germy half termy

February 20, 2012May 2, 2026 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)42 Comments

Last weeks half term break turned into a rather germy affair for us when poor Toby came down with a mystery virus and reacted with his usual high temperature fever of 103^o – 104^o. He looked really awful and was groaning a lot and that together with the really high temperature had me on high alert. I always find these episodes rather scary as it is difficult to gauge how ill he really is because he simply can’t tell anyone how he’s feeling, and like all things Tobyish you have to rely on guess work and trust your instincts. After 2 days of lying flaked out in bed refusing all but the tiniest sips of water his temperature started coming down and when he started requesting chocolate ice-cream again we knew he was feeling better! Having his big sister on hand for tickles and cuddles cheered him too.

Today they are both back at school and I’m enjoying some time to knit again. I have been working on lots of animals over the last 2 months but seem to be having difficulty with knuckling down to finishing them off. Recently I’ve been in a real knit phase and the thought of sewing up and stuffing is a chore, so for now I’m going with the knitting urge and as a result have this big old tangled basket of bits and pieces. I’ve been especially enjoying making clothes – mostly lots of dresses with flowers which are probably a result of my yearning for the arrival of spring!

Hopefully the desire to sew up and stuff will seize me soon and a few more finished animals will emerge from the mess!

white

February 5, 2012May 2, 2026 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)27 Comments

Overnight our garden turned white, as did much of southern Britain.

I’m just so grateful that the snow didn’t arrive 24 hours earlier because that would have meant missing one of the nicest days that I’ve had for quite a while. A day spent with lovely, like-minded ladies: Tracy, Val, Ali, Emma, Monica, Alice and Nancy (and the very lovable Pippin, who is not a lady). There was a lot of laughter, good food, thoughtful presents and a little crafting (not quite as much as planned) and it was one of those days that you reach the end of and realise that you have aching cheeks from all the laughing and smiling that you’ve done. I feel very lucky and privileged to have been able to go along, thanks to Emma for chauffeuring me and to Tracy for being the perfect hostess and to everyone else for your you-ness x

crafts & knitting

me old china, finished

January 27, 2012May 2, 2026 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)91 Comments

In some ways I’m a little sad to have fastened off the last stitch in the edging of this blanket. It has been a pleasure to make; rhythmic, undemanding and soothing. After a bit of a false start (when I had a crisis in confidence about the colour choice and unpicked 20 squares) I started again and I’m now very pleased that I did take out that yellowy colour. The colours to me are rich and comforting and it has turned out just as I had hoped. In fact I am ridiculously pleased with it. So here it is, all finished (though it’s not easy to photograph). And here are some stats:

:: Started on August 31st 2011 and finished on January 27th 2012

:: Worked with a 3.5mm crochet hook in 10 colours of DK yarn:

5 balls of Rich 911 (red) Rowan wool cotton (including 2 for the outer edge),

3 balls each of Geranium 976 (dark pink), Tender 951 (pale pink), Antique 900 (cream), all in Rowan wool cotton, Basil (green) in Rowan Belle Organic DK and Mirage (pale blue) in Rowan Classic cashsoft DK

2 balls each of Cypress 968 (aqua), Clear 941 (silver grey), Blue Wash (dark blue) all in Rowan wool cotton,

9 balls for the main background Celandon 979 (pale green/aqua) in Rowan wool cotton

:: There are 99 squares (9 x 11) and it measures 133cm x 163cm

:: Each square is a traditional granny square (there are lots of tutorials on the internet such as this one) and each square has 6 rounds of different colours. There’s a sort of checkerboard pattern, alternating between squares with red near the centre and those with it near the edge but it’s fairly random.

:: Each square is surrounded by a round of the background colour and I worked 3 rows of this around the 99 squares.

:: The edging is worked as follows: 1 row of single crochet, 1 row of double crochet, another row of single crochet and a row of picot edging.

I’ve got used to working on a little crochet in the evening so now I’ll have to ponder what to make next as my one a day project, though I think I’m a little blanketed out.

Any ideas?

(part of the one a day project)