G for a girl

In my weaving in those loose ends post I showed a picture of a half finished blanket I was making for my niece.  I'm pleased to say that I have finished it and couldn't wait until Christmas to give it to her, so she has it and loves it because it's pink (what a clever Auntie I am knowing she likes pink!!)

And here is the finished blanket

It's really straight forward to make, the G and the cream background is made up of plain granny squares, with a border of  3 rows of single crochet around the letter to make it stand out more, then just rows and rows of granny stitches and a fancy border to finish it off.

And there you have a cosy blanket for lounging on the sofa, or use as a play mat, or to keep you warm in bed!

More flowers for my sofa garden

Before I made the Sunflower Cushion I featured the other day, I made a rainbow one from this pattern on the utterly fabulous Attic 24.. This site is truly delicious and full of wonderful things to crochet, look at and eat!

So here is my version of Attic 24's rainbow cushion:

I opted to do two rows of petals in each colour, that way I always knew I had crocheted an increase and non increase row behind each round of petals before I started a new colour.

I made this when I was having trouble finding circular cushion pads, so ended up turning the circle into a square once I had finished all my petal rows and I think it turned out really well considering I had to do a bit of maths to work out how to make it into a square and maths was never my strong point at school!

If you want to turn the rainbow cushion into a square then here's what you need to do:

Once you have made your flower to the size you want, do one final round of non increase behind your petals in the colour of wool that you want to make the square part of your cushion.

Take a note of the number of stitches in this last round.  Divide this number by 4, then divide this number by 6.  All mysterious just now, but will make sense soon, I promise!

For my cushion this worked out as

140 divided by 4 = 35, 35 divided by 6 = 5.8 so I called that 6 and that's the number we need to convert our circle into a square.

And why is this number so important, well this will allow us to use stitches along the row to build up the edges and corners like so:

At your starting point chain 3 and 1dc in the same stitch (this will eventually become the edge of your last corner)

For my cushion I then did the following:

1dc in the next 6 stitches, 1hdc in the next 6 stitches, 1sc in the next 12 stitches, 1 hdc in the next 6 stitches, 1dc in the next 6 stitches, then (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in next stitch and there you go a straight edge and corner made.

If your number comes out differently to mine then just substitute the 6 for your number (the 12 singles are because you are doing back to back sets of 6 singles).

Now continue this pattern all the way round finishing with a slip stitch to join to your starting chain.

Once you have this initial row you then just work 1dc in every stitch with the 2dc, ch2, 2dc pattern for the corners and continue until you have the size of square that you need.

At that's how I made my circle a square! Nothing to it really!

And then I found those Ikea cushions so had to make a proper round one, it's much bigger than I thought it would be, but I love it!!

So that's a sunflower, a rainbow and a giant - well I'm not sure what kind of flower this one is (kind of chrysanthemummyish isn't it?!) - all in my sofa garden!

 

Banana giraffes......!

Steven was on holiday from work a couple of weeks ago and my attempts to eat healthily went by the wayside just a tad.  As a result the lovely bunch of yellow bananas in my fruit bowl had turned into giraffes by the time I packed him back off to work.

Not wanting to waste them, I rummaged around the internet and my mountain of cookery books and came up with 2 recipes; one for banana and walnut bread, the other for banana muffins.  Both were so good when I made them (oh the modesty!) that they didn't last long.

But low and behold another herd of giraffes mysterioulsy found their way into my fruit bowl this week!  So today was muffin making day!  Sadly there were not enough giraffes to stretch to banana bread, but hey choc chip and butterscotch muffins are sure to fill the gap!

choc chip and butterscotch banana muffins

To make these delicious and light and kind of healthy muffins you will need:

3 very ripe bananas
100g butter (I use unsalted, but use whatever you have)
2 eggs
250g self raising flour
100g light muscovado suger (or light brown sugar)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
150g of something like choc chips, butterscotch chips, fudge pieces or add things like blueberries, chopped raspberries etc

To make:

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

Add the bananas, smush them up and beat them well into the mixture (it will look hideous at this point, don't panic it'll be fine!)

