Look What I Found

While I was sorting my stash of quilting fabrics the other day I came across this.

It was intended as a cushion cover. I got as far as knitting it and then abandoned it. If I remember correctly I was also demonstrating cables for a class at the time. I've read advice at various times about putting warm colours in the living room in winter time. At this stage of my interior decorating life I'd be happy to have things relatively clean and tidy, let alone having seasonal colour accents. So I'm not going to be using this cushion cover any time soon. There's a picture winging its way through cyberspace as I type. Hopefully a friend of mine will be happy to use it. Otherwise I'll have to choose between ripping it out and re-using the wool or sending it to the Op shop unfinished.

Detail

I'm working on a birthday gift, so I need to be a bit discrete so I don't spoil the surprise, but here's a detail shot:I'm really happy with how the colours are working together . . . and once again I love the distinct structure of the crochet stitches. Now I need to head out and buy just a bit more wool to finish it off.

Time Warp

There's a note on my computer screen warning me that image uploads will be disabled for two hours from 5.00pm PDT Wednesday October 20, due to maintenance. Please excuse my ignorance . . . I can't quite work out when 5.00pm PDT is for me here in Melbourne. I'm guessing it' a US timezone . . . "Pacific Something Time", maybe . . . and I'm guessing there's a website somewhere that will tell me how that translates to Eastern Daylight-saving Time in Australia. But I'd rather get on with my crochet cushion-cover than worry about time zones. Eventually I'll just have a go with an image and see what happens. Either that or eventually the warning will disappear, and I'll know the maintenance window has passed. Meanwhile, I'm here and the yarn is here and it's OK.

I've just done my homework and PDT is 18 hours earlier than my time here, so I could have uploaded an image this morning, oh well, now it's time for bed. I'll try again tomorrow.

Reprise

I've been meaning to re-purpose this mohair for a while. It randomly made its way to the top of the pile this morning. A few minutes of tugging and winding were enough for me. The ultra-hairiness of the yarn is both the attraction and the difficulty, but it does make a fun photo: If I can get it back into a ball ready to work on, I'm thinking it might become a cushion cover.

Crochet Structure

One of the things I like about crochet is the way it can be used to build a definite structure. I've been stitching away at another cushion cover, using up the incredible multiplying teal yarn. I made a neat little envelope to enclose the cushion insert, but then I wanted an extra flap to secure the opening. Not a problem: I stitched one row into the front loop only to make a fold line, then kept on as normal. As you can see, this one is nearly finished. I believe I'm actually getting through the balls of yarn as well. I'm not sure if I dare to count how many I have left.

Meanwhile my creative task for this morning is to make a chocolate cake for a not-so-little girl who is 8 today. Her uncle R vowed and declared that my friend L's chocolate cake is the only one worth having. Would you believe I have all the ingredients, except chocolate! Off to the shops, and then I'd better get to work. I'm told this cake takes an hour or so to cook, then it needs to cool before I can add the icing. I wonder whether I can find myself a little more get up and go while I'm out. . . hmmm, did some-one say, "chocolate"?

Teal Yarn Continued

I've still got at least half a dozen balls of this teal 8-ply yarn after completing the blanket. It's a cotton/acrylic. It's surprisingly solid--densely spun. I don't know what I was thinking of making when I bought it, but it looks like I bought enough for a jacket. That never eventuated. Now I'm nearly half way through a cushion cover. I'm using single crochet stitches, so it will be nice and strong. Next I think I'll experiment with a the pattern for a cap which I've had in mind for a while. Meanwhile there are balls of shiny tencel in the box near the armchair also waiting for some creative attention. Thankfully they're not all the exact same colour or I'd be very bored very quickly. As it is, I think it will be a while before I move on from this teal yarn phase.