Retro Solid Granny Square Blanket - Tadah!

Hi there! 

I hope everyone is having a great day, I have a colourful post for you today! 

I have been hooking steadily away through January and I've actually finished my first project for 2017! Yay! :) That's pretty good going for me! 

This blanket was quite the speedy make, I seemed to have enough squares made in no time and then it was just a matter of sewing them all together and hooking a border up.  

I have to say that I loved working with the MoYa Caresse Aran Cotton, it was nice and textural and worked up fast with a 5mm hook.  The colours were all so beautiful and worked so well together all the combinations look great (well I think so anyway!) . I love that slightly washed out look of the MoYa palette, and the hand dyeing process leaves some nice subtle variations in the colours which I really like. (You can see this most in the border where there are a few rows of the same colour).

This has ended up about cot size, nice for a baby or lap blanket. 

So here's the nitty gritty: 

Pattern: My version of a Solid Granny Square (108 squares)

Yarn: MoYa Caresse Aran Cotton in 10 different colours

Hook: 5mm

Size: cot size (9 x12 squares) 

........this was when I was blocking the blanket after joining all the squares together, I thought about blocking each individual square, then decided to wait till they were all joined, it seems to have worked out ok.  It is quite a thick textured blanket, and i like the slightly puffy look to the squares....

 .....tadah!  All finished! 

....you can see how big it is all laid out on my table, not giant........

Onto the next thing now, it feels great to have something completely finished in under 6 weeks, I wonder if I can keep the momentum going and get the next one finished as quickly!  Not likely! :) 

Have a great day/night everyone, happy hooking!! 

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Chunky Sunburst Granny Blanket

Hello there. 

I hope you're having a lovely day! 

This is a blanket that I finished a while ago and while I have shared it on Instagram, I don't think I ever got around to showing it on here. So if you've already seen this on Instagram I apologise, but I like to share things over here too, it's kind of like a diary of my crochet that I can check back on when I need to make something again. :) 

Anyway, this is the fabulous Sunburst Granny Square pattern by Priscilla Hewitt, 

The yarn I have used is MoYa Bulky Plush Organic Cotton, it's a chunky weight so you use a 10mm hook.  I loved how quickly these squares worked up in the Bulky Plush.  I only needed 12 squares and I had a decent sized baby blanket! I used around 1 ball each of the colours in the centres, and 6 balls of cream for the background colour, plus 1 ball of the border colour.  That is quite a lot of yarn, so this is a rather special blanket, but I am really happy with how it's turned out! 

I'm thinking of making a pillow in the same pattern and yarn, with 6 squares, so rectangular, and maybe with a vintage blanket for the back side......., I think they'd look great on a bed!  Or even a square cushion made from 4 of these squares on the front would look awesome. :) 

So many ideas, not enough hours! :) 

Have a great day, talk soon! 

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Wheels Within Wheels Blanket - Finished!

Wow it's a wild and wooly day here.  We have been without power for four hours and it has just gone back on so I can get on here and post this!

Anyway, I thought I'd show you this blanket that I finished recently while I was on my finishing off drive.  I think this was started well over a year ago, and then sat on a shelf in pieces for a long time.

I am so glad I have finished it!  I really love the random coloured rings and the way they pop against the grey, it was a lovely way to use up lots of half balls and left overs from other blankets.

Sorry about the overkill of photos, but it has been very grey here and the lighting hasn't been great for such a colourful blanket.  So I have taken quite a lot!

These two shots are before I blocked and shaped it properly, it was quite puffy and didn't lie flat.  You can see the difference in the top pictures where it is lying much flatter and draping quite nicely over the back of the couch.  This blanket really benefitted from a good blocking I think.

So here are a few facts about this blanket:

Pattern: Wheels within Wheels by Frankie Brown  (Great pattern!!)

(I did change a few things, made the wheels bigger and the squares bigger too.)

Yarn: For the centres, scraps of 8ply from other projects, mainly Heirloom Colorworks, Babywool 8ply and Loyal DK.  The backgrounds where in a medium grey, but I can't remember which yarn exactly.

Size: 30 squares, 75 x 90cm, roughly a cot size blanket.

This was a really fun blanket to make, and I think I will be making a few more of these later in the year.  

