The next blanket

 Blanket #220; more details here.

Elizabeth Bradley Cyclamen tapestry cushion

 

I was pleased to find a kit by Elizabeth Bradley in a charity shop.  This was a cushion front, named Cyclamen from a series called Botanical Garden.  It could be made into one block for a rug, but since there was just one it became a cushion.  The instructions were for cross stitch, so that is what I did, although as a cushion tent stitch would have been hard wearing enough.

The kit was thoroughly packaged in a box, with the yarn clearly separated and attached to a labelled strip.  I particularly like charts, and this one was very clear.  The background yarn was black, and it didn't appeal to me.  The instructions said that you could return it exchanging to a different shade, but I doubt that a request some 20 years later for a kit bought second hand would have been welcomed.  I searched my yarn store for sufficient substitute tapestry wool for the background, and the most suitable I could find was this green Anchor grounding wool.  It had to do, but I would have preferred something paler.

The stitching was fine, with the help of the chart.  Nevertheless I managed to get some green in the bottom right hand corner wrong, with a knock on change necessary on one or two others.  It is not obvious unless you know about it.  I do like the detail of the distinctive leaves.  I omitted the name of the plant as not necessary on a single block.

Cross stitch took a long time, doing each stitch twice.  I wanted to try it, and now I have.  It took a long time to make it into a cushion, because I mislaid the canvas, and it took some time to reappear.

It is a delightful design, and I am very happy with the cushion.  These kits are very expensive, so I am unlikely to afford another.

Stitched  25 November 2017 to 14 November 2018; finished cushion 22 August 2020

Noro Lace Yoke Sweater C39a

 My Noro Silver Thaw sweater.

K1Below Fox blanket C55

The next blanket.

Moss stitch Colourscape blanket C54

 Moss stitch blanket.

The next blanket

Here is the next blanket, #219.

The next blanket

 The next blanket #218.

The next blanket

Blanket #217.

Chunky thick thin blanket C53

 The next blanket

The next blanket

 The next blanket is #216.

Slip stitch blanket C51

 Slip stitch blanket C51 using Handsome Harry's hanks and Noro Kureyon.

Cashmerino bias square blanket C43

 This is my next blanket.

Chatham sweater

 This is my Chatham sweater.

Candace Bahouth: Klimt - coral needlepoint cushion

I find these abstract pictures attractive, and I had no hesitation in buying this Ehrman kit when I found it in a charity shop.  Stitching it was pleasant, but I find perhaps I prefer more irregular subjects.  Instead of using the inflexible gold lurex yarn doubled I used one strand and added Appleton crewel yarn; it made nicer stitching.

Ehrman does four different Klimt designs - I have one more to do.

Stitched  21 February to 16 May 2020; finished cushion  18 June 2020

 The next blanket is #215.

Kaffe Fassett: Victorian cats needlepoint cushion

 I bought this Ehrman needlepoint kit in a charity shop because I suspected it was a Kaffe Fassett design, and it was.  Generally I avoid pictures of animals and people, so I made an exception.  The design was printed on a double weave canvas, so it seemed quick.  I cut off the right side edge to make the picture more square, and I don't think it shows.  Stitching it was enjoyable, seeing the picture take shape.  It was difficult identifying the shades of yarn; there were many beige - brown shades, and I may have got it wrong.  Luckily it doesn't show in the finished picture.

I had to add strips of backing fabric to top and bottom to make it fit a square cushion pad.  I like how the fabric colours match the design.  I like the finished cushion more than I thought I would.  The cats are sweet.

Stitched  25 November 2019 to 16 March 2020; finished cushion 31 March 2020

The next blanket

 The next blanket #214.

Kaffe Fassett: Shells needlepoint cushion

 Lockdown allowed me to finish the queue of finished needlepoint cushion covers that had accumulated over several months.  This is the first one, an old design, Shells, by Kaffe Fassett.

The design in itself didn't appeal to me very much, but I bought it because of the designer.  I like the colours.  It is large, 40 * 50 cm.  I always enjoy the stitching.  The shape is not a standard size for cushion pads, so I did the same as with the pansies cushion - I added a strip of backing fabric to top of bottom.  I like the way the colours go together.

When it was finished I found I liked the cushion more than expected, so it still sits on my sofa where I enjoy the large size.

Stitched  9 June to 25 November 2019; finished cushion 20 March 2020

Chunky bias squares blanket C50

My next bias squares blanket

Solid square crochet blanket C49

A blanket crocheted in aran weight cottons and cotton blends.

Broken rib 2 blanket C47

The Ravelry entry for the second Broken rib blanket, this one in Sirdar Big Softie.

