What Took You So Long?

A while ago I shared this crocheted blanket with you

during the making of which my pup Thatcher (Tatty to her friends) ate my bamboo crochet hooks several times

but I got there in the end and gifted the blanket to my eldest son

much to Tatty's disappointment.  

So just like any good puppy dog Mum I promised to make her her very own identical crochet blanket and set to it straight away almost finishing it in less than a week but didn't.  The blanket than sat in a knitting bag for the next year and the next year - yep that's right for just over two years - but this week I got it out and finished it.

 See it looks pretty much identical to that first blanket, exactly as promised.

In fact it looks so similar I'll forgive you for thinking I've just recycled old photos.

But there's been some changes around here over the last two years.  The eagle eyed might spot the cream fabric sofa is now cream leather and the back wall has turned a serious shade of aubergine (eggplant)

but the biggest change has to be that Tatty now has a Havanese puppy brother, Watson

who's lived with us for just over a year - proof if needed that this is indeed a different blanket to the first!

And just like the first blanket, Tatty (and Watson too) loves it, she only has one question for me 

"What Took You So Long?"!

Do you have an almost finished, promised to a loved one, project tucked away somewhere?

Share your stories in the comments and ease my guilt! :D

Clicking on a image will take you to the new page of crafty goodness :)

It's So Long Since I Expect You've Forgotten!

   

Several weeks ago I took my first trip out to San Francisco.  When I got back I posted about my visit to the Britex fabric store and left you with a promise of more to follow, then life got super busy, the way life does, and I'm only now getting around to my follow up post.

My visit to Britex was wonderful but I had another day to kill while Simon was working so I decided to explore on my own and use the time to visit a wool shop - I was getting around on foot so I set off on a 40 minute walk from Union Square to Atelier Yarns at 1945 Divisadero Street.

Welcome to Atelier Yarns, an independent, family-owned store specialising in luxurious, natural and hand-dyed fibres.  I'm not going to list the vast number of brands and yarns stocked, they are all here for you to see on their website and they do classes too, listed here.  I felt at home immediately and the staff made me incredibly welcome, even getting me a chair and setting me up in front of all the pattern books so I could enjoy looking through them all.

That's my chair and there's even a fountain running outside the back door.

Once I'd found some patterns I liked the staff helped me choose appropriate yarns.

I want to make this little jacket for my grandson-to-be

and this hat too

I'll make them to match and here's the yarn I bought - Adriafil Knitcol trends, superwash merino wool, colourway 57 - Botticelli Fancy.

After chatting with other customers I had a wander around the rest of the store

let's do a close up on this section - I spotted this fantastic rabbit fur that I just couldn't resist

I had a dilemma over what colour to buy and finally opted for the mink brown to make a cowl that matches the brown rabbit fur ear muffs I wear throughout each winter.

It's not cheap and you knit it alongside this Debbie Bliss yarn - it's $86.95 for the kit which includes the two yarns and pattern but I'm very excited to make it and wear it next winter.

When I finally left the store I'd been there over two hours and the time had flown by.

I continued walking on to Mrs Doubtfire's house

and then set off on my return journey walking down Fillmore Street, a young shopping district, where I enjoyed checking out the shops and eating an unbelievably large lunch at La Boulange that I just couldn't finish 

and later a scrummy frozen yoghurt from fraiche.

And just a few more pics from the trip to whet your appetite

I was pleased to discover the guys on Alcatraz were taught crochet as one of their activities.

Sailing past Alcatraz on the way out to Sausalito.

Walking from Sausalito to the Golden Gate Bridge

 Walking the Golden Gate Bridge 

'The crookedest street in the world' - Lombard Street

I also want to give a mention to Virgin America as they exceeded my every expectation in flying out to San Fran.  You may recall from my post about my last trip to Seville that being gluten free I don't particularly enjoy airplane food/snacks and breakfast in particular - rice cakes are most airlines' gluten free food of choice.

This was not the case on Virgin America so while I was still up in the air, I just had to Instagram and tweet this pic of the gluten free crackers they served me with a cheese selection and red wine.  Absolutely delish.

And look what Virgin America tweeted back to me straight away

What a fab flight, wine, scrummy food, watching trashy TV, catching up on my emails, tweeting, Instagramming

and, of course, knitting

I loved San Francisco and I'm looking forward to going back and exploring more, especially all the fabric stores and fab foodie places my new quilty friend, Christopher @The Tattooed Quilter has told me about.

 My next trip is planned for August with Flicky and I just can't wait :D

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my sidebar :D

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

   

     

What's Your Favourite Wool? Mine's Got To Be Noro.

It's November and I thought it really was time I shared with you a crocheted blanket that I gave you a sneak peek of in a post back in August.  The facts are simple - I'm working far too many hours at The City Quilter (currently 4 days a week) and as a result, I'm neglecting my blog, not being as creative as I want to be and opening my Etsy store is waaaay past my 1 June 2013 deadline.  These are all areas that need addressing but for the moment I'll just show you the blanket!

My finished blanket is made up of 16 x 15" granny squares and it's final made size is 65" square.

My favourite wool brand is Noro and this is NORO Kochoran Yarn #76 (50% Wool, 30% Angora, 20% Silk) bordered and joined with Filatura Lanarota Easy Wool #389 (76% Acrylic, 24% Wool) 

 

It's wet and windy today so I resorted to taking photos on my balcony, trying to get some natural light, but there isn't room to lay the blanket out there so I had to hang it over my balcony door and oops I've just spotted that this photo below is actually the back of the blanket!

I've so many completed projects to share and it looks like I'm on borrowed time now weather wise to photograph them.  I'll keep grabbing my opportunities and hopefully my work/blog/creativity/business/home balance can be addressed before too long - does anyone know how to fit more hours in a day?!

Related Posts:

Where To Shop For Yarn In Manhattan - Lion Brand Yarn Studio
Sonia, You'll Never Believe It - I Just Found The Golden Ticket!!!  

Disclaimer: 

This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.