Friday 16 January 2015

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Rooster Almerino Yarn

I absolutely ADORE Rooster Almerino Yarn. It is a little bit on the expensive side but is perfect for making things that you really want to love, use, wear, wash and still have look good whilst standing up to the test of time. 

I discovered it last year at my local yarn shop, The Periwinkle in Ilfracombe. I was looking to “treat” myself to some truly special yarn for my first Nordic Shawl. Tonia, the lovely owner of The Periwinkle, suggested I try some Almerino DK and the colour pallet was just too tempting to ignore! Armed with my bundle of rather lavish yarn, I started working on my shawl and within a few minutes was blown away by how beautiful the yarn was to work with. Up until that point I had only really used acrylics and cheaper yarns so was pleasantly surprised to realise just WHY people spend more on expensive yarns!


I finished my rather pricey shawl and felt a little guilty, however, given I wear it pretty much most days, the guilt has long since worn off haha! It gets flung on the back of my chair, sat on, crumpled, worn and yet it still looks just as good as it did the day I made it. No bobbling, no loose threads and still just as heavy, warm and beautifully drapey as ever.

I was sold.


I went on to make a second Nordic Shawl using the Almerino Aran, lighter and easier to wear in the summer months yet just as squishy, soft and lovely to work with as the DK.



(If any of you have visited The Periwinkle over the last few months you may have seen the aran weight version of my shawl as it has been living in the shop since it was used in the window last the summer haha!)


I also made two baby blankets for friends of mine who were expecting, a Vintage Ripple (pattern by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas)  for a little boy and a Round Ripple (pattern by Celeste Young) for a little girl.




My friend uses her blanket every day for her little man. When she popped over to visit last week I was surprised to see the blanket has held its shape 7 months later even after washing and daily use and, although there were a few chunks of rusk attached, it looked just as good as ever. 

I even had enough left over to make a ripple cushion and a vegetable baby mobile from my left over scraps.




Impressive stuff from Rooster!

Can you tell I love this yarn? ^_~

xx
Continue reading Rooster Almerino Yarn

Tuesday 13 January 2015

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It's been a while!

Wow, it's been nearly 18 months since I last blogged - a lot has happened in that time! 

I have got divorced, moved house, found happiness and discovered that the best therapy in life (and my not-so-new-anymore-but-still-new obsession) is CROCHET.


Ever since I first dabbled with crochet 2 years ago when I made my daughter a Minecraft Granny Square blanket and her cute little crochet Minecraft Creeper I have expanded my crochet repertoire quite substantially to say the least!



Not a day goes by when I don't pick up a hook and sneak in even just a few minutes of crochet, I find it a fantastic creative outlet and most evenings are spent watching films with my fella and a pile of yarn on my lap.


I do however, have a real problem with "Startitis"

Startitis refers to an expensive, but rarely fatal affliction that often affects knitters and crocheters where they begin several projects all at one time but don’t really make much progress on anything before starting another new project. 

I have an embarrassingly large WIP (work in progress) pile and rarely finish anything. My goal for 2015 is to STOP STARTING NEW THINGS and finish my half started projects! Haha! Famous last words. 

By picking up my blog again after all this time, I hope it will give me the motivation to reign in my startitis issues and focus on finishing projects. 


I am currently working on a special blanket using gorgeous squishy (and expensive! ouch) yarn - why is it special? Because it is for ME! Here is a small peek, it will get a post all on its own once I have finished. It is the Walter Blanket from InsideCrochet Magazine. 



I have gazillions of photos of my crochet journey over the last couple of years (oh dear, that sounds very touchy feely doesn't it? ugh) on my Instagram account here: Puddnhead   I absolutely love instagram, it is a wonderful source of inspiration! 


So in 2015, the grand theory is thus: Get the Startitis in check and blog more! Let's see how long I can actually keep this up .... XD


xx


Continue reading It's been a while!