New project

I've started a new project - it's the Painted Daisies Wrap by Daisy Boo Creations. It's a simple pattern that will be perfect to keep me busy during our travels at the end of this month - we're going to Europe! First to Paris, where we will be for Christmas, and then on to the Netherlands, to catch up with family and friends. I can't wait!

I'm using the Turkish Delight Whirl with which I started the Sea Breeze Cover Up last year. Sadly that didn't turn out well and I finally decided to frog it. That proved to be harder than I expected, so the red part of the Whirl is missing... But I'm sure it'll still be a lovely shawl when finished!

My amigurumi family

This weekend I finished my latest amiguruME doll: my husband! Our amigurumi family is now complete :-)



I've portrayed him in running gear, as he usually accompanies me to parkrun and various running events. We don't run together, as he is much faster than I am, but he always waits and cheers for me at the finish line!



I have loved making these dolls and think I will probably make some more... Stay tuned to find out who will be next!

Achilles

It's finished!



I spent most of today crocheting and then blocking my Achilles shawl.



And then making photos, before the sun went down...



Love this pattern!



And love these colours - purple, grey and black.



My boys asked if I didn't have enough shawls yet - nope!



The details:
Pattern: Achilles by Silke Terhorst
Yarn: Scheepjes Whirl Dark Grape Squish
Hook: 3.5 mm

Travel project

It's been a while since I last posted here, as I had to travel to the Netherlands quite suddenly earlier this month, to take care of some family business. Just before I left I started this project, so I could take it with me and have something to work on during my trip.



It's the Achilles shawl, designed by Silke Terhorst. It's a fairly easy pattern and I like its geometric look. I worked on it quite a bit while I was in the Netherlands, and now that I'm back I have just reached the point where I will start decreasing. It's still symmetrical at this point, but that is going to change. Really like this pattern! (I'm using a Dark Grape Squish Whirl)



I visited two yarn shops, but was very constrained and didn't buy any yarn! I did buy the latest Scheepjes Yarn magazine to add to my collection - love these mags, so inspiring!



Apart from the serious stuff I also had time to visit my best friend in the Netherlands, and I was able to spend some time with her and her family. For them it was the summer holidays, and I joined them on a few sightseeing trips to the sort of places you don't usually visit in your own country. On the photo blog you can find my favourite pics of these trips. Here is one, of their dog with a friend at the Zaanse Schans:

Owl

My middle son asked if I could make an owl for him.



Of course!



He loves the owl and has called it Witje (that's Dutch - it means 'little white one').



The pattern is from this book that I found in the local library:



Thinking of buying a copy, as there are are quite a few animals in it that I would like to make - isn't that elephant cute? And there's also a snake in it that I love, and a flamingo...

Parkrun capes

You may remember that I made a red '50' milestone cape for my local parkrun a while ago. I've now finished all milestone capes (10 for the juniors, 25 for volunteers, and 50, 100 and 250 for runners/walkers), and on Saturday, when I was volunteering as photographer, five participants were happy to model the capes for me. It was my 22nd time volunteering, so not long now until I get to wear the purple cape!



I took this photo of my eldest son, who was the first finisher on Saturday. On Sunday he and I will run our first half marathon here on the Gold Coast, while my husband will do his first full marathon. Very exciting! (more about this on my running blog)

Dragon Scale Gloves

Another small project done. I love things that can be whipped up quickly and done while watching tv or listening to an audiobook or podcast.
On one of my crochet groups on Facebook, someone showed a pair of dragon scale gloves they had made. I liked the look of them and searched on Ravelry for a pattern. Found one by The Yarnivore UK here, grabbed a Caron Cotton Cake from my stash, and got going!



So here they are. I love how they look, but have found that they are not very practical - I can't do computer work wearing them, as they are too bulky. So they have been donated to my youngest son who likes them, and I will continue to wear the 'crazy, beautiful mittens' I knitted two years ago.

Beanie

Winter has arrived in Australia, and even here in South-East Queensland it can be a bit nippy at night and in the early morning, so I've made a beanie for my husband who doesn't have a lot of hair to keep his head warm ;-)



I used this pattern - it's extremely simple, just half double crochets going round and round until the beanie is big enough. The yarn (Lionbrand Heartland) was also used to make the Dalek gloves for my youngest son and the bone for Barney.



