Two on Tuesday x

Wow another week gone and it's Two on Tuesday.

So I hope you've all recovered from the brilliant weekend of Focusing on your crafting with Jennifer Grace. I have to say she truly outdid herself with the crafting this time, I was super impressed. I popped over to most of the posts but I have chosen just one to focus on today as it is something anyone can do and it has such an impact. Make an inspiration wall...........................

I chose this because it is such a simple idea but really, really effective. You can do it absolutely anywhere really. Jennifer used a door and we almost all have a spare one of those, but you could use a wall, pinboard, a canvas, a big frame and lots of other ideas to focus you.
I know I have quite a few bits that are in my craft room hidden away which I could get out and produce a focused area all of my own and it looked really simple. If you go to Jennifer's blog, there is a process video to watch too so you can get an idea of how she put the whole wall together.

If you'd like further inspiration then there are tons of great links on Pinterest of course. I found these 2 ideas for renters like myself.....................

 photo from here

In the picture above, washi tape has been used to both frame and also hang pictures on the wall. The beauty of washi tape is it doesn't affect the paintwork so you shouldn't have any problems with your landlord when you move out. All you have to do is alter the washi tape when you want to refresh you inspiration wall.

photo from here

Here is another excellent idea using an old shutter, or a louvred door. I've seen these used on DIY shows for magazine holders, records and books and you can just take this with you when you move and respray it different colours to suite your mood.

And on a personal note, Mandy from A Teacup of Scrapisms sent me a lovely comment based on my bloghop post which you can read here. She was so inspired by my journal and ideas that she's begun one of her own. Thank you so much Mandy, blogfriends are brilliant.

My second offering today is your own personal Sheldon Cooper amigurami doll. I LOVE The Big Bang Theory, it is by far the best comedy programme I watch and I would love to have my own Sheldon to sing me soft kitty when I'm ill.

If you can't afford your own Sheldon, I'm sure he's way out of my price range, then why not crochet one. A(mi]dorable Crochet has the perfect pocket sized pattern for you here.

Furthermore, Jackie has patterns for most of the Big Bang gang. Here's Amy............

and if that wasn't enough Jackie gave the real Sheldon his own version which he shared on US TV. Go Jackie.
You need to go to about 2.30 minutes in for that part......................




Have a happy Tuesday x

Cosmos shawl x

For my next crochet project after completing my poncho and beanie hat, I found a beautiful shawl on pinterest. This shawl idea was because I have no heating in my cottage other than little electric fires so I thought it would be a far quicker way of making something warm rather than a big blanket.

The pattern for the shawl came from Zooty Owl's blog and is free to download as a pdf file. Zelna gives very clear instructions and great photographs of how each stitch will appear initially and also ideas for colours in alternative wool.

I have to say that this shawl crocheted up very quickly and again I whiled away many hours crocheting with a crime drama on the TV. I chose my colours based on Zelna's recommendations using Stylecraft wool. I did add in an extra colour in pink as I thought I may need to add in extra rows due to sizing. However I completed the rows Zelna's pattern suggested and I'm very pleased with the results.

This picture is pretty ugly but it was the only way I could get the whole shawl into a photograph.

Again blurred edges as it's hard to photograph a huge shawl in my little cottage. I'm very pleased with how the shawl colours work together especially the blue borders. They make the shawl really shine.

This is a closeup of the bottom border which goes around the outside of the shawl. The only stitches you need to know for this shawl are trebles and doubles (UK terms) so it is perfect for a beginner and Zelna's instructions are truly superb.

I am now slightly addicted to shawls and am making another one which was in Simply Crochet a couple of months back.

PpppppPoncho x

Ok, ok it's not chocolate but it is a lovely warm, colourful and easy to crochet poncho reveal moment. Will that do?

Ok there may be chocolate somewhere in the post.

I first saw this particular pattern on Lucy at Attic 24s blog when I doing my reading of blogs one day. She described in great detail how she had planned and made colour decisions for her version of the Poncho. Spurred on by the beautiful colours, I managed to snag myself a copy of ''Simply Crochet'' issue number 25.

