Japanese Flower Shawl .......

Hello my lovelies !!!!!!

I really must apologise for my absence but my laptop had a major meltdown & died on me a couple of weeks ago & I have also been up to my eyes with school events. Summer term seems to always be a whirlwind of activities & social gatherings !!

I have been ohhhing & arhhhhing over the beautiful Japanese Flower Shawls on Lucy's ATTIC24 blog & on Ravelry for some time now but I wanted to finish a few WIP first ( I will be sharing these with you very soon. ) My budget wouldn't stretch to the gorgeous ANDES yarn so I down marketed some what & decided on King Cole's Merino Blend DK that comes in wonderful bright colours

It is a very portable project, perfect to take with me on our summer outings to the park and, weather permitting, the seaside !!

Hearts ........

I have nearly finished my secret project, all I need to do is buy some spray starch. I will post some photo's very soon. In the mean time I have a little taster to share with you.




Hope you all have a lovely weekend, whatever the weather !

Bye for now xx

********************************************

A New Project .........


.

I have been knitting away on my Clapotis, the end result is wonderful but boy it can be rather hard going making it ! To break the boredom I decided I needed a new hooky project to do along side it.

.

So I have indulged myself by buying some Vanna's Choice from Banyan Tree Yarn's online shop.

.

The colours are ( left to right )

.

Top row :

.

Berrylicious #139

Rose #142

Dusty Blue #108

Dusty Purple #146

Eggplant #145

.

Bottom row :

.

Navy #110

Silver Blue #105

Kelly Green #172

Magenta #144

Sweet Pea # 169

.

.

The pattern I am using is the Sunburst Granny Square ( free on Ravelry ). I have decided not to include the navy as it was rather overbearing, and I am using the Silver blue to finish each square.

.

I am loving how it is taking shape & as it is chunky yarn shouldn't be too long in the making !!

.

.

I have now done 12 squares, they seem to be flying off my hook ! I will post more photo's tomorrow if the little men give me 5 minutes to myself.

.

.

Bye for now xx

Clapochet Ta Da !!!! ........ . A couple of years ago I knitted my first Clapotis. This is a wonderful pattern that you may or may not have heard of. For those of you who haven't you can find it on Knitty or Ravelry. You can knit it in any type of yarn & any weight ( I knitted mine in Lorna Laces Sport weight ). It was a labour of love & was so worth the time & energy as I still love it !!!! Just before Christmas I was nosing through crochet patterns for scarves & shawls on Ravelry and came across a crochet pattern for the famous Clapotis called Clapochet. Well I couldn't wait to start hooking & had the perfect yarn tucked away in my stash.

So I dashed upstairs and rummaged through my eleven boxes of stash yarn until I found it !!! Three wonderful, beautiful skeins of Dream in Color Classy, such amazing yarn, though rather pricy, that I had been saving for the perfect project !

I ended up using all three skeins as I wanted it wide and long and used a 5mm hook. I love, love, love it and have worn it most days since it came off my hook !

Bye for now ♥

*********************************************************

PS. I have just noticed that I am wearing my Clapotis in the photo at the top of my blog under "ME" !!!!

*********************************************************

My Little Friend, Jenny Wren .......

I love to see all the different birds that come to visit my garden. The cheeky robin, The noisy blackbirds & the various colourful tits & chaffinches. But I have to say that I have a real soft spot for my little Jenny Wren ! She is so, so tiny & so, so bold for such a little thing.

.

I love to watch her from my kitchen window as she jumps around & between the plant pots & climbs through the trellis work. She doesn't stay long, but visits everyday & is an absolute delight !!!

I am very happy to report that Little Man No.1 is thrilled with his new blanket & asked me if I would take a photo of it on his bed to show you all, bless him !!!
.

.

He also insisted that I take another photo with him & his blanket, how could I refuse. So here he is as pleased as punch !!

.

Bye For now ♥

********************************************

A Granny Blanket for Little Man No 1. Ta-Da !!!!!!!


Well I said I had some hooky projects to share with you, so here is the first one !




I actually finished this little blanket about an hour ago, & I must say I am very pleased with it ( she says smugly !!! )


It is for Little Man No.1's bed & for snuggling under while he watches telly !! My little men love to snuggle & I am more than happy to oblige them by making lovely colourful blankets.


Once again I have used yarn from my stash. This is a mixture of different DK Wools, I don't have the ball bands anymore but I think most of it is Wendy Gold Award DK & Sirdar Legend DK. I bought this wool years ago from a Knitting shop that was closing down for £1.00 per ball !!!!

I can't wait for Little Man No.1 to see it when he gets back from school, I just need to finish Little Man No.2's now !

Bye for now ♥

*********************************************

I'm Back :-) !! .........
.


Hellooooo !!! After a few months break I'm back !
.

Life as been very hectic since Christmas, which has left very little time for blogging. To be honest I just can't believe we are over half way through March, where does the time go !!

I may have negleted my blog but not my hooky projects & I have lots to share with you.
.



