fifteen

almost finished, three sets of coasters, just need their ends sewing in, although not sure i'll get round to that tonight due to the sleepy monday haze hanging over me, they do look ever so lovely together too, seems a shame to split them up, what a lovely weekend though, so good to see the sun again  

twelve

happy it's friday & we've got a relatively quiet weekend planned, i've been working on a little favour for a friend & i'm planning to finish it off this weekend, crocheted coasters again - pattern can be found via here

happy weekend to all!

a granny for camp

oh dear - having updated this project on ravelry it seems this took me almost a year to get finished - oops i hadn't thought it was quite so long - oh well, it's done now & just perfect for it's intended job, a blanket to come on our camping trips, to snuggle up the little people with when chilly, to keep me snug when staying up a little too late {chatting with friends over a glass of wine round the campfire} to be dragged into their den of choice & by the look of it, a comfy bed when captain barnacles fancies a nap & thrown in the washing machine every now & then

just a giant granny square, crocheted with some cheapo acrylic from kemps, in some rather clashing bright colours, just perfect! ravelry details over here

makings

i've been a bit sporadic on the making front recently, i'm still slogging away with the big cardi for the hubs but have been cheering myself up with a few quick little makes in between,

along with some fabric scraps & a few odd vintage buttons, this little bundle was turned into some jubilee bunting for our tent, it did get a little soggy but it cheered me up, the ribbons were from here

 i have also recently crocheted a few coasters for a friend i work with, these were so nice & quick to make, i used some rowan bamboo tape i'd brought yonks ago, which worked really well for this project, the pattern i'd found via here

we've been snugged up at home today as the school have an inset day, but making cookies & getting cosy to watch a film have kept the small folk happy & i've been able to start a little baby knitting for a nephew due any day now 

keeping cosy

the idea of a long family dog walk round frensham ponds is not looking too appealing now the rain appears to have set in for the day, i'd much rather be keeping cosy, drinking lots of tea & finishing off the fairy cakes we made yesterday!

totally inspired by these tea cosies, i set about making my own, made from yarn left over from other projects - a quick, cute & easy pattern, as if i needed any encouragement to be drinking more tea! hope your mondays are a little less rainy

a very good friday

some unexpected sunshine, loved ones, tasty food & lots of chocolate - a very good friday indeed {mini crochet egg baskets made up by my mum, from plastic carrier bags or twine}

farewell flower

a very quick gift {made whilst sitting in the garden watching the sunset on wednesday} for one of G's teachers, she's getting moved to teach in another class after the easter break, he'll miss her, but as she's moved higher up the school i'm hoping this might mean she'll teach him again in the future, pattern from issue 12 of  'mollie makes' {shame i hadn't realised there was a mistake in the pattern when making it, but carried on regardless & made it work}

beach trip

we were lucky enough to start the easter holidays early round here due to a school inset day, so after a lovely lazy pyjama morning we wanted to make the most of what will probably be the last sunny warm day for a while, we packed up and headed out for a late afternoon trip to the beach, it was really lovely, the boy was the brave one & headed into the water {which meant the dog followed suit!} the littlest happily danced in the sand & had a little paddle, the hubs ran around after the dog {who was enjoying chasing the kites which were flying around!} & i mostly sat still, watching & crocheting, then we treated ourselves to a fish & chip supper on the way home - just lovely!

a camping granny

i'd been thinking about a crochet blanket plan for a while, at first i was sure i'd make a granny stripe & had been mulling over what colours i'd like to use, i'd seen this yarn on kemps website recently - i'm always checking their clearance yarns, i'd planned on making the blanket in an acrylic yarn, as i'd wanted it to be something we could take camping & that the kids could use in the garden in a den, or take to the park, so i didn't want it to be something i was too precious about, i dithered a little, not sure if  i'd like the colours or the yarn, but in the end temptation won over {& also at £1.09 for a 100g ball it wasn't going to break the bank} i ordered six colours & waited patiently for the postman,

{apple green, cerise, orange, grey, turquoise & jade}

by this time i''d made up my mind that i wanted to make a giant granny square, using two rounds of each colour, now this didn't really need a pattern but this would be a good starting point if you needed one, i couldn't wait to get started, now this isn't a particularly nice yarn to work with, but it feels okay once it's been worked up, i'm really happy with how the colours work together, i'm not really planning on getting this finished till next years first camping trip but i'm enjoying the short rounds at the start of the blanket, i'm sure i'll slow down when it takes me an hour to do one round!

