Saturday, 24 January 2015

Pearl Necklace Tutorial

I decided to create a pearl necklace with some white and light grey beads I had got stored in my bead box. I only used these beads and some elastic thread to create this necklace.

Firstly, I laid out my beads on a board to check the layout of the necklace.



I then cut some elastic thread long enough for the necklace, then tied a knot at one end. I made sure I left enough thread untied so that I could finish off the necklace later. I also made sure that the knot was big enough so that the beads do not fall off.


I continued to thread the beads on until I reached the end. Then using the last of the elastic and the piece I had left over earlier when I tied a knot, to finish off the necklace. 


I cut the overhanging elastic thread and this was the finished result. This is a great necklace for somebody just starting out jewellery making and still looks effective. 



Bye for now,
Heather :) 














Sunday, 18 January 2015

A new Blanket :)

Hi,

After finishing my previous blanket with the blanket-a-long I am most definitely hooked on making blankets.  I have had a bit of a break from crocheting but I am back on track again now.  We have definitely been having a very cold snap here recently and our weekly walk in to our town, Tamworth,  has been a chilly one! 

This week was a lovely walk seeing all the ducks, geese, and even herons, along the River Anker as we walked but, on my, was it cold!
 
 
 

My husband asked me to create him a blanket for the cold evenings so I have set this as my next project.

I hit my book "100 Bright & Colourful Granny Squares" to get some ideas and have opted for the Granny Square 'Lavender Haze' on page 83.  I have opted to keep this blanket very neutral with it being for my husband.  I am not sure he would like anything too colourful or flowery!


I am going to use a simple black and white contrast for the blanket and have already began to make some of the squares.




 
 
So, now I just need to make a nice pile of these which will definitely be a lovely way to pass my time during these cold evenings in front of the TV.
 
Bye for now
 
Von xxx

Sunday, 11 January 2015

A visit to Winter Wonderland, London

During the Christmas break we went on the  train for a  day trip to visit the Winter Wonderland in London.   This is a lovely winter wonderland that is available to visit in December / beginning of January each year.    We had heard some great reviews and we were all very excited about the trip and we were definitely not left disappointed.  This is a place that is definitely worth a visit.
 
We visited the Magical Kingdom first of all which had several fantastic models that had been carefully and lovingly created from ice.  We also visited the circus show,  went on the big wheel, had a look around the large number of lovely stalls  as well as enjoying the various fairground rides.   Here are a few pictures that we took whilst we were in the magical kingdom ...




 
We are looking forward to planning some day trips and holidays for 2015.   We love having quality family time together.
Julie
xx
 
 

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Sleepover Party and Cake


Where does time go!!   In my last post I made a  Christmas cake that I shared with you.  

We are lucky to have my daughters birthday just before Christmas so our celebrations commence early each year.   This year as Kelsey is now 11 years old she decided that a sleepover party would be fun so we took three of her closest friends to the cinema, for a meal and then back home for some fireworks and a sleepover.  A couple of days where it was lovely to hear lots of giggles between all of the girls. 
I didn't have as much time to spend on the cake as I would have liked.   I decided to base the theme of this novelty cake on the sleepover party so a model of Kelsey in a bed seemed appropriate (the plan was to also put a bedside table and other accessories onto it but I ran out of time).     This is a photo of the finished result.
 

Julie
x

Saturday, 3 January 2015

Blanket a Long...Ta Dah! Finished at last!


Hi,

I am feeling rather proud of myself and very satisfied in finally completing my blanket that I have been crocheting.  This was a challenge I set myself to follow Zooty Owl's Blanket Along way back in July and I have steadily followed this since then, squeezing in crocheting time during my evenings in front of the TV and holidays.

I steadily completed each step making the different squares and building little towers of these on my desk. 


This is the finished result and I must say it is a big blanket which will definitely keep me warm through the up coming winter evenings.


It was tricky trying to take a photo because Fudge, the dog, decided she wanted to be in on the action!


Here are some close ups of the blanket.  They definitely show all the hard work that has gone in to it.







I have managed to get the border completed during this holiday.  I must say, I do like this border that Zelna created and I will definitely use it again.  My husband and daughter have already put their orders in for blankets.  Heather has told me that she definitely wants this style border on her blanket so I will most certainly be using this in the near future.



So there we are a very big project finally completed.  I think I will have a little pause before I start my next blanket which will give me time to plan what I will do.......

Bye For now

Von x