Christmas Crafting

Christmas is coming and I always love this time of year as it is a great excuse to dig my hooks out and make some decorations and presents. To be honest I haven't crocheted much Christmas themed goodies but the last couple of years, I have really got the bug. Some past makes are as follows: -

Snowflake bunting, Christmas Stocking, Table cloth

This year I want to hook something that I have been itching to make for a while and that is a garland. With a polystyrene hoop as the base and some fab sparkly wool, I put it together and here it is!-

I love it, I think it looks fab. I'm thinking of making one for all seasons so I always have a lovely garland on my wall. Tip to remember though, don't wait to buy the hoop until December, they all go pretty quickly!
Because I love this garland so much I will be sharing the pattern on my blog in due course!

As well as decs I have been making a few Christmas presents although I cannot share those just yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise. However like always, I have left it all until the last minute so I better get back to my hooking. Happy Sunday everyone!

Nursery Fun!

As mentioned before I have a gorgeous 6 month old baby boy and these last few weeks we have been getting his nursery ready for him to move into. To distract myself from the fact that my little baby is growing up, I am (of course) having fun planning crochet projects to decorate his room, which to be honest is something I thought of way before I even got pregnant!
As my husband is a bit of a geek and likes dinosaurs, he was kinda hoping our boy will follow suit so we have planned a dino theme! With this is mind, along with the obligatory toys, I wanted to create some sort of dino decoration and stumbled across this lovely dinosaur bunting in issue 56 of Inside Crochet magazine

Benjamin Bunting from Inside Crochet Magazine - look so cute!

It was quick and easy and a lot of fun to make, I may even make some more to put on a cushion cover!

The next project was something I had always had in the back of mind to create and that is my baby letter blocks. Bright and colourful they will look lovely displayed in the nursery and then as a toy when my boy gets older.

My letter blocks - very kindly arranged by my son above (ahem!)

I absolutely love the finished product and had so much fun making them. I picked out the brightest colours I could find from my yarn stash (this project is a great stash buster) and got to work. Firstly I got some foam cubes which I sourced from a local market and ended up costing less than a fiver for ten cubes. Next I needed to work out the pattern starting with the sizes to fit the cubes.I did a few tester squares first using different sized hooks to see which gave the best effect, I wanted the tension to be quite tight with no holey bits. Once I had designed the patters for the 26 letters of the alphabet I could get to work.

 

I am really happy with the finished project and think they look really effective. I have some cubes left over so may make a couple of dice. I was also thinking the letters all sewn together would make a fab blanket / wall rug to help little ones learn their alphabet.
I really hope to publish the letter patterns on my blog at some point, if anyone would be interested?
So onto the next projects, I have a few more dino toys to make, then I was thinking of a sign for his door, then maybe another blanket for his cot (he already has six I have made), a rug, more bunting........................

Addicted to Crochet

My first post should be about where my passion for crochet started. My mum taught me to crochet (along with knitting) when I was about 10 years old. I have always had a penchant for making things and being creative, so much so I remember crying at first school when I wasn't picked to join the knitting group which is what prompted my mum, being faced with this inconsolable child to dig out her needles, hooks and yarn and give me my first lesson in knitting and then crochet.
My mum is a fantastic knitter and crocheter so I was very lucky to have her as my teacher. They say you are either a crocheter or knitter, and crochet definitely became my craft. My first project was a giant granny square blanket which upon completion was promptly pinched by my brother to adorn his bed. After that many more blankets followed through my teens and then I kinda put my hooks away for several years, only making the odd appearance when there was a new baby in the family to make a blanket for.

A small selection of my blankets!

Then a few years ago I stumbled upon some patterns for amigurumi and was hooked once more, along with blankets I would make toys, scarves and items for the house. I also developed an obsession with crochet magazines and books, dreaming of my next projects everytime I flick through one. I started to go everywhere with a project in my bag and it was soon the norm for me to fish out some crocheting whilst catching up with a cuppa with friends and relatives. I remember one time forgetting my basket of wool for a trip to my parents for dinner and my husband refusing to turn the car around to go get it, that was a long few hours!
A few months ago I was blessed with the birth of my beautiful son, then crochet took a whole new turn. I love making things for him, blankets, toys and decorations for his bedroom. I cannot wait to teach him also when he is older, who says boys can't crochet!
Well there we go, my name is Kelly and I am a crochet addict!!!