A Good Start To The New Year.

 The Search

When my trusty eight year old Laptop began to slow down (truth be told it's been very slow since windows 10 was introduced and downloaded in 2015) to the point where I would switch it on then go have a shower get dressed and make a cuppa while it warmed up and pulled itself together, I realised maybe I need a new one.  I love my Laptop it was top spec when I bought it and it has a 17" screen which is great when you have as much to do online as I have.  Anyway then it began to freeze and some of the letters and numbers stopped working unless I banged hard on the keys. 

I decided at that point to look for a new one and spent hours researching and comparing prices. There seem to be very few places where you can physically go and look at Laptops which I think is essential when you intend to spend a large amount of money, it has to be right. I eventually found my way to Curry's and was quite disheartened when I saw the prices and the size of the screens the most popular seems to be 14" which is far too small for my needs even 15" seemed small to me after using a 17" I discovered that 17" screens were few and what was available was far too expensive for the specifications of the Laptop. Then I turned round and fell in love....

 The All In One PC who new! I certainly didn't know such things existed, to me a pc came with a big ugly tower but no more my friends no more.  You can still get them with a tower of course but the all in one pc consists of just a screen and keyboard, the tower part being built into the back of the screen and screen sizes vary in size from small to 27" I was like a kid in a candy store I have to tell you, I spent ages looking at various screens and scrutinising specifications.  

There followed further online research and discussions with son number one and number three, their help being invaluable but those young people who have brilliant eyesight and have to carry their work with them are quite happy with 14" screened Laptops, each to their own I say. Son number three may be far away in Qatar but he is always at the end of a WhatsApp chat whenever I need him, said look in your bank account Mother and get the best you can afford, well I did and I did! bless him my Christmas pressy was a huge amount of cash which added to the amount that I had already saved, enabled me to buy exactly what I wanted. Of course I had to take some photos of this historic event....

The Arrival and hello Gary!

The Unboxing

but

Setting Up

It arrived on Christmas Eve and I have been playing with it ever since. You switch it on and it's there! I didn't realise just how slow my laptop had become until I got this, to say I'm in love would be an understatement. With all the research I have done on Laptops and All In One PCs I now consider myself an expert so if you are considering buying a new one just fire away with your questions 😉😆

On to other things...

I have bought something else for which I did lots of research but it hasn't arrived yet so I will reveal what at a later date.

Christmas..

I did meet up with family for Christmas, we were all invited to son number two, it was lovely to get together again after so long and thankfully we are all ok.  It was lovely to see his new house for the first time.  It was also son number one's birthday and  my daughter in law made this cake for him, he is crazy about chess and he and son number two have an online game of chess on the go all the time.

It was a shame to cut into it but we did and it tasted yummy.

New Years Resolutions 

I am making none because I never keep them, but here are some thoughts but nothing is written in stone, plans can change at anytime..

• I have decided to get back to my charity knitting and crochet which I think I've neglected a bit of late mostly because a lot of charities weren't accepting donations but there are still some who are so I'll focus on making things for them. 
• I want to get fitter, sitting at a keyboard for long periods at a time can't be good for you.
• Try and blog more often so that I'm not cramming everything into one post, I'm sure readers must get bored halfway through.

The Ten Days Of Christmas

I have to thank Jo once again for sending these lovely little packages, it made those ten days of Christmas extra special, I loved opening a little package every day to find those little skeins of yarn and goodies within.  I have to say the edible goodies were consumed almost as soon as I cast my eyes upon them.  

I just love those colours! I will have to think of something extra special to make with them.

After the excitement of making the Christmas cushions there hasn't been a whole lot going on in the crafting area, I did manage to finish the hat with the Sock yarn I mentioned back here, it turned out ok..

 I don't suit it so it will be sent to a charity and someone will benefit from it's warmth.  I used this pattern which was so easy and straight forward and I will be using it again as it comes in lots of different sizes.  It only used 45 grams of yarn and I am making ankle socks with what's left over....

This is the first sock, still on the subject of socks, have you seen this Winterhaven KAL I'm joining in and it starts tomorrow the pattern for it should be out later today, I can't wait. More about this and other things next time, let me know if you are joining in.😊

Have a safe and cosy weekend.😘

Click here to see all the great parties I will be linking to.

