All posts tagged purple

Purple Blanket Update 7

The last time I posted about this blanket was on the 20th June 2016. This is where I was up to at that time.

Then my needles broke 😦

Before starting this project I looked long and hard at all the available needles and these ones had great reviews. They’re called Symfonie by Knit Pro and they’re not cheap but I think you usually get what you pay for. The fact that they’ve snapped is no reflection on their quality in my opinion. It was the sheer weight of the knitting that caused the end bit to break free.

I got in a proper purple pickle (a phrase coined by my great friend Allison) when, on the most complicated twisty row, 30 stitches pinged off in all directions as the wire went BOING with a mind of its own! I managed to lean over and message my OH with my little finger while hanging on for dear life, not wanting any more stitches to drop off the wire or, allow any of the ones that were already enjoying their freedom, to run any further. Thank goodness for smartphones! I was holding my breathe. One wrong move and I knew I’d lose the lot. With the help of my knight in shining armour and a second pair of hands I eventually managed to get every dropped stitch safely onto a spare needle temporarily and breathe again. Phew! The task of actually sorting out the stitches in the pattern took a good couple of hours but all is well that ends well. No damage done.

I’ve saved the bits of needles and will superglue them when I need them for a lighter weight project. I’ve bought the same needles again, except in purple this time, and hope they hold together until I’m finished. I might not be so lucky next time.

By now, if you’ve waded through all the above, you’ll want to see where I’m up to. As you can see, it hasn’t just been sitting in a cupboard for 20 months. I’ve been picking it up and doing a bit here and there during the colder months but can’t bear to sit under it and knit when it’s too warm. I’ll try to get as much done as possible before May….this year.

Do you have any long term knitting WIPs? I bet I’m not the only one.

32 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on February 19, 2018 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, knitting, pattern, purple, WIP

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on February 19, 2018

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/purple-blanket-update-7/

Purple blanket update 6

Hi everyone,

Almost three months have gone by since I last showed you my progress on the purple blanket here. This is where I’m up to now.

I’ve just finished the 4th 100 gram ball of yarn so thought you might like to see it again. I will eventually make my pattern available to everyone but not until I’ve finished my own purple wonder. There would usually be no way I’d be able to knit this during the summer but our temperatures have only reached a maximum of 14 degrees C here until the last couple of days. Today we have a sizzling 17 degrees! I’m not complaining. I’ve got a lovely Aran weight blanket to sit under to keep me cosy while I knit.

40 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on June 20, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on June 20, 2016

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/purple-blanket-update-6/

Purple blanket update 5

Hi everyone,

The last time I showed you progress on this blanket was at the beginning of January in this post. I’ve now finished the 3rd 100g ball and it’s growing slowly but surely. There are so many other things to do these days.

The main problem with this project is that I keep spreading it out to look at it. That won’t get it finished, will it?

30 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on March 28, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged aran pattern, blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on March 28, 2016

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/purple-blanket-update-5/

Purple blanket update 4

Helloooooo!

It’s so good to have been able to do some more knitting over the holidays. Here’s where I’m up to now.

Fun, fun, fun 🙂

29 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 4, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 4, 2016

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/purple-blanket-update/

Purple blanket update 3

Hi everyone,

Just a quickie post to show you how my blanket is getting on.

I’ve almost finished the second 100g ball now and it’s already getting quite heavy and keeping me warm. There’s a long way to go.

Avis x

31 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 23, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 23, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/purple-blanket-update-3/

Purple blanket update 2

Hello everyone,

Just popping in to show you some progress on my purple blanket. I’m really enjoying knitting again.

I hope you are getting lots of time to craft this week 🙂

Avis x

23 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 11, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, lilac, needles, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 11, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/purple-blanket-update-2/

A new knitting project

Hello everyone,

It’s starting to get cooler and darker here up north so it’s the perfect time to start knitting a new blanket. I love sitting under the knitting as it grows, keeping me snug on the sofa. This aran weight yarn was purchased a few months ago and I’ve at last decided what to do with it. It’s going to have a moss stitch border all the way around and the centre will be a selection of Aran patterns. I love knitting Aran patterns. Here’s where I’m up to so far.

I’m using a 5mm circular needle, knitting back and forth, rather than in the round. There’s no way 252 stitches would have survived on ordinary needles. I found the blue rubber stitch stoppers in my late Aunt Edith’s craft things. They were unopened and probably bought in the 1960s. They’ve already saved my stitches a few times 🙂

Must get back to knitting now,

Avis x

16 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 7, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in Knitting, Purple aran blanket

Tagged Aran, blanket, cable, craft, handmade, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, lilac, needles, pattern, purple, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on November 7, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/11/07/a-new-knitting-project/

Happy New Year!

Good morning everyone and Happy New Year to you all!

Now that 2014 is behind us I thought it would be a good time to celebrate another year of crafting. It’s been a busy year for me and I have had several periods of sheer exhaustion this year. However, when I looked back over the crafty projects that I’d finished in 2014 I was quite surprised I’d managed to complete so many. Some are bigger and more challenging than others but they were all equally enjoyable to do. Some were done in tandem with my special blogging friend Claire who has motivated me to continue making and doing throughout the year.

2014 Marked the “hatching” of the Chicken Run on my other blog and the beginning of a larger SAL group. Many more personal goals have also been achieved. It’s been a bumper, busy year in so many respects for me but the crafting has kept me going. Sewing has forced me take a break, however small, from life’s challenges that can catch us off guard.