 The poncho is in the bottom lefthand corner 

I love crochet and knitting but this is my first make for me not for a gift so I did spend quite alot of time planning the colours I wanted to use. Like Lucy, I didn't want to use the cream shade for my poncho so I decided to go with her choice of grey but it's got a bit of blue in it so it is a lovely shade for the main colour. I then made a list of the colours I wanted to use and did what Lucy suggested and snipped a little of each wool shade and make a colour chart so I knew which shade would come next. I bought my wool from Wool Warehouse who delivered extremely quickly and all the wool balls were in a beautiful bag so I could store them and my crochet together.

The wool is by Drops and called Nepal and has a 65% wool and 35% Alpaca mix in an aran weight so it's lovely and warm. I chose shades in blues, pink, purples, pistachio, orange and the main grey. It also has a cowl neck but it's not a tight neck and the woll isn't itchy which I do find when working with some yarns.

I began crocheting and I have to say that the wool is perfect for crocheting with and the shades were very close to the images on the website. You may need to watch this video to learn how to do the crochet ribbing design. I'd never seen this stitch before but it's very easy to work. I did about 4 extra rows of treble crochets because I wanted my Poncho longer.

I had decided early on that I wasn't going to do the fringing on the bottom so I spent quite alot of time trying to find a pretty border, however in the end I went simple and did a double ruffle border which I saw in a Youtube video .

I went with one row of grey ruffle and one row of orange, primarily because I had the most wool in those colours. Once I'd completed the pattern I added in a row of double crochet in yellow the another rows of double crochet in grey and then worked the ruffles in that final row.

The next plan was to make a hat to match and luckily, issue 26 of Sinmply Crochet had a lovely version on the front page using similar stitches and so I made this using the remaining wool I had.

This is the hat on the model and below is my version......................

So here is my finished hat and I love it because it is so warm and covers my ears which I hate being cold.

Here is a close-up of the border to the hat.................

And a close-up of the colours................

It's been a great make and I've seen several very different versions on the web. It's great how one pattern can be so individualised.

My crochet project at the moment is a shawl so I'll let you know how that one goes too.

Oh yes and before I forget for all the chocolate lovers...............

Crocheted Baby blanket x

Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Just a short post today to tell you I have finished the crocheted baby blanket I showed you in this post last week.

It didn't take half as long as I thought and in the end I've got enough pretty wool to make a cushion cover too for myself.

So here is the completed blanket.....................

I really love all the differing coloured Granny squares and crocheting them all togehter to make a cohesive whole was a joy.

 

I ended up altering the pattern slightly as I wanted to put some colour into the borders. I added an extra two rows of double crochet (English) in yellow and pale orange and to finish the blanket I added a blue scalloped crochet edge to the blanket which I think gives it a really professional feel.

 

 All I have to do now is sew on a ''Made with love'' ribbon and await the arrival of the newborn baby.

Granny squares in abundance x

Hello Thursday and welcome to a crochet inspired post today. The other week I discovered that my neighbours were expecting a baby, in like three weeks! I pondered what I could do for a personalised present and decided on a granny square pram blanket. I had seen a pattern in a magazine so I set off to get my wool organised.

The pattern called for super chunky wool but the colours described in the magazine didn't exist in the wool brand they said they had used so I went to  my local wool emporium where we decided to use a neutral super chunky wool by Wendy along with some wonderfully colourful shades in a slightly sifter wool called Big Softie Super chunky by Sirdar.


So I am all set with my size 6mm hook and off I go to crochet my blanket. Hang on, though why do these squares not workout? It didn't matter how many times I tried making the squares described in the magazine, they didn't come out right at all. I would end up with too many stitches left to do compared to the pattern. So I emailed them and asked what was going wrong. No reply, so in desperation and annoyance I unpicked everything I'd made so far and found a different Granny square pattern in this Nicky Trench book.


Heave a HUGE sigh of relief because these squares are turning out perfectly. Hurrah. The design uses only double and treble crochets and the main colour is cream and I add in the colours I have chosen to make the colourful squares. I've chosen bright colours specifically because babies like primary colours but also because it is then gender neutral. I have blue, yellow, orange, chilli, red, purples, green and a paler blue. So far I've made 12 pretty squares and sewn in the ends. Time consuming but look pretty woollen confetti...................

 some of this will find it's way into Project life I'm sure x

The squares are shaping up nicely and now I need to make the final ones, crochet them together and add the border.

