1000 Instagram Followers!

Wow!!!!

I've just reached 1000 followers over at Instagram! Crazy! I'm so glad that everyone enjoys seeing what I'm up to and I really appreciate all the likes and followers!

To celebrate I'm running a little giveaway. 

I'm giving away these very cute peas in a pod. If you want to be involved head over to my Instagram account to see why you need to do!

Thanks again! X

Follow By Email

Hey everyone,
Just a quick message to let you know that you can now receive emails to tell you about updates to my blog. If you want to follow me then enter your email address in the box on the right.
Thanks x

Colour, Colour, Colour!

A lot of you fellow crocheters will be aware of the amazing idea of 'yarn pegs'. I first saw them on the Attic 24 blog. I see so many people using this system on Instagram and I love to see what colour combinations you all come up with.

My yarn pegs are made using Stylecraft Special DK, there are so many colours it's great to have a little bit of each colour to play around with.

I don't quite have a complete collection, but here are my yarn pegs. 

I know I won't be the only one, but there is something so satisfying about seeing all these colours lined up in order.

Sometimes you know exactly what sort of colours you want to use for a project and the yarn pegs are a great way of checking they all go and what order you want to use them in. But sometimes I just like to play around and make notes of combinations I like, ready for future projects. 

Here are a few I've come up with recently,

From left to right,

Parchment, Pistachio, Aspen, Plum and Pomegranate 

From left to right,

Cream, Wisteria, Sherbert, Turquiose and Candyfloss

Clockwise from the left,

Parchment, Mocha, Walnut, Denim, Cloud Blue and Duck Egg

From top to bottom, 

Citron, Sunshine, Cloud Blue, Turquoise, Lime and Meadow 

Vintage style rainbow, from left to right,

Claret, Tomato, Gold, Meadow, Storm Blue, Violet, Plum and Mocha

Bright rainbow, from top to bottom,

Lipstick, Spice, Sunshine, Kelly Green, Turquiose, Violet, Magenta and Cream

From top to bottom, 

Mustard, Gold, Fushia Purple, Plum, Empire, Petrol, Pistachio, Lime, Mocha and Walnut. 

I'd love to know what colour combinations you have come up with and what projects you have used them for.

If you want to know where you can buy Stylecraft yarn have a look on my Favourite Stockists page. 

Have fun!

Moody Hexies 2016

The Mood Blanket, it was pretty popular last year, so I realise I'm a little bit behind. Also it's supposed to be a year blanket and we're halfway through January! Whoops! I never was one for good time keeping!

Anyway, Donna, the owner at my local yarn store has started a mood blanket this year and is trying to get customers and friends involved with the project. There are no rules, any colours, any shapes, just keep it up through out the year and most importantly share with others.
You can have a look at their website here or follow Donna's progress over on her Facebook page, click here to see.

The shop is a stockist for Bergere de France yarns and they have a beautiful range of yarns and colours. I've decided to use Ideal. A DK weight yarn, 40% wool, 30% acrylic and 30% polymide. It's a super soft yarn and comes in loads of stunning colours.

These are the colours I have chosen,

From left to right,
Parot, Vitamine, Girolle, Citronnier, Emeraude, Calanque, Purple, Hortensia and Elephant.

So, how does the mood blanket work? Well, each colour is linked to a mood, emotion or feeling. Each day, or when you feel up to it, you make a motif that represents your mood, simple.

These are my colours and their represented mood.
Parot - annoyed/angry
Vitamine - worried
Girolle - excited/looking forward to...
Citronnier - happy
Emeraude - normal
Calanque - low
Purple - creative
Hortensia - Super Dooper!
Elephant - exhausted

So that's the colours chosen, the moods sorted, now just to choose a pattern.

I knew I wanted to try something new, not just your regular granny square. I wanted something a little more solid, but decorative and not too big.

I tried out four different styles,

Top left, a solid granny square, three rounds.
Top right, a granny hexagon, three rounds
Bottom left, a flower hexagon, three rounds and
Bottom right, a vintage flower granny square, four rounds.

I was pretty pleased with them all. The vintage flower granny square was a little too big for this project, but I thought several joined together would make a nice cushion. (I'll keep that in mind for the future.)
The solid granny square was good too, but not as decorative as I was looking for.
I loved the shape of the granny hexagon. This was the first time I'd made a hexagon and I was impressed, but was it too similar to a granny square?
Then there was the flower hexagon. Yep, this was the one. Interesting shape, decorative, easy to make and just the right size.