Blanket Roundup Three

My passion for making blankets continues and over the past year or so I have made quite a few that I haven't had time to share with you, most of them have been sent on to various charities but every now and then you make a blanket that you just can't seem to part with and this is one...

I love the mixture of crochet stitches but most of all I love the colours which blend in nicely with my decor. I had so much fun making this blanket in fact I enjoyed every minute.

It's the Spicier life blanket I started making way back here , gosh doesn't the time fly! I followed the CAL and finished it quite quickly and have been using it ever since, it's soft and lovely to cuddle under in these cold evenings.

Stats...
Made with  special DK Stylecraft yarn with odd balls I had in my stash.
It took just 640 grams of yarn.  I had so much left over I was able to make another blanket which I will show you another time.
The Spicier Life Blanket pattern is still available and can be found here

See all the great parties I will be linking to in my right side-bar.

Blanket Round Up 1

Although last year was a bit of a nightmare for me what with one thing and another, I still found time to crochet and as I've said before, it's kept me sane what would we do without it, I have lots of friends that don't do any handcrafts at all and that's fine everyone is different but I can't help but think that they are missing out.  Anyway last year was definitely the year of the blanket, I haven't counted how many I made but there are a few which I didn't share so I thought I would show you over the next few weeks, it may inspire you to make them too..

The first was the Last dance on the beach Blanket which I started way back here and I did manage to share a lot of the squares as I made them but not the finished blanket so here it is....

I managed to finish this just before Christmas and I gifted it to my son, I had it spread out on his bed when he arrived home. 

He loved it and said it kept him cosy and warm. He's working in Qatar now so it's adorning his bed just waiting for him for when he has a holiday at home.  I really love this blanket and the way it turned out, I enjoyed making all of the squares and loved the fact that there is a video tutorial for each just in case you get stuck.

You can find the patterns for all of the squares and links to the video tutorials here.

A Bit Of Confusion.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I love following CALs, the confusion lies in which one to follow because there are so many happening right now. Those that I'm interested in are

1. The Woodland Blanket CAL

I love Lucy's blankets because they are always nice and easy to make and this one is no exception. Of course there is no way that I would be buying the woodland blanket pack because as you all know I need to use my stash, I was thinking about using my coned yarn for this using three strands which should make it Aran weight. In these colours maybe..

I think I would probably have to add more colours to the mix because there may not be enough, it's fun pondering and trying to decide, it's also a bit of a challenge when you have just teeny amounts of some colours and more of others, they will all have to be used somehow or the blanket won't be big enough.

    2. The Harmony Blanket Knit-Along

Now this is a bit of a change, a knit along rather than crochet it's been a while since I knit a blanket and this one consists of six inch squares, one a week  I'm sure that I could manage that don't you? I already have some yarn in mind....

I would just make squares until the yarn runs out.

    3. 2018 Granny Squares CAL

I only found this one last week on Facebook and they have over 3000 members already, they are quite a way into it, it's a granny square a day so I would have some catching up to do.  If I did do this one I would only make the squares that appeal to me anyway. I was thinking of using random Dk stash yarn for this maybe multicoloured squares alternated with a plain square. 

All of these are a couple of weeks in already so if I want to join in with them I need to start now.  the question is do you think I could do all three if not which do I choose? 

Has anyone else joined in with any of these I would love to see your progress if you have.😊

Yarn Along and Winter Project Link Party

Now that I have sent off my charity boxes I have been able to get back to some the unfinished projects I have lying around. 

The Crochet Alongs I've been following have been sadly neglected but although I'm behind with the Greg CAL it's not by much.  The CAL has finished already and there are lots of beautiful finished Gregs about but it's going to be a while before I can show you my completed blanket.

We had to make four of Bob the big brother, the pattern was released in four parts, I have managed to finish two of them and have only a couple of rounds left on the other two.  Then he will have to  be joined with his four brothers Tom, Joe Tim and Ian, I have done a little joining already but there's still quite a bit to do before I can add the border which thankfully is just two rows.

I have enjoyed following this CAL, the patterns are all really well written and Shelly has been a fantastic host, my aim at the moment is to complete all the crocheting and blocking, then join it all up after Christmas but if I have a bit of extra time you never know I might get it done before then.

