A Circle a Rectangle and a Couple of Squares

The circle 

Is another embroidery finish! I really enjoyed making this, when my interest in embroidery was recently revived  I began to visit several sewing blogs and in doing so got so much inspiration. I was directed to a Facebook group group called Love and Hugs from Australia.  During lockdown a number of designers had got together to design free blocks to be embroidered and then made into a quilt.  As my sewing skills aren't good enough to make a quilt I decided to embroider those which appealed to me and then use them as wall hangings.  You can use the simplest of embroidery stitches and they still look charming.  This is the first one I have completed.....

and the second one is well under way....

The Rectangle

Corner2Corner  must be the one of the most versatile crochet techniques there is.  It's so easy to work the exact size that you need,  in this case I needed a rectangle, a rather large rectangle measuring  20"x 60" to be used as a bed runner, these are placed on the end of dementia patients beds so that it helps them to recognise which bed is theirs.  What a simple but great idea.

I thought that this would be an ideal way to use up some of my Aran stash, I was so happy with the colours I found.  I had nearly two balls of the multicolored yarn and found all these smaller balls which I thought matched exactly...

then I got started on the stripes, 

I really enjoyed making this because working c2c is so quick you don't even have to look at it.  


The only drawback I suppose is all the ends but I try to weave these in as I go along so that I don't have that many at the end.  I love how it turned out I think these colours go so well together and I was left with practically no yarn at all which all in all is a very satisfying 540 grams of yarn busted.  




I hope that this bed runner will do the job for which it's intended.

The Squares

I used c2c again with yarn from my stash, these needed to be 12"x 12" 

Memory squares, two identical squares to be put with others to make two identical blankets, one to be given and buried with a terminally ill patient when they pass and one to be given to the family as a keepsake.  So very sad but hopefully these blankets will offer a little comfort for those who have lost a love one.


Have a lovely weekend! the temperatures are going to be high in the UK over the next few days and people will be flocking to the beaches, this virus is still very much out there so please be cautious and stay safe! 😘😘

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

The Last Four

I hope that everyone has had a great Christmas! I wonder how many of you managed to get any crafting done.  I'm using the time to try and get caught up on my wips and I'm so happy to announce that my Moogly blanket is finished, but before I reveal it I want show you the final four squares ...

More V's Please designed by Melinda Miller

 I made this one in place of  block 21.  I really enjoyed making this and I found it quite easy.  I needed just one more in one colour to balance out the blanket.  You can find the pattern here

SmoothFox's Amethyst Square

I made this one in place of block 22  which was one of the alternatives.  It looks so much nicer in real life the colours go so well together, This one was designed by  Donna Mason-Svara  and you can find the pattern here

Picot flowers 

This was block 23 and I really didn't enjoy making it that much, it seemed to take an awful long time to finish, probably because of all the picots, it didn't grow very much either and I needed to work four extra rounds to get the desired size.  You can find the pattern here

Larksfoot Inspired.

Made instead of block 24 this one is from an entirely different CAL (Keep calm and crochet) but I love it and it was an easy square to make.  As usual my tension must have been way off because it twisted quite a bit but thank goodness it was fine after blocking. The colours I've chosen don't really show off the design but I had to use what I had left in my stash.
You can find the pattern here

I will show you the finished blanket once I've sorted the photo's. :)

Making A Difference

Regular readers of my blog will know that I am a member of Loving Hands which was founded by Lou Jaap in 2007.  We now have thousands of members around the world all crafting together to make a difference to those in need.  Last weekend  I was very proud to read an article in the Sun newspaper about our organization explaining the work we do and how even a small pair of mittens can help a child who has been orphaned or indeed made homeless.  Sadly Lou  is now in ill health and although she is still at the helm a lovely lady called Kate Guant is now doing the invaluable job of taking over where Lou has had to leave off.  Because of the article we have seen a huge increase in our members it's heartwarming to know that there are so many who want to help.  You can read more about Loving Hands here  why don't you join us too.

