Stash-busting

Helloooooooooo!!

Remember me??

I'm the one who used to have six child-free hours a day to please myself, six child free hours a day in which to write, bake, crochet, create, read, browse, shop and potter...oh how I miss my leisurely Pottering! Yeah, I do miss my "old life" somewhat. But I'm certainly not complaining. No, not complaining at all. In my "new life" where my child-free hours have become Baby-full hours, things are good...Little B is really a delight, an easy sort of a baby for the most part, but somehow so completely and utterly absorbing and time consuming even when asleep. Which he is right now. Asleep. Ahhhh yes, here I am at 8.30pm, love-love-loving the sudden peace and quiet in the Attic24 house with all three offspring off in the Land of Nod. Bliss.

So before I also take myself off to my snuggly bed, I really did want to come and say hello, to chat to you a little about some hooky stuff. Yes....I have finally begun to crochet again, yippeeeee!!!! Last Thursday I did indeed make it along to the lovely cafe to join my knit and natter group, and it was bloomin great I tell you. I had soooo missed it! Little B was super and managed to stay asleep the whole time which allowed me to crochet my little heart out. Bliss.

I'm officially Stash-busting at the moment. Truthfully, I really, really, really want to buy a heap load of new yarn and launch myself into a new big blanket. Really I do. But with a fair pile of Baby Cahsmerino still knocking about after the Baby Granny blanket was completed, I don't feel like I can justify buying any more yarn just quite yet. So stash-busting it is for now...just before Christmas I had a look at my BC yarn and figured I had enough to make another small baby blanket. I've taken my inspiration from the above book which I've got out on loan from the library :: it's an oldish book, I think late 70's or early 80's, and despite the veeeeeeeeeeery dated look of the photographs, there is a lot of good stuff in these pages.

 

See the baby blanket up above there, top right? The white and pastelly one with the little duck? That's my inspiration. Want to look more closely??

Here you go..........

Hmmmm.....doesn't look very "me" does it?

Waaaaaay too pastely and wishy washy.

But....I LOVE the design idea, the way the little squares are tipped over onto their sides to work as diamond shapes and then fitted into the zigzags of a chevron :: BRILLiaNT!!!

Let me at it!

With MY colours!!!

So this is where I'm up to so far :: these two bands of chevrons-and-squares will form the top and bottom edges of my little blanket.

The squares were made up first and stitched together. Then the chevron rows were worked into the edges of the squares, top and bottom. It's not an easy pattern, it took me a while to work it out and get it right. But I do think it's come out really well.

The middle of my little blanket is going to be made up of just squares, a patchwork of little diamond squares in all the colours I have left. I'm just working my way through my stash, making as many squares as I can with the yarn I have left, stacking them in neat little piles and hoping there's gonna be enough.

I'm loving making these little Solid Granny squares, they're great to do, easy to slot into the itsy bits of time available in my hectic days.

One after a feed and before dinner.

Two after dinner and before bath time.

Little by little my stash is being Busted and my piles are being Built.

Thought you might appreciate seeing a few more pages from the book...............

Aren't the pictures funny??! They're sooo dated, yet I can't help but love them.

A granny square bikini look....oooohhh could be just the thing for the Summer!

Oh and lookee here, a crocheted Hostess Apron, how charming!

Actually, I really do LOVE this design. No no no, not the apron as such, but the design of combining squares-in-rows with stripes is FAB, don't you think?

The squares used for this apron are called Wagon Wheel Granny Squares, and are really quite lovely...I tried one out look.......

 

Think this is gonna be the inspiration for my new blanket.

I can call it the Hostess Blanket.

Just as soon as I've finished Stash Busting I'm on it.

As soon as.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Comments

[Thahera]

I love the wagon wheel, Lucy. Congrats on the lovely bubby, you must be exausted! xx

[Anna]

Hi Luce, glad you've managed to find a few spare minutes each day to get your hook out! Love the 70's pictures in that book-maybe I should crochet myself a hostess apron for the cafe? what do you think? Will it drag the customers in?! possibly for all the wrong reasons...especially if my crochet is anything to go by!
x

[Anna-Karin, Sweden]

Gorgeous!!! Love the small squares combined into "zig-zags". Your colours are so lovely. As always... :)

Now, I'm off to bed, it's half past 10 almost, and I'm so tired. Have been to work for 13 (!) hours today... No knitting or crochet for me today at all :(

Have a wonderful week! Take care!
Love Anna xxx

[Sarah A]

Loving your sense of humor today Lucy!!! I busted out laughing at the bikini comment- hoepfully that was meant funny!!! What a great new blanket as well..
Glad to see you are in a groove now and enjoying some of your normal things..

