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

The last two weeks have been rather eventful !!

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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.

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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.

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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 !
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9/11 ........

A day to remember & feel blessed that your loved ones are near & safe !

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.
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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

Wow !!! My First Blog Award .........

I'm gob smacked. A really BIG thank you to the Clare at greenfrogcrafts.blogspot.com/ for giving me this lovely award. THANK YOU xxx

I have to write 5 things about myself before passing on this award, so here goes.

1. My dream is to move to Dorset & have enough land to have some chickens, a donkey or two, a small orchard & vegetable patch.
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2. I went to school with the Countess of Wessex, but alas I'm no lady lol !!!
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3. When I was at school I wanted to be a pathologist, Scene of Crime Officer or forensic scientist & all my friends thought I was morbid. ( Funny that now it's the IN thing to do ! )
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4. I lived in British Columbia, Canada for a couple of years when I was young (amazing place ! )
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5. I love the snow & thunderstorms ( I'm just a big kid at heart ).

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I would like to pass on this award to the following lovely ladies :

Lucy @ http://attic24.typepad/weblog/

Elizabeth @ http://byelizabethcat.blogspot.com/

Heather @ http://littletinbird.co.uk/

Jacquie @ http://bunnymummy-jacquie-blogspot.com/

Mia @ http://miaslandliv.blogspot.com/

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Ladies, you brighten my days with your lovely blogs xxx.

My New Kitchen ......

I am so happy & proud to show off my new shiny, clutter free kitchen. It has taken over six weeks to transform, but boy it's worth all the upheaval & mess. My handy man has been a star & has done a wonderful job, no slap dash. The reason for the wait was because he was ill for a few weeks & then had to catch up on other jobs as well. I didn't mind because I knew that he would do a great job, & he has !!!!
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Please note that I took the before photos as I was packing everything up ( it wasn't that messy & cluttered normally )

After :: New oven & hob that works ! New shiny white ceramic sink, my only extravagance.

After :: Ugly boiler hidden away in a cupboard & pipes boxed in.

After :: Serving hatch boxed in & tiled over, lots of work surface, wonderful !!!


I had a very tight budget to cover everything, units, appliances, sink, taps, flooring, labour etc & I did it, I think I was just over by £40.00, not bad hey !!! A big thank you to my mum who helped me turn my dream into reality, your the best !!!

Words can not describe how happy & thrilled I am, I have really enjoyed searching for everything ( Wicks - Units, oven, hob & tap Homebase - tiles B&Q - sink, flooring & work tops ) & putting it all together, with a little help from my handy man Ian !!!

Burberry Inspired Cowl .......

I have been rather fed up recently !!

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The reason being is that 3 days into the summer hols I pulled my back & have been in pain ever since. I had so many plans for me & the little men & so far we haven't done any of them :(

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I have been to see an osteopath & I'm beginning to feel a lot better. Poor little men have been mainly confined to the house & garden & are beginning to get cabin fever (so am I). My lovely mum has been brilliant & has taken them over to her house here & there to give me some time to relax.

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I just haven't been in the mood to crochet but I can't just sit there doing nothing, so I went through Ravelry to see if there was something quick to make & found this lovely little pattern which is perfect for 1 skein of Malabrigo I had knocking around.

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Pattern : Burberry Inspired Cowl ( Free Pattern on Ravelry )

Yarn : 1 Skein of Malabrigo Worsted ( Whales Road )

Needles : 6.5mm

Time : 2 Days

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I love it !!! I will be making more of these I'm sure !

Scarecrow Festival .......

Every year in July our village holds a Scarecrow Festival. It's a great hit with the little people, my two included !

This was one of their favorites.

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 !

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The colours I've chosen are:

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Top Row (left-right)

Plum #1061

Magenta #1084

Violet #1277

Lavender #1188

Wisteria #1432

Raspberry #1023

Fondant #1241

Clematis #1390

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Bottom Row (left-right)

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Teal #1062

Turquoise #1068

Aster #1003

Cloud Blue #1019

Aspen #1422

Sherbet #1034

Meadow #1065

Spring Green #1316

Shiny New Floor ........

