Granny Squares Tah-Dah!

Anyone who knows me reading this will be wondering "what on Earth is all this about?" The truth is I realised it my last post that I never wrote anything about finishing my Granny Squares blanket. You know, the mammouth year and a half project, 324 squares, two person effort that consumed me during '09 and '10!

Well yes it's finished! Poor thing, it's not that I wasn't pleased to finish it, relieved might be a good word to use! I think it was really too big to embark on as a first project and I lost heart in the middle of making all the squares, then putting them together felt like walking Route 66 (no end in sight?)

Here is a little reminder...






And here (finally) Tah-Dah!!!






A big thankyou has to be said to my friend J.J who helped with a lot of these little buggers and who without, I doubt I would ever have finished!

Baby Granny Stripe Blanket

I'm really very excited about starting this next project as it's the first big thing I will have made to give away. Shocking I know! I read about all these generous people whipping up blankets for friends and loved ones and here's me surrounded by my own creations, hoarding them for myself! That's probably why I like reading Lucy's blog because she has no problem making herself lovely things and keeping them - and so she should!

I made a granny stripe (see here!) before using Drops Paris, and although I'm happy with the result now I wasn't at the time and admittedly I hated the yarn! It was too splitty and my fingers hurt the whole time I was making it, BUT! It has lovely colours and my friend thought so too because she's creating a child in her womb and has asked me to make her a granny stripe! I was thrilled, chuffed to bits; someone liked something I made enough to wrap their own child in it? Amazing!!

I've dropped the Drops though (haha) and instead opted to use the Stylecraft I've been making my (abandoned) hexagons* out of because it's going to be a lot softer and snugglier for a small person. I also love using it!
*Hexagons not abandoned, just postponed!

So here we go!

I hadn't planned to start so soon but got a little carried away, and the light wasn't good (and still isn't here) so I'd already finished 11 rows before getting my first picture. I hope you like it, I hope they like it and I hope they don't see it before its finished! I also hope that annoying little blue stripe between the green and yellow doesn't annoy anyone else as much as it annoys me!

Bye bye bye x

What I mostly wordle about

I found this Wordle thing over on The Quince Tree which was also on Shanti's blog who saw it on Tecrin Tries! All good crochet blogs you should check out (plus all the others I follow to the right >>> )

This is a little summary of words on my blog. I'm surprised actually that Christmas came out as the most used word (I do love it though, and by saying the word I've just added to the stats!) and believe it or not I can't even see the word crochet at all! Prize to whoever points it out ;-)



Check out Wordle.net to create your own :-)

Hi There 2011

The problem with making christmas cards and presents for other people is being able to a) give them away and b) restrain from blogging about them until after they've been received! I so wanted to share these before but couldn't be sure they wouldn't be spotted by my friends and family!

Now I admit I didn't make all the fancy little things on the cards, some were from Hobbycraft and Abakhans and a lot were bits and bobs from old christmas cards and things I've hoarded but I did have great fun putting them together.

So yes even though it's January (oh yes, Happy New Year!!!) here we are!



















After 9 I ran out of steam a little so this was all I managed but hey, I'd be very greatful of any Christmas card. Now if they could all please be sent back to me that would be great as it was very hard parting with them... ;-)

All you need:

• Some card & envelopes (I got mine in Fred Aldous, Manchester)
• Sticky foam pads / double sided tape
• Ribbon
• Christmas motifs, old cards, wrapping paper
• Felt / foam
• Festive cheer / mulled wine
• Scissors (very important!)
• Anything else you can stick onto a card and part with

Perhaps some Easter card making might be on the horizon!

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a fab 2011!

Getting ready for Christmas

I love Christmas more than any other time of the year! I love the lights, seeing friends and family, presents (buying, wrapping, giving and receiving!) the mulled wine, Christmas markets... Need I go on? But the thing I love most is decorating! So I've been quite busy over the last month making little felt decorations for my tree.



These are ever so easy to make, all you need is a bit of felt, some buttons, ribbon and teddybear stuffing, a pair of scissors, pinking shears if you have some, tapestry thread, needles, and a mince pie. The design is from a flyer I picked up in Hobbycraft but you can also view it online here!

The edge has been finished with a blanket stitch; I got this from my Cath Kidstone Sew book but you can find simple instructions all over the internet.



