Spring

Blossom against blue skies...

Pretty flowers inside and out...

Little pastel fairy cakes with Cadbury mini eggs...

Gorgeous new yarn (Drops Muskat) for spring crochet....

I'm so happy that spring is here!

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Yarn ❤️

I think most crocheters and knitters love yarn don't they? I certainly do! I thought I would do a little post about my favourite yarns to use and hopefully others will share what their favourites are too...

My number one absolute favourite yarn for crocheting is Stylecraft Special DK. It's probably no surprise as I talk about it quite a bit on my blog!  I know that many other crocheters and knitters like this yarn too.  As I make lots of blankets, I find this yarn to be perfect...it has a fantastic range of colours, washes really well, is fairly soft and best of all is really economical! I just love it.

Above are some things that I've made using Stylecraft Special DK.  It's just perfect for blankets and cushions especially.

I've heard that there are going to be some new colours in this range this year and I'm really looking forward to that.

Another favourite of mine is Sirdar Snuggly DK. Again it has a great range of colours and it's very soft. It's a wee bit more expensive than Stylecraft but I think it's a really nice yarn to work with. It's especially good for making baby things and my mum, who knits a lot of baby clothes, uses this a lot.

Another little collage above showing things I've made with Sirdar Snuggly DK. They release new colours of this yarn quite a lot which is good, but unfortunately they have discontinued a really gorgeous yellow colour which I loved and used a lot in my projects. The shade was 'duckling' and I haven't been able to find another yellow as perfect as it was yet. So the search for the perfect yellow begins again!

Lastly is another Stylecraft yarn which is again a firm favourite. This is Weekender which is super chunky. It's really soft and has some nice colours too...I like the soft sort of vintage colours best...duck egg, dawn, petal and cream.

I made lots of hot water bottle cosies with this yarn last year, it's the perfect yarn for those as its thick and cosy. (The pattern for the hot water bottle cosy is by Cocorose Diaries, the link is in my side bar).  I also made a cowl and a tea cosy. 

So those are my 3 favourite yarns! They are all fairly inexpensive as its rare for me to buy pricey yarn...I do really like Debbie Bliss yarns, especially the cashmerino range, but I'm afraid the price puts me off and I'm more than happy with my Stylecraft and Sirdar really!

So what about you? Do you like the yarns above or do you prefer more luxurious yarns? Are there other good budget yarns you can recommend?

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This Week

There has been a fair bit of crochet going on. I've started another blanket, one for a baby boy. I'm sure I have a problem as can't seem to stop myself from starting new blankets at the moment...

I took part in a danceathon for Comic Relief with my brownie group. It was so much fun and the girls all did really well. I was exhausted by the end of it!

I treated myself to a little primrose. I love it's happy, cheerful colour...

We had a lovely couple of days in the Lake Distruct this weekend. We stayed in a youth hostel in Borrowdale. It was my first time in a youth hostel and I wasn't sure what to expect but it was great. We had a fantastic weekend which was really laid back and fun. We had a couple of lovely walks,tea and scones in a sweet little tea room, had a gorgeous meal in a country pub and played board games in the family room of the youth hostel in the evenings. Miss M loved it!

My lovely Miss M made me some sweet little daffodils for Mother's Day. I love them! They are displayed proudly on the living room window sill. She also gave me a pretty scarf which I love, it's just my style. I'm looking forward to going to visit my own mum this evening...

G has gone to collect Miss M from a birthday party so I have a little time to myself to drink some tea and do a little crochet before I need to make dinner!

Thanks for the lovely comments on my little striped blanket...they are very much appreciated. 

Hope you have all had a lovely week too.

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A Little Striped Blanket

So...another blanket! And one that wasn't even on my current WIP list! But I do have a good excuse...

G has some friends in New Zealand who recently had a baby girl. He knows them through his mountain biking and has met up with them several times over the past few years when they have come to Scotland to visit family and to mountain bike of course. He's really fond of this couple and asked if I would make them a little baby gift..

Of course I was delighted to and immediately started another blanket!

This was such an enjoyable little blanket to crochet.

I used Stylecraft Special DK in cream, plum, clematis, raspberry and pale rose. I love the combination of these colours together...pretty but not too girly. 

I used a 4.5mm hook and made a starting chain of 110. I then worked rows of half treble crochet, alternating each pink/purple row with a row of cream, until it was the size I wanted. The edging is simply one round of double crochet. 

It's not a huge blanket, but I think it's just big enough - it measures 82cm by 82cm.

I absolutely loved making this...I love striped crochet! 

So this little blanket will soon be travelling all the way from Scotland to New Zealand! Fingers crossed it's new owner will like it!

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This week...

Has been a week for...

...pretty spring flowers...

...drinking tea from a proper tea cup...

...baking banana cake with my girl...

...making a cute wee hat for my friend's baby girl...

...making a tiny yarn purchase...

...crocheting a little of each of the blankets I have on the go.

It's also been a week of work, girlguiding stuff and meeting up with friends.

A busy but really enjoyable week!  Hope you have had a good week too? 

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February on Instagram

Flowers...crochet...baking...tea.

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Crochet Essentials

A couple of nights ago I couldn't find my scissors or my yarn sewing needle. They did turn up but I was panicking! I couldn't continue with any crochet until I found them, they are so necessary! So, that got me thinking about what else is essential to me for my crochet...

...crochet hooks of course. Here is a selection of mine. They are basic hooks, which were inexpensive but I find them absolutely fine to work with. I tend to use a 4mm crochet hook most often for my projects and the red one is my favourite. I had lost it for ages and I was so happy when it was found down the side of one of the armchairs in the living room whilst I was doing the Hogmanay clean last year!

...scissors. Essential for snipping those yarn ends. I love these scissors and their pretty case, they were a gift from my lovely mum and dad and I use them all the time.

...measuring tapes. I think I have a measuring tape in almost every room in the house but can never seem to find one when I need one! (I think I need to work on storing my crochet things more carefully). I use these a lot, mainly to check if the latest blanket I'm making is big enough. Again, these were a gift from my parents...they are very good at choosing exactly what I like!

...a yarn sewing needle. So important! I only have one of these and I keep it safely stored in my little apple pin cushion.

...lots of large headed pins. Really important for blocking projects. These pins are really pretty which pleases me too.

...and last but definitely not least - a nice cup of tea! Tea really is essential when crocheting I think!

What about you? What are your crochet essentials? Is there anything that I need to add to my 'must haves'?

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