Saturday, December 31, 2011

The year that was 2011 and plans for 2012

Well, it's New Years Eve and time to look back on the year just about to finish and look forward to the year that is to come.

A little while ago someone asked if I kept track of my yearly progress. The short answer to that is 'no', but if you look back back through all my FO Friday posts I'm sure you will see that I finished a blanket featuring the Salvation Army Crest that I started a couple of years ago, a tartan rug that I started last year, about 2 dozen wine glass socks, at least a dozen hanging towels, a couple of rose towel hangers, half a dozen bottle cosies, a dozen or more jug covers, half a dozen teapot cosies, a few matinee jackets, booties and bonnets and other baby's clothes, a few dishcloths, a number of toys, an angel and a few Christmas trees.

Listing them out like that makes it seem like I've been very busy but I also found time to teach crochet class, move house, spend some time at the Albury Show where I picked up a second place in the "Open Crochet - Other Items" category, spend a few hours a week at the gym as well as multiple visits to a chiropractor, a remedial massage therapist and doctors, all while looking after Sue who had her knees replaced.

It's funny, but my life doesn't seem to be all that busy. There's still plenty of time to visit friends and family, attend church and have afternoon naps. Next year I might have to forego the afternoon naps as I will be attending college for the first semester. This will also eat into the time I have for my craft, but I will get Fridays off so I will still be able to teach at the local community centre.

As for next year, I have a to-do list that seems to grow all the time and here it is in its latest incarnation:-

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Set of Wine Glass Socks
Large Turtle
Pink booties

Current Work In Progress:

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug
Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Knitted Scarf
Toddlers Jacket
Jumper (sweater to you Americans) for me
Doily in #40 cotton

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Something from my "99 Granny Squares" book
Something in Tunisian Crochet Lace (I'm thinking of modifying Ellen's Jacket pattern by substituting a lace stitch in the main body of the pattern)
Something from Ellen's new book.
A doily from an old pattern book I bought.
Australiana2.0 Table Runner (Graphed and on my e-book reader, ready to start)
Banner for Stall (Graphing it out)
Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (started graphing out ACT, still plenty of design work to do).
Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Some of these things will be entered into the Albury Show in October. I only entered 2 items in this year's show and hope to have a few more covering a few different categories next year. All of this will only happen it it's the Lord's will of course, if He wills differently to what I will then He wins out every time (I learnt that lesson a while ago).


I haven't really made any resolutions this year and can't remember making any last year. I'm less likely to break them that way. The only resolutions I am making this year are to end the year with no more WIPs than I started with (I currently have 6 so that's the target for next year), to use up some of our stash (I'm more likely to buy more yarn than Sue), to finish the TAFE course that I will be starting shortly (Cert III - Web Design) and to improve my overall fitness.


Wishing all my readers a happy and prosperous new year, may God bless you richly in all your endeavours.

Richard.

Friday, December 30, 2011

FO Friday 30-12-2011

My last FO Friday for 2011 and I have a dishcloth that I finished last week but didn't show because it was the subject of a tutorial.

Octagonal Dishcloth
I do have a couple more dishcloths finished but they are also the subjects of upcoming tutorials so I will feature them here after I have finished the tutorial.

Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

WIP Wednesday 28-12-2011

My last WIP Wednesday post for the year and I have plenty to show.

Crochenit Cot Blanket
Another change of colour has happened here. I couldn't find a green so I'm using a yellow/green/blue variegated and hoping it will look OK.

Tunisian Crochet Toddler's Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)
I went out and bought another ball of the variegated green and was quite surprised when I managed to get the same dye lot. KMart mustn't sell much yarn over summer as it's been a couple of months since I bought the first lot.

1st Sleeve of Hoodie (Dawg by Drew Emborsky)
I'm quite surprised at how easy it is to work with this wool in spite of the heat. I usually have trouble working when I'm all hot and sweaty as the yarn seems to stick on the hook and not slide. Maybe I should work with pure wool more often, if only I could afford it.

