Back in My Comfort Zone

After having a whole month of doing nothing crochet wise I started getting the urge to pick up my hook again. I had no definite plan about what to make so I started looking through these.

 My daughter's friend passed these on to me a few years ago and I do enjoy looking through them although to date I've only made one thing out of them a shawl.

I've never used it but I did enjoy making it and I'm sure I will use it one day, shawls don't seem to be that popular here in the UK.

I came upon a very simple looking baby jacket and because the challenge for NHAP this month is for new-born baby jacket and hat sets I decided to give it a try. 

It was easy to make and the pattern was straight forward enough but what a lot of holes treble crochet (UK) seems to make. I didn't like the holes at the beginning of rows and found myself doing a lot of weaving to fill in the gaps once I'd sewn it together.  

(I have since remembered how to rid oneself of those pesky holes at the beginning of rows and for those of you who don't know how, I'll share it with you next time.)

I much prefer a closer texture for a small baby jackets and like to use either dc or htr stitches (UK) I won't be using this pattern again.

The hat pattern was my own and you can find it here

So on to the next one, this time it's one I've used many times and it's quick and easy to make

Baby Girl Shell Sweater and Hat

I have adapted the pattern a little by adding a button band and I have altered the sleeves and worked them flat rather than in the round as stated in the pattern also using less stitches so that they aren't so wide.  

You can find the free pattern here.

I have just started another baby jacket using a free pattern I found online many years ago, I seem to have accumulated an awful lot of patterns over the years, nowadays it's not necessary to have a printed copy as it's easy enough to view the pattern online but I like to have a paper copy too, my plan is to try those that I have and either keep them or throw them away. The shell one above is a keeper because I'm sure I will use it again. 

Another great CAL is starting soon it's the Leticia Flower Garden CAL 

Isn't it beautiful, it's made in both overlay and mosaic crochet. I love the pattern and I will be buying it as it's cheaper for the duration of the CAL but I won't be making the blanket just yet it's another one for the to do list.

Other things...

I had a lovely time babysitting little Mikey yesterday, It's like being a kid again, we had a wonderful time drawing and colouring, dancing to nursery rhymes and here he is playing with his colour lab I have to say an awful lot of mess was made, my fingers are still blue, no amount of washing will rid them of the food colour dye and Mikey's is even worse.😂

I wish I was quite a few years younger, looking after little ones certainly takes it out of you I was shattered by the end of the day but it was fun.

Sweet tasting tomatoes from my garden yum!

This last one is for Amanda ...

This is taken from my bedroom window, it's a wall feature in my neighbours garden I think it looks very pretty and I may just copy the idea next year.  Amanda is looking for a shelving idea for her balcony you can read her post here.

Well I'm off to get ready for Canasta, it's one of the few u3a groups that are meeting up again, we meet at the Golf Club every Friday afternoon.  Today we are going to have a buffet lunch before we start playing cards so it should be a very pleasant afternoon. 😊

Have a great week.