Yarn Advent Calendar

I can't believe it's just one more day until December, this year has gone so fast and I feel slightly guilty that I just haven't had the time to update my blog. We have had some good weather in Cumbria through the Summer and I have spent most of the time in the allotment and on the days when we have had some horrid weather I've been needle felting and crocheting.

Today, however, I have spent all morning in the attic sorting through the Christmas decorations ready to decorate the house at the weekend. I also have a few new decorations I bought at the weekend from the Imaginarium in York, I love that shop and the Yorkshire Soap Company shop next door, their window displays are truly amazing.

The decorations are not the only thing I have bought, I bought myself an advent calendar, I can't even remember the last time I had one. This advent calendar is special, in fact I think it is my favourite advent calendar of all time. I came across a fabulous Facebook page called Yarn Etc., they are based in Harrogate and sell Yarn Advent Calendars, such a fantastic idea. I first saw a photograph of one on Handmade Over Yonder's Facebook page and once I found out where it came from I emailed them straight away, unfortunately for them this was at 11.45pm and to my utter surprise about ten minutes later I received a message back from the owner Fiona informing me of all the colour variations they had in stock. This has got to be the best customer service, I don't know how many companies reply back to you at that time of night, I was impressed. A couple of days later my calendar arrived extremely well wrapped, complete with measuring tape sellotape and silver stars, it has taken me a lot of self control not to just open every single one of them as I am dying to take a look at all the colours, my husband has taken control of the calendar and regularly checks it just to make sure I haven't been having sneaky peaks lol. Roll on tomorrow.....

 

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Old Projects

I've had a busy few weeks trying to finish off a couple of old projects, one project in particular was a pattern from All About Ami for a chunky shrug, I blogged about this last October, yes, that is how long it's been in my basket. I'm very pleased how it has turned out it is very thick and warm. The pattern was very easy to follow, the only problem I had is that I crochet very tightly and I therefore needed two extra balls of wool to finish it off. I also decided to add a button, the one I choose is made from spalted oak I bought them from Natural Organic Crafts they have a shop on Etsy.

I have also been playing around with needle felting again, this time my Auntie gave me two silver vintage salt and pepper pots I decided to incorporate them into my needle felting and came up with this.

To make the small toadstools stand up I wound some cream felt around small pieces of pipe cleaner and then gently needle felted them. Once I had finished this I decided to make a smaller version, this time using a vintage thimble.

My last old project involved acorns, last year I had collected lots of acorns I wasn't too sure what I would do with them but I thought I would keep them and at some point I would think of something. The 'something' turned into replacing the acorns and making little coloured acorns to fit in the caps. I didn't use a needle for this, I tried the wet felting method instead. I had very sore hands by the time I had finished them, I think next time I will wear thin rubber gloves instead. To attach the acorn to the cap I used a glue gun. I then attached string to them so it was a little easier to tie them to some corkscrew Hazel branches I had.

I am now free to start my new project which involves a subscription to Little Box of Crochet, more on this in my next blog post.

 

 

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Needle Felting

This is my first post of the year, life has yet again got in the way. When I have had some spare time I have been doing various crafts and training Dottie (although she is very well behaved and doesn't need too much training).

Some time ago when I was having a look through Pinterest (so addictive!) I came across needle felting. I decided I would like to try this out and had a look on Etsy to see if they had any kits, there are literally hundreds of needle felting items on there. I whittled it down to two, one was a Swaledale Sheep kit from Hawthorn Handmade and the other was a Deluxe kit from Sue's Country Creations.

The Swaledale Sheep kit consists of a foam pad, two needles (in case the first one breaks), British Swaledale wool, British Blue Faced Leicester wool, British Shetland wool plus full colour instructions with 27 step by step photos. Hawthorn Handmade now has their own website. This kit costs £18.00 with the foam pad and £15.50 without it. The finished sheep should measure 15cm, I thought this might be a little bit too big so I decided to make a smaller one and had enough wool left over to make a second one if I wanted to.

