Poorly Crafting

Sadly I was recently struck with a horrible chest infection. I'm now thankfully recovering but while I was off work I did a little bit of crafting to pass the time. The theme seems to be rainbows. I made a cover for the arm of our chair which is a little bright but I had fun making it. Thanks to my wonderfully short attention span I haven't gotten round to making he second one.

I decided to have an experiment with learning entrelac crochet. It's a fun technique and I enjoyed learning about it as it's not as easy as I first thought it would be. I think with a little more practice I could make the fabric nice and even but as this was a practice I don't mind that it came out a bit wonky.

While trying to keep myself entertained I came across a pattern browsing Ravelry that I knew my boyfriend would love. Its a Cactaur by Ashley Solley from final fantasy. It knitted up pretty quickly and I loved the look on his face when he saw what I was making for him.

And to carry on with the rainbow theme I whipped up a granny square baby blanket for a craft fair that I went to on Saturday. I'm loving all of the colours in this one. I hope it gets snapped up soon because I'm getting a bit to fond of it.

Sadly I didn't end up selling much at the craft fair. I think business will be much better in the months leading up to Christmas as people will be looking for more of what I have to offer.

I whipped up a rainbow hat as well just to carry on playing with rainbows for a little longer. It's really slouchy.

 And finally, a friend of mine asked if I could make a baby cardigan a his sister has just had a baby boy. I found a pattern on Ravelry called the Jolyon Cardigan by Kathryn Ashley-Wright It knitted up so quicklyas it's in chunky yarn so it will be extra snuggley  I had some difficulty attaching the sleeves but once I figured it out it was fine. I was very proud of myself for doing such a neat button band as I'm usually rubbish at making clothing, but I guess the more practice the better I will get and baby cloths are great for practicing on.

 

A Week of Crafting

1. Finish making lime vodka (birthday present for lime crazy friend)
2. Bake for Mothers day
3. Make more of the hexagon Patchwork 
4. Use Hexi Puffs to make seat pads
5. Have a go at free motion embroidery
6. Make progress on socks for beloved
7. Make progress on shawl
8. Recycle old sheets into knitted/crocheted stuff

Well my week off was quite productive. I decided to have a go at some of the flower patterns in  a book I got for Christmas and made some cute roses, hopefully one day I'll have enough for a bouquet. This wasn't on the list of things to do but who cares, I had fun :)

The lime vodka went very well. The recipe yielded a lot more than I had anticipated so I had to get a bigger jar but it all worked out very well. I had enough for the birthday girl, some for my mum and a little bit for myself. It was so yummy on it's own and went down very well with lemonade.

I had a go at felted soap as we were talking about it at the craft fair. I don't think I'll be trying it again. I takes quite a bit of effort to get the wool to felt around the soap and I didn't really experience any benefit of having wool around my soap. But you've got to try these things..

I finished a commission this week for a crocheted iPad mini case. I used chunky yarn and a 5mm hook so it will nice and thick and keep the iPad lovely and safe.

 I made big progress on the hexagon patchwork. I sewed so much I had a dent in my thumb. I have a lot left to do but it was great to get a bunch done a see it coming together. I laid it all out to get an idea of how big it will be when it's done and I'd like it to be a little bigger so I'm thinking about ways I can add a border.

And finally, it may not look like much but I have made some progress on the socks for beloved. The knit two at a time method is a little complex but it will be a relief that when I finish one sock I don't have to start on another. Progress is slow as it's 4ply yarn on 2.5mm needles but they will get finished one day, hopefully...

Busy Busy Crafting

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. The weeks have gotten away from me with working overtime (boo!!) But now I am on holiday for a week and looking forward to getting lots of crafty stuff done.

So I've been up to few crafty things. I was commissioned to crochet a circle cardigan. I really enjoy this pattern. It's going to be a gift and I can't wait to hear what they think of it.

I whipped up a slouchy hat to sell on Maggie Makes Stuff. 

I've been playing with Tunisian crochet recently. I love that the colour changes are so sharp and it's so easy. I would fully recommend giving it a go.

I whipped up some gloves to sell on Maggie Makes Stuff I knitted them flat and sewed up the side so they were super quick to make and I enjoyed messing around with the buttons.

And last but not least, I have been meaning to make this wreath for quite some time. I have so much of this fuzzy yarn left that any suggestions on how to use it up would be wonderful. I used a book that i got for Christmas to get the patterns for the flowers and leaves and I love how cute it has turned out.

Well as I have a week off I'm going to make a list of all of the crafty things I could get up to while I am off:

1. Finish making lime vodka (birthday present for lime crazy friend)
2. Bake for Mothers day
3. Make more of the hexagon Patchwork 
4. Use Hexi Puffs to make seat pads
5. Have a go at free motion embroidery
6. Make progress on socks for beloved
7. Make progress on shawl
8. Recycle old sheets into knitted/crocheted stuff. 

Well it may be a little ambitious but lets see how I get on :)

The Craft Fair

Well, despite being quite poorly, the craft fair went very well. It was quiet but we had a good time and made a few sales. The rainbow scarf featured in the last post was the first to go and I was very happy. I took a few photos but the bar that the fair was held in was quite dark so they didn't turn out so well.

 This is Liz and her friend Tess selling bunting, wreaths and lovely covered vases

 This is Kat Savage with her amazing hand made brooches and pendents 

This is me and my mum at our stall.