This is the start of another new project. I will show more soon!

Gymnast

Here is my fifth amiguruME doll: my oldest son Hugo, the gymnast!



He's wearing his Queensland State Team uniform, in which he competed last year at the National Championships. Sadly he injured his knee there, so he hasn't been able to do gymnastics in the last 12 months (you can read the whole story here). He did start running at the end of last year though, and will run the half marathon with me in July!

Here I am with my boys:



Now it's my husband's turn to be made into an amigurumi doll!

Finally sewing again!

Today I started up my sewing machine for the first time since January 2018 (when I made the chair covers I showed here). Yes, it really has been more than 15 months!
I was happy to discover that I still knew how to thread the machine, and that it was still functioning well (I must admit it was a bit dusty).
So what did I sew?
Well...

Last month we spent a weekend in Warwick, and of course did the parkrun there. It happened to be my husband's 50th parkrun; a milestone that means you are eligible for a free, red '50' t-shirt. Here's mine - I did my 50th parkrun in February:



In Warwick they had milestone capes. My husband got to run in the red '50' cape, while someone else ran his 100th parkrun in a black cape (because the '100' t-shirt is black).



I thought that was a great idea, and asked at our home parkrun, Surfers Paradise, if they would like me to make some capes. They did, so I bought some fabric and today I made the '50' cape!







Very happy with how it turned out. And the fabrics for the other milestone capes (Junior 10; Volunteer 25; 100; 250) are washed and ironed, ready to be sewn!

New projects

Last week I whipped up this basket, made from a cheap and colourful ball of yarn that I found at the dollar shop. It was a good project to work on during a long car trip, to a house in rural Northern New South Wales, where we stayed with friends during the Easter weekend. I'm using the basket to keep all my chargers and cords (for mobile phone, iPad, camera, wireless headphones etc) in one place.

At the house, with no wifi or mobile phone reception, I finally started on another amiguruME doll. This is going to be my eldest son ;-)



It was a lovely long weekend, in the middle of nowhere. This was the view from the backyard:



A lot of chatting, eating and drinking, walking with the dogs, playing games and reading was done, and a little bit of running.



I've decided to start a new blog for my running adventures: Run, Read, Create.
Besides the running stuff, there will also be book reviews and the occasional crafty show and tell (which will also appear here). Do come and have a look!

Panda Glasses Holder

A while ago I spotted some funny crocheted Muppet and Smurf eyeglasses holders. I decided to make one, but going through my yarn stash the only suitable yarn I could find was some chunky black and white. I didn't want to buy more yarn, so had to think of something that is black and white and has a round head...



A panda!



The holder would be even better if the ears were placed a bit lower, but hey, panda ears are situated at the top of the head, not the side...
Anyway, it works and I like it!

Update

It's been very quiet here on the blog, because I didn't really have anything to share. But last week the quarterly magazine of the Dutch Quilters' Guild arrived, and it was a nice surprise to see two of my Lone Star quilts featured in an article about traditional blocks used in modern ways.

I made some more diamonds for my Lone Star Blanket, and also started a new crochet project that I hope to share here soon!



And other than that I have been working, reading a lot (you can see the books I read in My Bookshelf in the side bar), and running of course. Together with my eldest son and a friend I did the International Women's Day Fun Run 10km in Brisbane on March 3rd:



I also ran my 50th parkrun in February (in a tutu! See pic in sidebar) and brought my 5 km PB down by 2 seconds to 31:43. It's still very hot and humid here in Queensland, so I hope to bring it down further when it finally gets a bit cooler.

I have started training for my first half marathon (21.1 km) in July and am up to 14 km now! If you had told me three years ago that I would ever run that far, I would not have believed you...

Saty tuned for more crafty stuff soon!

Lone Star Blanket Revisited

After more than seven months I have finally picked up the Lone Star Blanket again and started making more diamonds.
This is what the blanket looked like the last time I worked on it, in July 2018:



I've crocheted 22 diamonds in the last two weeks, so only 138 more to go!



And then a lot of sewing them together... Not my favourite part of the job.



But it will look so good when it's finished!