This is my favourite with all the little heart shaped buttons which were only 99p for a bag which made another heart and may even make one more. Bargain! A little tip for the ribbon is if you don't have any, raid your wardrobe. What you say? Raid your wardrobe? Yes! So many of my tops have these ribbons inside to use on hangers but 9 times out of 10 I never use them for this purpose, and they always get in the way don't they? Chop them off and save for a project! Some people might call it cheap, I call it thrift.





The baubles and lights are just jewellery and crimping beads which I had in a tin for years! The snowflake shapes above I got from a shop in America called Michaels and they have sticky backs which is great for attaching while you sew; I'm sure most LCSs (local craft stores?) will have something similar.

All for now, have a lovely weekend :-)

It's November and I am a terrible blogger

I am officially blaming the clocks going backwards on my lack of recent blogging. By the time I get home from work it's dark and it just isn't possible to take nice photos in the dark. I am sticking to this excuse.

I have embarked upon a new project ladies, and if there are any reading this, gentlemen. My new stash of wool arrived a few weeks ago from Masons, a lovely 17 pack of Stylecraft put together especially for anyone crocheting along with Attic 24 who has used this in her granny stripe blanket.








I'd heard lots of good things about this wool, mainly that it was very soft for a £1.25/100g ball and I'm not disappointed in the slightest. I love it a lot (too much?) and it's so nice to work with! Plus I'm used to 50g balls so this should last me an age :-)

So what to do with it? I do admit I um'd and ah'd for quite a while, asked people on Ravelry what to do, made some test pieces and finally settled on some granny hexagons [tutorial]. Oh no. Not another blanket says boyfriend. Oh yes ! This one will (I promise) be a lot smaller. I have absolutely no plan, no grand design, I'm just going to churn out enough hexagons to make something reasonably sized. Horray!









I promise to be better at writing better things and posting more interesting pictures! When the sun is out x

Manchester Craft Fair

One of the things I love about living in a Manchester is having so many events on my doorstep. We have loads of markets, my favourites being the Christmas Markets and absolutely I can't wait til November when they open! This year alone I've been to the Spring Markets where I got this little fella




a Vintage Fair in the Triagle (I love love loved this) and yesterday a last minute trip to the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Spinningfields. There were some really beautiful designs, lots of lovely jewellery, cushions, art work, paintings, knitted things - If I'd have one that £113m on the Lotto I would have walked away with a lot more than my modest purchase I tell you! More on that later. Most of the designers had little postcards to take away with their details, here are some of my favourites:

These fab tea towels were only £10 although my friend and I both agreed we could never use them for drying dishes even though the girls on the stand encouraged us that we could! She bought three in the end (it was a difficult choice!) one to frame and hang in her own kitchen and two to part with as Christmas presents; lucky friends!

This last little stand was my absolute favourite, no need to explain why I'm sure. Loooooooooook at the little knitted cacti pin cushion! What a fabulous idea! The pins are its needles see! OH I loved this so much, I think I might have done a little dance in the shop (which was tiny!) Just as exciting were the Christmas Tree pin cushions which had pins with those coloured pearly heads to look like lights and baubles!! Ahhhh pure loveliness.

It was pretty obvious then that my modest purchase was of course going to be:

I.Love.It.

Short days and short weekends

With the days getting shorter and shorter by the time I get home from work there isn't much light left so I haven't been quite as busy making things as I'd like, but aren't the sunsets looking beautiful?

Weekends are my favourite time so on Saturday I got up nice and early (well it was about 10 o'clock, but thats early by my standards!) and decided to get the sewing machine out. I recently took a trip to Hobbycraft and came back with some lovely material, to replace the old first cushion cover I made way way back last year. Don't feel too sorry for it, it had a good life!

You will need an 8 inch zip, pins and thread. The smaller cushion which I have photographed is 12"x12".

Cut two squares measuring 13"x13".

Draw a 1/4" guide around the edge for the seams.

Place the two squares together, right sides facing. Using the bottom seam, sew two 3" lines from across the two edges; this will leave you with an 6" gap for the zip.

This is the tricky bit. Fold the top seam of each square and press with an iron. Place with the right side facing up and position the zip underneath. You can pin and tack the zip to the fabric if you wish.

Use the zipper foot of your sewing machine and sew around the zip. This is what it will look like from the back:

And from the front:

Now you can sew up the remaining side BUT remember to open up the zip first. You will not believe how many covers I've had to un-pick because I couldn't turn it inside out!