Charles IV

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/charles-iv-legendary-ruler-or-pragmatist-and-spin-doctor

Radio Prague on Charles IV

(In English)

http://radio.cz/en/section/special/karel-iv-turbulent-childhood-and-youth-shape-future-king

A

Four days to prove your love

Purple in 3XL please.

Filet Crochet

First, an update on the hex blanket: I have about 20 or so hexes done (about 20%).  I haven’t given up on that blanket.

However….

I saw a pattern that I really want to work on for AFTER the hex blanket is done.    Alphabetically.

So trying to figure out filet crochet. I’m pretty sure I did the test square wrong last week.

So filet crochet is charted on graph paper. There are “filled” squares, which are four double-crochets (DC) and then “open” squares, which are a DC, two empty spaces (sp), then a DC.

So to me, that means that if I have two filled squares, that’s eight DC, right? And two open squares would be a DC, 2 sp, DC (one empty), DC, 2sp, DC (second empty). Right?

But that isn’t what the picture looks like. The picture looks like the last DC of the first empty is ALSO the first DC of the second empty, which means they share that stitch…and so does that mean that two filled squares are 7 DC, not 8?

The pattern, (courtesy of Free Crochet.com) tells me how to do an individual square, but doesn’t address this question.  As a person who’s never done filet crochet before, I’m struggling.

I’ve decided that since the non-shared DC didn’t look right, I’ll try to throw it together using the “shared DC” idea and see how it looks.

Update: I typed “how to filet crochet” into Google.  Found this:

4 DC Filet Explained: In a pattern that uses 4 double crochet (dc) to form each block (solid mesh):
Each block consists of 4 dc. When there are two blocks side by side, the blocks share a common dc in the center, so there will be 7 dc in that group of two blocks. Three blocks side by side = 10 dc.

So there you go. “The internet is your friend.”  Let me get started.  I’ll post a pic.  🙂

Staying afloat

I’ve had a really, really tough week. I finished my son’s blanket (the Denver Wave), and he left Wednesday as planned. That, combined with some really bad news had me restless, twitchy and idle. And we all know about idle hands, yes?

So I picked up my crochet needle, the yarn closest to me, and started working. I don’t have details as to how its going to turn out, but I’ve started making hexagons for a blanket. I’m going to make them in this color til its gone, then go to the store and get some cream and maybe another color and make more hexagons til that is gone, and then I’ll figure out how to put them together.

Meantime, I working on one hex at a time. One baby step at a time. Moving forward. One hex, one day, one step at a time. Just keep swimming.

Blue post it note for scale. 3″x3″

Deadlines

Finished it Monday. Pictured on a queen sized mattress.

The Denver Wave

My son is planning on moving to Denver next month, so I’ve put the tricolor wave afghan on hold and been working on this for him to take with him. It’s the same pattern as the the tricolor, except instead of three doublecrochet in between the hill and valley stitches, there are six. Blanket is pictured on a king bed. Pen for scale.

I’m currently away from home (work) so I have been managing three to four rows a night at the hotel. I’d sure like to have another three sets (10 red rows and two black rows) done by the 19th, to put me on track to having it finished by the time he leaves.

Richard III

I’m more interested…now that we are certain it is him….about the ramifications of the royal line.  There is a break and they don’t know where it is.

Fair enough…but let’s say they finally manage to identify where the break is…would that change the royal line of succession as it stands currently?

So … for example…if John of Gaunt isn’t the father of the Henrys (or the Tudors) and they were illegitimate (really, Blanche?!) and we can trace the line down another path…what if a shopkeeper from Angelsey turns out to be the real inheritor of the throne and NOT Charles/Wills/Georgie?

They could make a claim and likely win.

Royal barristers better start covering HM’s Royal Legal Behind.

The wave: Update

Progress Report

Coming right along.