Knitted Scarf
This scarf is technically long enough now, but I don't know what I will do with the yarn that is left if I stop now. It isn't my usual 8 ply acrylic so it won't really mix with my usual stuff, and there won't be enough left over to make anything else.

Daffodil Doily
This is the start of the first section of a five section doily done in #40 cotton. This is the finest cotton I've ever worked with and I'm a little worried about ruining my eyesight. I'm restricting working on it to no more than 1 hour at a time, which is giving me plenty of time to work on other things.

I would normally point you to Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness, but the linky on her blog doesn't seem to be working at the moment so I'll have to check back later to see if that has changed.

Richard.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tutorial Tuesday - Tunisian Short Rows Octagonal Dishcloth

A while ago I featured an octagonal dishcloth on this blog and someone asked if I could do a tutorial on how I made it. It has taken me a while but I finally got around to doing it, unfortunately, my camera isn't real good for close ups so the photos aren't particularly clear so you will have to rely on my written instructions.

I am going to assume that those reading this know how to do chains and tunisian simple stitch. If you don't, there are plenty of tutorials, complete with videos, available on the net.

Since I am using 4 ply cotton I start with 25 chain. You would only need 15 chain if making this in 8 ply (DK) or 10 ply (worsted).

Starting chain
Pick up a stitch in the second chain from hook.

   
First stitch picked up
 And then do the return pass (yo, pull thru 1 loop, yo pull thru 2 loops).

After first return pass
 Next row, TSS in second vertical bar and in next stitch in chain.

Second row picked up
Do the return pass in the usual manner (yo, pull thru 1 loop, (yo, pull thru 2 loops) twice).

Second row complete
Continue picking up one extra stitch in the chain each row until all stitches in the starting chain have been used.
First segment, all stitches picked up

First segment complete

TSS in the second bar of the row and return.

First row of second segment picked up

First row of second segment complete

TSS in second vb and next vb of last row of first segment.

Second row of second segment picked up
And continue in this manner until all stitches in the final row of the first segment have been use.

Third row picked up
Second segment complete
Continue with the third and subsequent segments the same as the second.

Most of the short rows tunisian dishcloths I've seen have been hexagonal, but when I got to 6 segments I couldn't see any way that this would sit flat once sewn up as there was too big of a gap between the 1st and 6th segments.

Dishcloth after 6 segments complete
So I did 2 more segments, slipped stitched along the last row to neaten it up before cutting the yarn leaving enough tail to sew up the seam.

All 8 segments complete
dish cloth after seam was sewn.
I then re-attached the yarn to the out side and did a dc (US sc) border.

Finished dishcloth with dc border and all ends sewn in.
If you have any questions, bouquets, brickbats, suggestion for more tutorials you think I could show you or any others comments, please don't hold back.

For my next trick, I plan to show you how to make a square using the same technique.

Richard.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Prince of Peace

I was a little lost this morning. Firstly, because it's Christmas we don't have to wear our uniforms so I had to decide what to wear. Secondly, because the band wasn't on duty I had to decide where in church to sit, and thirdly, because I didn't have my music bag with me (I keep a pen in there) or a meeting lead to write on I didn't have any way to take notes and the notes aren't on-line this week. Looks like I will have to work from memory.

Some people ask how can we have peace when there is so much war and fighting going on around us, but, by accepting Jesus as our Prince of Peace, we can have His peace so that we can have peace in the middle of life's battles.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Week That Was 24-12-2011

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, just one creature was stirring, and also a mouse, well, actually 2 creatures and 2 mice and a couple of keyboards really, and there seems to be quite a bit of stirring outside as we can here the noise of thunder rolling through the night sky.

I can't say that this week has been particularly busy. I have managed to finish the table runner I was working on as well as 3 dish cloths (complete with progress pictures) for a few tutorial type posys that I'm going to put up over the next few weeks (watch for them on Tuesdays).

The band had one last engagement on Thursday evening, serenading shoppers outside KMart in the city. It seems that our audience enjoyed our performance so we gotta be happy about that.

