Crocheted Card Yarn Bowl With Lid

 Here is the pattern for my Yarn Bowl. I have made a tutorial which also gives links to where I bought my hole punch and the plastic sheets I use to cover the cards.

With this one, the vintage Mills &Boon romance penny dreadful covers (plus a fantastic 60’s book) make the outside and I’ve used the back covers on the inside. The names of these books are as crazy as the covers, along with the synopses. I’ve used the pages from the stories on the sides or backs too, the naughty bits. But I’m getting too old to even find it ironically funny. Now it’s a bit ew! Not is a prudish way, just in a for goodness sakes, that’s ridiculous way. 

If you follow the tags below (boxes, crochet, tutorials, etc.) you’ll find the tutorial, other patterns and ideas. Here is one directly: http://robynefmelia.blogspot.com/2010/01/box-tutorial-sort-of-thing.html

My Crazy Quilt With Grandmother’s Fans Is Home!

 Just about to do some repairs on my Crazy Quilt With Grandmother’s Fans. A new back and new bound edges. 

There’s a big back story. A bewildering, odd saga that has brought it back to me and to my family. Welcome home! I’ve missed you. 💕 

Here’s some of the story via this link.

Now, with great generosity, eccentricity, typical unpredictability... with the... hmmm... not flippancy, but maybe the unconcern, or ability to not be concerned about finances, the buyer has returned the quilt to me at a fraction (and I mean fraction) of its sale price. Because she thinks I should have it.

That’s what’s filling out the crazy carpet bag in previous posts and to tell the truth, that bag has had no purpose since I made it! Ha!

Thanks Ruby!

My daughter gave me some gorgeous handspun, hand dyed alpaca/merino for my birth in June. I just had enough to make these lovely warm cuffs. The pattern I adapted from a freebie on Ravelry (follow the link to Rav). 

New Handles On The Crazy Carpet Bag

 At last I fixed the handles! It’s only been an hundred years. I used some from a bag my mum had been making, sentimentally. Mind, she’s in all the sewing I do, she and Grandma.

Look to this post for the details of construction, if you want to make one yourself. I had a class where we did all of the various stitches. These and more. It was heaps of fun and I miss those times with the gals. Maybe after I retire...

I made this to demonstrate a thicker style of stitching to my big crazy quilt, which juxtaposes heavy and very fine work. Contrary to what you might think, it whipped up fairly quickly.

I've carried around these tan velvets since I was 17 or so.

'A fair little girl sat under a tree

Sewing as long as her eyes could see

Then smoothed her work

and folded it right

and said Goodnight dear work

Goodnight, Goodnight.

(by Richard Monckton Miles)

Very Nearly Completely Finished!

I can’t believe it’s finished! After 5 years! I really let it sit in the cupboard for a very long time, now made a concerted effort to finish.  

I followed Hazel Tindale’s method and picked one stitch per row along the front steeks, for the bands, but didn’t reduce the numbers in the first row. I’m a tight corrugated rib knitter anyway. 
I ignored Meg Swanson’s good advice and did the whole rib band in one hit. Meg suggested I do the fronts and neck in one go, then add the waist as I wanted it twice as long. It would have been neater. But... I thought I’d give it a try in one go, so I did the waist, broke off yarn, started again and did a second row. Then turned with a double increase and ribbed up the front, double increase to go around the neck and the same for the other front… Then turned to do the waist for the third time, and on to go all the way around again. Lastly broke off yarn and did another waist. That is, for each row of front and neck banding I did 2 rows of waist. 
I had to pick up a couple of stitches to cover it. 
You can see in the pictures that I ought to have taken Meg’s advice! It’s a bit wonky as I said, but I’m very happy with it anyway and doubt I’ll notice it after a bit. 
The ribbon was in my stash, from at least 20 years ago. Vintage ribbon that is so perfect I couldn’t believe it. And with only a few centimeters spare! 
So, the original pattern was to be a jumper, but it was a bit small so I steeked it to become a cardigan, thus making it both bigger and oddly proportioned. 
I haven’t tried it on yet but it looks ok.