A Preemie All-In-One and what's next?

 Although I enjoyed the short break from crochet I had last week it wasn't long before I got the urge to make something again, lets face it if you are addicted to crochet you can't be without it for long.  I felt quite bereft in the evenings without a hook in my hand. So what to make? something small and easy, a quick finish like this cute little preemie baby all in one suit...

This is to go to N.H.A.P. (Needles & Hooks Angels & Preemies). Their April crochet challenge was for us to make 40 of these, that target has been smashed and I believe they have 54 suits as we speak. 

I used this yarn from my stash I'm not even sure if they still make it anymore I've had it so long. It took exactly 100 grams and you can find the free pattern here.

It was an easy make and the pattern is quite well written however I think a knowledge of crochet and of reading patterns is probably a must if you want to try it, a beginner crocheter may struggle.

So what next? ...

The Patchwork CAL which I mentioned back here has been brought forward and it's starting today! I'm really looking forward to it because making a square is more doable than thinking about a huge blanket.  I can make these at my own pace, they will be small enough to be transportable and easy to work on whilst sitting in the garden weather permitting ha!

After almost a week of lovely weather we are right back to bitter cold winds blowing in from the north sea, I was fooled into thinking Spring was actually here oh well. 

I still haven't decided which yarn I'm going to use for this CAL so I'm going to spend a lovely afternoon routing through my stash in order to find something suitable.  As I said before this is a great way to try Mosaic crochet if you are wanting to give it a go, the designs look easy and the pattern is easy to follow, there's also a Facebook page Maud's Crochet Club where you can display your work, get lots of inspiration and ask questions if you get stuck. 

Another CAL...

One of the ladies from Loving Hands brought my attention to this CAL which has already started.  In Barbara's own words...

" There are 14 different squares, all farm related, which you can repeat to make whatever size blanket (or cushion I guess).  If you sign up on her webpage, you get an email twice a week with a different square.  Looks like a bit of fun!"

It's really worth taking a look because I'm thinking they would be perfect to make a blanket or cushion for a grandchild or to give away as a beautiful  gift for a new-born 

aren't they cute? and the patterns are free!😊

I have managed to complete the seventh day on the Twelve Days Of Christmas Sampler, I'm  quite pleased with myself for sticking to my target of completing  one day a month. I will make a start on day eight this weekend and we will see how many maids will be milking by the start of next week. 😄

I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend. 😊

Click here to see the parties I will be linking to this week.

Durham Riverside Walk

 Thank you for all of the lovely comments you left about my Hooked and Locked Blanket I was overwhelmed by all the lovely things that you said about it. 😊

I seem to be in a bit of a slump as far as my crochet is concerned and all my other crafts, to be honest when the sun is shining I just want to be outside.  This week my friend Baz and I decided to take a trip to Durham and have a walk along the riverside, so grab a cuppa and come walk with us.

 

I think this is the first time I have walked here in early Spring and it was amazing to see how much wider the paths seemed to be, during high Summer most of the pathways are practically obscured with the lushness of the vegetation and greenery, apart from wild garlic and an abundance of ivy there was little else to see.

I never tire of seeing the magnificent Durham Cathedral, it's closed now because of Covid but I will be back for a visit when it opens again and will also visit the Castle as I have never been inside.

I'm now busy playing in the garden and Spring cleaning my Summer house, I'm also giving my stone ornaments a make over, I will reveal their before and after once they are finished...

still to do - two tortoises - three rabbits a mushroom house and I have to repaint a bird because I painted it as a female blackbird and my friend Babs told me it's a Woodpecker 😆

Here are Mary and Babs sitting in the sunshine yesterday after consuming some very tasty fish n chips it's lovely to be able to see friends again after so long especially when we can sit out in the warm sunshine, we did intent to do some knitting and crocheting but we were too busy talking and catching up...

Have a great weekend

It Took Me Eight Months! and a CAL in Mosaic

 Yes eight months to finish this blanket...

it has been pushed to one side more times than I care to mention but now at last it can take it's bow, today is the day when it can take to the stage and say....

Look how beautiful I am! before starting it's life as a Spring/Summer cover for my bed.

I really love this blanket and am so happy with the finish, it was interesting to make and it's an interesting blanket to gaze upon too, it's a happy sunshiny blanket, look at those lovely hearts, the beautiful butterflies and the cute little fish.

As always it's so frustrating trying to get the prefect photo, no photo will ever do it justice such a blanket needs to be exhibited in a gallery for the fibre arts.

Please don't think that I'm blowing my own trumpet here, I'm really not, anyone who can crochet could make this, my praise is for the clever designer who thought this through, all I did was follow a pattern.

I'm in total awe of all those designers out there who give us the tools to create a work of art like this.

Stats

This is the Hooked and Locked Blanket which was originally designed in the hooked and locked technique, one that I have yet to master (but I will) and then thankfully the designer produced a mosaic version which enabled me to make it. 

The designer is The Craftsteacher and you can find the introduction and link to the pattern here.

I used 

This is a beautiful yarn to work with and has a 50% cotton and 50% acrylic content. I used shades 500 cherrypop and 501 whitesands. I needed 9 balls of cherrypop and 8 of whitesands.

The finished blanket measures 6ft 4ins x 4ft 6ins.

The Craftsteacher is actually hosting a CAL as we speak but it's in the hooked and locked technique so I can't follow it, the pattern is free until the end of the CAL and is worth saving for later because you never know you may get the urge to to make it in the future.  

