Granny Square Sampler Afghan

I don't know about you guys but unless I have a few things on the go at once I'm not happy and I mean that, I get grouchy and out of sorts.  I have been making a blanket and a shawl for ages but now I just can't pick them up, I have fallen out of love with them, and then I have been through a phase of starting something new but haven't liked it or it hasn't turned out right and I have had to pull the whole thing back and try again, I did this a few time's with a little crochet sleeveless top, it looked so simple to do but I couldn't get the neck shaping right, I gave up in the end and it's now in a bag pushed under the bed.
So you can imagine how fed up I was feeling  until Casey at  plus3crochet blogged about this CAL over at Wise Craft.

  It's just up my street, lovely granny squares and someone to guide me week by week so I don't have to think too much and I know I will do it because there is no pressure to do too much and it's always fun to see the other participants progress too, very motivational so a big thank you to Casey for drawing my attention to this. I can even look at that other blanket and shawl again, I know I will be able to do a bit of each and I have found a lovely crib pattern too so that's a lovely portable project to take with me when I'm on the go.  

This is what I've done so far for the CAL, It's just week 2 so plenty of time to join in if you want to have a go.

Here are the colours I have chosen just 12 random balls out of my stash.

There they all are snuggling in my work bag.

These are for the first week, just three granny's one with seven rounds and two with 5 rounds and for week two, ten to fourteen small granny's with three rounds.

This is what I've done so far.

I can't wait for Friday to see what's next.

Now perhaps you would like a stroll through my end of May garden.

Lots of blossom on the blueberry tree I hope that means lots of yummy blueberries, I had a very poor crop last year.

 Lovely Clematis

 Foxgloves nearly ready to bloom  

 I have three cherry tree's but I never have many cherries the birds always get there first!

The jungle at the bottom of my garden :)

A Collection of Triangles

I know that I said that Hexagons are my favourite shape, but the triangles have taken me completely by surprise.  They are quick to do because they only have three sides and they look lovely when they are finished.

The first ever blanket I made was made of simple sc triangles and I was so proud of it, it was so satisfying making those little triangles  then joining them together to make a blanket. it was my first ever donation to Loving Hands and I would love to show you but unfortunately silly me forgot to take a photo of it.  

Here is my triangle collection, some of them are in numerical order because I like most of the triangles so I didn't really have to pick and choose.

Motif #56

A lovely granny triangle, I may experiment with this one later

Motif #57

Nice and easy to do with a lovely neat finish

Motif #58

This is another one which looks nicer in real life than in the book.  There's a nice contrast of textures, the final round of  reverse sc was a nice surprise as it's my favourite edging, it finishes it off perfectly.

Motif '59

 Cute and easy but has to be blocked to get the correct shape.

Motif #61

This is more like a granny corner worked in rows.  Nice and pretty but there are 9 ends to sew in !

Motif #62

 Lovely to make and I think very striking in red and white

Motif #66

  I love this one it looks complicated but it's not, just sc and chains, so simple but very effective.  I carried the yarn up the back so no ends to sew in.  You could go on and on with this one.  The curved edges make it impossible to join these together which is a pity I think.

Motif #76

 A pretty little motif,  this one would be lovely made in fine yarn.  I think we will all be expert picot makers at the end of this challenge :)

Motif #78

 Another favourite and easy to work up into something bigger because it has straight edges.

I hope that you my little collection of triangles.  I'm trying to think of a favourite,  I think Motif #66 was the nicest to make but Motif #62 looks good, there again don't you think that number 76 is the cutest little Motif, lol each one has something to commend it and photo's really don't show them off to their best.

Progress 41 out of 100

When two CALs Meet :)

I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has left me lovely comments about my posts and a big welcome to all my new Followers, I love to read your comments, it does mean a lot to me to hear your views and to know that you enjoy my blog, AND I now have 99 Followers I'm wondering who is going to be my 100th :)

This week I have been combining my love of making poncho's with my love of granny Roses, so it seemed to make sense to make a poncho for Angie's CAL and decorated it with Astri's granny roses and here is the result.

