It's been a while since my last post and I must apologise for being so quiet on the blog front. I hope that some of you follow me on Instagram and Facebook and have seen pictures of what I have been up to. I have been doing a lot of knitting lately and not a lot of crocheting.
I managed to knit my first hat using the wurm pattern on Ravelry. I love this hat and I used my sock club yarn from a stash addict to make it. It was a very easy pattern and I am very pleased with how well this turned out. I made it for D, so although I won't be wearing it myself at least I can admire it while he wears it!
I've also started the hitchhiker shawl from Ravelry as well. I don't know why but for some reason I couldn't get my head round this pattern for ages, and every time I looked at it I just had a complete block! But I have finally got my head round it and it is such a fast and easy pattern!
I also managed to make myself an iPad mini case for myself as well, which fits just great and I'm rather happy with it!
I have been reading craft blogs for a while now and quite a few people have been doing cross stitch and embroidery. I did basic cross stitch when I was little and could still remember how to do it so I bought myself a new cross stitch book called Twisted Stitches by Phil Davison. The book has some really cool and unusual designs as well as a ransom note style alphabet.
I bought the book for one design in particular as I saw that it had two sugar skulls in there and I really really like skulls, especially sugar skulls. I bought the book and the hoop and then all the thread that I needed for the design. I'm not sure I have got my quantities right but I am making a note so I can re-order as and when I need them.
So here is my progress so far... I go through phases with it and will spend a few days on it then put it down and not pick it up for a couple of weeks. I also need to remember not to cut my thread get too long as I have had a few knotty backs to contend with!!
I'm pretty happy with the way that it's going if I'm honest, and it's quite relaxing. The chart is a little on the small side and is in black and white so does need a bit of concentration.
I also bought a book at the weekend on embroidery as I really want to try it, I've not done it before but i think there is such huge potential to be as creative as you want with it. I will write more about it once I have given it a go. Think I'm going to go off and do a bit more of the skull before work! :)
So I finally got back in the groove of things in relation to the 200 Blocks CAL... here is what I made last week!
Block 1 - Triangle Stripes
This block is the biggest block by far that I made this week. It measures 7inches x 7inches and counting is definitely key here. I'm not a big fan of this square if I am honest, I'm not keen on double crochet in general for some reason. This block feels quite stiff. I used double knit and a 4mm hook.
Block 2 - Tiny Textures
I have managed to temporally misplace this square so I can't measure it. I really like this pattern actually, it was really easy to do and the effect looks quite effective. I might have to make something using this pattern, like a baby blanket or a scarf. I think it would be suited to both.
Block 3 - Square Target
This block measures 6inches x 6inches. I'm not very happy with this square and may have to do it again as I don't like where I have changed colours... It's a also gone a bit wonky. I don't tend to block things as I find when squares are sewn together they straighten out slightly.
Block 4 - Bobble Diamond
This block measures 6.25 inches x 6 inches. Again this block needs a lot of counting, I think I miscounted my rows which might be why the size is slightly off. I found that when doing this block i was doing my bobbles on the reverse side. I think this may have been where I was miscounting (i think i mentioned this in my last post)
Block 5 - Twin Stripes
Not sure where this square is at the moment, but I really like this square, it was quick and easy to make and would make a lovely shawl.
Block 7 - Corner Granny
This measures 5.25 inches x 5.5 inches. I think this square is really cute and would make some nice corners on a blanket.. I found that once I moved onto the double crochet that it did start to warp slightly, but not as much as I had feared.
So that's my update for the crochet along so far! I hope you enjoyed it. I am enjoying making them and will definatly be doing some more this weekend. You may have noticed that number 6 is missing, I thought I had made it, turns out I hadn't. It will be in the next CAL post! I do wish that the squares were more of the same size, when you buy a book called 200 blocks you do expect to be able to make a blanket using any combination of block without having to modify the pattern. I must start sewing in those ends!!
So some months ago I decided that I would join in with a crochet along that Rachell over at The Little Room of Rachell is doing... I have been really bad at joining in with this and I have decided over the next few weeks I am going to try and catch up some, having only done 4 blocks (rachell is currently on block 82!!)
We are using Jan Eaton's book called 200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws and afghans. The colour theme that was decided was cottage garden and we are to make all the blocks in the book (although I may skip some of the more open blocks as I am planning on making a blanket with my blocks). I have been following Rachell's blog closely and reading with interest what she has done and how she has found the patterns as she always gives lots of tips and any alterations that she needed to make.
I decided that I am going to start again from scratch with my squares as I can't remember what hook I was using when I started them and I'm not very happy with the colour scheme (they are on my flickr account if you want to have a look) I have ordered myself some sidar wool from deramores while they have their 15% off offer on all sidar yarn and went for the bonus hayfield pack. I will probably stick to the colours in this pack as I want to make sure that the blocks all go together.
I'm going to use a 4mm hook although Rachell has found some of the blocks are different sizes when completed so I may change the hook to suit the square to make them a similar size... We shall see! I'm excited and I feel motivated to get this started along with all the other WIP I have going on! :)
So here is the first square that I have completed which I had already done, but it will actually match my new colour scheme so it will be staying for now. It is block number 4 and is called Bobble Diamond. I have to say it took me a long time to get to grips with the bobble stitch as I tried it shortly after I learned how to crochet, so it may have been a bit advanced for me at the time. The square was made using a 4mm hook. I found it strange that the bobbles were on the 'wrong' side when I was doing them so they popped out on the opposite side I was completing them on.. I may have miscounted my rows. I also find that when doing bobbles the stitch after has to be nice and tight otherwise the bobble becomes a bit flat. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this? The block measures 6" x 6.25" and was done using a 4mm hook.