When we moved into this house it had cream carpets throughout. As you may agree cream carpets with four in door cats & two little men are not a good mix ! Over the last six years it as gradually turned from cream to grey with the ocassional stain here & there. I hated it but when you are doing up a place there is no point changing carpets until the messy work had been done.

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Now that the work is nearly done, it was time to start ripping up & changing that offending carpet. I have started in the hall as it was really disgusting & the first thing that people saw when they walked in.

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I am over the moon with the new laminate flooring, sooo shiny & oh sooo easy to keep clean. I was going to have new carpet in the sitting/ dining room but now after seeing the end result in the hall have decided to have laminate instead.

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I can't wait to show off my new kitchen once it is complete, only the flooring & tiles to be done now. I can't speak highly enough of the chap who has done all the work, what a professional & tidies as he goes which is almost unheard of. Thanks Ian your doing a marvelous job !
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Jumping On The Stripey Granny Blanket Band Wagon ........

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Life is so hectic at the mo.

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My new kitchen is being installed, & is looking fantastic, new flooring in the hall ( soooo pleased to see the horrible old carpet gone ) trying to cater for two little men surrounded by chaos & dust & trying to keep the house in some sort of order !

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So what better for the soul & my sanity than to start a new project. I fell in love with Lucy's Stripey granny blanket as soon as I saw it, I tried to reason with myself 'do you really need to start yet another blanket Tania, no BUT wouldn't it look great on the sofa in the conservatory'. So before I talked myself out of it, I choose & ordered 16 ball of Stylecraft Special DK .

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Two days later it arrived via Mr Postman. I must say that for 100% acrylic I'm impressed, the yarn is soft & the colours are lovely & bright. With two little men about I am hoping that it will stand up better than wool with every day wear & tear !!

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I have already done 12 stripes so far & will be posting some progess photos tomorrow.

xxx

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.

Taking Time To Enjoy The Simple Things In Life ........

Loving the smell of newly cut grass & my garden coming to life after a long cold winter ::

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Loving the beautiful blossom on the way to school ::
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Loving all the fairy clocks (there seems to be hundreds of them this year) ::

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Loving how nature can be so beautiful ::

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED ........

Like many of you out there I just love Jan Constantine wonderful cushions, wall hangings & nik-naks. I have drooled over them for quite some time now but my finances can't stretch to £75 for a cushion !!

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Over the Easter hols I was sorting out my Lloyd loom Ottoman that was over flowing with old half finished tapestries, wools & pieces of canvas when the idea hit me, why not make some tapestry cushions using Jan's designs. As I already have the canvas & a large selection of wool it is a very cheap alternative, in fact FREE !!!!!

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So here is my progress so far, a very easy project that I can pick up & work on whenever I have 5 mins to spare. I drew the outline of the letters & kind of made it up as I went.

Then I realised you can actually buy the chart from her web site for just £10, silly me !!! Anyway I am pleased with it & I am going to ask a friend to help me turn it into a cushion once it is finished as I am not very good with a sewing machin

Just A Quick Note ........

I have quite a few WIP's to show you, but not the time to post them at the mo. I have being trying to catch up with jobs & the mountain of ironing that I have had hidden in the cupboard under the stairs, but shhhh don't tell my mother she would be very unimpressed with me if she saw it !!!!!!!

I am also trying to decide on kitchen cabinets, worktops & tiles for my new kitchen as I have found a chap that can do all of the work at a very good price & can start in a few weeks !!!!!

I promise to show off my WIP's in the next few days, but in the meantime here are some photos of two of my furry babies ......

Saba ....... my youngest furball, who says pink only looks good on girls !!!!

Saba & Bilbo ........ once arch enemies now good buddies. Bilbo has been quite poorly recently with gum problems & he also suffers from fits from time to time so he is a very special boy.