Say Hello To Greg At Last!

I can at last show you my finished Greg blanket, the CAL started on the 15th September 2015 and finished just before Christmas but of course I'm always trailing behind and very rarely get things finished on time, not that it matters because it's going to be a while before this blanket can be gifted to it's intended recipient anyway.....

 I used my own simple border rather than the one in the pattern because I new that I wouldn't have enough yarn to make it bigger than this and I like it with a narrow border anyway.

I joined the blanket using whip stitch through the back loops at the back and then sc through the front loops at the front, I then backed it with burgundy fleece because the design is very open and gapes in places the fleece solves this problem and makes a very warm and cosy blanket.

I really enjoyed following this mystery crochet along and I do love the finished blanket, a big thanks to Shelly for designing and organising such a fun CAL. 

You can find all the information on how to make this blanket with the patterns for each of the squares here.

Most of the Aran yarn used for this blanket was stash but I had to buy some too so it's a partial stash-buster. :) 


Linking with...



Snickerdoodle Sunday
Hookin on hump day
Cooking and crafting with J&J
Handmade Monday
Lunamon Design
Scrapability Saturday
Link and Share Wednesdays

End OF January Review

So January is over already and it's been a very productive month for me even with all the health issues in fact I'm so thankful to have my knitting and crochet to fall back on when I'm not well, what would we do without it have you ever thought?

I used to worry that I would get tired of crocheting just like I have with all the other crafts I have tried in the past but it's been an ongoing obsession for 7 years now so I think it's safe to say I will be crocheting for as long as I'm able, as for the knitting the mood comes and goes but for the present I'm enjoying it.

so what were my January targets and have I met them?

Make Two Teddy Puppets a month.

January Teds

Make a boy Sweater a month.

January Sweater

Finish my Greg Blanket

I'm almost there! it's taken a bit longer because I'm lining it, hopefully I will be able to show you the completed blanket next week.

I'm following the Cheerful Child Blanket Cal and I'm managing to keep right up with it, here are the latest two squares.

Arn't they pretty! I'm still enjoying this crochet along, the finishing date is February 18th so I'm hoping to have a finished blanket by the end of February.

Continue working on my cardigan

I have made the back a front and have nearly finished the second front, this is the project I put to one side so I can prioritise the others so I fear it will take a while before I get it finished.

AND I finished my socks when they weren't even on the to do list...

So I'm feeling pretty chuffed, the crafting year has started off well.

My January yarn stash bust is 1188 grams although I have to admit that 500 grams of that was given away. 

Now the fun part is trying to decide what to make in February when you have so much you want to make and a to do list as long as your arm. I will let you know as soon as my list is finalised. Don't I sound organised! 

Have a great Sunday! :) 

Linking with...


Snickerdoodle Sunday
Cooking and crafting with J&J
Handmade Monday
Lunamon Design
Scrapability Saturday
Link and Share Wednesdays

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. :) 

Yarn Along

Another one of the four projects I began at the beginning of October was the Greg CAL, I'm really enjoying this one.  This week the pattern for the fourth square was published...

Ian

Now Ian is a tad fiddly to say the least because you are crocheting behind the stitches of the previous row, after my first attempt I was ready to give it up and go for the easier alternative square provided but because I love the texture of the design I stuck with it and I'm glad I did because I love the finish. I'm hoping to get all eight finished to day and then I will start to join all these four boys together.

You can see my other Greg CAL posts here

I finished this book much quicker than I thought I would I went to bed on Saturday night determined just to read for half an hour but actually it was 1 30 before I could put it down, I just had to finish it.  Thank goodness the clocks had gone back and I had an extra hours lie in.  If you haven't read this already then I can recommend it was a real page turner.  To be honest I had guessed what had gone on but couldn't figure out the how so it kept me interested right to the end.

I'm now reading this

My one criticism so far is the size of the text its very small for my ageing eyes, of course I could have got it on my Kindle but this was a freebie so I will persevere.  I've only read a few pages but I'm liking it so far.

Joining with Ginny's Yarn along why not pop along and see what others are making and reading it's fun. :)

Joe Meets Tom

I'm right on track for The Greg Mystery CAL and loving every minute and just wishing that there were more crocheting/knitting hours in the day, don't you just hate it when life gets in the way.  

I love how each square has a name, you met Tom here now I would like you to meet Joe....

He looks a little dark here so below you have him basking in the sunshine..

 To get Joe to match Toms size I needed to change some treble rows into half trebles because he was working out just a teeny bit bigger

But it all worked out just fine in the end and as you can see they seem to be getting along just fine together.
So now I have nine Tom's and twelve Joe's.

Part three was released yesterday and this time we will be making Tim here is a sneak peek...

now as you can see Tim is pink and I'm hoping that there's not going to be any gender issues here but so far so good and I'm sure that once I've completed his fifteen brothers he will be fine, after all there's safety in numbers and boys like pink too don't they?

We can now start to join these lads up too so once I have made a few more of Tim I will be doing just that.

Hope your week is going great, be seeing you soon with more Moogly squares.

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