The Sharp Crochet Hook and a Rubbish Cake!

I was lucky enough to be sent a sharp crochet hook to try out by Jessica from The Sharp Crochet Hook. That was some time ago now, I procrastinated for ages about what I was going to do with it. Ideas were rampaging through my head. In the end I decided to just get on with it and give it a test drive.

What I was expecting was a hook with a sharp bit on the poking in end so that you can get on with crocheting straight away and not have to either run a blanket stitch along the edge or make holes with a bradawl (have I just made up that word or merely spelt it wrong?). A sharp ended hook is exactly what I got and it certainly did do the job it promised.

Here I have speared the fabric and literally double crocheted all the way along making a foundation for more decorative stitches. I found the hook tended to drag a few of the fibres of the cloth through with it which puckered up the fabric. This was remedied my going much slower and pushing the crochet hook further through to make the hole larger. I read other reviews (here and here) and this wasn't mentioned. They used different weight/type fabric so maybe that was why. Lynne and I found we encountered similar issues and we used similar type of fabric. See her review here.

With this one I followed a tutorial I found on Pinterest. I wouldn't recommend using the sharp crochet hook for this actual border pattern as the hook wasn't very smooth to do the treble clusters with. By this time I had got used to poking it through the fabric and very carefully drawing the thread back through without  snagging fibres of the fabric, but I couldn't pick up a decent rhythm with the clusters as the sharp bit of the hook kept catching. I should have stuck with one of the free patterns that comes with the hook which recommend you use the sharp hook to crochet a foundation chain on the fabric and then switch to a regular hook. I didn't finish my experimental piece of crochet as the part of the hook where you would normally have the size of the hook embossed has been filed away and it was a bit rough, it made my fingers a little sore, but I am rather pathetic, a less wussy lass probably wouldn't even notice!

I think this hook is great, it serves a purpose, fills a gap in the market and I think every keen crocheter should have one. However I think there are some manufacturing considerations to address. The sharp end of the hook needs to be smoother as does the grip area. Also the pointy bit of the 'beak' of the hook needs to be thicker and totally smooth so that it doesn't drag at the fabric as you pull the thread back through.  

☀

On my last post I mentioned it had been my Mum's birthday. That reminded me that I took photo's of the most rubbish cake I have ever made. It did taste nice thankfully but I wanted it to look gorgeous. At least the Bunting I won from Sew Sweet Violet made up for the fact that it was a terribly pants looking cake.

Ha ha haaaaa! Look at that crap icing. It was dripping through the holes of the cake stand.

We had ourselves a mini tea party. 

Sorry Mum, I couldn't talk about your birthday and not show a pic of the birthday girl herself! Mum hates having her photo taken.

xxx

Knitting my little cashmerino socks off!

It's another Ta Dah!!!! Can you believe it? I have two sets of wrist warmers waiting in the wings for their photo's to be taken. And I have a crochet blanket that wants to say hello (not finished yet). Anyway, back to the Ta Dahhhhhhh.

I'll start at the beginning. A long time ago I saw Rachel knitting socks and thought to myself, "When I can knit, I will make socks". They looked like total alchemy to me and I didn't really think I'd master it. But at that point I hadn't met Suzie. When I discovered Suzie held Sock Making Workshops I signed up in a jiffy. Not least because it meant I could spend a whole day surrounded by all her beautiful yarns.

On the 5th of February I trotted off with my Belle Mere to learn the Art of the Sock. My Mum was supposed to come along but they'd had snow then rain and then well below freezing temperatures and so she couldn't get her car out and didn't fancy the hour journey to get to me. Rightly so. Luckily for me Mr C's parents were visiting so Granny took my Mum's place. I took my Mum along to see Suzie and buy wool at a later date instead.

Look at the frost on the roof of the car! It was beautiful but it took a
while to clear the windows and my door was stuck!

When we arrived Suzie was wearing her Victorian night gown over a pair of jeans which I was relieved about as I'd said to My Belle Mere, Granny, that she would be and I didn't want to look like a fibber.

