Five On Friday.

 It's many years since I did a Five On Friday Post but I'm linking up with  My creative Life. this week, it's a good way to catch up on what's been going on of late.

Before I start I would just like to thank everyone for the comments you left on my last post.  I'm pleased to report that both groups were well attended with 16 attending the Hobby Hub and then 26! attended Udance. It was so nice to see everyone dancing and having fun. 

This leads me on to number one in my five..

1 Health Matters

Regular readers of my blog will know that I slipped a disc back in October 24. You would think that it would be healed by now but unfortunately it's not. I'm still in a lot of discomfort especially after doing any sort of exercise like dancing. 

I did eventually see a GP and he prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and told me to take it three times a day. I wasn't very happy to take it as it irritates the stomach and you have to take it with food six hourly. So if I have breakfast at 8am lunch at 2pm that means dinner won't be until 8pm which is far too late for me. I am managing 2 doses a day only. He says the left side of my back is in spasm. I got to see a physio a week after and she gave me some back strengthening exercises to do, which I'm doing twice a day, that was two weeks ago and nothing has helped so far. I have an appointment for a bone density scan on the 17th but then will have to wait 4 weeks for the result. So watch this space.

2. Garage Door

My very temperamental up and over garage door broke at the beginning of January. I use the garage for storage only as it's far too small to house a car. I have struggled with this door since I moved into this house and decided I needed an electric operated door, but finding someone to install one was proving very difficult, what is it with tradesmen these days. Anyway when the door broke I persisted and eventually found a local company to install the door for me. Two very friendly young lads who talked a lot, promised that they would take the old door away for me and install a new door. To cut a long story short it took three phone calls to actually set a date for them to come. When they did come and it only took them an hour to install da daa...

They assured me that they would be back that afternoon to collect the old door and seal the edges.

It remained there for four days and after three phone calls, one man came to collect it, the struggle he had to get it on the truck was painful to see, I told him that there should have been two of them to lift it and he would hurt his back (see number 2!) but I can't see anything changing anytime soon.

 What about sealing the edges of the garage door I can hear you say, well I'm still waiting, I phoned again this morning and he said today, haha what do you think will they come? again watch this space.

3. Grandchildren

Enough of the moaning something far more pleasant a quick snap of my 3 youngest grandchildren 

Big brother mikey will be turning 7 on the 8th of March too.😀

Louis and Daddy

Little Louis is as cute as can be, he took his first steps last week, he's wearing that little jacket I made back here, 11 years ago! still big for him but he will grow into it.

Julian took his first steps just two weeks ago, another little cutie.

Fridge magnet shots of little Sophie wearing a hat and jacket made by grandma 

It's lovely to see your crochet being put to good use, at least the blanket made by grandma is giving her a hug even if I can't just yet. Do you recognise it? you can find it and how to make it here.

4. Crochet

I have quite a few things on the go at the moment but this is what I have made today

Easter baby hats for babies born on and around Easter, very cute I think, I'm going to make some with bunny ears next.

5, New Yarn

Just feast your eyes on that, bought yesterday, buying yarn is still one of my favourite occupations but after my huge stash busting enterprise back here lessons have been learnt. I still have far too much yarn but I don't buy as much as I once did. This little lot is for my crochet group, the u3a treasurer had gifted the Knitting and crochet groups £50 each to buy yarn for charity projects as our efforts raise the profile of our u3a so it's a win win situation.

If you have managed to get through that lot well done, because I'm not blogging as much there is so much to catch up on, I used to blog three times a week at one stage, I don't know where I found the time.

Have a great weekend. 

Covid Strikes and a New Arrival!

 It got me! I suppose I'm lucky that I have managed to avoid Covid up until now.  It started with a trip to A&E with stroke like symptoms, tingling on the left side of my head and then it spread down my face.  Friday night is not a good time to be in A&E it was crowded with a 11 hour wait! I suppose no time is a good time to be in A&E but I couldn't help thinking that if it was a stroke I don't fancy my chances as I arrived at 7pm and wasn't seen until 3am! Anyway thankfully stroke was ruled out and I got home at 4 30am. I was ok on Sunday although the tingling sensation was still there but on Monday I could hardly get out of bed, did a test and I tested positive for Covid.  I'm wondering if it was the Covid that caused the tingling sensation.  

I have been pretty ill with it but the worst thing is two outings which cost me quite a bit have to be cancelled I was so disappointed especially as one of them was the Abba Tribute which is on tonight but I'm still testing positive and feeling very weak.  I was all set to get dressed up in my 70s gear and I had made a couple of Abba Style hats for my friend and myself...

I won't get to see Ted in his poncho either so I've instructed everyone to send me lots of photos.

