm really not talking about crochet this time. but i did want to let you know that i did manage to finish the mexican wrestling masks i was working on over the weekend. 

the original is the blue one, out of a horrible synthetic, that (i am told) was unpleasant to perform in. the white ones i made are out of a cotton based jersey. the feature-y bits are out of felt. 

they're for this show by terrible comfort at la mama in carlton. if you're in melb - go check it out! it opens tonight!!!

not about crochet

ok so, i do know that not everyone crochets. and that not everyone is into crochet. and after reading and reflecting on this slightly mocking post from gina at clutterpunk* i've realised that i do post an awful lot about crochet. so today, i thought i'd do a post not about crochet.

i was thinking, see, that i could post about the current sewing project i am working on for terrible comfort's show, which opens next week.

 (they will be mexican wrestling masks, black and white ones, copied from the blue and yellow ones - i should be working on these at the moment...)

or i was thinking that i could post about these fabulous vintage op-shop finds: a pillowcase and a doona** cover (which is for my yet to be fully worked out next project).

 but really what i want to post about is this new wool that i bought and the granny square scarf that i started last night. 

so ok, hi, my name's becclebee and i'm a crochet addict... 

*i'd like to note i love gina and i'm completely ok with her hassling us all about our crochet addictions
** doona (also known as ' duvet', or 'quilt' for those non-aussies)

my creative space...

... feels empty. see, its no longer filled with the baby blanket i have been crocheting. (and here it is, before i packed it up and gave it away to the parents-to-be:

 

)
i'm really happy with the way it turned out, the yellows and the grays. i loved making it and the parents-to-be loved it, but now i feel slightly at a loss. 

see, i can't quite believe its done. i realised i have been making this blanket for the last six months. and its a weird feeling - giving away something that represents six months of your life. squares and plans made and finished, movies watched, conversations, travels. over making this blanket, i have connected with a turkish woman who used to teach traditional turkish crochet, and helped some somali women change the thread on their sewing machines. i've chatted with south africans. taught a chinese woman and a lebenese kiwi to make granny squares. connected with and been advised by lots of lovely bloggers, on colours and how to join squares. i've drunk red-wine and crocheted with the fabulous sayraphim. listened, talked, laughed and loved. and this blanket is all of those things. its now that its done done done and given away, i am not quite sure what to do with myself. 

i am yet to find a new project to fill its space.

(but it must be said that i'm pretty sure i will, in fact i have the beginnings of a plan - spawned (in a good way) from one of the fabulous clutterpunk's ideas). 

so hopefully my creative space won't be empty for long...
(and for other much fuller creative spaces as ever see kirsty)

done done done (and edging)

so, guess what!

the baby blanket i have been making for oh-so-long is finally done done done!

 woo hoo! and the baby is still 5 weeks away (or so, you can never be precise with these things). i'll post the finished pics later this week, once i have given it to the parents-to-be.

so for now, i thought i talk about edging. see this is my first baby blanket. my first real one (there was this one, but it was really a practice go). so once i had put it all together, i spent some time last week, trying to figure out how to edge it. 

i looked in my crochet books, i trawled round the net. and in the end, i went back to the lovely attic24 (who helped me with the joining plan) and borrowed her pattern for edging. sort of. well, the start of it at least.

basically, i chained 5, then slip stitched into each hole. and repeated. a lot. 

once i had done the whole way round. i did it again. this time slip stitching into the little loopy things of the 5 chain i had made the round before.  

that is it. i like its simplicity, and i think it finishes the blanket off nicely. 

i'll post a finished pic later this week!

crocheting crafternoons

ahh, don't you just love crafternoons. craft, coffee, food - what's not to love!
 
some friends and i had another one of our semi-regular crafternoons yesterday. it was really lovely. curried pumpkin and parnip soup. double chocolate muffins, freshly brewed coffee and the star attraction - crochet. 

i was finishing off the baby blanket (more on that another time), and a couple of my friends wanted to learn crochet. so a-crochet-teaching-i-will-go i thought to myself. 

despite claims that it looked too hard, and would be impossible to remember how to do. by the end of the crafternoon, there were squares being produced around the room, and i even had to leave my spare crochet hook on loan... 

 (and i did warn them about this crochet thing being addictive - it really should come with a warning label!)

ends

the ends of the ends. finally done (and i have to repeat my earlier statement. i will never again wait until i have finished the blanket to thread in the ends).

now i just have to figure out how to edge the blanket, and i'm done! (and the baby is still 6 weeks away)