Summer Holidays...

We are now into the fourth week of the school summer holidays! I can't believe it, they seem to be going so quickly. The fantastic weather has definitely helped, I think. Apart from today's stormy weather it has been warm and sunny most days. We have been filling the days with the following...

Playing and having picnics in the garden...

Visiting the beach several times with various friends...

Eating ice lollies to cool down...

Miss M has been making pebble people...

And having fun entering competitions...

Making cornflake cakes together for a play date today...

 

Lots of simple but fun activities going on! After working at the weekend, I am now on annual leave for over two weeks! So I am looking forward to some more relaxing and fun times with family and friends and also some crafting of course! I have lots of little (stash busting!) projects on the go...

Thank you for the sweet comments about my little egg cosies, they are very much appreciated. Have a fantastic week...

X

 

Posted with Blogsy

Egg Cosies

 

I am still stash busting at the moment before I allow myself to buy any new yarn, although I have to admit the temptation to do so is very strong!

 

Anyway, I made these little egg cosies with really small amounts of leftover Stylecraft DK in the following colours: cream (1005), fondant (1241), spring green (1316), apricot (1026), lemon (1020) and sherbet (1034). The pattern is from Nicki Trench's Cute & Easy Crochet - I seem to be working my way through this book! These were a very quick and simple little make and I so enjoyed crocheting them. I used a little Cath Kidston ribbon which my mum and dad gave me for my birthday which I think just finishes these little cosies off nicely.

 

So the stash busting continues! I had been making a granny stripe tea cosy but couldn't get it to work out at all - I made one side and it was truly enormous! Not sure what I did wrong there! So I have unravelled it all and am now making some little granny squares and also working on a teeny (and fiddly) little knitting project to use up some more of my yarn stash...

 

A very happy weekend to you all!

X

 

Posted with Blogsy

Good Housekeeping

Miss M has spent the day with her Auntie today which has given me some much needed time to catch up on some household tasks! As well as the boring but necessary cleaning jobs (bathroom, kitchen floor), vacuuming and general tidying I have been...

Placing jugs and pretty cups of flowers around the house...

Baking chocolate chip cookies. Recipe from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson...

Doing lots and lots of laundry and putting fresh, line dried linen on the beds...

It has been another gorgeously warm day here and unfortunately I have spent most of it indoors! However, tomorrow we have planned a lovely family day out and this evening we plan to sit in the garden with a glass of something nice whilst Miss M plays. I can't wait...

 

Thank you for the lovely comments about my apple pin cushion! This was a really quick little make which took little over an hour and I used some red DK cotton I had (I think it may have been a Debbie Bliss yarn). The pattern came from Jean Grennhowe's Christmas Special booklet. I hope this helps if anyone wants to make their own!

X

 

Posted with Blogsy

Fruity

Knitted apple pincushion, made on a whim a few weeks ago...

L

Gorgeous, sweet juicy peaches. G and I are addicted to these, the 'flat white' variety...

Miss M enjoying a bowl of sweet cherries at my mum and dad's last week...

Enjoying a fruit salad in the sunshine whilst browsing cookbooks for summer food inspiration...

Banana muffins. Not the prettiest looking, but they did taste good...

Lots of fruity goodness!

Thank you for all the lovely comments recently. I really enjoy reading every single one and I appreciate them so much.

X

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Round Crocheted Cushion

 

I made this little cushion with yarn leftover from the ice cream blanket. I had bought a round cushion pad some time ago, planning to make the Round Stripy Cushion cover from Nicki Trench's Cute & Easy Crochet. But, I then remembered that I had seen this lovely cushion on the gorgeous Pink Milk blog. So, my cushion is very much inspired by Pink Milk's...

Back of the cushion....

So, a few little details...

I did use the pattern for the Round Stripy Cushion Cover from Cute & Easy Crochet but I used double knitting yarn and a 4 mm hook, I followed the pattern right up to round 16 and the cover fitted the cushion pad well (it was 38cm in diameter). The front I made all the one colour using Stylecraft Special DK in cream (1005) and for the back I made alternating pink and cream stripes, again using Stylecraft Special DK in pale rose (1080) and cream (1005). To join each round, instead of making a slip stitch which I found looked quite untidy, I used this method from Sarah London and I found this made the join look so much neater and just took a little extra time.

I made a rose for the centre of the cushion again using a 4mm hook and pale rose yarn using the pattern for the rose for the Beanie Hat from Cute & Easy Crochet. For the little leaves I used this great tutorial from the fantastic Attic24 and just some oddments of pale green cotton. I didn't use a lot of yarn really for this , probably just a little more than 50g of each main colour.

For the edging I again used the pattern for the border for the Flower Cot Blanket from Cute & Easy Crochet Baby Clothes by Nicki Trench (do I ever use anything else?!)

So this little cushion was made using a mix of quite a few different patterns! I am really happy with it and I really enjoyed crocheting in the round when i got the hang of the pattrern and the new joining method. I can see more round cushion covers being made in different colour ways...

I am working all weekend so no crafting or crochet for me, but I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and that this beautiful weather continues for a little longer!

X

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Four Good Things

Coconut and lime cake. I made this today while Miss M had a friend over to play, it was such a simple recipe but turned out well - my favourite kind of bake! The recipe can be found here...

A pretty serving plate, bought in the local Shelter shop last week...

Sweet peas growing in a pot on the patio. My mum and dad started these off for me (I am no gardener) and I am so enjoying them. I especially love having a little posy of them on my bedside table, they smell so lovely...

Enjoying a cup of tea and some crochet in the glorious sunshine we have had...

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable week? We have been busy with lots of play dates and visits to the park and pretty much just enjoying the lovely weather!

Back very soon with a little finished make...

X

 

Posted with Blogsy

Stash Busting

The thing with making so many blankets recently is that I have acquired rather a lot of leftover Stylecraft Special DK! So I have decided that I am going to try to use some of it up before I allow myself to buy any more yarn, or start any more blankets for that matter. I now have a few crochet projects on the go...

I had quite a bit of leftover pink from making Miss M's pink sweetie blanket a few months ago. So I am working on a pink and cream granny stripe tea cosy from the book above - Granny Square Crochet by Catherine Hirst. I received this gorgeous book as a Christmas gift last year but had yet to make anything from it until now...

From making my very first granny blanket I had quite a lot of leftover yarn which I then used to make my little crocheted cushion. However, even after that there was still a small amount left in each colour except clematis! So I am now making some sweet little egg cosies from Cute & Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench. I am enjoying crocheting these so much, they are so quick and simple...

Finally from my most recent blanket, the ice cream blanket, I have been working on a little crochet make using only the pink and cream. I am actually hoping to finish this off tonight, it just needs making up really so it looks like I will still have some leftovers to find a use for...

Is anyone else trying to use up their stash of yarn (or fabric!) at the moment?

X

 

 

Posted with Blogsy