While I was there I went and bought the necessary yarn so that I can complete the jacket that I started. I also bought some additional ball of the other colours I have at home so that I wouldn't run out while making the next few.


I think that's about it for me. I still need to wrap Sue's present (probably should have done that while she was having a nanna nap) but it's a little difficult to do it secretively since she is sitting at her computer behind me.

So, with the sound of the storm raging outside (wind, rain and thunder that just doesn't seem to stop) it's time to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Richard.

Friday, December 23, 2011

FO Friday 23-12-2011

Those astute enough to notice will realise that there was one item that has featured in my WIP Wednesday posts for the last few weeks wasn't there this week. That's because it is now a finished object and gets revealed right now.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner - front view

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner - back view
It really need to be blocked but, since I don't have blocking mats and currently can't find the iron, it's not going to happen. I probably should have made it longer but I was finding the pattern quite tiresome, not that that will stop me from making more. I have now moved this project to the bottom of the to-do list.

I have finished something else but, since I was doing it for a special post, it won't be revealed today. Come back on Tuesday and all will be revealed.

Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

WIP Wednesday 21-12-2011

Hi All,

Another Wednesday and more progress to show you. There were a couple of projects that didn't get added to but a few that did and here they are.

Crochenit Cot Blanket
A couple more rows have been added to this and I'm getting close to another colour change.

Sleeve of Jumper (Dawg by Drew Emborsky)
This is taking way more yarn than I expected and I'm wondering if I have enough to do the hood and pocket. I may need to order more. It's also turning out way bigger than expected and I'm wondering how big American's arms are because this is going to be very loose on me.

Toddler's Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)
I have also run into trouble with this as I have run our of yarn with about 6 rows to go on the body. I will have to see if I can get some more tomorrow night, I just hope I can get a dye lot that close enough that it won't be noticeable.

These aren't the only things I have been working on this week so you will have to come back on Friday to see one of the other projects, and Tuesday for a special tutorial edition to see another.

For more WIP Wednesday goodness, check out Tami's Amis.

Richard.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Everlasting Father

I'm going to cheat today, just because I can. I finally got access to the sermon notes so I figure I can use those and just make a few comments at the end.


Advent Week 4

Isaiah 9:6 NIV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

 The Old Testament reveals little of the doctrine of the fatherhood of God. References to God as Father are few indeed. When the word “father” is used, the passage is redemptive in character. God as a Father who loves and cares for his children is almost wholly a New Testament doctrine.

The nature of Christ

Christ came into the world to reveal the nature of Christ: He was a king He was a priest He was a father

What fatherhood means

Family Relationship - Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’ ” The Father's care & provision - Matthew 6:25 – 32 The Father's love - First John 3:1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”

My copious notes

Being brought up in a Christian family or just being with other Christians doesn't make you one. Each of us needs to come to Christ on our own and form a relationship with our everlasting father.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Week That Was 17-12-2011

Another busy week has ended and it's time to look back on what's happened, not that there was much noteworthy this week.

On Thursday evening we (the Salvation Army Band of Albury Corps) had another Christmas Carols gig, this time at a local shopping centre. We're not normally allowed to play in shopping centres as management seems to think that we're too loud, but those that heard us all gave us positive feedback, so we can't have been all that bad.

This morning I had another market, this time at Thurgoona, which is somewhat closer to home than the others that I frequent. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be many paying customers around and I didn't sell anything. I did get a lead on some other markets that happen to be on in the area so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

This Evening we had our annual combined churches carols service and the band was once more on duty. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.

On another note, I now have something of a dilemma in regards to the Zoom jacket that I've been working. I ran out of yarn and now need to decide if I want to change to a plain yarn to finish it of or risk getting another ball of the same colour and hope that the dye lot isn't too different. The fact that I have been using a variegated yarn should make the difference less noticeable but I still need to go shopping to see what I can get.

That's it for me for this week.

Richard.

