Downton downtown

I had a little retail therapy the other weekend.

There was quite a lot of fabric bought. This was the haul!

The rippled one really did remind me of the Old Shale stitch pattern (what most people erroneously call Feather and Fan). Though Mr says it makes his eyes funny, so it won't be used for cushion as I'd intended.

These two were from Andover Fabrics' Downton Abbey range.

And the charm pack is one I've been on the look out for - Road 15 by Moda.

My patchwork cushions in the lounge have been very well loved and could do with replacing so hopefully these fabrics will step up and take their place.

I learnt a new crochet stitch that same weekend. Its modern name seems to be Diagonal Box Stitch - a rather uninspiring name. It was fun to do. Michele from Yarn Aloud taught us how to do it. There were a few examples about and I liked the look of it in a finer yarn. 

So after some stash rummaging later, I came up with a ball of zauberball and whizzed through to make a scarf. I used a 4.00mm hook, so it had plenty of drape when worn.  I worked it on the bias to make a rectangle shape instead of a square. I used the entire ball but it wasn't long enough to make a decent sized scarf; so I put a row of buttons on one end, so it could be worn as a cowl.

The spaces between the trebles make good buttonholes, so it can be buttoned up in any way you like.

The pattern has brought out the stripes in the yarn; or is it vice versa, the stripes have brought out the pattern well? Either way I think it's fab.