 

I just love it, those lovely roses turn everything into something special.

If you remember I began this little poncho here

Here it is all finished and decorated with a granny rose.  These little poncho's will be ideal for this part of the Loving Hands Summer challenges. 

If you remember I found some lovely snugly wool in my stash and I decided to make a poncho for myself, well it's nearly finished and I will post a picture as soon as it's done.  

African Violets

I went to visit an elderly Aunt last Saturday  she has moved house since my last visit, her new place is a top floor flat, and she has turned it into a lovely cosy home.  There are so many lovely things surrounding her most of which are gifts from family and friends, a beautiful picture of poppies painted by her niece and a lovely landscape painted by a friend and a hand made picture frame containing a photo of my sons graduation.  I could see that she treasured these gifts as they were all in a place of prominence where her eyes will fall upon them while she sits in her cosy chair.  You can just tell when someone appreciates hand made things. Well it's her birthday next week so I wanted to give her a special gift for her new home so I have made these African Violets I hope that she will like them.   I  love African Violets but they never seem to live that long for me, or they will bloom and then the flowers die and you have to wait so long for them to reappear.  So I think that this is the perfect solution, they are very realistic don't you think.  
It's a June Gilbank design  and as soon as I saw the pattern I had to buy it.  I have never tried making anything like this before so they may not be as perfect as they should be but the pattern is quite simple and easy to follow. I added a few of my own touches like adding the little ladybird and the butterfly.  In fact I liked it so much I made a smaller version for myself :)

The pictures don't really do it justice I have been wanting to show you all these all week but the lighting has been so dull and the photo's turned out very dark, in the end I took the photo's outside on my patio between the showers.

The ladybird and butterfly can be found in the book 75 Birds and Butterfly's

I adapted the ladybird to make it smaller to fit the leaf

Hexagon Love

I just love Hexagons they are my favourite shape a pain to join together but always worth the effort.  I really enjoyed making this Hexagon lap-rug it seems so long ago now and I'm always on the lookout for a new Hexagon that will inspire me to make another. Here are my collection of Hexagons from Beyond the square.  I have made these with Dk cotton and a 3.5mm hook

 

Motif #30

 A lovely motif and a pleasure to make.  It would be easy to use as a blanket motif because it just flows, you could miss the last round to make it even easier and it would still look good.  I will definitely be revisiting this one in the future.

Motif #31

There is a lot of work in this motif but it is such fun to do.  I like the real life version better than the one in the book as it's lovely to feel the texture. 

Motif #32

 I picked this one without realising that it was the reverse of Motif #31, how clever is that a two sided motif, I love it ! I can't decide which side I like the most but I have decided to make some pot holders with it, as others doing this challenge have noted it is ideal for that purpose because of it's thick texture.

Motif #33

 Another pretty little motif ideal for a large project.

Motif #36

 This one is like a little star depending on the colours you use it could be a lovely flower motif  too, nice made up as a shawl or scarf.

Motif #38

 There was quite a bit of work involved with this one, it's one of the larger motifs looking quite regal with it's 6 crowns.

Motif #42

A big lacy flower I just had to show you this one on two colour backgrounds, I think it looks so pretty with the blue background.  it's quite a big motif and I have to say this one does excite me, I can see it in a large project, not quite sure as what yet but inspiration will come I'm sure.

Progress 32 out of 100

Triangles next :)

Spring Flowers

I wait for these flowers to bloom every spring, I love them so much I won't plant them in the garden, I keep them in pots near the window so that I can look at them everyday come rain or shine.  

Bleeding Hearts so pretty with their arching stems one in pink and one in white.

Clematis Pixi, I usually have this growing up a trellis but it looks just as nice cascading over the edge of the pot and can you see my new pot of forget-me-nots so pretty in blue

Grouped all together their beauty makes me smile :)