Happy Christmas to you! I am signing off now for the Christmas break and will see you in the New Year. I hope you do have a fantastic time full of joy, cheekiness and if you are so inclined a few precious moments with your legs curled up on the sofa doing a little bit of crafty fun.
The picture above was sent to me by my talented friend Katie – it made me smile so I felt I wanted to share it with you.
The image below was sent to me by the fabulous people at Herdy. It made me giggle. Lets have some more giggles in 2012 x
Ooo how much I love to get things in the post, especially when they are just the right size to fit through the letterbox. I was so excited to see a parcel had arrived when I returned home from my Girls Day Out in London. I had so many lovely treats that day, my little parcel was an added bonus.
The first thing to be opened was the cute little tree decoration, which is so sweet. I then opened a brilliant recipe for Pumpkin Ice-cream, and the seeds to grow the pumpkins! Well hopefully that will encourage me work harder in the garden next season.
The circular pot-holder is so lovely as it reminds me of all those lovely Laura Ashley patterns of my youth. Sarah must have also noticed that I am a bit of button obsessive at the moment so I am thrilled to add to my collection. The bookmark has also gone down very well in our family. You will be glad to know that Bernard approves.
Finally, Sarah sent me so lovely vintage dress patterns. I now have quite a collection of these and I particularly like the kick flare pleated skirt and suit ensemble.
It was also quite nice to open little pressies before Christmas, just when I am frantically trying to wrap others to send to friends and family. Both Tracy and I have really enjoyed doing this little swap, so if you fancy joining in next year we might very well do it again.
Well I mentioned it the other day, but yesterday I got my sticky paws on a copy of Inside Crochet Issue 25. Oh my word! The lovely people at the magazine have done an article on me. They are very nice. The really nice thing is that they have included many of the pictures from the blog, which is so terribly kind. Anyway I am doing a little silly jig, and trying to suppress my excitement in case it strays into inappropriate showing off. If you know me well you will understand it is excitement born of shock/surprise and thankfulness.
My darling friends have the most beautiful twin girls. One is talented organizer the other is a star ballerina.(I created these Fairy Dolls for them). Bea is making her debut on the stage as a little mouse in the Nutcracker. How exciting! As a little girl I took my ballet VERY seriously and I adore watching her success and joy as she grows into talented dancer.
Her Mummy who is one of the best Mummies you can imagine. She thinks long and hard of how to encourage and inspire her girls. But it was a bit of shock to her to find out that it was a first night tradition to give little dancers a pressie to say ‘break a leg’. Did you know that? I didn’t. So an emergency text was sent to me enquire if I had a mouse ‘in stock’. Well obviously ‘Yes’ normally – but the cupboard was bare!
I found a cute little pattern by Lucinda Guy in her book, Designs for Kids and quickly little Mousie was born. Now if I had more time I might have created a little tutu etc. But the pink stripes say something along those lines and I put a few beads in the base to make sure little Mousie sits nicely in the dressing room.
Now can I think of anything to make for a little organizer….?
Hello lovelies, hope you are having a super day. I was talking to a friend yesterday who had never really found my free patterns on the blog. So sorry about that. The picture above shows a few but not all. If you look at the pattern header at the top and drop it down you can find a few categories. Over the past year I have put many of the small things I have made on the blog as a free pattern. The Russian doll keyring pattern isn’t free at the moment and is available through Etsy, but I might change this in the New Year. Anyway to all of you who have visited through to download free patterns and have just kept on visiting. Thank you x
In the current issue of Inside Crochet I have written an article about ‘swatching’ and ‘blocking’ your crochet.
Why? Well like many converts I realise that when you discover something good and it changes the way you do things for the better – you just want to shout about it.
Swatching, or making a tension square, is a trial section of a pattern you are about to use with the hook and the yarn you have chosen. Blocking is shaping your finished crochet project to the measurements used in the pattern instructions.
