Three Projects on the go....

Hi,

Well I seem to be juggling projects at the moment.  Does anyone else have this problem?  I must say it is nice as I have fads on one project for a bit and then move on to one of the others for a while and so on.

One of these is my fusion blanket where I am creating a blanket with a mix of fabric and crochet.  I am making good progress with the squares and I have started to join some of these as I go.

This is quite a time consuming project as I need to sew the middle fabric squares before crocheting around the outer edge. 

Another project that I have on the go at the moment is a large ribbed blanket which I using Cygnet Denim Aran wool to crochet with.  I tend to pull this one out late in the evenings and happily rib away.  It's a nice one to crochet when I am watching TV.

As you can see, it is coming along beautifully.  My third project is one I am about to start which is another pram blanket but this time with a blue focus for another friends new baby boy.

I am planning on using these four colours from the Stylecraft Special DK range.

Cream
Sherbet
Duck Egg
Storm Blue

I will post my progress with this when I have made a start on the first four ripples.  Anyway must go crochet to do...

Bye for now

Von xxx

Neapolitan Pram Blanket Finished!

Hi,

    We had a lovely walk in to our town(Tamworth) yesterday.  The sun was shining and it felt a bit warmer than late.  We have a beautiful castle in the town centre built in Saxon times.  It is definitely worth a visit if you are nearby anytime - Tamworth Castle.

The flowers in the grounds looked great in the sunshine and it was lovely to see some colour after the gloom of winter.  

When we got back home I spent the afternoon finishing off my Neapolitan blanket for my friend's baby.  I completed it with a simple border using the pale rose.  I am really pleased with the results.  Take a look and see what you think.

Next project is another of these blankets but for a boy this time.  I have ordered the wool so will let you know what I am up to when that arrives.

Bye for now

Von xxx 

Cold Days but a little sunshine now

Hi,

     I have had a busy week catching up with paper work for work but have managed a little bit of time to myself in between.  My husband and I took the opportunity on Tuesday this week to have a stroll along our local canal.  It was a very chilly day but it was great to see the sunshine and feeling the light on my face definitely gave me a lift.

 

You could see how cold it was as the ice was still evident on the top of the canal.  We could hear it cracking as we walked past.

As you walk just off the main road there is a lovely cottage opposite the lock on the canal, which must have been a lock keeper's home in the past.  I always think how pretty this looks as we walk past and we often watch the narrow boats as they manoeuvre through the lock.

The sky was a really clear and bright blue and I couldn't resist taking photos of the bare trees against this as we walked past. 

There were just the odd daffodil flowering and we could spot some buds starting to appear on the trees as we walked past so not long till Spring now.  I can't wait because that means time to get our tourer caravan ready for another season of caravanning.  We have already started booking holidays so that gives us another thing to look forward to.

I have managed to carry on with the baby neapolitan ripple blanket that I started but need to try to devote some time to this so I have it ready for the imminent birth my friend's baby girl. As you can see it is growing...  

Hopefully this weekend I will get a bit of free crafting time. 

Bye for now

Von xxx

Neopolitan Baby Pram Ripple Blanket

Hi,

   I have set about a new project this week as I have a few friends expecting babies very soon.  The nearest due is a colleague from work and she is expecting a baby girl.  So I had a little look around to see what I could make and as I follow Little Dove Crochet and have seen the lovely blankets she makes, I was inspired to have a go.  Faye uses the neat ripple pattern from Attic 24 for her blankets and as I am a big admirer of Lucy from Attic 24's work and always follow her on her blog this was a perfect project for me.

   Yesterday my order of wool arrived from Wool Warehouse and I was so excited that I put aside the afternoon for a crochet marathon.

   I had selected Stylecraft Special DK for my choice of wool and ordered four colours.

   1. Parchment
   2. Apricot
   3. Mocha
   4. Pale Rose

Then I set about a lovely cosy afternoon on the settee with my wool and crochet hook and soon the ripples were emerging.

   I love the colours and they remind me of Neapolitan ice cream so hence the title for this post!  I couldn't believe how quickly it grew.  I must say a HUGE thank you to Lucy for her very clear tutorial on her blog.  Give it a go!

    I will post again with my progress.  Bye for now.

    Von xxx

A Little Heart

Hi,

    Where has January gone?  I can't believe it is February tomorrow already.  The upside of this time of the year is the arrival of my favourite flower in the shops. Daffodils.  My lovely hubby bought me a couple of bunches last week and they have finally opened in all their gloriousness!

    It's lovely to walk into the room and see the bright yellow and it instantly cheers me up during this dark winter dirge.

    In amongst my blanket making I have been playing around with my scraps of wool to create crochet hearts.  I used the Ravelry pattern and crocheted two hearts.  I then used some of my fabric stash to cut and sew a small heart which I filled with stuffing.  After that I sewed the two crochet hearts together over the stuffed heart.

I used some mono filament and attached this to the top of the heart and then threaded some beads on. I tied this to a key ring fob with a lobster clip and added a small ribbon bow to finish off.

So I ended up with a lovely key ring/bag charm ready for Valentine celebrations this February.  I have a couple of these available on our Etsy shop for sale.

Bye For now

Von xx

Progress being made...

Hi,

Gosh! I feel this month has been just as busy as last!  I haven't had as much time as I would like to pick up my crochet hook.  The evenings have been taken up with family or work commitments. I am really hoping things will be a bit calmer as we head into February.

Anyhow I have been making steady progress with my latest project combining the fabric and crochet. Really need a name for this project... Any suggestions?

I have a nice pile of squares now as you can see...

This weekend I have a little go at starting to join them using a slip stitch.  I have began to join the horizontals with 8 squares across the blanket.

Need to continue with some sewing this week to prepare more fabric squares ready to add the crochet.  I will let you know how I am getting on soon.

Bye For Now

Von xxx

New Beginnings...New Blanket Project...

Hi,

   Oh my!  What a week...really hard getting back into the normal routine after Christmas chill out. And oh no, how hard is it not constantly eating....my stomach has been groaning with hunger pangs all week.  Mind I really need to get back to normality and work off the Christmas baggage that has appeared!

I cheered myself up on Sunday by buying some Lillys from our local Lidl.  I must say they looked gorgeous this morning as the sun made an appearance.

I have, also, began the new year with a new blanket project in mind.  I have been toying with the idea of combining fabric and crochet for a while and was on a search for the right fabric during my last visit to the Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC in Birmingham.  Anyway, I found this small print flower material on one of the stalls and bought a couple of metres with this project in mind.

I cut two small squares measuring 7.5cm x 7.5cm from the fabric and then a slightly smaller one from some fire retardant wadding.  I used some "Stick and Spray" glue for fabric to temporally hold it in place.  Then using some white thread I blanket stitched around the edges using stitches roughly 5mm apart.

  After completing the square I used Stylecraft Special DK and a 4mm crochet hook to create a foundation stitch for the square.  I simply double crocheted(UK terms) in each stitch and then in the corners double crochet, chain 1, double crochet.

I continued to complete a second round using the same stitch.  Then I chained 2, and treble crochet x 2 in to the same stitch.  Skipped the next two stitches and then treble crochet x 3 into the next stitch.  I continued this around the square and in the corners I treble crocheted x 3, chain 1, treble crocheted x3 into the corner stitch.

Next I continued with a further round treble crochet x 3 into the spaces and repeating the stitches within the corners.  I finished the square with double crocheting around the edge.

Really pleased with the finished square so I have continued to carry on with making further squares to turn into a blanket.  I will update you as I continue.

Bye for Now

Von xx