Snowman rucksack style phonecase with a mini matching version

So, the weather temperatures have decided to definitely drop recently and I have given in and finally put on the heating. This reminds me of earlier on in the year when we saw drastic drops in temperature which resulted in several snow days. Whilst I am not a fan of the cold weather I do like being tucked under a crochet blanket, be it one I an currently making or one that has been finished. There is nothing like the feeling of being snuggled up and cosy and it does give me inspiration of new items that I can make.

I have been adapting the pattern that I created for my rucksack style cases for a while now so it was no surprise to see how I could change them again to suit the cold weather and my thoughts of the snow days earlier on in the year. It seemed a natural progress to see if I could create a snowman (or two) version. making the basic body was very straightforward as it was to be created just in white wool with no adaptation to the pattern required at all. It didn't even need any new parts making for it either.

So with the basic phone case rucksack made I thought I would have a go at doing a mini version at the same time. My mini rucksacks up until now have just been decorated on the flap, I haven't tried to do any of my character phone cases so this would be a first. Now to think about how to decorate them. Normally I do a twisted chord for the tie to get into the case but I wanted something different. Snowmen traditionally have a scarf so I thought I would have a rummage through my ribbon boxes to see if I had something suitable and found several that I thought I could use for great effect. Now onto the rest of the features: the face and the buttons down his (or hers) front. As snowmen used to have coal for eyes and buttons I thought I would use different size black buttons and for the mouth I had some flat back gems as my buttons did not go down that small. The last thing to add was a felt triangle to act as a carrot for a nose.

I love how these have turned out as with just a few adjustments the snowmen can have very different characters. I like how the different ribbons give different effects. I would like to work out how I can make a mini hat and sew it on their heads but that's for the future ones, for now I am really pleased with how they look and they are much kinder on your hands to make than the real thing as you don't get such cold fingers!

Mandala Madness - the circle is squared once again

So, the days are certainly getting chilly again and its the time of year that I enjoy. I love seeing the vivid colours that Autumn bring, with the leaves on the trees changing from green through to reds, yellows and oranges. I also love this time of year as it is a great excuse to start, and also finish, any blankets.

Having been working on the Mandala Madness blankets for quite a while now it has been great to finally square of the one that I started first. 3 out of the four blankets have been finished to the end of the circle pattern by Helen Shrimpton and now the second one of those has been squared off as well.

I have been making this one using Scheepjes whirls and I really love this yarn. I love the moment when you get a "fuzz buzz". For those that do not know what that means the yarn is made up of 6 thin threads which change colour one thread at a time. This is how the colour changes are so subtle. When one of these threads change there is a small fuzzy section where the new colour has been joined. I like the little fuzziness of it. You can however damp the thread slightly and roll it in between your fingers to blend it in with the other threads.

I love how the colours of the whirls that I have chosen have blended one into the next. I really didn't have a plan for how it was going to go. I started off with Popin candy before moving onto Lavenderlicious. Next came Liquorice yum yum and slice o cherry pie. It was finished off with tasty nom nom and then Blackcurrant squeeze me. I think these choices have worked very well with this pattern and I cant wait to use whirls again especially where there is now the whirlettes that can go with them. The only problem I have is what to make now that I have finished this Mandala Madness and yet another circle has been squared.

Unicorns - rucksack style phone cases

So, the summer is so very nearly over for another year and what a summer it has been. The weather was so hot at the beginning and then it completely turned itself on its head and finished with wind and rain before settling down to a happy medium.

I have found this summer that it was nice to do lots of small projects as they were both ideal for when it was far too hot to be working on one of my blankets and also quick enough to be able to come up with a variety of new ideas. One of these new ideas is my unicorn rucksack phone case. I found the inspiration from seeing lots of images on stationary and also gifts in the shops that are open for the summer holiday trade.

Having this new idea in my head the next stop was to work out how to convert the basic pattern shape into a unicorn, to add on the desired features. Using white double knit wool the bag shape, straps and flap were crocheted as before. Next were the ears including the inner colour section. These were very similar to the ones that I have done before for the foxes but this time I completed one row without increasing once all increases had been done, and then for the final row I decreased on each end to bring the ear shape in. I really like how this simple change has added to the character of the unicorn. The horn was done from the tip, increasing until the desired width was achieved.

The hardest part I found was how to add the mane and make it look magical. A key feature of a unicorn in my opinion! I had seen several where single strands of wool had been latched/hooked on to the main crochet fabric. Although this had a cute look it wasn't quite the desired effect that I wanted. More surfing of the internet and I found what I wanted. There was a 3D toy that had been done with the wool looking like cute curls. Now to find out how it was done. You tube here was definitely my friend and they were so easy to do. One length of chain and then three trebles into each chain on the return. So simple but very effective.