I think that when you start or rediscover knitting and crochet the excitement of embarking on a new project just makes us jump right in. You know, you have seen a pattern you have been dying to try, picked out some gorgeous yarn and just want to curl up and get clickety clacking.
Making a tension square feels a little bit like coming in from school on a baking hot afternoon and being forced to do your maths homework instead of playing in the garden.
This shows you the difference in stitch size using the same yarn and different hooks
But spending money on yarn means that by making sure your tension matches that specified on the pattern is a sensible investment. It is so frustrating to spend a couple of weeks making that dream project just for it not to fit. Everyone’s tension is different and by altering the needle or hook up or down a size you can guarantee you will match the measurements of the original design.
If you can’t be persuaded to swatch then finishing your project by blocking it is almost a MUST. If you look at many of the gorgeous books or knitting magazines and marvel at the regular stitches of their featured items, it is tempting to look at our own work, and think ‘Mine doesn’t look like that’. Well you can bet your bottom dollar that all of the designers have blocked their work.
Recently I read somewhere that blocking your work changes it from looking ‘homemade’ to ‘hand-crafted’.
Wavy edges of Granny squares before blocking
Generally when I am making a garment I like to block the individual sections of the garment. This makes sewing up so much easier. I then might block the finished item again when I have completed it. Overall, if I dampen the garment and then pin it out and let it dry, I see an enormous difference in the appearance of the stitches. All think kinks and creases formed from being in the project bag relax to give and even stitch appearance.
More regular edges and squares pinned out before blocking using the grid as a guide
Over the years I have moved from hogging the ironing board for a couple of days to the more practical solution of kids foam play mats. This is a genius idea, because for a large project you can link several mats together. Don’t forget to buy rust resistant pins and I would always advise leaving your project to dry for a couple of days if you can.
If you are serious about your craft then I would recommend a blocking mat with grid markings. The Knitting Shed are selling this excellent fold-able blocking mat which is both really helpful for blocking crochet squares and practical because it can be easily tucked away in between projects.
Prym Blocking Mat
The article in the magazine has quite bit more detail and specifics about different techniques. All I can say really is that although I am a cheeky eager crafter I wouldn’t go back to my old impatient ways.
All around my native city I have been watching the reappearance of the woolly hat. Hurrah. This season I have seen a lot of chunky garter stitch beanies. Some might have a large woolly bobble, others have a faux fur bobble. It has taken a while for this trend to filter through to the highstreet, I think it was Burberry two winters ago who first went with that look.
I occurred to me that this would be the simplest hat to make. But with a twist… out with the fur, out with the faux fur, out indeed with the pom pom maker. This pom pom is crocheted, turned inside out, then stuffed with polyester filling. Then a very firm hand is taken to it with a pet grooming brush. You tease the fibres into a fluffy ball of fun.
I have now made two, one in navy for me…(the words mutton, dressed, lamb could be used – but I refuse to go gracefully). I made another for a very trendy friend who rocked the whole look with strong Ray-ban specs. So cool!
A really easy make with a very animal friendly bobble. If you like it please feel free to download the pattern for free here
If you are so inclined there a nominations going in for the best crafty blogs – if you feel like doing it you can nominate here
Is it too early? Yes obviously. However if you are a yarnster then you might have begun your Christmas creating back in August. I have had this little idea in my head for ages and finished it about a week ago. The nights have really drawn in so I have found it difficult to take photos for you.
I have made this pot-holder to bring a little chintzy glamour to the kitchen in the run up to the festivities. I used aran wool to give it thickness and made two identical sides for the pudding. I attached the cream around the outer edge so that you can pop you hand in.
You can see on the back I have added a convenient loop so you can hang it up with other utensils. If you would like to download the pattern for free please do so from here. The observant amongst you will notice most of the pudding is made in crochet but the leaf is knitted. I really like this effect for holly leaves so have used it on my pot-holder. I have also included a crochet version in my pattern if you don’t like to knit. Hope you like it x
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