Saturday, March 2, 2013

Mayfield Afghan and Fun at Laguna Beach


It has been a good week here at Lilly My Cat.  I'm almost finished with my income tax preparation (too many forms to send to the accountant), I finished my afghan and I received my order from The Planet Penny Cotton Club!

It was 80 degrees here on Friday and the family headed off to the beach.  Laguna Beach is about 14 miles from my home.  It was a perfect day to relax and soak up the sun and the sounds of the ocean.

It was such a clear day that we could see Catalina Island across the water.  My little grandson enjoyed playing in the sand.


We brought our favorite lunch food from Trader Joe's along with water and chips and had a perfect lunch sitting in our beach chairs.  And it's always fun to see the seagulls who love to scavenge for any food you may have...


As I mentioned, I am celebrating today since I finally (after two months) finished the afghan I made for my little grandson.  The pattern is called Mayfield and you can find the pattern here.


I tweaked the pattern a bit - it calls for thick yarn and size 11 needles.  I used an Aran type yarn and size 8 needles.  I casted on 167 stitches so because of the difference in needle size and yarn, it took me a long time to finish this pattern.  The stitch pattern is a 12 stitch repeat +1 and 10 stitches for the  border.

As a safeguard to my forgetfulness, I placed markers for each 12 stitch repeat and counted each 12 stitch section along the way to make sure I didn't forget any yarn overs.  It worked great.  There is just one glitch:  when you come to row 19 you will have to remove the markers as this row makes the markers 1 stitch off.  You can replace the markers when you do row 20.

Also this week my order arrived from Planet Penny Cotton Club.  Here's a sample of what I created with my new cotton yarn.  I couldn't find a pattern that I liked so I kind of made this up as I went along.

 

I hope you each have a wonderful week and don't forget to check out Handmade Harbour  where you will find great links to lots of crafty ideas.

P.S.  My daughter will be taking me to London in November.  If you have any recommendations for good hotels in London, I would love to hear from you. 



19 comments:

  1. Momma, the afghan is perfect for Oliver's room! Thank you! Its beautiful!

    Your daughter taking you to London only gets a p.s. on the blog?!

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  2. Dear Reader, thank you for your kind comments. I look forward to hearing from you again!

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  3. Mom! I look forward to your post about your trip to England and cruise to Belgium and France which your lovely daughter is taking you on for your birthday!!!

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  4. Some lovely pictures and how cute are those little booties. I received some Planet Penny Cotton this week too, you can see what I've started to make with mine on this week's post :)

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    1. Thank you for looking. The Planet Penny Cotton is great to work with. I will pop over and check out your post this week. Have a great week!

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  5. Oh, I long for 80 degrees! It's barely been above freezing here for the last couple of weeks.
    I love the blanket and the shoe is just adorable - so bright and cheerful. I love it. xx

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    1. Hi Mrs Pink- thank you for your kind words. I'd send you some sunshine via this blog if I could! I'm sure Spring is around the corner. Take care,
      Pat

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  6. Your afghan is lovely, but I must say I felt very envious of your trip to the beautiful beach.

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    1. Hello and thank you for visiting my blog today. Hopefully you will have warm weather and a beach day soon. Have a wonderful week.

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  7. That beach looks gorgeous! I'm very jealous given the awful weather we've had here - although the sun has shined today! Your afghan looks really lovely xx

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    1. Thank you Natalie. We have some clouds today and a little rain on the way so don't be too jealous! I will hope that you soon get warm, springtime weather. Many thanks :)

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  8. 80°- I`m so envious!!! Your blanket is lovely, though I don't think you'll be needing it somehow...

    If you're looking for a hotel in London that won't break the bank, check out Premier Inn hotels. They have several in London.

    Give Lilly a big hug from me xx

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    1. Oh, thank you so much for your recommendation. There are hundreds of hotels and it gets so confusing. I will pass on your info to my daughter. Thank you for visiting my blog today. And, I will give Lilly a hug from you!

      Many thanks.

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  9. Kind of made up a pattern? I am envious, I just wouldn't know where to begin. your pics are lovely - beautiful blue sky - mind you it has been sunny here today. Very welcome. Hope you have a good week.

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  10. Thank you so much. I'm happy to hear you have some sunshine. Clouds are rolling in here and we expect rain :(

    I wish you a wonderful week!

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  11. The pictures of the beach are beautiful! I hope to take my dog Maddy for a run on the sands, but will not be wearing shorts, probably a thick coat. Still any sea air blows the cobwebs away! Your afghan is stunning, intricate and I like the colour too. Enjoy planning your trip to Europe.
    Wendy x

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    1. Hi Wendy, I hope you and Maddy have a great day. We have rain here today (:. Lilly my cat is upset that she can't take her walk outside. Thank you for your kind comments.

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  12. Those little booties are so cute, and aren't you clever to make two the same? I have to work so hard to repeat myself!
    Thanks for visiting Planet Penny and I'm glad you are enjoying the yarn x

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    1. Hi Penny, I'm honored that you visited my blog. I love your yarn. So many creative things to make with it. Thanks again.

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