'Delusions Of Grandeur' You may be able to help?

I am really pleased with the results of my latest 'Fete accompli' in the Granny Chic, Granny Stripe department.    It marks my tenth dabbling with 'design' adventures.  I have decided albeit tentatively to go up a notch and see where I can 'go' with this 'design'.  So for now I will keep it a 'secret'.  I am not good at secrets of any description, I can't keep them and if anyone is trying to keep one from me, it darn near kills me!   I have a Monday Birthday coming up at the beginning of March, I am not overly keen on birthdays and I really don't like Mondays so I have to be good to myself.  I am old enough to try the spirit of 'She who dares wins'!  Life is full of 'What ifs?'  I can give myself a birthday gift of being brave, risking failure and trying something new.  Really what have I got to lose?
Now where do you come in to assist me with my 'Delusions of Grandeur'?  I could really do with the equivalent of 'Willy Wonka's secret team of Oompa Loompas'.  I could really do with 3-5 crocheting Oompa Loompas to test this 'Top Secret' new pattern for me.  I can e-mail a 'pdf' of the pattern to you if you are interested and I promise it should be easy, quick and fairly pain free.  You will need scraps of  DK yarn / worsted weight.  If you are interested in becoming a trusted crocheting Oompa Loompa please apply formally in writing, via the 'comments box' and leave a method for me to contact you, either Ravelry ID, e-mail or Facebook.  I will have your credentials checked over by my Security Team (consisting of . . . . me) and will get the confidentiality agreement drawn up.
Thanks.
Now back to reality and  the 'Sunday Roast', my troops are starving!

Edit:  Great News!  The Troops have all been fed and I have a 'Team' of willing victim  Crochet Oompa Loompas.  Thank you very much.  I will be in touch this evening.  XXX  

Granny Stripe Owl - Pattern Free Download

Granny Stripe Owl Pattern - Free Pattern

Materials: Stylecraft ‘Special’ Double knit.

Colours:

Col 1: Border colour, wings and tail.

Col 2 and 3:  for body

Col 4: for the beak

Col 5:  Eye centre.

Col 6: Eye outer colour

2 buttons for eyes.

Hook Size:  4.5mm

Abbreviations:

Chain - ch

Double Crochet – dc

Treble Crochet – tr

Single Crochet – sc

The main body of the owl is worked in treble clusters.

Instructions:

Base of Tail:

With Col 1:

Make 6ch,  

In 2^nd ch from hk make a 3 trbcl, *5 ch, sk 1 ch. 3trbcl into next chain, Rep from * once more. Do not fasten off.

Body:

Turn work upside down. Work as follows into the unused loops of the beginning chain.

Row 1:             With Col 2, ch 1, 2 dc into 1^st lp, 1 dc into next lp, 3 dc in next dc, 1 dc in next lp, and 2 dc in last loop. (9dc). Turn.

Row 2:            Beg trbcl into 1^st dc, * ch 1, sk 1 dc, trbcl into next dc. Rep from * to end. ( 5 trbcl including beg trbcl.) Change colour on the last stroke of the trbcl to alternate colour of body. Turn.

Row 3:            Ch3, * trbcl into 1 ch space, ch 1. Rep from * three more times, 1 tr into top of last trbcl from Row 2. ( 4 trcl). Change colour on the last stroke of the tr. Turn.

Row 4:            Beg trbcl into tr,  * ch 1, sk 1 dc, trbcl into next 1 ch sp. Rep from * twice more, ch 1, trbcl into 3ch space. ( 5 trbcl including beg trbcl.) Change colour on the last stroke of the trbcl to alternate colour of body. Turn.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4  four more times. (11 rows of clusters)

Border

Row 1:          With Col1 – from tail, make 1 dc evenly around the body of the owl, making two dc in each corner to ease, 1 dc in each of the chains in tail. It is important to keep the dcs evenly as you should be able to get two dc’s in each of the sides of the trbcl rows.

Join to first dc with sl st.

Row 2:            In this row you will make the ears.

Ch 1, 1 dc into same space as joining, 1 dc into each dc from prev round, making 2 dc in each corner dc. Continue until you reach the stitch just before the corner of the ear, and work as follows: ch, 1 trbcl into dc, 2 ch, 1 trbcl into same dc, ch 1, continue with dc until the next ear.

Continue round, and joining with sl st into first dc. Fasten off.

Wings:

In Colour 1, join col into dc in line with base of third row of body and work as follows:

Row 1:             Work 1 beg trb cl into 1 dc, * ch 1, sk 1 dc, trbcl into next dc. Rep from * twice more. (4 trb cl including beg trbcl.) Turn.

Row 2:            Work 1 beg trbcl into 1^st trb cl, *ch 5, 1 trcl into 1 ch space. Rep from * twice more, 5 ch, 1trbcl into last trb cluster. Fasten off.

 Repeat for other side of Owl being careful to match alignment of wing.

Eyes:

Make two the same:

With colour no 6, Chain 5, join with sl st to form a ring.

Row 1:             Make Make 9 dc into ring. Join with sl st to first dc, changing colour in the sl st.

Row 2:            Ch1, 1 dc into same ch as joining, * 2 dc into next dc, 1 dc into each of the next 2 dc, Rep from * once more, 2 dc into next dc, 1 dc into last dc. Join with sl st to first dc.

Row 3:            Ch1, 1 dc into same ch as joining, * 2 dc into next dc, 1 dc into each of the next 3 dc, Rep from * once more, 2 dc into next dc, 1 dc into each of the next 2 dc. Join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off.

 Beak:

Make 7 ch.

Row 1:             1 dc into 2^nd chain from hook, 1 dc into each ch to end. (6 dc) Turn.

Row 2              Ch 1 (counts as a dc), skip next dc, 1 dc into each dc to end) (5 dc).

Repeat Row 2, decreasing 1 st on each row until only 1 st remains.

Fasten off.

Making up:

Sew in all ends.

Sew on the eyes and the beak positioning as per the picture.

Make Ear tufts using weaving in ends made into little tassels and sewing

to the front of the ears.

Block carefully under steam paying attention to the wings and tail. Pin out if necessary. 

Crocheted Granny Stripe Owl

I have recently been admiring 'Owls'.  I have been noticing knitted owls, crocheted owls, some beautiful fabric owls and applique owls.  I have bought Greetings cards and wrapping paper with adorable 'Owl' designs.  I am not sure what style you would call them.  'Folk Owls?'  'Arts and Crafts Owls?'  'You Catch My Drift Owls?'  I wanted to make a 'Crocheted Granny Stripe Owl'.  This is my second attempt.  I whipped  her up this morning.  It is amazing how much mess one little owl can make, I have yarn ends and buttons all over the place.  I do think she is rather cute though.  I tried to write the 'pattern' as I went along so will attempt to post that later.

  

'Ta-Dah' Meadowsweet Granny Stripe

This is my first Attic 24 inspired blanket, I have crocheted plenty of Granny Squares and Granny Stripes in the past but had never seen such lovely colourful blankets as those on Attic 24.  When my work colleague found out she was expecting a baby I was delighted for her and knew I wanted to make something special.  She has had a baby girl, called Imogen, so this is Imogen's blanket.  I am thrilled for my friend but I so miss her at work as it just isn't the same without her!  I have only just completed the 'Blankie' so I have not handed it over yet, I can't wait too.  I don't actually like holding other peoples babies, I like a little look and then I would rather chin wag with the new Mom and see what I can do to help out...washing up, making a cup of tea etc...It will be lovely to catch up and meet Imogen.

I made this with a 'Lucy Pack' of Stylecraft.  I am hopeless at choosing and co-ordinating colours, it was somewhat of a random selection, but I wanted more pinks than any other colour.  I also decided to be a bit experimental and break each row with the Meadow green colour.  I worked it in two rows of Granny stripe, followed by one row of double crochet in Meadow Green.  The three row pattern meant that there was no right or wrong side, and the rows of double crochet appeared in thin and slightly thicker alternate stripes.  I quite like the effect.  I think these blankets are like our children 'We all love our own!'  

