Pins I Love - In Honour of the Rug!

I meant to post this yesterday but I left my USB at home which meant relying on my iPad. Sadly, as much as I love it, it doesn't do everything I want it to do. Anyway, forgetting computer problems, this weeks Pins I Love is an ode to the rug. Mainly because I am still so very proud of mine. Most of these are either patterns or rugs that you can purchase from etsy. Only one is a direct link to a tutorial. As usual though just click on the images and it will take you to the talented people responsible for these creations.

First of all is this beautiful rug.  Sadly, the pattern is actually no longer available. I've just realised that. I would normally replace it with something else. However, this pattern is to pretty not to share. I love the vibrant use of colour. Orange isn't normally a colour I would choose in a project but it really works well here. I'm not sure but it does look like it is made from t-shirt yarn. The seller is listed as ATERGcrochet and I have linked to her shop since I can't link to this rug.

This is the only post that comes with a tutorial (sorry). Also it's in spanish but as it's a google blog I'm sure most of you will have translate, the computer I am using lacks that at the moment. I love the subtle use of  colour in this. What I really love about it though is the shape. It's definitely original and there are lots of possible combinations if you play about with the hexagons.

This rug is for sale rather than as a pattern and it's by seller lacasadecoto. It looks to be quite large and the neutral colours mean that it would fit in with most colour schemes. It's the neutral colours that appeal to me although I think working with so much grey would drive me nuts. Worth it if this is the end result though.

I'm not going to lie. This is by far my favourite! It's the owl theme.  I love owls in a big way and I would want this in my room never mind a childs. You will notice that this is by the same seller who created the first one. I think you could probably tell by the central design and the use of colour even if the seller name wasn't on the image. This pattern is for sale so you could make it yourself.

I am afraid these rugs are also no longer available. What makes them different, other than the chevron pattern, is the way they are made. The strands of t-shirt yarn are platted and then stitched together. I personally think this would be rather time consuming but look at the end result. These were created by Green at Heart Rugs. Like the first image I have linked direct to the seller. Go and have a look as she has lots of fabulous rugs for sale created in this way. It's worth going to see for the colours alone.

Another One Bites the Dust!

It's the end of January and I have another item off my bucket list. That makes two and two was my goal. This Mandala rug was the main one I wanted to do. I knew I would be buying the yarn to do this at some point this year. In a post about new stash I had shown you a picture of the Boodles t-shirt yarn. Here it is all crocheted up into the rug. I am again proud of myself for being able to follow the pattern. Especially since it was in American terminology. In truth it was made up entirely of trebles and chains so it wasn't that hard.

It was actually hardest on my poor arms. The hook I needed was so big that none of the stores had it and I had to order it on line. You can see the difference between the 15mm and the 4mm I used for the baby blankets. You can't quite hold it the same way. It meant I had to take breaks from it. Although I would crochet to the point where my arm was in agony. It was just too fun watching it grow.

 It's big enough for me to sit in the middle of. I think it's just a nice size. To be honest it should have been two or three rounds bigger but this was already taking up more yarn than planned and I wasn't for buying more.

The reason being is that I do not recommend Boodles t-shirt yarn. The original pattern recommended zpaggetti yarn. That was the yarn that I was originally going to get because it offered more colours. However, as you seen already, I spotted the exact colours I wanted in the Boodles and I couldn't help myself. It meant I could have the yarn there and then rather than order it. This is why it doesn't pay to be impatient. This rug took up 4 1/2 balls of yarn where the pattern said 3. Keeping in mind I stopped two or three rows earlier in the pattern. The red ball was significantly smaller than the blue but I though I would have enough to do a few rounds in the middle and then the edging. The red only lasted for half the edging and then I had to take it out.

Just as annoying is the quality. There are constant joins through it. In some places they were tied together and in others they were badly stitched with white thread. The yarn also went incredibly thin  in places which has distorted some of my stitches. Probably to the thickness of a DK type yarn. Then there is the colours. You can see from this that the last round and the border is done in a different shade of blue. It would seem that boodles doesn't differentiate between shades. It just lists everything as blue. I ordered more online. The photo was the same shade that I had used and I received a very pale blue. I thought this was just a mistake of the store but when I went into the store I saw that there were three distinct shades of blue and they were all listed as the same colourway. The border was the closest I could get to mine.

In short, I loved the pattern. I am very pleased with the end result. I would like to do this again but I will be more patient next time and stick with the recommended yarn. A friend of mine has used the both this and the zpaggetti and has said there is a huge difference in quality.

Purchases, Pinnings and Sneak Peaks!

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year. Mine was spent as planned. In my jammies with my sister, DVDs, food and a few drinks. I also did a bit of knitting. Reluctantly my nose is back in the books but I am taking some time out to relax too.

Like yesterday, I met my friend Clare for coffee in the morning and we did a wee bit of shopping. I'm not going to lie, there was also cake. We ended up in hobbycraft which I had intended. I wanted to pick up some acrylic yarn for a crochet along (yes another one). As it had to be acrylic I wasn't going to be spending much. I had no intentions of buying anything else so intentionally left a voucher I had behind. When will I ever learn that I have no will power? As soon as I stepped in the store I saw they have created a display with their t-shirt yarn. Plus they had the colours I want for the mandala rug. How could I walk away with Christmas money in my pocket? Fingers cross this will be enough as this was the last red in the shade that I like on the shelf. It's also smaller than the other hanks (a friend of mine warned me that despite the labels the yardage on each of the hanks of boodles differ - most annoying).

I got the acrylic I wanted too and some glue sticks. I was then going to pick up a few other things to help me tick off things on my bucket list. See, now that I have created one I have an obsession about making sure I do it all. Even though my common sense tells me otherwise. I forgot the other things which is maybe just as well. Just because I have the means to do the projects doesn't mean it's going to get done. I only have so many pairs of hands.

I can also only have so many projects on the go at once. Just now I have three pairs of socks half finished. Two pairs are for the sock lesson I am preparing and one is because I wanted to knit something comfy. I really should cast on that second comfy sock. I can't start the other two before the class.

Thanks to instagram I also took a fancy to doing some crochet. This is the problem with instagram. So many lovely pics of what people are working on. I am weak people! If you remember back to the mood blanket it was part of a crochet along. The same group are doing another but this time it's for charity. Making hats and blankets for premature babies. A good cause! Plus, I get to use up some of my leftover yarn. All the justification I needed to ignore that little voice in my head telling me I should really be finishing other things. It's this project I needed the acrylic for because it has to be washed in high temperatures. It's fairly quick to do and it's for a good cause. Almost finished the first one.

Another great method of procrastination is Pinterest. It's no secret that I am a fan. I could spend hours on it and have done. It's a great fount of inspiration and I may even have made one or two things from pins (although don't ask me what because I can't remember). Anyway, I am thinking of doing weekly posts of some of my favourite pins. The problem is choosing them. I might try and strictly only list pins that are linked to tutorials or patterns. We shall see.