Goodbye January, Hello February!

Well can you believe it? The first month of 2016 had been and gone! It flew by didn't it?

So what have you all been up to? January has been a pretty busy one for me. Firstly I started this blogging adventure, so far I think it's been a success and I hope this will continue over the year too.
Not only has the blog been gaining interest so has my Instagram account. I've now reached over 1000 followers, which really does amaze me. I can't believe that that many people all over the world not only want to, but like to see what I get up to in my crafty life! Thanks so much!
I've also set up a Twitter account which is steadily gaining interest and my Facebook page continues to be supported! What a social butterfly I seem to be!
Remember if you want to follow any of my social media feeds you can find links to them all on the blog home page.

Well it's been a very crafty month!
 I've started a year long project with my Mood Hexagon Blanket. It's not a full months worth (because I started late!). I've made the motifs but still not quite decided on how to join them together?

What next? I crocheted my first piece of clothing, a Granny stripe jumper for my sister Cara's birthday. She was pretty pleased!

Oh, I discovered my Super Dooper Crochet Project Bible! It's keeping me super organised with all my crochet projects. Plus being a stationery geek I have so much fun using all my different pens and pencils to fill it in!

Then I received a very exciting delivery! My first Little Box of Crochet which introduced me to two new loves, Scheepjies Stone Wash yarn and the Bobble stitch.

There's also been plenty of amigurumi, including my beautiful mermaid,

three peas in a pod, the prize for my 1000 followers giveaway on Instagram,

and Sarah and Duck, well two ducks actually. These have to be a particular favourite of mine. I made these for my nephew Sebby, he LOVES Sarah and Duck! I also made an extra Duck after someone saw him on my Facebook page and commissioned one for her daughter.

I also had a little experiment at  my own amigurimi, this cute Kawaii pencil.

But it hasn't just been crochet, no, no, I've been enjoying some other crafts this month too.

Cara and I had our first attempt at needle felting, another of her birthday pressies. Not the most ambitious project, but not too bad for a first go (hopefully you'll agree?)

Adult Colouring books? You've heard of them right? If not, where have you been? I've been using the book Doodle Invasion, which I bought after seeing it all over Instagram.
I've been using Spectrum Noir pens and pencils to colour in a couple of pages.

Last off I've been developing my Folk It! painting skills. This month I have been learning the comma stroke and have been painting beautiful daisies.

If you like the look of these then keep an eye out. I'm hoping to write a post soon all about Folk It! in the meantime you can look them up here, http://www.folkit.co/

So, that was January, said it was a busy one didn't I? I hope your start to 2016 has been as much fun as mine.
Remember keep looking to find out what I'm up to next!

Thanks Everyone xx

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!