This year I crocheted teacher gifts

I'm not much of a teacher gift giver.

For the preschool yes, and during the Foundation Phase I thought up tiny gifts that didn't break the bank.  But this year, we finished at the preschool, after six years of  being part of a great community - fundraising, PTA-ing, bring-and-share-lunching, wondering what greeting we'll learn this year (the kids greeted each in other in circle time in ALL the languages spoken...they could colour in the globe).

It was a great six years, and the school contributed so much to my boys' education.

And so, putting no pressure whatsoever on myself, no, not at the end of the year, with one child writing exam, and a house being build elsewhere, and a move to plan and coordinate, and a training program that leaves me with jelly limbs twice a week...I decided that I would crochet them each a scarf.  

A Chick Summer Scarf (or, I think the Little Lacy Scarf, in the English pattern book) - designed by fellow SA hooker Cornel Strydom for Ideas Crochet Magazine, available here.

The scarf promised to be quick and easy, to finished within a day or two.

That bit I struggled with...but it was done.

Five scarves.

One polka-dot neck piece.

One set of Nordic Wrist Warmers.

I only have energy to show the pics today.  Plus the packers are breathing in my neck to get into the study with their boxes and plastic tape...

For Irene - to contrast with her dark Zulu skin: raspberry and pink Rowan merino, label long lost.

For Meryl, who wears cerise to warm up winter: this one in Vinnis Nikkim

For Shan, whose blue eyes lights up when she wears blue - a soft,heavy, 100% bamboo, label also long lost

Blue-eyed, silver-blonde Heather got this soft one in Rico Baby Cotton

I Love Yarn's Imagine was Sheila's from the beginning.
She also taught Stephni's boys in in their early pre-school years
and somehow the duck-egg blue-green hues drew on her Scottish heritage. 

Eritrean Adiam often wears white linen and loved her neck piece in steelgrey Vinnis Serina,
 old gold Vinnis Nikkim and ivory Drops Cotton Light.

Miriam is a bright and colourful Zimbabwean, whose first Afrikaans word was "handskoene"
(literally hand shoes, for gloves). So the Nordic Wrist Warmers got an African twist for her.

Cook Kate got two balls of red Netlon and a nr 16 hook, which had her grinning from ear to ear.  She saw me starting on a giant doily with black Netlon, and was overwhelmed. Crochet is also popular in her Zulu culture, but she's never seen the oversized hooks and yarn.

That is it.  I think this was the fastest I've ever crocheted. They all loved their gifts - happy about that. 

Now, I'm moving house.  Next time I sit down to type will be from the shade of the Outeniquas, can't wait!

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.

Slow and steady the tortoise was finished

My aunty D's tortoise potholders had to retire after a long hard-working life, and she wondered could I maybe crochet new ones?

Looking a tad 'used-up'

So I said I'd try, and trawled the net to find a similar pattern.  Surprisingly enough, I found one quickly, and then got real lucky as I could get a great colour match at I Love Yarn.

The colour is 'Guava' and it is just so beautiful

The yarn is a bamboo/cotton mix, and I decided to use double strands to insure good insulation (as I had a burn or two through a crochet potholder I've bought!).  Double-stranding does not work well for me...I don't like it, or might rather do it in rows than in motifs - I struggled a bit with the oval.  I discarded the first pattern after two or three tries and then found an amigurumi tortoise made up of pentagons...now that could work better!  Again, double stranding, and it actually added to the size as well, and my tortoise was growing. 

Tortoise V.2

I just added the row of Mixed Caramels singles to simulate the shell pattern, and it worked well enough.
(This was my first go at pentagons...not  my most favourite ever!  I'm sure it would be much neater with more practice and one strand only).

Amarula on ice, anyone?

At first I had grand plans of lining the inner with felt and nice printed cotton...in the end, simple Mixed Caramel pentagons won out :-)  That actually also worked out well, as it makes for a nice, thick, potholder. 

