Mr Vertigo and his tricky ways...

i must tell you dearest readers,

i am indeed feeling so much more dandier then a few days ago.

and if i blamed my apron neck loop then i fear, i misplaced the blame.

for despite it appearing to be the most obvious culprit in my unfortunate event,

and on close inspection it did play a part in my fall,

it is the doorstep of Mr Vertigo where i shall place the majority of the blame.

for Mr Vertigo appeared a little while ago,

i had hoped to not have the pleasure of his company again.

when he first appeared late one night

i said "drat and darn you Mr Vertigo"

i decided to ignore his dizzying ways and continued at my usual pace,

and i was indeed a fool.

for he is a clever blighter, taking full advantage of my fogginess

and dare i say it, forgetful moments of his arrival within the shed.

and so it came to be on sunday morning

dressed in my eclectic finest and

minutes away from leaving to meet my friend of the utmost kind,

Mr Vertigo seized his moment and pounced.

i strode purposefully in peachy clogs, from the kitchen toward the telly,

hearing the world cup crowd going wild,

in my right hand a plate of chocolate spread,

in my left, a glass of orange juice.

trailing from a hook my apron, quite innocently, of that i am sure.

out of nowhere Mr Vertigo pounced, as quick as a flash,

lassoing my leg with the apron loop

me and my unbalanced ways did not stand a chance.

a few seconds later

my plate and glass left unbroken still within my hands...

my chocolate spread on toast flung far away,

(little olive taking full advantage)

juice dripping down my head

and me, doing a fabby 'life alert' pose

since that moment i have discovered that hardwood flooring is not the softest of landings

and

after a short spell in the land of nurses and doctors, i returned to the shed,

bruised but not broken...

i am delighted to report my right arm is doing a peachy job at getting back up to speed,

thus me tippity tapping today and also dallying with Mr Hook whilst resting on the couch.

my leg is trailing behind a tad,

but nothing a few more days of pottering in slow motion won't fix.

i am now wiser to Mr Vertigo and his tricky ways

i have told him to 'bugger off' several times since my unfortunate event,

so far he appears to not be listening.

but this is okay, for i will not let him bring me down again,

no sirree, i will keep him in my sights

until i see him pack his bags and leave for warmer climates.

and i must tell you, i am hoping it is sooner rather than later

she is thanking you most kindly for caring ~ Tif

the irony of it...

a tale must be told of an unfortunate event for Tif,

her peachy clogs,

her morning plate of chocolate spread on toast,

her glass of orange juice,

the world cup

and

a rogue apron neck loop lurking with intent...

yes indeed,

the tale must be told

but not today

she will be back as soon as her 'owies' are healed ~ Tif

an 'ordinarily extraordinary' blanket how to...

before we begin i must just say a little bit about my blanket.

for me i like to do simple crocheting projects,

and this blanket could not be more simpler...

i often wish i was the sort to lay out all the yarn before hand,

and have some clue as to what one is aiming for.

but for me that is never the case,

just as when i sew i rarely know what fabrics will come into play when i begin,

so it is for my crocheting.

for sometime now i have been wishing to make a patchwork blanket,

in my head i saw the large squares, the doilies and the edging

but what i could not see was how i would attach the squares together...

i wished to join them as i went along,

saving me all the joining up at the end, which i'm crappity crap at,

it sends me into a big bad moody person.

i had little clue as to what i was doing when i started out,

but i do believe the handcrafted Gods were smiling down on me.

everything fell into place

as i attached the squares a pretty eyelet pattern appeared

and i think it would be most true to say

i did indeed hug myself with glee.

now my blanket is complete,

i have high hopes that she will become my travelling companion,

she will travel with me to old blighty this summer

and where ever else i may go in the future.

in short i am hopeful, we will grow old together

with all that being said, i will now tell you in words how i made her

but i do have pictures to show the joining up bit...

i can not promise you will be any the wiser after looking at the pictures

and reading my iffy directions,

but as usual, it is what it is and i have done the best i know how.

i used worsted weight yarn,

a mix of acrylic blends i had in my cupboard.

i started my square off with a chain of 30 plus 3

i worked in double crochet US which is treble crochet UK

when i finished my first square i joined in the next color

and continued crocheting, weaving in the ends as i went.

after 5 squares were completed (first strip completed)

i started the next strip, joining the second strip to the first as i went

(see photos below)

i made 4 strips in total of 5 squares

making a blanket of 20 squares total

and measuring around 42" x 48"

for the edging i did a double crochet US stitch in cream

then a row of single crochet US

finishing it off with a simple picot stitch giving it a lovely bobbly trim.

i appliqued on some vintage doilies,

just using simple hand stitching

and voila!

my 'ordinarily extraordinary' blanket was complete.

now for the NITTY GRITTY bit about joining the squares...

i do so hope this has done the trick,

that indeed you are now wiser to how i joined my squares

and not left in a bewildering confused state.

and perhaps you may spend the next month

whilst the World Cup is playing in your living rooms

making your own 'ordinarily extraordinary' blankets with the eyelet join

she is wishing you sunshine and crafting for the weekend ~ Tif

footynote: 'joining up' pictures show my lastest patchwork piece you can see in my hands here.

that is why the colors are little different :)