Roadtrippin' and small things spotted

Being married to an after-hours endurance athlete, means a lot of road tripping to nice places, of which my South Africa has no shortage.  So this weekend we went off galavanting to the Trans-Baviaans 24hr Mountain Bike Marathon where  our team of four rode into the mountains, following dirt roads, single tracks, orienteering through the kloofs and slipping down snot-like mud downhill towards thick gravel and potholes.  They started at 10h00 in the Karoo town of Willowmore and had 24 hrs to make to to Jeffreys Bay.  They're allowed only a 1-person logistical support and the checkpoints, and none on the road.   Our novices did quite well, considering one broke his chain in three places, and another had to be medevacked (but is now fine), and they're happy with their finish time of 14:40.

That was at 00h40 in the morning .
#imstillblearyeyed

We, the Wives of Cyclists,  did what the support team does and that is to take a long, slow drive, and pitstop at nice places along the route :-)

First stop was at The Heath, a favourite for good coffee on the the N2 and a nice spot to find some community project hooky:

Mmm...an idea for that basket or straw bag where the bottom corners are getting a bit...worn?

Pretty clutches

Onwards to Old Nick's Village, where I walked with my hands firmly tucked behind my back at Mungo's and just had time for a quick dash through on or two doors...

...where I spotted the lady at Indalo working on these squares!

By that time our boys' support vehicle reported a pitstop at a local church bazaar (fête) and lo and behold, it was just up the highway and 8 km off behind the mountain, so there we went!

The community of the tiny hamlet of Kareedouw hosts a Fietsfees (Bicycle Festival) during TransBaviaans weekend in the form of a bazaar on the church grounds:

How beautiful are these sandstone churches?

Ja...we had to pose...me lurking in the back with the red scarf.

As church bazaars go, there was some craft to be found, and  spotted this beauty of a baby blanket:

Love the sandstone colours.  I might be right in thinking this was done in Elle Premier Cotton DK, a beautiful mercerised cotton yarn.

And again, beautiful work from a community craft project, and I walked away with new washpeg bag and these potholders for me and my sisi:

Some shwe-shwe brightness for my kitchen, with crochet in Elle Premier Cotton

These hand-embroidered proteas will be making their way to Ireland

A most enjoyable, tiring weekend, with very little of my own hooky being done!
Will catch up, hoping for a quiet morning :-)

Another Baby Blanket - Call the Midwife

December has flown by and so has most of January and I've been in my new town for six weeks now, but my books are still all over the place and there are six or so boxes to still unpack,

but for now we're focusing on raising some walls, 'cause suddenly my dogs can jump and now they're escaping and the one came home with a fish yesterday.

A fish.  

Real one, not frozen.

We're not allowed to keep fish in this complex…but there is a small seasonal stream running near our house, although I can't imaging it harbouring fish now.

And we had the most concentrated flow of visitors anyone just moving in can have.

But I managed to do some hooking!

I completed a large floor doily V.2 in netlon, which will also be frogged, as I'm still not happy with that pattern.

Another Little Lacy Scarf for MIL, who like it very much, thank you,  and my aunty has also ordered one.

And the Call the Midwife baby blanket - 13 days after little Baby J came into this world!

I worked very sporadically on this, taking time on the road when a passenger:

Going through the Huisrivierpas, I can't hook, I must look at the most beautiful of mountains

This was en route to my gran, whom we visited for the day.

Taking time for our selfie. She turned 90 this year!

- 0 -

My background with Call the Midwife began when I was asked to fix an old baby blanket, which turned out to be in this pattern*.  It was a really sweet blanket, and I thought it would be nice to make, when, lo and behold, during that same time the pattern came through Blogland, inspired by the tv series "Call the Midwife".

No need to try and figure out the pattern then!

An conveniently so, a friend was expecting a baby, so off I went, with a different colour pattern in mind, but in the end deciding to keep it simple now.

So simple that I edged it with a row of SC.

The pattern is easy enough, although not a fast hook, and makes for a nice baby blanket.  

I used Vinnis Nikkim in Washed Denim, Baby Blue and Natural.

Photo taken on my 3m long stoep table of oldOregon floor planks

I think I might be done with baby items for now :-)

There's some serious winter blanketing to be done here…and I've already begun…while also still working on the summer throw, Projek Bohemia V.2.

And have a look at this lovely pattern, by Hilda Steyn of Yarn in a Barn blog and online shop…available in her Ravelry profile as from today: 

Lover's Lilies - Hilda Steyn

I'm nodding off.  But still there are 25 cupcakes to ice for the 7th birthday tomorrow!

Zzzzzzzz

*Links to HelloHart blog are currently broken, while they might be switching to another platform

Lerato's baby blanket

Last week on Ons Hekel, at least two baby blankets were finished. 