.
Here is a little peek at two blankets I have been working on. I am trying to reduce my large stash of yarn before I buy anymore ! The first one is Rowan Pure Wool DK, (such beautiful yarn & colours) & the second is Cascade 220.
.




I will be back very soon to share more with you.

Bye for now ♥

****************************************

Two Little FO's .........





While I have been off air, so to speak, I have been busy with my hook. My first little FO is a gorgeously warm & snugly scarf.

Pattern : Just Enough Frills for an Ascot ( Free pattern on Ravelry or can be found over at 'Becky Blue J' blog .)

Yarn : Rowan Cocoon ( 2 balls )

Hook : 6.5 mm

I made it longer than the pattern & was great fun to make.

The second FO are a pair of crochet tiebacks for the curtains in the study. I just made them up as I went, here is how I made them.

Yarn : Rowan Handknit cotton

Hook : 4mm

Chain 76 sts. Sc in 2nd ch from hook & then sc in each ch across. ch 1 & turn then repeat to end. I did 5 rows of sc. Now for the frilly bit.

Dc in 1st sc 5 times ( 5 dc cluster ). *skip next st, slip st in next st, skip next st then 5 Dc cluster in next st* repeat along the bottom only. I then did a 12 st chain at each end for the cords to tieback. I hope these instructions makes sense !!!!!!!

I definitely think that you need to use a strong yarn, like the Rowan Handknit Cotton, to make these as they need to be firm & hard wearing.

Toothache, Birthday & GSB Progress ........

The last two weeks have been rather eventful !!

.

I developed dreadful toothache that turned into an infection in my jaw, OMG the pain was unbearable & my face swelled up to 3 times the size. I didn't sleep for 4 nights, I was like the walking dead ! I ended up having to have an enormous dose of penicillin which got rid of the pain & swelling but has left me feeling washed out.

.

Luckly I woke up on my birthday, after the first good night sleep in a week, pain free & feeling oh so much better. One of my lovely friends made me a yummy cake & was decorated by her daughter & the little men which cheered me up no end, & I was able to have a large slice with my morning coffee.

.

.

Over the past few evening I have been hooking like mad, my first GSB for the little men is half way done & looking good. This is such a lovely, easy pattern to follow that it just seems to flow through my fingers. I am hoping that I will have this finished by the weekend !
.

Rainbow Colours ........

Firstly, I would like to thank all you lovely ladies out there in blog land that sent such lovely kind comments on my finished GSB. I am very touched, your feedback means a lot to me. ♥

Now onto some hooky news.

Because my sitting room & bedroom colour scheme is pinks, purples, greens & blues I am quite restricted with colour for most of my crochet projects. Not so with the little men's room, which is a riot of red, blue, yellow & green. Here I can splash out with vibrant colours that are fun & jolly.

After having so much fun making my GSB I have decided to make two more for the little men's beds, knowing them though they will be bringing them down stairs as they love to snuggle under my blankets on the sofas. I have my work cut out if I am to get these done before Autumn take hold, but I'm up for the challenge & hopefully they won't take so long as I am going to use Vanna's Choice which is a chunky weight & a 6mm hook.

I can't wait to start the first one tonight once the little men are tucked up in bed & I'll keep you posted with my progress !!

bye for now

T ♥♥♥

Granny Stripe Blanket Is Finished !! .........




SOOOOOOO HAPPY with my finished GSB !!! I have loved making this gorgeous blanket, deciding the lay out of the colours as I went was great fun. I'm pleased to see it finished but part of me is a little sad as it was such a fun project to make. Thank you so much Lucy for sharing this pattern, your a little gem xxx

I edged my blanket as follows :

1 row of treble stitch clusters, 1 row of treble sts, 2 rows of double sts, 2 rows of single sts then a shell edging of *3 double stitch clusters then slip st in next 2 sts* repeated all the way around.

So here it is all finished & laid out to show you. My camera doesn't show the colours in a true light, they are actually much brighter & warmer in real life.
.

Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK (16 colours )

Hook: 4mm

Time to Make: 3 months

Enjoyment Level: Very :)

I'm thinking of making another one for little man no.1 using Vanna's Choice yarn to match little man no.2's ripple blanket that I started back in February & is half done, which reminds me that I must pull it out & get on with it so that it's ready for Autumn

bye for now

T xxx

Coffee Pot Cosy ........

My GSB is all but done, just finishing the shell edging, love, love, love it !!!! I would have finished it about a month ago but my hooking mojo plummeted when I hurt my back at the beginning of the summer hols. I have been working on it every evening for the past week, with a snugly Cusso beside me eyeing it up, sorry boy this one isn't for you my furry friend!

Here's another lovely little pattern by Alice @ Crocheting with Raymond, a sweet coffee pot cosy. It only took me 2 hours to make this morning while the the little men & I watched Micky Mouse Club House & Handy Manny, so quick & easy & I love it !

I used some odds & ends of my Stylecraft Special DK and started with a chain of 39 stitches using a 4mm hook. I'm thinking of adding a crocheted flower, mmm maybe, what do you think !!!

Bunting .......

Oh I'm excited !!!

