Billie Blankets...............

I have been reading about a number of charity projects across blogland and I want to join in and make a small crochet blanket. Lucy over at Attic 24 has made two beautiful blankets for a Comic Relief  charity auction. Knitstitchsew has joined in with woolyhugs  and is planning to make a Billie blanket.

I have checked out my stash and have signed up to make a little Billie blanket, the project is in memory of a little girl who died off Leukaemia. The blankets will be sent to children suffering from cancer in low and middle income countries. In these countries the overall chance of survival can be under 10% compared to around 80% in high income countries such as ours.The first batch of Billie’s Blankets will be taken to children in Malawi and Bangladesh.

Debbie Bliss Amalfi ..............so soft

After sorting out some lovely cotton yarn in soft baby pastel colours I have re read the brief and the blankets have to be made in acrylic yarn for easy washing and aftercare ...............I will need to make a quick trip to a yarn shop.

Will keep you posted on my progress.

talk soon x

tiny heart bunting ....................

I started Saturday morning feeling a bit unwell, also it was really cold and everywhere was covered in a carpet of snow so not going out weather at all. I decided that I would have a quiet day snuggled under my favourite crochet blanket and that I would do some of my knitting - although wasn't sure what to start with.

Have you ever had a restless day when you have lots on the go but nothing that you really want to do. After promising myself that I wouldn't start lots of different projects I have completely failed and it's not even three weeks into January - oh well maybe one or two projects are OK but I seem to have lots of stuff competing for my attention. I think I need to list them, although it may make me feel worse  - not sure but here goes.

1. knitted blanket on a circular needle
2. knitted patchwork blanket
3. granny square cushion
4. snood for Alex - he is getting cold playing football (so very worthy transgression)
5. my first ever sock ( more about that later)
6. small pompom garland ( recently bought a small pompom maker not sure why! but love Lucy's garland)

I couldn't get into anything so I started to read some of my favourite blogs and then I found what I was looking for ta dah - a very cute and easy crochet heart - yes I know I had already dipped into heart making earlier in the week but this heart is really tiny and is worked in one round using a magic circle. So after a quick "you tube" refresher on making a magic circle loop away I went.

Everything else was forgotten (even my aches and pains) and I sat warm and cosy under my blanket busy making hearts - other half just can't understand my love of tiny cute, pastel coloured little things -  as not that long ago I made lots of tiny crochet balls (have to say they are still in a bag somewhere) I was determined that before the end of the day my baby hearts would actually be made into something that I would definitely use.

I am proud to say that I did as planned and I have used my gorgeous hearts to make some tiny bunting and it's already been put up in my sitting room - hope you love it as much as I do.

little hearts all needed tails sewing in, then attaching onto a chain and then stringing across my shelves - perfect

I really must get on with Alex's snood now as I have promised it will be ready for football training next week - I will come back to my induction into the mysterious art of sock making tomorrow .

talk soon x

New Year catch up ............

Happy New Year -  I hope 2013 is going to be a fab creative year for everyone. I've had a lovely family Christmas and New Year. It has been mainly spent at home, although I did go out for lunch on New Year's Day which was a real treat.  I love cooking and entertaining but I had got somewhat exhausted and it was really nice to be cooked for.

I have been tempted to write a list of all the projects I want to do this year. Which would include knitting, sewing, crochet, and also some new crafts but after all my Christmas lists I have decided to save that job for another day.

I often have a basket of half done projects but I have been quite good this year and apart from a bag of granny squares waiting for some inspiration and another bag of crochet flowers (went a bit crochet flower crazy) the only big outstanding project on the go was my crochet blanket. I have had the luxury over the last few days of sitting, relaxing and catching up with my crochet hook and have finished my blanket, it's not quite as big as I planned but I am very pleased with it.

The finished blanket measures 116 cms by 130 cms and completely covers my dining room table.

I used 23 balls of Debbie Bliss Amalfi which is 2300 metres of yarn, equivalent to 1.42 miles wow that's a lot of yarn.

Blankets seems to be a common theme at the moment Lucy from attic 24  has finished her beautiful ripple blanket, Kirsten from Cozy Things has finished her colour block blanket, and Jules from little woolie is still happy hooking her blanket.

I have got quite a lot of Amalfi yarn left so my plan is to make some small granny squares and then crochet them together to make a couple of cushions to match my blanket. I have already made a few squares but feel tempted to start some knitting, and now that my crochet blanket is finished it feels ok to start my new knitted blanket project.

I'm off to pick up my knitting, although not quite used to the circular needle yet

talk soon x

yarn along ..............

I can't believe another week has gone by. I have been quite busy as we took three of our grandchildren to Wales for a few days, but I had some nice restful evenings with time to look through my craft books and think about projects (when they were safely tucked up) I have mainly been dipping into crochet books, I recently bought one of Erika Knights, many of the projects are a bit beyond me but I love the illustrations and I can plan for the future can't I - also I can't look at crochet books with out a little delve into "cute and easy crochet" by Nicki Trench.

I want to start another blanket as I have got quite a lot of my lovely Debbie Bliss Amalfi yarn left in my stash. I am a fan of the lovely blankets that Jules from littlewoollie makes and also Lucy from attic24.
I have decided after visiting Jules and Lucy's blogs for inspiration to try a ripple blanket and have just started a little sample piece to see if I can cope with the treble increases and decreases, not bad so far.

lovely inspiration ............

it looks bigger than it really is - it's only 31 stitches wide

I am quite pleased with the result so I am about to be brave and start with a much bigger foundation chain - keep your fingers crossed it stays in shape.

Hope all of your yarn along projects are going well, see you all next week.

Sue x