Iceland

This year my husband and I have taken a year out and part of the year includes some travelling. Of course part of that year includes part 1 of the IDC.
This week we have been in Iceland. This is our second visit and as usual we are not following the tourist trail. We have stayed in fairly remote locations and I haven't had a conversation with anyone other than Mr. Bloominglovely for the whole week!

 However this has meant lots of crochet has been done. I stuffed my case with yarn and hooks and hope I've bought enough of the right materials to get some samples completed.

I've finally finished my tunisian samples. The stitching was fine but I just can not get the left hand edge to look neat. I've tried in a variety of yarns and weights to no avail so I am sending the sample off regardless hoping that it passes or that I get some feedback on how to improve.

The textured piece worked up really quickly and I used the Pebble stitch from Moogly. I decided I wanted the pebbles in columns rather than offset so tweaked her pattern slightly.  I used Stylecraft Special DK for both pieces. A 6mm tunisian hook and a 4mm hook for casting on and off.  I like the effect of tunisian stitches but the edging makes me question whether I'd use it again.
I've also dabbled in filet this week. I really didn't think I'd like it...... tiny hook and fine thread are not really me, I'm usually a chunky monkey.
I was surprised! My first piece was a vintage pattern and it worked up much quicker than expected. I used a 1.75mm hook and Rico Essentials Mercised cotton. I probably could have used a smaller hook but I didn't have one with me.

 

Now to practice my filet more. I'm going to try a slightly thicker cotton and a smaller hook than recommended to see if I can get a better effect.

Iv6also completed my textured 2 colour piece of crochet.  I decided to try bobbles on a different coloured background.  I like the effect and it worked well in DK pure wool. I might have forgotten to tighten the bobble with a stitch at the top so it may not pass muster but I still like it. 

Other items I've been working on include....

Ferns shawl in Peak District yarns Litton Welldressings, 

A dragon's belly shawl @mijocrochet in a lovely Debbie Bliss 4ply Donegal

and another pair of basic Winwick mum socks for Mr. BL.

Enjoy the weekend folks. I'll be hiking and hooking my way around Iceland.