Hello dear friends and readers - thankyou for popping by, and a big hello to my new readers and followers, I'm so glad you could join us :)
My weekend has mostly been spent moving furniture around to accommodate the decorator who is painting most of the inside of our house. It was just too big a project for me to take on, as basically the whole thing needs doing - from some skimming on the ceilings, and covering some bare plasterwork on the walls, right down to painting radiators and repairing skirting boards. It has not escaped my notice that the paint we're using is called "Endurance". Very appropriate I feel.
If you remember a short while ago I made a blanket for my Dad. He only had it a week before he passed away, but it's very special to me, and so my Mum let me have it back. I love the colours in it, plus it is a good match for my front room which is greens and blues, so I decided to make a granny square cushion cover to match the blanket.
It's a very simple design using a traditional granny square with 4 rounds. Each side of the cushion is 5 squares by 5; I made 25 squares for the front and 25 for the back. I also made an extra 5 as a sort of envelope type flap enclosure. All the squares were joined using the join-as-you-go method, mainly to avoid dealing with all those pesky ends.
To fasten it closed I sewed on 5 buttons, one for each square of the flap - no button-hole needed, the button just slots through one of the gaps in each granny square. I messed about with loads of different combinations of buttons but in the end decided that the best solution was a button for each square to match the colour of the square - plus that way I didn't have to find 5 buttons that matched each other.
There was talk of a lining at one point, however, seeing as I couldn't make up my mind whether to go with a green lining or a blue one, or even grey come to that, I just left it with no lining at all. What a rebel. The white you can see through the granny squares is just the cushion pad, and I think it looks great as it is :) The yarn is all Stylecraft Special DK (who doesn't love a bit of Stylecraft) in the following colours:
Aster - Pistachio - Kelly Green - Sage - Lobelia - Silver
Sadly I rarely get to see my cushion - it's normally stuffed behind me on my seat on the sofa. Well, I couldn't let anyone else squash it, now could I.
My current project is a baby blanket for a friend who's just had her second little baby, a boy, no name yet that I know of, but so exciting, I can't wait to go for a cuddle (with the baby, not my friend). It's a really easy pattern, a bit like a circular ripple, if that makes sense. Here it is so far ....
I am slightly worried that because its round my friend won't get that it's a blanket, and she'll think it's a mandala. Except she's not a crocheter, so she won't know to call it a mandala, she'll just think it's some weird giant doily. Oh well, I'm enjoying making it, so hey-ho. More details to follow when I've finished it.
Hope you've had a lovely weekend,
Jillxxxx
ps: I am not very political and I sit on the fence most of the time, but even I am shocked, dismayed and deeply saddened by the result of the UK's referendum last week. In case you've been living in a cave for the the last couple of days - the UK voted whether or not the vote to remain in the EU, and the result was a very narrow majority wishing to leave the EU. To me this is narrow-minded, short-sighted, and irresponsible. How anyone can think we are better off cutting ourselves off and trying to succeed in isolation, is beyond me. I believe we and our children belong in an inclusive society that embraces diversity. There's nothing else to say really 😞