What do you think? Do you like the grey?  I think you could have a big play with colours in this blanket and come up with lots of beautiful schemes....

Anyway, I've gotta run, talk soon!

 (I'm off to see if I can add my tapestry washcloth patterns to the Ravelry site, I think that will be the easiest way to do instant downloads.....learning new things every day round here!!)  :)

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Daisy bobble balls

 Hello!

I thought I'd show you what I have been making this week.  I have been quite productive these holidays, it's been good!!  

Remember I was making those cute hexagon daisy motifs last week?  

Well, this is what I  have made them into, 3 little soft, colourful balls. 

Do you think little people would like to play with these?  

I know they are a bit of an old school toy, but I thought babies might respond to the colour and the textured soft surface of the ball.

Apologies for the overkill of photos, but I got a bit caught up in all the happy colourful possibilities of these pictures and thought I'd just whack them up here anyway.

I have to admit I do like these!  Even if they are a totally useless, there is something about the 

bobbley-ness and patchwork effect that I really like, I keep having to touch them and throw them around a bit.  Toy making is fun!  Who knows, I might even make a heap more and have a big basket of daisy balls to play with, I think they'd look good hanging from the ceiling too, maybe a mobile....hmmm.... plenty of ideas....

I hope these brighten your day like they have mine! 

What have you been making lately?

Heres another link to Karen's ace pattern for the daisy hexagon motif, just because it is so good!

Star Stich Blanket No.2

Hi there!

Over the weekend we had some pretty ordinary weather. It was cool and wet and dreary, perfect for guilt free daytime crafty action.  I  had so much time I actually got my second star stitch blanket finished!  

So here are some pictures!  

Tadah.......

....all folded up nice and neat........

....and all spread out flopped over my very old sleepy hollow chair....

 .......I do love these colours (if you haven't noticed before!!)

I have had a few comments regarding the star stitch and the formation of the little defining 'line' in between each row of stars, apparently it is a bit different to the tutorial I linked to in the Star Stitch post.

I will try and take a couple of photos to show how this line forms in my blanket.

It is actually the back loop of the hdcs that makes this line, it just appears as you crochet into each hdc.

Anyway, I will show you in a photo when I make another one soon.

Thanks for dropping by, hope you all have a great day!

My creative space....half way there

Hello.

I don't know where the days are going at the moment!  Every time I look up it is Thursday or Friday!

The early part of the week just seems to disappear into a big jumble of stuff that I find hard to recall,  all 

my well laid plans and things I want to cross off my to-do list seem to get pushed to the back of the week and I actually have very little to show for how I spend my day.  

I think I spend a lot of time day dreaming.  Imagining how things could look, or things I could make, or things I could plant, or just procrastinating.  Think I will do something about all this dreaming, not sure what though!!

Anyhoo, I have managed to finish one sock!  Half way there! Yay!  It wasn't as hard to negotiate the heel and shaping as I was anticipating, so that was a good thing.  I just followed the pattern to the letter.

I am using the sock pattern from  'The gentle art of knitting'  by Jane Brocket,  such a great book! 

 Must keep soldiering on to the second one and not say I am finished till I have a pair of socks. 

 I quite like the way the pattern has come out with this wool.  I think it is that German sock wool brand Opal, they do lovely things with self striping yarn.

  

..........also been making some little hats for the cooler weather, the crochet hook is so much quicker than the needles!  These are for babies and I have made them in lovely soft merino so they are nice and cosy for those cute little bald heads.  I got on a bit of a roll with these, so many lovely stripey combos to make up!  I like this classic shape too, I think it really suits simple striping.

Think these will go towards my on the never- never market stall, slowly collecting some things to sell.  Maybe some in my little shop too, I have some more combos to try out yet!!

What have you been up to lately?

See you later!

My creative space...finishing off...

Hello.

Well I finished off my little bibs, and I mean completely finished off, all threads sewn in, and each one ironed nice and flat.  I got a bit carried away and ended up making 12, I still have a few colour combos I'd like to try too, they are quite an addictive little make!

I think they will wash fine as they are made from 100% cotton, and they have a nice soft feel too them.

I have even got my act into gear and put a few of them in my shop, if anyone is interested!