The other day I was trailing through Ravelry & came across another lovely lady & her blog. Her name is Alice & her little blog is
http://CrochethealingandRaymond.wordpress.com/ ( named after her gorgeous Siamese cat. ) She has some lovely crochet patterns that she is sharing, I fell for her bunting hook, line & sinker.

I just had to pick up my hook & start straight away, using odds & ends of the Stylecraft Special yarn from my Granny Stripe Blanket. Oh my, these little beauties are addictive & I love, love, love the pretty edging !!!

Talking of Granny Stripe, I'm now on the home stretch, so hopefully will be able to show it off to you in the next couple of days.

bye for now T x

Slowwww Progress .........

Here is my progress so far on my Stripy Granny, or lack of it as it so happens ! I'm cross with myself for being so slack but hopefully I will have a hooky boost very soon.

Another thing that is oh so slow at the moment is my new kitchen. It's still not finished, but there is a good or rather bad reason for that. My lovely handy man is unwell & I'm not sure when he will be back, I am hoping that he will be able to finish it before the little men break up next Friday, fingers crossed.

Once it is finished I will share before, during & after photos with you. I am sooo very happy with how it has turned out & can't wait to see the finished result, & with such a tight budget too !!

I have been doing a lot of sorting & clearing of junk so the house is beginning to look like a home & not a junk yard, lots of trips to the local tip yard where I have picked up some bargains, two lovely rugs & some wooden garden chairs all for just £12.oo. Oh I do love a bargain !

Loving My Stripy Granny Blanket ........

I'm loving my stripy granny blanket. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to work on it over the weekend, but I'm determined to spend a few hours this evening just hooking !

.

The colours I've chosen are:

.

Top Row (left-right)

Plum #1061

Magenta #1084

Violet #1277

Lavender #1188

Wisteria #1432

Raspberry #1023

Fondant #1241

Clematis #1390

.

Bottom Row (left-right)

.

Teal #1062

Turquoise #1068

Aster #1003

Cloud Blue #1019

Aspen #1422

Sherbet #1034

Meadow #1065

Spring Green #1316

African Flowers ........

I am inspired by many clever ladies who show off their knitting & crochet on the web. One is the lovely Lucy at Attic24 who inspired me to pick up a crochet hook two years ago & learn how to crochet properly after years of only being able to do granny squares. Another talented lady is the wonderful Elizabeth Cat, who has just started her own blog. If you haven't already had a look I highly recommend that you do.

Her work is amazing & she seems to start & complete projects at an incredible rate. One project that she has shared is the African Flower pattern. Wow, what a gorgeous pattern & so so easy & quick to do.

There are so many colour combinations, just have a look at the flikr site 'Crocheting African Flowers'. I am making a cushion cover to start with & I am hooked (excuse the pun ! ) I just love making these pretty flowers. This is my progress so far, I only started on Friday evening, to make the cushion round I am crocheting in between each hexagon.

Another WIP .......

Yes, yet another WIP !!!

I am making the little men blankets for their beds for next Autumn & Winter. I wanted them to be lovely bright colours & also washable so I am using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn. This is the first time I have used this yarn & I'm very pleased with how it's turning out ! No, it isn't as squidgy & soft as Rowan's Pure wool or Debbie Bliss but I am hoping it will hold up better as it is 100% acrylic. I'm not a lover of acrylic yarns but this doesn't look synthetic & the colours are wonderfully bright & cheery.

I have bought 2 balls of each colour for the first blanket & hope I will have enough to make a single bed size.

I am still working on my Wendy Bliss blanket, which is coming along nicely, so hopefully it will be finished soon.

New Yarn & A New Project .......

I know, I know, I promised myself not to buy any more yarn until I had used up some of my large stash but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do & in my case it's yarn !!!!!

A new Hobbycraft store has just opened near me so the other day I thought I would go & have a look around. I spied that Wendy has brought out a new yarn called 'Merino Bliss' & it's gorgeously soft so I just had to have some !!!! There isn't a great colour range which is disappointing but I picked out four colour that went well together for yet another granny blanket !!!

I also bought two skeins of 'Rowan Colourscape' as I have seen a great crochet scarf pattern on Ravelry using this yarn. I rushed home to start my new granny & this is my progress so far.

This yarn is wonderful to work with, I'm finding it hard to put down & have even been hooking while cooking dinner !!!!

At this rate this could be my speed record for making a blanket, I can't wait to snuggle under it, watch this space !!!!

I'm In The Mood For Snow !!! .......



After all this awful rain we have been having, we woke to a frosty, crisp, sunny morning today. Mother nature must have spied that I have been making snowflakes !!!!

I see that the lovely Lucy over at Attic24 has been bitten by the snowflake bug too, there must be something in the air, lol !!!

I think I love the snow more than the little men do & would love it to snow this Christmas, but I can't see that happening. So instead I will make do with snowflakes of the crochet kind.

.

I have now got most of my Christmas pressies & I'm finishing off ones that I am making, cards are out ready to write, wrapping paper is at the ready & school Christmas play costumes are being made tonight, I think I'm ready for you Christmas, bring it on !!!!!!!