Little Girls Bag Pattern.

The bag pattern for the picture below is available for free download on Ravelry

On my list of jobs to do  is to write up the other bag pattern and make them both adult sized as well.

More past makes.

Just wanted to share some more of my makes...

This is my second very own pattern item. Not written up yet, but I made this last year as another girls bag.

The next is my first ever pair of socks. Don't you just love the rainbowyness?

Crochet booties. Super cute.

And finally Ollie... he is still going strong!!

Owl love

I came across this owl tutorial this morning on Bunny Mummy's blog and immediately had to down tools to make it !! Do you like? Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen ? :)

Another blanket...

I said to myself after I finished the 1st Granny Square blanket that I would never do another one. Although I enjoyed making the squares I did not enjoy crocheting them together. However I did love the finished blanket.
So last week I embarked on another granny square project but to be done in a way to make it a little easier on the crocheting together front.
Here is the first of 9 squares. Its based on a blanket made by Lucy over at Attic24.

 

The small people and I baked cookies last night. This was a request from the little man as he was most upset that the smallest was going to be off school poorly and he had to go!!

More edible glitter than you can shake a stick at and it was everywhere!!!

Canvas love

Oh I do love my bell tent, it was purchased on a whim! We love camping here in our house, but I do love old canvas tents, they take me right back to my childhood and guiding. The beautiful cream canvas material, majestic shape and such a romantic looking tent.
We (the small people and I) took her on holiday to Skipton to try her out then we had the most amazing idea of using her for the smallests princess birthday party!! Decked out in paper chains and tissue paper flowers she looked amazing.

This is a blog I love, the lady is extremely talented and puts my tent to shame. Bells and labs. Enjoy x

Been a busy bee.....

I've been so busy, some days I don't know where the time goes at all. I seem to get lost in a round of children, washing, crochet and kids clubs.

About a week ago my mother in law gave me her sewing machine! I'm generally inept in the sewing department but this particular craft keeps calling to me to try it. The world of cushion covers and quilts and beeeaauuutiful fabrics is calling me. But I can't sew, for toffee. I last had a bash at it about 3 years ago but I really couldn't do it, I kept breaking the machine needles and i had to rethread EVERY 2 seconds!! It drove me bananas. So I decided it wasn't for me. But I kept desperately wanting to learn.

Soooo with much trepidation I told my MIL of my crazy plan to buy a second hand machine and sit and be patient and learn. he wonderful woman then gave me hers!! Can you imagine? No going back now...eeek.

So it sat in my house for a week looking at me, waiting to be used. I went to a lovely local fabric shop and bought a fat quarter bundle.
I sat at the machine and taught myself how to thread it and do straight stitch (I still can't figure out how to do zigzag). Anyway, the long and the short of it is.... I made a cushion cover !!! It's not great I'll be honest, but I was soo chuffed with myself. After I took this picture I ended up making it smaller so that it fitted the pad better. What do you think?

To say I learnt a lot from this little project is an understatement!!!

The boy's finished scrappy lapghan. To say he loves it is an understatement and that really thrills me. I have made him many hats and gloves over the last few years, but after the initial thrill he never refuses to wear them.

And I am such a lucky girl, I bought a new cracker tin off ebay this week, I have to admit it's been on my watch list for months so I bit the bullet and bought it. I LOVE it... but now I need all the other tins in this set !!! What do you think?

Isn't it gorgeous!! I just love the beach huts and the sea and sand. A little bit of sunshine for crackers! Anyway you can purchase it here.

Another item on my want list are these gorgeous owlie bookends!! Are they not amazing !!?!! Have a look here

Past Makes

I thought I'd show you some of my past creations if you don't mind? Some (most) is crochet, but there are a few knitted things in there too.

Like I said before I used to make lots of longies, shorties and skirties... but then I lost my mojo.

The wool was dyed by me and the pattern of the shorties is Wigglebunz Creations. A beautiful crochet pattern.

The top was made by the very talented Liz at Dark Star Designs, I then dyed the wool to match the top and crocheted up longies. I was really really pleased with the finished look :).

I made this skirtie from undyed wool then dip dyed it in kool aid when I was finished. Very pleased with the finish.

And finally bags that I made for my smallest girl for her 4th birthday. She was a lucky girl, I put my beautiful bell tent up in the back garden, decorated it with paper chains and paper flowers and instead of a plastic toy in their party bags her friends each got a beautiful (if I dare say so myself?) made with love, little girl, over the shoulder bag!!
My first ever pattern made from my own mind!!
I hope you like them, my smallest adores hers.

Would you like the pattern?
Right ok, motherly duty calls and today that comes in the form of washing... xx

Hello Blogland

Hello to all you lovely bloggers out there.

I was inspired to write this blog as a sort of diary of my life, loves and family.

About me, well hmm I'm a bikeability instructor, a cycling coach, wool lover and mum of 4 small and not so small kids.

I love love my jobs. I am in the privelidged position of being able to work with kids all the time. Such a rewarding job and all kids are so different.. as you already know.

While its been winter weather and Christmas I've been able to indulge in my other passion, crochet.

When I first learnt to crochet the first thing I learnt to make was a granny square when I was about 8 or 9. I then made a double bed sized blanket to be shipped off to Africa. I hope its been loved as I spent all my pocket money on it for about a year!!

I then left crochet alone as sadly my great grandmother died and I had no idea how to follow patterns or where to go to be retaught as it were.

When I was 16 I picked up a hook and made a straight forward blanket for my soon to be born baby, closely followed by one for a friends baby. Nothing fancy just straight forward crochet with tassels on either end.

Now I am 37.. and I have just had a spate of doing 3 blankets in a row!! Why oh why have I waited so long to pick up a hook and make a blanket? And doing these last 3 blankets has helped me rediscover why I love crochet so much. I lost my mojo after loys of longies and shorties. Just crocheting for the love of doing it has been great for me. 

I made this first blanket for my 15 year old daughter. This is the first blanket I made whilst being on winter work reprieve.

I love it's granny goodness.

 The secret to the love behind this blanket is that all the wool (except the pink edging) has been hand dyed by me and is scraps left over from all those longies, shorties and skirties I made.

The second blanket is for my 20 yr old daughter for Uni. It's not much to look at I know but she needed something dark and machine washable.

Blanket number 3 for my 4 year old daughter. Ripple scrapghan.

Please excuse my faded plum carpet :(
I then decided to make a granny cushion out of some cotton yarn I had left.

Its turned out beautifully and is always being stolen by my 6 year old son.

The back was made following a tutorial on this wonderful blog, Bunny Mummy

So once this project was finished I was looking for more blanket goodness and I came across this on a creative being I just loved the waves and the way it was constructed, however I didn't get very far in as I just wasn't feeling it... so this is a project for another time. This is how far I got!!

So I decided to pick up some squares I hade made and do a fast grow project to stop my son from nagging me to make him a blanket. I searched my huuugggeee wool stash for hand dyed dk to set about grannying it. This is it so far!

Anyway time to put the little man to bed so may see you tomorrow. xx