Busy Little Bank Holiday Bee

What a busy little bank holiday weekend I've had this week.  Crafting away, working on a few different projects, and it has been a thoroughly enjoyable four days!

First up, I've been rushing to finish two little softies for a lovely family I have been working with for the past few months.  I diagnosed the little baby boy with a hearing loss when he was just a couple of weeks old, and so have been seeing the family almost weekly for the past 4 months or so.  Over that time, my colleague and I have built up quite a friendship with the mum, and spend lots of time playing with older sister who comes along to every appointment.  Mum is such a nice mum to work with; she even treats us to sweets and cakes the few times we've squeezed her in over our lunch break.  The little man will be heading off to the cochlear implant centre soon, not to be seen by us again, and so I thought it would be nice to repay mum's kindness in the only way I know how; crochet cuddlies.  I made a little blue dinosaur for baby boy a few weeks ago, but, knowing the family had gone on holiday dawdled a bit on making something for big sister.  When mum telephoned last week to arrange the first appointment after their holiday, I knew I needed to get the second toy finished or I might not get it ready before they move on.

Fresh Stitches has been running a crochet dog club for a couple of months now and as soon as this months pattern, a cute little Maltese, came through I knew it would be just right for older sister.  I scrambled around in my yarn stash to find the right aran yarn and got to it. It's a really quick pattern, I don't think it took more than a couple of hours to complete but I'm delighted with how she turned out:

Look at those cute little loop stitch ears!  Don't they just work perfectly?!  I can't wait to give these little gifts when I see the family this week.  It's the best part of making things.

I've of course had several crochet projects on the go all at the same time!  As well as poodling along with the Crochet Club (new patterns out this week - eek!) I made another Fresh Stitches club toy, a felted Chicken and Egg.  When I first opened the box at Easter time, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed.  I'm not keen on those turn inside out type of things as I never think it works too well. But I was wrong.  This worked out rather well, and I'd definitely make one again.  The secret part of this project was the felting.  Once I'd made my pieces I was a little hesitant to chuck them in the washing machine and see how they turned out, but in for a penny, I went ahead and threw them in with some sheets and boiled the heck out of them!  Actually, I rather liked how it ended up a little fuzzy and less defined, the only problem was that the feet and beak got stuck in the drain of the washing machine and so didn't actually felt (or shrink) so they are slightly out of proportion to the rest of the body.  But hey, I guess this gives him character.  

In just a flash the chicken...

is turned inside out to become an egg!

Last of all, it definitely seems to be that time when everyone I know is having babies.  Literally, everyone.  So it's important for me to get cracking on the gifts asap! The first thing I've started is a beautiful little crochet blanket.  I love love love these colours of Rico Baby Classic DK available at The Homemakery.  The picture doesn't really do it justice  the 'orange is actually a lovely watermelon colour, and the green is a beautiful teal.  The yarn is super soft to work with, and not at all splitty.  I'm really enjoying making this blanket whereas often I get bored a tiny bit of the way through (I know we're all collectively thinking of my stripey granny blanket right now).  

Whilst on the subject, have you tried The Homemakery?  It's a lovely website and the delivery is outstanding.  I ordered around lunchtime and the package was with me before 10am the next day (and it was a Saturday, perfect).  It even included a little handwritten card and some adorable 'made with love' ribbon.  I can't praise this website/haberdashery enough.

I've also been trying out some baby bibs from Love Sewing Magazine.  It's a new one just out  in the UK, and despite some initial delivery problems (i.e. it wasn't delivered at all) I was pleased when it finally arrived and I got the chance to read it.  Now here comes the disclaimer, I know pretty much nothing at all about sewing, but to me it's seems like it's a nice modern mag full of the kind of things that I want to be able to make.  It's not totally aimed at beginners (although many of the designs are suitable for beginners) as it assumes some level of knowledge/skill already in sewing.  I decided to practice my straight line sewing by trying my hand at a couple of different baby bibs.  

