Tag: handmade

Project Caravan

Posted on by Alice Neal

This little beauty, a little long in the tooth but perfectly fit for purpose, has recently come into our possession:

caravan2

And while she is very comfortable, her age makes her one of the less well insulated, and she gets very chilly at night. We have countered that with a little oil-filled heater, but… you know… really there ought to be some wool in there, right? 😉

So, Project Caravan has begun! So far we have a cushion made in simple stocking stitch in Drops Polaris (dark grey) on 15mm needles, and what began as a stashbuster blanket crocheted in triple crochet (UK) in as many colours and as randomly as I fancy. It’s probably a little over halfway there.

So, ladies and gents, I give you: Project Caravan: The Beginning.

blanket1 blanket2 cushion-and-blanket

After School Knitting Club

Posted on by Alice Neal

Oh, I’m loving it.

club3

I tootle in on a Tuesday afternoon, laden with baskets full of needles and wool, and I’m greeted with such enthusiastic little people. Granted, we’ve lost a couple along the way, but of the original fourteen, twelve stalwarts remain, and of them only two have still not quite ‘clicked’. But they’re determined. I love that.

I bit the bullet between the last session and this, and bought a bundle of chunky bamboo needles – 9mm – as the 4mm they were using were proving just a little too fiddly for their little as yet untrained fingers. And I grabbed a few balls of chunky wool I had, ahem, lying around (let’s not talk about my wool mountain).

They were cock-a-hoop and we have got more done in one session today than in both of the others together.

We now have some little ‘squares’ and the beginnings of some big ones.  We have some with ‘extra’ stitches, some with unexplained holes, some with interesting ‘loops’. We have some advanced little bodies who even mastered casting off today!

We have all agreed that when we have joined all these squares together, we are going to be left with a cushion cover that is quite unique. 😉

club5

I am ever impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication with which they manage to greet me every week, in spite of just having finished a day at school.

Oh, and quite apart from the knitting, the conversation of 8-10 year-olds is absolutely killing…

“You’re Jazzy Jack. I’m Jumping Jessica.”
“I’m Dancing Daisy!”

One little girl approaches me shyly.

“Alice…? I’ve got a name for you, too.”

(A little nervously) “You have?”

“Adventuring Alice.”

“Jessica, I like that!”

Because winter, that’s why.

Posted on by Alice Neal

 

 

So, it started with these. Well, with this one to be precise. And I loved it.

grey1But… do you see that seam curving up the side? Well, I loved that too. Until I realised that it would be exactly the same on its partner. Hmmmm. Which would make it look like two left (or right) feet.

 

grey2grey-constructionSo I tweaked it. But that didn’t quite work. Don’t get me wrong. I believe they’re beautiful. But I see their flaws all too immediately.

I decided to attempt a little embroidery on them, in an effort to draw the eye from the seam. But now I just see beautiful, embroidered, flawed slippers.

So *shucks* I guess these ones are mine:

grey-embell1

embell1

grey5 grey4 But armed with this experiment, I tweaked some more. And… Ta-dah!

cream1 cream2 cream3Of course, now the whole family needs some. So here are Teddy’s in a bit of a clog style:

Ted1 Ted2 Ted3I’m now experimenting with soles, so nobody breaks their neck on our wooden staircase.

Will report back soon.

TTFN <3

 

Tunisian Crochet rules…

Posted on by Alice Neal

Remember these from my last post:

glasses-case2

You can find the method and pattern by clicking here

Well, I confess, I went a bit crazy with them, as you can see, and they are now available in my shop if you fancy one but don’t have the time / inclination to make one yourself.

brown1 grey2 pinkbrown1multiThen, the most wonderful thing happened. The post arrived. I may, in my impatience, have ordered several different sets of these from several different places. But look!

hooksThey’re like a fabulous cross between a knitting needle and a crochet hook, since the Tunisian method requires going from one to many stitches on a hook at a time, and the noggin on the end stops them all falling off thus averting your subsequent three-day flip-out (or is that just me?)

