Sunday 26th August

Good afternoon from a once again wet East Lothian. This has been a week of ups and downs for me.
First, the up, hubs and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. We had a great time reminiscing over what the last 10 years had given us, places we had been and our memories of the day itself. We had a lovely Chinese takeaway for dinner and a surprise when these beautiful flowers were delivered from Mum and Dad.

Now for the downs. Just call me the queen of frogging this week. It felt like everything I touched moved 1 step forward then 2 or 3 steps back. No matter whether it was crochet or knit a frogging was happening. It was just one of those weeks. This means I have very little to share with you all. Just one picture.

I finished week 4 of Something Magic.
I knew when I started this project that I would have to buy more yarn to complete it but during week 4 I decided to raid my stash and see what I had which would compliment or contrast so I started adding some green. I am now hoping to finish this beauty using just stash yarns.
Week 5 is underway but was the victim of 2 rounds in the frog pond so I am now going to be playing catch up as the 6th part comes out tomorrow.

The test knit sock I showed you last week was frogged completely and restarted as it was way too big for my foot. I have now cast on for the small size and it is fitting perfectly.

With such frogging getting me down, this morning I cast on a Wurm. This hat is one of my favourite knits and I wear my original one often so I decided that another one would not go amiss. This will be a bit of luxury on my head as I am using the yarn which came in my June mystery box from Rosie's Moments it is a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend which came with a pattern for socks but is way too beautiful to be hidden on my feet.

The hat pattern is free on Ravelry and is very popular having over 15K projects listed.
Ths is my first one

Well, that's all for now. I am off to try and salvage some of the time I have lost and hopefully start to move forward once more with my projects,
Until next Sunday, happy crafting,

Mary

Sunday 19th August.

Hello again and welcome to my ramblings.
Once again it a very grey Sunday here in East Lothian so let me brighten it up with some colourful photos of what I have been working on this past week.

First up, socks.

I finished the first of my three test knit sock patterns,

This is a simple toe-up vanilla sock with an afterthought heel. It was a very easy pattern to follow and will make a great introduction to this process for those who, like me, have never tried an afterthought heel before. I knitted this in some deep stash yarn which was from The Loopy Ewe Seasonings series on a 2.5mm needle using the magic loop process. I will be sure to let you know when it becomes available on Ravelry.

The second test knit is for the Limekilns pattern,

Again this is toe-up with a simple two-row pattern which really lends itself to self-striping yarn.

Thirdly, I have started on the last test-knit. So far I have a toe,

And a foot,

This is a truly beautiful pattern and so simple, yet it looks complicated. I am really enjoying this one and already have plans for more of my stash to become Dysart socks.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fiona for trusting me to test-knit for her and to assure her that I am loving every minute of doing so.

Now on to crochet.

It has been slow going this week on the crochet front as I managed to twice crick my neck in my sleep. Neck pain and hooking are not great bedfellows so not too much has been accomplished. I have only managed two rounds on the baby blanket so no picture to show there. I am slowly getting through week 4 of my first Something Magic. This is a wonderful project with surprises around every corner, this week we have to make 8 eye shaped pieces of eleven rounds each. Here is my progress up to round 8/11 on two of the pieces

I am following the pattern exactly and making each piece simultaneously to try and have all 8 identical in tension.

Finally, I did make a start on Mum's Magic. Last week I showed you the chosen yarn and here is where I am so far.

I know some of you who read this are also magicing along, I would love to see your progress and to share in your journey.

That's it for this week. Have a great week ahead.

Happy crafting

Mary

Sunday 12th August.

Hello again from a horribly dreich, wet and grey East Lothian. After all the weeks of hot dry weather, it is actually quite nice for the traditional Scottish summer to have shown its face. The grass and gardens need it and so do some of the crops here in the garden of Scotland. Hopefully, though we have not seen the last of the sunshine and we will see a little more before the Autumn sets in.

This week I have been hooking like a demon and have completed part 3 of the Something Magic CAL.

This is truly a magical project as in just 3 weeks we have had a circle, a square and now a star.
I cannot wait to see how it develops over the next few weeks.
I have also been working more slowly on a second one for my niece's baby who is due in to make his debut in the world mid-September.

 This will not be a full size but will be stopped when large enough for baby.

As if this is not enough, my Mum has expressed a desire for one for herself. Mum was as avid a yarn crafts fan as me until a stroke a few years ago has made it too difficult for her to do anything more than simple garter stitch. As this is such a delightful pattern I trotted off to my stash and picked out some colours I know she likes and later this afternoon I will make a start.

Knitting has not been completely abandoned, I am still working on the test- knit socks I mentioned last week and have got around the heel and started up the leg.

As you can see I have been a busy bee this week and I have loved every minute, especially the bit where I was rummaging through my bag of  Stylecraft yarn and discovered 3 balls of sock yarn that I completely forgot I had bought.

Thank you for reading my ramblings and I leave you this week with a shot of my beautiful boy posing for his mummy and the reminder to read your pattern carefully to avoid becoming a frog queen like me.

Happy crafting
Mary

Sunday 5th August

Hello, the last couple of weeks did not go well for me. My ongoing has depression led me into a vicious circle.

As you can see I am totally going round in circles. The depression causes me to be anxious about everything which means I rarely leave my safe place on the couch which causes more depression and on it goes. It seems that, just now, every time I take a baby step forward I end up 3 steps back. This is not living, it is existing and believe me, it is no picnic.

But enough of that, now to things which are making me happier. Yes, yarny things, just like the medics say, are truly making this easier to manage.

First up, CROCHET.

I have picked up my hook again and am thoroughly enjoying the free CAL which is currently running on Facebook and available on Ravelry for Something Magic. This amazing design is the brainchild of Ineke Mooijenkind, who is one of the main testers for the well-known designer Helen Shrimpton. The pattern is so well written and laid out with pictures for every round that even a relative beginner of crochet, like me, can have the confidence to give it a go.

Here is my progress at the end of week 2.

I am using a 4mm (G) hook and the yarn is Stylecraft Special DK in the colours, Mushroom, Stone, Vintage Peach and Gold. The instructions for week 3 come out tomorrow evening and I am excited to see what comes next.

Now for KNITTING.

I have some test knit socks on the go for my lovely friend Fiona.

On the left is Limekilns, a lovely simple design for toe-up socks in a self-striping yarn and on the right, Ocean Currents, again toe-up but this time a learning curve for me as it was my first ever afterthought heel. I will be sure to share with you all when these patterns become available. 

Finally, this week, since I was so low I figured I needed a wee treat. 

Once again I took myself off to Etsy and this gorgeous sock project bag captured my heart.

This is my third purchase from Rachael at SewRayMe. Her bags are so beautifully made, even hubby has commented on the quality, and her customer service is amazing. These beautiful bags don't have far to travel to me as they are made just across the Forth in Fife. It is great to know that I am supporting a fairly local small business.

That's it for this week, see you soon.

Happy crafting,

Mary