Blanket ta dah!

Lurking in the background (and in the foreground) of some of my pictures this week there have been some hexagons. Well, now you can see what they are part of! Yes, it's time for a proper, happy, happy crochet ta-dah! It feels long over due to me. I think I had felt a bit uninspired, craft-wise for a while - like nearly a year! Maybe that's one reason, as well as just being busy, why I haven't blogged much in the last 9 months or so.

I feel like my inspiration is slowly coming back now though. And finishing this blanket has felt so good - I'd forgotten how good it feels to finish a major project, and feel happy with it! Can't remember what my last ta-dah was and I'm not going to depress myself by looking back to find out.

All in all, I'm not only happy with the finished result of this blanket, but I also enjoyed the making process. The pattern was an Erika Knight hexagon design from the book Essential Crochet, which I've made before here, but I decided to change the colours so that each shape was all one colour instead of two, and then arrange the shapes into flowers.

It's also just about the biggest blanket I've ever made, which surprised me. I didn't get fed up and have to push on for a while being fed up in order to make it this size. I just sort of finished it naturally when I felt like I was ready to, and it's still big enough to cover a double bed quite well.

So now, feeling inspired, it's on to more projects. I have a few plans - crochet garlands, and two different cushion covers...and maybe a third in mind already. My big brother is moving house next week with his girlfriend (yay! happy for him), and I am thinking they might need a crochet cushion as a housewarming pressie!

Hope you all have a fab weekend!

A finished blanket!

Hi everyone. For the firs time in a long time, I have completed a big project. Well, ok, I haven't actually fastened off all the ends yet, but it's basically complete.

I started this blanket last October, so it's taken me nearly a year to finish. I've only worked on it on and off. It came with me during my house move last year, and was the first think I worked on after I moved in. I remember sitting on the floor of my empty new flat (I had no furniture!) the day after I moved in making little circles and squares for this.

I hope it's going to grace my current and future homes for years to come providing cosyness.

The pattern is from The Gentle Art of Knitting. I used DK yarn. The blanket size is just big enough to cover my double bed. I made 272 little squares altogether, and then finished it off with a few rounds of granny crochet all around the edge, followed by one round in double crochet in yellow for trim.

Finished just in time for the cold weather here - lets hope it saves me some money on my heating bills!

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hunkering down

It has really been a day for hunkering down today.  After such a warm star to March, today we have had thunder and hailstorms.

The last couple of weeks have seen me desperately trying to finish the blanket I started in October. 

Also I've been admiring how my yarn looks in these little wire baskets,  which were a recent purchase.  They are so handy as yarn tidies in the living room.

After having spent most of my money over the last few months on furniture and sensible things like getting the hot water tank fixed, its nice to finally have some money to spend on something frivolous again!

Have a lovely weekend!

Xx xx xx xx

Mammoth crafty update part I

Hello everyone! This is the first time for about a month that I have had access to a proper pc and working internet connection on which to blog, or do anything web related. Regular readers might remember that I was about to move house at the end of November. The move went smoothly, but sadly setting up an internet connection is taking a ridiculously long time, so I'm taking advantage of being back at my family home for Christmas, where there is a working internet connection!

I promised a mammoth crafty update, but I think there is too much for one post, so I think I will split it into parts - it may take me a while to catch up with myself. To be honest December has just been completely knackering in a lot of ways, so I haven't done as much crafting as I normally would, due to my routine being knocked sideways by the move. Still, the enforced blog-absence this month has meant that I have a lot to share!

So, to begin! Firstly there is the granny stripe throw.

I spent the last couple of weeks frantically trying to finish this so that it could be a Christmas present. I actually started this project in July - right around the time that I found my flat - so it seems appropriate that it should be the first project I finished after moving in!

This project owes a lot to other bloggers actually - I'm sure you will recognise the original idea as being from Lucy at Attic 24, and you may also recognise the colour scheme as being heavily inspired by Annie's Place.

I'm very pleased to have finished this in time, and I hope it will be a thing of beauty to the recipients tomorrow!

