Just Checking In

I'm busy revising for my last ever university exams at the moment so I am not doing much crafting but I just wanted to pop by and let you know what I'm up to.

I've decided to join in with my first ever crochet-a-long with Stacey at FreshStitches.  This month the project is to make one of Stacey's designs but using scrap yarn.  You can read more about it here.

I've decided to make one of Stacey's adorable monster patterns - Mixtro (Ravelry pattern page here) and use my scraps in any old order.  The monster is looking really good so far but I haven't done that much.

I can't wait to see how the colours turn out - I can't even remember the order I wound the yarn in so it will be a nice surprise.

Wordless Wednesday - Me summed up on a mug

FO Friday - 15-3-13 - Autumn Leaf Garland

I think I may have actually finished this last week and forgotten to post about it.  It was one of those projects I started a long time ago and then put into hibernation because Autumn had passed.

I love the colours used and the variegated bulky wool ties in all of the colours nicely.

Autumn Leaf Garland:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Birch Leaf Applique by Rhonda Rowley
• Yarn (Leaves): Stash DK 
• Weight: DK
• Yarn (to join): James C Brett Marble Chunky
• Weight: Bulky
• Colourway: MC7
• Hook Size: 4mm
• Ravelry Project Page

I also can't believe I didn't mention that for my Christmas present Rob got me tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Liverpool Empire.  

We went to see it 2 weeks ago and it was so good!  The Empire was the perfect place for it too - the theatre is so grand that it feels like you are in the opera-house from the musical.  Here are some (blurry, sorry) pictures I took while we were there.

FO’s 2013 = 14+3 =17

WIP’s = 10-1 = 9

Queued = 12 +1 = 13

This Week (and Happy Pi Day)

This week has been hectic due to a coursework deadline (today) but I'm glad that is out of the way.  I more essay for next week then I finish uni for 3 weeks of Easter.

Last Saturday was my Mum's birthday so we went out for a nice meal together just me, Mum and Dad.  Although I have not had much time to crochet recently, with uni work and revision, I decided that Mum needed a little crocheted present so I made her some daffodils after seeing the pattern on Attic24 only a few days earlier.

They turned out really well and Mum was pleased as she loves daffs.

Daffodils:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Daffodil by Lucy of Attic24
• Yarn: Stash DK
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 3mm
• Ravelry Project Page

Here is the fun birthday card I made for Mum:

The rest of the week has pretty much been spent on the coursework but I did get a chance to make something that has been in my head to make for a while.  I'm sure by now you all know me to be silly, well, I loved my stripey granny bag so much that I decided my teddy bear needed the matching one - you agree it makes sense?  Anyway she looks great.

Stripey Bag for Teddy:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: 29-210-44 Striped Bag by Pierrot (Gosyo Co., Ltd)
• Yarn: Stash DK
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 3mm
• Ravelry Project Page

Last weekend I also realised I had enough scrap cut-offs of yarn to make something I saw on Pinterest a long time ago - this yarn bowl.  It turns out that one jam jar full of scraps is enough to make one the size of my fruit bowl.  I love how simple it is to make - yarn + paper mache paste (flour+water).

The worst bit was waiting for it to dry - I just wanted to use it! 

And finally, to link to the second part of the title.  Today's date the American way is 3/14 so it is known as Pi day.  I have been waiting for an excuse to make a crocheted Pi and decided that today would be perfect.

Amigurumi Pi:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Amigurumi Pi 
• Yarn: Stash DK 
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 3mm
• Ravelry Project Page

FO’s 2013 = 14+3 =17

WIP’s = 10

Queued = 12 +1 = 13

Recent Finished Objects

I seem to be posting about my finished objects in bursts at the moment but I had to wait until after the weekend as 2 of them were gifts.

I finished the colourful stripey blanket I had neglected for a while (sewing the lining in was taking ages so I put it aside).  I love how bright and cheerful it is.   Once I had made the basic square I used this tutorial for how to make it into a bag shape and attach the handles as the original instructions were confusing.