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 My second little grandchild arrived yesterday morning it's a boy! It's going to be a while before I get to see him but I'm going nowhere near him until I'm completely well.

 I want to show you a couple of the the things I have made for him along with the blanket I showed you earlier..

My DIL asked me to make this baby onesie it's a very easy pattern and didn't take that long, I used Stylecraft special Aran in shade sage you can find the pattern on youtube here 

The blanket is my own little treasure baby blanket you can find the pattern here, it's lovely to make a works up in no time.

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This past week I haven't felt like doing anything much but I'm planning to do I little sewing today, I'm quite proud that I'm keeping up with this, the problem is though, the pattern is fading and it's getting more difficult to see it, I'm hoping that it lasts till December

To finish off I just had to show you this, still blooming in October just outside my front door, this is the wheel barrow that my brother gave me last year for my birthday, I filled it with Bizzy Lizzy's and they put a smile on my face everytime I open the door,

Have a great week ahead.💗

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

A Big Thank You! some Good News and a Bit of Crochet.

 A Big Thank You!

Thank you for all your lovely kind thoughts and comments about my brother in my last post, you have no idea how much they mean to me.  I'm sorry to hear about those of you who are suffering with long term illnesses and have experienced the same sort of difficulties we have.

We have spent a difficult couple of weeks, the accident has taken it out of him both mentally and physically, he's now unable to drive which is hard for him to bear. 

My brother is a nature lover and a brilliant photographer, his photos are amazing he took the one at the top of my blog and his wildlife photos are beautiful. It's getting increasingly difficult for him to hold the camera and alter the settings but he still loves to drive out into the countryside and do the best he can.

I'm hoping that once his burns have healed be might regain the little strength he had before and get out and about again..

On the bright side he seems to be healing I know it will take time because the burns were deep in places but thankfully so far so good.

The Good News... 

After several weeks of emails and phone calls I have finally got my refund for the treadmill I returned in this post.  I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get my money back especially having read some of the one * reviews for the company, if only I had read those before I ordered anything from them.  There are several people still waiting for items which they have paid for and others waiting for refunds like I was. 

I am speaking about Studio Catalogue I would never name and shame unless I had good reason to do so.  They are very polite and say all the right things when you contact them by phone or email but then nothing seems to happen. In the end I threatened to take it further if it wasn't dealt with immediately, even then I got no response until I emailed them again to ask what was happening and they told me they had sent a cheque. It took 10 days to reach me and I'm hoping it won't bounce when I pay it into my bank.🙏  

A Bit Of Crochet

As I mentioned previously I am working through the patterns I have accumulated to see if they are worth keeping and this one is the Easy Peasy Cardigan.

I adapted the pattern a little to include an extra row all around the edging and added buttons right down the front. It's another keeper as it's easy to follow and of course very easy to make.  The chest size has turned out at 18" which is a large new born size.

The hat is my pom pom baby hat without the pom pom but with the addition of  a heart which I made one stitch size up to what is written in the pattern.

Pattern Links

• Easy Peasy Cardigan
• Pom Pom Baby Hat
• Tiny Heart. below

Magic ring

3ch, 2tr, 1htr, 1dc, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 1dc, 1htr, 2tr, 3ch, ss to centre, pull up tight.

To make the heart bigger just go up a stitch size or use a larger hook.

I'm now off to have a bit of retail therapy with my daughter, I had better get moving she will be here in half an hour and I'm not ready yet!

Keep safe everyone and I'll see you next week. xx

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.

A Little Collection Of Crochet Baby Hats

 Where did this week go! even though we are stuck indoors for most of the time here in the UK the time still goes far too fast for my liking.  How are you guys doing and how are you coping? I have discovered that if I have a routine and stick to it I can cope better and some part of that routine has got to have some kind of physical activity included into it.  

I'm so glad that I bought the treadmill it's been well used since I got it.  I put my Laptop onto a small table and place the small table on top of the big table so that the screen is eye level and watch something while I walk, it's great! I'm exercising without even realising it. It's also putting my Laptop to good use because although it's too slow to use for working online, it's fine for streaming TV and YouTube video's. 😀

The other thing that keeps me going is my crafts, I try to have a plan of the week, I set a little challenge for myself for the week ahead.  For this week I challenged myself to use up a ball and a bit of red yarn I had in my stash.

Red Baby Hats

These are needed in the neonatal units for babies who are at risk.  The traffic light system has been employed in many areas to ensure that the babies get the care that they need, you can read more about it here

We have had a request for a number of red hats as the units in some area's were running short, so I made these and will send them along with the Angel pockets.

I quite like making baby hats because they are so quick to make and  having made something, even a little something gives you a  sense of achievement.

I do get bored using one pattern so I have varied them by using some of my favourite patterns.   