Sorry about the bad light in these pictures - it dark and rainy all day yesterday, and who knows when daylight will return! At this time of year in England, it can feel like the sun is never coming back!

Ok, I think that will have to be all for this crafty update, as it's getting ridiculously late on Christmas Eve to be up blogging! Hope you all have a happy, cosy Christmas with your loved ones. I hope to be back for the next update on Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas! 

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Hexagon blanket

This week I finally finished my hexagon blanket! This blanket has taken me quite a while - I started it back in May, do you remember?

For those of you who like to know this sort of thing, here are some blanket statistics for you, this blankt is:

195 hexgaons

double knit yarn (various types)

single bed size

lovely and snuggly!

I am so glad I have finally managed to make this blanket - after a couple of false starts over the years.

Hope you have a creative Sunday - now I'm off for some more happy hooky!

xx xxx xx xx xx xxx xx

A big decision...

Well, I have something pretty exciting to share with you! Well, its very exciting to me anyway!

I had a half day off work this afternoon, and spent the afternoon visiting the building society and then the solicitors...

...yes, this may sound familiar to those of you who are home-owners....

....I am buying my very own little flat!

I can tell you it's a scary proposition, but also soooo exciting! I've been busy looking for somewhere since the beginning of May, which has meant I haven't had the time to be here on the blog as much as I would like to - between everything else in life and trying to arrange a mortgage and find a suitable property... well, you will know what I mean!

But, at last I have been able to set the wheels in motion. Things are still at an early stage, and those of you who have done this before will no that there a lot of things that can still go wrong. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that in a few months time I'll be able to share with you the excitement of moving day!

It has been quite a lovely day here - blue skies, sunshine, still very warm but thankfully not as stultifying as it has been!

Once I'd returned from my various flat-buying related errands, I was mercifully able to flop down on the sofa for a while and relax with some crochet.

First I worked on the granny stripe.... stripe, stripe, happy stripe I worked, enjoying the bright colours.

Then, in a sudden burst of energy and project-finishing-inspiration I got out the hexagon throw and have just spent the last few hours stitching motifs in place:

There is still a little work to go on this, and then the ends to fasten in. But I hope to have this project finished well before moving day, so that this blanket can grace my new home!

I think I may have to make something else brightly coloured once I finish granny stripe and hexagon blanket. These little tea light shades which I have in my bedroom have been reminding me of all the colours I love!

Have a happy evening.

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Granny stripe blanket

Last time, I said that I would share with you the details of my latest project, which I'm pretty excited with. I have 2 projects (one knitting, one crochet) that are almost finished (I'll share photos of those soon I hope!), so I thought it was ok to start something new!

I have had a large stash of Stylecraft Special yarn for about 6 months now that I haven't been sure what to do with. Then, last Sunday, I was browsing on Pinterest (one of my favourite time fillers whilst waiting for the train!) and saw a picture of this granny stripe, from Sharon at Annie's Place. I'd seen this before, having been a follower of this blog for a while, but seeing it again reminded me how visually stunning this version of the granny stripe is. On taking a closer look, I discovered that Sharon had used Stylecraft Special, and that I had most of the colours (plus a few extras) that she had used in my stash!

As you could imaging I could hardly wait for time to dig out my stash and begin. I made a start on Wednesday and it's been great fun so far:

My colour scheme has basically been inspired by Sharon's although I have changed the sequence in a couple of places as I didn't have exactly the same colours.

There's something about a rainbow colour scheme that makes me feel sort of 'safe'. I think it takes me back to the 1970s, and my childhood (which was actually in the 1980s for the early part - there, see if you can work out my age!)

I should also say that this granny stripe pattern originally came from Lucy at Attic 24.

I saw something else really sweet yesterday. S and I were in a garden square in London, and spotted these little bird houses, high up in the tree trunks.

 

Aren't they magical? Like a little village for birds!

Wishing you all a happy week!

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Too hot to hook?!

Well, it nearly is! Those of you in the UK will know that we're in the middle of a heatwave, the like of which has not been seen on these shores since 2006 (according to BBC weather anyway!).

