Snow!

First off many apologies for the lack of blog action round here at the moment.  Lots going on ..... I'm moving house, have been on holiday and have a wonderful new man in my life.  Hopefully in the new year, once the holiday madness has passed I will get back to regular blogging.

I haven't done a whole lot that is creative recently, but when I went on holiday I took a little crochet project with me.  I decided to have a go at making some snowflakes.

I managed to make quite a few while I was away in a couple of different patterns, I used up two balls of yarn infact.

However, none of them made it in to the suitcase home.  They are now all hanging on the christmas tree and around the apartment that my sister and nephews are living in in Malta :)

This of course now means that I have to make some more for myself!!

I've treated myself to a couple of lovely hanks of yarn called Willow Tweed by Louisa Harding, its an Alpaca, merino and silk mix.  I'm also attempting to make them on a slightly smaller hook, I used a 4mm hook for the ones I made in Malta and I'm trying a 2.5mm hook for the new ones.  We'll see how it goes :)

Piles of colour

The crochet throw project is progressing well.  I have piles of colour in my little project corner at the moment.  I love bright colours so this is a joy to work on, makes my heart sing :)

Starburst Progressing

I've been busy hooking so the starburst blanket is making good progress. All the centres are done and I'm starting on the second rounds.  I wonder how long it will take to get all these to finished blocks?

I don't think I mentioned that the directions I'm following for this can be found back in Mollie Makes Issue 2

Starburst Begins

A new crochet project has begun.

I'm using these lovely yarns.  An aran weight by Tissa.  There were cheaper opinions in the yarn shop but these are so soft and beautiful to work with.  It was my birthday last week so I figured what the hell, I'd treat myself :)

I made a test block just to make sure I could get through the pattern ...... now I'm good to go.  Let's hope this throw comes together quicker than the waterlilies cushion :)

Waterliles Finished

I can hardly believe that I am finally writing this post. My first crochet cushion is finished.  It's been about two years in the making as other things distracted me from working on it constantly.

It was a big learning curve and it's far from perfect but it's done and I made it :)  I am happy happy.

I got the measurement wrong on the back panel and it finished up being a round or two too big, but luckily crochet is pretty forgiving and I managed to fudge it when I joined the two layers together so no unravelling had to be done.

I'm so pleased with how this turned out, and I think it looks lovely on my bed.

Even more exciting ... I've been itching to start on a nice colourful blanket and had already gone out and bought the yarn I needed but was determined not to begin until this one was finished. Now I can pick up hook again and get started.

Getting Closer

I'm going to set myself a little challenge of trying to blog once a week. And who knows once I get back in the habit it might end up being more frequent than that. But I figure once a week will be achievable even in the busiest of weeks.

Thought I'd pop by this week with a crochet update. This cushion I'm working on seems to have been in the making forever and a day, but I have been enjoying every minute and the end is in sight.

I'm blocking the squares (I'm using an old rubber bath mat to stretch them on, the only thing i had handy at the time!) and there are only a couple more rounds to go to finish the back piece that I have been working on.  I can't wait to see this when it's finished it will be my first completed crochet project of any size.  I'm sure it won't be anywhere near perfect but it will be mine :)

Crochet continues

I still haven't managed to block the waterlily squares but progress is being made on the cushion back.  You can see the difference in colour between the dye lots of the yarn, but it isn't bothering me as much as I thought it might.

I'm getting excited by the prospect that my first proper crochet project night actually get finished in the not too distant future....fingers crossed.

Waterlily cushion

My first crochet project seems to be a long time in the making but it's finally getting there.  I really enjoy sitting with yarn and hook, but somehow I just haven't found the time to concentrate on it for any length of time.  But not to worry, working in fits and starts does lead to results eventually and all my waterlily squares for a cushion front are now finished.

I need to make myself a board or something so I can get the squares blocked before they are joined together, but if you can ignore the curly edges and all the loose ends I think you can get the idea of what this will look like.

I spent a while thinking about what I wanted to do for the back of the cushion, and have finally settled on the idea of making one crocheted piece.  There is a way to go to make it big enough but it's a nice thing to work on while sat in front of the TV.

One lesson learned though is think a project through to the end before you start.  To make the back I needed to get another skein of yarn.  Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a skein from the same dye batch ... it's been quite a few months since I bought the original one ..... you can probably see that the top one is slightly darker than the bottom, but I don't think it's going to matter too much for the back.  Something to think about for next time though.

I already have the next few crochet projects planned out, but I'm determined to finish one thing at a time .... for a change ;)

Solitude

Is the weather amazing where you are? It really is lovely here. I was hoping to have gone away to the coast this weekend, but things didn't work out as planned, but there is no point in worrying about what might have been.  Instead I've been out enjoying the sunshine ..... a quick walk to the park and there were sheep as far as the eye could see :)

Sunshine and blue skies the perfect weather to sit and enjoy some outside crochet, look at that concentration on my face, lol

Don't get me wrong I love being with family and friends, but I also love being on my own especially on days like this when I can get outside and just enjoy a slower pace of life than I can during the busy work week.  Just me, sunshine, the sights and sounds of mother nature and doing things that I love.

Hope you all have an amazing weekend.  X

Hooking again

It's been a while since the crochet hook has been out. I'm itching to start a big crochet project to make a throw or blanket but I'm determined to finish the crochet projects that I started last year before starting anything else.  I have a half finished scarf and some blocks that were originally going to be a throw but  my idea didn't pan out so are now going to be a cushion.

I'm still such a beginner when it comes to crochet, although my confidence is building I still have to refer to instructions every step of the way......

... but slowly I'm getting there and the pile of blocks is growing.  I'm almost half way through, I'm making 16 blocks altogether 7 are made and the pile is getting bigger every day.