Sunday Smiles

Hello all you lovely people, I hope you have all had a great week, all my spare time has been taken up with making baby hats, but the thing I enjoy doing even more than the making of the hats is the embellishing.

While sitting out in the sunshine with my cup of coffee some little scraps of leftover yarn and a crochet hook look what I  came up with.  It's lovely when you manage to create something that you can actually use, believe me lots of my little experiments do end up in my scrap jar.  I'm sure these flowers are out there somewhere they are easy enough to make but I have written the how to down as I made them so if anyone would like the pattern let me know and I will make a post just for them.

Lisha Baby Hat

So why so many baby hats? well my cousin Angela is visiting from America and she is the executive director of NWDSA, she has asked if I will make some for her to take back with her, a little hat is given out to new parents along with information about the association. I think it's a great cause and I'm trying to make as many as I can in the time I have got before she goes back.

Can you remember my baby fish from here

Well I released them into the tank this week and thankfully they seem to be doing ok so far, the other fish are leaving them alone but there are some that are still quite tiny so I'm hoping that they will stay hidden away until they are beyond being a tasty mouthful.

Saw this on facebook and had to share. :)

The stars in my garden this week.

Sweet Williams

I love sweet williams and I grow them in honour of my lovely dad William who was a very keen gardener, he always had the best garden in the street, I can remember looking out of my bedroom window when I was a small child so that I could see all the back gardens and the feeling of pride I had when I compared our garden to theirs it was always so neat and perfect full of lovely flowers.  I often wonder what he would think if he could see mine, I'm sure that he would want to tidy it up a bit. 

Have a great week! 

Block a Week Friday

Block 26

Sextet

Worked from a chart and made with the intarsia method.  I found the chart too small and found it easier to count and make a note of the number stitches and rows needed for each colour, then it was very easy and straightforward.  It would be fun to make a blanket with this method randomly changing colours, it would be a great stash-buster too.

Another example of this block

Made by appledumpling

Rating - easy

Curl - 1

size - 6"x6"
ends - 12

Progress -  number of different blocks made = 26

Numbers - 8, 14, 17, 24, 26 30,31,34, 40, 41, 42,43,44, 45,48, 52, 56, 67,70  98,100, 113,133,153, 200, 209

(Click on the number to see the block.)

Linking with

All the blocks in the Block a Week Friday feature are blocks made from the book 200 Knitted Blocks by Jan Eaton. You can read all about the challenge here and here, the challenge is on going and it's never too late to join in!

Have a great weekend! 

Cute Little Baby Hat

I'm just popping in to show you this cute little baby hat.

 A gift for a friend for her first little grandson.

Made out of this book, I have had this book for a while but as yet I haven't made that much out of it of course I'm hoping to try out all the patterns at some stage, if only we could just sit and crochet all day long!

I'm still busy making baby hats and was hoping to show you a new baby hat pattern today but it's taking longer to write out than I thought, it should be finished very soon.. I hope :)

What have you got on your hook/needles?

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Have a great day!

Sunday Smiles

I hope that you have all had a great week, mine has been a quiet one but I did have a few smiles along the way. 
Firstly thank you for all your lovely comments and feedback, they always make me smile. :)

Mandala 4

I found the pattern for this mandala on instagram, I came upon this and loved it straight away, there was a handwritten chart which I saved onto my phone.  It was just a small portion of a chart really and I have to admit that I made this more from looking at the mandala rather than copying the chart, it's not perfect there is a mistake but hopefully not too noticeable.  It's quite a big one measuring 9,1/4 inches across but the stitches are easy and it's lovely to make. The lady who designed this is called Camilla and her instagram profile is called crochet-millan, the link to her mandala is here unfortunately it looks as though she has removed the pattern but the good news is she has just started blogging and has already put two great patterns on there.  I'm leaving a comment on her blog asking if she will share the pattern. The link to her blog is here

Thank you for all your feedback about the jacket last week most of you liked the jacket  and thought that I should make it.  However I did ask my friends at work too and I could tell by their faces that they didn't really like it even though they said otherwise, that is until I showed Michele the hairdresser...her comment and I quote..."no Linda that is definitely not you, it will put years on you!" That's all it took, I wont be making it.   

Lovely new yarn!! lets face it nothing puts a smile on our faces more than a visit from the postman with a parcel of new yarn, you can't really see the colour properly here but it's called Cyprus and is a lovely bluey green. I know what you are saying well what's it for when you aren't going to make the jacket, well I'm making something else and I'm not going to tell you what it is now, because I can't start it just yet, I need to finish other things first then I can sit down and enjoy working with this lovely soft yarn with a clear conscience.

A visit to the garden centre
I am lucky to have three garden centres very close to me.  I was also very lucky to have been give some garden vouchers for the pram cover I made back here.  Well these vouchers have been burning a hole in my pocket for quite a while so I decided to go and spend them.

Plant food granules, if you remember my previous lot were waterlogged.

A new pot for my peace Lily which was getting rather pot bound

Wood for the fish tank, already installed and the fish are enjoying swimming amongst the little crevices. 

A pot of African Violets, aren't they pretty, I love African Violets.  So nothing particularly exciting but they did put a smile on my face and it's nice to buy things and not have to pay for them, I love getting gift vouchers and I still haven't spent them all so another visit will be on the cards pretty soon.

The stars in my garden this week

I can't remember the name of this rose, I think it's called Arthur Bell I've had it for many years and it never disappoints, it's a lovely healthy plant and always has masses of blooms.  I love the different shades of yellow starting with a deep orangey red bud opening up to a beautiful deep yellow which gradually fades to the palest lemon.  It has the most heavenly sherbet type of scent, I wish I could pick them and give one to each of you. :)

Hope you all have the best of weeks!

Block a Week Friday

Block 44

Colourful Bobbles

I can remember knitting bobbles many years ago when I used to make Aran cabled sweaters, I'm talking about the odd bobble in the centre of a cabled triangle, I used to look forward to the bobbly bits back then but now well, it was a bit too much making this block, it seemed to take forever, not difficult you understand but very fiddly, I do like the finished result but 23 bobbles resulted in.....

46 ends!  Of course if the block was made in just one colour then there wouldn't have been any ends apart from at the start and the finish but then it wouldn't have been so pretty.

Another more colourful example of this block..

Made By Appledumpling

Rating - intermediate

Curl - 3

size - 6"x6"
ends - 48

Progress -  number of different blocks made = 25

Numbers - 8, 14, 17, 24, 30,31,34, 40, 41, 42,43,44, 45,48, 52, 56, 67,70  98,100, 113,133,153, 200, 209

(Click on the number to see the block.)

Linking with

All the blocks in the Block a Week Friday feature are blocks made from the book 200 Knitted Blocks by Jan Eaton. You can read all about the challenge here and here, the challenge is on going and it's never too late to join in!

Have a great weekend!

NewBorn Ripple Poncho

This little baby poncho has been on my to do list for years in fact ever since I made this one here the little preemie poncho has been ever so popular and has had 5011 views! 

 because I  really enjoyed making the preemie version I was determined to try and make  one for a newborn.  The preemie poncho was made using 4ply yarn, so all I did was change to DK yarn and a larger hook.

I think it's turned out really cute and it will be just the right size for a newborn baby and should last until the baby is six months old or even older.

This version is made with Dk variegated baby yarn and a 4mm hook, you could make it even bigger by using worsted weight or Aran, I may try that next time.

You can find the pattern here

Another great stash-buster!

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What are you making this Summer? does the warmer weather put you off crocheting or knitting?
I'm in the mood for making baby hats and I feel a preemie baby jacket making urge coming on. :)

Hope you week is going well!