Christmas Decorations

Last month's Little Box of Crochet was for some Christmas Decorations using pink yarn.  Now pink just isn't a colour I use unless I have to and it certainly doesn't fit in with my Christmas Tree décor!

For one reason or another I put the box to one side but the last few days before Christmas I had nothing to do and not being one who can sit and do nothing I got the box out to have a look.  I'd also been inspired by my daughter who also get's the Box each month and although she had the same reaction to me, she made them and enjoyed doing so.

I only got two of the three patterns done but I did enjoy doing them so I have promised myself I will make more but maybe in a colour more suitable for my tree!

A Different Granny Square

I've indulged myself recently by making something purely because I wanted to!

Having only come across overlay crochet this year I have found just how much I love it and although the challenge is sometimes more difficult than I thought, I've persevered, and with lots of frogging (unravelling for the non-crocheters and knitters) and counting each row/round I've had some success.

This latest project was called A Different Granny Square and was designed by Tatsiana Kupryianchyk, otherwise known as LillaBjörnCrochet Design.   I worked it in a grey mix cotton/acrylic from Hobbycraft which I think has worked well.

I will attach it to a ready made cushion - not sure how but will somehow manage it!

Christmas is over!

And now that Christmas is over I can share a present I made for my Grandson.

You may recall back in October I made a blanket which my Granddaughter requested for her birthday.  (see here)    Her brother very quickly requested a Star Wars pillow for Christmas and after several internet searches I settled on using a cross stitch chart of a Stormtrooper's face, working the stitches in a bobble stitch.

I shared this teaser at the early stages of making which shows that range of colours I used.  It was a labour of love and if I made it again I don't think I'd use the bobble stitch, trying corner to corner instead.

I had a rough idea of the size it would come out at as I'd done a tension sample before I started but it ended up a little bigger (story of my crochet life!) so I ended up having to get a 22" pillow which was probably a bit of the big size but it did come out nice a plump.

And Harry loved it so that's the most important thing!

Completed Crochet Projects

I have a couple of crochet project that have been finished for a few weeks but seem to have slipped through the blog net!

The first is a Lazy Waves Shawlette that I made for myself.  The pattern was from Dedri Uys who you can find at Look What I Made where you can see a great range of crochet patterns to tempt you. The yarn was bought from RiverKnitsYarn, a independent yarn dyer who lives and work on a narrowboat.  You can check her out on Etsy and Instagram.

The wool I chose was  Superwash Blue Faced Leicester 4 Ply in a colour called  Impressionist which is definitely an accurate name as I felt like I was living in a Monet lily-pad while I was making it.

I love it have worn it so much since I finished it.

Another crochet make was a couple of Frozen Snowflakes which are now hanging in our Christmas Tree.   This pattern is by LillaBjorn Crochet Design and again it is worth checking out her website as she is another wonderful crochet designer.   Many of her patterns involve overlay crochet techniques which I love for a challenge. I used cotton yarn left from other projects.   

I had intended to make more but that will have to wait until next Christmas.

December Journal Quilt

I mentioned last month that I was struggling with ideas for the final quilt of this year but fortunately the light bulb moment came and I managed to get the remaining idea into fabric.

The inspiration came from a tree we frequently passed which seemed to have hessian type fibres where the leaves had been trimmed off.

I think it was the fibres that I liked and where the leaves had been cut off, I thought the shapes would relate well in to patchwork.

It did take me a time to get my head around it, mainly because time was short and I wanted something that was not too complicated and took too long.

I settle in the end on using zig-zag strips on which I turned the hems.  The zig-zag meant I could quilt diamond shapes to reflect the cut edges on the tree.  I used some dyed fabric I had in my stash -I can't remember where I got it from but it is not one of my own.   The hessian that I laid in between the rows is a bit more uniform than I wanted but yet again, I love the messy, uneven look of things but somehow when I recreate them, I have to go to the neat and tide option!

I've really enjoyed creating this year's collection of quilts as it has made me take an idea and use a variety of ways of interpreting the source.    Some have proved more successful than others.  Some I love and some I don't.

I'm looking forward to next year's challenge and already have ideas mulling around in my head.

What happened to November?

November was a bit of a mad month for us with lots going on but not much achieved!

We had a 'family event', for want of a better phrase, which we expected to take up a chunk of the month so I have been busy making sure I had as much preparation done for Christmas in case events overtook us.

To explain, our grandson Samuel, who has just had his 8th birthday, was due to have heart surgery. This is something we've known would need to be done since he was born but it still took us by surprise and although we've known for the past year that it was likely to happen this year it wasn't any easier when the time arrived.

My husband and I went up to Northampton so we could look after his sister and keep life as normal as possible for her while Samuel went to London with his Mum and Dad.   In the middle of the month they went off and we settled in Northampton armed with timetables and maps of places to go that our daughter had prepared for us.   Sadly, the next day Samuel's operation was cancelled due to an emergency operation which took longer than expected.   His operation was rebooked for two weeks later and yet again, having done all the travelling as before, it was yet again cancelled because of lack of staff.   We still wait to hear the next date.

As you can imagine, all this is more than upsetting for all the family.  Samuel seems to take it all in his stride but as time goes on he is affected more by the condition and is tired most of the time.   The rest of us rant and rage with very little effect and feel very distrusting of the system that can let this happen.

As a result of this, I felt I have not had a particularly productive month but when I came to do a round up for Instagram at the end of November, I was surprised at just how much I had done so I do some update post over the next few days.