The Toadstool Stool

I've been planning this one for a while...in fact I've actually had the reel for over 6 months now and now it's made we have a fair bit of space in the cupboard LOL.

Started off it's life as a giant plastic cottonreel. Well...network cable reel but you know what I mean.

After a bit of discussion making it into a toadstool seemed the best idea. To make it hardwearing I decided on crochet and using 3 strands of wool held together. After a couple of tension circles decided on a 5.5mm hook...6mm was a bit loose and 4.5 was way too tight. I don't have a 5mm hook at the moment (plarn project with plastic hook and it shattered...ooops)

Simple circle...2 chain, 8 single crochet (american SC, or UK double crochet) into the 2nd chain, then working in spirals increasing evenly...ie round 2 increase in each, round 3 work 1 increase 1 round etc...

...and so on until it was slightly larger than the reels diameter (ballpoint pen for size guide).

Then a few rounds straight for depth, then some decreasing and finally a row of double crochet (UK trebles) to thread the attaching tie through.

The base was a bit more difficult to cover. Worked it in again 3 strands, 3 different shades of green to give a mottled colouring. Worked back and forth using shortrow shaping this time to create an open sided doughnut shape to make it easy to attach on. Then some details of 6 white circular spots and a little blue flower for on the base.

Picture below is most of the bits unfixed for a general idea of how it was coming along

Once I had everything done it was time for stitching. Details onto main parts 1st, and then the base. It's sewn together at the radius of the doughnut that was left open, but can easily be unstitched and re-attached should it need washed at any point. Finally a chain stich cord around the edge and pulled tight underneath. Finished result of base was pretty neat.

A closeup of the flower detail.

Next came the hard part of stuffing the seat.

With small kids about things always get spilled, so it needed to be something spashproof. Final descision was a black bag filled with chopped up carrier bags. This made it waterproof but still soft enough to be "shaped".

After much squishing and squashing and duct tape the padding was complete and the top cover popped on, again using a chain stitch cord to tie it on making it easy removed for washing.

I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with myself :-) ...

...and Wee Brian quickly picked up on what it was for.

Now just need another reel to make another one so there can be no fighting between the boys.

Xbox gamerscore again

What is Haggis?

Okay...traditionally it's minced up bits of the sheep left over after the good stuff has been used, mixed with onion,oatmeal,spices etc stuffed into a sheeps stomach then boiled...served with mashed tatties (potatoes) and mashed neeps (turnip).


I must add...by turnip i mean REAL turnip, often called swede...the yellowy coloured one with purply skin that you make soup with...not the ponsy wee white and pink things the English call turnip lol.

At least that's what we Scots tell you.

In reality they are actually wee (small) hairy beasties (animals) that run about the hills. They have what might be described as wonky legs, but that's for a very good reason...the males have short right legs and the females short left legs.

Why?

Simples...

The shorter legs determine what way they run around the hill, the short legs being on the opposite side on the different genders means as the males run clockwise and the females run anticlockwise around the hill they will eventually run headlong into one of the opposite...and thus creating baby haggis's

So we tell you lot it's this mixture of guts and rusks etc...just so you don't get upset about eating a cute wee creature

summer scarf

Freebie from the Feb 2011 issue of Let's Knit mag is a couple of 25g balls of a yarn called Cookie. It's a bit like a pompom yarn but as the mag says it's soft enough that it dosn't need to be knitted as one. That being said it is still not the easiest to work with as it's very easy to put the needle tip thru the fluffier bits.

Suggested patterns were for a cushion cover,baby set,teapot cover or a summer scarf...not much use for the other 3 at the moment so decided to make the scarf...12mm needles meaning quick to make was also a draw LOL

1st picture here shows what the unworked yarn looks like. The big needles give a very open work, the other suggested patterns use smaller needles and it does look good with those too...but not the easiest to work with. They suggest it's £4.99 worth of wool...personally given a choice I wouldn't pay a fiver for 50g of wool at ANY time, but I don't think I would buy this one...thank you for the freebie,but as a regular yarn it's not for me...ANYWAY...

The finished scarf is about 2 meters long, more than enough to go very loosely round neck once and still have two long ends to hang down. Fringing was easy to get the right length as you can count the bobbles.

Finally a close-up of the end showing the knitted scarf and the fringing.

xbox score again

yup...another one lol

he says he's going for 123456 next lmao

Skull Cushion

A skull shaped cushion.

Done in crochet, 2 strands of DK held together using a 4.5mm hook to get a close stitch. Stuffed with cut up carrier bags, which makes it pretty soft and no noisier than a beanbag. Littlest Spawn loves it.

and 'Tedi score again

Okay...yeah...missed the 99999 and 100000, but these have been done legit and the only one ending in a 9 we had seemed to be bullet witchs 15 hours for 99 score...and we're not going to rubberband a controller overnight to do it LOL. Oh, and also getting the 1 point after (probably BWs Hell difficulty) was going to be hard too...especially when he's trying (unsuccessfully) to get some score on the board for the uk xbox.com forum challenge.

"mosiac knit" fingerless gloves

Pattern from the January '11 issue of Knit Today magazine, page 32

I've never done the technique of mosaic knitting before, you only use one colour at a time slipping stitches to create the colour changes. unlike fair isle there's not the same annoying carrying of yarn thru the back and it actually looks quite neat...

This was after another hour or so with a few interuptions...

I like the way they do the thumb...no shapings just pick up and round knitted into the seam (okay i did the alternate back and forth and hand seam as i cannot get round knitting neat lol). I think I'll be making more of these as they only took an often interrupted day to make up and look great.