I felt bad that we were fifteen minutes late as it was emphasised on the booking info that because a lot of techniques have to be covered we would need to start on time. However one lady arrived over an hour late! She refused to do a shortened version of a sock so that she could learn the skills, she went wrong and needed Suzie to rectify her mistakes every half an hour and when she left she said she didn't feel she could knit a sock. The cheek! She said it like it was Suzie's fault when the rest of us felt very confident about knitting socks and we have all done so since the workshop with no problems at all. Well, apart from Granny but that's because she likes a glass of wine! (Ha, I know you're reading this, Granny!) Suzie is so sweet she said she would go and meet this lady after work to help her if she got stuck and that she would travel to her. What? No! I've told Suzie she mustn't. The lady was LATE. She didn't do a short sock. She was a child hater too and visibly rolled her eye's when we spoke of our children....and not only that, you will not believe this, she told us about her pet cat which she loves with all her heart, a cat that isn't hers to love since she STOLE IT!!!! Oh Em Geeeee! 

Mrs D who has a blog and made a scrummy lunch for us all

That's Granny knitting her sock and Elaine from knit club in the back ground

That's my truncated sock, I've knitted the heel flap and am turning the heel in this photograph. It was like magic. A heel appears from no where! Seriously clever. Honestly sock knitting is so amazing and yet it's not hard to do at all. I was shocked by that. Knowing a few basics is all you need to be able to knit socks.

Granny kept thinking she had gone wrong but she hadn't, Suzie sat over her to give encouragement but I think she sat there because Granny smelt so nice. Jo Malone grapefruit.

It was such a lovely day. I really enjoyed myself. It was a big disappointment that my Mum couldn't come as I know she would have had a lovely time. She would also have been brave enough to give That Lady what for. My Mum used to work in a prison teaching prisoners. Since that's clearly where the cat thief will end up, I think my Mum would have spoken to her in the most perfect manner, the rest of us just bristled and gave each other supportive looks.

When we left, Suzie packed us up with left over cakes and bunches of daffs which she had bought the night before as they were 12p a bunch and she felt sorry for them. Whoever heard of leaving a workshop laden with cake and flowers? Honestly, The Wool Sanctuary is an excellent place and well worth a visit. It's not just knitting either. Those of you who follow Suziebeans on Instagram will see she has fallen into an addiction for crochet. (This post isn't a sponsored post, promise, though it does sound like it!)

When I got home I immediately took my half knitted mini sock off the needles and popped it onto stitch keepers and I started my real sock while it was all still fresh in my head. Amazingly I didn't need to refer to my mini sock. I should have had more faith in Suzie's instructions.

Right....finally.....

  

Ta Dahhhhhhhh!

Why didn't I ruffle these up a bit? The look so daft pulled up like that.

Mastering four needles was a bit tricky for me and you can see above that I hadn't got the placement of the needles right so there's a visible 'ladder' also my colour changes aren't very neat.

Does it really matter that these socks aren't perfection when I am so proud of them and so in love with them. They feel like fairy duvets to wear.

I'm most pleased with the heart which I added by adapting another of Suzie's patterns. My intarsia leaves a lot to be desired but where's the fun if there's no room for improvement?

My first sock was pretty good really and after several attempts at kitchenering (I feel quite big headed even knowing what that is let alone being able to do it) I managed to finish my sock off with an almost perfect toe. Ummmmmm, the second sock wasn't quite as good. I got impatient and lazy (and it was half term so the boys and I were at Granny's and she doesn't like to drink alone, so I joined her).

So there we go. Socks. An ambition fulfilled. I do think it is good to have small achievable ambitions as well as the biggies.

I'm all topsy turvy with my blog posts, I'm way behind and but I'm not keen on doing things out of order so I'll have to just ploddle along and hope you will all ploddle with me.

By the way, I had a comment on my last post, a really sweet comment from Anonymous, that she saw me shopping with Kmmms in Liberty. I've been spotted! It's like blog fame! So, Dear Anonymous, if ever you see me again, please holler "Coo Wee Cuckoo!" and that way I'll stop my argybargy over excited jostling to get at the haberdashery. No seriously, I'd have loved to have met you. To have had the opportunity to say "Thank you for reading my waffle and making my blogging experience as wonderful as it is."

 I'd blog anyway, with out having readers, but it's so nice to not be talking to myself. It's been a surprise and a delight that I have made true and lasting friends through blogging too.

