All caught Up.

At least I can now say I'm all caught up with something that is until tomorrow when the next Moogly square will be released.

Block Ten
Whimsical Penelope’s Merry Go Round 

This one seemed to take forever to make because you are crocheting in the space below on each round. It has also turned out a little bit twisted so perhaps my tension was too tight, I'm hoping that it will be fine after a good blocking. Pattern here

Block Eleven
The Never Ending Wildflower

I love this one the flower is so pretty, the pattern is here

Block Twelve (alternative)
Spring Fling

I made this one instead of the featured one which you can see here  I did like the one that was featured but I didn't have the time to give it my full attention so chose one of the alternatives, I really love this square and I think it looks very effective in the one colour, I will try and make the featured one when I have more time.  You can find the pattern to the one above here

Block Thirteen 

Tip Toe through the Tulips (alternative)

It's great that Tamara has provided us with lots of alternatives because I didn't really fancy block thirteen either even though it's pretty I don't want a star in this particular afghan, (you can see the pattern here) so I chose the one above instead which I really like but not so much all the ends that needed weaving in. Pattern here

Block Fourteen

Tamara Square

This one was actually designed for Tamara you can find the pattern here  I like it a lot and it was easy to make too.  

I have found that all of these squares turn out less than the required 12" even when I use a bigger hook I always have to do an extra round or two, I'm thinking that our UK aran weight yarn is probably a tad finer than the US worsted weight. 


I am enjoying making these square's but I'm finding there is so much going on here at home right now I don't have the time I wish I had to devote to my crafting or even my blog come to that so if I disappear for awhile please bear with me I will be back. :) 

Linking with


Snickerdoodle Sunday
Handmade Monday - Creative Tuesday - Eyeloveknots - Link and share Wednesday - Lunamon Design - hookin on hump day

Five on Friday

Simple Pleasures

Five things that have made me smile this week..
One
Wedding Shoes

A work colleague is getting married next year and brought her shoes in to show us this is the third pair she has showed us that girl is just crazy about shoes but she says that these are definitely the ones she is wearing, I have never seen anything like them before even the soles are great, what do you think?

Two
Water

 It doesn't take much to please me, just place me in front of water and I'm happy  maybe because my birth sign is scorpio a water sign.  Anyway I'm lucky to have water all around me really be it sea or just a short drive away, Hartlepool Marina.  I like to  park the car in front of the water, I usually take some coffee and a tasty nibble and just gaze at the view.

 The pictures aren't great because they were taken with my phone and it was a cloudy day.

 There are seagulls a plenty just waiting to peck up any crumbs that may be thrown their way

Three
New Yarn

for a new project, a cardigan for me still in it's early stages and it may never happen, I don't know why I even started it, I never learn my lesson I have yet to be happy with one thing that I've made for myself but you never know this could be the one. 

Four
Emily's Cats 

My son's girlfriend is from Hong Kong and she has three cats which she absolutely adores, I have never seen cats like them and when she sends a picture of them I just burst out laughing, this is the latest, she was relaxing on the settee and they decided to make themselves at home.

and finally...

Saw this on Facebook right after Emily sent the cat pictures, I'm so pleased she doesn't read my blog haha.

Have the best of weekends xx

Joining Amy and many others for this weeks..

pop along and see what they have been up too.

A Second Pair

Following on from the  success of my first pair of wearable  knitted socks please let me introduce you to pair number two.....

It's thanks firstly to the sockalong that I was able to make these  and secondly to Linda from Chalky's World for gifting the yarn.

I wanted to try to make these using the magic loop method and in order to to that you need the right tools so I treat myself to another one of these this time a 4 mm...

It's a pleasure to use, the stitches just glide around the cord and I have to confess I am now a firm fan of the magic loop, I am so very slow when using this method compared to when using two needles but I still enjoy it and am now making a little hat I will show you my experiments as they emerge.

As you can see the pattern on the socks doesn't really match but I don't think it matters do you? these are made with Dk yarn and fit perfectly and feel cosy and warm.  The pattern can be found on Winwick Mums blog .

The sockalong is still very much on the go with new people joining everyday if you fancy trying to make socks it's a great way to start and Christine has just designed the cutest little sock brooch check it out here.

Just in case you missed my first pair they can be viewed here.

A third pair is on the needles as we speak I have a feeling there will always be a pair on the go from now on.