Well, I am very close to finishing my hexagon blanket - I'm at the stage where all I need to do is sew the last few motifs in place and fasten off the edges. 

As those of you who make blankets will know, this stage basically involves sitting underneath your giant woolly creation for several hours while you work on it. 

Not the most attractive proposition in 32 degree heat! So I have been forced to temporarily abandon the hexagon blanket in favour of smaller projects.

One smaller project I've been working on is a knitted cushion cover. I'm trying to design a cabled cover myself from scratch. I also plan to make some moss stitch covers. Here's the result of the swatching process:

Next time I hope I can tell you about an exciting new project.

In the meantime, stay cool, and happy hooking!

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Hello July!

It's now technically what I think of as 'high summer' here in the UK. Wimbledon is on, we're all eating strawberries and cream (yes really, it's not just a cliche!) and the sun is (gasp) actually shining!

I am really going to try for a more positive, one-day-at-a-time approach to life from now on. The last couple of months have not been easy for me. I often feel bad for any complaints I make about my life on here, realising that I really am so lucky on the whole. However, recently I have been dealing with what I can only describe as buried problems which are of many (many) years standing. Although they aren't of anywhere near the magnitude of troubles that I know some of the lovely people reading this have faced and do face in life, they have been difficult for me to deal with.

The last few weeks I have really started to feel that I can conquer these things though. Thank you to those of you who responded to my recent post here. I'm still trying to push forward with these ideals in my life, and it's lovely to know that some of this strikes a chord with other people too.

I think its good to focus on appreciating what you have in life and look at the beauty in small every day things. The roses in the pictures above are an example I guess. They were taken in Hampton Court Palace rose garden on my recent holiday. Like any flower, they bloom for a while, but don't last forever. You have to take the time to stop and see how wonderful these things are in the moment, because those moments will never come again, and you may not realise how wonderful they actually were until they have passed you by and are gone forever.

xx xxx xx xx xxx xx

So, enough introspection and on to the main purpose of this post, which is actually an update on one of my major crochet projects of the moment.

This is my progress so far on the Erika Knight Patchwork throw which I started in the middle of May (it feels like ages ago now!)

I'm really pleased with the way it's coming along, and although it's a big woolly blanket, and far too warm for this time of year, the colours just scream summer to me.

It's been a joy to make. However, I think I may have to set it aside for now as I'm really about to run out of yarn.

I'd like to make this a really big blanket in the end, so I think I will wait a few more weeks until I can get some more yarn, and then carry on with it, rather than doing my usual process of making it as big as I can with what I have and then finishing off. I have a lot of single bed size blankets, and I'd really like a nice generous double bed size blanket! So, I'm going to try and make this that blanket!

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Lazy Sunday

I think I may have developed a split personality when it comes to crochet. I love making things in bright colours and using lots of different colours together, but I also love a more restrained colour palette and choice and the more vintage vibe that you seem to get when working with one colour, but in a more complex stitch.

 I spent my crochet time yesterday working on the Erika Knight hexagon blanket I'm making, and spent today playing working on another pastel toned blanket!

I started working on this blanket at the start of May, but have only worked on it sporadically since then, so progress has been slow.

Do you remember my Cathedral Blanket? Well this project is going to be a pastel version of that, with pale cream seaming instead of black.

I'm using far fewer colours (about 8 different shades) and I think I will arrange the colours at random rather than having them in order like I did for the Cathedral Blanket.

Whilst working on this I've also been daydreaming about making more pastel coloured cushion covers with mother of pearl button fastenings - hence my not being able to resist getting out my button collection and playing in these pictures!

I was also tempted this afternoon to try out a starburst stitch. I haven't tried this kind of stitch for a while because the last time I tried, a few years ago, I couldn't seem to get the hang of it.

This piece is at a very early stage - its quite time consuming to do, but I love the result - it looks beautiful in the ivory yarn, and has such as lovely vintage feel to it. I think its the sort of thing a Victorian or Edwardian lady would use! I'm not sure quite what this piece will be yet, but it's only quite a small sample, so it will probably end up being a jewellery case or similar. 

Happy Sunday everyone!

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