Tag Archives: James C Brett Marble Chunky

Nov14

Throwback Thursday

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A bittersweet memory from July 2010.

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This prayer shawl was made from James C Brett Marble Chunky in a lovely raspberry shade. My project page on Ravelry is here from which you will see that the reason for that particular stitch pattern is explained.

This is inspired by the Original Prayer Shawl which uses a K3P3 repeat to make a textured pattern. My LYS owner has been making one. However mine will have a 4 st repeat so that I can use as my mantra,
“I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you” which is the Ho’oponopono blessing.

On July 10th, I wrote this blog post in which I explained further the meaning of the blessing.

My view of the meaning of this blessing is as follows:

  • myself to myself (I am healing hurts against myself)
  • myself to others (I am healing my relationships with other people)
  • myself to the Earth and the Universe (I am healing any transgressions against nature)
  • on behalf of all humans to the Earth and the Universe

In this way, good karma is being created, which will benefit us all. My belief is that we are all connected. Anything that affects one person affects us all. Anything that harms Mother Earth affects us all. We are all part of one organism.

And the finished shawl appeared in this blog post at the end of July.

I’m going to give this to my friend Anne, who has had inflammatory breast cancer for two and a half years. Her health has gone up and down since her diagnosis, she’s tried various cures from allopathic to alternative, and she’s currently on morphine and steroids which are helping with the inflammation and pain. We’ve been friends for 11 years, having met through the homeschool support group. Despite the heat, I hope she will get some use from the shawl.

I did not realise at the time I started this shawl that it would end up going to my best friend, Anne, who had been suffering from inflammatory breast cancer for over two years. But she was sleeping on the couch because lying down was too painful and I was moved to give it to her, to help her keep warm and hopefully offer comfort. She died five weeks later. I still miss her.

Apr8

Hikrochet!

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Hikrochet!

Hikrochet (Hi-cro-shay): to crochet while walking or hiking

OK, I made that up, but I had a good walk today and even went further than usual because I wanted to see how much progress I could make while on the hoof!

This…

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…is how much I did while walking. I had the yellow crocheted yarn-holder over my left wrist, fed the yarn from the centre of the cake out the top of the bag, and just started crocheting. A beanie seemed like a good idea, and I used double crochet in a spiral. The yarn is a partial ball of James C Brett Marble Chunky, a lovely soft acrylic, and the hook is a 6mm.

After I got home, I continued on, finishing the hat with a round of hdc and some embroidery that is supposed to look like cherry blossom.

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More stash busted, yay!

Another project which I worked on for the last three days is this market bag. I showed you a progress photo last time, but it is now done, steamed and ready to go.

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I still need to work on some squares for the Scrapsrific MCAL, but also have two other projects waiting in the wings: a pair of knitted socks, and some dishcloth/scrubby doodads that I will be making with these…

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It’s funny how things wax and wane – this time last week I had one WIP and now I have tons of stuff in the pipeline. Crochet on!

Feb17

More February finishes

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It’s been another crafty week, in between work shifts. I worked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but still managed to get some crochet and sewing done.

Tuesday was a nutso day for snow. I went in at 9 that day and my boss said she had taken 40 minutes to drive to work when it usually takes her 15. So she decided to postpone that night’s staff meeting and rearrange the shifts so that we could run the store with the minimum amount of people. What was supposed to be a four hour shift, followed by two more hours in the evening, turned into an 8 hour one (though it was cut slightly short because the store closed early due to the snow that had been falling all day).

Continuing on with the “Bash the Stash” theme (Ravelry group ‘British Banter’ has a Bash the Stash 2019 thread, The Cozy Cottage Crochet podcast has a Love your Stash CAL, Smells Like Yarn podcast has a Stash from the Past thing going on with his own yarn and others are welcome to join in) I used some Caron Big Cakes yarn to make the granny bag pictured above. This is a pattern/tutorial from the bobwilson123 YouTube channel. Clare suggests two sizes – a small bag with a 16″ starting square, or a large one with a 24″ square. I made mine 18″ as I wasn’t sure how much yarn the top borders and handles would take. It’s a fun bag and very roomy.

And as I had yarn left over, I crocheted up a zippered pouch to match….and I still have some of that yarn left!