Friday, December 16, 2011

FO Friday 16-12-2011

Another Friday and another finished object.

A Frog Keepsake Pouch and his lunch
I've sold a few of these since I started making them so I like to have one on the table so when I sold one recently I just had to make another.

I still need to make something to replace Tommy Turtle but I'm not sure that I want to make another large turtle at this time, besides, I don't have enough of any one shade of green to make his body and that means that I would have to buy some more yarn and I'm still on a yarn diet.

Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

WIP Wednesday 14-12-2011

Since our craft group and crochet and knit classes are on a hiatus I need to find other times to work on the projects that I normally take to those. So this morning, when we were supposed to be at the pool doing aqua aerobics (Sue didn't feel like going this morning) I added 20 rows to my scarf.

Knitted scarf
And this afternoon I added a couple more rows to the toddler's jacket.

Toddler's Jacket 0 Zoom by Ellen Gormley
Last Friday morning (when I would normally be at crochet class) I worked on the cot blanket.

Crochenit Cot Blanket
In the mean time, I have still been working on my jumper and added a few more rows to the first sleeve.

First Sleeve of Hoodie - Dawg by Drew Emborski
And my table runner.

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner
I also worked on a frog but since that is complete you don't get to see that until Friday.

Check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Jesus as Counsellor

This morning we continued with the names of Jesus as  set out in Isaiah 9:6, and I should have taken more notes but I was told that I would be able to view the sermon on-line, but there seem to be a few teething problems with the "youversion" version of the sermon notes. Ah well, that just means that I will have to rely on my faulty memory.

Do you know where you get your name from and what it means? Names can be significant. My father and one of my uncles (one of my mother's brothers I think) were pacing so much during my birth that mum thought it only fitting that I be named after them. My uncle's middle name is Richard and my father's middle name is James so I got named Richard James. The name" Richard" gives me a lot to live up to as it means "faithful and true".

Understanding Jesus' names helps us to understand Him.

By an evil counsellor (the devil in the guise of a snake) sin came into the world. By a righteous counsellor (Jesus) sin was taken away.

Most Americans seem to have a therapist, someone they go to for counselling and guidance. We have someone better than a human counsellor, we have Christ.

Do you turn to Christ for counsel whenever you have a decision to make? We all need a guide, a counsellor, an advocate and or a therapist. Jesus can be all that and more.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

The Week That Was 10-12-2011

If you thought that my weeks are busy with gym and crochet, this week was even busier and I didn't get to the gym.

On Monday, the community centre where I teach crochet had an open day so I took a few items down to put on display so that people could have a look at the sort of things I could teach them to make. We had a good look around at what everybody else had been doing during the year, listened to the singing group and then had lunch before packing up our things and going home. It was a good day.

On Wednesday the craft group had a break-up lunch at one of the local pubs. We didn't do a gift swap for this one but we did have a lovely meal. I had to duck out for a little while to deposit a Christmas tree at a local church for their annual charity christmas tree festival.

On Thursday our Aqua group had a christmas lunch organised and we did do a christmas gift swap. I was a little disappointed that the gifts that I had put in were the last to be picked but that could have been because everyone seemed to want the larger gifts and I had put in a couple of crocheted bookmarks. The people that received them seemed to appreciate them though so it was all good.

Thursday night we had our first carolling gig at a local hardware store. Members of our corps were also involved in running the bar-b-que which the store provide for charity organisations to raise a little extra money.

Friday we kinda veged out until the evening when we headed down to the christmas tree festival to listen to a choir. I received quite a few positive comments about my little tree and quite a few people had gone to a lot of trouble putting their trees together.

Today was supposed to be market day at Myrtleford but it was a wash out. While I didn't manage to sell anything (I didn't even get it out of the boxes) I did buy a few jars (marmalade, chutney and pickles) from one of the other stall holders. He hadn't actually set up but he was able to find the items in the back of his truck.

