Ragdolls & Granny Squares

Best of Friends!

I have been happily making granny squares from the left over yarn I used for the baby ripple blanket. I thought I would have enough to make a scarf for myself, but no. As usual I have misjudged the amount needed and have run out of the rose pink and plum colours (the colours used to make the pom-poms for the blanket)


Half done scarf

I really like how the scarf is looking. The denim colour I've used as my joining colour really appeals to me and I wear my denim jacket a lot and I think it will go well. So yes, I went online back to Deramores and ordered some more of the yarn I need to complete my project, missing the Saturday  order before 1pm for same day dispatch by 7 minutes (they are speedy posting out so it will probably come on Tuesday).

I did feel really frustrated as if I had enough yarn I possibly could've finished the scarf this weekend. I didn't want to put it away as I do have an awful habit of not finishing things and I'm trying to buck that trend and get all projects in my unfinished pile done. So the little dollies that have been lying half done on the computer printer for a couple of weeks benefited from my hold-up and I finished them off in about 20 minutes.
They are from Mollie Makes (where else?) but I did add to the pattern as I thought they were a bit skinny. What I like best about them is that the heads and bodies are joined together before sewing around the edge. I find it really hard to attach toy necks to bodies after stuffing, it never feels very secure to me.

So I'm glad that I finished off one of many unfinisheds, and they are sweet. Hopefully my baby girl will appreciate them when she's a bit older. I will carry on with my scarf next week when the postman calls.......
PS. late last night I was very naughty and started the big ripple blanket I've been dreaming about for weeks, will I ever learn?
I'll keep you posted with my progress - on all the projects!!

Crochet Hot House Flowers

While looking around at all the inspiring blogs there are on the internet I was admiring the lovely photos on Coco Rose Diaries.  She not only creates lovely crochet items but is really good at photography too. I couldn't help admire the beautiful flowers in her banner and wondered, just wondered if the pattern I found while searching for a crochet pumpkin (!) could be these flowers. I rummaged through my yarns and chose some pretty colours and happily spent a few hours crocheting away.  I can't say whether it is the same pattern, but very similar for sure!

 

 

I so enjoyed making these interesting flowers, not sure what to do with them though. Pretty and pointless - right up my street!

Homage to Coco Rose for this wonderful project, I will aspire to having such a gorgeous blog spot one day!

 

Baby Ripple Blanket

Baby Ripple Blanket with Pom-Poms

 

Oh how I enjoyed making this little crochet ripple pattern blanket.  I loved the waviness of the pattern and the autumnal colours too.


The exciting start of the project!

 The pattern is from the wonderful book of mine: Cute & Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes by Nicki Trench (The picture of the blanket on the front of the book was what made me buy it in the first place) and the wool is King Cole Merino Blend DK from Deramores.

The ripple pattern is so easy once you get going and really enjoyable to do. It's perfect for sitting on the sofa of an evening gently treble-crocheting your way along, pondering all of the worlds wonders.

With all the main blanket finished it was just a case of making the border to frame the little delight and then adding the cute pom-poms for a bit of fun.

 
It's just the right size to use in the pushchair or in the car and in this weather it's nice and snuggly and warm.

Now time for a big version for moi!

Crochet Primrose Square Blanket

Crochet Primrose Square Blanket

Well, as promised is a crochet delight I've recently finished for you to peruse. I've called it the primrose square blanket as it's made up of 25 primrose granny squares finished with a border.

My blanket spread out on the sofa

I bought the Rowan handknit cotton yarn from John Lewis with the intention of making a bag, now for the life of me I can't remember why I changed my mind but I did and decided on granny squares. I soon ran out of yarn and when I took my daughter and her friends to see LOL at the cinema in Milton Keynes I took the opportunity to buy some more. Bit expensive at £3.45 a ball but it is quality and nice to crochet with.

 The primrose is made of pink, cream and cassis colours and is lovely as a flower on it's own.  I then used the chocolate brown colour to make the square shape. As I was sewing the squares together I wasn't that keen on it and was going to call it 'Primrose in the Mud' because it seemed quite dull.

I then added the border, which I made up myself.  I crocheted the scalloped edge to copy the cassis petals in the middle of the flowers. The border really made a difference as it lifted the colours and bought them all together.

So once the border was on I really liked it again and was really pleased with my effort. It is really heavy for a small blanket which gives it a quality feel and I like the subtle colours.

It's now lives nicely on the back of our old brown leather sofa.

Crochet Jammy Dodger Keyrings

Calorie Free Treats

Hey, hey.  The lobster clips arrived from China today (Ebay of course) so I was able to sew them to the crochet jammy dodgers I made a while ago.  Think they will make great pressies. Pattern from the fabulous and wonderful according to matt blog

Driving with the Brakes On

Oh what a week!  Well, bit more than a week I think. I've been feeling very sorry for myself as I've had a rotten cold (what I call borderline flu) and with the bad head, hot and cold shivers and sore throat not really achieved very much.  As usual when I'm ill the clutter builds up and in between the clutter the dreaded dust sits. I'm sure my house gets more dusty than anyone else's.
Never mind, the benefit of being bit ill and not having the energy to do much is that I can sit on the sofa quite legitimately having some quality hooky time, so I have a couple of crochet projects very near completion that I will be sharing with you soon.



