Sunday 28 October 2012

Another CAL!



As you all know I love crochet-a-longs and if I can follow one I will.  Astri from Apple Blossom Dreams is hosting her Rockman Afghan CAL, the beauty of this one is it's made in Tunisian crochet something I have never tried so it will be a challenge for me.  I know I shouldn't really be doing this because I have still got the afghan sampler CAL and my own blanket to finish both of which are progressing very slowly but you know what they say, variety is the spice of life haha.

Week one of the CAL is for gathering your materials and I am going to use the brightest yarns I have in my stash because the resulting blanket will be a baby blanket for Africa and we know African mothers love bright happy colours and won't it lovely to work with these colours in the darker winter months.  I thought I would need a special hook too but no, a good old size 5mm crochet hook is all you need.
So sun glasses at the ready and here we go.



I may add more colours if I can find more brightness in my stash it does take a while to look through it all because I have so much I can never remember where I have hidden it all :)
Do join us it will be fun, it looks and I hope it will be, nice and easy and you can make it any size you like there is also a dish cloth version too.







Tuesday 23 October 2012

Memory Blanket Squares

Once again the Loving Hands Members have been asked to make squares for a memory blanket. So sad that these blankets have to be made but if it can give comfort to the bereaved then every stitch is worth it.  
I decided to knit them this time, I used dish cloth patterns which I found were very easy to adapt into eight inch squares.

Angel Square



I loved this one and thought it was lovely for a memory blanket especially as it is for parents who have lost a little child.
You can find the pattern here








Heart Square



The pattern for this one can be found here there are lots of lovely patterns to be found at both of these links, do have a look they are very much worth a visit.

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Hat Collection.

Thank you everyone for the lovely comments about the inside rectangle and for the best wishes about my hands... AND I have reached 200 followers!!, so a big welcome to everyone who has recently joined and a big thank you to all of you who continue to follow and make me so happy with all the lovely comments you leave.

This time I would like to show you some hats I have made from free patterns found on-line mostly from you lovely bloggers who are kind enough to share your patterns with us all.  This just a small collection to start with but it will grow as I intend to add to it as I make more.
My aim is to have a place where anyone can excess these patterns, so I will be trying them out first to see how easy they are (I like easy ) then all you will have to do is click on the hat collection link on my labels and there eventually you will have lots to choose from just in case  you fancy making some too.


I started making these a few weeks back and enjoyed it so much I did want to make a few of each, I had to stop however because of my hands. 

So Introducing...




Rib Wrapped Cap 
from Celtic Mommy blogspot.


This pattern is easy to follow and there is a tutorial too.  It turned out perfectly and it is nice, thick and cosy for a little one, I wish I had a little one to model it.
Find the pattern here

Lena's Pretty Little Hat
From Dly's Hooks and Yarns






As soon as Debi posted this I fell in love with it and made two.  I used different thickness yarn and hook for each and both turned out beautifully, a lovely pattern and very easy to follow.

Find it here

Quick Fix
from Vallieskids Blogspot




This one really is quick, I made mine with chunky yarn and a 7mm hook and it has turned out big enough for a young teenager, using a bigger hook with chunky yarn it would certainly be big enough for an adult.  Again a lovely easy pattern.
Find it here
These hats are winging there way to Loving hands as I speak, hopefully they will help to keep someone nice and warm this winter. 
Have a lovely week everyone. :)

Sunday 7 October 2012

The Inside Rectangle

I have fallen a bit behind with this because I have been very good as promised and have been resting my hands, but now dare I say it... they are improving, it is such a relief because I was afraid that they never would so thank you all you lovely people for your support your kind comments and best wishes kept me going through the none crocheting days.  
I have began to crochet again but very cautiously and taking it slowly, so now I'm trying to catch up.
For Week 1 of the  Afghan granny sampler we had to join squares to make the inner rectangle.  I must admit I struggled quite a lot with this.  I couldn't get it the way I wanted it and it took me ages to feel satisfied with the result, it was a bit like doing a jigsaw puzzle but without the right pieces.




Now I am trying to join the other squares to it,  I think that's going to be even harder and it could take quite a while,  I won't give up on it though and hopefully one day, I will have something resembling a blanket and if I ever get there I will show you how I did it, wish me luck!  :)

You can read how I got to this point  here