Crochet, knitting and a whole lot more

Whether it’s the uncertain times we’re all living in or just general frustration I don’t know, but I don’t seem to be able to settle to one thing, so have a lot of different projects on the go.

This is a mandala mat I have now finished. I love how quick this made up and how easy the stitches were. Being able to almost finish it in one sitting was very satisfying. I found the pattern on
Attic 24 which is where I find lots of interesting little projects. They are always so colourful and just make my heart sing.

Another beautiful project is this Harmony Blanket pattern from the same blog (once on the blog just scroll down the left hand side in the patterns section). It is quite a classic granny square pattern brought bang up to date using Stylecraft Special double knit acrylic yarn. I have always loved Stylecraft and this particular range has about 85 colours which makes it my favourite go to for just about everything. It is only around £2.00 a ball for 100 grams too. I made this blanket a couple of years ago but sold it to a customer when I had the shop. She asked if she could buy it and I quoted £80.00 thinking that was far too expensive and she snapped my hand off and bought it on the spot.

I fell in love with this little cardigan pattern as soon as I saw it but couldn’t find my bag of green Stylecraft Life DK which would have been perfect.  Instead I started it in pure merino wool from Jenny Watson. It’s off white and the quality is gorgeous. Unfortunately I’m not “feeling” the colour.  Casting on 262 stitches was a pain and after the first row the second one didn’t work out. I am an experienced knitter so I contacted Sirdar who assure me that it is fine and that it is probably me. I’m not convinced as when I use a calculator it definitely isn’t working out but I will give it another go and then make it up as I go along if necessary. I will endeavour to find the bag of green wool before I start again though.

Next up is my little Frontline Hero Bear. A gorgeous free pattern that I discovered after reading a friend’s Facebook post. My niece is a Doctor and her partner used to be a paramedic and now works in a hospital as the person you see if the doctors are busy (I don’t know his full title). They have 2 little girls and I thought it would be nice to make Mummy and Daddy hero bears. If you can crochet, these are really easy to make and I’m so pleased at how the first one is looking so far.

So as you can see I’m very busy but a bit all over place. Hopefully out of all this chaos I will find a little calm!

Getting to grips with a little crochet

I have knitted all my life . I literally cannot even remember learning and was reading patterns as soon as I could read, making clothes for my dolls.
Crochet came a little later but was when my brother still lived at home and he left when I was about nine, so crochet has been a large part of who I am too although I didn’t really begin to love it until I started teaching it when I had my shop.

I started this pretty little mat a few days ago and it made up so quickly. The pattern is from the cute and easy flowers book by Nicki Trench and is one of my favourite go to books. It has some gorgeous patterns for mats, blankets, bunting and lots lots more.

Garden catch up and crochet

We both have the weekend off so we decided to make the most of the dry weather. We had another walk down to the river because yesterday we spotted a mink catching fish and darting around having a thoroughly good time. Unfortunately mink prey on water voles which isn’t good but they are very pretty creatures.

When we got back I went shopping and then we did a bit more gardening.

It’s looking even more tidy now, all ready for some pretty bedding plants if ever they arrive in the shops.  Can you spot the bee in the middle of the flowers above? You might need to zoom in.

As I like to pack as much in to my day as possible I also did some crochet from Nicki Trench’s book Crochet with flowers. I’ve made a lot of these gorgeous mats. They are so useful. I will finish it tomorrow time permitting.

I made this rainbow for the window a few days ago to show our support for the wonderful work the NHS are doing during these awful times.

Easter Monday

It’s not felt like Easter this year as we don’t seem to have had the same work/play divide. I worked Saturday and Sunday so had to make do with yesterday and tried to push as much as I could in to my only day off.

We decided to go for a lovely long walk to Lartington via the local woods and then walked back dropping in to Deerbolt wood on the way home. I even saw a lamb born in one of the fields which was the highlight of my day.

Once home I did a little bit of crafting. I crocheted these sweet little blossoms from a pattern on
Attic 24 and stuck them to a branch I took from the woods. I was so pleased with the result. It’s just so pretty and reminds me of Spring.
I hope you were able to make your Easter special xx

Completed Projects

It's been ages since I showed you my finished projects mostly because many were gifts for Christmas as of course if I had shown you it would have spoilt the surprise for my nearest and dearest family and friends.  Anyway without further ado here goes:

A chunky cardigan greatly appreciated by my son's partner Steph.

