I finished my “Spice of Life” CAL last week. The yarn was purchased while I was away with Mum at a craft shop in Stawell. The yarns were out on special (I’m guessing end of season) and I think I made the shop owner’s day by buying up large!
I loved making this crocheted blanket, learning lots of new stitches on the way with Sandra’s excellent pattern and photos to guide me through the stitches and colours, (although I did choose my own colour way and “matched” my colour choices to the pattern) and enjoying the gentle rhythm of hook and yarn in the repetitive stitches, particularly the new ones, once mastered. There was a bit of a tussle towards the end; I really wanted to finish it, but I really didn’t want it to end as I was having so much fun!
But seeing the finished blanket was the bigger draw card and I hooked on eagerly awaiting the Ta-Da moment! Eminently satisfying!
Yes, it could probably do with blocking but with our cold evenings still here, it’s being used already! And when it’s not, it sits folded up and I can’t help but pat it every time I walk past.
I’m delighted with it; so happy with the colours I chose, amazed that it was finished so quickly, pleased that I’ve improved my crocheting skills and learnt new stitches.
Finishing had, however, left a hole in my evenings and quite a bit of leftover yarn. My hands were itching to do something else, but fabric just wasn’t going to cut it – it had to be something “yarny”. So to combat that, I trawled the internet and found a great YouTube tutorial on knitting mitred squares which really appealed and then how to knit them together as-you-go which sounded like a brilliant idea, and then learnt how to do a long tail cast on which was needed, and so I set to and before you could say “mitred square” I had four of them!
This too has become highly addictive and grown to this already! 
I just can’t seem to leave it alone. You wouldn’t think I was a quilter, would you? What is it in our my personality that “hooks us me in” and makes us me so keen to do nothing else but this?……for the moment! There wasn’t enough grey left from the crochet, so I have bought a dark and a light grey which I’ll keep randomly alternating as I go. Knitting the squares this way means I can stop at any stage, when it’s big enough, or I tire of it – whichever comes first! Thinking I might do a crocheted edge around it…….
What’s your current “addiction”? I’d love to know!
Meredithe x
(Am tempted to try the “A Spicier Life” blanket!)
~ Helen floored me at a recent trip to the quilt shop by buying this kit. Floored me because she doesn’t usually like small bits, yet here they are and were all cut out on the night of our visit to the shop!
~ and finally another of Dad’s orchids, this time one that Mum chose, has flowered. It’s much smaller than the others and I love the dark colouring of it.