So, of course, I had to try them out.

And I managed to sit through an entire action film without the necessity of following the plot last night (Denzel Washington was involved, though, so it wasn’t a total wash-out) to design this, to which I put the finishing touches today:

2bag1 2bag3 2bag4 2bag6 2bag7It is quite a simple construction of two rectangles joined by a single strap that starts on the right on the front of the bag and finishes on the left on the back, with a button-down flap to keep it closed while in use.

And I have to say, I’m rather pleased with it.

Off to play some more – toodle-pip! <3

Back so soon?

Posted on by Alice Neal

Why yes, I am 🙂

How’s this for a New Year’s Resolution not to fall off the face of the earth for a few months? Twice in one year – hurrah! 😉

So.

What’s happening?

Well, this morning I happened upon this video:

[vimeo 6723357 w=500 h=375]

DROPS Crochet Tutorial: How to do Tunisian crochet, Afghan crochet or Tricot Crochetfrom Garnstudio Drops design on Vimeo.

And I thought to myself ‘Now that doesn’t look too tricky!’

So I gave it a go.

tunisian-crochetIt’s hard to express how gorgeous this is. It’s thick, and springy, and sturdy and yet still incredibly soft.

I wanted it to be something, so I carried on, and here we have my new glasses case:

glasses-case2 glasses-case1

And in case you fancy trying this yourself, here’s how I did it:

Tunisian Crochet Glasses Case

Drops Andes 65% wool, 35% alpaca (about half a ball)
7mm crochet hook

Chain 12 stitches (you end up with 11 on the hook once you have begun)
Follow the directions in the video for simple tunisian crochet

I did 22 rows of grey which I could rest my glasses on and fold about 1/3 back over.
I then changed the colour to chocolate brown and made another 16 rows.

Do not bind off, but fold the two colours together at the colour switch and single crochet back around the edge to create the case. I put a line of single crochet along the bottom as I went around, too, for aesthetic reasons. When you have joined the sides, continue up around the top of the case and when you reach the middle stitch put in one single crochet, chain 3 for the button hole and make another single crochet in the same stitch. Then carry on around.

If you’re clever (or is it lazy?) you’ll then cut the tail long enough to be able to weave it through the inside of the front and use it to secure your button before fastening it off and weaving in the ends.

Does this make sense?

If you try it and get stuck, please let me know where I have confused matters and I’ll try to clarify 🙂

In other news…

I made a bag over the weekend. That is, I found a ‘blanket’ (ahem) I had started and decided to give it a new destiny. So here it is:

bag1 bag2 bag3And that’s my news for now, so toodle-pip till next time! <3

Whoosh! Catch-up!

Posted on by Alice Neal

I have been horribly remiss keeping this blog going of late. I notice with horror that September was my last post. And it isn’t as though I haven’t been busy! I’m buried under works in progress (*hangs head in shame*) and full of new ideas. I seem to have a discipline problem – must finish one of my eleventy-six WIPs before starting the next!

So, in a mad scramble to bring myself up to date here, I am going to post a few pictures of works completed and works in progress and give myself a round telling off, coupled with threats of disciplinary measures if I don’t try to keep up a bit better.

I have, however, been far more efficient at keeping my Instagram and Facebook pages more current, so if you fancy checking either out, I’d be delighted to see you there.

So… first up, a commissioned Snuggle Bunny for my dear friend Clare. He is HUGE and contains a handmade wheat and lavender sack for microwave heating. Actually, come to think of it, he’s a she 🙂

Clare1 Clare3 Clare5

And I finally got around to making one for me, too. A slightly smaller cat, mine, with a flower granny square embellishment:

me1 me2 me4 me5My thanks to Bertie for modelling them <3
These can be commissioned at cuddlecats.co.uk if you felt so inclined.