[Dorabee]

Hi, Lucy! I've been reading your blog for a little while now. I really enjoy reading your posts, your pictures are awesome, the views from the attic are just a little different from what I see here in central Oklahoma!! Haha. I am so happy for the new little addition to your family. My crochet experience is very little. One time I knew how to make a granny squares, so I tried making granny squares into placemats for my mom to accessorize her newly wallpapered kitchen. Mauve and country blue colors were the rage at the time but somehow the mauve and county blue, granny square placemats looked like little baby blankets all around the table. Haven't crocheted since, knitting works better for me. Keep up the good work.

[lucy]

Oh. My. The Apron!
I can't believe you have a newborn and are knocking out blankets!

[RachelM]

I love the wagon wheel square, and the stash busting blanket looks gorgeous. Happy Hooky! XxX

[melissa]

my stash is so big, i could crochet for a year and just make a dent in it. cool blanket!!

[Monika]

I love our version of the baby blanket, with YOUR colors! Fantastic!

[Paula]

Lucky you! Happy baby, happy mummy.
I'm loving the bikini, wondering how fast your hook goes... is it blurry you're so quick with your lovely makes x

[Mearaid]

I love your blog. It makes me happy.

[Vivienne]

Good to see you chatting about crochet again! The new blanket looks great. I managed to get some Baby Cashmerino on Saturday for £2.10 a ball! Happy days.:)

[Janet]

I love your use of colours!

I am going to buy some more yarn tomorrow for a little granny blanket for my grandchild due in August.

You are doing so well with the baby, I can tell. Enjoy your happy days with your lovely family, they grow up so fast.

Janet X

[Barbara]

Oh Lucy I'm so glad you've been able to squeeze in a little time for us! The blankie is looking wonderful, I love it in "your" colors! And what an awesome book. I was just talking about a book that I bought at a yard sale that was produced by Rita Weiss=101 Thread Crochet Motifs and it's rather old but the thread motifs still work for today.

[Annegret]

Your new baby blanket will be fantastic. I like the style and especially the colours. I love to read your blog. Have a nice time with your baby.

Annegret

[PaisleyJade]

Having a great laugh here at the bikini and hostess apron - I love how you modernize things with your colours etc. Can't wait to see how the baby blanket turns out!!

[eva]

Lucy,

you crack me up!!!
i really enjoy your blog... always look forward to your creative way of describing things.
i'm so amazed at your colours!!

xo
eva

[Nancy Richards]

Hi, Fab book an oldie but a goodie!!! Your blog is so uplifting keep up the good work!

[Susan Hardy]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Have I missed your 'posts' or what! I thought it had something to do with the baby. Tell him to let mummy crochet cause I need loads of colour inspiration to brighten my day. Sounds like your getting into a routine now, so theres no excuse tell him.

[Nancy Richards]

Hi again,
Looked on e bay to see if they had a copy of that great book and there was!!! Buy now to! So thought why not. Crochet bikini here i come!!!

[J]

The baby blanket looks like it's going to be fab. I love your 'no fear approach' when it comes to colours, it's given me confidence to just go with the colours I really like rather than the colours I think I should use but really don't like all that much.
Haha, granny square bikini, just what I've been looking for lol!

[Kathy]

Lucy,

I think crocheted bikinis might actually be illegal - they violate everyone's sense of good taste - or something like that. Please do not turn the blog into a record of your decline into criminal activities! ;)

[Wendy Wager]

I'm so pleased you made it to Knit&Natter. We were all hoping Tiny Man would behave so you could have much-deserved crafty time. I left my knitting and much-used and loved knitting book on the bus this morning. Will get it back tomorrow, but what a silly sausage! Take care x

[Tina]

Hi Lucy. So happy to hear you had a wonderful time last Thursday - what a wonderful bub to sleep the whole time!! I love your new project, but a bit out of my hooking league I am afraid!! You are so clever and I can't wait to see it finished - oops no pressure meant there. I am on a stashbusting mission as well. My next break from Uni will be in winter (in Australia) and I would love to buy some new yarn to motivate me to get through all my assessments...but I have to use up my stash of odds and ends first. Hmm looks like everyone will be getting tea cosies for Xmas from me this year ;) Have a lovely day - Tina.

[Mog]

Hi Lucy, I love the poncho, so colourful.