Little Treasure Baby Hat  (Pattern to come)
to go with Little treasure Baby Blanket.

Pom Pom Baby Hat (pompoms yet to be added)

Lisha Baby Hat

Aiden Baby Hat

Magnus Baby Hat

Aimee Baby Hat 

This is what's left, just enough for a couple of pompoms.

The other Challenge I made for myself this week was to finish day four of the Twelve Days of Christmas sampler,  

As you can see it's almost done and I'll enjoy working on that this weekend.

I like the idea of working a small stitchery each month and I'm on the look out for something to make alongside the Twelve Days, I don't mind a small cross stitch project or an embroidery one, I have seen some that I love but they are very expensive, I'm not looking for a kit, a chart will do.  If anyone has any suggestions please shout out.

What are your plans this weekend? whatever they are have a good one.😘

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

Baby Blankets and Camera Frustration

Sometimes you make something that is so pretty you want to show the whole world, it's maybe nothing ground breaking or particularly spectacular, but something that fills you with warmth when you see it touch it and feel it. 

Trying to share what you see in real life can be so frustrating, trying to get the perfect shot that encapsulates the whole package is practically impossible at least it is for me.

I now that these are just simple baby blankets but I want you to see the colours as I see them and feel the softness of the yarn as I feel it.

 I have taken photo's in the shade and in the sunlight, with my camera, my phone and my iPad but none of them tells the true story, I have edited changed hues and fiddled with all of the controls until I could quite literally scream.  

 Each picture is a different shade but it's the same yarn, take my word for it it's very pretty.  Taken out of my stash I bought this yarn from Aldi several years ago, I wish I had bought more because I haven't seen it since then. 

The crochet blanket above is the Little Treasure Baby Blanket it took 200 grams of yarn and you can find the pattern here

This Blanket is just a simple garter stitch C2C easily knit up in a couple of nights. 

Both are preemie blankets measuring 24"x 24" and will be sent to N.H.A.P 

On anther note I was so pleased to see some rainfall yesterday because my poor garden needed it, when I moved house three years ago I managed to rescue a couple of my roses, it really saddens to think of all the beauties I left behind, I did take some cuttings but sadly they didn't take.  This is one I managed to rescue.....

Princess of Wales, the first rose of the Season 😍

Have a great weekend 😘😘

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

Puppets and Monsters

Last year Knit for Nowt sent out an appeal for therapy puppets and monsters which are desperately needed for children who have suffered physical and  psychological trauma.  These puppets are used by Social workers throughout the UK  to help a traumatised child to communicate through a puppet or monster.

I think it's heartbreaking to think that there is always a desperate need for these and supply can't meet demand, you can read all about Knit for Nowt here

I have never really enjoyed making fiddly things but this cause really tugged at my heart and I knew that I had to try to help in anyway that I could. 

Out came the sewing machine I had to dust off a few cobwebs I can tell you but I was determined to give this a go and this was the result....

I know they aren't great but I was quite proud that I had actually managed to produce something that could be used, the worst part for me was sewing the faces. 

I then approached my U3A Patchwork and embroidery group and asked them if they would like to make some too, I even made a couple more and do you know what, apart from the faces I really enjoyed making them, this is what we made between us....

As you know crochet is my forte and although I did enjoy sewing some I was itching to make some crocheted ones too, apparently although all types of puppets are needed and used a MOJO  monster is the most useful as several facial flaps are used one for each facial expression. I found a knitted and sewn pattern on the website but none for crochet so I fiddled about a bit and came up with a very simple pattern of my own, made a few puppets then sent photo's to Clare from Knit for nowt to see if they were acceptable......

Here they are all sat on the windowsill in my conservatory which I had just had built, my next door neighbour was having an extension built at the same time which meant that her workmen spent a great deal of time working from my garden. When I took a photo of these little guys I was actually in my pyjamas and kept moving them around darting back and forth and yes talking to myself too as I do😳 I then turned and looked out of the windows at the side only to find next doors workmen sat on the new extension roof watching me and looking very amused indeed.  To say I felt embarrassed is an understatement.😆 

Anyway I'm very pleased to say that Clare was delighted with the puppets and asked me if I would share the pattern with diagrams so that it could be added to the website.

I do hope that this will inspire some of you to make some puppets, I know that I will continue to make them whenever I can. There is loads of information on the website and patterns of all types for you to try. I have added some links below for easy access.

CROCHET MOJO WORRY MONSTER 

CROCHET TEDDY HAND PUPPET PATTERN

WORRY PUPPET AND MONSTER PATTERNS (WEBSITE)

HAND AND FINGER PUPPETS ( WEBSITE)

SEWN PUPPETS AND MONSTERS (WEBSITE)