So all decisions made, Bergere de France Ideal yarn in chosen colours, moods picked and matched to a colour and pattern tried and tested, the flower hexagon. Now time to put it all in the Crochet Project Bible.

Right, all sorted, now time to start. How am I feeling today?

I'll keep you up to date each month with how this project is going. I would love to know if anyone else is doing a mood blanket this year or a different type of year long blanket.
Happy crocheting everyone
x

Little Box of Crochet

Hello there lovely people,
today I thought I'd share my new found love, Little Box of Crochet. Some of you may already be aware of this lovely lady, Amanda Bloom, and follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
If you haven't you can read her amazing story HERE

Little Box of Crochet is a monthly subscription to a boxful of wonderful crochet-ness! The company has been up and running for a few months now and I've been following their journey closely over at Instagram (and drooling over the lovely photos!)

This month I finally gave in and took up a subscription. I waited excitedly for my parcel to arrive...then one gloomy January morning my Postie bought me a parcel with this sticker on,

"Are you excited?" Ummm? Yes!

As you can imagine I opened it pretty quickly and was amazed with what I found.

The packaging alone is absolutely beautiful and professional looking. (If the box is this good, then what's inside?!)

I slowly opened the box to reveal this,

It was like Christmas all over again!

Inside I found a pattern for a beautiful ear warmer by designer Kate Eastwood of Just Pootling. You can see her amazing blog HERE
There was also all the yarn I needed, which included Scheepjes Stone Washed XL in Smokey Quartz.
It was fate! I had been coveting this scrummy yarn for months and one of the projects I really wanted to make this year was an ear warmer!
As well as the yarn, I had everything else I needed to complete the project. A Knitpro hook, a sewing needle, a stitch marker and even a label from Just Pootling, for that designer finish.

First thing, make a cup of tea. Next, get comfy, now time to crochet!

The pattern was amazing! So straight forward and really easy to follow, with both written and pictorial instructions.
The pattern called for bobble stitch details all along the ear warmer. I was a little bit nervous of these, but the instructions for this part were brilliant. Lots of step-by-step words and pictures.

So, I followed all the instructions for the crochet parts,

then it was time to sew it all together.

Wow! I love it! I love the colour, I love the bobbles, I love the bow, I love the yarn...I just LOVE it! And now I have the pattern I can make as many as I like. Oh, and now a good excuse to buy some more Scheepjes Stone Washed XL. They have so many beautiful colours. I'll be heading over to Wool Warehouse soon to make a purchase. Why not have a look yourself, http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/

This project took me just under four hours from start to finish and I enjoyed every minute.
So, if you love crochet and want to try something new every month then I highly recommend you head straight over to http://www.littleboxofcrochet.co.uk/ and sign up now, you won't be disappointed!

Now, hurry up February, I'm ready for my next crochet fix!

Twitter!

Just a quick one, I'm over at Twitter now if you want to follow me. You'll be able to see when the blogs been updated or things I post on Instagram too! X

 

It's All In the Planning!

So, I've recently come across a book. A book that has had a LOT of interest on both my Instagram page and FaceBook page.

"What is it?" I hear you cry. Well here it is,

As well as a crochet addict, I'm also pretty partial to a little bit of stationery. I found this company, Stationery Geek, over on Facebook. www.facebook.com/StationeryGeek

This book was exactly what I needed. This year I hope to be little more organised with my projects. Last year I had a tendency to start lots of different WIPs (works in progress) and not keep track! Whoops!
So first project of the year went straight into the book.

Last year I bought a limited edition pack of Stylecraft yarns, (along with an awful of you fellow crafters!) These colours are now available as permanent colours in the Special DK range.
You can see all the Stylecraft range here http://www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk/

So now the colours were chosen it was time to pick a project. Something simple, to the show the colours at their best. I headed over to one of my favourite blogs, Attic 24 and chose her Cosy Stripe Blanket pattern. http://www.attic24.typepad.com/

Decisions made, time to put it in the book.
Here's how I use mine.

Now all the planning was complete it was time to start the crochet!

On to the border.

One blanket completed and being enjoyed!

Now time to plan another project!

Hello Everyone!

Hi there you lot!
Well this is my first ever blog post (Eek! Exciting!)
Now this little blog of mine is all about my crafty passion and all my going's on. So if you love crochet, sewing, free motion embroidery, card making, paper craft, upcycling, drawing, zentangle, colouring in, needle felting and pretty much anything crafty then, hopefully, you'll feel right at home here.
So have a look about and see what's going on, if you like what you see then you can always check out my Facebook and Instagram pages by clicking the links over there on the right hand side.
Thanks for looking Everyone,
Hannah
xxx