A Winter Walk and Blanket Making Progress

Hi,

   I was lucky to have some time off work last week and my husband and I decided to go for a walk along the canal close to our home.  We walked up from the village of Amington up to Alvecote which is another village further along the canal.  The dogs loved the exercise(they always enjoy a long walk) and it was lovely to get out in to the countryside for a while.

We walked through the end of the village past the homes backing on to the canal.

Then we passed the old golf course...

we paused to look at some horses in a field we passed by...

until we came to the Samuel Barlow Pub and the Alvecote Marina.

We didn't stop for a drink this time but decided we would repeat the walk in the Summer for a visit.

I have been continuing to work on my blanket for my husband.  I have made lots of squares now and thought I would start to join some to get a sense of the size.  I don't want it to be too big definitely not as large as my last blanket from the Blanket-a-long.

I have joined the squares in to strips and then started to join these strips using the invisible joining method.

I need to make more squares now but I am beginning to think about a border and edging for blanket.  Will let you know when I have decided upon something.  

Bye for now

Von x

Resin Pendants

Hi,

Last November we went to visit the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC which is a regular event for my Mum, Sister, my daughter and myself.  We discovered a brilliant stall which was selling Resin kits and the lovely Claire John was demonstrating how to use it.  Julie has already shared her fantastic efforts so I though I would show you how I had got on too.

I was quite pleased with my first try but will have another try at these and I will share with you the results when I do.  This is a great medium to experiment with and I can see lots of potential.

Bye For Now

Von x

Flower Cushion

I love the months of January and February.   As much as I love the summer these are the two months of the year that we all seem very content to snuggle down in the warmth of the house and take life at a much more relaxing pace... and for me that means that I actually get some time for me to do some of the crafts I enjoy.

One of this months project has been to make a cushion cover for my bedroom.   This is something that I have been meaning to do for some time so although I have only made one cushion of the three that I would like to make it is still progress

The flower design on the front of the cushion was made using a process that my niece, Heather,  showed me when she created some lovely little flowers but I decided to see if I could use the same process,  increase the size and add another layer.   A big button in the middle of the flower added the finishing touch.  This is the end result ....

 

 

Julie
x

Blanket Making

Hi,

I thought I would just update you with the progress of my new blanket that I am designing and making at the moment.  I have made 10 of the first set of squares but plan to do some more of these later.

I have started crocheting my other set of squares too.  The design I have used for these is a more solid square using a bobble pattern.  I used the bobble pattern that was published in the Simply Crochet magazine.

I opted for a solid black block for these squares.  I am trying to keep the blanket neutral colours because this is for my husband to use on the cold nights in front of the TV.  The bobbles in the pattern do add a bit of detail and texture to the blanket.

I am going to make 10 of these and then have a little look at how its is sizing up and think about borders and the overall size of the blanket before moving on to making more squares.

There's definitely been a cold snap here of late and we are all keen to snuggle up under warm blankets in the evenings in front of the TV. 

I hope you are managing to keep warm too.

Bye For Now

Von x

Using Resin

At the last Create and Craft show we went to in November 2014  Yvonne, was getting all excited about using resin to create jewellery and came away with a resin starter kit to make her own creations.  I have always enjoyed jewellery making but had never given using resin much thought until then!     We watched a demonstration on how to use the resin and after that  I was itching to have a go so I also ended up coming home with a starter kit - an early Christmas present that I knew would bring me lots of fun creating different items. 

These are pictures of my first two creations.  

 

 

 

I am already thinking of my next resin creations so I will post back again soon to let you know what other creations I have made.   I would like to experiment with using moulds to create different shapes but I am not sure how successful that will be ... only one way to find out!!

Looking forward to the craft show in March. 

Julie
x

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 :) 

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