Starting to resemble a tortoise shell

I must confess that I got a bit impatient here...I have accepted that amigurumis and similar might not be my strongest point.  The head and feet turned out to be very small, but still recognisable shapes, and I still need to sew on some eyes and tails, but hey, these tortoises are going to do their job of Pot Holding!

...that is, if they don't take off before then

"What are these, Mies?"

Now I must just make a date to get on the train to Jozi for a long-overdue coffee with aunty D.

An unexpected Malabrigo Friday!

As it sometimes goes, you wake up from a nightmare at 04:00 and after you've dropped the kids at their school, the day is already 4 hours old and you're ready for a nap.  

Too early for that.

So you settle for a great cappuccino and and orange & almond cake for breakfast.

Lucky Bread Co, Brooklyn Mall
(Images: Google)

This is my go-to for cappo in the mall.  I practise my very rudimentary, broken French greeting on Kyria and Bastien, and teach them the same in Afrikaans.  Bastien complained that the locals couldn't pronounce his name, so I told him to just say "Basjan" - they'll get it then :-)

Then I had to take a stroll through the bottomless trap that is Exclusive Books and walked out two books the richer...oh, the guilt.

A promising novel and 45 poems
(Images: Google)

Books is never a bad idea.

But I was actually after mind space, so off to I love Yarn I went, to sit down for a bit of hooking and catching up with Elaine's trip to New York, and Stephni's AfrikaBurn.  Alas, the moment I walked in, I noticed, in the corner , like a moth to a flame, north pole to south pole magnet...

MALABRIGO yarn!

Now that is not something that is easily found in South Africa (see here)  I've previously managed to get my hands on two skeins via my good sis, from a shop in Dublin. And wouldyabelieveit, we meet again!

In seconds I hand four skeins in my hands.  Don't know what I'm going to do with it; but it's soft as a cloud, and in beautiful bright colours!  Scarves/cowls, most likely.

Colours of the sea

Very fine, very soft raspberry

By now I was a bit manic, so into the basket went ...

...more blues and greens for The Great Romany Blanket V.2

and

...just to try out something for the future summer blankets for the boys...

and  also

...some aquas from I Love Yarn, for a planned myasthenia gravis-awareness snowflake scarf...

Feel Good Friday, they call it :-)

No guilt, no, none at all.

Imagine these colours

My friends at I Love Yarn released their first hand-dyed yarn yesterday!

Imagine - a 70% bamboo-30% cotton blend, hand-dyed in the most beautiful colours.

I went to get to get three balls to complete a request from my aunty, and walked out with a few more.

Clockwise: Guava, French Affair, Mixed Caramels, Rock Rose

 The  reddish-pink and yellow for aunty's project, and all four colours for me. 

Mmm...might want to add a neutral?  Will have to go back quickly!

The colours are beautiful, the yarn is sooooft and lovely to touch.  

(And they also stock Rowan Merino and Tweeds, and Pierrot...sigh, beautiful, but oh, so thin.  I'll try my hand at one little ball of La Provance first, before I attempt the grown-up silky blends...)

There goes my attention span. 

Ed. Yarn review by Beatrix here http://btrixdsigns.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-love-yarn.html?m=1

I Love Yarn!

Yes, I do :-)

But it is also the name of a new online shop two friends of mine opened TODAY, with all kinds of beautiful and wonderful available.  

I keep repeating myself, but I love it when my online and "real" lives merge.  Via my FB reading group, I met Stephni, who also turned out to be a hooker.  Via (FB) Craft Share, I met Elaine, who turned out to be a friend of Stephni!  Put the two of them together, and you have I Love Yarn, where you can purchase beautiful yarns, pattern books, accessories and ready kits.

I'm eyeing the bathroom mat...Elaine's is already two years old and still look brand new:

They also offer different workshops, of which I have already attend the Christmas Decorations workshop, and I will show my handiwork off in December.

Congratulations girls, and all the best with your new venture!