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

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