A super chunky jumper given to my mother in law for Christmas.  I love how this turned out and will give this another try.

A sample for the shop knitted in James C Brett marble chunky.  A pattern I have done many times and love it's simplicity.

A birthday present for my Mum who loves getting cosy underneath it.  This pattern can be found as a tutorial on line.

A little embroidery and applique picture which I am still to complete even though it was meant to be a quick job.

A holiday project made for my Mum instead of bringing her something back that she wouldn't really want.  This is a pattern taken from Attic 24 and is her jolly chunky bag.

A cardigan made for an order using the Sirdar pattern in the picture.  This was great to do and  I would gladly make this again in the future.

A Christmas present for my Mum using a pattern for the weekend bag from Attic 24.  It was so easy to make.  I have one too!

The easiest shawl ever and a absolute dream to make.  I will post the pattern soon.  This was given to my friend for her birthday earlier this month and she loved it.  She is very much in to lets say, the murkier colour choices.

Well I hope you liked my round up of the latter quarter of 2016's makes.  I always work better under pressure and seem to get everything done despite my self doubts.

It can't be that long ago!

For ages I have kept thinking that I must get back in touch with you all, that is if anyone is still bothering to drop by.  I wouldn't blame you if you didn't.  When I finally opened up my blog I was absolutely flabbergasted at how long it had been.  The last thing I wrote was Happy New Year for goodness sake!
I haven't been lazy though in the time I have been away and have managed to complete lots of crafty things including some lovely Mother's Day cards which I can't show you just in case a sneaky Mum pops by.

This wavy blanket is an ongoing project which is much further forward now.  I will reveal more shortly.

I love this shawl which eventually was given to my friend Susan for her birthday.  It was supposed to be for me but she loved it so much and found the pattern a little too taxing to do for herself, so off it went to her and she was very pleased.

My son gave me a gorgeous set of Faber Castell pastels for Christmas and this was an angel picture I drew.  There is a little bit of watercolour in there too. I have this on my wall in the shop and quite a few people have admired it.

I also discovered a brand new craft of making baskets using newspaper. Hubby made me one for Christmas and put my favourite sweets in it.  I was so amazed that he had done something that brilliant and insisted that he showed me how it was done.  We spent a lovely afternoon getting to grips with the tricky weaving process but I thing the finished result is brilliant.  I have since painted the basket white with some acrylic paint and it looks very professional.
Well there you have it.  I have a few more things to show you but they will have to wait as I don't have the right cable to get the other photos off my phone.  I am at home today having decided not to go to the shop following a heavy down pour of snow this morning.  The unfortunate thing is that it seems to have stopped now and looks likely to disappear. Also I have been told that Worksop didn't get snow today so that makes things even worse.  I haven't been a hundred per cent this last couple of weeks so was hoping to recuperate today but now feel rather guilty!

Just when you think everythings going your way!

It was too good to be true.  I had a great day yesterday, very relaxing, really smashing. Unfortunately my Mum was taken in to hospital last night and oh dear everything grinds to a nasty halt.  The doctors thought is was a stroke as she lost a lot of the use in her arms but it turns out to be a nasty chest infection.  I spoke to her last night before bedtime and apart from being tired she seems to be OK.  Thank goodness.  She is 92 years old and these scares really knock you for six.
Well it didn't put me off being good and I managed to prepare a really nice dinner of pork and vegetables.

The carrots and beetroot were harvested from our own garden and so the flavours were beautifully intense.

Mmm I'm feeling quite peckish just looking at those pictures.
Today started well with a good breakfast of porridge, Greek yogurt, honey and sliced banana with nuts and seeds for my snack.

I joined a gym back in June and surprisingly I have kept up my exercise routine although I missed last week due to feeling under the weather.  I managed to do a good workout today and am currently on 7,258 steps on my Mi Fit band. Obviously my goal is to reach 10,000 today and by the time I've rushed round later I should have achieved that without too much trouble.

