Time flies

I can’t believe it’s been more than two months since my last post! Is anyone still out there? The last few weeks of term were quite crazy and even my holiday time hasn’t felt too restful so far. But I’m enjoying my time off – I went to New Wine last week with a group from church which was lots of fun. And yesterday my friend and I drive from the South West (Somerset) to Scotland!
Today we have driven a little further and have just boarded a ferry to Barra, an island in the Outer Hebrides. We’re staying with friends there this week and I’m so excited about seeing them!
Before we got on the ferry we had some time to wander round Oban and we found some very exciting things that I wanted to share with you…

This is the first yarn bombing I’ve seen in real life and we came across it completely unexpectedly! It was done by a lady who has a very small art studio nearby who wanted to brighten up her surroundings – she did it very well!

I’ve taken loads more photos on my camera, so I’ll give you the full version next time I have computer access.
We also came across a quilt exhibition. I didn’t get any photos on my phone, but I took loads on my camera! They were just amazing, so much skill and talent on display. I think there may well be a few picture-heavy posts when I get home!

Made it!

I finally got my act together and joined in with Maryanne’s Made It challenge. Pop over to Woolhogs to have a look and join in yourself if you’ve been crafty recently 🙂

Wrist warmers

I have a super cosy jumper which I love to wear in the evenings. It’s so warm and snuggly, but the sleeves are a little short. As I was crocheting the other evening my hands and wrists started to get really cold. So I decided to whip up a pair of wrist warmers to wear while I crochet. I got the idea from Lucy (see hers here) but my wool was slightly chunkier, so I used a 5mm hook and think I cast on 23 to begin each one.

The multicoloured wool wasn’t quite enough, so I added some lovely fluffy white cuffs. I’m really pleased with how they turned out and don’t have cold wrists any more – hurrah!

A little rainbow of loveliness

I had my day all planned out. I was going to visit the dentist (fun times), visit the beach then visit my Granny in hospital. But just as I was leaving for the dentist the postman visited with a wonderful parcel. Which changed my plans (but only a little).

The parcel contained 10 balls of loveliness – a new supply of Stylecraft Special DK.

Starting at the top they are: Meadow, Saffron, Plum, Rasberry, Lemon, Lavendar, White (x3), Violet.

So instead of going to the beach, I opted to come home and crochet instead! I have to say, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. It was rather grey, cloudy and cold so being warm inside with my new wool was a much more appealing option.

And as a result I now have 3 stitch holders full of a rainbow of little hexagons. Don’t they look lovely?!

From left to right they are:
Top: Emperor, Violet, Lavendar, Turquoise, Denim, Sherbert, Aspen
Middle: Lipstick, Pomegranate, Fondant, Candyfloss, Soft Peach, Raspberry, Plum
Bottom:  Graphite, Silver, Saffron, Lemon, Meadow

This time round I have decided to use all Stylecraft wool. For the last blanket I used a few other types of wool, just bits I had in the bottom of my bag, but even though they were all DK some were slightly thicker than the others which annoyed me. It’s probably not noticable to most people, but I know and that’s enough.

Anyway, I now have a rainbow of 76 lovely little hexagons. I think I’ll need more, but I’m going to lay them all out to work out a pattern for them all, then see which colours I need more of. I think this is my favourite part of the process – I’ll let you know what I come up with tomorrow 🙂

Making progress

I’ve had a fairly productive couple of days and have even managed to cross one thing off my list! Well, I would have if it was on the list in the first place – so annoying. I’ve been working on a baby sleep sack which I’d nearly, but not quite, finished. And I didn’t put it on the list. But I did finish it today!

 

I got the idea from my friend who knitted one for her new born baby (this is the one she made) and it just looked so cute and snuggly that I decided to make one for a friend who’s expecting. I checked out the patterns on Ravelry, but none of the patterns really grabbed me. So I made up my own in crochet. And I’m really quite pleased with how it turned out too. I don’t know if my friend is having a blue or a pink baby, so got this lovely multicoloured baby wool. I’m not usually a fan of wool with quite so many colours in it, but I actually really like how this turned out.