I thought long and hard about edging, I wondered about a frilly shell pattern, plain meadow double crochet, I love the Tutorial on 'Crochet with Raymond' for the neat little zig zag edge.

Crochet with Raymond - Tutorial for 'Carnival Edge'

Then I looked at Teresa's edging, I loved the idea of Tulips, grass and sky.  How Arty for a granny stripe.

  

Teresa's 'Tulips, grass and sky' edging   

I chose the carnival edging and my six year old son approved and complemented the work in progress.  I nearly frogged it many times, as I was unsure of the the wonky zig zags, but resolved to keep going and try blocking, I have never blocked anything before. 

I wondered should I have just kept a plain edge or should I have gone for a shell edge...I decided you could ponder it for ever, so stuck with the 'carnival' zig zags.   I bought a packet of 200 pins for the blocking job and ran out!   It has taken all day to dry on top of the washing line in some warm sunshine.  I am now feeling underwhelmed by the finished article, it is a bit of an anti-climax.  I am trying not to be disappointed and I don't have the heart to frog the edge now and try to make myself happier with it.  It is pretty just not quite what I hoped for. 

It may be a while before I Granny stripe again and even longer before I try 'carnival edging'.  I think 'Carnival edging' would be great for smaller projects.  Not quite the Triumphant 'Ta-dah' moment I had anticipated.   :)

Meet my Grannies...and Snails!

One of my Grannies is pretty old and could be a contender for ugliest Granny of the year,  another of mine had a nasty accident in the shed and got chewed by mice, so she is on week two of three weeks in the freezer before I commence major surgery in an attempt to rebuild her.  The little Granny is my son's and she accompanied him throughout his temporary stints in a wheelchair.  The Sunny Granny isn't really my Granny I just adopted her.  Would you like to meet them?

Let me introduce you to the contender for Ugliest Granny of the Year...

She was made over twenty years ago when I was a student, she is made mostly out of second hand, or reclaimed acrylic and there was no colour co-ordination at all, whatever we had got used.  My Grandmother and I worked on it.  She is a very warm, much loved but very ugly granny.  The picture does not do justice to her thick, black 'frilly' edge.  If you have an uglier Granny I would like to see her!

Next I would like you to meet little Granny.

This little Granny is very bright and cheerful.  My youngest son was born with a clubfoot, which was diagnosed during his 20wk scan.  It has proved problematic in that the current treatment does not work for about 4% of children with the condition, we were unlucky in this sense.  So my son has had four lots of surgery and has needed to spend up to two months using a wheelchair.  He got very cold going out and about so I made him this Jazzy blanket.  He loves it.  He is now perfectly mobile and will probably need further surgery when he is a teenager, he is currently six.  The first day I gave him the blanket he was in his wheelchair at the kitchen table doing some craft, cutting and sticking paper shapes with very sharp scissors, he had the blanket for only about 30 minutes when he accidently gave her a three inch snip with the scissors, so she is a little scarred by my repair job.
Adopted Granny was made by my partners Grandmother over twenty years ago.  This blanket is in daily use and is also an aquired taste...

I have not embarked on a Granny Stripe crochet blanket for a couple of years but when I saw how beautiful they can be when I found Attic 24, a fantastic blog by another Crochet Crazed Lucy I had to get my hooks out again!  The other Lucy has a design talent for colour that I could never imagine.  It has renewed my enthusiasm for crochet and I enjoy using the beautiful colour 'Lucy Packs' that some online stores sell. I will write separate posts for my Lucy stripe blanket and will also record the trauma of the Granny that is currently in the deep freeze!

From Grannies to snails...

Last night I attempted my first Amigurumi, I found it very tricky.  I thought this snail was destined to remain a slug!  (But a happy one!) 

But I finally managed to persaude him to wear his shell and here he is, looking quite at home in the plant pot!
I think I will call him Brian!  In memory of my first pet snail, that I had in a Goldfish bowl for a few days, with nylon tights stretched over the top to prevent his escape.  I was about four and named him Brian after the snail on the Magic Round-A-bout.  Times were hard in the seventies no 24 hour T.V or computers we had to make our own entertainment!

I am sure this is one of my original Brian's descendants.

He has the look of an escapologist!