I really like how the final unicorn has turned out. The facial features finish off the cute look. I have lots of colour change wool so am planning to make several more and see how the curls will look when the wool is crocheted up.

I can see me making several more of these.

Giant flemish rabbit - a super cute amigurumi

So, with the rain that has been happening of late it has been a perfect time for me to try and upskill my crochet skills. I have been doing a lot of my own designs recently now the Mandala Madness blanket is completed, well the first out of the four is. I have been enjoying making up new phone case designs with cats and unicorns added. I have also been working on doing some Christmas patterns. I know, we are not yet out of August and I have mentioned the dreaded C word!

Although I really enjoy doing small projects that are all my own original work I do like to make up existing patterns by other fabulous designers. This gives me a great opportunity to try out new techniques an also new stitches. The giant Flemish rabbit is one such pattern. With the blankets and my phone cases I often find myself using my trusty 4mm hook. I do use a 3.5 for the calorie free doughnuts and ice lollies as I don't want there to be holes for the stuffing to show through. This pattern for the giant Flemish rabbit asked for a 3mm hook. Although this was not much smaller than what I usually use I did find that it took a little getting used to as I was using the same thickness yarn that I do for my other projects.

The Giant Flemish rabbit in the pattern was made up using a dark brown colour and although I do have a variety of different browns in my stash I wanted to use something different so I chose to do mine in white. I love working in the round especially when it is done in a spiral so you don't get a join showing where you slip stitch to the first stitch. I loved the way that you made the little front legs first and then when you get to that part in the pattern you join them to the main body, going through both sets of stitches, so no sewing is required. It gives such a neat finish, you need to make sure though that you use stitch markers or else you could end up with the legs in the wrong place! I also love the little cute tail. It is also crocheted but to get the fluffy look (as though you have made a pom pom) the tip was to get a piece of Velcro/ hook tape and carefully rub it over to bring up the fibres from the yarn. It is so soft when it has been done. I did have to think about how to do the eyes as all the white rabbits that I have seen pictures of recently all seem to have pink/red colour eyes. I only had green or brown safety eyes and to be honest the pink colour eyes kind of freak me out. They remind me of the rabbits in Watership Down and that film did scare me when I first watched it as a child.

I am glad that my completed Giant Flemish rabbit does not scare me. I think it is a great pattern, very well written and I have ended up with new skills and techniques and a super cute bunny as well. As you can see he seems at home in my garden.

Crochet windmills - perfect for the garden

So, summer is starting to feel as though it is starting to come to an end with the very hot weather having passed and the rain giving the gardens a much needed drink. The grass is starting to look a bit greener rather than the brown look it has had for what has seemed like ages.

It has been nice to be able to go out in the middle of the day again as I really couldn't cope with the high temperatures and only ventured out first thing or late in the afternoon. I am really lucky to live quite close to the seaside and the gift shops often have lots of bright coloured windmills ready to put in the sand or on top of a castle. I loved the idea of these bright flashes of colour and their simple shapes.

The crochet windmills have been made using double crochet and lots of decreases. The first one that I made I used just one single colour, and sewed a big white button in the centre. This is not only a lovely decorative feature but it also serves to cover up where the pieces join in the middle. I was really pleased with the first one but wanted it to stay in the classic windmill shape rather than go flat. I first tried to use some spray starch. This worked to a degree. It held some of its shape but not as well as I had hoped it would. I then thought I would experiment with watered down PVA glue. An old favourite. The windmill was put in a bath of the mixture and then squeezed out to get rid of the excess. It took a good couple of days to dry out but once it did I was really happy with the result. It held it shape really well. Just the effect I wanted.

With the prototype basic shape completed next was to experiment with colour combinations. The possibilities are endless. I also wanted to experiment with different sizes, this would allow me to create a double windmill which I think looks really cute. Once they were completed I glued them onto a garden cane, added ribbons and covered the area with a circle of felt so the back looked neat and tidy. I think that they are perfect for putting in the garden to add a splash of colour and also for having inside to brighten up a room. I have used a small metal bucket with some oasis inside which has then been covered with decorative glass pebbles.

I have loved making these as they use up some more of the yarn mountain. The only downside (apart from getting very gluey!) is the time it takes to dry. I can be impatient at times especially when I wanted to add the pretty ribbons and they were too wet still. They were definitely worth the wait though.