Add the 2 beaten eggs and mix well (still looks suspect, but bare with me)

Next add the flour, bicarb and baking soda, mix well to incorporate all the ingredients (see I told you it would be fine!)

Finally add your extra ingredient, I added dark choc chips and butterscotch to mine, give it a final swirl to evenly distribute your extra items.

Spoon mixture into muffin cases and bake for approx 20 mins at 200 degrees C

Then remove from oven, place on a cooling wrack, make some tea/coffee and eat one while it's still warm, you deserve it!

Indoor sunshine

I don't know about where you are dear reader, but here in Edinburgh it's been grey and rainy and drizzly and breezy and chilly for weeks now and it can get really quite depressing considering this is July!

But to cheer up the house I made a sunflower cushion, lovely bright gold petals, just what the living room needed to brighten it up through all this gloom!


                       
                                     


I hadn't intended to just sew it onto another cushion, but do you think I could find circular cushion pads?  No, not a shop in Edinburgh has such a thing, but then I spyed these cushions on sale in Ikea and thought that the green would be the perfect background for my sunflower.

To make the sunflower you will need

Brown wool

Yellow wool ( I used a DK wool that I had lying around in both colours)

Crochet hook - I used a 4mm hook which is a UK8 or a US F, but if use what your wool suggests.

Notes:  Although from the UK, I am a self taught crocheter from a US crochet book so my pattern will be in US terms, here are the different stitch names in case you need them.

US                                                            UK

single crochet (sc)                                    double crochet (dc)

half double crochet (hdc)                         half treble (htr)

double crochet (dc)                                  treble (tr)

triple crochet(tr)                                       double treble(dtr)

To make the sunflower

  Chain 5 and slip stitch to join.

1.  Ch 1 (counts as first single crochet (sc))  then 14 sc around, sl st to join to first ch.  15 Stitches.

(We are working in the round so do not turn your work, always have the right side facing you)

2. Ch 3 (first double crochet (dc)) then dc in SAME stitch, then 2dc in each stitch around, sl st to join.  30 stitches

3. Ch3 then 1dc in each stitch around, sl st to join.

4. Ch3 then 1dc in same stitch, *1dc in next stitch, 2dc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end, sl st to join.  45 stitches.

5. Ch3 then 1dc in each stitch around, sl st to join.

6. Ch3 then 1dc in same stitch.  *1dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in next stitch.  Repeat from * to end, sl st to join.  60 stitches

7. Ch3 then 1dc in each stitch around, sl st to join.

8. Ch 3 then 1dc in same stitch.  *1dc in next 3 stitches, 2dc in next stitch.  Repeat from * to end, sl st to join.  75 stitches

9. Ch3 then 1dc in each stitch around, sl st to join.

This is as big as I made my flower centre, you could of course make yours bigger by continuing the pattern of increases.  If you do then ensure that each increase round you make is an increase of 15 stitches eg

the next increase round would be dc in next 4 stitches, 2dc in next = 90 stitches

the next increase round would be dc in next 5 stitches, 2dc in next = 105 stitches etc etc

Secure brown wool and cut off leaving a tail for weaving in later.

To make the petals

Join the yellow wool into the FRONT LOOP of any stitch from the last round of brown.

1. Ch 1(counts as sc), then 1hdc in next stitch, 5dc in next stitch, 1hdc in next stitch, 1sc in next stitch.  1 Petal made.  This pattern is 1sc, 1hdc, 5dc, 1hdc, 1sc over 5 stitches.  Continue this pattern around, working in the FRONT LOOPS only.  Sl st to join.

Now we will be working in the BACK LOOPS from the petal round and as our last round of brown was not an increase round, we will be INCREASING the stitches from here.

2. Still with the right side facing you, slide your hook into the first back loop and ch3 then 1dc in same stitch.  *1dc in next 4 stitches, 2dc in next stitch.  Repeat from * to end, sl st to join.  90 stitches

3. Now repeat the petal row working in the front loops only (1sc, 1hdc, 5dc, 1hdc, 1sc)

4. Non increase round - hook into back loop, ch3 then 1dc in each stitch round, sl st to join.

5. Petal round

6. Increase round = ch3 and 1 dc in same stitch, 1dc in next 5 stitches, 2dc in next all way around

7. Petal round

This is where I finished, only doing 4 rounds of petals, but again you can do more making sure you do an increase round every alternate non petal round

so the petal pattern is

petal round

increase round

petal round

no increase round

petal round

increase round

petal round etc

Just remember the petals are worked in the front loops only and the plain rounds in the back loops.

