Wildlife Rescue.

A great thing about crafting for charity is the great diversity of items that are requested, there's never a dull moment that's for sure, I have made coats for battery hens and blankets for orphan elephants but this time its wildlife rescue nests....

What a great way to use up stash, I have had the greatest fun crocheting three and sometimes four strands of yarn together to make these. They have to be made with the tightest tension so that no loose loops of yarn can catch tiny feet and claws.  

Stacks of cute little nests for sick, injured and orphaned birds to reside in where they will be looked after by Wildlife Rescue and released out into the wild again. 

I managed to make twenty until the strain of pulling the yarn tight was hurting my hands but I managed to bust a very satisfying 800 grams of yarn in the process. 😊

Cheerful Flower Valance/Curtain

Make this pretty valance and cheer up your windows, it's so simple to make you could make a few in different colours and change with the seasons.

Materials
Cotton yarn of your choice I used Drops Safran
Green x 3 balls
Red x 1 ball.
Yellow x 1 ball.
crochet hook 3.50 mm
One extendable window pole with fixtures.

The amounts of yarn needed will vary depending on the size of your window, the outside of my window measures 34 inches and I needed the amounts as shown above.

Method UK Terms.   (US terms below)

Measure your window and make a chain one and a half times it's width and a few extra chains. I like quite a bit of a frill, the wider you make it the frillier it will be so it's up to you..

1 tr in 8th chain from hook,*2 chain, skip 2 chain, 1 tr in next chain* repeat from * working 1 tr in last chain, (if you have any extra chains left over just pull them out) 5 chain turn.

1 tr in next tr, chain 2, 1 tr in next tr to end of row working 1 tr in 3rd turning chain at the end of the row, 5 chain turn.

Continue like this until your valance is the length you require, I made an extra 8 rows to fold down from the top and thread the widow pole through. 

Choose any flower of your choice there are so many beautiful flower patterns out there perhaps you have a favourite, I chose this one here.

You will need a flower for the second treble and then each fifth treble along the bottom edge, I needed 27 flowers.

Starting with right side facing using main colour join yarn to bottom corner and *chain 2, take yarn off the hook and push the hook through one of the petals of the flower from front to back, catch main colour and pull it through and chain one to secure the flower then chain 2, ss into 2nd tr. (see picture) 

dc in 3rd and fourth 2 chain spaces ss into next tr, repeat from * to end.

I also added a little flower chain at each corner using simple flowers with a chain for the stem,  (Magic ring chain 6, ss into ring 5 times and there you have a five petaled flower)

I hope that you enjoy making this little curtain please let me know if something is not clear and I would love to see any that you make.

Method US Terms.   ( UK terms above)

Measure your window and make a chain one and a half times it's width and a few extra chains. I like quite a bit of a frill, the wider you make it the frillier it will be so it's up to you..

1 dc in 8th chain from hook,*2 chain, skip 2 chain, 1 dc in next chain* repeat from * working 1 dc in last chain, (if you have any extra chains left over just pull them out) 5 chain turn.

1 dc in next dc, chain 2, 1 dc in next dc to end of row working 1 dc in 3rd turning chain at the end of the row, 5 chain turn.

Continue like this until your valance is the length you require, I made an extra 8 rows to fold down from the top and thread the widow pole through. 

Choose any flower of your choice there are so many beautiful flower patterns out there perhaps you have a favourite, I chose this one here.

You will need a flower for the second dc and then each fifth dc along the bottom edge, I needed 27 flowers.

Starting with right side facing using main colour join yarn to corner at bottom  *chain 2, take yarn off hook and push hook through one of the petals of the flower from front to back, catch main colour and pull it through and chain one to secure the flower then chain 2, ss into 2nd dc. (see picture) 

sc in 3rd and fourth 2 chain spaces ss into next dc, repeat from * to end.

I also added a little flower chain at each corner using simple flowers with a chain for the stem,  (Magic ring chain 6, ss into ring 5 times and there you have a five petaled flower)

I hope that you enjoy making this little curtain please let me know if something is not clear and I would love to see any that you make.

Find a Print friendly copy of this pattern here

Copyright © 2017 Linda Solaiman. All Rights Reserved

They would rob you blind and a pair of socks.

Yesterday morning when I returned from shopping I noticed that my bottom corner roof tile had come off so I went straight onto MyBuilder to find a roofer to fix it, a few minutes later a very pleasant sounding chap said he would call round and give me a quote once he had finished the job he was doing.

He arrived late yesterday afternoon and there were three of them, he mounts his ladder and says, 'oh yes Linda it's a simple job, look here is the tile it just need replacing and a bit of cement we can do it for you now if you like'.