 I was so impressed with myself as they turned out pretty much like the picture!  Ok, so the bandana bib is just a triangle, but it still looked like a triangle by the time I finished with it so it means I was doing something right!  I just need to work out how to neatly finish up the unstitched part left for turning the work inside out.  I am not well practised in hand sewing, and my last few attempts have been pretty bad.  Luckily, my mother in law is an extraordinary seamstress, and so I am hoping to persuade her to show me how it's done (possibly on both bibs just to be absolutely certain, tee hee).  

Do you see how the spots run right down the middle of the bandana?  The Great British Sewing Bee would be so proud!  Once sewn, I'll need to add on some poppers and they'll be all done.  I think I'll invest in some fancy pants material and make some more now I know it's within my ability to make them and for them not to look completely homemade.  I've got some John Lewis vouchers that I've been saving up for just such a task...

Spring Bunnies Free Pattern Release

I'm so excited that the Spring Bunny pattern is now available to download from Black Sheep Wools.  Designing a toy can be a stressful business; as I send over the pattern and pictures,  I anxiously hover over my inbox, waiting to see if they're happy.  Happy with the toy that I designed, happy that it meets their needs, that what I thought was cute they think is cute and something that their customers want.  It's a strange experience for me, in my day job I'm confident and sure of myself, of my expertise and ability, but designing is a huge leap outside of my comfort zone, opening myself up to public critique, good and bad.  I'm very pleased with how the bunnies turned out, and I hope you think they're as cute as I do!  

What's made the Spring Bunnies even more exciting is that Black Sheep Wools ran an Easter competition in their honour!  Twitter, Facebook and blog followers were asked to think of some adorable names for the bunnies to win everything you need to make them  including yarn, stuffing, safety eyes and crochet hook.  A great Easter present I think!

Good luck to everyone who entered; I'm choosing the competition as I write this post.  Don't forget to tweet, Instagram and email your pictures of the bunnies, I really do love to see them :) 

Sneak Peak! Spring Bunny pattern

For the past week or so I have been burrowed away (ha!) working hard to make an idea spring (ha!) to life.  Ok, ok, I'm sorry for that, but it was just too hard to resist; my brain has turned to all things Easter Bunny related following a week desperately trying to bring a rabbit to life in extra quick time :) 

The lovely ladies at Black Sheep Wools have asked if I have had any ideas for new designs a few times now.  Valentines, Mother's Day has come and gone whilst I've found myself disappointingly uninspired.  I was getting a little worried; perhaps I was not cut out to be a designer after all?  I was determined to make something for Easter, but found it very hard to find ideas I wanted to turn into something more.  Scanning through Pinterest and Ravelry only made me more miserable as I realised that it would be hard to come up with anything particularly original.  

I doodled in my little ideas book, a coral (my favourite) coloured leather bound book trying out different possibilities and shapes.  Doodle is an accurate word for what I was doing, drawing has never been my strong point and apparently I am particularly bad at drawing rabbits.  Still nothing.  But then one morning I woke up and had a perfect idea in my head of what I wanted to make, and how I wanted it to look.  I scooped up some cotton to get started on a prototype and crocheted away...

And realised I'd made a cat.  Rubbish. (although on the plus side, free cat pattern coming soon!)  I went straight back to it and by now had received some delicious Sirdar Cotton DK through the post from Black Sheep Wools in a selection of rabbity colours which spurred me to keep on.  I could see a little more clearly how I wanted the bunny to look; big feet and a round body.  It was starting to come together.  

So I worked away each evening to make sure the pattern was ready with just enough time to get crafting for Easter.  I even made a second bunny, partly to test the pattern out and partly to try out a couple of different looks.  I have to admit, the little cream bunny is my favourite, although there's something cute about the brown bunny too.  

Although the pattern isn't up on www.blacksheepwools.com just yet, I'm sure Black Sheep Wool wouldn't mind if I gave you all a sneaky peak of my bunnies, especially as I'm so proud of them :)

I hope you love them as much as I do.  I'l be sure to let you know as soon as the pattern is available to download.  I also have a photo tutorial coming out just in time to show you how to make a mini pom pom, perfect for a fluffy little rabbit tail.  I'd love to know what you think of the Spring Bunnies.  Have you been crafting for Easter this year too?

