ta da!

Well, the lovely doctor gave me some magic cream that made me feel a million times better almost straight away.  I felt so much better that Mr B and I were able to paint the front room over the weekend.  We heard on Thursday that the curtains were ready, so it seemed a shame not to get everything repainted and have them fitted this week!

Here's the before shot - I can't believe how much better the dodgy paintwork and faded curtains look in a photo, but believe me it was looking pretty sad after 10 years:

Now here's the ta da moment with the shiny new curtains and a splendid (if I do say so myself!) new paint-job:

Mr B has been very amused by my near-constant stroking of the new curtains.  Here's the view from my crochet spot on the sofa:

At the risk of becoming a curtain-bore, here's a close-up...

After all the excitement, I even managed to start hooking up a necklace for my Mum for Mother's Day on Sunday.  She's going on a cruise in May, so she asked for something in nautical colours.  I hope it's not too 4th of July rather than nautical...!

For any other happy hookers, I made the choker with a 4.5mm hook in alternating coloured rows of half-trebles (half double crochet for those of you in the States!) and then finished off with a row of double stitches (sc for the US) as I was worried it looked a little out of balance with the foundation row.  I then turned it ninety degrees and worked a row of trebles (doubles!) along the edge and finished of with 2dc, 2 htr, 1 tr, 2htr, 2dc to form a little scallop (2sc, 2hdc, 1dc, 2hdc, 2sc).  I've done the same on the other end and will actually use a big popper as a fastening - it's invisible from the outside and ends up looking pretty neat and tidy!

The flower is from an antique pattern that's really meant for size 10 fine crochet cotton.  I've tried that out before, but my Mum has a big personality and prefers chunkier jewellery, so this seemed like the right time to try it with a thicker yarn.  Tonight I'll be making 2 smaller flowers to hang below this one.  I shall put on a trusty naval-striped top tomorrow and take some photos.

I guess you might like to see the other pieces I've made.  The first followed the antique pattern to the letter in classic ecru size 10 cotton with a 1.5mm steel hook:

The other one was inspired by the lovely Desigual top I bought to wear to my Nan's 90th birthday celebrations in January this year.  Again, I made up the pattern for the choker and used the flower pattern to match up with the top:

The problem I find with the cotton is that it's so delicate that it easily warps out of shape, which is a shame.  I'm loving the DK version, though!  You live, you learn! :)

It's been a very productive few days and I seem to have lots more lined up before the weekend, including Mother's Day crafts with my Brownies tomorrow evening!  I hope you've managed some crafty time this week!

- Rachel x