new crochet project with spring mood

We have been having some beautiful spring days for more then a week now, dry, sunny and warm, and our little garden is really waking up now.

It has been a wonderful spring for magnolia trees, they seem to be everywhere this year. So often they are short lived, blossoms destroyed by late frost or rain and wind, but this year there have time to show off their full splendour. I pass many of them on my walks, in many various shades, from pale pink to nearly purple.

Unfortunately, due to their ultimate size,

 a magnolia tree is not suitable for our garden, so I am admiring them from a distance.

I can't sit in the evening without a needle or a hook in my hand, so I found it very frustrating when I had a painful shoulder. 

When it was slowly recovering, I found that I could only do a little crochet, and I started to play with very small 3in squares, using up leftover yarns from previous projects.

There is no pattern, just an idea, and inspiration from another blog,  http://clothogancho.canalblog.com

And it went on from there. The small squares formed a centre of a new blanket and were joined by larger, 6in squares around them.

More 3in squares are forming a part of the border.

I was doing very well, very pleased with myself; I started working on the outer border, but it just did not look right. It turned out that I miscalculated the amount of stitches I needed for the borders. The result was that the centre section was too big for the borders. I had to undo my work back to the grey section surrounding the central blocks. 

However unhappy I was doing that, it just had to be done. 

So I am working on the borders again an it is looking much better this time.

©pleasureinstitching.blogspot.co.uk 2010-2019

my "Lost in Time" - the second part of my update

This beautiful design comes from Johanna Lindahl (Mijo Crochet).
I found it very addictive, I just could not put it down.

Actually, I finished the shawl before Christmas, but only now I got around to blocking it out (the boring bit), and adding tassels.

I used 2 different colour variations of "Zauberball" 4 Ply from Schoppel Wolle, which is a mixture of wool (75%) and nylon, and is lovely to work with.

I would like to make another one in light summer colours.

Recently we drove down to Somerset Levels to re-visit Willows and Wetland Centre .

If you are as mad about baskets as I am, beware, you just can't walk out without a basket, be it just a little one! 

I borrowed this picture from the inside of the shop from their website.

All the willow is grown here on the Levels and worked by local crafts people.

There have been few changes here since our last visit; an addition of a couple of small shops, the inside of the tea room has doubled in size, and I liked this pretty new flower shop.

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Weekend baking - 

The recipe this time comes from this little book of Croatian cooking.

The method of making this cake is new to me - you bake only a half of the cake mixture for about 20 minutes, then add apples and top with remaining mixture and finish baking.

When it's finished, while the cake is still hot, you spread a mixture of grated raw apple mixed with cinnamon and sugar on the top of the cake.

 

I like this combination of cooked and fresh apples.

©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