Oh the above picture has just reminded me that I never showed you my completed Harmony blanket.

I started this back in August and it took about two months of solid work to finish it.  The pattern is over at Attic 24 and I enjoyed every minute of the making process.  I used exactly the same wool and colours that Lucy recommended and it turned out perfect.

At the moment it is on the sofa in the shop but will eventually have pride of place on our bed at home.

 Right well I better shoot off and get some lunch and I'll check in with you all very soon.

This is Me

Sunday mornings are as you will already know if you know me at all my all time favourite part of the week.  I love the peace and quiet and the promise of a lovely homely day doing exactly what I want to do and not having to be any place but home.
Here I sit in my comfy bed, hubby having gone to work (poor thing) thinking about nothing in particular other than what I want to do next.  I am already on my second cup of freshly ground coffee.  This is a true luxury and one we allow ourselves everyday.  We have a little coffee grinder, a caffitiere and thats it.  No instant coffee allowed.
As I was contemplating I happened to glance over to the untidy pile of stuff on the bed and like a lightening bolt I realised that what lay there was a snap shot of me.

There was the brand new bedding I intend to put on as soon as I prize myself out of the existing covers.

I bought this set from Morrisons one day when I was shopping.  It was totally on a whim and as soon as I got it home I realised that although it was me to a tee; patchwork, flowers and spots - it was never going to look right in our bedroom which is cream and beige with french look furniture.  However I couldn't bring myself to take it back and so today is the day that it will go on our bed regardless of the clash of trends and colours.


A crochet book I have just found on the bookshelf that I had forgotten I had.  I do this alot.  I buy a book that I just can't live without.  Bring it home and then instantly forget that I ever bought it.  I have on occasion re-bought the book which is utter madness.

This is such a cool book.  I love crochet although knitting will always be my first love.  Mum bought me a piece of Angeline last week.  Apparently it draws the angels to you and keeps you safe.  I like that idea and in this book there is a pretty pendant to make where you crochet round a stone which I think will be a perfect way of using my present.  I will let you see the finished creation soon.

A Matalan magizine posted through the door.

I am not a follower of fashion but I love looking through magizines and leaflets and often find something that I just can't live without.  I don't often go in Matalan although there is a massive store in Worksop (where my shop is) and occasionally I pop in.  I currently have four pairs of ballet shoes from there which were as cheap as chips and look lovely with pretty dresses and skirts.  I have a painful middle toe and can no longer where my killer heels so they are perfect for me.
My favourite healthy eating book.

Gosh I love this book.  My friend actually bought it and brought it in the shop.  I liked it so much I bought it off her and she had to go and get another one.  It is written in such a way that you can't help but want to eat better.  I have gained so much from the information and the recipes are excellent.  I have made several and they are all delicious.  There are not many health books that I have read cover to cover and although I am still only half way through this will be read in its entirety I can guarantee.
Paula's note book just waiting to be opened and written in.

This is where I put all my insights, dreams and feelings with a hope that one day I will hit on the next big thing or eventually find the holy grail. I made this some time ago and have since done something similar for a friend of mine who loved elephants and was starting a new job where she has to write down lots of information etc.
The elephants were in the form of the fabric I used and she loved it.
My glasses which are so much part of me I forget sometimes that I am wearing them and try to put my others over the top of them.  Very silly I know.
My laptop.  I am nothing without my laptop.  I love the internet especially Pinterest where I can lose myself for hours. This was a present from hubby for my 50th birthday and as I am a few years older now I suspect I will soon need a new one.
And finally the book I am just about to start reading.

This was another find this morning.  I absolutely adore self improvement books.  My brother once commented that they obviously don't work.  He was looking at me at the time which I thought was very rude and something I have secretly never forgiven him for saying!
I read my first self help book over twenty years ago.  It was How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie and it changed my life.  I wouldn't say I follow everything in these types of book but there is always something to take away and think about and if just one thing helps to improve your life I think that is just fine.  Hubby says that I always seem to be searching for something but it's not quite like that.  I am not an unhappy person but I have a feeling that there is something more to this life and as yet I haven't found it.  Maybe one day I will but today I certainly found a little bit of what makes me tick right there in a pile of stuff.