It’s winter, so bobble hats have been flying off hooks and needles.

bobble1 bobble2

And I have finally got around to starting a long-promised blanket for my beloved:

Square-flowers Valentine's-blanket Valentine's-blanket-3It still has a way to go and I’m hoping to complete it by Valentine’s Day (gulp)…

This little chap was fun to make – he’s a travelling sized version, still with wheat sack, in wool and bamboo:

Travelling-4 Travelling-3 Travelling-2-insta Travelling-2And I’m designing a jumper. It’s a little short for my liking, so I’m going to have to get inventive about lengthening it, and I’m onto the sleeves, but prevaricating… I’ll get there:

stripy-jumper stripy-jumper2

Et voila! A selection of the latest.

I will, I hope, see you again much sooner <3

Jumper Season – WHOOP!

Posted on by Alice Neal

I know, I know, knitting isn’t just for autumn and winter, but I really do struggle to knit big bulky things all year round. I love to wear big bulky things though, and this Autumn has got me really excited because it was only in Spring that I taught myself to knit jumpers. And by then it was kind of too warm to wear them.

I bought myself some wool 🙂

2Andes1It’s the same lovely stuff as my last jumpers, but breaking out of the earthy colour mold – just as a little refresher, you understand 🙂

However, I also had some left over from this little chap:

Owl3which I figured would make a rather nice jumper for my littlest. I’ve come to the end of the ball and have had to order a bit more (I know – shucks – buying wool… what a nightmare! 😉 ) I’ve chosen a top-down, seamless yoke method which, given the small size, started out on DPNs and progressed to circular needles when there were enough stitches.

So, here it is in progress (excuse the dodgy phone pics):

Ted1Starting out on double pointed needles.

Ted2Bringing in some stripes and separating the arms stitches out and onto waste yarn.

Ted3Another little flash of pattern.

Ted4Trying not to stamp my feet that I didn’t have quite enough wool 😉

I’ll be back, though <3

The nights are drawing in… ;)

Posted on by Alice Neal

I know, I know, not quite.

But it’s definitely a bit nippier than it has been.

And that Cuddle Cat thing? Well it’s just got dinkier, and snugglier.

It started with some divine DK in natural, undyed, pure Jacob wool from The Knitting Gift Shop, who are specialising in such wools and in kits and accessories, too. Well worth a look if, like me, your weakness is undyed, natural, knee-wobbling pure wool.

And suddenly, what I have is a pocket-sized pussy cat with a stuffed head, button eyes, wool-embellished features, and a button at the bottom. In the middle? I’ve sewn a little calico pouch and filled it with washed and graded wheat, and aromatic lavender heads. To be microwaved and popped in the Pusscat’s tum.

Perfect for your pockets in autumn, or your boots before you put them on in winter, or your pillow for a gentle drift to sleep.

Anyway, here he is. Take a look 🙂

Pocket-Puss Pocket-Puss2 Pocket-Puss3 Pocket-Puss4 Pocket-Puss5And if you’d prefer me to make him for you, come and ask me over here.

 

New Friends

Posted on by Alice Neal

Last week I had a few hours to kill while some very obliging gentlemen fitted a towbar to my rather tricky car. Two of my boys and I spent those hours pootling around a nearby outlet centre and I picked up a book for a couple of pounds because there was a very straightforward tank top pattern which required not too much brain power from me.

It was this book here.

And it happened to contain a rather adorable pattern for a sort of small stuffed toy in the shape of a cat. Rather too small for my liking. And rather too two-dimensional. So I selected some leftover chunky yarn, 10mm needles and got going.

When it came to assembling it, I knitted an extra panel and put it in the base to help it stand upright, and ignored their minimalist embroidered face, opting instead for button eyes, sewn nose and whiskers.

You can see from the pictures how very simple it really is:

CuddleCat1

Here he is made up:

CuddleCat3And here he is standing on his base:

CuddleCat2Of course, once they’d seen him, everyone wanted one. So… here he is with his next buddy:

CuddleCat4CuddleCat5Just another three to go! 🙂

Note: It took between 100 and 150g of chunky wool on 10mm knitting needles to make one. A great stashbuster 🙂