The Saga of the Stripey Blanket Begins...

It begins today.

The blanket that has been driving me to insanity with the need to crochet. Based on the crochet-along by Little Woollie, which can be found here.

To start off, I am going to follow Little Woollie's 'pattern', such as it is (I can't blame her for not writing it all down in a true pattern - it's immense!), and alter it as needed/my skills allow.

Here is a shot of the colours I've chosen...I love how bright and vibrant they are!

For future reference, the yarn details are:

Lisa uni polyacryl by Grundl 50g/133m - 3-4mm [Cerise - Shade: 14, Dye Lot: 7062] (x4)
New Fashion DK acrylic by Woolcraft 100g/300m - 4mm [Cyan Blue - Shade: 6F20, Dye Lot: 002]
New Fashion DK acrylic by Woolcraft 100g/300m - 4mm [Lime Green - Shade: 439, Dye Lot: 2560]
New Fashion DK acrylic by Woolcraft 100g/300m - 4mm [Lemon Yellow - Shade: 4F33, Dye Lot: 731]

I also plan to keep a pattern of my own. Here. Now.
I will also be chronicling this on my Pinterest @ littlefroggle, because I appreciate it when others do it, so I shall do likewise in the hope it may inspire someone else.

So here we go!

{{The Ultimate Stripey Blanket}}

{All crochet terms are UK terminology.}

4mm hook.

Foundation Chain:  [Cyan - Blue] Ch 200 + 2 turning chain. Turn. (200 st)
Row 1: [Cyan Blue] htr in 3rd ch from hook, and across row. Change colour. (200 st)
Row 2: [Cerise Pink] Ch 2, htr in 3rd ch from hook, and across row. Change colour. (200 st)
Row 3: [Lime Green] Ch 2, htr in 3rd ch from hook, and across row. Change colour. (200 st)
Row 4: [Lemon Yellow] Ch 2, htr in 3rd ch from hook, and across row. Change colour. (200 st)

*Note*: Don't turn at the end of the rows unless using a certain stitch which requires turning; this ensures that the right side of the stitches will be visible on the front of the blanket.

This should keep me occupied until at least tomorrow, life permitting, and then I can start on the Granny Stripe cluster rows.

Watch this space?!

Star Wars New Jedi Order...

I took it upon myself to reread all of the Star Wars New Jedi Order series. It is a great series, and at 20 or so novels and e-novellas, it is meaty!

I'm on the penultimate novel, The Final Prophecy, and I remember why I loves it so much on the first place. It's engaging, exciting, well written, and the characterisations and plot are brilliantly executed. Who else wants to live on Zonama Sekot?!

It's over ten years since its publication, and since my first and, until now, my only reading. I am so pleased that it stands up to a reread over a decade later.

Next: SW NJO: The Unifying Force...

Where the Heart Is...

Sometimes you just need to be patient. Sometimes, all it takes for a dream to become reality is the time between sleeping and waking.

That's kind of how Aiden and I are viewing life at the moment after he secured his first teaching job. Any job you can get in this workd should be cherished, held on to for dear life, because they are rare.

To get a job is fantastic: to get a job doing what you love in a place you love even more is beyond words.

And so it goes. A job in a place we love: Cumbria. We have been looking to move here for a few years. Personally, I have been dreaming of this since I was about 5 years old. It is literally a dream come true for me. Despite the fact that we miss the border of the Lake District National Park by a smidge...well, you have to start somewhere, right? And this is by any measure a wonderful place to begin. Welcome to Cumbria:

This is ten minute's walk from our new home. We will be down here a great deal, I suspect! We are looking to move in arount the middle of August...we cannot wait. Planning to move is not fun, but counteracted by the excitement of the end result. Hurry up, August!

Unlikely first post topic...

...sort of. Unless you are me.

So, what are the three things that a Constant Reader can never have enough of?

1. Books (as if this really needed an entry on this list);
2. Cups of tea (and preferably some wonderful person to make you them), and;
3. Bookmarks.

If you have a lot of books, there is a fair-to-middling chance that they currently all have bookmarks inside, ready and waiting for that next re-read. 

Then, every now and then, a new book happens to land in your lap (or, Heaven forbid, the current one has fallen to several bits through overuse or fallen in the bathtub), and you wonder what on Earth ever happened to that huge pile of bookmarks your Mam gave you/you made/you bought/you were gifted.

Poof. Gone. 

Not having a decent bookmark is an issue for me. I like them nearly as much as a good book. I don't always have time to papercraft new ones - especially nowadays - so printable ones are fabulous! Just because useful and cute things should be shared, here are some adorable ones for you. Just click print!