Photography weekend

Hello,

Last weekend we drove to the Brecon Beacons in South Wales for a photography course that we booked ages ago. The weather was not great, but hey we were there to learn how to use my brand new camera..No knitting or progress with any of my projects, but a real chill out weekend en amoureux...

Here are some of the pictures...

The Gospel Way

The Brecon Beacons and playing with camera brightness settings

Playing with the shutter speed settings

The cat and the postbox

Llanthony

It feels like Christmas!

Hello,

I am back for one night to London between business trips to the Netherlands and France. And, at the door, a lot of things were waiting for moi!! It made coming back to the flat on my own much easier (M still in the Netherlands)!

Waiting for me were: the pouch made especially for me by Pilli Pilli (http://abitofpillipilli.blogspot.com) - SO lovely, the crocheted jam jar cover made by Simone (over a mug with no handle, http://simone-lindengrove.blogspot.com) - love the coulours, buttons for the blue cushion, some stitch markers, lace and woven trims for future projects (OK I could not resist and I am not sure what I am going to use them for yet)... I am officially in love with TextileGarden online shop (http://www.textilegarden.com). If you are looking for quirky buttons, do check it out!



Anyway taxi is taking me to the Eurostar terminal tomorrow at 5.30 am, so better get ready!

March projects, a lot of lace

Hello!!

I have not finished any of my ongoing projects :( ... but made quite good progress with some, and I thought it deserved a post - if nothing else to make sure I finish them.


I have been working on a lace crochet pattern which will probably go to my Mamy. It is Grandma's day in France on Sunday, so she will get it either by post (soon but not on Sunday) or when I am next home - so April. Seems a bit late.. Oh well, I am sure she will love it!




So I need to add the pineapples one by one. I have done two actually, unlike the picture shows... So I am getting there. And then I will try the picot-edging round.





I am using a 2mm crochet hook, with Anchor Artiste BABY SOFT Crochet Cotton BEIGE. This a free pattern from Coats and Clark, a lot of raveler have done it, so worth checking it out. You will have noticed that my first round is not exactly small... I would have done that differently (as in reduce the number of chains). Anyway I hope to post the finished project soon.


My other project is a knitted one - the Anice Shawl by Sharon Miller - , and one that I fell in love with straight away. It took me hours to find the pattern, as it was in one of the Rowan's Magazine (41) that is not in circulation anymore. Anyway Rowan used the pattern again in its Greatest Knits that I received the book a week and a half ago... I looked at the pattern, and honestly I got so confused I thought I would never be able to do it. To be fair, I was warned by other ravelers who were talking about yrn, yfwd, yrnd, yon... All these terms apparently mean the same thing but the pattern differentiates them. I spent a whole Sunday afternoon on You Tube trying to get it, and I could not... I asked Catherine (Hirst) to help me out, and guess what she did and got me started. Although her first reaction was when she saw the first row (R1 (RS): P1, yrn, P1, yon, K2tog tbl, yfwd, k2tog tbl, P2, K2tog, yfwd, K1 (12sts)), 'What do I think? I think it looks like a nightmare. :)'...

I have not managed to upload the pictures yet, but I am getting there. Well I finished the border and I am on row 10 of ... 600, easy!
I have 'a deadline' for this one though - I want it for the wedding (civil ceremony not the Church one) at the end of May...

Should be easy to fit the projects around, moving M back to England (from the Netherlands), finding a new house in North London and of course selling the flat in Greenwich... Easy Peasy!

Ma première B.A. de l'année...

J'ai finalement défait mon sac de voyage après avoir passé quelques jours au Luxembourg pour le boulot, et mon numéro de janvier 2010 de Marie Claire Idées est de sortie ... ainsi que le concours 'Autour de l'Amour' au profit de l'étoile de Martin (www.letoiledemartin.canalblog.com). L'association a été crée en 2006 en hommage à Martin, un petit garçon de 2 ans, parti après avoir lutté pendant 1 an contre une tumeur au cerveau. L'association soutient la recherche sur les cancers de l'enfant et au améliore au quotidien la vie des petits malades.. Bref autant dire que cette histoire m'a vraiment touchée dans l'avion de retour, et j'espère pouvoir contribuer, avant le 5 juin 2010.


