Hope everyone had as good a Christmas as we did?

Back from a sunnier place.....Friends, Lanzarote and Christmas for us.

Perfect weather, a great apartment, good friends, (too much) great food on our favourite Island,

with lots of wonderful shopping.

Hope you all had a great Christmas....

POPCORN STITCH HERE 

only managed a little crochet while away.

Linen/cotton mix yarn made into a scarf, so i could wear it back....to save on weight coming back,

 the shopping was so good.....ooops!

HUGS TO ALL XX

HUGE THANKS....Merry Christmas everyone.

I have had a very busy year and it looks as if it is to continue through 2014

thanks to all who have made 2013 a special year for me

LINK 

 Stylecraft Classique Cotton Star to wish everyone a Merry Christmas

UPDATE 2018

 LINK above will no longer work its from a close blog but this is the post it links too for you to see....

A big THANK YOU to all who have supported my blogs this last 12 months, 

a huge Thank You to GMC for publishing my book, 

And a big Thank You to Stylecraft Yarns...I've loved doing the Classique Cotton and Summer Breeze designs....fabulous yarns.

 

I will be demonstrating for Stylecraft at the HOBBYCRAFT AND STITCH INTERNATIONAL

Spring trade show NEC on Sunday, February 16th 2014.

 

Sorry it's just for the trade, but anyone wanting the new patterns I have done for Stylecraft remind your local shop to call by the Stylecraft stand and say hello.

Stylecraft Classique Cotton Christmas Decoration 2013

 

Another big thank you to Homespun Magazine, 

I'm looking forward to getting started on the new designs for you in 2014.

 

And a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the lovely friends that have joined the 

GRANNY SQUARES PATTERN CLUB.

Lots more to come in 2014.

 

What a busy year I have had.......

And Thanks to all the Magazines that have featured some of my deisgns in the last few months....I'm still in shock over the success of my book and the spin offs from it.

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Some Hyperbolic Crochet gems....

.......jewellery or wrist warmers?    

 

I' ll let you decide...lots of fun to make

and very warm to wear, what ever they are called.

A hyperbolic flower with an 8th gem centre...lol

 

A SINGLE GIANT GEM STONE...

charity shop find,

 

or crochet button gems...

more pictures here

 

Have a great weekend everyone x

An Apple a day.....

The Husband of one of my friends from KnN had a small Art show with his son.....

I bought this Apple painting to go in my kitchen.

 

Thanks Reg I love it and it will look fabulous over the sofa in the kitchen....

hope your cold gets better soon x

 

CROCHET CAT BED: Expensive cat beds?...and they prefer an old cardboard box....

 So I have found a use for all those mini triangles, I've scrapped the bag idea and

I'm going to cover the box with the mini triangle so it doesn't look quite so ugly..

they love it any way.

Two cats inside, Splodge and BrupBrup, brothers.....and I get a better nights sleep too!

Inspired by Stephane Matello's creative crochet

Only just discovered this fabulous creative crocheter and a guy too!

So many possibilities.

 

HAPPY HOOKING XX

 

 

link to a great PINTEREST SITE OF HIS WORK

Crochet Workshop...OSWESTRY LIBRARY 23RD NOVEMEBR 2013

Just a few places left if anyone is interested, mail me or contact Oswestry Library

oswestry.library@shropshire.gov.uk

01691 677388

link HERE

 

CROCHET WORKSHOP......SUE PINNER

10-4 tea and coffee provided bring your own Lunch

£15 for the day, materials provided

Christmas crochet.

Lots of stars and Christmas projects

 

The problem with crochet.......

Seems all the sitting around crocheting has been so much fun and I love it but it's not doing my weight any good at all.

 

So I have invested a few pennies in a very basic manual tread mill.

 

Went for cheap as I've bought exercise machinery before and not used it.....

 

and cheap to run...Sue Power, lol.

 

It folds up so not a huge space required.

 

At the moment it is set up in front of the TV.

 

I am working very slowly up to doing 15/20 minutes on most days to drop a couple of stones, going

VERY VERY SLOWLY....a couple of minutes of running and walking, all on quite a steep incline was all I could manage the first go.

I've read a lot and i wont be over doing it to start with but

it always surprises me as how quickly you can improve even for a couch crocheter like me.

 

I cant' stop eating so more moving was necessary, leave the dent in the sofa for a few minutes a day.

The first day I only manage 1/2 mile in several tiny sessions.

The second day I managed 1mile in about 3 sessions

I  wonder what today will bring?

 

Any tips on running on a treadmill warmly welcomed....and i do know it would be better outside but i know I wouldn't do that, at 61 if  I am going to make an ass of myself.

I will do it in private so a treadmill was the best option for me.

 

Funny though..I am quite enjoying it so far.....early days hey?

LINK TO A GREAT SITE WITH CHARTS OF HOW MANY MILES YOU NEED TO WALK TO LOOSE WEIGHT 

Another Rhombus added....

even more mis shaped than the oatmeal edges rhombus....may be I should have blocked it before attatching it.....

2 more to make

and a frill added to the plain tweedy one....to be decorated with embroidery.

 

 

Helpful info one of my pictures that has been PINNED on Pinterest......

Look what arrived late yesterday....

so back to work for me.

 

HELPFUL NOTE...

Someone has pinned my picture of SPOT MOSS STITCH onto Pinterest from

BLOGLOVIN...

and I thank you very much,

BUT.....

THEIR ADDED CAPTION  IS INCORRECT

 

A lot of others have pinned it from them...oooops!

If you pin a copy please make sure you have the correct info with the picture or you will get

 MOSS STITCH VERTICAL STRIPES LIKE THIS

(A Bolster cushion I made last year in alternate coloured rows of moss st.)

and not the dot effect in the picture ABOVE.

