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...

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?

Valentines

Coopers don't do valentines day.  Although I won't say no to a dash of romance every now and then, I like the spontaneous, thoughtful kind, rather than the 'the calendar says so, so we must' kind of romance that occurs on the 14th February each year.  I still had a lovely day though; Squitchy and I braved the gales for a walk around his favourite slice of Norfolk countryside.  Can you spot his furry white tail in the distance?

Whilst I was freezing my toes off, Sas was having the best time leaping through the overgrowth, smelling the abundance of wildlife that inhabits these hills.  He gets so excited to be roaming free off his lead and has such a happy look on his face as he races ahead of me, stopping to turn and check that I am following behind him every so often, making sure I'm enjoying myself just as much as he is.  It was worth losing a couple of toes for.  

I did get a couple of valentines treat.  My lovely mum bought me a huge bunch of roses as she does each year, and Coop even presented me with a box of my favourite chocolates (which he has promptly scoffed, but still, the thought was there).  I even treated myself to a little crochet time and a few new skeins of yarn so that I can make this fabulous Astrid Doll by Annaboo's House.  Another project on my list, but it gave me a reason to buy some Sugar n Cream to try.  It's an aran weight cotton yarn that's just arrived over here from America.  It's a bit rougher than the cotton I'm used to, but I'm keen to give it a try and see how it works up, and if it's the right kind of stuff for amigurumi, as I do love to work with aran weight yarn more than any other.  I'll let you know how it goes, when I get round round to using it, after the blanket, and the crochet club, and the beach house cushion and the....

Projects, Projects, Projects!

Arrgggh, what a miserable day it is.  Rain, rain, rain.  Poor Squitchy is feeling very sorry for himself as I won't leave the back door open for him to wander in and out of the house as he pleases, and so he's curled up on the sofa, occasionally huffing to make sure we know that he is one unhappy husky.

It is not such a problem for me though as I have plenty of projects to keep me busy.  Usually, January is the month that drags on forever where I have to watch every penny to make sure I can make it through to the 25th (otherwise known as payday).  And there's so many temptations; a final dash for some extra christmas presents, sales, splashing out for my birthday, January is definitely there to test me.  But not this year, no.  This year, it seems like I've been much more in control (plus I was very lucky to get money/vouchers for Christmas and birthday so I didn't have to dip into my bank account too much) and so I've had a little bit spare.  And what better way to spend it then buying more crafty goodness!  I hadn't really realised just how much I've purchased until I had to try and find a home for it in my craft room, instead of my usual spread around the house approach.  

There's been a couple of books:

First up is modern baby crochet by my fav, Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches fame.  Yep, I know I bang on about Fresh Stitches, but I genuinely love love love her stuff.  Now, I'm not a baby person, (I spend all day with other people's kids, it's enough to put anyone off!) but whilst this book certainly has a focus on designs for a new baby's room, there's so many other things in it that would work in any house.  I've already made a cute little amigurumi bird, but have my eye on the sea urchin pouf (I started making a pouf ages ago with Zpagetti yarn and it looks pretty average.  I want to frog it, but know how long it took me to get that far.  Maybe this is the push I need) the asymmetrical basket-weave blanket and the colourful wiggle pillow (which my sister has also put in an order for already).  

Then I bought My Crochet Doll by Isabelle Kessedjian.  This is a truly beautiful book; the first half is photos showing all the items in the book, laid out in a really inviting way that makes you want to make everything on each page RIGHT NOW!  I love that the crochet doll is in fact just a tiny part of the focus of this book; it's all the accessories that go with it that catch my eye, like the teeny tiny camera, or the little bucket and spade for the beach.  My particular favourites are:

There have been a couple of other pattern purchases, but these are for top secret projects and will be revealed all in good time :) 

I've also bought my first big yarn pack of the year, from Wool Warehouse, the Attic 24 colour pack.  17 skeins of Stylecraft Special DK in an Attic 24 inspired colour range. When I opened my huge bag, I was a little uncertain as to how this might pan out.  Not all the colours were those that I would pick myself, and certainly weren't ones I've put together in one project.  But I don't know why I doubted Lucy, it's not often she gets her colours wrong.  I've already made a good start by following her granny stripe tutorial:

...but being that it's 240 stitches across (about the size of a double bed) I've still got a long way to go!  I've decided to weave in the ends every so often so I don't have a big pile to work through at the end.  I'm sure you will be hearing a lot about this blanket over the coming months ;)

I was also very lucky that timing paid off in my favour.  I keep seeing a very lovely embroidery design popping up on Instagram which made me very tempted to give it a try.   It's Sew Laugh Love by Leanne's House but unfortunately it's no longer available to buy as a kit anywhere, except in Australia which just so happened to be where my parents were over Christmas, visiting my sister.  Following a desperate email, and a long flight it made it's way over to the UK and straight to my craft room.  I'm really looking forward to learning a new skill and hope I can do it justice on my first attempt.   