& at least i'll have something to do whilst hiding in the tent from the rain on our final camping trip this year!

teachers pet

i know lot's of other crafty peeps have used this idea for teacher presents this year but i just couldn't resist, they look so sweet together, i used the mollie makes pattern this time, but think if i am ever to make more, i would go back to the other one i've used in the past, as i had to make a few mods as i went along to these, i used some of the rowan handknit cotton from my odd ball stash to make them, the cards were fun to make too & i was really pleased they turned out how i have imagined them in my head!

playing around

working on some new projects,

so far, so good

mini granny stripes

i couldn't resist a little go at the granny stripe pattern & at the same time managed to use up just about every gram of the debbie bliss 'pure cotton' yarn

there was just about enough to make a small dolly sized blanket, i'm well & truly hooked, what a great pattern, i really will be making a big version of this once i get a few other projects finished first!

i also wanted to thank Margaret from paper pastries for sending over the lovely 'message in a bottle kit' i'd won over on 'the ardent sparrow's' giveway, it's ever so sweet, thank you

good'granny'ness

what a week, i think after all my making & blogging during kcwc i needed a week off, we've also had a busy weekend of visiting & big birthday parties, all good fun but rather tiring, so it's great that this post will be photo heavy & word lite, the circle in a square granny blanket is finished {finally!} 

ta-da

this little beauty was a long time in the making {16 months to be exact} but well worth the effort, i had a last minute change of plan with the layout & didn't go with making it square, this way it can either happily sit on the back of the sofa or it also fit's little O's bed rather well {i wish it was big enough for our bed, but then that would probably have taken five years to make!}

i'm already thinking about what my next big project can be, i really want to make a granny stripe blanket as i've seen so many lovely one's on ravelry, 

the details are over on my ravelry page, or on previous blog post here, 

almost a ta-dah!

as sad as i was that the Easter holidays were over, it was rather nice to get the house back & enjoy a more peaceful day, little O surprised me by having a little nap this afternoon, so i took the hour to catch up with my circle in a square granny blanket,

i am so nearly there with this & really want to push myself to finish it, i had a quick change of plan by instead of going with the 10x10 squares i had intended from the start, to an 8x12 squares blanket, my thought being that this will be better suited to use on the sofa, 

all my circles are finished, i'm just working my way through crocheting the last two rows on, then i need to come up with a border, this blanket has been a wip for far too long, i really want to get it finished!

pea pod cuties

one of the lovely ladies i.work with at pre-school recently lent me this japanese knitting & crochet craft book, it's full of sweet patterns, mostly for house slippers & socks, 

the downside is that there are no english translations for any of it, there are lots of diagrams & a few pictures of what stitches some of the symbols mean, but with regards to sizes & yarn weights i was a little lost  (my friend is japanese, so i can always ask if i get really stuck)

i thought it best to try a small pattern out first, these baby shoes were the smallest in the book, relatively easy to follow & also very quick to make, i used some sublime organic cotton dk, (in the 'pea pod' shade) which i'd brought from kemps last summer,

i'm guessing they have turned out at about 12-18 month size? (if anyone has a 12-18 month old foot in their house, it would great to know how long their little feet actually are?) i'm sure by adjusting the yarn weight & hook size i can make up a smaller pair, as i think these would be better suited to a smaller baby, 

ravelry notes found here

another one for the little folks

undeterred by my last sewing for little O, i got straight on with it & made her something else, using the same pattern again, only making it a little smaller this time, i cut into the anna maria horner 'little folks' voile fabric i had brought from here a while ago, i had been really keen to get some of this fabric as everyone had been raving about how lovely it is, 

i admit to not being wowed immediately, but once finished i can see why everyone loves the voiles so

the finished top has such a lovely feel & drape to it & as i didn't line this one it sewed up in no time, i only had half a metre of the fabric so i made it as long as i could, so it's not quite a dress, but will look cute with a pair of leggings underneath, & should fit as a top for next summer!

& did you notice the cute little hanger? 

that was another really quick project, just to cover a small wooden hanger, 

i followed dotty angels happy hanger tutorial, just changing it slightly to make it fit my hanger, & as i couldn't decide what colour to use i made one side blue & one side pink, using some of my rowan handknit cotton yarn.

almost friday

well, it's now even nearer to Friday than when i first started writing this post, but what a week so far, being back at work & still trying to fit in all the regular stuff has really wiped me out, i've also not been sleeping so great due to house moving related worries!

our buyer is pushing things along at a very quick pace (she's currently in rented), we've had an offer accepted on a house (far from my dream house, but it's BIG! & in a great location, i've had to use my head for the decision making & not my heart)

so yesterday i picked up my hook & worked on another row for the granny blanket, which really did help to calm the mind & slow me down a little, 

every time i work on this i love it more & more, although i am so upset to have noticed i'm going to be short on the white/gray i'm using for the borders, (Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton shade #18 - now discontinued, darn it, so if anyone spots some anywhere, please please do let me know)

Also to kick start my 12 hours of sewing a month pledge, i set about making a cosy for our coffee cafetiere, i made this up as i went along & was really pleased with how it turned out, 

i need to make another one to match for our mini cafetiere!

ofcourse little O wanted to get in on the act too! (she rather annoyingly just wanted to take the cosy on & off, over & over)

i've been at the sewing machine again tonight, having just remembered at bath time, that it's a 'non-uniform, wear yellow & bring a plant into school' day tomorrow, just great, G had nothing in yellow (& i've yet to buy a plant) so i set about this evening, chopping up a yellow vest of mine, with which to make a t'shirt for him to wear tomorrow, not my finest work, i just hope it's going to fit him!