The keen eyed amongst you might notice my posts have been scattered of late. This is because I have been a bit of a disorganised mess recently. Much like Bilbo Baggins once said, I feel like “butter spread over too much bread”. You can probably see this in my complete inability to show you a finished project. I have spoken a bit about my constant WIP before, the bohemian granny square cardigan (Squares and squares and squares), but my addiction to the foundation chain has now left me working at my dining table surrounded by wool. I find (and I would love to know if anyone else has noticed this) that my crocheting habits mirror my life’s ‘goings-on’. I am going through a restless few months, my work is like a treadmill, if I rest I fall off the edge, and at home my evenings are filled with other small jobs to bring home the facon (vegetarian bacon). So ‘fast-paced’ and ‘caffeine fuelled’ are my new synonyms; not the most relaxing environment to unleash my creativity. I am hoping all of this goes some way to explain my four current WIPS (six if you count the two patterns I am planning to start). Let’s walk our way through them, starting at the oldest ones that leave me the most guilt ridden.
Obviously, we have to start with the granny square cardigan. Frankly I think I have made maybe five more squares since I last spoke about this. However, I recently moved on to a section with a new square pattern that held my attention for a whole day a few weekends ago! You may have seen the gorgeous (to look at, irritating to make) 3D flower pattern on my Instagram. I really thought this would inspire me to finish this project, but alas. I was distracted by seeing Make & Do Crew patterns on the LoveCrochet independent designer takeover. Jess posted about a corner-to-corner tiled stag blanket that would be perfect for my sister and her fiancés house! I also can’t resist a new technique, and C2C really is so amazingly versatile that it has shown me how I could put into practice a few designs I have had floating around my head.
I had been working through this pattern at a good pace, until this weekend when I decided to start another project using some of my hand-dyed yarn. The pattern I had in mind for this came from the gorgeous Shawl Project Book 3. The pattern itself is
incredibly simple and is summarised on one A4 sheet, which always draws me to a project. It uses a fascinating technique to create what Kat Goldin describes as Broomstick lace. Not completely unlike Tunisian crochet, it uses a knitting needle to hold stitches as you move back and forth adding and removing loops. Currently I am struggling with tension issues with this section but as the pattern recommends an “aggressive blocking” strategy I am fairly certain this will sort itself out. This pattern also required a contrasting colour which gave me the opportunity to dive into my dye pots and create a gorgeous reddish brown colour that really captured the autumnal vibe I am feeling at the moment.
With all the excitement of these two new WIPs I have added to the pile, I had completely forgotten about a gorgeous Moroccan tiles blanket kit I bought when out at a craft fair 
with my lovely Mum. When I moved into my lovely Cambridge home, everything I bought happened to be turquoise and orange. Of course with its blankets and homemade cushions on every chair my home has all the colour of Moroccan tiles but none of the subtlety. I picked up this kit, keeping it aside for a rainy day, but whenever I get a new pattern I can’t help but try it out. I usually promise myself “Just the first two rows”. With this blanket, I got a decent way through one tile before I set it aside to finish another project. There it has sat since waiting to be finished, or I should say waiting to be properly started.
While I type I am also resting my arm on two new cotton based patterns. It is as if my elbow is holding them against the table to stop them from jumping into my hands. One is the ‘Easy Breezy Summer Cardi’ by the gorgeous, inspiring Jessica from The Hook Nook. I want to make this partly because I love the look of the pattern, with its simplicity and elegance. But also partly because I am slightly in love with Jessica…just such an amazing lady. The second pattern is a jumper I saw in HobbyCraft yesterday. I have to commend HC on the rebrand of their knitting and crochet section. They have put less focus on the Women’s Institute brand and more on good value yarn with a great range including some super chunky yarns like ‘Hug it out’ that I am desperate to get my hands and hooks on. While I was there yesterday I found a gorgeous hooded jumper pattern that would be perfect for those colder summer nights. Of course by the time I start and finish it we will probably be way into Autumn, but I can overlook that.
You can probably imagine my house is currently much like Shelob’s lair (apologies for the second Lord of the Rings reference of the day), I am fighting through webs of woollen carnage to get in and out. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I will leave you with one final anecdote that made my week spectacular. I work with a French woman, and knowing that crochet is French for hook I asked what Captain Hook from Peter Pan is called in the French version of the Disney film. You’ve probably guessed by the title of my post… Capitaine Crochet. There is nothing else to say to that!
Have a great week everyone, and happy crafting!
Ells xx
Ells & Whistles 