So I'm definitely going to be busy for the next few months!  I'm excited that it's a mix of projects that I love like amigurumi, easy going pattern free projects like the granny blanket, and a completely new skill in embroidery.  What are your crafty plans for 2014?

 

2013 Round-Up

Wow!  So it's 2014 already.  Where has the year gone?  The older I get, the faster and faster time seems to pass.  2013 was a good'un, there's no doubt about that.  Mostly, because I started Curly Girl Coop, and found a place to jabber on about crafting with like-minded people.  I enjoy writing this blog so much and can't tell you how happy it makes me when you comment on things :) 

There's been a lot of crafting...

Which has made me very happy.  And there were a few stand-out pieces for me...

1. Sheldon the Sheep

Sheldon was a game changer.  He was my first attempt at designing something rather than following a pattern and I was so chuffed with how he turned out.  Sheldon has brought a lot of traffic to my blog, has led to me getting involved with a couple of fantastic British yarn companies which is so exciting but most of all he gave me the confidence to try my hand at designing.  Not bad for a little fluffy sheep. 

   2.  Yarndale

Yarndale was a great event to be part of.  Tracking the build-up online, the across country road trip across and then being there for the very first one was really great.  Will I go every year?  Probably not.  It's such a long way from Great Yarmouth and it has a definite emphasis on hand-dyed yarn which isn't necessarily my thing but another trip will be on the cards in the future I'm sure.

 

 3.  One Sheepish Girl Bloomdrop

I loved this yarn bombing.  It was the first yarn bombing that I have taken part in and I was a bit nervous about how it might go, but the flower drop was well received (with a little family drama thrown in for good measure but hey, when isn't there?!) and I was proud to honour my grandma in a way that was personal to our relationship.  This year, I hope to be brave enough to do some more yarn bombing without worrying what anyone else might think.  

So how about 2014?  Well, top of the list is to keep this up!  I really do love writing my blog and am determined to always make time and space to do so.  I also really want to carry on designing things as inspiration comes to me, but don't want to force ideas and take away the fun of it, so I'll just have to see how it goes.  I really want to get into using my sewing machine too.  I got a sewing machine last year but have hardly used it (I broke it once and then have been a bit scared to try it again) but I got a real urge to sew over the Christmas break and so am hoping to take this forward in 2014.  On the sewing front, I'm also tempted by some beautiful embroidery that's been cropping up on Instagram recently.  Perhaps this will have to feature in my 2014 plans too?!  

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

Shhhhhh! It's my yarn winder!

My family don't quite understand my crochet obsession.  Coop is really good about it all; probably because he has an ulterior motive - the more I crochet, the more uninterrupted time he has with his Playstation!  But the rest of my family find it hard to see the appeal.    They watch with confused glances as I hook away by the fire, and meet my new creations with a mediocre "Oh that's nice".  Luckily for me though, they pretend admirably when it comes to presents.  I saw a brief wrinkle pass across my mum's face when she asked what I would like for Christmas this year as I answered swiftly back "posh yarn, a yarn bowl and a yarn winder", but she nodded in agreement and gave me some pennies so that I could get what I wanted.  

Do you remember this:

Oy, that was a frantic week, made only harder by this tangled mess staring at me every time I walked through the kitchen.  Luckily for me, one of the christmas presents I had procured was a yarn winder.  Once I'd spent quite possibly in the region of 6-8 hours untangling this, there was no way I could leave the winder in the box and risk this happening again.  And anyway, I had to be sure that the yarn winder worked ok before I handed across to mum to be wrapped, right?

So here it is:

It's just a cheapy one, bought on Amazon for around £16, and there are plenty similar ones out there to choose from.  It works ok; the little clamp tightens up nicely onto my dining table, and although it works slightly loose over time, it was fine for what I needed.  The part that didn't work so well and caused a little frustration was the tension arm (the little wire piece on the left hand side).  It tucks away for easy storage, pulling out when in use, and is supposed to click in place so that the yarn is at the appropriate tension to make a nice, tightly wound ball.  However, this one doesn't really click, and so fairly regularly the yarn ends up all over the place as the tension is lost.  This could be overcome by holding the yarn in a certain position that prevented the arm from slipping, but it makes the process a bit slower and fussier.  

Having said that, I'm no major yarn winder, and so it will do just fine for my needs.  The little cakes it produces are neat, centre-pull balls which are easy to work with.  Once I'd wound one, I hunted around for extra yarn so I could wind even more!

  

For now, the winder is back in it's box and in the safe care of my parents.  I didn't mention that I'd given it a whirl (ha!) and am practicing my surprised face for when I open it on Christmas Day.  I'm also planning all the little yarn cakes I cam make once it's officially mine...