Yarn Review: DMC Creative World Woolly

Let's start with the legal stuff; although the yarn featured in this review was given to me by DMC Creative World, the review below is entirely my own opinion.  I have received no payment for this review nor do I intend to!

Information on the brand

Woolly is a DK merino wool from DMC Creative World.  According to their website, it comes from Australia and is 100% natural and renewable.  

Information about the yarn

Woolly natural Knitting 50g, ~125m,/~136yds
Content: 100% wool superwash
Wash: machine wash, 40 degrees
Recommended hook size: 4-4 1/2mm, US 6-7
Recommended needle size: 4-4 1/2mm, US 6-7
Cost: £4:50 - £5:00 per 50g skein

Woolly in colours 061 and 063

First Impressions

There's 36 colours in the range, and they are really modern and vibrant, with a mix of pastels, neutrals and brights and I think there's even more colours to be added soon.  The merino in the yarn makes it nice and soft, and so would work well for any items of clothing you make that are going to be close to the skin.

Crocheting with the yarn 

I liked this yarn a lot.  I'd forgotten how nice it is to work with real wool stuff and not squeaky acrylic.  Woolly is not at all splitty which means it glides easily on the hook and creates even, well-defined stitches.  There were no annoying knots in the skein either.  I decided to make a pretty ripple cowl for a friend who loves purple using the free pattern from Crochet from J, and it worked up very quickly.  I realised about halfway through that I was crocheting pretty tightly (it's habit; I have to consciously not crochet tightly which is actually harder than you would think) and so this took away the natural hang of the fabric but I was still very pleased with how it turned out.  The yarn itself is strong and has a slight stretch and flexibility to it, and like other merinos will be warm in the cool and cool in the warm.

Final thoughts

This would be a great yarn for jumpers, cardigans and other items of clothing that you want to be soft against your skin, whilst being able to chuck in the wash.  In fact, the patterns that DMC have available are exactly those, although sadly, only knitting patterns.  It would actually also work well for amigurumi, as it's not at all fuzzy like some merinos can be.  It's not cheap though, and so I'd probably save it up for my very special projects.   

Christmas Came Early!

I am a very lucky girl this week for two reasons:

Number 1 - Chicago baby!

A few months ago, I was very lucky to be selected to be one of six paediatric specialists from the UK to be sponsored to travel across the Atlantic to the windy city of Chicago to attend the biggest paediatric audiology conference in the world.  And finally, the time is now!  I am so excited to make my first ever trip to America (I know, I know, I'm in the minority as almost everyone has been to the States before) and I'm even more excited knowing that there's a pretty good chance it will snow whilst I'm there! I don't think there is likely to be anywhere that will get me in the Christmas spirit more than going to America two weeks before the big day; I can't wait to see the snow, the Christmas lights as well as the Willis (Sears) Tower and am already planning a trip down the river too to get some great views of the skyline.  It's such a great opportunity and I can't believe I was lucky enough to be chosen.

Number 2 - A Christmas gift from DMC Creative World

This week I was contacted by DMC Creative World who had seen my myboshi review, and wondered if I would like some samples of their other products to review.  What answer could there be other than yes please!

Today, the samples arrived and I am very excited!  Here they are:

Cottons, Merinos, wools and patterns - yes, Christmas has definitely come early!

I have looked at these Natura Just Cottons for a while now and am very happy to finally have some in my possession.  And what a beautiful colour selection:

And these Woolly merino wools are some of the softest yarns I have squeezed: 

These unusual aspen wools have got scarf written all over them:

 And my mind is already spinning with ideas for these crochet threads:

DMC were also kind enough to send me a little inspiration for these beautiful yarns; three of their pattern books: 

                                     

Unfortunately with my trip I'm going to have to wait for a few days before I can really get my hands on these, but it's definitely going to be something for me to look forward to when I get back, and to try and squish in before Christmas - exciting times :D xxx

Free Hanging Christmas Tree Decorations!

A while back I asked you to keep your fingers crossed for me as I'd had some exciting news and was waiting for it all to be finalised.  Well now is the time when I can finally share it all with you!

