Sweet little Hedgehogs

After finding that sweet little hedgehog in my garden the other day I've got the urge to make some.  I have made them before and even though they might look prickly they are really lovely soft, cuddly and so quick to make and I must warn you they are addictive too.
I used eyelash yarn to make these, some of the ladies on loving hands made them in all colours, who says a hedgehog should be brown. 
Kids love them and they are specially good for the shoe box appeal.

 Here are my little blonde Hedgies 

These were made by one of the lovely ladies from loving hands

Now compare them to Hubert....yes he has a name now haha,  I think they look very realistic :)

If I have put you in the mood for making hedgies the pattern I used can be found here and if you get addicted but want a variation here are some more cuties.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-crochet-hedgehog

http://onemancrochet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/free-crochet-hedgehog-pattern.html

Pottering and Ponderings

A big thank you to Shari and Beck for giving me' this award, it's very much appreciated and I'm honored to receive it.
Please take a look at their lovely blogs if you haven't already they are well worth a visit.

While pottering in the garden today, I have been pondering about how to do this.  I can tell you one thing about myself and that is I talk to myself, even argue sometimes especially while I’m pottering in the garden.  There hasn’t been much of that going on just lately because of the weather so I had a longer than usual potter and ponder and chat to myself this morning to make up for lost time haha.

Now I’m bending the rules and I hope by doing that I’m not offending anyone, but the way I see it these awards are just for fun anyway.  My take on the situation is this,  I think there are so many beautiful blogs out there that every one of them should have one of each award that is going.  Writing a blog and trying to inspire and keep people interested is hard work sometimes, not to say very time consuming.  I know we do it because we enjoy it and it’s great to inspire and have feedback from other bloggers as well as visiting their blogs and seeing what they have been up too, I like to think of us all as friends who love to visit one another.

 Now for this award I’m not going to pass it on just yet, the reason being most of you have it already and probably those that don’t, prefer not to accept awards anyway. So if anyone would like this award or would like to receive it again please leave me a comment and I will announce who it is I’m awarding it to, remember I can award it to up to 15 bloggers so please don’t be shy, there may be new bloggers out there who I haven’t met yet, or some I've missed,please speak up leave a comment so that I can visit your blog and let others know about you.

To finish off a glimpse of my end of July garden, enjoy the sunshine everyone (while it lasts)

Luv ya x

Look who I had to rescue from Broc, sooo cute he was hiding under a bush.

Naughty Broc !!!

Why do the birds always go for the fat balls? hey you lot the seed is more nutritious! do they listen ? no way.

A Collection Of Unusual Shapes

I bet that you all thought that I had given up on the Beyond The Square Challenge because it's so long since I have posted any motifs but no not at all I am still beavering away in the background turning out these little beauties and still enjoying the making of them.  I may be a little behind some of you but I will catch up eventually.
I always like trying something different so the unusual shapes found in the last chapter of the book I found, are mostly fun to do.
I used King Cole Smooth DK for these motifs, I love this yarn because it has the appearance of cotton and it also has a nice sheen, however it does split easily so it is a bit of a pain to crochet with.

Motif #126

I kept my eyes on the chart for this one concentrating on the pattern and didn't really notice how the motif was developing until it was finished and it was a nice surprise because I love it. This type of yarn gives a firm but soft finish it's lovely.  I think you could join this shape but you would have to combine it with small squares.

Motif 128

A five sided motif, lovely but I haven't a clue how you would join these, I suppose you could make a few of them and try putting them together to see what shape you would get, a motif puzzle... mmm

Motif #131

Easy to do and very pretty, I think these could be joined to make a blanket or shawl.


Motif #132

Another five sided motif, this was quite interesting to make, it's made up of six individual motifs, each one is attached to the center one as you go, a bit fiddly but I like the finished result.

Motif #133

Sometimes there's nothing you can say, you just have to look and enjoy.

Motif #134

I love this heart and I just wish you could pick it up and feel the texture and weight of this yarn it's just perfect for this motif soft and sensuous, it's a heart to be given to a lover. 

Motif #138

You know you can make these motifs and sometimes there's not a lot you can say about them but...I can say a lot about this one, it took ages to make there's eight rounds!  I have to admit the reason it took me so long was the puff stitch.  I am useless at doing this stitch.  I know some of you make whole blankets with this stitch and I take my hat off to you and gaze upon you with awe.  I can never remember how many times I've pulled up a loop or put the yarn over so I have to count as I go then when I have the required number of loops on my hook...can I pull the yarn through...no way! it gets stuck halfway through, I try coaxing it through, pulling it gently, then pulling it hard, I try making the loops looser, but nine times out of ten I end up taking it all off the hook and trying again and again and again.. you get the picture.  I think now you can understand why it took me a whole evening to complete this..BUT complete it I did and was it worth it? well I certainly think so because I think it's one of the most beautiful motifs in the book.  I intend to frame this one not just because it's lovely but because it was the 50th motif I made!! YES! I'm  half way through the challenge.



Motif #141

Nice and easy using Sc and Dc, this one just flows. Each side measures the same too so you could easily join it to make a bigger project.

So there you have it my collection of unusual shapes, I hope you enjoyed looking at them and that you have been inspired to make some yourself.  I love looking at all the motifs everyone has been making in this challenge it's amazing just how many different variations there are by just using different yarns and hook sizes.  It's also interesting to have your feed back, suggestions and idea's on what can be made with these motifs so please leave me plenty of comments.  
I'm not sure what my next collection will be but there is a little seed growing so watch this space. 


Progress 50 out of 100