Stripey Bag:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: 29-210-44 Striped Bag by Pierrot (Gosyo Co., Ltd)
• Yarn: Scraps left over from Tetris Blanket
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 4mm
• Ravelry Project Page

This weekend, Rob and I have been away at his Mum's house to help her celebrate a significant birthday.  All of his Mum's and her husband's children were staying at the house as well as their partners.  On Saturday morning she had a photographer come to the house for an hour to get lots of lovely family photos as one of her presents.  In the evening there was a huge party in a local fancy hotel and it was good to spend time with some people we hadn't seen in a while.  The girls in the family all went to get our hair done before the party and they did my hair wavy - I loved it.

One of the people I spent time with over the weekend was my pregnant friend.  She's due soon so we're all excited.  I made 2 pairs of adorable little booties for the baby.  I decided to make a pair that looked like converse and a pair of what I consider more 'traditional' baby booties.  My friend and her husband both absolutely loved the booties and the husband instantly posted them to Facebook to show them off (admittedly he called them knitted to avoid having to try to explain crochet).  Check out the adorable names of the baby wool shades.

Converse Baby Booties:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Newborn High Tops (converse) by Teri Heathcote
• Yarn: Wendy Beach Baby DK (100g) - purple, white is just stash yarn
• Weight: DK
• Colourway: 616/Thumbelina 
• Hook Size: 3.5mm
• Ravelry Project Page

Yellow Baby Booties:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Simple baby booties by Jessica Felton
• Yarn: Wendy Beach Baby DK (100g)
• Weight: DK
• Colourway: 612/Sleeping Beauty
• Hook Size: 3mm
• Ravelry Project Page

I also decided to rush to finish off a present for Rob's little brother.  The whole family are huge football fans and his brother is no exception.  I used a pattern for a boy doll from my first crochet book I ever received and modify the outfit to make it the Celtic football kit.  He is always thrilled when I crochet something for him and is keen to know how long I spent making everything.  The disadvantage of this present was that I had to watch him demonstrate 'amazing' goals using the toy for the rest of the evening.

Footballer Toy:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Dylan by Nicki Trench;
• Yarn: Scraps of DK
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 3mm
• Ravelry Project Page

The completion of the footballer toy brought my WIP count to single digits so as a reward I decided to make myself some bear ears - everybody needs them!  I love how they look but Rob probably thinks I'm mad because I sit wearing them while I'm working at home (also now).  I had the red wool left over from making Rob's hat.

Bear Ears:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Bear Headband by Kala Hotakainen;
• Yarn: Teddy Avril Chunky Knitting (100g)
• Weight: Bulky
• Colourway: Red
• Hook Size: 6mm
• Ravelry Project Page

I mentioned Rob's hat and that reminded me that it is technically back in my WIP list.  We decided that the colour was too bright so I dyed it darker using black dye and now it is a lovely colour but the hat stretched in the wash so I undid it.  Luckily it is a really quick and easy pattern to make up and I've been doing a little each evening.

As part of my getting organised and focussed for my final exams in May (last ever uni exams!) I'm scheduling my time in advance and sticking to a strict timetable.  At first the timetabling idea was just to help me get a coursework done on time but I have found that it really helps me to not get distracted.  Here is my timetable for this evening:

I now write out a timetable every day and follow it strictly.

FO’s 2013 = 9 + 5=14

WIP’s = 9 + hat is back =10

Queued = 11 +1 = 12

FO Friday - 22/2/13

I have managed to get a few more projects done since my last Friday post.  It's good being able to cross projects off my list.  I've finished 4 recently and only started another one because it has an upcoming deadline.

I finished making my headphone cosy using my lovely Wicked wool

Headphone Cosy

• Craft: Knitting
• Pattern: Untangled by Samiha Qureshi
• Yarn: King Cole Wicked
• Weight: DK
• Needle Size: 3.25mm
• Ravelry Project Page

I made knitted hearts in a jam jar for Rob's birthday/ Valentine's Day

Jar of Hearts:

• Craft: Knitting
• Pattern: Hearts by Anna Hrachovec
• Yarn: Various Scraps
• Weight: DK
• Needle Size: 3.25mm or 3mm (depended what was free at the time)
• Ravelry Project Page

When I saw the pattern for these crocheted stars I was inspired to make a garland out of them.  I crocheted the borders for the tops of the stars and the chains to link them together then turned and crocheted back along the bottoms of the stars.  I love how the black borders make the colours stand out

Star Garland:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: Simple Star Ornament by Dennis Marquez
• Yarn: Various Scraps
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 4mm
• Ravelry Project Page

We also finished off the beer brewing and bottled all of the lager we made.  I made a mat to sit underneath the beer barrel to protect the floor.

Barrel Mat:

• Craft: Crochet
• Pattern: None - just granny stripes
• Yarn: Unknown Gifted Wool
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 4mm
• Ravelry Project Page

FO’s 2013 = 5 + 4 = 9

WIP’s = 15 - 4 =11 (excluding baby booties)

Queued = 11

Catching-up

I feel like a lot has happened since I last posted so we'll have a quick catch-up.

As you may know, I graduate from university in July so have been searching for graduate jobs for several months.  I have been to a couple of assessment centres including one adventure to Leeds.  I got a job offer after the interview in Leeds!!!  I have accepted the offer to work in the company's Sheffield office starting in September.  I've never been to Sheffield but I have friends who went to university there and loved the city.

I'm the first out of my uni group to have a job offer which is exciting but I was one of the first to start applying and the company was unusually quick in offering the job - some companies make you wait a month before letting you know whether or not you were successful.

Another fun event was Rob's birthday (which happens to be Valentine's Day).  His mum and brother came to visit and took us out for a meal - it's amusing seeing people's reactions when you say that you and your boyfriend are being taken out by your boyfriend's mum for Valentine's Day.  

I made Rob a card using an idea I saw on Pinterest:

I also used the fact it was Valentine's Day to include some heart-related gifts:

I used an old jam jar and filled it with hearts

The hearts are made using this pattern - I will include full details as part of tomorrow's FO Friday post

I also decided to make shortbread as I didn't have the right ingredients for any other cookies

These are a couple of the projects I'm working on now that I thought I'd keep you up-to-date with

My granny striped bag

I have now sewn the lining to the crocheted granny square so now I'm about to start crocheting the sides to make it more bag-like.  I'll be using this tutorial for how to do the sides of the bag

Converse Baby Booties

A friend is expecting a baby in March so I'm making some little booties for the baby. 

 The booties shown above use this pattern.  They are really quick to make and so cute!

FO Friday - 8/2/13

I'm still working through my unfinished projects but I managed to finish another 2 this week.

The first is one that I actually finished at the weekend and posted about on Twitter and Instagram.  It is Sheldon (from The Big Bang Theory).  The pattern designer - Jackie Laing from A[mi]dorable Crochet - actually made one and sent it to the actor who plays Sheldon (you can read about it here).

I edited the pattern as I was crocheting it to make it smaller otherwise it would have turned out huge - my crochet Sheldon is 13" tall.  I think he looks great.

The other thing I finished crocheting is a hat that I was aiming to make for Rob for Christmas but I forgot to take a spare ball of wool with me to my parents' house so I couldn't finish it.  It's finished now and is nice and comfy.

The colour looks a bit washed out in this photo but it is bright red.  The pattern for this hat is so simple and the results look great.

Sheldon Cooper Doll:

• Pattern: Sheldon by Jackie Laing
• Yarn: Various DK scraps
• Weight: DK
• Hook Size: 3.5mm

Hat for Rob:

• Pattern: Crochet Ribbed Hat by Kim Mills
• Yarn: Teddy Avril Chunky Knitting (100g)
• Weight: Bulky
• Colourway: Red
• Amount used: 1.25 skeins = 201.3 yards (184.0m)
• Hook Size: 6mm

FO’s 2013 = 3 + 2 = 5

WIP’s = 17 - 2 = 15

Queued = 11