Once you've reached the size of flower you want, fasten off and weave in the ends.

I then sewed the flower to my Ikea cushion and days of indoor sunshine can now begin!

If you are lucky enough to have circular cushion pads and wanted to do a crocheted back, then all you need to do is follow the pattern for the flower centre and continue increasing alternate rows, until you have the size the you need, then sew or crochet your front and back together and insert your cushion pad.

Then sit back with your ray of sunshine and hope the real sun turns up soon!

yours, hoping for sunny days

Louise

xoxox



Jingle jangle bangle!

With school holidays now well at truly upon us here in Scotland, my Mum decided that the days my Dad and her look after my 5 year old niece will be craft days.  Last week was an attempt at some cross stitch - a kit had been given to her for her 5th birthday and she wanted to make it for Mummy.

However, it was a lot more complicated than I think the gift giver had anticipated....... even my Mum who is a cross stitch afficionado had trouble with the plastic needle and the very small holes in the fabric and working with a proper needle wasn;t really happening for my niece either. 

So instead I drew a heart shape onto some paper, drew a grid inside it and punched holes at each cross point.  Then using some wool and the plastic needle my niece criss crossed her way to a lovely heart and then hand wrote a little message to her Mummy, Daddy and two puppy dogs!  I believe it is yet to be hung in her art gallery at home as Mummy has had the nerve to repaint the living room and her pictures aren't back up yet! How rude of my sister!!

This week I took some bits and bobs to my Mum's for another day of crafty goodness and first off we made one of these for everyone.

Jingle Jangle Bangle

They are really easy to make, and here's how

Ingredients

Elastic sewing thread
mini pompoms (colour of your choosing)
mini bells
blunt needle with an eye that is big enough to take the elastic, but will fit through the loop of the bell


To make

1.  Take the elastic and measure around the wrist the bracelet is for, add a bit extra (for knots) and cut.

2. Thread elastic onto needle, tie a knot at the other end.  I did a couple of knots one on top of the other to ensure nothing fell off.

3. Start threading, I did a  pompom bell pompom bell pattern, but go crazy!  Just make sure that when threading the pompoms you get the needle right into the heart of them otherwise they just come loose and we can't have rogue pompoms all over the place!

4. Continue with your pattern until you have used almost all the elastic, take off the needle, then  securely knot this end with the bottom end. 

5. Cut off any loose ends, et voila one jingle jangle bangle!

Now make as many as you need and then have a nice sing along as you all jingle your bangles in time with the tune!!  We had a great time singing jingle bells (I know it's July!!), even my Dad who had to wear a pink pompom bangle as we didn't have any boy colours!

So a really easy bangle and easy for the kiddiwinks to make too!

Happy jingle jangling

Louise

xox

Cushions, blankets, jumpers and birthdays!

I've been little quiet over the past few weeks on my blog, but I've been a busy little bee making things and sorting through mounds of clutter.

There's still a load of clutter to go through, but I do have 2 cushions, 1 bag and 1 blanket to share with you that I have made during those 'take a break' moments from the de-cluttering!

I have one more cushion to finish and I'm currently knitting a jumper for Steven (at his request, I should add!)  Ever since he saw that I could knit he has pestered me constantly to knit him a jumper in the style of  his favourite football (soccer) team - Arsenal.  But it's not the modern strip, instead he wants a retro 1970's style!  Fortunately the retro strip is very simple - red back and front, white sleeves and white neck.  So a basic jumper pattern is all that I've needed to use (thank goodness!)

I don't knit as fast as I can crochet, but I'm hoping that as it's just a simple stocking stitch the whole way through I'll be able to get it made in time for his birthday on 20 July!

It's a busy birthday month for us, today (7 July) is Steven's Mum's birthday and she loved the blanket that I made her and with the current lousy, rainy, miserable, grey and cold weather we are having it would appear to be a timely present for anyone to get!