I’ve also nearly finished my round bag. I’ve finished the stripes and done the shell edging (pattern found here at attic 24) and made both of the straps. I’ve even got as far as sewing on one of the straps, and this is how it looks…

I just need to sew on the other strap and make some flowers and it’ll be done! Hopefully I’ll get it done tomorrow.

As I’ve been hooking away I noticed that my wool bag was starting to look a little empty. Well, not really empty, but I could button it up so it was definately emptier, and therefore time to get some new wool!

This is more lovely Stylecraft Special DK in Sherbert, Denim, Candyfloss and Pomegranate. I’ve since been back and got Cream and Fondant too in order to finish my rectangle bag. And I got Silver because I’ve had an idea for another bag. Oh dear.

These are cheap as chips (£1 each) acrylic, but actually quite soft and snuggly. What a bargain. I’d better get working to use it all up hadn’t I?

 

Stripes

This week I have mostly been creating stripes, in the form of the bag I mentioned the other day.  Here it is so far:

Look at the lovely, yummy stripes! And this is the bottom:

However, it has been at this stage for a few days, because as I was working my mind was wandering. I thought to myself “I like this circle bag. It will look good when it’s finished. But I wonder what a rectangular bag would look like? How could I make one of those?” So the circle bag was put down and I started experimenting with a rectangular bag.

For my first attempt I made a long foundation chain, then worked dc (US sc) all the way along it on both sides. When I’d worked all the way around I repeated this with another colour. It was at this point that I realised my mistake – I’d made the chain as long as I wanted the bottom of the bag to be, not taking into account the fact that it was going to get bigger with each round I worked – d’oh! So it would end up being much bigger than I wanted. But the work was not wasted – it will now become a strap for one of the bags.

Second time around I decided to make a very short chain and work rows of 9 dc. I also worked with 2 strands of wool and a 5mm hook to make the bottom slightly more sturdy. When it was the right length I changed colour and, still using 2 strands of wool, worked a border of dcs all the way around. Then using the same colour but one strand and a 4mm hook, I began to work rounds of htrs (US hdc).

I’m using Stylecraft Special DK with the most delicious sounding names! From dark to light they are Lipstick, Pomegranate, Fondant, Candyfloss and Cream. Good enough to eat (perhaps with the exception of Lipstick – that would just be weird).

As you can see, the corners are not very defined, so I think I’ll probably blanket stitch along them when it’s finished.

I’ve also spent a little time this morning sort out my wool. A couple of balls were getting near the end and starting to get pretty tangled up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So they’ve gone from looking like this…

To looking like this! Much easier to work with 🙂

Once every four years

Happy leap day everyone! I don’t know about you, but today hasn’t been that different to any other really, but it kinda feels like it needs mentioning simply because it doesn’t happen that often.

So today hasn’t been particularly special, just pretty crazy. And the day isn’t over yet and I still have a long to do list. So instead of getting on with it I thought I’d write about it instead! Don’t you just love procrastination?!

Anyway, what with having a kinda crazy week, I’ve not felt like crafting much. I come home exhausted and still have things to do for the following day, so I get on and do them as quickly as I can so I can fall into bed as soon as possible. How rock and roll am I?! Hopefully next week will be calmer and I’ll be able to get back into the crafting groove.

But for now, here is a little selection of what I’ve been up to this month. A nice lot of colour to liven up a pretty gloomy month 🙂

A Cardiffy Weekend

Mum and I have been treating ourselves again, and spent some time in Cardiff this weekend. We stayed with another cousin and his family and had a great time with them. I was especially excited to see his nearly 7 year old daughter doing her knitting! Such a look of concentration on her face, and so proud of her work.

Then last night we went to see Straight No Chaser and they were amazing! If you’ve never heard of them you’re not alone – most people have a very blank look when I mention them, but you need to listen to them (here is a good place to start. And here. And maybe here too.) Just brilliant! And so very funny too – it must be hard to act so goofy and sing amazingly at the same time, but they do it so well!