Right, I must go, I have been quite ill for a few days and I'm so tired. I'm laying in my bed with so little energy but feeling like I Must Achieve Something. I have no phone signal nor phone wifi at the moment but luckily the laptop does so I have just popped the finishing touches to this post which I wrote at the beginning of last week. Hurrah for lap tops for I have Achieved Something! (But lets gloss over the fact that I'm behind with all other blogs, commenting......etc.....) Also I hear a baby, pre toddler really, stirring so I must get up up and get the dizzy spell over with before trying to get him out of his cot.

xxx

The best day of the year! My birthday ☀

Yes! It's my birthday. I'm 36 and very happy about it too. It is great to be here. I appreciate being here so much having lost two very special people when they were just 20 and 25. I don't want to be maudlin though, I just wanted to emphasise that I am so happy to be seeing my birthday come round each year.

Today I had a lie in, breakfast in bed, a huge swag of wonderful gifts, plenty of messages of well wishes and a pile of cards.

I have just flung a leg of lamb in the Aga and after another cuppa in bed I will get dressed in a new frock (if it fits) that was a gift from Mr C and then I'll bake some bits and bats for Sunday Birthday Tea. Ooooh lovely!

Yesterday I saw My Girls (minus one. Boo) and on Friday I saw Bee. So I will have plenty to record here over the next few posts.

Have a great day one and all, so nice to have you along for the ride, this life is a good one, it's lovely to be able to share it and write it all down here.

xxx

Another shawly capey thingy Ta Dahhhhhh!

When it was Mothers Day and I coerced Mr C into taking some pics of my Ruffly shawl I figured I might as well get all the finished articles photographed at the same time. So here we have this little capelet whatsit knitted in Kid Silk Aura (the whole range is now discontinued. Boo hiss)

What a smarmy, snug looking face. Makes me want to Schlap it!!

It was such an easy pattern and I reckon this only took a week to knit up but I cheated on it with other projects so it took me about four months from start to finish. I listed in my Wips here.

I quite like this Caplet, it's warm and soft and was a joy to knit but it's a tricky one to wear when there's a baby (pre toddler) to be carried as I did the cast on edge a bit tight and so it rolls up when I move around. It's also unflattering around the band and highlights my flared ribs. They got pushed out with each pregnancy and haven't retracted back. Maybe they never will. Don't really care if I'm honest!

I intend to knit another in black as I think that will be a useful thing to have in my wardrobe for all those nice candle lit suppers I don't have in nice restaurants I don't go to. I've always been a bugger for aspirational clothes shopping and now I'm aspirationally knitting. You know what I mean don't you? I buy clothes for the life style, weather, size I wish I had rather than the one I actually have. I know I'm not alone. A few of my friends have confessed to having more size ten summer clothes that are dry clean only than they care to count.

And that's the end of the sensible photographs, it all went a bit silly so here are the outtakes:

Bee, I look like Pete the Dragon, No?!

The final thing I rather like about this woolly item is it makes my knockers look rather substantial. Hurray for that!

xxx

ps. You have been spared the big old moony shot. Just kidding. I didn't moon. The kids were around!

Easter 2012

We went to Salcombe to The Seaside House for the Easter holidays and it were gert lush!

Oh flipping hell. I have written and rewritten this paragraph but I am finding it hard to get my words out.  I thinks it a combination of having written this post in my head a dozen times, the desire to be humorous and having left it quite a long time between posts. So I'll just natter away and see what twoddle falls out of my head and into the computer.

I love Salcombe. It's a funny little town but there is something for everyone there. Water, sailing, beaches, shops, walks...  and arguably the best sweet shop in the South West. Now I'll say this but please don't judge me, the only thing I'm not keen on is the abundance of the "Rah Rah" set during peak season. Now don't get me wrong it's not so much about them, it's more about me. I find them a little intimidating on mass. It is like another world!