Next birthday is Steven's, but he's not a big birthday guy so there will be a couple of presents but nothing fancy, maybe a nice steak for his tea, but that's about it!  Then nine days later it's my birthday....... a biggie........40!! yikes!!  Actually truth be told 40 doesn't bother me, I don't feel it and I don't believe I look it either so that's fine with me!

So that's me, just wanted to say hi and let you know I was still here, I'll be posting my cushions with details of how to make your own over the next few days.

Louise
xoxo

Weaving in those loose ends

As I mentioned in my food for thought piece the other day, Steven and I are gearing up for a HUGE clearout. So I thought I would make a start by clearing out my crafting spaces of unfinished projects, they are nearly all crochet projects and it's the weaving in that needs to be done.

It's really odd that this is the part I put off, when you get down to it you can probably weave ends in a couple of hours, if that.  But there's just something a little uninspiring about doing it, even although you will have a fabulous finished item at the end!  Or maybe that's just me!

So here is what I've been doing over the past few days, one is completely finished, the other I'm still crocheting, but weaving in as I go, much better!

This one is good to go, it was supposed to be a gift for Steven's Mum on Mother's Day (in the UK Mother's Day is in March, woops missed that deadline!) but now it will be for her birthday in July!

This next one I'm way ahead of the game as it's for my niece for her Christmas! I'm still working on it, but as I'm on the border it won't be long before it can be tucked away until it's time to forward it on to Santa for delivery on Christmas morning.

 

ends woven in on work so far!

first 4 rows of border done

I'm on the next set of 4 rows in a darker pink, which will be followed by 4 rows in a very light pink and finished off with a picot edge in purple.  I also plan to put a few random daisy type flowers on or around the G, haven't quite got that set in my mind yet.

As you can see from both projects I have been up to my eyes in shades of pink and purple for quite some time now!

My final blanket on this post I made for myself before Christmas and I made it to use up coloured wool I had left over from making a massive granny square scarf for my sister's Christmas. (I will try and get pictures of it from her, it's fabulous even if I do say so myself!!)

As you can see I had an abundance of colours left over (still do actually) and my rainbow blanket just came to life.

It doesn't really go with the chocolate and turquoise colour scheme of the bedroom, but hey, I love it and in Scotland a cosy blanket can be needed at anytime of the year!  And for the eagle eyed amongst you, yes, those accent cushions feature in my jewellery photos and I made those too!

My next project will involve the non pink and purple wools left in my stash from my Christmas makes, I have my eye on a couple of things from the blogosphere - a hexagon granny square blanket and a stripey bag, I may have enough for both!!

With ends woven in it feels great to have projects completed so, if you are like me and move on to the next thing before finishing off, stop procrastinating and get it finished, you'll be glad you did!

Happy weaving in!

xoxox

Flip Flop Frenzy!

Well I'm just on a flip flop frenzy!  So here are two more that I made over the past couple of days to go with some summer outfits.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this run of sunny weather goes on so I can wear them outside the house!!

These flowers are the 17 chain rosette from Lion Brand Patterns  (search under crochet rosettes for the pattern), I then sewed on alternating purple and pink beads, I used two beads at a time as they were smaller than I had thought, but I think it makes them stand out more.

I plan to wear these with a pair of purple palazzo pants, or even just my regular blue jeans. But, I also have a pair of red skinny jeans and I think these flip flops will look really funky with these!

 These flowers are the 35 chain rosette and I combined some brown DK wool with gold metallic crochet thread and I think it makes them really pop!

I'll be wearing these with some brown leggings and a knitted tunic that has a kind of Missoni feel to it in red, gold, cream and purple waves.

My Mum and Dad are hopefully bringing back some other colours of flip flops from their trip to Orlando, I hear that Walmart is selling flip flops for 98c!  Think I'm gong to be busy!

xoxox


     

Jewels for the Jubilee!

If you don't live in the UK, then you may not know that this weekend the nation is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.  She becomes only the second monarch in history (the first being Queen Victoria) to achieve the milestone of 60 years on the throne.

