While I'm on holiday, you're still welcome to visit The Kingdom of Coco.
If you're looking for the free stuff, that's where you'll find it.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Brotherly love socks

Only a few people really appreciate my knitting. The time. The skill. Dare I say, the artistry. A couple of them are therefore rewarded with handknit socks. Usually one-of-a-kind original design socks. My brother is one of those people. Here's a pair I made for him recently . . .

Brotherly Love Socks © Cheryl Coville 2014


4 stitches wide x 5 rows 

2 balls of Steinbach Wolle Strapaz , 80% wool, 20% polyamid,
150m each ball
3.25 mm double points
56 stitches




Monday, February 3, 2014

A new year, a new month, a new me

Tranquiltity
by Karen Neary © 2014
Welcome to my new home.

Grandma Coco has decided to take some time off. She's in dire need of a rest. The trials and tribulations of the world outside the Kingdom have taken their toll.

Last week, my friend Karen of Sew Karen-ly Created released a new pattern. Like all her designs, this one's beautiful. It's called Tranquility and it uses some gorgeous Hoffmann Bali tiles.

When I first saw the photo of the wall hanging, something called to me. I love fussy cuts and panels, and I thought what a lovely setting for any kind of artwork ..... appliqué, cross-stitch, paint on fabric ... pretty much anything.

See that circle?  Fear not! That's the best part. She's included a technique that makes the circle appliqué really easy ..... and totally do-able all by machine! No fussing. No freezer paper. No starch. That circle technique alone is worth the price of the pattern.




Coincidentally, I had some blocks that I made a long time ago now, that were offered by Bronwyn Hayes on her blog, Red Brolly. One of them was the perfect size for Karen's block. You can still find the blocks on Bronwyn's blog. They're from the Catalicious series.



Another friend of mine, Kate from Arts and Socks fame, often says a girl can never have too many bags, and I whole-heartedly agree with her. I like to have a bag for every knitting project I have on the go. Right now, that's about 3.

The up-shot of all this is that I used Karen's pattern and Bronwyn's embroidery design and Kate's inspiration to make this: