Bibs and bobs

Its a 'bibs and bobs' time as I feel to be going from one thing to another but not particularly getting ahead with anything: a feeling I hate!  Maybe this time next weekend I will feel entirely differently.....so lets see what box of delights I have in this post.....

I thought I'd let you see this...its by one of my knitting clubbers: for want of a better word! and I was so impressed when she showed me this.  She is very good at Crochet and a beginner knitter and this blanket is very 'her' - especially in the choice of colour.  I really liked the drape and weight of the blanket which was made in Rowan Wool Cotton and I was so impressed that I've decided to start work 

on my own Granny blanket - as I really need a project to keep me busy at Knitting Club....something that I can continually pick up and put down for a bit.

I bought this cook book last week.  If you've looked at my blog before you'll know that we love our food in the Fairislerona household and a few months ago I came across this ladies recipes - in the Sunday Times I think......anyway, we've had a go at quite a few of them and were suitably impressed and all in one pot - fab!  Georgina Fuggle is not a name you are likely to forget and I really recommend her cooking.....so today we are having the 'Pig's Cheeks in Cider' they've been gently bubbling away in the slow cooker...I was told that the 'Pig's Chaps' were the cheeks of the pig but they are so big I'm beginning to wonder which cheeks we are talking about....I'd rather not think about that one...but they do smell delicious !!!  

This is a bit of an insight into my next pattern / hooking project.  The colours look pretty retro and I really love this colour combination at the moment.  I sat looking at them the other day and wondered why I kept selecting them and I now realise why - they are the same shades as my settee which is upholstered in gorgeous Moon woven woollen fabric.  So this then led to the conclusion that I really do have to make that Granny blanket for my sitting room....

I kind of signed a pledge to myself at the start of Winter that I was not going to buy any more knitting yarn until I had used my current stash: how many knitters have said this to themselves....I made a Louisa Harding sweater in Rowan Creative Worsted but wasn't very happy with it as I felt really fat in it!  So, I'm planning to re-knit it again but this time in the very wonderful Kim Hargreaves design Onza - pictured above.  My mother knitted this for me about 10 years ago in a dark maroon Rowan Kid Classic and it is a classic sweater which I have worn and worn...so that's my next plan before I knit anything for Spring/Summer

Last, but by no means the least I had a little crafty goodie this week from Tweed Delights which I bought as a pressie for one of my friends.  Alison makes some lovely products using Harris Tweed and she is a lovely lady crafting up on the Isle of Lewis ...do take a look at her tweedying....have a good week everybody and hope we continue to get the gorgeous weather we have had the past few days for half term...

Learning to Crochet at Rowan 'Up Country'

Last weekend I ran a 'Learn to Crochet' workshop at Up Country - it was a busy day with 8 very enthusiastic ladies!  Some of the ladies were local, some from South Yorks and one lady travelled all the way from North Wales: it was lovely to meet you all. 

It was pretty intense concentration by everybody and they absolutely zoomed through the set projects - they were very quick in picking up the crochet skill and were soon planning their first projects.....this makes me very happy as I know that they 'got it' and that they are 'hooked'.

I taught them the basic skills, how to read a pattern and then we did a bit of 'grannying', a bit of 'hearting' and a bit of 'flowering'.....told you they were keen!   We stopped for a grand lunch from 

Nick's Kitchen and then tucked into home made Marmalade Cake.

Hope to see you sometime again ladies and for those who still want to 'Learn to Crochet' the next class is on Saturday April 20th and also Wednesday May 1st - book early to avoid disappointment.

A warming headband and Giveaway!

I am hosting a GIVEAWAY of this headband - if you want to enter become a 'follower' of my blog or go to my facebook page fairislerona and say you 'like' my page and 'share' the giveaway.  When I hosted one last time a lot of people did not share the item - so please make sure you do it this time! The draw will be on Feb 12th.  Spread the word.....

This is my latest creation for Ravelry modelled by one of my gorgeous friends.  I used a Rowan Regia Design Line sock yarn which produces a striping effect that is repeated throughout the ball of yarn and I used shade 4259 - it only took 1x 50gm ball - and it can be purchased from here.

So, I used size 3.25mm needles and I cast on 32 sts and I did garter stitch - every row knit - till my work measured 16"/ 40cm - or the size to fit round your head.  

I then cast-offed.

For the coursage I used the yarn double and matched up the colours.  Using a 4mm crochet hook I made the coursage from here but I only did 2 rounds of petals as I felt it was big enough.  

Now sew the band together and attach the coursage to the headband.

Voila - a cosy headband!