The introduction is here.

ANOTHER CAL!

You know I can't resist, this is a great one for those who want to try mosaic crochet because it's made in squares, 12 inch blocks to be precise so you could just make a small blanket if you wanted, it's also a great stashbusting opportunity.  

It's called the Patchwork CAL and it's starts on the 7th May information here 

Click here for more information on Mosaic Crochet. 

Now I'm going to have a look amongst my stash to see if I can find enough yarn to make a baby blanket or lap rug.  If you are worrying about ends, there is a video tutorial on how to deal with those and there's a double border to encase the ends on the outside edge of the blanket. 

So apart from rooting amongst my stash this weekend I plan on doing some work on this...

It's the Thomas Kinkade cross stitch I mentioned back here.  As you can see I have started and have put a few stitches in there and hope to finish that bit of the sky and start on another area and... 

The rock painting continues....

Have a great week 😊

Click here to see the parties I will be linking to this week.

Bed Runners Are In!

 Who would have thought it, well certainly not me that's for sure.  As far as I was concerned a bed runner was something you encountered in a hotel.  So what is a bed runner and what is their purpose ?

A bed runner is a long narrow piece of fabric, and it's used to enhance the appearance of an otherwise plain bed or to enhance the décor of the room.  

In a hotel setting it's also there to protect the bed as visitor may lie on top of the bed without removing their footwear. ( I would never do that!)

The first time I made one of these was in this post, it was used to enable people with dementia to  recognise their own bed, probably in a care home setting.

When my daughter in law mentioned that she had bought new curtains and would like a bed runner to go with them my mind started racing,  her birthday was coming up so I thought that this would be the ideal thing to make for it. 

I asked my son to send me a photo of the curtains without her knowing and then picked out a colour from them, I was a little nervous because choosing colours from a photo is tricky.  I knew that the bed cover was white so whatever I chose would go with the bed but getting the shading right to match the curtains was a different matter.

I didn't have a lot of time to make this and I had to wait for the yarn to be delivered  so it had to be an easy pattern, something that wasn't too complicated and I could work up quickly. 

Because the curtains had a lot of detail I decided to make it in one colour, if  I'd had more time to think I may have done differently. 

Once I'd finished making it, I enlisted my daughters advice about the border and made quite a few samples for her to see.  She thought that the grey edging made a nice contrast and picked up another colour in the curtains.

Stats

I worked this C2C using a 5mm hook and 850 grams Stylecraft Special Aran in shade Camel

For the border I worked one round in trebles (dc US) and I worked crab stitch or reverse dc for the final round with a 4.5mm hook and I used Stylecraft Special Dk in grey. 

It measured 60cm x 240cm

It was lovely to make because it was just mindless crochet, I do love working C2C because it's so quick and you can get the exact size you want effortlessly.

My DIL had painted a picture to hang in the bedroom to go with the curtains too 

I decided to paint a little rock to go with it

She sent me a photo of her bed with the bed runner in situ and I'm pleased to say she was delighted with it phew! 😊

I'm now thinking that bed runners are a good idea, they certainly enhance a plain bed.  I have some yarn left over and I'm thinking of  making a couple of cushions to match to put on the bed if she would like me to of course. 

I hope you all had a lovely Easter, I'm pleased to report that little Mikey enjoyed looking for Easter eggs in my garden, here he is carrying a basket to put them into, we had a two hour window of lovely warm sunshine just enough time for him to enjoy the egg hunt 

and for us to have something to eat. I ate far too much chocolate but hey it was Easter.😋

In the meantime day seven from the twelve days of Christmas sampler is underway 

and I'm working on the border for my hooked and locked blanket so hopefully I will have it finished for next week

What are you all up to? I'm still waiting for some decent Spring weather it's freezing here at the moment.

Have a great week!

Click here to see what great parties I will be linking to this week.

Happy Easter!

 A short post today firstly to say a big thank you for all the comments and suggestions after my insomnia post last week.  It's quite shocking to realise that so many of us are having problems with sleeping. I am going to try each of your suggestions and will report back in a few weeks to let you know if they have had any effect.  I know that what helps some to sleep will not necessarily help others but I think anything is worth a try. 

We have had a couple of beautiful weather days here in England, hopefully a taste of what is to come, but unfortunately not this weekend.  Here in the Uk we can now meet up with six people outdoors or in our gardens, I am planning an Easter egg hunt for Mikey my little grandson and had hoped we would have been able to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine for a while but it looks like the weather won't be in our favour, however we will do the best we can, I can't wait to see my family in my garden again, fingers crossed that it won't rain.🤞

I have been busy painting Easter rocks to hide for Mikey and some to hide in the neighbourhood.

I had a lot of fun painting these and there's still time to paint a few more before I put them out. 

I was so pleased to see a response to my snail trail, a lady on Facebook posted that she had found Sally and Sonya and she thought they were so cute! it was lovely to hear that they were putting a smile on someone's face it makes it all worthwhile.😊

On the crafting front I am pleased to say that DIL's birthday gift is nearly done, I have only the last round of the border to finish, hopefully I can do that today and then it will be ready to gift to her on Sunday.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas Sampler is on track, I managed to put the last stitch in for day six just before the end of March, now I can look forward to sewing day seven in April.

I would like to wish a Happy Easter to everyone who is celebrating this weekend, I hope you all have a wonderful time catching up with your relatives and friends but please stay safe.