The other crochet pieces I've started are a granny square blanket which you just change colours each round and increases each round until you reach you desired size. Also some jam jar covers for my craft room. All these are made in Rico Creative cotton yarn which comes in lovely bright and spring tones.

So what are you making at the moment?

Sunnyside up....................

One of the lovely things about living here in Wells is the peace and quiet of the countryside but also the wonderful array of fun things the smallest city in England has to offer. For example we have lots of lovely teashops providing your waistline with enough calories to increase your waistband tenfold; we have 2 lovely new fabric shops Millie Moon and Sew Vintage which both provide their customers with a variety of different and beautiful fabrics to choose from and classes to attend to learn about or improve your skills in sewing, crochet, knitting and ceramics; we have a beautiful Cathedral and Bishop's Palace to visit and enjoy the historical elements and the garden atmosphere; we have pretty English countryside where you can walk and enjoy the lovely natural world we live in, in short Wells is a pretty cool place to live.

On top of these things, the sunshine has brought out the lovely people who live in this old hospital and I have met some new people and I hope perhaps friends. I have been sitting outside enjoying the sun and crafting my little heart away. There is a crocheted teacosy in the offing, baby knitting, nursery curtains and pictures for my friend. In fact yesterday and today I have been cutting and stitching felt to some curtains using the patterns and beautiful designs of the fabulous Laura from Lupin. Her book ''Supercute Felt'' has some amazing designs and my friend and I have have adapted some of these to make her baby's nursery just the way she wants it.

Other items I have been working on are this Hen weekend memento book which was commissioned by lil sis for her friend. Lil sis is Maid of honour and wanted to present the hen with something to record the fun and frolics of their hen weekend away.
This is what I designed and made for them.....................

The book is made from 2 pieces of A4 size mount board which I covered with some handmade paper in cream and gold (the wedding colours). I then made the primary focus an embroidered and beaded relief of their initials intertwined. I also added a button heart with a central blue one for something blue, an embossed gold heart and a cutaway heart with some lettered vellum behind. The pages were held together with book rings. The hen had a wonderful weekend and loved the book I am glad to say.
I am also counting the book as my March make a month .................

What have you been doing whilst enjoying the sunshine?

The Happy Flower.

I have recently been crocheting away making all manner of little things and when the wonderful Lucy  from Attic 24 came through with the tutorial for her Happy flower I had to make one for my lounge.

Now I am not the best crocheter in the world but I thought ''Hey give it a go'' and here is the result.....

I love how all the colours look together. I did my heart slightly differently to Lucy's and also made a 5 pointed flower instead of a circle for the bottom of the ornament. I didn't have funky beads but I loads of pretty buttons so I used those for the centres and to weight the hanging threads. I used embroidery threads for that. The one thing I found hard was the yarn. I used a cotton yarn by Rico but never again for this kind of project. It kept splitting and getting tangled, luckily I am not Mrs Perfection, my feeling is that if it's completely perfect it's not handmade. So I may have to use a more expensive yarn from now on, oh dear the choices one must make in respect of one's craft.

So this is also my Make a month entry for The Felt Fairy's challenge of 2012.

What have you been making this month?

A latenight update...........

I have been very busily making Christmas presents for friends and family members. The knitting needles are knit one purl one and the crocheting is growing. I am making a Lucy bag for my friend and tonight I practiced making flowers.

My friend Louise is flying off to the US today and my sister, I am no longer allowed to call her lil sis as it sounds too American apparently, flies off to Dubai this weekend. Leaving to snow and her in temperatures above 28 degrees C apparently.

My pay it forward book has now arrived from the US from Margi who's blog is The Maverick Crafter
Here is the premise of her idea..............................

What is it?

First I have to thank Sian from High In The Sky for finding and running with this wonderful idea, Pass the Book, and am grateful that I can continue the sharing with my Pay The Book Forward!

What happens?

