Giving up on the CAL 2014

Not all my projects end up as successes, in this post I'll explain why I put a stop to this one. Not that it all is lost, no way, I have enough ideas for this yarn, it's just that I don't feel comfortable with this multicoloured blanket it is turning into, maybe I started out with too many colours.
Maybe I have crafted all my live, but it turned into this intense frenzy only about a year or so ago when I bought my first yarn online and that was a lucy packet. All this amazing colours, I couldn't believe my eyes!
But, eventually it turned out not to be my thing.  It looks great in a ripple blanket or such, but this blocks .... I don't like. I can't imagine this technicoloured bomb anywhere in my house or anywhere! I started out with too many colours. In the first block I used 13 colours!
So far I'm really, really strugling with the colours. With so many different blocks, it will look better with much less colours, at the most 5.

Week 2 Popcorn parade

Week 3 Starburst flower

Week 4 Basket of berries

What a strange stitch at the outer rim, positive thing about this, it made me realise I do understand and I can crochet these difficult stitches.

Week 5 Starfire

Week 6 Blooming lace (actually I like the way the colours came together in this block, it almost looks like I start grasping colour combinations, but this is where I stopped my blanket. I won't frog it yet)

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CAL is from a facebook group 

Official CCC Social Group 

New clothes for my doll.

Every now and then I buy a dutch magazine about Dolls and Teddy-Bears. Many artistic dolls and bears are featured. I myself like the patterns of Marianne Heijnis. She has absolutely fantastic patterns, I never have a problem with them. This is such a pattern, it fits my doll to a T. 

 When I was a child my mother taught me these embroidery stitches, they are so easy! It's lazy daisy and french knots. I wanted to add a little bit of extra colour.

 The pants were way too big for my doll and I just winged it and it came out fine. I had to add flowers and a leave, just because.

The shoes I made myself, again just winged it. 

Most of my dolls will soon have a dress of this pattern.

Here she is in all her glory, just beautiful!

and not showing her pants!

I need flowers

Flowers, I need flowers!
The daffodils looks lovely in the garden, in parks, just everywhere.
Feeling really needful for the joyous colours and sun. Sun we have, so I saw to the colours and flowers.

Sam's jacket

The ripple blanket came in handy again, when Sam needed a blanket. It matched perfectly with the jacket I've knitted him.

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For the jacket I used Bravo yarn, bought in Veritas. Lovely colours, cheap, BUT!!!! full of faults and knots.

Leona's shawl

In my street is this very nice old lady, Leona. She lived here almost forever, she's in her late 80's and lived in her house since she was a child. She loved to knit, crochet, or do all kinds of craftwork, she even loved photography which was not that evident in those days. Now she finds it too difficult to do it. I love talking to her, she can tell endless stories about the war (WW2)

She always wears these lovely colourfull shawls, she has more than one. She has shawls for during the week and one for sundays. How lovely is that!

 Leona!

 Writing me a graph to use as pattern

Holding up her shawl 

 How to make the shawl goes like this:- just knit a huge round thing.

Fold it .....

Crochet the two sides together, preferably in a lacey kind of stitch, it can be nice and warm

 Like this.....

 

Close up 

ready to wear

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Yarn used are the leftover from this handbag, I did need more than what was left

A ripple to sit on

The first posts I read on Attic 24 was about her ripple blankets, so I made one, just a small one to try out the pattern. It came out beautifully.
Very handy to take along.

Yarns used were all scraps from here and there.

Christening blanket

Belgium is at most a cold place ...... and churches are even worse, and that is all over, not only in Belgium.
With all the grandchildren getting christened, I had to crochet a blanket to match the event.
It was an incredibly easy blanket to make and I got it done on time. 

The edging is very simple, I don't think this pattern needs more than this.

Yarn used is Ideal from Berger de France

It's a boy

The christening dress had to be changed from pink to blue. It looks good!
This time it was Sam's turn to be christened in the dress.

Blue for boys, so I kept the lace only to a thin line. Or not really, I was looking for broderie anglaise, but couldn't find it.

The first dress or piece of clothing the grandmother of my son-in-law made for him, a very pretty broderie anglaise shirt and it's still beautiful after all these years. The christening dress was worn in the church and at the christening party afterwards Sam wore the shirt.

Odyssey, a CAL, week 01

CAL simply means crochet along.
Someone, of a group or a blogger, has enough courage to start a "crochet along". Once a week a pattern is posted and everyone can commit to doing it.
This CAL is from a facebook group I've been following for some time now. Crafty Crochet Community or CCC Social Group and here is the link to it.
Week one, a lot of eager crocheters started crocheting along, me too.
Block 1 is Odyssey Block by Leatitia Sherriff. You can find it here.
Here starts my odyssey too ..... can I bring it up to follow it for the entire year or not. There will be many weeks that I'll be away from home and then I'll have to catch up, not that it's a big problem, but it is going for a year.

Block 1 - Odyssey Block

Using Stylecraft Special DK 

Hook 4.5mm

So far so good, it really looks good!

The real thing, one block done.

They gave out measurements, ..... in inches!!! 

The size should be 12 inch square blocks, I have no idea at the moment what mine is! Large!

Finding it difficult to keep track of all the things I do , this blog is actually my notebook.

Colours used

Lemon

Claret

Fondant

Pomegranate

Turquoise

Cloud blue

Aster 

Grape

Wisteria

Meadow

Fondant

Pale rose

Lipstick

Time to pack those advent stockings away

2014
Time to pack all the Xmas decorations. All 75 of my advent stockings found new homes, new boxes to be packed away in. I myself will enjoy another fortnight of the warmth of my Christmas tree and its merry lights.

Quintin and family's stockings

Melaney's stockings

again Melaney's stockings

Michael's stockings

again Michael's stockings

You might think 75 is a miscalculation and yes it is, it should be 72, I've knitted 25 for all of them, not 24 as it should be. Ah well, one extra sweet for one of the kids.

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Socks pattern is from Litttle Cotton Rabbits