"Arabian Nights" crochet blanket - all done

Another finish! Hurrah! 

So here it is at last, design by Amanda Perkins, from her book Rainbow Crochet Blankets.

Long time in making, but I enjoyed making it, I love the colours, although I seemed to be always running out of yarn.
There are other blankets in the book which I would love to make.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2020

spring blanket

Another crochet blanket finished; 

I am calling it "Spring Blanket" because of the colours and because I made it in the spring 😁 

I made this one up as I went along; initially I was just playing with small 3in squares (which in the end became the central panel), and it went on from there.

The main yarn I used here was Stylecraft Life & Stylecraft Batik DK, which both contain some element of wool; the rest came from leftovers 

from previous projects.

I haven't blocked it out, because it is just too large to do that and I actually like the more bulky feel of it, but I will give it a wash shortly to even out the stitches.

The blanket felt warm and comfortable on my lap when I was finishing the borders, and I can see myself using it a lot.

But what happened to spring? It is a cold and wet day in my part of the world today; 

a good time to go and do some crafting!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

catching up

It has been a while, so this could be a long post (or two);

so go and make a yourself a cuppa and bare with me 😊

More than a month ago I somehow I hurt my right shoulder (don't ask, I have no idea - too much housework perhaps 😉?) It was very painful for at least a couple of weeks and as a result I had very limited use of my arm. It has been slowly improving since, but of course the tragedy was that there was no crafting to speak of! It has also been very uncomfortable to use computer keyboard, hence no blogging, until now.

Luckily I finished my Frida's blanket just before, so I have something to show you. 

So, this is my version of "Frida's Primavera" blanket, design by Jane Crow.

Jane Crow designed this as CAL, and the free pattern is on Stylecraft website.

I was learning as I went along; I have never made anything like this before. I would not call this an easy project, so I would not recommended it to a beginner. But I must admit that I am very pleased with the result.

I used Stylecraft Special DK for this, which is 100 % acrylic. It is very soft and easy to use, and I chose it because of all those wonderful colours, but normally I prefer to use something with little wool in it.

Back in February we visited Stourhead; this year was a wonderful time for snowdrops, and although they have all gone now, I have to post some pictures from that visit.

I have never been very keen on the house itself, but it it always pleasure to see the grounds.

Halfway through February the weather went crazy and suddenly we had spring, the temperatures shooting to record levels here in UK. This lasted for a couple of weeks and the nature got truly fooled. 

Spring came to out garden too.

But of course it all happened far too early and could not last. 

We now have back weather "normal" for this time of year, 

which currently means high winds and rain 😒.

The biscuit jar looked rather empty, it was time to do something about it - the first baking since Christmas.

I used basic biscuit recipe (very quick and easy) from this book, using oats and spelt flour, and added dried cranberries and white chocolate.

It is time for a break, another post will follow shortly!

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

Mystical Lanterns Crochet Blanket

It took a while, but here it is!

Designed by Janie Crow ( or Jane Crawfoot ), 

using Stylecraft Life DK, 

which is a mixture of wool and acrylic.

Now washed and stretched.

Only when seeing this picture I realised that the colours are similar 

to the embroidered wool cushion I made some time ago.

The blanket is an addition to our living room, 

where I can enjoy seeing it, and we can use it when needed.

I really had fun making it, using all those colours.

I have re-discovered crochet and I am enjoying it again, so I plan making another one of Janie Craw's designs, using even brighter colours!

I will keep you posted.....

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

My Mystery Afghan Knit-a-Long

designed by Martin Storey for Rowan 

knitted in Pure Wool Worsted

approx size 120cm x 160cm

colours as per the original design

It has been fun, but I am glad to see it finished.

You would think that it is rather the wrong time of year for a warm blanket, 

but with the weather turning cold again, it could still come very handy.

Knitted in soft 100% wool, it is jolly warm!

Go and have a look at Jaana's blog , 

she is knitting baby blankets for Ghana, also using squares, but in same colour. It looks very nice.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2015