Those who follow my blog know that I'm a big eBook convert.  Love my Sony Reader as well as my Kindle app for the iPad and my Droid.  With that said, there is nothing that beats having a traditional, on paper, wonderous book in my hands.  So, I am going to choose a book to read each month or so, will post about it here on the blog and then send it on to a fellow reader via snail mail. If you would like a chance to receive it in the mail, have a  great read and then pass it on, then leave a comment for that book. Around the first of each month, I'll draw a name for the previous months book and ship it off. All that is required, if you win the drawing, is that you enjoy the read and post it on your blog in a timely manner to pass along to another lucky recipient.

Track the book(s)?

What I'd like to see happen, as each recipient receives the book they write their name and general location on the inside cover of the book.  And as the book moves forward, let me know where it's at and where it's going next!  It will be a blast to see how they travel.

If you are the lucky winner of the draw?

First, leave an Email contact for me on your post for the book.  If you are the winner, I will email you for your snail mail address and ship it off to you!  Enjoy the read! Then create a post on your blog, referencing the "Pay The Book Forward" on the MaverickCrafter blog, and ask who would like the book next. Set a timeframe for the drawing, draw a name, tell us and then mail the book off . Be sure to follow this blog for a chance to win another Pay The Book Forward!

The book is called ''The beach street knitting society and yarn club'' by Gil McNeil. She is a British author and the book sounds fab. I also looked her up on Amazon to see what else she has written and she has quite a large bio. Anyway I am off to try and read the book I am currently reading which is a Stephen King on my kindle app, ah technology.

Weekend crafting

So yesterday's prompt from Shimelle was how to make a photo vintage vinette using photoshop. I have used Photoshop Elements alot for digital scrapbooking but never really tried this. I used a photograph I took in Barcelona and am quite pleased with the results although my oval vinette appears less soft than my colleagues pictures. Something else to keep practising. Daphne has given a cool tip and any others would be well received.
In other news this is how the crochet is going and I had to get some more wool to match the colours I've already used. It's grown abit since this post

 
I have also been reading through the class materials for Cathy Zielske's class starting in Spetember. The project comes with a pdf download to make an A-Z tag book. Here is mine so. The idea is you need to write in different ideas about yourself under the different letters eg. for b will probably come ''bubbles, balloons, baking, blogging etc, under c....''cupcakes, Cath Zielske,'' anything which you consider important or of interest to you.  

Anyway hope you're having agreat weekend, see you all soon.

Happy Hooker

......................and I dont mean in The Police ''You dont have to put on the red light'' way in case you were wondering!!!!!!!!! I mean in the getting out your hooks and crocheting. Yes, we've done the knit one purl one Lizzie dripping mode and are now progressing into the working in circles and using 1 hook and hopefully not dropping stitches on the way mode!!!
My mum tried to teach me when I was little but found me a frustrating student as I'm left handed. I dont anything conventionally. Anyway I have made the odd very simple a 3 year old could do it flower etc and wanted to make something abit more adventurous. I envy people like Rachel who knit and crochet away dead quickly and also Lucy at Attic 24 who has such beautiful pieces of work on display it seems daily. I wants to do it too my precious.
So yesterday stirred by the virus infecting my brain, I raided the wool box and found my crochet hooks and began making The Lucy Bag, so called by all her fans on Ravelry where she has her own fanclub and forum..............amazing. In fact I was the 2000th member or something...............my lucky day. So everything looked simple, not many weird stitches just simple double crochet and I had lots of different coloured wools to use. Off I went and everything is going great guns, I had a nice neat circle which is growing although not as fast as Lucy suggests it should. Hello I think lets read the top of the blogpost with the pattern.................oh dear spot deliberate mistake? Well yes readers, if you happen to live in the UK double crochet means well couble crochet but if the pattern was designed with the USA crochet terms it means I should be doing treble crochet..........................oh whoops. This has happened before in American crochet books I have read, it is confusing, why cant we work together internationally and speak the same crochet language afterall we speak English in the UK and USA, why does crochet have to be different? So am I pulling my crochet to pieces? No I am not, after all that hard work I have started treble crocheting, it is growing and it will be a Jo original. Thats that!
Anyway so far it looks like this....................