I think I might get a bit of crochet in today, it is looking very stormy and threatening here, but still warm, and I have Max home feeling sick, so I think a quiet day with a bit of crafting and cooking will be what we get up to.

Joining in at Our Creative Space over here.

Have a great day!

bubby crocheting......

Hello.  

It's been a busy week here, hence the lack of posting.  I don't really know what I've been spending so much time on, just general busy life stuff I think.

Anyway, I have been fitting a bit of crochet in too.

I have a vague idea to do a few markets this year, so I have been making a few little baby things with this in mind.   Maybe Mathilda's Market ? My stuff is quite child focused, but I don't know if I'd be big enough, or enough of a 'business' to get into that one.  Anyone had a stall at any craft markets in Melbourne they can recommend? Any suggestions?

But I digress....... 

Here's what I've been up to recently, taking a bit of a break from granny squares.....

These are little cotton bibs, I have been having fun mixing colours for the stripes. 

 I have a few more combos to try out before I'm finished. 

So that's my creative space for today, a bit of crochet fun.

Have a look at the other creative spaces over here.

My creative space.....What to do?....

Hi there.

Today my creative space has many possibilities, I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment and they are all calling my name!

Above is the granny stripey blanket with the next few colours I am going to use, we are going for a bit of a bluey green patch, with maybe a bobble row thrown in there too.

Or there is my crochet jar covers in cotton. I am trying to get a few of them together to maybe put them in a shop and try and sell some. My sister used to work in a lovely florist shop that I might be able to put them in, or else they might go in Little Woollie Makes..........

And I also have the baby things I have been working on for a few weeks to finish off and make a some more different coloured boots, and sew on the flower embellishments.

So I am spoiled for choice!!

As long as I actually achieve some progress today I will be happy, although it is mid afternoon and we have a busy sports time after school today, so I had better get cracking!!

Hello, hello, hello, to any new followers,( and everyone who has been around for a while!) I seem to be getting a lot of extra views recently, and every time I click on to blogger there are a few new people on board!! So thanks for having a look, it is very exciting, I hope I don't bore you all with my drivel!

Have a great day!

Playing along with the others at Our Creative Space today.

my creative space....heads and toes...

Hey there, how's your day going?

Today my creative space is about making another little flower for these little boots and trying to finish the stripey hats that have sat with threads hanging out for ages.

This is the first time I've made little boots, and it was not that difficult once I got the hang of the pattern, I don't make that many things from patterns so it can be a bit challenging working them out.

They were actually fun to make, I was thinking they might be cute in stripes too.

I have a heap of this lovely soft merino baby wool in gorgeous colours, so I think there will be more of these in the pipeline.

....Just thought I'd pop a piccy of my blanket progress this week, slow and steady it is growing...

Have a look at other creative spaces over here

Talk soon, have a great week!

Crocheting cute.....

Blogtober 27th

These are some little baby bibs I'm making, these are my first few tries, I did some boy colour and some girly colour, cause I don't know what my sister is having. They are lovely and soft made from pure cotton so they should wash up fine too.
I'm thinking of making some more to put in my 'things that are finished for a future Madeit shop' stockpile. I really like making things for little ones, and I have lots of ideas for some cute little mobiles and cot blankies. Have to get on to it!!


Thought they might look cute with a sweet flower, but I think it needs to be slightly bigger than this one, what do you reckon?

Have a great day!

My creative space #8....

Blogtober 7th

......today was really busy for me, work, then parent teacher interviews, then basketball for 2 boys, then home to change and basketball for me (first game for 22 yrs - totally out of my depth, have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to play, already dreading next week!).

I did manage to find 2o minutes of creativity while watching the boys do their thing on the basketball court, and finished off this little baby bib from a pattern in one of the Japanese crochet books I got the other day. This one is a baby\toddler pattern book with some gorgeous little clothes and accessories to make. (Sorry, I can't remember the name and I can't read Japanese to tell you from the book!) I tried the bib to see how I'd go following a diagram pattern, and it wasn't too hard at all! Yay!

Anyway, here are a few more pages from the book to get you all drooling.........





I really love this little coat and hat!


I found these pattern books on etsy here.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, I'm running late today and there is no natural light.

So I hope you all are having a great day\night see you tomorrow!