Anyway, Ali wanted me to test a new pattern for her, the crocheted storage basket you can see on her blog, wah-hey I thought, I love that!

A few days ago I recieved a parcel in the post containing the pattern, a couple of balls of gorgeous chunky wool in my fave colour, and one of her gorgeous felt pincushions as a thankyou, so it was win win for me!

I’ve done a couple of patterns before of Ali’s, her big eared bunny and the frothy flower, both on her blog, and they were great so I wasn’t worried. 

Again, I needn’t have worried, isn’t it fabulous, large, beautiful, useful and only took one night!  And already in action with some of my many WIP’S.

Full instructions of how to purchase this fantabulous pattern here

We also visited Skomer Island which is stunning and gorgeous and well worth a visit if you’re ever in that part of Wales.  A 10 minute boat trip and your’re left there for 4 hours to explore, birds, seals and rabbits and beautiful scenery.

Unfortunately there was also a lot of the other sort of wet by the end of the holiday

abley demonstrated by the monsters.  We had just been paddling in the monsoon like weather, well, it was warm at least, though the husband refused to join in the singing and skipping!  So we gave in and came home a day early.  But since then we have had lots of friends staying over so still no more crocheting! 

The last visitors though have been the eldest’s friends for a sleepover and while noisy/messy/smelly they have entertained themselves so I have been having a sort out.  What with all these people sleeping in MY room I’ve had to be a bit magic in shoving wool and paper in all sorts of places.  However tidying is not always good, you see all your bits and the ideas start flowing and the colours distract you.  I decided to sort out my bits of wool as they are getting in a mess again and gathered all the little bits together:

and look what I came up with

how pretty!  Now, what can I do with it…

And don’t forget, you’ve still got time to enter my first givaway!

It did take a while to figure out, the instructions are not that clear and there was a mistake printed too but I will persever with it.  I love the chunkyness of it and that fact it looks like knit.  I’m think i’m going to make this into a bag, but this has definitely taken over the top of my list of new projects, especially with winter coming!

Update:  I’ve finished my bag!  I’m quite pleased with it, if I was to do more I need to tweek it a bit.  The handles are off an old favourite bag that wore out last year, It was perfect in size and I wasn’t happy when I really couldn’t repair it any more, but it lives on!  I’ve lined it with some thick denim left over from some curtains, which give it a bit more structure and I put a little pocket in side for my phone.

my new bag Ta-darrr!

The other one I’m working on is in a gorgeous kid merino, so soft to work with it is an absolute delight in my hands.

Do you remember those gorgeous balls of varigated sock yarn Rachel sent me in the pincushion swap?  Well I’ve bought 3 balls of 3 ply cotton  in dreamy shades of aubergine, heather and a sea green and am planning a wavy scarf with them.

Finally I need to get on with my latest Art Trading Card, Aprils theme is songs which is very inspiring, I’m thinking of doing something influenced by Corinne Bailey Rae’s new album which I’m loving at the minute.

Along with the ATC group I’ve also joined the Round Robin one over at UKHandmade.  We are making a necklace, well, 3 in fact.  We all start a section, then send it on, the next person completes a bit more and sends it on to someone else.  Its very exciting as I have no idea what mine is going to turn out like, I didn’t put too many requirements on mine, I’d like to see what the others come up with.  I’ve done a pendant and will keep you updated with what they do to it, and I’ll also post pictures of who sends me what to work on and what I do to enhance/ruin them!

I hope to get that sorted at the weekend, absolutely EVERYTHING crossed and every possible good vibe you could send this way will be desperately needed!

In between dipping my toes into code, I have been doing some crochet.  I have a craft fair at Brackla in Bridgend next weekend so need to build up my stock.

I’ve been playing with the flower design for the scarflettes and I really like the ruffly aspect to them

And found a nice way to use up some old buttons too.

Well, thats all for now folks, if I don’t delete everything this weekend I’ll see you next week with some new Ideas I’ve been working on with the curtain rings.

You know when your doing something, then you get an idea you just have to try right away?

I was having a productive day, working on my next submission for Beads and Beyond magazine and it was going well, then I ran out of thread for the last bit.  Can I get any more – can I ******.  Admitidly it was old, but for heavens sake, why do maderia have to regually change their codes and colours?  So I got out my wool to just wollow in the beauty of the colours (everyone does that, don’t they?).

As I was making the pie for tea, filling was left over coq au vin from last night (makes the best pie, really rich and tasty) I started mentally putting together colours, then using the edge of the rolling pin to nudge them in groups, then I washed my hands and the pie got a bit side tracked.