Everything here has gone a bit RED, WHITE and BLUE crazy.  You name it, it now has a Union Flag on it!!  Now I love a bit of red, white and blue, but when my shampoo bottle is covered in it, I think we need to draw the line!

So I've been working on some non Union Flag inspired pieces of jewellery, no self respecting Queen would ever be seen without a bit of royal bling and quite frankly neither should anyone else!

I read somewhere recently that the value of the British Crown Jewels has been estimated to be around $3.5 billion!! Slightly out of my price range and probably out of yours too, unless of course you happen to be the Queen, in which case, congratulations on 60 years, Your Majesty!

My inspiration this week comes from New York & Company and H&M.  I like big bold jewellery, necklaces that are long and dangly and anything that looks a bit Art Deco.  These all fit the bill in one way or another.

                   Necklaces from NY&Co, H&M and NY&Co

All lovely, but I'm just not a gold person and I'm really not sure that gold and turquoise go together, but that's just me!

Once I decided on these three pieces it was just a matter of rummaging around for beads and jewels that would create something similar but was more me.

And here's what I made

I'm not entirely happy with the black pendant in the charm style necklace, so I'm keeping my eye out for something more in keeping with the rest of the colours.  Any suggestions greatly received!

Have a lovely weekend, wherever you are.  And if you are having a Jubilee party this weekend, don't eat too many scones with jam and cream!!

xoxox

Customised Flip Flops

Summer's here, yippee!  And my feet just love flip flops and sandals, but nothing ever matches my clothes, or me! So, inspired by fellow bloggers, I decided to customize a pair of my own.

There are so many great ideas out there - both crafting and in the shops -  and a pair that caught my eye was this sandal from Nordstorm.  I just love that big flower!

Sandal from Nordstrom

Sadly Nordstrom is a little out of my price range (and post code, for that matter!!)  So I looked at other blogs for embellishing sandals and flip flops and here's what I came up with.

they've come out more pinky than red here, they are definitely red and yes I've been wearing them already, hence the heel and toe marks!

I got the wedge flip flops in Asda, they already had a bit of sparkle on the thong but they looked a little bare.

Finding the right flower was a little tricky as I wanted something that had a rose look about it like the Nordstrom sandal.  After searching for a couple of days I found the perfect pattern - lionbrand rosettes.  I have to admit I love Lion Brand patterns, and this one is no exception.

What's great about this pattern is it gives you a selection of sizes, so pick the size you want and get crocheting!

I went for the medium sized rosette and think this was the right size, otherwise it would have dwarfed my itsy bitsy feet and hidden my red toe nails, and I can't have that!

I used some red wool I already had in the house along with some sparkly red crochet yarn I bought in Hobbycraft.  Sadly the nice sparkle of the crochet wool isn't showing up in the photo I took and I think that's why the roses are coming out pink instead of red.

Once my flowers were made it came to attaching them to my flip flops, some fellow bloggers use double sided sticky tape and I tried that initially, but after a day of wearing one rose fell off, guess it was just a tad too heavy for a strip of sticky tape.

So out with the fabric glue and hey presto, my customised flip flops!
With so many inexpensive plain flip flops about it'll be full steam ahead with embellishments for me!  Next ones I plan to do will be for a pair of flat purple flip flops with the roses made in plain cream wool with pink and purple sequins and beads sewn on for added bling bling!

Hope you like these and create some fabulous personalised footwear of your own.

Happy flip flopping!
xoxox

About me

My name is Louise and I live in Edinburgh, Scotland with my partner Steven.

I used to work as a business change consultant, but after a viral infection that led to a diagnosis of ME five years ago I sadly had to stop working.

My Mum decided that I needed to stay as focussed as possible and on a family holiday to Orlando four years ago, she introduced me to one of her favourite shops - Joann's.  Wow, what a place, instantly I was hooked.

I started with some jewellry bits and bobs on that trip, then gradually started exploring card making, candle making, soap making, knitting and crocheting to name but a few!  On one trip to Orlando I even came home with a Cricut Expression!


So now my house is full of crafting things!  I need to get better organised as it literally is all over the place and getting everything I need to make things can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare!