Things that make me say 'Yay!'

The sun is shining and the garden is showing signs of growth again!

Raspberry canes budding

Potatoes planted!

Loads of pots ready for new plants

I've discovered I rather like decopatch having tried it a couple of weeks ago. Here's my second decopatch project:

Pink leopard print hanger

I have also discovered another new craft, patchwork. I went to a great workshop at Make Do & Mend and learned to make a hexagon pin cushion. We also got a copy of Cath Kidston's book Patch! to take home!

This is the pin cushion I made!

Must, must, must find something to sew this cute rabbit on!

Patchwork children's ball I really want to try

My first ever patchwork project!

Same as above but this is the back.

And last but not least in today's list: I feel like me again! Pregnancy symptoms are dying down now and I feel more like my usual self. Yay!!


What makes you say 'yay!'?

Announcement

I'm pleased to finally tell you all that Mr PC & I are expecting our first baby! Estimated arrival 3rd October. Everything is going well and we're over the moon!

image source

image source

Show and Tell (part 2)

Yesterday I blogged about the wool I got at the Stitch and Craft Show, well today I'm doing a show and tell about the amazing feats of crafting expertise that we saw.

Best in Show
The ladies behind the two Best in Show books had a stand exhibiting their knitted cats and dogs. These were incredible likenesses for each of the breeds and the amazing-ness of the work put into them is quite impressive. 

Corgi

Schnauzer (?)

Beagle

Siamese

Cute cat, no idea of the breed!

The Knitted Village
I'm not sure of the story behind this exhibition, but the work was amazing. A miniature knitted village, complete with play park and recycling bins!!

A Gift of Quilts
This was an interesting exhibition of over 400 quilts which have been sewn to present to each country which will participate in this year's Olympic Games. The standard of these quilts was mind boggling, particularly to me who has never quilted anything. Here's a few pics of my fave quilts (pics taken on my iPhone so they're not great quality):

The panels in this quilt are all cross stitched.

Show and Tell (part 1)

This weekend, and friend and I went to the Stitch and Craft Show at Olympia and had a grand day out. I thought I'd do a show and tell of all the lovely wool I bought. Tomorrow I'll do a show and tell of the amazing things I saw at the show.

Here goes, take a look at these gorgeous additions to my wool stash!!

Sublime Cotton DK and Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK

Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in the yummiest orange I've ever seen!

Sublime Baby Cotton Kapok DK in delicious pinks and blue

Wool glorious wool - Over £250's worth for just £110!!

There was a stand doing a £1 fabric lucky dip so I dived in and had two goes! Look what lovely fabric I got!

There was also a Make and Take table, we had a go at decopatch and I have to say it might just be my new little obsession! I totally loved it and have plans to decopatch many things in the near future :) The funniest thing was that we were the only grown ups at the table, and both my friends had finished their hearts before I had even turned over to do the back! (ever the perfectionist, but I tried really hard at being slap dash!).

Look what I did!

Totally love the peonies!

Come back tomorrow for a look at cats, dogs, a village and gorgeous quilts.

WIP: Crochet with fabric

A lot of people ask me what you can do with my giant crochet hooks and my answer is that the possibilities are endless! I have plans to make up some items as examples of what projects you can make with them and my first idea involves reusing old bedsheets.

Last year I bought new sets of bedsheets as they were getting  bit past their best. Normally I would have thrown them into the fabric recycling bin, but nowadays I keep all that kind of stuff in case I can think of a means to upcycle it! Cue the purchase of a box of Dylon fabric dye and a wee stint in the washing machine and my previously washed out beige fitted sheets are now a blue/grey colour!

Be gone horrible colour, hello springtime hue!

Once they're dry, I'll be slicing them into long strips and sewing the strips together to make one great bit long ball of 'yarn'. Then the extreme crochet begins! I haven't fully decided on what to make with them but at the moment I'm thinking of making a bedside rug. Something quick easy and simple yet effective.

I made a special effort not to make them pink. Are you proud of me? It was a bit of a challenge but I did it! And although they didn't quite come out the colour I was hoping for, I rather like them!

Watch this space for the finished article!

Time to get hooking!

My giant crochet hooks are proving rather popular in my Etsy shop and at craft fairs they're a real talking point. Today I've updated my Etsy shop with new images of the crochet hooks and you can find them all here.

I currently have sizes 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 20mm, 25mm and 27mm listed and ready to ship so if you're interested in trying some extreme crocheting, why not have a go?

Sizes 12mm, 15mm, 25mm and 27mm

If you prefer your crochet hooks on a smaller scale, I am also now stocking packs of bamboo crochet hooks in sizes 3mm - 10mm. A pack of 12 hooks for just £8 so you'll always have the right sized hook!

Once you've used wooden hooks, you'll never want to go back to using metal or plastic hooks!

Saturday Pictures

This weekend saw me do my first craft fair of the year, and while getting organised for it was all left to the last minute, it went rather well! The ladies of Coggeshall were very interested to know more about my giant crochet hooks and were intrigued to see what you can make with them! At one point I was doing an impromptu demo!

I thought I'd share some pics of the day. The light in the hall wasn't great for taking pictures and someone else was using a flash camera at the same time so some of my pics  came out dark/blurred and then the battery died, so I've only got a few mediocre pics of the day.

new range - bamboo crochet hooks in packs of 12

eye catching giant crochet hooks

owly memo board

First Event of 2012

Tomorrow sees me doing my first event of the year, and marks the beginning of 'craft fair season'. This week I've been getting organised and have made some new items to take along. I thought I'd share a couple of pics of some new memo boards I made.

Memo board, 30x30 inches, £10

Memo board, 30x30 inches, £10

 

 

Also coming along with me to the craft fair this weekend are the giant crochet hooks Mr PC has been making. These have sold well in my Etsy shop, I've sent them to all sorts of intereting places such as Macedonia, Lithuania, Australia, Canada and USA not to mention all four corners of the UK! It seems extreme crochet is a worldwide phenomenon!!

I needed an interesting way to display the giant hooks on the stall so got my thinking cap on:

I found a giant jar and ditched the lid

Then I grabbed some wool and made a jar 'jacket'

I tried to keep the pattern random and used rows of double crochet and trebles

And now the hooks have a home!

If you'd like to get your hands on one of my big hooks then take a look at my Etsy shop where they're up for grabs.

Tomorrow I'll be at Created on Your Doorstep, at the Village Hall in Coggeshall, near Braintree. This free event is 10am-1pm and I hear there will be tea and cakes, so you must pop along if you're in the area!