I completed this one in V-stitch:

A blankie for Lerato's baby girl

...and a hooky friend completed a beautiful, light pastel hexagon blanket for her daughter's baby shower.

I started mine in great haste, next to the swimming pool where my boys have lessons:

http://haak-en-stekie.blogspot.com/2014/10/of-beanies-and-baby-blankets.html

...and then worked on it on our way towards the Garden Route:

http://haak-en-stekie.blogspot.com/2014/10/hookin-on-road-trip-and-new-coffee-spot.html

...worked away the edges over coffee with a friend:

(Hate this part...and I always leave it to the last).

And then finished over another:

A fello Pure-fan recognised the carefully disguised menu!

I edged the blanket with one row of SC, and then a couple of rows in HDC.  In retrospect I think linen stitch would have been neater.  

As for yarns, I used

Vinnis Nikkim Natural (the white colour)

Vinnis Bambi Peach (not shown below - a cotton/bamboo blend with lovely texture)

and

I Love Yarn Imagine in Guava, Antique Rose and Burned Butter

Angie's V-stitch graph here

My V-stitch blankie was delivered on Friday!

All done

The hexagon blanket - it was sent overseas by courier last week...but over the weekend we learnt that a baby girl was stillborn.

37 weeks.

While I'm happy about Lerato's little baby girl that's still on her way, I'm mourning with a hooky/book friend who lost her grandchild.

Into every blanket, we crochet our joy, hope, love.   

Sometimes that must comfort as well.

Hookin' on a road trip, and a new coffee spot

Off we went on a road trip, and I was armed with my hooky project for the next two days.  This baby blanket was going to be finished before the end of the weekend.

As I said, I am not totally in love with the V-stitch, but it does work up very quickly...

Pit stop at a favourite farm stall outside Aberdeen

...so quickly, that just after this pit stop, I ran out of Antique Rose...and I didn't think of bringing another ball :-(

(am using double rows of Antique Rose compared to the other colours)

Oh well, I enjoyed the scenery.

In George, I busied myself with building inspection and last-week-details that needed to be done for our new house AND, coffee pot that I am, I found a new spot, where I know I will spend many mornings crocheting away, systematically working my way through the delicious menu and one cappo after the other...

Mmm...

My sis, on a quick visit from Ireland, alerted me, so looking The Bench was on my list of Things To Be Done In Four Days.  She was totally right, it has my name stamped all over it.

A large table inside...for a group of hookers

Or a pozzie for me:

Or, if you want to stretch your legs after all the eating and crocheting:

Swings!
(My builder has been alerted - there has to be one like this on my stoep)

After one horribly hot day with berg wind conditions and 42ºC outside, the next day I had to borrow a scarf from my MIL to brace the onset on a cold front with quick, icy rain!  I actually knitted this for my FIL many years ago, a simple scarf in moss stitch, in this brown woollen-acrylic mix.

I almost stole it back

Love the browns

After being stopped in my tracks with the baby blanket, luckily, just-in-case, I had extra yarn with me to start work on a summer scarf.

It went well with the vanilla cupcake :-)

I'm struggling a bit with the pattern.
(One shouldn't do this one while chattering away, as I usually do, so it's now been relegated strictly to home, when it's quiet, which is usually never).

I decided therefor to go for three at once, doing it round by round, making sure I'm getting the round right, making my notes, hopefully getting back to this by the weekend.  

Three quarter Summer Scarves sitting in a row

Back to the baby blanket first!

Of beanies and baby blankets

I had to make a quick change to the helmet beanie my littlest gave his friend - first he wanted a nose bridge thingey (didn't work out), then I convinced him of a visor/mouthguard combo, which was happily accepted:

Little Boy S is armed and ready

I used a lovely mottled grey pure merino DK from I Love Yarn, used a basic beanie pattern and improvised the front, the back, the guard...most everything!

And then there was another birthday, a Dr Seuss-party and a two year-old, who got a Cat in the Hat hat lopsided beanie. I had an evening and wasn't going to sit up all night, so almost immediately abandoned my plans of a tall, slouchy beanie-hat, and it became... a cone.  But he loved it!

Ginger E almost went to sleep with this one on

So I was ready to take up the heritage Blanket again, that's been thrust to the back of the cupboard for too long...and then got diverted by a friend's pregnancy, and oooh, a favourite waitress also has a baby coming...what the heck.  Let me do baby blankets then!

Here's the first one, and I should complete it soon as there's a 1600 km road trip waiting today and tomorrow.  Lots of hooky time on the N1 South!

Starter pack

I'm using Vinnis Nikkim, Vinnis Bambi and I Love Yarn Imagine

One swimming lesson's production (I sit outside on the grass, in the shade, while the boys are splashing away)

I'm not that crazy about the V-stitch, but it has to go quick, grow fast, be cool (summer in Pretoria) (which is also why I decided on the cotton/bamboo yarns).

Off I go, the yarn is packed but nothing else!