Waiting...

 

It's kind of a strange time here, I have 3 weeks until my due date so I'm tying up loose ends with work, making sure my website is up to date, sorting out baby clothes, packing my hospital bag, and just generally nesting, but not making any plans and trying not to start any new projects. We're in the middle of having our loft converted, and in the meantime all our junk is piled in heaps in H's bedroom, (which is soon to become 'the boy's room!'). So until it's finished, I wont feel I'm ready for our new little boy. I still think I'm denial about having another baby!

I guess its time to enjoy H being on his own for the last time, but I'm still pretty much housebound, I can just about walk to T's car but managing stairs, or picking up H are getting harder all the time. I can handle constant pain (just about!) but I can't handle having to ask my husband to do pretty much everything for me.

Here's H, falling asleep halfway through lunch! Probably my own fault for keeping him in his PJs all morning.

I finished my hexagon blanket, the colours I chose were just scraps of yarn I had, but I really like how it turned out. 

 

I'll be turning off my online shops in 2 weeks, so now's the last chance to buy my crochet patterns until autumn.

Peapod Soup Etsy Shop

Happy Hexagons Organic Cotton Baby Blanket

Happy October! We've having a heatwave, so it doesnt feel very autumnal at the moment. Yesterday I somehow a lot of work done, which isnt easy when you're looking after a 6 month old at the same time. I managed to get some patterns listed in my etsy shop, and this is one of them!

My brother & his girlfriend are expecting a baby in 2 weeks, so I decided to make them a blanket. They love bright colours and dont know whether they are having a boy or girl, so I raided my stash and found lots of different colours to make motifs with. I played around with squares, and stripes, and finally settled on hexagons. I wanted a plain kind of shape that wasnt too girly.

 

Later, I was making a cushion cover from some organic cotton, and when I had some left over I decided to make some more hexagons, as they are so nice to make! So I ended up with another blanket. It's made from lovely Twilley's Freedom Sincere Organic Cotton.

I enjoyed working with Sincere, it was a bit splitty, but all cotton yarns are. I often question the ethical and environmental sourcs of yarn. Acrylic yarn is essentially made from oil. When I was (mostly) vegan I hesitated about using Sheep's wool, also it makes me itch. There are soya and bamboo yarns available, but I guess there isnt really a truly sustainable yarn. 

   

Freedom Sincere is just like Rowan Organic Cotton, but about half the price. I stopped liking Rowan yarns so much when I worked in a wool shop. The colours and textures are gorgeous but when you come to work with it, it often has knots in, and it bobbles when you wash it, which isnt great when you've spent a lot of money. Modern yarns like Sirdar and Patons are so much nicer than they used to be, and are washable and dont bobble. When I'm making things for H, I tend to use budget acrylic yarns because they need to be washed so often, and he grows out of things so quickly.

Happy Hexagons Baby Blanket pattern is available from The Tree Bridge and Ravelry.

Cornish Coast Baby Blanket - Free Crochet Pattern

I've been making a blanket for H, when he's out and about in his pushchair and car seat. I wanted it to be small enough to carry around, and made from acrylic yarn so it can be washed easily. I used Robin Picasso Chunky, and managed to get the whole blanket out of one ball.

Here's the pattern:

Cornish Coast Baby Blanket

UK crochet terminology.

You will need:

15mm / Q hook

10mm / P hook

1 x 100g ball Robin Picasso Chunky, (150m per ball) or equivalent yarn.

Tension

Approximately 6 sts x 7 rows over 4 x 4 inches, using 15mm hook.

Stitch Key

Ch = Chain                            

Dc = Double Crochet

*---* = Indicates a sequence of stitches to be repeated.

Instructions.

With 15mm hook, Ch 51. 
R1. Dc in 2^nd ch from hook. *Ch1, skip next stitch, dc in next ch*. Repeat across to end of row. Dc in last ch. Ch1, turn.

R2.  Dc in 1^st st. *Ch1, skip next stitch, dc in ch1 space.* Repeat across. Dc in last ch. Ch1, turn.

 

Repeat row 2 until there are 39 rows in total. Do not turn.

Edging

Using 10mm hook, work all the way round the 4 edges of the blanket, working 1dc in the end of each row, 1dc in each chain, 1dc in each dc. Slip stitch to join.

Fasten off. Sew in ends.

The USA version of the pattern is available free on Ravelry