I'm so happy that the British company Black Sheep Wool asked me to design some free christmas tree decorations for their christmas campaign.  I was a little hesitant at first; I'd only ever designed Sheldon before and that was completely on a whim, what if I couldn't come up with anything this time?  I decided it was a huge opportunity I could't turn down, and set about coming up with some designs.  

And here they are:

Pretty cute right?!  

The patterns are available on the Black Sheep Wools website here along with christmas patterns from popular bloggers Annaboos House and Little Things Blogged.  

And there's something even more exciting.  Black Sheep Wools are launching the Creative Christmas Competition and they need your help.  The christmas tree at Black Sheep Wools' headquarters is looking bare and waiting for you to send in your decorations to make it festive!  There are fabulous prizes for the five best decorations selected the week before christmas so start crafting!  I can't wait to see what fantastic decorations you come up with, so remember to use the tag #bswcreativechristmas on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest so we can see your awesome work :)

Cute Handmade Gifts

I love to use my crochet skills for good.  And the best good is giving cute, handmade gifts.  It's not without anxiety though.  After spending hours getting your blanket, scarf or toy exactly so, packing it up ready to give to the lucky recipient, a doubt creeps across your mind.  What if they notice that the eyes aren't perfectly level or that you missed that stitch on row 34?  Or worse, what if they just don't like it?

The more gifts you give however, the better it feels.  People are generally so pleased that you took the time and effort to handmake a gift for them, that they don't notice the slight mistake that is all you can see.  Besides, as with most things, you are your own worst critic.  I bet if you actually asked someone to point out the mistakes, they wouldn't even be able to find them.

Over time I have given a fair few handmade gifts to people.  Dolls, blankets, scarfs, baskets and toys.  I think a good measure for me is that if I really don't want to give it away, it must be pretty good.  This super cute, stripey giraffe is just such a toy.    He's quite possibly one of the best things I've made.  I love the colourful stripes...

I love his cute little face...

I added a little giraffey tail for him; all self-respecting giraffes need a fluffy tail...

I'm really happy with how he turned out.

I made him from this pattern, I Love Buttons by Emma.  It's a pretty popular one, lots of these giraffes floating around Ravelry, but that's probably because it's a nice easy pattern to follow and gives you the cutest baby gift.  I didn't follow the colour scheme suggested in the pattern exactly, so I spent some some time beforehand working out how many colours would work for the number of rows, as I wanted the stripes to match up on the legs, arms and body.  I also made a few other adjustments; I shortened the length of his horns (fact of the day, apparently these are really called 'ossicones') as they seemed a bit too long to me.  I added a little fluffy tail, and I extended the length of his legs so he looked like a proper giraffe.  

I always have a dilemma over safety eyes; they look loads better than stitched eyes and officially they are 'safety eyes' so should do what they're supposed to, but I always feel I need to mention that the eyes shouldn't be swallowed, just in case.  I packed the giraffe up with some floral (Cath Kidson inspired) dribble bibs and some dog treats for Tic Tac and sent them off to my friend, hoping they would bring her new little family some enjoyment in her home town up North.

It was also my bestest buddy's 30th birthday recently.  She too has the crafting bug (although she is a dirty knitter, but I'm trying to get her over to the dark side!)  and asked if we could go to a craft class together for her birthday.  My answer was of course yes!  That sounds like a win-win situation to me; a birthday present that I get to enjoy as well!

So that she had a little something silly as a present on the day, I made her a slice of birthday cake, crochet of course.  Stupidly, I used two different types of cotton, one slightly thinner than the other I eventually realised) and so the slice was a little squiffy.  Not my bestest work, but I was on a time budget and I was working on 'it's the thought that counts' kind of vibe.  

Here it is...

The pattern was from Ravelry by Charlotte W and it looked pretty sweet once I'd finished with it.  In return I got two slices of Percy Pig actual birthday cake, so I think I did pretty well.  I can't wait for Leanne Leanne to choose what class we're going to so we can plan our girls day out to Norwich; I'm thinking lunch, craft class and a little shopping.  Perfect.

Have you made any handmade presents for anyone?  How did they turn out?