Needle felting takes a lot of perseverance, you feel like you're not getting anywhere with it and then suddenly it starts to take shape. I was also painfully aware how sharp and barbed the needles were this is definitely not a hobby for a child, I stabbed myself numerous times before I had the sense to open my second box and use the finger protectors provided which really were a godsend.

I followed the instructions which were well written and the photographs definitely helped, although I did Google Swaledale sheep, so I could have a better look at how their colouring and shape actually is.

I think the main part of the body was probably the hardest part as you need to roll the felt in your hands and shape it and then start to prick it with the needle and keep following this pattern until it takes the shape you need.

I forgot to take photographs of the legs, these were made by cutting small pieces of pipe cleaner and wrapping the black wool around it and then very carefully pricking it with the needle, the pipe cleaners are used as it makes the legs a lot sturdier and helps it to stand up.

The second box I bought was called a Super Deluxe Animal Felting Kit from Sue's Country Creations on Etsy. The box included 17 different colours in merino wool, 3 Shetland colours, 6 different colour coded needles, a wooden needle handle, foam felt pad, 2 finger protectors, 30 pairs of 4mm black eyes and an awl plus a bundle of mixed armature wire this cost £26.00 and Sue also includes a small kit for making your own bee. Sue has plenty of different kits, wool and accessories and her Etsy site is definitely worth a look. Please note I do not know Sue personally I was just impressed with her shop and also the fact that I like to support local shops/craft people and Sue comes from Kendal.

I've started to needle felt my own little creations which I will show you in my next post... Coming soon (I promise!)

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A new addition to our family

In August we lost our beloved dog Tilly, she was 13 years old. It was very sudden all in the space of an hour and a half. When she tried to stand up she suddenly fell down and was unable to get up again, we took her straight to the vets and he checked her thoroughly and told us he was very sorry but she had a tumour and it had ruptured and there was nothing he could do. Prior to this she showed no signs whatsoever of any illness, I actually felt my heart break, but I'm thankful that myself and my family were around her and we got to say our goodbyes and to tell her how much we loved her and held her until she passed away. The vet told us she was in no pain and she didn't seem distressed at all, I just couldn't believe it.

A few months passed by and I packed Tilly's food (we had unopened 6kg bags of biscuits) and other things and we decided to donate then to Furness Animal Rescue, which was where we adopted Tilly from. I went onto the Facebook site and left a message with Anita, the lady who does a wonderful job and runs the refuge to arrange a date and time, when I noticed she had put some photographs of dogs that were up for adoption and noticed a very small Staffie called Dottie, she looked so cute, I remember thinking she will soon be adopted. A few days later we went to York for a little break away but after a couple of days I kept going back to the Facebook site and looking at the photograph, I couldn't believe she had not been adopted yet. I spoke to my husband and we decided to make an appointment to see her, I contacted Anita and she passed me the details of Dottie's foster parents, Linda and Keith, over the next few days we talked and we made an appointment to see Dottie the day after we got back from York.

When we arrived at Linda and Keith's house, we walked in and they introduced us to Dottie, my heart melted there and then. She is such a happy dog, her tail never stopped wagging, she loves having cuddles. We stayed with Linda and Keith for most of the day and they told us as much as they could about Dottie, I remember looking across at my husband and we both knew there and then that we wanted to adopt her.

Linda and Keith have fostered many dogs over the years and they have such big hearts, I am in complete awe of everything they do to help these dogs. When we took Dottie home I remember looking back and seeing their faces, they looked happy but upset as well, which was completely understandable, I don't know how they find the strength not just physical but mental strength to be able to go through this each time, I think it's takes special people to be able to foster and find appropriate homes for dogs.

Dottie is settling in very well, she is such a character, she is very vocal a typical Staffie, she doesn't bark but she does talk away. She smiles all day long and loves snuggling down and having cuddles. She also sounds like a little piglet as she snorts away quite regularly lol.