Thanks to all of you who have liked, commented, emailed and read my posts last year. It’s been so wonderful to have you on board!

Here are some photos of completed projects from 2014. If you want to read the original posts click here and then click on the photo of the project you want to read about.

Here’s to an amazingly crafty New Year for all of us!

Avis x

10 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 1, 2015 • Permalink

Posted in 2014, Yearly Round Ups

Tagged aida, blanket, Cirque des Cercles, craft, crochet, cross stitch, Cross-stitch, DMC, embroidery, evenweave, fabric, floss, handmade, Ink Circles, interior design, knitting, knitting needles, knitting pins, motif, Needlework, New Year, Pentecost, purple, ripple, Sewing, socks, thread, wool, yarn

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on January 1, 2015

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/happy-new-year-2/

Cirque des Coeurs

Hello and Happy Sunday to all of you lovely stitchers out there!

It’s a glorious sunny day here today. The holiday is almost over and it’s time to show you what I was sewing while I was away. I didn’t intend to stitch this project initially. I had planned to sew something completely different but that didn’t work out. Cirque des Coeurs from Ink Circles was, however, already on my “must buy” list to follow on from the other Ink circles design called Cirque des Cercles that I’ve been doing as part of a SAL with Claire.

I’m going to show you the entire completion of the project in one post and hopefully you won’t get bored. It’s a good design to split up into manageable chunks.

The thread I used is called Morning Meadows by Threadworx which I bought from Sew and So. It was recommended by Claire and comes in large skeins. This one has shades of mauve, purple and green. It’s lovely to work with too.

It isn’t easy to find Ink Circles charts in the UK but my OH found The Crafty Kitten web site at Christmas when he bought me the Cirque des Cercles chart. I have to say that Dawn from The Crafty Kitten saved me from having no project to do on holiday because she pulled out all the stops to get the chart to me in time for me going away. I rang her on a Saturday afternoon, not expecting anyone to answer the phone and I received the chart the following Monday, the day which we’d planned to travel. Amazing service! Thank you to Dawn for going the extra mile Smile . For me to be without my needle and thread on holiday is unthinkable. I’m so pleased she could help. What a relief it was for my OH to find the parcel at the door before we left. Lucky for him, he wasn’t going to end up being dragged around every craft shop I could find, while on holiday, in my search for something to keep me quiet occupied.

I love all of the curves and secondary shapes on this design. This close up shows the lovely thread colours.

This next stage reminds me of part of the profile of an old sewing machine. Even when I’m on holiday, I dream about my mean green sewing machine Smile . Can you see the little duck and a snail?

Another close up…

Now, the bottom right hand section is filled in. Time to scroll the frame and finish the top.

I started with the outline of the hearts. You could almost forget that the design is full of hearts until you look more closely.

Here it is, finished Smile . I really enjoyed stitching this design. Now, I just need to put it in a frame and get it up on the wall.

I was going to save revealing this project for a while but WordPress have just informed me that Sewing Beside the Sea is one year old today. That was a surprise to me as I thought this blog was much older than that. I must be mixing it up with my other blog Oh Sew Tempting. Maybe it is something to do with me getting old too!

I hope you are enjoying crafting today Smile .

Avis x

28 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on August 31, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in 2014, Cirque des Coeurs, Cross stitch, Finished!

Tagged aida, Cirque des Cercles, Cirque des Coeurs, craft, cross stitch, Cross-stitch, embroidery, fabric, floss, handmade, Ink Circles, interior design, Needlework, purple, Sewing, thread

Posted by Sewing Beside the Sea on August 31, 2014

https://sewingbesidethesea.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/cirque-des-coeurs/

I’ve been thoroughly spoiled!

Hello again!

Just popping back in again to show you some crafty birthday goodies from my birthday last week.

My lovely sister bought some things from my crafty “wish list” which will come in very handy indeed. I’ve been drooling over these for years!!

Some Bali Pops in the Brown Sugar colourway. There’s lots of lovely teals and bronzes in this pack. I have so many ideas as to what I want to make with these, it’s making my head hurt.

She also bought sock wool, two balls of this one by Regia. It’s got lots of mossy greens and yellows and is incredibly soft and fine. Yummy!

I’ve already got the other ball on the needles 😉 I’m knitting this free pattern from Ravelry which I tried and enjoyed last year. You can see my first pair here if you are interested.

Also, Claire from Claire93 sent me a parcel full of individually wrapped prezzies. Isn’t this the cutest biscornu you ever did see? It’s TINY! A lot of work has gone into this!

She also made a card….perfect 🙂 I love blackwork and the threads and design are beautiful.

Next up, some crafty supplies to add to my stash. Claire also included a leaflet with some cross stitch charts that are a perfect size for these keyrings.

At some point I mentioned to her that I don’t have zips. I do now 🙂

Purple fabric….I love these marbly prints.

Last but not least, a thread organiser.

These are made by a French lady who has a lovely blog here.

My OH has also provided the yarn for my next crocheted blanket. He knows I love colour and he also knows what I hope to do with it…..and he approves! You’ll have to wait and see what I come up with 😀

So, a HUGE thank you each to my sister, my friend Claire and my OH who puts up with all of my crafting mess around the house…. or is he just keeping me busy….. or quiet…… or both 😆

I don’t think I’ll need to be going to the crafty shops for a while!

Aren’t birthdays fun? I’ve been thoroughly spoiled!

Happy crafting everyone 🙂

Avis x

30 Comments

by Sewing Beside the Sea on February 17, 2014 • Permalink

Posted in Uncategorized