I'm pretty happy with this and looking forward to doing some more later on today. I will upload some more photo's later on in the week and show you my progress as hoping my wool will have arrived! Squeee!!
Sorry for the blog silence over the last couple of weeks. I went on holiday and then was so busy at work last week that I didn't have a chance to write anything.
My holiday was so nice though, I went to Kaprun in Austria to go snowboarding. Kaprun is a lovely village near Salzberg.
It has some great slopes as well with lots of different runs to suit all abilities as well as a couple of snow parks which I got to have a little play in, which was really good as I really built up my confidence. The lift pass also allows you to go over to the next village called Zell Am See, which is really nice place to visit. I've been stuck in a bit of a rut with my snowboarding and don't seem to be progressing, but this holiday I feel like I really improved.
The whole resort is on a glacier so conditions are usually pretty good all year round. We were really lucky with the weather as well with it snowing for the first three days and then sunny for the remainder. There was lovely little bar that we went to quite a lot on one of the runs and it had an amazing snow sculpted bear outside, I was so impressed with it and it was huge!!
We stayed at Hotel Tauernhof was really good too and the food was amazing. I'm always a bit worried when I go to austria as I am vegetarian and a lot of what they eat is definitely meat orientated, but the hotel catered for vegetarians really well. Each evening dinner was three courses, D was also very impressed with his food and loved some of the meats that they served. The staff at the hotel were amazing, they were all so friendly and helpful.
Our room was lovely and we had some great views from the balcony.
I love going on holiday in the mountains so much, especially austria. Everything always feels so clean and even though it's cold I never really feel it, I think it's because it's never really windy. It was a very relaxing holiday indeed and I would recommend Kaprun to everyone!
Over the last few months I have become a little obsessed with owls.. I really like them and seem to spend a lot of time looking for patterns to do with owls and it has gotten worse ever since I made a cushion for my friends daughter and another one for a friend. The pattern was from the book All sewn up by Zoe Owens. Her book is brilliant and if you buy one book this year about sewing it should be this one!!
I want to try and do a crochet version of this now as well, and I think I will be able to design it, I just have to find the time to get designing..
I have found quite a few patterns on Ravelry that contain owls as well that are worth a look!
I have found a few blog posts about owls as well and I particularly like the granny owl square which is available from here by repeatcrafterme, her website is really good too!
I also recently obtained an owl hat pattern, which I am planning on making very soon indeed! Sarah from repeatcrafterme has also produced a pattern for these hats which is here (I told you her site was good!)
I hope you have all had a lovely weekend and got lots of crafting done!
One of my favourite things to look at on Pintrest is nail varnish and patterns. A year or so ago before I discovered Pintrest I would search the internet looking for ideas. I saw a photo of Lauren Conrad with leopard print nails and I loved them, so I searched for a tutorial and found one. Over the last year or so I have tweaked the pattern to suit what I want and here it is...
You will need.. yellow or beige nail varnish, models own nail pens in black and white (if you don't have these get a hair grip and some white and black nail varnish.
Next you want to use the clear base coat and wait for it to dry. Once the base coat has dried apply the yellow or the beige.
Once this has dried grab the white nail art pen and paint smalle white spots onto the nails, these should be placed randomly on the nail and aim for three or four per nail. If you are using a hair grip unfold so that it is straight and dip into the white nail varnish then paint on in the same way.
Don't worry if the white dots are a little lumpy as they will smooth themselves out once they dry. Wait until these are dry as if you try and do the next bit when the white is still tacky it won't work properly. Once the white has dried get the black nail art pen and start to draw around the white, you don't want to draw all around the white instead start off with a 'c' shape around one side and repeat on the other and on other white dots go for 'u' shapes. If you are using a hair grip then dip the grip into the black and follow the same process.
Hopefully it will look like the above photo, try to do the black in solid quick movements as I think it makes it look better.
So I have a bit of a confession to make... I'm addicted to cowls at the moment whether it's making them or buying them!
I'm currently designing my own cowl at the moment, it is only the third item I have ever knitted but I'm really enjoying making it. I am using rainbow DK yarn from A Stash Addict who makes lovely and delicious looking yarn. I do suggest looking at her website if only to admire the pretty pictures of all the yarn she makes and to see pictures of her gorgeous french bulldog called betty!
I am planning on putting the pattern on here when I have eventually finished it (which may be some time as I am quite a slow knitter). Here are the photo's of my progress so far...
I'm really happy with it so far and I have used roughly 100g of the wool already on 4mm circular needles and will probably use another 100g as I want it to be quite big and bulky. I cast on over 200 stitches as well so I'm hoping that I will be able to wrap it round and make it nice and snug!
So for those of you that visit regularly you will notice that everything has changed! I have changed hosts and I am starting afresh.. it feels good!
In the past I haven't been great at writing regular blog posts but I have decided that this is going to change and I will be writing a lot more and about a lot more as well rather than focusing on just craft type 'stuff', I'll be writing about books I am reading, issues I have seen on the news or something that I have seen and loved. I will of course be writing about my creations as well!