If you decide you want a dog in your life, then please contact your local refuge centres, there are so many dogs out there that are in desperate need of a loving forever home. Adopting a dog is a big responsibility and should be the result of careful planning and consideration, remember you are adding another member to your family and you need to look after them through the sickness and health, the decision should never be taken lightly, talk to the people who run the refuge centres they will help you with any questions you may have.

 

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Christmas Fair

It's been a busy couple of weeks, I have been crocheting jackets and flowers for my posy bottles, making cards and stitching hearts filled with lavender for my stall at Urswick Christmas Fair, which is this Sunday at Urswick Recreation Hall from 10am until 3pm, if anyone is in the area. It's a popular fair with plenty of stalls, I'm really looking forward to it.

I love crocheting my little posy bottle jackets and flowers. I only use merino wool, Debbie Bliss, Millamia, Patons and Drops all have an excellent colour selection. The bottles I use are all dated from the late 1890's to 1930's as far as I know. I'm lucky enough to go metal detecting with my father and in between we also dig for bottles, which I love doing.

I have also been making Sunbonnet Sue needle/pin cases using felt, fabric, embroidery and vintage buttons. Each case has a safety pin on the front and needles and pins inside. I've made quite a few of these in all different colours.

Last but not least as I have mentioned in my other posts I have an allotment and always have plenty of fruit at the end of the season, so I have been making a lot of jam, I supply my family and friends with jam and any left over I sell. This year I have been making blackcurrant, red gooseberry, plum and redcurrant which I will also be selling at the fair.

I am still crocheting my shrug, which I mentioned in my last post, it's coming along really well. Although, I did have to order three more balls of wool as I have found out I am an extremely tight knitter! Hopefully I should have this finished soon and will post photographs.

 

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Crochet Simple Shrug

I know I haven't updated my blog for a while, I apologise for this, life got in the way.

I have still been crocheting, in particularly I have a couple of Christmas Fayres coming up and have been busy making items to sell. I will post a few photographs of items I have been making in my next post.

I have also been catching up on a couple of blogs I follow, one particular post on www.allaboutami.com interested me. Ami had crocheted a gorgeous shrug and I decided I wanted to make one of these. Unfortunately I couldn't get hold of the same wool that Ami used but I did find an alternative on www.woolwarehouse.co.uk, it's by an American company called Lion Brand, the wool itself is extremely soft it's also very thick hence the name Thick and Quick, the colour is called Sandstone. I can't wait to make a start on it this weekend.

The pattern Ami used is actually one from Lion Brand itself and is a free pattern, I will include links to both Ami's site, Wool Warehouse and Lion Brand below.

The hook I will be using is an Addi Swing Crochet Hook in size 8mm, I love Addi hooks, I can crochet for hours and hours without a break and I don't end up with sore hands either, they are definitely worth investing in, this one cost £7.79 from Wool Warehouse.

All About Ami - link for the shrug

http://www.allaboutami.com/post/97114173811/easychunkycrochetsweater

Wool Warehouse - link for the wool

http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/lion-brand-wool-ease-thick-n-quick-print-sandstone-504-140

Lion Brand - (please note you will have to sign up to their website to receive the free patterns, once signed in search for Simple Crochet Shrug)

http://www.lionbrand.com

 

Before I forget UK Wool Week started on the 5th until the 11th October in the UK, if you would like to know a little bit more about this, take a look at www.campaignforwool.org.

 

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Mustard and Grey Wrap

I decided I needed to finish a project I've had to one side for the last six months, it's silly really as all I had to do to finish it was crochet three button holes and make one last dorset button.

The pattern for this wrap can be purchased via Etsy, the shop is called redbootyarnworks and the PDF pattern costs £3.36, I did make one change to the pattern and that was adding a picot edge around the wrap. Instead of buying a couple of large buttons I decided to make my own dorset buttons, you can read the tutorial on how to make these in my July 2014 post. The yarn I chose was purchased from www.woolwarehouse.co.uk and is by Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in the colours Charcoal Grey and Mustard.

I'm quite pleased with the result.

 

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