 

We spent the first week of the holiday with Granny and Poppa AND with The Chipper Nelly Gang! Yes you read right. They were there at the same time, it was just a stroll through the boat park and up the estuary to see them. It was quite surreal and magical. I loved our time together en famille. My boys adored Fee and Cleggy's boys. They called them 'The Mates' and wanted to be with them as much as possible. Now I could gush shamelessly but I wont because I don't want to appear odd but I will say The Mates have made me feel excited about my boys inevitable growing up. I feared that as they became proper boys rather than little children I would feel a bit disjointed from them. I worried that I wouldn't quite get them. I was always a girls girl and so have no experience with boys. Now, having spent some time with these three wonderful kids, I feel optimistic about the future in a way I hadn't quite before. I loved chatting to these big lads. I loved their magic tricks, loved their crazy dancing, loved how much they ate! They were great fun and wonderful company. That really is no surprise since Fee and Cleggy are just superb creatures themselves. (By the way Fee, today one of my mates who reads your blog said she thinks Clegg is very handsome. Then Big, out of the blue, said in the car on the way to beavers. "Cleggy is Clever Cleggy. Bery Clever Cleggy" Does that make up for the Wubbish Dad thing?)

Here are a few pics. I was Wubbish at taking photo's when we were there. I took my nice camera but it stayed in the bag and I used my mobile, not very often either. Do go over to Fee's to see her post about their holiday as she has some wonderful pictures of South Devon to peruse.

The boys and I made up a silly High Five hand shake with in about half an hour of meeting.
I always got it wrong!

I love this photo. Happy smiley faces.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

This is not a typical shot of these two. Geordie Boy is usually blurry because he is so busy and this must be the only time he wasn't grinning from ear to ear and back again. Alfie, despite being a preteen was utterly charming, not to mention cool, and spent very little time on the DS.

Kenzie's awesome card tricks.

One of my favourite memories from the holiday was Geordie Boy hurtling down the hill in our cheap stroller with Cleggy racing after him. He may or may not have been shouting "Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw" but Fee was definately incapacitated with mirth! Poor Cleggy, every time he said "No" in his Newcastle-ish accent Mr C and I would bellow "Naaaaaaaaaaaaaw" in the style of the teacher from Postman Pat. We thought it was hilarious. I'm sure it wasn't. Sorry chap. 

On Easter Friday my belle souer arrived for the weekend which eased the leaving of The Mates for my boys. We had the usual lovely time all together but the highlight was definately all becoming entranced with the app Draw Free. My Mother in Law was just hilarious, her embellished drawing of pee will go down in family folklore. Along with Uncle Dorv turning fire breather. (Scroll to the end of that very long post)

The second week all the in laws went home and Mr C went back to work. But I wasn't alone as Kmmms and her girls came to stay for a couple of nights.

Kmmms and the sunshine baby

It was so lovely to spend some time together. We chatted, we laughed, drank a little wine in the afternoon in a beer garden, went crabbing, ate ice cream, laughed at Cassette Boy's The Apprentice mash up and did some yarny stuff too. Please do a crochet up date post, Kmmms, so we can see your super Granny Squares.

Kmmms went home on the Wednesday a few hours after Clairey arrived. It was lovely to have that all too brief over lap. It was a bit bonkers in the small cottage with three over excited women, six kids 6 years old and under and one pre toddler, as you can imagine, but memories are made of this.

We took the ferry over to the beach on one of the days. It was a right old palaver. One of my kids kicked off and I was heard shrieking in a PMT style "You better have fun on the beach as you have no idea what an effort it is to get there with this buggy!" Poor kid. 

When we alighted from the boat the rain started falling but it soon cleared and the sky was, again, amazing, the clouds just mesmerizing.

All the children had a fantastic time. Especially Mini Cuckoo who as you can see crawled with speed across the beach and later planted himself in a rock pool before scaling the mountain of rocks to be with his brothers. It was unbelievable, one minute he was at the bottom, the next he was up the top and then he was back down again. We have bred another mountain goat!

Above is a picture of Clairey's blanket. The colours are delish. If you want to see what Kmmms was crocheting then pop over to her blog. Hopefully soon she'll have a moments peace to blog about her lovely granny blanket in the making. I realise I have just repeated myself.

Here's what I was knitting, Alice Caterpillar wrist warmers, the pattern will be in Suzie Johnson's new book which I helped her with by 'modelling' her clever knits. I say modelling but that is a generous description of my efforts. Fortunately Becca Roundhill is a superb photographer and made Suzie's stuff look as amazing on film as they are in real life. These wrist warmers are available to download from Ravelry now too.

And finally I'll leave you with this picture of a boat that tickled me!

xxx