 

The correct version is HERE in MY CROCHET on PINTEREST

Hope that helps

Design for Mini Triangle, Rhombus Bag

Final decision on the Mini Triangle Rhombus bag.

 one complete Rhombus in mini triangles and two with  mini rhombus centre....sc border

Original Triangle Pattern here

first triangle is ch2,

ROW 1: sc into 2nd ch from hook.turn. (2sts)

ROW2: ch1, 2sc in st, turn, (3sts)

ROW 3: ch1, turn, sc in first st, 2sc in next st. (4sts)
ROW 4: ch1, sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in last st, turn. (5sts)
ROW5: ch1, sc in every st to last st, 2sc in last st, turn (6sts)
ROW 6: ch1, sc in every st, 2sc in last st, turn (7sts)

repeat until you have 9sts across triangle or the triangle size you want.

finish with 9sts = 2.5" 6.5cm equilateral triangle

2strands of DK and a 5mm hook

following triangles are made in reverse 9sc into one side of the first triangle and a decrease on each row until one st left pull yarn through. Weave in ends.

Great use for all those ends.....

Have Fun x

CROCHET: Pastel Block Stitch..how to do.

A favourite stitch and lots of options to play with

PATTERN:
US Terms in black, UK Terms in red brackets

 In Lime ch muliples of 3sts.

ROW1: Cont in lime, 1dc [1tr], in each ch st. (MULTPLES OF 3)

ROW2: In pink/lilac, att. yarn, sc [dc], on first st, ch3, miss 2sts, sc [dc], in next st, ch3, miss two sts, repeat to end.

ROW3: In Lime, 3dc [3tr] in each chain space, to end.

ROW 4 In pink, repeat row 2

Cont. Rows 3 and 4, working 3 rows of pink ch sts, and 3 rows of lilac ch sts, alternately. All dc [tr] rows in lime 

Edge with....

ROW1: att. pink yarn in firt st, miss 2sts, 2dc [2tr], ch2, 2dc [2tr], in next st,  miss 2sts, sc [dc], in next st, repeat to endof row.

ROW 2: turn, cont. in pink, make ch3 loops from one st to the next. (6 tiny loops on each shell)

COLOURFUL VERSION

 Every row in a different colour

SPACE DYED YARN

Random space dyed yarn and one colour for the chain row gives another interesting combination

Moss Stitch How to do, Single crochet, lots of texture and not much colour

Moss Stitch Passion random dyed  and grey Merino, very soft

Sock wool and Merino

Texture, direction and single crochet...

and hardly any colour...

three colours of sock wool and Grey merino..

 HOW TO DO MOSS STITCH
QUICK PICTURE HOW TO DO MOSS STITCH

New Ikea Wardrobe....

When we moved to this house, it has no attic, and the only room with a wardrobe was ours...

This single bedroom was starting to turn into a storage room with no style!!

It's been re-arranged, tidied and a big new wardrobe added....

 

Its taken 3 years to sort out the upstairs storage......I now have a lovely big wardrobe in the single bedroom to fill up.

 We decide a relatively cheap Ikea wardrobe was best as it was just for storage in a room no one ever sleeps in... a pretty room but no grand children as yet to fill up the space.

So I will be using it as extra storage for clothes, out of season or that I plan to get back into one day and just can't part with..lol

 

Lot of red and white accessories I made a couple of Christmases back...

Decorated with the future in mind...may be a grand daughter?...but no chance as yet.

 

The sun is shining right now but a hurracaine is forecast later....

Good Luck to everyone who might get a visit.

xx

Rain held off long enough to finish the screening....

Didn't think we would get it finished, but the rain held off long enough for us to finish the screen we started last weekend.

It's the beginning of a car port Phil has wanted for Noo Noo.

 Made myself a Rhombus bag on a day off work....

 one flower on each side was enough....

each shape is a different colour.

 

Have a great weekend everyone....

I have a couple of days off over the weekend, then 6 designs to complete for the yarn company

Stylecraft

LOVEKNITTING.COM COMPETITION

loveknitting.com in the magazine

LET'S KNIT are running a competition

 

If anyone is interested...nice prize for sure,

 

KNITING HOLIDAY FOR TWO IN THE SHETLAND ISLES

worth almost £3000, wow!

Second prize

A ticket for one to STITCHTOPIA 2014

worth £539

All you do is add your e mail address...simple.

New Gate fitted and an exciting phone call from a yarn company...

We did a little every night until the remaining bit of wall was now stacked at the bottom of the garden, and fitted the gate and side fence panelling on Friday night.

Yvonne from next door has donated to our joint front gate, two fabulous black ceramic pots, she already had them in the back garden and they are exactly 18" which is the exact measurement of the side panels to to new gate..how lucky was that?

We just need to fill them with something trendy and easy to care for too!

Any suggestions welcome?

 

None of us can beleive the extra useable space we have created, all that is left to do now is the inner gates one for each of us and then something with the damaged concrete, bu that will wait now until next spring.

 

We have a new loo on order and have decided on the floor covering, I think?

 small mosaic, even smaller mosaic and light in colour, wide wood planks, tiny narrow wood strips, or 3 black tiles all different.....all viynal so it is waterproof but have me made a decision?

we both liked the tiny narrow wood strips top left of second picture, but seeing them on the screen, i not sure now!!!!!

Decision to be made by tonight.

 

EXCITING PHONE CALL.....

Last week I received a very exciting phone call from a yarn company.

I don't want to say too much just yet until it is in the bag....

But they want me to design 4-6 patterns in their yarns ready for a Trade Show in February....

How exciting is that?

 

I have received the brief and the yarns to play with and have already spent a good few hours playing with ideas crocheting small stitch samples and filling my sketch book.....

All to be completed before Christmas so they can have them photographed and printed ready for the show.