I'm thinking it's an easy job so shouldn't cost much he may as well just do it now and it's done with. He finished the work and asked for £50!!! it took them less than 10 minutes.  I said that must be the easiest £50 you will ever make, I certainly won't be giving you a good review nor will I be asking you to do any more work for me.  After a lot of haggling and him complaining about his overheads he got £20.

The smooth talkers are the ones to watch, I can't help wondering how many elderly people would be intimidated and just hand the money over.

Anyway on to a more pleasant subject..

These lovely socks, which I started and finished ages ago but I haven't had time to show you.  this was me moving into uncharted territory and trying to make a pair of cabled socks instead of the usual plain ones I always make.

Not perfect but then my socks never are, they fit and I like them and I didn't find them hard to make thanks to Winwick Mums easy to follow pattern/tutorial.  One thing that I did struggle with was the posh cabled heel I found it a teeny bit hard going...

I do like them now that they are done but I think I will be sticking to the usual heel from now on.

I used yarn that I had left over from my Christmas socks and thought that I had better make them ankle socks just to be sure I had enough yarn, I needn't have worried there was still some left over but I love ankle socks anyway and they have been worn lots already.
I used West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply sock yarn shade cherry drop.
You can find the pattern/tutorial here.

It's That time of Year Again!

In the run up to Easter there is always a frenzied attempt to make as many chickens as is possible in the time available.  I thought this year would be different because I'm not working anymore and there would be no Easter raffle to make them for, I thought it would be nice not to have to make countless chicks for a change, this year I could relax and not even think about blinkin chicks.WRONG!

As a result of my retirement I decided I needed to get out there and join some groups and I found a knit and natter just around the corner at my local Library. They meet every

Monday morning and guess what they were doing, yes you have guessed it...chicks apparently they have a raffle too, I could have made a bunny or two but because time is short and because I can make them with my eyes closed I decided I had no option other than to make chicks yet again.

I don't mind really I don't but I have discovered that there is a limit as to how many I can make before I go crazy.  I decided to vary things a little too and made an Easter basket for some of them to sit in. The basket was very easy to make I used Stylecraft Aran but I found that the basket was very floppy and needed stiffening so I gently squeezed the basket in a solution of equal quantities of PVA glue and water. I then pulled it into shape and stood a cereal bowl inside of it and another bowl upside down on top of the of the other bowl (rims together) and shaped the handle over the top of it. It took a couple of days to dry out but I'm pleased to say it worked, it's now standing amongst all the other prizes on the raffle table in the Library.  I must say those ladies are very talented there are some lovely prizes I must try to remember to take a photo to show you before everything is raffled. 
The money for the raffle is going to the Great North Air Ambulance who do a
tremendous job in our area.

I also discovered that those chocolate creme eggs have shrunk quite a bit and the pattern I had designed for them was way too big, it was fine for larger eggs but although you can sew a few stitches together at the bottom to stop the creme eggs from falling out I decided to make a smaller sized chick.

I have updated the pattern so that you have a choice of large chick or small chick in knit or crochet or you could always make a few of each.😊

Chick pattern here or click the featured post top right side bar.

Basket Pattern here

Have you made any chicks this year, if so how many?

Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments about my last post, apart from feeling like I've been punched in the nose 😲 I am feeling much better.  I can't wait to get out into the garden and start tidying it up and cut the grass, apparently the weather is going to be lovely for the next few days so I'll start slow and do a bit this weekend.

Have a great weekend whatever you're up too.

Saying goodbye and a Huge thank you!

First a big thank you for all the lovely get well wishes following my last post, I am recovering slowly but surely, I'm still not sure if the operation has been a success but it will take time I guess.

It has been my absolute pleasure to host the Stash-Buster Link party for more than three years,  I have  really enjoyed seeing all of your fabulous stash-busting makes. A huge thank you to all of those who have taken part and shared your amazing creations and by doing so you have inspired and given encouragement to all fellow Stashaholics.

I have decided for now at least to take a break from hosting the party as I'm trying to devote more of my time to designing.  This doesn't mean that you can relax your stash-busting endeavours, do keep up the momentum and try and bust some stash before buying any new yarn.

I am still keeping a total for all of those who like to weigh their makes every month and your totals can be seen by clicking on the totals tab at the top of my blog.

I may be saying goodbye to the stash party but I will still be around blogging and visiting your blogs whenever I can.  Hopefully I'll have new free patterns to share with you soon. If there are any requests for patterns please let me know in the comments section and I will try my best.

So for the last time a huge thank you to all of those who joined in with the March stash party, these were your favourites...

1. Shawl made by Anna from Annasimplecrochet.
2. Spring Doily made by Olga from Lacy Crochet.
3. Doily made by Natalya from my Happiness.
4. Blanket made by Barbara from Yarning Away.

Congratulations Ladies !

Have a great weekend and I'll see you soon.😊