The last couple of Fridays I have been asked questions about some of the things I have made but I never know where I should answer them. Should I just add a comment to my blog, should I send them an email or should I just answer the question in a future FO Friday post?

Next week won't be nearly as busy as this week so I'm looking forward to veging out in front of the TV with my crocheting and see what progress can be made.

That's it for this week. Hope you all had a good week where ever you are.

Richard.

Friday, December 9, 2011

FO Friday 09-12-2011

We have had a few Christmas parties this week and one required a $5 dollar gift swap so I made a couple of items for Sue and I to add to the pile.

Angel in Pink

Cross in Purple
I'm not sure if it's cheating or not since these things don't cost us $5, but if anyone were to buy them off us that's what they would pay.

That's all I've managed to finish this week. I need to go and figure out what I'm going to make for next Friday's post. Maybe I'll make another keepsake pouch, that should only take me a few days, and I need one to replace the one I sold a few weeks back anyway.

Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

WIP Wednesday 07-12-2011

I had to do a bit of thinking today to work out which projects I hadn't worked on this week. To the best of my recall, I haven't worked on the tartan rug or the knitted scarf, but that still leaves a few that I did work on.

Tunisian Intarsia Table Runner
I'm making quite good progress here but I'm still trying to decide how long I'm going to make it. I may finish it up after this next section although it won't be anywhere near the full length of the pattern.

Crochenit Cot Blanket
I have added a little bit to this although it is quite difficult to see the progress. There will be another colour change shortly.


Sleeve of Hoodie (Dawg by Drew Emborski)
Good progress has been made here. I have finished with the increases and now it's just straight up until I get to the right length.

Toddlers Jacket (Zoom by Ellen Gormley)
And a couple more rows added to the body of this one.

I did make a couple of other items this week and I will be showing them off on Friday. We have a Christmas lunch on tomorrow so I needed something for the gift swap.

That's what has been on my hooks this week. Check out Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday goodness.

Richard.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

And His name shall be called Wonderful

So many people get excited to see Santa Claus arriving at Christmas. Did Jesus' arrival cause that much excitement? The Bible tells us that it did.
There was no actual Bible reading this morning but you can find the title of this morning's sermon in Isaiah 9:6.

There are more than 256 names used for Christ in the Bible. Most of us have nicknames and these are often descriptive. In the same way, Jesus' names describe him.

The first reaction to Christ's birth was wonder. At other times during His life His miracles elicited wonder. Isaiah says that on of His names would be "Wonderful Counsellor" and this is just one of the many descriptions of Christ.

We need to share about our experiences, relationship and what we know about this wonderful Jesus with all that will listen.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Week That Was 03-12-2011

Now that December has arrived it is time for things to start going into hiatus. There are a few things that will continue to run through the summer but a lot of things around here stop for the duration.

Friday morning was the last day of crochet and knit class for this year. Next Monday we get to show off all the things we made in class as we have our open day. I plan on taking in a bit more than just the items I finished as I figure it will be a good way to show people what I can teach them to make.

Next week we also have a couple of Christmas parties and I need to make a couple of $5 gifts for one of them. I really think I should make Sue provide her own gift to give at the party but I guess I'll make it for her anyway.

We also have a house inspection next week so we need to spend a bit of time tidying up and putting things away. While I realise that this is something we should do on an ongoing basis, it's something that both of us have trouble doing, mainly because we both have far more interesting things to be doing.

That's enough prattling for me, time to go and see what everyone else is up to.

Richard.

Friday, December 2, 2011

FO Friday 02-12-2011

Another Friday and another finished object to show off.

Jug Cover
I had 2 reasons for making this this week. Firstly, I needed something relatively quick that I could finish in time for today's post. Secondly, I needed to replace one I sold a couple of weeks ago.

Now, what can I make this week that I can have finished for next Friday? I have a Christmas party coming up this week and need a couple of $5 gifts so I think I will make another cross bookmark and an small angel. I'm sure I can get both of those done in time.

Check out Tami's Amis for more FO Friday goodness.

Richard.