Mini crochet basket

In amongst my secret projects, I've been doing odd little things to give my crafting some variety. My latest quick project was a mini crochet basket which I made using some pink nylon string which I got in the pound shop.

I followed a vague pattern as my inspiration but as I had no idea how much I'd get out of the string, I went 'off pattern' and made it up as I went along!

As the string is quite soft, the basket is a bit floppy and looks a bit of an odd shape but I quite like it that way! I've decided to make it my small project 'to do' basket so it's currently housing the fabric and self cover buttons I need to put together for my next craft fair.

I see more of these baskets in my crochet future in all colours and sizes!

A hint of colour

We recently redecorated the hall, dinning room, stairs and landing and spruced the place up a bit after nearly four years of a cream colour on the walls. I was fed up with the boring-ness of the cream and the walls were starting to look grubby. After consulting my sister on what colours and shades to go for, we opted for a deep purple feature wall in the dining room and a deep ocean blue on the wall that goes up the stairs.

I've managed to get some mediocre pics to show you, but the grey horrible weather and the dreadful light we've had this week has meant that you don't get the best out of these colours. Hey ho! 

Pictures are of Rome which we took on our honeymoon

Be gone boring cream wall!

 The rest of the walls are now a warmer shade of cream which has made such a difference. We have a rather dark hall and landing so we had to stick with a light colour so not to end up with it looking like a black hole! With all the woodwork repainted white, it looks all new and clean which delights me greatly!

Mirrors free from my sister who was ditching them, pictures were an engagement gift

The next room on the list for redecorating is my office which will become the little poppet's nursery but this is on hold until we know whether it's a boy or a girl. I'm not really looking forward to giving up my only personal space in the house, but I guess it will be worth it in the end!

WIP: Crochet with fabric - update

Absolutely ages ago I had the idea to dye and cut up some old bed sheets to use to crochet with. Well, I have finally gotten around to cutting the sheets into strips and I'm now in the process of stitching them together to make the 'yarn' that will become something.

It has been a long and faffy process not helped by my need to have everything 'right' so I can't say that this will become a regular occurrence. I decided to stitch the strips together rather than knot them as I want the finished article to be fairly smooth and comfy under foot. My initial idea is to make a bedroom rug so I don't want whopping big bobbles in it as that would probably hurt your tootsies!

If you look closely, you will see that I have stitched right up the middle of the strips as I found this to be the least fiddly way to stitch them all together, even though it's actually more time consuming. I think the row of stitching can be a feature of the rug! This did however mean that I had to buy more white thread as it just ate up all my supply!

I'll be back at some point to show you what it looks like when I crochet with it!

WIP: Bright stripe blanket

I'm currently working on a number of different projects, most of which are still a secret so I haven't been able to share my recent WIPs but this one is for me so I can show it off as much as I like!

'What the heck is that?!'

This blanket is for my little poppet (expected arrival early October!) and is inspired by a Milla Mia pattern I spotted at the Stitch and Craft Show. Their pattern is knitted and uses merino wool  but as I don't knit I decided to make it using good old double crochet! Oh, and I'm using Stylecraft DK as merino wool is lovely but out of my budget for such a large project!

Stripey, stripey, stripey!

I've no idea how big exactly it's going to turn out but so far it's shaping up nicely. I have another billion rows to go! As it's straight forward rows of dc it's great for the days when my brain can't cope with counting or tracking stitches (we all have those, right?). The downside is that it's a bit boring to be working on all the time so progress is sometimes slow but hey, I've got another 5 months to finish it!

I love that it's so bright and colourful which is a stark contrast to the majority of baby clothes and accessories I have seen so far. Don't get me wrong, pastels are nice and everything but rather boring sometimes, and I don't 'do' boring! I'm pretty sure my little poppet will be the only one to have something so loud on his/her pram!

Squeak wanted to help model the blanket!

A New Obsession

You know when you find a new craft and you instantly fall in love with it? Well, that's what's happened with me and decopatch! For something so simple as cutting and sticking, it's amazing how therapeutic it can be.

You get so involved in deciding the pattern and placement of the next bit of paper and (if you're like me) the obsession of getting it all lined up nicely without an gaps or big globs of glue takes over and it allows your mind to totally focus on the task at hand. I've found it's a great way to take your mind off your worries as while you're engrossed in the gluing, your mind can unravel all the goings on and by the end you've got some sort of order to your thoughts and maybe even some clarity on the matter.

The absolute best bit of the whole process? The "I did that!" satisfaction you get from looking at what you've made! (Isn't that the whole point of crafting?!)  Never fails to boost your ego!!

These are me two latest projects:

I love this wee cat, I think it has some attitude about it, which most cats have, good or bad.

This wee piggy was a pressie for a friend and I loved the obsessiveness of making all the hearts go in the same direction! If you look really closely, you'll see that I actually cut the paper rather than rip it, so it's even more anal tidy looking... I just don't 'do' slap dash!

I'm now itching to find something else to decopatch!!

Blanket Love

I have wanted to share this finished project for quite some time now but as it was a birthday present for a friend, I had to wait until she'd received it so not to spoil the surprise!

I crocheted this blanket using good ol' Stylecraft Special DK and I must say it turned out rather well. The yarn was so easy to use and is actually quite soft. Pink and lilac/grey squares are joined with a cream double crochet seam and edged with a few rows of dc. 

Inspired by one of Nicki Trench's blanket patterns, I decided to make a feature of the dc seam and I think it really sets the blanket off. 

Once it was finished, I draped it over the chair so I could admire it for a few days before wrapping it up to take it to its new home. I estimate it took 35 hours to put together, so it has been a labour of love and I am sad to see it go but I guess I'll just have to make one for myself at some point!