I made a few fabric items this week. One was a no-sew vest (waistcoat) of which I’ve just realised I don’t have a picture. Basically you take a metre of a lightweight knit fabric and fold it and cut two slits for armholes, and that’s it! I’ve had a lot of compliments on my old ones when at the store, so this week I made two more. One is now on display at the store and I wrote up an instruction sheet for it. The other is for me!

The other items are made from something called sueded knit. It really is soft.

It’s a pyjama set. I bought two metres of fabric with the intention of just making pyjama bottoms by copying an old and worn out pair. I cut them along the seams, laid them out on paper, and made a pattern for the new ones. They fit beautifully. There was enough fabric left over to copy a summer top that I own, though I should have added a bit more width when cutting out. It fits, but only just.

And there was yet more fabric left behind from that, so I made a quick drawstring bag too.

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And today I used some old stash yarn to make this headband, though I should have gone with my gut and used a bigger hook. Pattern called for bulky yarn and a 4mm hook! Normally I would use a 6mm with this James C Brett Marble Chunky. I ended up using a 4.25mm but had to do extra repeats of the cable pattern to get the length I needed. (My Ravelry project page is here.)

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Thanks Sally, for looking after my steamed headband while it dries!

It may be Family Day tomorrow, and a statutory holiday, but I’ll be working. Our tradition in previous years has been to go to one of the nearby ski resorts on Family Day, but with me being scheduled to work, ds3 working, and Tai Chi Man going in to the office for some paperwork-catching-up time, it’s not going to be a family day for us. (It was on Family Day last year, February 12th, that I broke my wrist snowboarding, and I have felt no urge to go this year anyway.)

If you’re in Canada, have a lovely long weekend.

 

Oct18

FOs: Warm Willies and another hat

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Did that heading get your attention? 😉 The Warm Willies to which I am referring is actually a crochet pattern for fingerless mitts. Here’s a Ravelry link, because the pattern is a free Ravelry download. I love that I can look back five years ago and see my project page for the first pair I made of these mitts. This time I made the small size, and left off the button tab on the back of the hand.

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I also got the stitch pattern correct and it looks sort of like a seed stitch. Nice!

I left these in a co-worker’s basket when I was at work on Monday. She will find them when she gets back from her holiday and hopefully like them.

Monday night I was sans project and my friend came over for tea and yarny pursuits. So I quickly grabbed some old James C Brett Marble Chunky and a 6mm hook and started on a hat. I finished it today. It’s based on my Crochet Adjustable Hat pattern (recipe, really), with the crown increased to about 6.75 inches for a finished circumference of 22 inches and a depth of 8 inches. The good thing about the button tab is that the brim can be tightened by rebuttoning the tab further over.

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It’s nice to use some of the buttons I bought when they were discontinued at work.

We had a crazy strong windstorm yesterday. I was driving all over the place yesterday – first to buy some fabric to make a top, then to a class on the other side of the lake, then back to this side of the lake and further yet to a sewing class at my friend’s house, then the gym for an orientation and fitness assessment with Tai Chi Man, followed by a yoga class. There was dust and leaves and garbage cans flying all over the place and even some construction fencing was down and lying in the road in one place. I’m sure a number of trees probably came down but I haven’t checked local news sites. (We did have a couple of mini power outages.)

As for the sewing, it’s exciting, because my friend is helping me to make a top out of a rayon/spandex knit, and I am getting a lot of tips on how to sew with knits and finding out the joys of a serger. Oooh! I shall have to show you when it’s done. I spent two hours at her place yesterday and we made great progress. I go back next week for another two hours, in which I expect to finish that top and start another project.

It’s almost time to start dinner. Happy Hooking on Hump Day, folks, and talk to you again soon.

 

Feb10

A hatty sort of week

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The little stack of hats for Swaziland has now grown from four to fourteen.

I think I should just stick to the regular hat shape if I make more of these, because the square ones are sort of naff!

Since the BIG project was finished, it’s been a relaxing time of churning out these little hats each time I picked up a hook.

And there’s been another hat – an adult-sized one for a co-worker’s husband.

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This is a very manly hat using James C Brett Marble Chunky in MC59. Shades of brown and grey. The pattern is my Adjustable Crochet Hat (crochet hat recipe) pattern without any embellishments, and with an sc round at the end, and a 6mm hook.

We’ve had quite the snow build-up this week. Today it’s milder so we’ve had some melting, but for a few days it was shovel, slither and slide.

Yesterday I had a plan to go to a friend’s house for some energy healing, and I wanted to do some errands, like Costco, that I plan for when I go across the lake, but I did wonder whether I should just stay home. However I did venture out, and as long as I was careful not to accelerate or brake too sharply I mostly maintained my traction!

I’m having a blissful day at home today – a friend came over and we drank scads of Yorkshire tea and got out our knitting and crochet and put the world to rights (well, at least our corner of it). Now I should probably get off my arse and go and bake a pineapple upside-down cake, because it’s on the meal plan, and leaving it until the last minute is not a good idea if we want to eat it for dinner. Probably should prep the shepherd’s pie too.

I hope you’re staying cosy in your part of the world. Happy crafting!

Nov29

Nearly there…

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Last night, the Coatigan got its button/buttonhole bands. Tonight, it got its collar.

I wove in a few ends, but I think I’m done for today. I do have this to look forward to though…

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Yup, a metric craptonne of ends. And the cuffs yet to add.

I did finish this yesterday though.

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The blues are a bit deeper in real life. It’s a pretty shade of James C Brett Marble Chunky, though I don’t have the label to hand right now. The buttons were bought on clearance at work. This is destined for one of my co-workers in my aim to give each one of them a random gift for no reason.

Tomorrow my goal will be to get the cuffs finished on the coat, and I may also start another small project, if I find the inspiration. I will also need to persevere on my piano practice. I have three tunes to practice – This Land is Your Land, We Wish you a Merry Christmas, and Silent Night. Eight weeks in and it is getting more challenging. I was getting quite frustrated with myself this morning, trying to get the hands coordinated. Considering I learned to type with all my fingers, both hands, when I was 16, I know I can do this piano thing, it just takes practice. What’s challenging you right  now?

 

Nov28

WIPs: Coatigan and Marble hat

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It’s been a blissfully uncommitted day today and I was able to enjoy a whole morning in my PJs doing nothing but join the squares of my granny square coat-of-many-colours, drink tea, eat breakfast, and throw in a couple of loads of laundry before the pile overtook the hallway.

The sun was pouring in and I was able to get some naturally lit photos of the coat, firstly joined but still flat, then joined down the side and sleeve seams.

The squares did get rearranged a couple of times. I thought I had it sorted, then was annoyed by two squares with a lot of raspberry pink next to each other. Move one square, and you end up moving six! The seams are single crochet on the right side, working into both loops. Decorative and sturdy.

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Back and front.

SO many ends. At least 744 of them.

Next up is to add the collar, cuffs and button bands. I will start on that tonight. I’ve decided to miss our usual Monday night activity and get more crochet done.

Ds3 actually came out for a walk with me this afternoon. Weather was bright and cool and it was nice to see him get out of the house with his camera.

One more thing to show you –  a small portable project. A hat in progress with James C Brett Marble Chunky. I’m going to add a button tab just for show. It’s good to have something to work on while out and about when projects like the coat or a blanket get too unwieldy.

This is a really basic double crochet hat, worked in a spiral, based on my Adjustable Crochet Hat pattern. I found the yarn in a clearance bin at my LYS. I’ve always loved the Marble Chunky.

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Have a great day, and talk to you again soon.

Dec5

Stash beanie

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This didn’t take long to make – two strands of James C Brett Marble Chunky with a 6.5mm hook, generic top down crochet beanie, of which I have made many. I’m pleased to have used up two partial skeins from the stash.

Tonight’s Netflix show of choice was White Collar, a TV series about an FBI guy and his sidekick, a reformed art forger who is impossibly good-looking! 

The Boho wrap is unchanged, and the skirt-scarf is thus…

  
Approximately 17” along that right edge, which is the width of the rectangle or the length of the skirt, depending how you look at it. Yeah, black doesn’t photograph well. 

So much for this WordPress app, which isn’t working properly again. I can upload certain photos, but others freak the app out, I think, as I get an ‘uploading’ thing cycling at the top of my screen indefinitely. Frustrating! Back to Safari for me. 

We had a wet and windy day, and the new snowfall we had earlier in the week has all melted. It always amazes me how warm plus 5 feels after minus 5! My day was full of shopping and baking, and the aforementioned crochet, so even though it felt like it was getting dark at 2.30pm I was happy, cocooned in my house with the smell of molasses cookies and home made bread. 

How was your day?