Even better when you can use stash yarn I have two cones of this so I can make quite a few pairs out of this that's for sure.

Hope you all have a great week.:)

Five on Friday

This week I thought that I would talk about my love of KAL/CALs, I'm always on the look out for new ones that are coming up.  The reason why I like them so much is because it's usually a great learning experience I almost always learn a new technique or stitch.

There is nearly always a facebook or Ravelry group where you can share your progress and ask for help if needed.  Many have video tutorials too so it's almost impossible to get stuck. 

It's always nice if you can actually work along with the group but I have found because I try to do too much at once I'm always way behind which doesn't really matter at all in fact in some ways it's a good thing because all the mistakes have been made and all the questions have been asked already and you can benefit from other peoples experiences.

Here are 5 which are on the go now or are about to start..

ONE
Progressive Needles KAL

Fingerless mittens knit in the round with top flap, I'm determined to make these I even have the yarn. :)

This Kal is now on  Part Two

Introduction
Part One
Part Two 

TWO
Around The Basics CAL

This one looks great and hasn't yet started I have a feeling I will be joining in with this
It starts on August 9th so there's plenty of time to gather your supplies
More information here

THREE
The Deramores Studio Cal - The Cedar River Blanket

The ever increasingly popular corner to corner now made into squares to make up this lovely blanket.
This one has already started there is a free pattern and weekly step by step tutorials for those new to this design.
Information can be found here

FOUR
Twisted and Twirled 

Beginning on the 12th July a separate mystery Cal/Kal every other week 

Something a bit different for those of you who like to make jewelry, the Cal/Kals are small projects, great for using leftover yarn and I would think great for christmas gifts too.
More information here 

FIVE

Summer Mosaic – 

Mystery Afghan 2015 – August 1st

More about this one can be found here

and just to finish off how about this for Summer loveliness

From Mikey and the crochet crowd find out about it here

I Know that some of you will know about and are maybe following some of these already but I hope that I have given some of you something to think about. If you are following another cal/kal please let me know about it because I am going to place a cal/kal link at the top of my blog and keep it updated so that everyone can see at a glance what cal/kals are available.

Have the best of weekends. :) 

Joining in with Amy for her Five on Friday

Trying to Catch Up

I have been trying to catch up with the Moogly CAL I have made quite a few of the squares but as yet haven't had time to blog about them so here are a few more.

Block Seven
 Pinwheel Afghan Square

This one was easier than it looks but there were a lot of ends to weave in, you can find the pattern here

Block Eight
Springtime Lily Pond Square

I'm not convinced that mine looks much like a Lily pond and I can't see the lilies either but it was easy enough to make. You can find the pattern here

Block Nine
Spring Burst 

I like this one I think it's very pretty, you can find the pattern here

Which one is your favourite? I love the flower in the centre of block nine but also quite like the windmill effect of block seven.

This Thursday block 14 will be announced so you can see just how far behind I am but I will get there I'm determined to have a blanket at the end of the year.

Have a great week. :)


Linking with


Snickerdoodle Sunday
Handmade Monday -Cooking & Crafting with J & J - Creative Tuesday - Eyeloveknots - Link and share Wednesday - Lunamon Design

Five on Friday

Hello and happy Friday to you all, I hope that you have all had a great week we have been enjoying some lovely sunshiny weather up here in the usually cold north east of England yes  there have been thunderstorms too but I quite like a thunder storm so I'm not complaining. 

This week the North East Group of Loving Hands met at my home I always enjoy these meetings it's lovely to get together with like minded folk. We were even able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine for a change.

 Everyone had been so busy in June here are their lovely makes.

Ann gets the job of sewing up any squares that come our way and I think she did a great job making up these blankets, the squares come in all shapes and sizes and it's not always easy to fit them all together.

 and if that wasn't enough to keep her busy she made a cute little jacket and used more squares to make a scarf

 Barbara's beautiful makes

 a closer look at that lovely waistcoat

Maureen is teaching herself to crochet and is using the 200 crochet blocks book by Jan Eaton to practice and learn new stitches, I think she has done a fantastic job of this lovely blanket

 she also found time to make these lovely jackets too

From the left, Barbara, Ann and Maureen

All of these items will be sent to Operation Orphan

This beautiful Hydrangea is the star in my garden this week. 

Have a great weekend! 

Linking with Amy's Five on Friday