Frida's Flowers CAL Part 2

I am writing this having literally just finished joining Part 1 to Part 2 of the Frida's Flowers Crochet Along.  I would have finished sooner but stupidly I joined some of the hexagons incorrectly so had to unpick and redo...oh the joys! But I got there in the end!

Part 2 is called Dahlia Bud the pattern for which became available on 19th April and used Cream and Saffron for the centre flowers and Petrol for the hexagon (these are the Special DK colours).

 

As with Part 1, I decided to do all the centre flowers first.  I don't think there is any particular benefit of doing it this way, it just works for me.  I like to complete one stage at a time before moving on to the next although it is always tempting to do a full hexagon. 

When moving on to the hexagons I hit a bump in the road when I came to the end of the dreaded Round 5.  For some reason I really struggled with this round to begin with, I just couldn't grasp it and can honestly say that I only got through it with the help of the large community of crocheters who are also taking part in this CAL.  There is a group on Facebook that is purely for people taking part in this CAL so that we can help each other and display our work.  It's a fantastic group and was a life saver!  I also discovered that a lot of other people found this round difficult so at least I didn't feel as much of a fool!!

So to try and make it easier this is my understanding of the end of Round 5:

• Do the chain 3 as normal, the dc into the chain space and then chain 3 again.
• Your hook then goes in the top of the treble done on the previous row which, when looking at a treble, the hook needs to go in the gap to the right of the post. 
• Slip stitch in this and then chain 3 for the beginning of Round 6.

Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of this but hopefully the above makes sense!

Once Round 5 clicked into place I was well away!!

 

 I couldn't resist posting this photo.  It's the same colour as my bottle of Bombay Sapphire!!

 

 

I did all four full hexagons before I then moved on to the half hexagons.  I found these relatively simple and did them fairly quickly (for me!)

 

I also managed to block all the pieces from both Part 2 and from Part 1 (thank you Bank Holiday Monday!).  This is the first time I have ever blocked anything so it was a learning curve for me but it worked out well.  I used rubber children's play mats I bought from Amazon for about five pounds...bargain! The pins I also got from Amazon and I just made sure that they were rust proof.


And last and by no means least I was ready to join as per the chart on the pattern. 

Here's to Part 3 which came out today!

Frida's Flowers CAL Part 1

I have yet to finish my Lily Pond blanket (all the individual pieces are finished, I just have to put them all together!) but I could not resist starting the Frida's Flowers Blanket, both of which were designed by the very talented Jane Crowfoot.  I figured that once I had finished each part I could do my Lily Pond inbetween.  Makes sense right?!

Colours used here are Meadow, Ivory and Fuchsia Purple

 

Both patterns are free to download from the Stylecraft webpage as well as the pattern for the Frida's Flowers Project Bag which I am not doing...yet! I do love it though and it was specifically designed so you can keep your Frida's Flowers project in it.  I am trying very hard to not buy any more wool but the temptation is always there. 

The desire for more wool is always strong!

I am using the Stylecraft Special DK pack which is always great to work with.  I got my pack from Topstitchcrafts which has free delivery and has both the cotton and special dk pack in stock (when I last checked anyway).

The chart below shows the colour combinations.

So having finished Part 1, I can honestly say I think I am going to really enjoy doing this crochet along, and dare I say it even more than the Lily Pond. 

The fuchsia purple is such a pretty colour

I found that I preferred to do all the flower centre pieces first so I was able to get a bit of rhythm going without having to keep looking at the pattern and also so I could put meadow and ivory away.  I also think (for me anyway) that it stops me from getting bored.  I then alternated doing a full cosmos and a half cosmos.

Here's to Part 2 tomorrow!

The Big Apple

I haven't blogged for quite a while but really wanted to talk about my (fairly) recent trip to New York last September and to share some of the great photos I took while I was there.  I had always wanted to visit New York, it was my "dream" destination and so I decided I would save up and try to go to celebrate my 30th birthday.  Ok my birthday is in April and we didn't go until the September but hey it was the same year! So my bestie and I, Jon embarked on New York for 4 days and 4 nights and what a fabulous time we had!!

 

Just to clarify I didn't go with my hubby as he had no interest whatsoever of going.  I know, mad right??

 

One of the first things we did was go on a cruise round Manhattan which meant we saw the Statue of Liberty as well as the many bridges including the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

We actually went to Time Square a couple of times while we were there, mainly because we loved it but also because it was literally round the corner from our hotel! Convenient!

 

We stayed in a mainly residential district of New York called Murray Hill which was surprisingly calm and subdued (in comparison to the rest of the city).  The hotel we stayed in is called the Shelburne which is on Lexington Avenue.  I would highly recommend the hotel.  It is in a great location, the room was spotless and last, but by no means least it has an amazing rooftop terrace and a FREE wine hour between 5pm and 6pm EVERYDAY for the hotel guests!! Seriously what more could you ask for!

 

The photos below, which were taken from the rooftop terrace, are of the Empire State Building, which we caught just as the sun was setting.

 

The blue, white and red lights represent the anniversary of 9/11

We decided to go up the Empire State Building on a night time thinking we would miss some of the crowds...how very wrong we were!  As it was the anniversary of 9/11 two beams of light were projected from the two plots where the Twin Towers used to be.  Obviously this only happens once a year and a lot of people wanted to capture it.  I have to say it was incredible and worth the wait to see.

 It was spectacular to see the city from up high...amazing!

 



 

 



Ok so I couldn't possibly do a blog post about New York and not mention the...breakfasts!! I would say to anyone even thinking about going to New York just to go for the amazing breakfasts.  I know it sounds bizarre and yes obviously there are lots of reasons to go to New York but you will know what I mean when you sample a New York breakfast.  Unlimited good coffee, amazing pancakes, scrummy eggs and wonderful steak (yes I said steak!)  We always went to little delis which were situated near our hotel.  The concierge at our hotel was great and directed us to a few in the area and we stumbled upon others. 

 

There are a lot of amazing and beautiful buildings in New York but my absolute favourite is the Chrysler Building with its art deco design.  It was on the same street as our hotel and it was wonderful to see it every time we walked past.  I took dozens of photos but picked a few of the best ones.

This is literally just a tiny snippet of what we did in New York and definitely a very small portion of photos that I took while I was there.  I actually took nearly 800 photos! Madness! But I do become a very typical tourist while I am away and especially in such an extraordinary place like New York.

I could waffle on and on about New York and show you every photo I took but I wanted to showcase some of my best photos of some of my favourite things to do and places to see. 

This was a once in a lifetime trip and it did not disappoint. 

P.S. Some photos of crochet/knitting in NY!