Mandala Madness - a prize winning design

So, I decided that because I had finished my Mandala Madness blanket that I would enter it into our local show at the weekend. I had sent in my entry form the week before but on it you didn't need to say what it was that you were entering, just the class so I could if need be enter something different.
With the blanket getting finished on the Wednesday I was pleased to have a couple of days breathing space before the show but boy was that leaving it tight to get it done as we all know how life can throw you a curve ball and the best laid plans get thrown out of the window.

The week before the show I had decided that I would like to get the blanket finished if I could as I had had so many lovely compliments on it, both online and from friends. The problem I was going to have was finding enough time. The main blanket had been completed but I still needed to square the circle. I had done 11 rows out of the 29 but each row was starting to take longer as the corners worked their way towards meeting each other. Once the corners were done it was on to going around the whole blanket again and this was where it took so much longer each row, some of them taking over three hours to complete. I have been lucky with the fact that at the moment I am on holiday from my day job so could dedicate some time to getting it finished but probably not as much as I would have liked to.

Setting up for the show was exciting. I had entered into an open class as although they had one for kitted items they have not as such got one for crochet. I am hoping that this will change. This class meant that my Mandala Madness blanket was up against some amazing wood carvings, embroidery, beadwork  and also other crochet blankets. Once I was in the marquee it was a case of finding where my table was and then to lay out my blanket hoping that I had shown it off enough to impress the judges. Then it was a case of fingers crossed and then to have a look at all the other items that people had spent such time and care making (or watering and nurturing).

The show is the biggest one where I live and often attracts over 1600 entrants to the various different classes which also include home grown vegetables and flowers along with pickles, chutneys and of course, cake. I don't know where the time went but before I had known it I had spent 2 hours from the moment I had walked in to the marquee to the time I left. The standard was amazing and it was great fun trying to work out who might get a prize and finding out the next day when I went back to collect my Mandala Madness blanket.

I found out on the Sunday morning that my blanket had impressed enough to win a prize when I got a phone call from my Mum to say my sister had gone to the show and had seen that my Mum had got a prize for her patchwork blanket in her class and that my blanket had won a prize too. She couldn't wait to give us a ring to share the good news. Our Mum had got a third but my blanket had come away with a second prize! I am so thrilled as the work there was so good and it made all the hard work that I had put in worth it. That someone else had recognised it too. It is the first time I have entered any of my crochet into the show but it definitely has spurred me on to make something for next years show and also to enter more classes using some of my other craft skills.

I better start making now ...............................

Squaring the circle - Mandala Madness blanket

So, it is finally complete. The last of the four blankets that I started just over a year ago is the first one that has been completed to the end of the squared up design. I really liked the blanket when it was just a circle but I love it now that it is a square. I think that it completes it somehow, especially with the choice of wool and colours that I have used.

The squaring up was so much easier to do than I first thought that it would be. The one thing though that I did have to concentrate on was getting my stitch count right when working on the corners pieces as I knew that if they were wrong that I would end up with a rather wobbly shape rather than a square! The other thing that I have found really hard to do is completing it in this very hot weather that we have been having. The thought of having this big blanket on me to work on feared me with dread but I managed to somehow get the majority of it to one side so only the very bare minimum was on me. A very different scenario to earlier on in the year when we had snow and I was so keen to snuggle under it to do a few more stitches.

The pattern for the whole blanket is by two different designers, Helen Shrimpton and Ineke Mooijenkind, and they flow seamlessly. Helen wrote and designed the inner circle and Ineke wrote the latter part of how to square the circle. The latter part is so very similar in style that it works so very well. I have loved doing both sections and have learned so much. I used in total 14 of the Stylecraft Batik swirls and limited myself to using just 4 of the different colourways in their cakes. This wool is so soft and an absolute dream to work with. I was really unsure of how the variegated style of the wool would look especially when the blanket got bigger as I knew that the different colours would not make it all the way around and I would have to just live with that fact rather than trying o control where the colours would fall. I was also unsure of putting the blue and green cake in against all the purples and pinks. I think choosing the cake that had a lot of greys and lilacs really helped to bridge the gap between these two and helped soften what would have been quite an abrupt change. I do like however that it is the blue and green cake that finished off both the circle and the square. A very happy accident. There is only so much you can plan out in your mind!

I love this blanket pattern. Now to finish the other three.............

Back pack phone cases - foxes and bunnies

So, I love making my little back packs. They started off as mini bag charms which were not only decorative but also functional as well as they could be untied so that you could put something small in them. It could be change for a parking meter or some mints, whatever is needed and small enough.