I have other things I am trying to get finished in time for Christmas and everything else has been put aside so that they have priority. One of which is the Moogly blanket which I would love to finish in time for my daughter for Christmas, I still have three blocks to make! I always seem to be setting myself impossible targets if only there was more time, I'm always determined to be more organised at Christmas time but it never happens.

I even managed a trip to the library the other day, it's ages since I have been to my local library and it's just a few minutes walk away..

as usual I was pushed for time and went to the 'quick choice' stand, picked this one up read the back liked the sound of the story borrowed it and came straight out, I think that that's been my fastest library visit ever.  I have only read the first few chapters but it's an interesting read so far, a bit of a mystery, a handsome rugged guy and an old mansion filled with old books what more could you ask for. :)

Joining in with....

  Ginny's Yarn along
Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party,
Stash Buster Link Party
Lunamon Design
Link and Share Wednesday
Cooking and Crafting with J&J

Yarn Along

The Greg Mystery CAL continues with part five Bob

What I love about this CAL is it's in small parts so you don't feel too overwhelmed as it leaves you plenty of time to get on with other projects.

Bob is one of four large squares and we are making him a few rounds at a time so here's rounds 1-7 just one more round to go for this week..

I don't feel too guilty about leaving the charity knitting to make one of these a night so one down and three to go, part two of Bob will be out on the 16th November.

I'm really enjoying this Cal you can read all about it here

I finished reading this book last week, it's about a very mixed up girl who had a very traumatic experience in her childhood which has affected her whole life, she refuses to deal with what happened and it's left her very disturbed.  I read the book but I didn't really enjoy it that much, some of the story seems just a bit far fetched to me and the print was tiny so I could only read a few pages at a time.
Now I'm catching up on magazines but I'm hoping to take a trip to the library for the first time in ages to see if there's anything I fancy reading tomorrow.

I'm joining in with Ginny's Yarn along and Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party, why don't you pop along and see what everyone else has been making and reading. :) 

Am I Crazy! ?

I'm going to tell you the facts and you can make the decision.  I have at present countless works in progress all at various stages of completion sometimes I get them down to just three and I think to myself that's a nice number to work with and then along comes yet another crochet/knit along and my head starts to spin with various  colour combinations and possibilities.
At present I'm working on...
The neverending totally scrap blanket.
The neverending totally scrap hexi blanket.
The Moogly Afghan 2015 CAL

I do love making blankets as I'm sure you can see and I'm really enjoying working on these and there really is no hurry for the first two they can be picked up and put down whenever.  The moogly one is almost up to date and there are only four more squares to make so the end is in sight.

I have just started working on..

A cardigan for me with a free pattern I found in a magazine, hang on I can hear you say now didn't she start a cotton cardi in the Summer what happened to that? well it didn't get very far I'm afraid I decided the pattern wasn't clear enough and I had no idea if the sizing was going to be right so it got frogged right at the start.  Now this one will get finished I'm determined! 

I love the richness of the red and it's an easy straightforward pattern that I can do while watching TV.

Remember the yarndale purchase..

I have already started making socks with this and am getting on quite nicely.

So what's the problem, lots of things to be getting on with I should be satisfied BUT NO! not me I can't just leave it at that because I see this.....

The Greg Mystery CAL

I resisted I really did but what is a girl to do when it's going round and round in her mind and really won't leave her alone, especially when you have as much stash as I have and you just know that you already have enough yarn to do this. 

Part One 
Tom is complete....

and I'm about to start Joe part two, the next part will be revealed on the 12th October more details here I will be able to catch up I know I will but with this one I'm not so sure....

The Spice of Life CAL with Sandra over at Cherry Heart

I saw it loved it and really wanted to do it but resisted for weeks and then all the lovely works in progress pictures kept appearing on facebook and I gave in as I knew I would, I may be behind they are onto week four already but it doesn't matter I have gathered every last scrap of Aran stash I can find, although the pattern is for Dk I have decided that I love Aran weight blankets, they are lovely to snuggle under on a winters evening.  I'm hoping I can get this finished for a Christmas gift for someone I have in mind.

So there you have it it's obvious don't you think I have a CAL addiction, I also have lots of UFO's that I haven't even told you about but we'll leave those for another day. :)

Have you got a CAL/KAL addiction?
What CALs/ are you working on right now?

Hope you're all having a great week.

linking with Jennifer's....

Cooking and crafting with J&J

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