One of the charities we support is Operation Orphan who are now in Nepal helping where they can. You can read  a harrowing and very sad account of what they experienced when they arrived there here.

Operation Orphan have put out a plea for knitted/crocheted blankets in all sizes, if you would like to help but can't face making a whole blanket six inch squares sewn into strips of six, or twelve inch squares sewn into strips of three made with DK yarn can be sent on to us, please email me for an address if you are interested.

Following on from my Knit a Block a Week Challenge last year, I'm challenging myself to make as many squares and projects as I can from the book 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton you can see what I have made so far here. 

and this is what I have made for this month so far....

BLOCK 166 PASTEL DELIGHT

BLOCK 56 PLAIN GRANNY

BLOCK 55 CENTERED SQUARE

BLOCK 30 SHELL LACE

BLOCK 145 CHOCOLATE BOX

BLOCK 89 SPINNER

BLOCK 96 LIGHT AND SHADE

I have made these particular squares in gender neutral shades for Liz from Unraveling Me do pop along to her blog to see what she is going to do with them.

As you can see there is always a great need for squares so many charities are in need of them. With the making of these I will be killing three birds with one stone..

1.  Helping people in need.
2. Keeping up with my Challenge.
3. Stashbusting.

Making squares needn't be boring there are so many free ones to choose from online they are quick to make and are a great portable project too.

Thank you for all your kind best wishes for my upcoming surgery on Thursday, I'm hoping that it will go ahead as planned and it's not cancelled at the last minute which can happen quite frequently.  

I'm not sure when I will be able to post again but I will be back as soon as I'm able, I will have my ipad next to me so that I can keep up with what you have all been doing and I will be surrounded by yarn and needles so I will have plenty to keep me busy.

Take care all of you
love ya!


Linking with


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

With Little Girls in Mind Baby Blanket

This little blanket was my March project for the 200 crochet Squares Cal using blocks from 200 crochet blocks by Jan Eaton. 

I enjoyed making this because the blocks were all very easy to make and I loved the pretty candy colours I was using.

Blocks used

Block 113 Wisteria 

This is one of my favourite blocks it's lovely to make and so very pretty I used nine.

Block 37 Pin Stripes

A very easy but really effective block I used four of these.

Block 36 Pink Stripes

Then the easiest of them all, I used twelve of these.

I sewed each square onto the blanket as I made it and weaved in the ends so when it was all done there was only the border to make...

I sometimes find that it's easier to make it up as you go along and this is what I did here very simple but effective and I love it, I was quite proud of the finished result. I think it's just right for this blanket.  I will be writing it out and will share it with you all when I get time.

So there you have it one cute little baby girl blanket all ready to be popped into the box destined for Operation Orphan.

Sugar and spice and all things nice. :) xx

Hope everyones having a great week. 

Linking with...

Handmade Monday - Creative Tuesday - Eyeloveknots - Link and share Wednesday - Lunamon Design




 

With a Baby Boy in Mind.

This is the first large project I have made using the 200 Crochet Squares Book by Jan Eaton

A sweet little baby blanket...

I had such fun planning this blanket and watching it take shape

It's quite magical watching the pieces slowly dropping into place just like a jigsaw puzzle 

As always the sewing up was the worst bit, but I sewed  each block onto the blanket as I made it and weaved in the ends so once it was all complete all I needed to do was work the border...

There are some border patterns in the book but I didn't really like them some of them are made first and then sewn onto the blanket I really couldn't face that!

I always prefer simple borders especially for a baby's blanket, this one is a three round border ... one round of dc one round htr and then a final round of my favourite stitch crab stitch or reversed dc.(All in English terms)

I used 

Block 141 Quartet   (four)

Block 40 Granny with a twist (12)

Block 5 Twin Stripes (16)

Block 121 Coral Seas (4)

I used Dk yarn out of my stash and it took 412 grams
The blanket measures 102 cms square

All ready to be placed into the box for Operation Orphan to keep a sweet little baby boy warm.

linking with...