So after a great evening yesterday and a slightly damp walk to school this morning, we decided to take a detour to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway on the way home. I enjoyed browsing through the shops and flicking through books and magazines, but the things that really caught my attention were the balls of wool! John Lewis and Hobbycraft both have a selection of colours and textures that make me drool a little bit just looking at them. And of course I wasn’t content with just looking, and ended up coming home with 4 more to add to my ever growing collection.

This Norse wool is just beautifully soft and snuggly, and is destined to become a snood or scarf. I’m not sure yet whether to knit or crochet… it needs serious thought!

And this kid classic is just gorgeous – and was half price (I love a good bargain!) I can see this becoming gloves, or possibly a lacy, elegant scarf.

Last week, when I got back from the oh so exciting craft fair, I was so excited to get using some of my beautiful new wool. But so far I haven’t touched it! But there is a good reason for this, I assure you. I knitted a cushion cover for my Aunt and Uncle for Christmas, and they liked it so much they’ve asked for another one. This did throw me into a slight panic at first, as I made up the pattern and had it scribbled out on a piece of paper, which for all I knew could have been thrown away weeks ago! But, thanks to my compulsion to keep everything, I managed to find it screwed up in the bottom of my knitting bag. Hurrah for not throwing things away! So I’ve been busily knitting away and have nearly finised the first flap of the back (I’ll knit it all in one long piece – half of the back, the front and the other half of the back). And here it is so far, looking all lovely and snuggly and warm 🙂

Lovely new things

This week I have  been inspired by the cold to make some lovely wrist warmers. I managed to find some bargain bamboo wool in my local craft shop a couple of weeks ago, and decided it would be perfect. But I also decided (probably foolishly) to make up my own pattern. So they’ve taken a lot longer to finish than I thought, and still need sewing up – so you’ll have to wait one more day before I show them to you!

In the meantime, I’ve been shopping! I went with a couple of friends to Craft 4 Crafters at Westpoint Arena in Exeter today, and we had so much fun! I’ve been there for several years now, and always get so excited about it (an enthusiasm not shared by many of my friends who think I probably need help).

There is always so much to see, and so much inspiration – I just love looking at all the quilts, and lace, and embroidery, and knitted items, and scrapbook pages, and… you get the idea. And it’s great fun hunting for the bargains too (and super frustrating when I find something for less than I paid 5 minutes earlier).

So here are my purchaces from today…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at this beautiful wool! I almost found this stall by accident, and I was busily chatting to my friend, and looking for something else at the time. But I happened to look in the right direction at the right time, and there it was – a wall of stunning shades and textures – heaven! Even better was the fact that most of it was in a ’10 balls for £20′ offer, and the other 2 balls were in the bargain box – a bargain indeed! The 5 at the back are Patons Pompero, and are so wonderfully soft. They will be perfect for a snuggly pair of gloves, or a super cosy hat. And the Katia Eco Cotton are such beautiful colours – I have no idea what I’ll use them for yet, but I can’t wait to play with them 🙂

The rest of my purchases are equally exciting (to me at least, but possibly not to anyone else). 2 knitting magazines for £1 each – bargain. A bobbin box for £1.99 – bargain. A fat quarter of pretty fabric for £1 – bargain. 5 rolls of double sided tape for £3.50 (so not exciting for most people, but so necessary for many of the things I make!) – bargain. A pack of blades for my craft knife for £1 – bargain! Do you sense a theme here?

And last but not least, quite possibly my favourite buy of the day – buttons! I really don’t need more – I have several boxes and jars already full of buttons, but when I saw their beautiful colours all mixed together like that I just had to buy them! The pale, vintage style buttons are just gorgeous, and the bright ones will go so well with my new wool. I was powerless to resist!

Now all I need to do is conjure up some more storage space for it all and I’ll be ready to start creating.