Back on it!

I realised I’d been quiet for a while but as a family, we have been incredibly busy.
I have been crocheting since my last post and done the odd few bits and pieces.
As usual, I have a gazillion ideas running around in my head and they all want to get out at the same time!
I need to write a list I think!

So here’s a few things I’ve been doing ……..

And then the reason I had no time for anything…….

These two babies were abandoned in the box with their brother and sister outside a rescue centre 4 days before Christmas.
My husband and I foster for the Blue Cross, so when we got a call asking if we would take care of two little 6 week old pups, we really couldn’t say no. We named them Buddy (after Elf) and Holly.
It was hard work as they’re very much like newborn babies. They cry in the night, they eat constantly, poop everywhere and not to mention that they were infested with worms and very malnourished.
We got them over the worst and handed them back in to the care of the centre when there was space for them. They’ve been successfully re homed except for Holly. She is still waiting. The poor girl has been quite traumatised by her awful start to life. Being ripped away from her mum at such a young age has had an effect on her. She needs someone who can be with her most of the day. But she is the most adorable and loving dog who will give someone so much back. The right person is out there!

Mission complete

A few posts ago I mentioned that I wanted to find a giraffe or elephant pattern so I could make one as a gift.
South African friends of ours are expecting their first baby and as they live in the UK, I wanted to make the baby something to remind him of his true roots. We don’t get many Giraffes wandering about in the UK so, this was the next best thing.

It’s an awful picture because I totally forgot to take a picture when I had finished. I was only until we were about to walk out of the door with him that I remembered!
I’m really pleased with how he turned out. His name is George by the way. It couldn’t be anything else. George the Giraffe has a good ring to it, not to mention he was created the same year as Prince George, it made sense.
The pattern was from Lionbrand and you can find it here http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80449AD.html.
I made two little adaptions to it. Rather than the brown, I used the new grey yarn I had bought, which actually looked really good I thought and I also added a nose to his face. I didn’t think it looked quite right without it. I decided to scrap the safety eyes and embroider his facial features.
I know they’re called safety eyes but seeing as this is for a baby, I’d rather not take the risk!
Do give it a go as it works up relatively quickly and is an incredibly easy pattern to follow.

I’ve also completed my grey cowl. I love them so much, it’s quite ridiculous. Not only are they simple to make, but they’re quick and verrrrrrry warm!

Again, awful picture but I’m relying on my iPad to do all the work.
But now this is done, I have started on a beanie to match. I was debating a beret and I may still do one, but I felt that this particular colour called for a beanie. I think the Beret will need to be done in the mustard yarn.
I also want to do some mittens to match, so if anyone has any good patterns out there, do share!

Cowl Mad

I’m a little bit addicted to making these cowls.

This is a new one which is almost complete. I love the yarn. The colour is perfect for the winter and its so easy to work with.
Results to come shortly…….

Busy busy!

I’ve left this blog unattended for longer than I had planned, but in my defence, I have been incredibly busy.

I had got in touch with some old crafting friends and asked if they wanted to start up a swap.
We used to do it years ago when our children were younger, but as they have grown, our lives have become more complex and busier (I think I’m going to use busy and busier a lot in this post).
Everyone loved the idea, so we decided to go at it with a casual and laid back attitude. We gave ourselves a month or so to complete the task with the theme of making something that made us, the crafter, happy and in turn, making the recipient happy!
We were only to use items that we had in our house, so no money was to be spent and everyone’s partners were anonymous.

I pretty much knew what I wanted to make as I had spotted a pattern on Lion Brand weeks before and I had the perfect yarn to do it.
Unfortunately this little lady destroyed the first two attempts…….

This is Margot, the youngest of our three dogs. Margot was a originally a foster dog. We help out our local branch of the Blue Cross with stray dogs that they struggle to take in.
Margot was 16 weeks old, incredibly underweight, deaf and its suspected that she was left to wander off from a travellers site.
She mainly a Lurcher but has since developed some black spots and seeing as her face isn’t as long as a pure breed Lurcher, we think she has some Dalmatian in her too.
But yes, she looks incredibly angelic in this photo. The truth is, she’s a nightmare in disguise and loves nothing more than to destroy my projects when she’s not too busy harassing my other dogs!

Anyway, this was the final piece…..

And it was sent to a lovely lady I know, along with these other little pieces……

I was so pleased with how the cowl came out that I’ve made another.
I’ve now moved on to the project I mentioned in my last post, making some animals for my friend. I’m on a really right time schedule as I will be seeing her on Saturday and I will be working the next two days, so in between refereeing children, dogs, cooking meals, cleaning and all the other inane jobs, I will have to get this sucker done!

After, I’ll be turning my attention to some gorgeous mustard and grey yarn I bought yesterday. Right now I’m thinking they’ll look amazing made in to berets and scarves but I’m undecided. They’re too nice to touch!

Lots of stuff

I haven’t been able to update recently. I’ve been pretty busy what with starting a new job. But I seem to have several projects on the go at the moment and I can never decide where to start.
However, I organised a craft swap with some old friends who all have different skills in different areas of crafting. From quilting to crocheting and beading to needle felting.
The theme of the swap is to make what ever makes you happy and in turn, passing on the happiness!
I dove straight in, knowing full well what I wanted to make. Unfortunately it just wasn’t working and I’ve had to start all over again.
But, I do know that when I’ve finished, this will make me very happy.

I’m also in the process of a Christmas gift for my mum. I thought I’d try and be organised at least once in my life!

For some reason the camera has made the yarn look fluorescent. It’s more of an apple green colour and its a lovely thick Aran yarn.
Once my swap gift is complete, this will be getting finished!
I’ve then got to frantically make some amigurumi safari animals for a South African couple who are having their first baby. They need to be ready for a baby shower in August.
I’ve seen some lovely patterns online but if anyone has any other suggestions or patterns, I’d love to see them.

Busy Busy

I’d been working on one particular project for some time.
After stumbling across a pattern for a Boba Fett beanie, my husband saw it and immediately wanted one. I did some googling and found a handful of patterns but none of them achieved exactly what I wanted, so I decided to make my own pattern by basically staring at a picture of Boba Fetts helmet for quite some time.
I made a basic beanie and essentially “winged” the rest of it. I knew it needed a visor, some buttons and an antenna.
The helmet in the Star Wars movie is obviously very worn, but with wool, I knew that would be very hard to achieve, so I stuck to the main decorations for the hat and I think it worked well.

My 5 year old son very reluctantly modelled it for me.

I had to hide it from my 6 year old son, as he has just discovered the delights of Star Wars and seeing as he was running in and out of the house with a light sabre at the time of completion, there was a high chance my husband wouldn’t get the opportunity to wear the hat.

New blog!

Hi!
Just a short first post really. I plan to fill this blog with all my makes and wears which are mainly of the crochet variety.
I’m a self taught crocheter, so sometimes I’m a bit slow with patterns and other times I can pick it up faster than a piece of chocolate.
I’ve got some bits to share that I’ve already done and a pattern that I will publish within the coming days.

So I hope you enjoy reading and I look forward to finding some more crocheting blogs!