But how exciting is that little bit of crochet!!

31st December 09

Just a brief one today, I wanted to show you what I had a go of yesterday.  My wonderful mum and dad got me a brilliant book ‘Freeform Crochet and beyond’ by Renate Kirkpatrick, as well as some new hooks and wool, but more about those later.

I finally got to play a bit yesterday.  The pictures are really good, Istruggled a bit with the explainations though thats probably due to my left handedness – but there are some great idea’s and starting points.  It’s certainly stimulated lots more ideas for me. 

Anyway I had to have a little go

Crochet wings (lazy j stitch)

Bullion Knots

Spiral surface with loops

My sample square.  I worked another lazy j stitch but carried on to make a flower and attached them all to a simple treble background.  I love the raised sections of the lazy j stitch, though I think I ‘ve worked them ‘differently’ and the spiral without the embellishment is gorgeous, but the simple addition of the frill is a great idea.  I have loads more I want to try – but the raised sections have certainly got me excited!

A couple of weeks ago we had the Tall Ships festival in Barry and this year they had a craft fair alongside it, which meant we were all happy!  And joy of joy, there was this wonderful stall selling wool, what are the chances!  Its this small business called Bulldog Krafts based in Bargoed, run by a lady called Carolyn who has knitted all her life, and sells what she produces, including a beautiful range of shawls.  During a holiday in Greece she found this glorious wool and cotton, long story short, she is the only supplier in this country for these products and being the polite lady I am, I had to get a hank to try…

Look at the glorious radience of the colour

Its beautiful to work with, 100% cotton, and is begging to be a scarf

What do you think?

We are back from our wonderful holiday in France, where we discovered secluded coves and snorkeled over oyster beds, explored old romantic ruinous castles, sailed on the salt marshes, ate mussels by the sea and drank wine by the bottle!  It was wonderful, and if my camera hadn’t colluded with the computer to delete all, yes all our photos, I could have shared them with you…

But, onwards and upwards, we have our memories!  I got a lot of crocheting done, I completed the cushion I was making out of the squares I received from the Granny Swap, all have been sent and received so I can show some pictures of what I set and luckily the ladies liked them!

   I can’t show you the pictures of the ones I received unworked, as the camera (not me obviously!) lost them.  But off Ali as I mentioned in my last post, I got the gorgeous blue and cream squares, along with a beautiful button that i’ve made into a necklace, I’ll post a picture another time, and some delicious chocolate.  The other squares in the perfect blue, green and orange colours (I swear Marie must have been through my things as the colours are what I would have chosen) were off Marie, along with a fantastic parcel of matching corsage, mini bag containing tea and chocolate and an already utilised notebook.  As you can see the squares went beautifully together and I didn’t want to spoil them when I joined them.  So after much thought, I crocheted some miniature granny squares to join them.  I think it really works, I hope the original creators do!

 It goes perfect on my favourite chair! (If you click on the images it will make them bigger).

A detail, showing how I joined them.

Before this post becomes a ramble, and before the boys really do break something upstairs i’ll sign off, but i’ll be back with more pictures and ideas in a few days, when serenity rules again, and the boys are back at school.

So, what am i working on at the minute, well firstly, I bought some gorgeous wool the other day, that is highly varigated, so almost looks like farisle,

this is a detail of a scarf worked in it, it is beautifully soft and the colours a gorgeous range of icelandic blues, greens and greys.  I want to try a patchwork scarf, blocks of colours, in a freeform style, and I think this would be the perfect base.  The corner of a granny square peeking in the photo is from a swap i’m doing, over on spans-stitchin blog, which is my first one so am very excited!  However, the colour also goes well with the scarf so I think i’ll incorporate some of it in the patchwork.

Next on the agenda is this find from a charity shop, the handles are lovely, so i’m looking for a dense pattern to work for a bag, almost aran style, as the handles lend themselves to something quite structured, I can’t decide between a traditional aran wool in a cream, or that gorgeous wool above, so its sample time first I think.

Finally, i’ve been doing a lot with my yarn jewellery ideas, but I think I need to do some more wire jewellery, I want to try some patterns with the wire, like traditional edgings, and see how that goes.  I’ve also got this ‘find’ that I want to do something with – but i’m not sure yet what!

So that is a little of what I am supposed to be doing, as opposed to chatting on here, and now it’s down in print, I suppose I better get on!