Colinette Ribbon yarn jumper/sweater

In April I saw a nice crochet pattern in a UK magazine called Knitting and I bought the yarn needed

with money given to me for my birthday- also in April.

It's made in Colinette yarn called Giotto a ribbon type yarn ,

50% cotton, 40% rayon and dyed in the modt fabulous colour ranges- my favourite is Fresco and that's what I'm wearing here.

The pattern is called Potpourri and is designed by Betty Barnden : it was wonderful to work and very quick in the lovely yarn and a 7mm hook.

I ordered the yarn from the Colinette.com website and wound the skeins into balls as I needed them , which was a mistake as 2 out of the 7 later turned out to be quite different from the rest.

Luckily it doesn't seem to show, it's mainly on the sleeves.

I made the sleeves more tapered as I didn't want the flared cuffs and the whole sweater as well as the sleeves- or especially the sleeves have drooped with wear: it's a favourite so I have worn it a lot since May 2006!!!!

I also didn't understand why 3 crochet hook sizes were stated in the pattern and maybe I should have used them as it may have made it more fitted.

I am considering cutting the sleeves to size and adding a scallop or wavy edge row to re-finish them as they are now 20cm or 8 '' too long and it makes for a very bulky turnback cuff.....

Below are the sleeve and back pieces respectively before sewing them together,the back is sideways which I have realised too late sorry.

The Vneck appears when the neck edge is added, before this it looks more like a deep scoop neck! The pic on the far right below is the front before assembly.

If you want to access the pattern you can get a back issue from pubs@thegmcgroup.com or if you're American maybe the pattern editor can help: e-mail carol.chambers@ntlworld.com.

The pattern is in th April issue of Knitting,issue 23 on page 52,53,55 and 56.

there's some amazing furry and cutely trendy crochet slipper boots in that issue too, they are based on an INUIT design.

Any comments anyone?

What should i do/have done to prevent the droop occurring?

It was hiplength but it's heading south of my posterior at the moment and continuing to fall.....

Gala shrug- super furry

I was invited recently to a gala Christmas celebration and decided to wear a little beaded strappy number to this , in navy as I figured everyone would either be in black: ie all men and most of the ladies or red( ladies only).

Then just before the event I had a run of rushed jobs at work got tired and stressed out and my arms were covered in an eczema outbreak.......ooh la la, soooo not good.

I usually wear long evening gloves for this kind of emergency and I have them in cream- kid leather, black velvet and silver lame but I wanted navy......!!!

Could I get any at all in November/December 2006 in navy????No of course not.

Then while shopping for something entirely different I spied a batch of navy Sirdar funky fur : or an eyelash yarn for USA readers, and had the idea for a navy furry shrug instead.

I had less than 1 week to go but managed to make it just in time - crocheting all the way in the car to the hotel where it was held and it was a great success!

I made the pattern up as I went along using a 4.5 mm hook and a mesh stitch to keep it more open and cooler but still very furry: 1 chain, 1 treble ( or dc for the USA) and working each subsequent treble into the chain space instead of into the top of the previous row treble thus speeding it up as I didn't have to grope and search for the correct stitch loop all the time.

Exact pattern I can provide on request but it's a simple set of 2 spirals ( tubes)worked in the round from the cuff to the shoulder with a connecting panel across the back.

The completed shrug weighs 230 grammes so it took about 4 to 5 balls of 50g eyelash yarn.

A bonus was that it was very comfortable and not too hot at all, in fact it didn't come off until the dancing got us so hot it was inevitable!

And so much easier to dine in than long evening gloves!

Zig zag scarf in black/white tonal and textural yarns

Here is a scarf I made using hte new Ripple Stitch book by Jan Eaton, I made mine with lots of different yarns using some doubled : such as the DK cashmerino wool or the Blur ( Sirdar) mohair,I started with a black Jaeger chenille I have had in my yarn stash for decades now!!!

I added some newly bought Splash yarn by Patons , some Art yarns- DK wool blends by LANG - I love the greys - both pale and dark in the ZOOM range, I used pure wools, mohair, viscose ribbon,DK pure cotton,some Jaeger angora(black),a Debbie Bliss cashmerino and a Louisa Harding Impressions ( in grey mix) all with a 7mm hook.

It was fantastic fun to do and although I first made it completely assymmetrical : this didn't ''work'' for me so I had to go back a few rows and make it ''almost'' symmetrical.

The black gives way to the greys and then cream and pure white, the grey yarns were both plains and graded/variegated in grey tones- ones , some with bobbles and textural effects in the yarns used.These were the most fun to buy and then use!

It's fabulously soft ( thank you mohair, angora and cashmere, not to mention that old viscose chenille!!!), very warm and I feel wonderful in it, it goes with a long black cashmere coat I have now had for over 20 years which had a huge velvet shawl collar but this leaves a big area bare with a V neckline so a good scarf is ESSENTIAL to keep warm in this coat and now I have one!

I added more fringing than the book suggested and have to say the pattern was super easy and to be told you need approx 20m of a yarn was very useful as I could wind the required amount off several different balls, combine them and then crochet with my own blended thicker yarn!!!

I also wanted a firm outer edge and thus finished both outer edges with a crab stitch.

It was made in November 2006.

Crochet in 2006 a collection of pieces

This was made in February 2006 for a baby called Paige : the bonnet is from a book:Essential Crcohet by Erica Knight: it's the Sunday best bonnet and I made it in a DK pure cotton , but I did find the pattern rather hard to follow at times, the pink bootees were my very first attempt at such a garment and didn't turn out so well, they were from Adorable crochet for babies by Lesley Stansfield: the dancing shoes....

Again I probably made a few mistakes as one looked a bit strange but I did find the flower decoration - which I decided not to put on the shoe: was a superb pattern for a number of brooched I made later on!!!

I also found a much easier and nicer bootee pattern later on In October 2006 in a book called Crochet Unravelled and I made those for a baby boy called Joseph in November 2006:

these are the blue ones on the left above, I uploaded them in the wrong order by mistake.

I had the honour of cuddling the newborn baby Joseph while he was wearing them, they fit a 9lb newborn baby perfectly!!!

And so easy and delightful to make, using a little DK yarn and some ribbon.