The next blanket

I have decided to write about my knitting in Ravelry rather than here.  Here is the entry for the next blanket, #213.

Joanna Allen: Primavera Pansies needle point cushion

It has been a while since I wrote about my tapestry cushions (or needle point as they may be more correctly called), but that doesn't mean that I have stopped stitching.  I somehow got behind with doing the backs.  Now I have done several.

The first is this one, designed by Joanna Allen, a Primavera kit.  I got just the canvas from a charity shop because I liked the design so much.  No yarn, no picture, no chart.  There was a list of the Anchor yarn numbers and how many skeins needed from each.  So I selected yarns from my store.  I did have the correct shades for several.  For the rest I went by the shade in the picture and selected similar ones.  It was useful to know the amounts needed.

The good thing about needle point is, that once you have done the stitching, it is impossible to tell if you used the correct shade, unless you have a picture to compare against and have the patience to.  I searched the internet for a picture to help with the stitching, but didn't find any detailed enough.









I enjoyed the stitching.  I am very pleased with the result.  The design is oblong, so rather than altering a standard 35 cm square pad I stitched a strip of backing fabric to top and bottom.  A plain fabric might have been better; I used what I had.

If the canvas looks bumpy it is because I hand washed in an effort to block it because I didn't use a frame.  It is not noticeable in the finished cushion.

Stitched  14 November 2018 to 7 June 2019; finished cushion 4 February 2020

Blanket #212

The next blanket, #212, is another standard dark blanket using up black, brown, green and navy yarns.  I would like to introduce burgundy and purple, and one day I will.  In this blanket I use another Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan yarn as a regular stripe for texture, this time in brown.  The three balls nearly covered the whole blanket.  I like the texture.  There is more navy mohair as well.

Corner to corner crochet throw

I have seen several versions of this corner to corner crochet pattern, and I was intrigued to try it.  The advantage is that as you start from a corner you don't have to decide on a size in advance.  You turn the next corner when you decide it is wide enough and the third corner when it is long enough.

I found a pattern, by Carolyn Calderon, on Ravelry.  It is very simple crochet, chains and double trebles all along.

I wanted to use my double knitting weight cotton yarns, starting with Rowan Pima Cotton, knitted into this cardigan from a Debbie Bliss pattern.  I had troubles when I knitted it, and I redid the yoke smaller because it slipped down my shoulders.  Even the smaller version did, and I hardly ever wore it.  It was a shame because the yarn is so nice, in the Bark shade.







With it I added various other cotton yarns in similar shades.  I particularly wanted to use up a Jaeger Albany ribbon yarn that I bought one day when I was in particular need of buying yarn.  It is a nice light pink shade and to my surprise the ribbon structure fitted in well.

The crochet flowed easily.  I discovered a problem that I had not anticipated.  The rows became very long and I did not want to change yarn in the middle of a row.  So I had to estimate at the beginning of a row if there would be enough yarn to complete the row.  Luckily I did it with success every time, and I did not have to unravel any.  But it disrupted my shade pattern.

It was really nice when I had turned the third corner, and the rows were getting ever shorter.  I didn't do the edging in the pattern because having used several yarns I needed to cover the ones I had brought up along the side.  I did my standard edging of one row dc and one row picot stitch.









I am quite pleased with the blanket or throw.  I don't like the gaps the pattern creates - you can't see them when the blanked lies flat, but it becomes obvious when you move it.  So I don't think I will do the pattern again.

Corner to corner crochet throw C45

Yarn: Rowan Pima Cotton, Jaeger Albany and other DK cotton yarns

Hook: 4 mm

Size: 115 cm by 160 cm

Weight: 1415 gr

Done 3 October  to 28 December 2019

Blanket #211

The next blanket #211, is another in darkish colours, red, blue.  I enjoy putting these together.  I did a regular stripe of a nice Malabrigo kettle dyed wool in a brick shade.  The mohair was Sirdar Supreme Mohair in mulberry.

I unravelled this tunic dress in a nice cable pattern.  It is a Debbie Bliss design, Mathilde from Winter Essentials in her Cashmerino DK.  The dress annoys me.  It is my size and I would have enjoyed wearing it, except for the neckline.  It is too low.  On me, shorter than average, it is in danger of slipping indecently low because there is nothing to hold it up as the ribbed neckline is too stretchy.  The dress is so heavy that it can only be worn in cold weather, and then I would need something to cover my neck and chest.  A warm top underneath would make the dress feel even warmer.  A scarf would not cover my chest adequately.  It is such a shame.  The yarn itself is useful in the blankets despite the synthetic content.