Although they were very cute I wanted to see if I could develop them. This meant deciding on what there new function would be. The obvious choice was to make them larger which would then mean that they would no longer be classed as a bag charm. They would still have the same function, that you could undo the button and out something inside of the back pack. I liked the idea that they could possibly be used as a phone case so set about seeing if I could scale up the pattern that I had written for the mini back packs. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, to increase the round and also the number of stitch increases. I then tried to enlarge the pattern again so that larger phones, or small tablets, could fit into them.

Now the basic pattern was completed I wanted to add character to them. I have made several plain versions but want to do an animal range and what better place to start than foxes and bunnies. The basic shape stays the same but I needed to work out how to do ears. They are both worked in the rounds but the fox ones are worked from the point down to the base which then gets stitched to the face flap. The bunny ones are done in the opposite direction starting from the base and ending up at the tip. I guess they both could be done in the same direction but that was just the way I chose to do it. I can now, if I want to make several different animals that use these basic ear shapes. They could also be adapted slightly to make different styles for example different dog breeds.

I really love my fox and bunny phone cases and cant wait now to try and see what other animals that I can make.

Mandala Madness - parts 17-18

So, the white and colour change mandala Madness blankets are done. This has been such an amazing pattern to do. I love how they have both turned out. I still do need to complete the black one so that all four will be completed up to the end of Helen Shrimpton's pattern. I can then square off all four of them. I have started to do that on the last blanket that I made. The white blanket is on my Mums bed and I have told her that I will do a bit of the squaring off when I come over and see her now that I know how it works.

The final parts of this amazing mandala madness pattern use quite a number of treble clusters. I can remember when I first did them all those months ago and thinking that I would never get the hang of them or that they wouldn't look neat enough. I am pleased to say that I really do enjoy them. They are not my favourite stitch in the pattern, but they are certainly up there near the top as they add such detail. I love how the "petals" (that is what I call them) are finished off and the treble clusters go in between so that that blanket becomes a beautiful circle. The final round introduced me to a new stitch, the crab stitch. This certainly took some getting used to. It felt alien to be going the wrong way around my work but again, I love the effect that it has achieved.

The burgundy colours of the slice o cherry pie Scheepjes whirl really come through and I cannot believe how well it went as I ended up with a very small amount of the whirl left (approx. 2 metres!) I really thought that would run out and that I would have to start the next whirl, the one that I was going to use to square off with. Talk about close!

So the journey on these b Mandala Madness blankets may have ended with the first part but I cant wait to start squaring them off and seeing how the circle becomes a square.

Crochet black cat - a first attempt at amigurumi

So, the weather at the moment is absolutely glorious. It doesn't seem do long ago that we were experiencing stormy weather with high winds, thunderstorms and even snow so the sunshine is a welcome change as it doesn't seem to happen very often and when it does it is gone just as quick as it came.

This weather got me thinking about how whatever the weather it can cause problems for someone. the cold temperatures can effect the elderly especially if they struggle to get out and about and with heating their homes. Although I love the snowy weather the cold effects my mobility with my joints really aching. It is a good excuse though to snuggle up under the latest blanket that I want to be doing! The hot weather also can have its issues with sunburn and sunstroke. I certainly don't like making my blankets in the daytime, preferring to make them in the evening.

I have seen many online posts and pleas recently about this hot weather effecting animals and how we need to make sure that with the ones we look after that they are staying cool enough and hydrated. At the moment I don't have any pets but in the past I have had both dogs and cats. The dogs loved paddling in the sea, although not always the walk to get there. They needed to go early in the day or in the evening when it was cooler for their paws. The cats were able to find shade in the garden under the leaves of the shrubs with plenty of water bowls in the shade too.

This thinking of animals brought back memories of the first amigurumi that I attempted. I cant believe that it was four years ago. My Mum had been in hospital but needed looking after once she came out for the first couple of days. I had seen a pattern in a magazine of a lovely little black cat and I thought that I would have a go to see if I could do it. I was just starting out with my crochet at the time having only even done granny squares before so it would be a case of whether I could advance my skills. It was a perfect project to do whilst looking after my Mum as it was only small sections to complete at a time. My mum also loved seeing how it was coming along.

The finished crochet cat sits on top of one of  my speakers in my craft room, watching over me when I am in there working away. It reminds me of one of my cats that I had years ago who was also black and white. Her favourite place to be would be stretched out along the back of the sofa. I am thrilled with how my little amigurumi cat turned out even if she does look a little sleepy!