Surfing the net for all things crochet is also something I've been up to just lately.  There are so many images to inspire and free patterns to use out there that I have a long list in my head of things I want to try out. Trouble is my speed at making just can't keep up with my ideas so I guess I'll never come to the end of the list, but hey, that's great! I am very much in the crochet vibe at the moment (it is after all the new rock'n'roll) and have found my favourite crochet blog Attic 24.  Lucy makes beautiful things in gorgeous colours and just visiting her blog is a treat in itself, think I may have a bit of a girl crush - not scared to admit!
Sandra at Cherry Heart is also a brilliant inspiration and very generous with her ideas too. The strawberry baby hat she made for her niece is on my list of things to make :-)

ol' dusty

So I'm off now to rush around the house getting as many chores done in a short amount of time as I can so I can sit down for some more hooky time this afternoon and finish off the stars of my future posts. I will hoover around the lego (best boy off school with cold) flick my vintage looking feather duster about a bit and and see if Mr Muscle wants to come out and play.
The artistic sewing machine photos by the way were taken by my big brother when he came down for a visit with his very very nice new camera.

Catch up & Crochet

Catch Up & Crochet

Crochet for Beginners Workshop

Tuesday 4^th December 2012 7pm – 10pm

@ Fancy Coffee Shop, Roff Avenue, Bedford MK41 7TH

All materials supplied

An introduction to crochet, learn basic stitches and make a granny square in a fun and social environment!

Fee: £16 

      To book use above Paypal Button

or call: 07882215418

Or email: thesewingmistress@gmail.com

Or pop into Fancy to book your place and pay

 

 

 

Mosh Pit Mitts

Now I have never considered myself a master knitter.  I don't knit that often to get that good, but it is another of the skills I learnt as a child and so I understand the knit / purl concept enough to attempt a pattern requested by my teenager that had "beginner" as its difficulty level, featured in issue 10 of Knit Now magazine.



The girls spent a while choosing what colour mitts they wanted.

I ordered the suggested yarn from Magpielly and had to wait a while for it to arrive as it was a special order (I'm guessing it was shipped from America). But it was worth the wait as the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece is lovely both in feel and to work with.

After blocking the mitts sat lovely and flat.

 

I had several false starts - from learning how to cable cast on (thanks you tube) to getting my tension right (had to use smaller needles than stated) but the main problem was getting my head around the unusual thumb opening.  As seen in the above photo the first stage is to knit some stitches with waste yarn and then carry on to knit the rest of the glove.  My head could not get this at first as I expected there to be an actual hole. Getting a bit frustrated (very frustrated really) I turned to Google and found a photo posted on Ravelry that made me realise I was in fact on the right track and so I was able to continue with a bit more confidence. After blocking the mitts I sat down to concentrate on the seemingly complicated instructions for the thumb opening.


I had to have my brow mopped while attempting this tricky procedure as I was worried I'd drop a stitch.

I had a practise first on this test one so i could get to grips with the idea (it's like open heart surgery) and slowly following the instructions it started to come together and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So then the fun bit came when I could sew on all the lovely sweet-like buttons.

 

And I am very pleased with the finished result.  I'm chuffed I persevered with this, as for me anyway it was a challenge.

My girls are really pleased with their new gloves too and have worn them to school today.

 

Leyna-jayne's Play Quilt

Patchwork Quilt with Apple Appliqué

 This is a quilt top I started this time last year and only finished off a fortnight ago.  I started with the apple template and practised with the buttonhole stitch on my ancient Singer sewing machine as the edging to each motif.
The size of each patch was determined by the size of the apples and the red and green fabrics from my stash (and Tudor Rose in Oakley) were perfect colours for my project.

Drying in the fresh air after its first wash
 



Appliqué apple and hand stitched quilting

The quilt top was fairly quick to make and so I decided to hand quilt using embroidery thread on each patch. Thats where I got fed up and with a sore finger because I hadn't used a thimble I folded the quilt away and hid it in my sewing cupboard with all my other unfinished projects (there are many).
It stayed hidden for almost a year until I decided to tackle all the unfinished and took it out only to fall in love with the cheery colours and satisfying appliqué.  As my finger was well recovered and I had my baby girl to give it to it didn't take long to complete. I am filled was total pleasure when LJ stares at the patterns and colours and seems to really love her play-mat.
As for all the other unfinished - well, there's always tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Mat!

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Marshmallow Filling

 Happy Birthday Mat!  Here's to 35 years of your wonderful talent and presence on this planet.  Hope you like your cake xx

Mat & me

Sweet Treats!

Zero Calorie Goodies

I thought I would take a picture of the cake stand on my kitchen window sill.  These aren't particularly staged but as I make bits they go there all together and look quite a good display.  I've crochet the Oreo and Jammy Dodgers (pattern with kind permission of www.accordingtomatt.blogspot.com), the Jaffa Cake is made from felt (http://britishcreamtea.co.uk/) as is the cupcake.

Wonky Wilma Charity Fund-raiser

 

 

http://kitchentablesewing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/wilmas-story.html

Click on above link to help raise funds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital organised by Kitchen Table Sewing