The local news paper turned up to write about the craft fair and the charity it is for. They took some pictures of me, the organizers and some of the other stall holders. I was very surprised on Wednesday to open the newspaper and see this. I actually burst out laughing in the middle of the supermarket.

The cardigan I'm wearing I made a few days earlier. The pattern is from Lion Brand and I love it. It worked up so quickly, I got it done in 3 nights and I've had lots of lovely compliments on it. The pattern is just a giant circle with arm holes in it and the fit is surprisingly flattering.

Once I had finished the cardigan I decided to play with my needle felting kit. and I made this cute little critter.

He took all evening and through lots of experimenting I learnt lots of lessons about needle felting, mostly about the many different ways I can stab myself with the needle.

I also made a little progress with the hexagon patchwork and added another row. I really can't wait till it's done but I know it's going to be some time yet. Oh well, I shall keep stitching!

Well it's a big crafty rant this week. Thanks for reading.

TTFN

To Cardiff and back again

This week I was off to Cardiff with work and I managed to get a bit of knitting time in during the journey. It was very snowy for the few days that I was there. It was nice at first because we never get snow in Plymouth because we are so close to the sea, but after the first hour of slipping around and being cold we'd had enough of it. While I was in Cardiff I managed to find a John Lewis shop and spent some time in the haberdashery. Sadly I didn't see any yarn that was in my price range and inspiring enough to purchase but I did get some funky journal cards and I lusted over the mini sewing machines that they have.

I took some Chunky green alpaca yarn with me and whipped up another version of the head bands I've been knitting recently. It came in very handy as I couldn't find my ear muffs while I was packing so at least I had something to keep my ears warm.

I've been working on more things to sell at the craft fair. I was very pleased with this crocheted rainbow scarf that I made last week. It was lots of fun to play with all the colours and what can I say, I'm a sucker for rainbows. The finished product turned out to be over 8' long!

I visited the button shop Funky Poppy on the Barbican this weekend and picked up some lovely buttons that I'm looking forward to playing with. I used the last of the left over merino yarn from my jacket to make a hat with a love anchor button accent.

The close up shows the true colour of the yarn and I think the pink and yellow really pop.

On a side note, something wonderful happened while I was out with the ladies this weekend. We were shopping at an amazing vintage clothing place on the Barbican and we were fortunate enough to be in the presence of Marilyn Monroe's original Black swimming costume. It was truly amazing and I thought you may enjoy the pictures. The first is of the inside of the costume and says 20th CF (century fox) Marilyn Monroe. I love all the boning detail around the bust...

Hope you enjoyed this weeks rant. TTFN

Busy Busy Bee

This week I have been preparing for my first craft fair of the year! The craft fair is to raise money for my friend's charity 5 Mountains For 5 Years. Gareth has survived testicular cancer and for the 5 year anniversary he will climb 5 mountains. The craft fair is on the 3rd of February at Voodoo Lounge in Plymouth and I'm really looking forward to it. There will be lots of stall holders and if it goes well I hope that we will be doing it again. 

I have been busily building up stock to sell at the craft fair. I have been making a few of my tiny owls to sell and doing a few custom orders. They have sold really well at previous craft fairs so I'm going to make sure I have plenty for this one.

I finished the noro striped cowl and I love the colour changing effect of the yarn. I'm also pleased that where I joined it together the colours blend perfectly. I've had someone request a scarf version of this so I will need to keep my eye out for more noro yarn to make another.

I have also knitted up another of the blue leaf headbands as I had some of the merino yarn left over. The pattern knits up so quickly I may make a few more. I have some chunky green alpaca yarn in the stash to use that would look good so I may whip that up  little later.

I found and app called PicsArt that allows me to make collage photos (as above). I'm really pleased as this is exactly what I needed to show different angles of the same product in one picture. I also love that I can round off the corners. I don't know why but I just love that effect. You can do many things with this app but that is my favorite thing.

Well I will be off to Cardiff for a few days next week with work so I hope to get lots of crafting done on the journey up and while I'm at the hotel so there will be lots more to tell next week to.

TTFN and keep crafting :)

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

Well January has been quite manic and we're not even half way through yet. The madness shows no sign of slowing down as I'll be off to Cardiff for a week at the end of January for training with work.

So I have managed to get some crafting done during the madness. I have been working on this Easy Peazy Shawl by Megan Delorme. I'm really enjoying the pattern, I have made a few mistakes in the lace parts but I'm happy with it so far. I am using a chenille yarn that I got in a charity shop. I love how rich it looks when it's knitted up and I love the colour. I have lots of this yarn so I may make matching gloves to go with it.

 I have also been working on this cowl/infinity scarf with some noro yarn striped with some grey double knit I had in my stash. I love the effect of the colour change. I plan to sell this one on my facebook page Maggie Makes Stuff or at a Craft Fair that I might be attending soon. As it's just garter stitch it is very simply so I hope to get it finished quickly.

I picked up this notebook from Paperchase recently and I have been using it to scribble down crafty ideas so I don't forget them. I had fun decorating the cover with washi tape, stencils and stamps and for some reason I really like brown paper and rounded corners. Yes I am one of those people that gets excited about stationary.

Here are doodles of some granny square stashbusting I have planned in the future. I like to scribble ideas for colour pallets for projects.

Anyway. I hope you have enjoyed this little update.

TTFN