Alors maintenant il va falloir trouver le bon projet.. Will keep you updated!

A zero - calorie doughnut!!

I wanted an easy and quick project after that cushion cover... and this is what I found a doughnut pin cushion... So the project is easy and quick, and useful. Bingo!



I did not want to buy more yarn, so let's just pretend it is a dark chocolate doughnut (I have not actually seen any of those, but someone should think about it).


Here comes the pink icing. My Dad is a chemist, and in any sort of chemical food stuff, it would be proud - all these possible E numbers!!! Well, I had some pink yarn left, and so it is used now! Otherwise still it is all organic food for me!






So here we are the perfect pin-cushion doughnut, made in a couple of hours.
If you are looking for this pattern, you can find it free on Ravelry. It was made by Nevadamama. I copied it below for ease. It is available at http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32761





Materials

Yarn: any brown for donut - any white for frosting (used what I had)
Hook: H or any you prefer (I used a 4mm)
Polyester filling (I used some fabric I had left from a patchwork I made for my parents)
Straight pins with colored heads (I do have those!!)
All the instructions are in American, beware.

Chain 18
Join to form ring

R1: sc in each chain around (do not join, mark beginning of every row)

R2: *1 sc, 2 sc in next sc*
Repeat to end of row

R3: sc

R4: *1 sc, 2 sc in next sc*
Repeat to end of row

R5- R10: sc

R11: *1 sc, dec in next sc* (sc two sc together)
Repeat to end of row

R12: sc

R13: *1 sc, dec in next sc*
Repeat to end of row

R14: sc
Finish off, leaving long tail for sewing
Fold so first and last rows meet, forming a donut
Whip stitch first & last rows together (center of donut) stuffing as you go

ICING (optional)
Chain 18
Join to form ring
Repeat rows 1-4 of donut

R:5 sc around, changing sc to 2 dc or 2 tr when needed, to form drips

Finish off, leaving long tail for sewing
Tack icing to top of donut & add straight pins (I actually sewed down the icing on the doughnut with the pink yarn)






Bon appétit!!!

Vancouver 2010 and the 6 Nations...

(excusez par avance le manque d'accent, mon clavier QWERTY n'est pas vraiment adapte)...

En tant que francaise en exil (enfin a 1h30 de la maison familiale, quand les eurostars marchent bien sur), je suis assidument les evenements sportifs du moment.

Nous avons d'abord Vancouver, par le net. La France a maintenant 7 medailles, donc 2 d'or!!! J'adore le ski et cela depuis que je suis toute petite alors autant dire que je suis gluee devant ma tele pendant les Jeux (dommage que je n'ai que BBC sport, et que les chances de medailles de Team GB sont... limitees?). Bravo les Bleus! Par contre est-ce que l'on peut changer de designer pour les tenues de nos athletes, parce qu' honnetement c'est pas super (je pense notamment a la tenue des francais pour le speed skating).

Et le tournoi des 6 Nations. Evidemment le match le plus important sera France-Angleterre, le 20 mars au Stade de France. Alors contrairement a certains je n'ai pas du tout de probleme pour choisir mon equipe. Je suis francaise, et meme vivant en Angleterre depuis 11 ans maintenant, je suis supporter des Bleus. M. mon futur mari est moitie francais, moitie anglais et est toujours un peu confus lors de ces matchs... C'est tres marrant quand on est tous les deux devant la tele !!

En bref, pour resumer: JO + Six Nations + tele = beaucoup d'emotion et plein d'occasions pour finir (ou commencer) de nouveaux projets. Notamment pour le mariage...

New cushion... on the bed

Well this is how the cushion looks like in his brand new home. I used Rowan Purelife, organic cotton naturally dyed, in 'logwood' and 'natural', 4mm needles in the end. I already had the yarn, was supposed tobe for another project... that did not happen clearly.

Still waiting for the buttons that will finish it off...