UK Etsy Challenge - Fairground

I stumbled across the UK Etsy Challenge group on Flickr a while back and decided to join in.

The current challenge is to create a Fairground-theme item, and the closing date is 4th July. The entries are rolling in and and there are some very inventive ideas - take a look!

My entry started life as a doodle...

It changed slightly as I crocheted it into life. I'm pleased with the result - loud and entertaining!

From the centre you can see the helter skelter, balloons, then the structure and seats of the big wheel.

I wanted a spiral for the helter skelter, and found just the "how to" article I needed in a back issue of Interweave Crochet that I used to subscribe to.

I've never entered a challenge before or created anything like this from a doodle before and really enjoyed it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the next theme is - maybe you'll take part too!

New style hairband

I've been playing around with alternative fastening metods for my crochet hairbands, and have come up with a loop and button fastener that I really like.

It means that your hair doesn't get caught in a tie as you're knotting it. The hairband easily fits most sizes of head from adut to child, as the button can be slotted through any part of the strap after going through the loop.

And of course who doesn't love buttons!

The first completed hairband with this new style fastener is the Tropical Sea version, crocheted from turquoise and jade cottons - perfect for summer!

Summer Fete

Yesterday was our local school summer fete - what a brilliant day!

We had fantastic weather so the many stalls and activities were well-received. The Searchers wild west re-enactment team put on shows during the day which went down very well.

I was helping DH do the barbeque stand - I've had my fill of cutting bread rolls for a while!

I had made 3 crochet flower hairclips during the week - bit of a last-minute project. I sewed button centres and attached them to mini barrette hairclips.

I used my free sample pack of Moo business cards and punched holes in to fasten the clips through - worked a treat! 

I donated these to another stand and happily they all sold.

Smitten by silk

I have found a new favourite in the fine silk yarn I made the wedding challenge necklace from.

I've also used it to make a pretty little crochet flower hair clip to match, with 3 of the mother of pearl chips in the centre.

So cute!

Been buying!

My latest purchase from Etsy arrived today. Inside the brown envelope was this tempting little silver box...

... and inside that my lovely purchase.

It's a gorgeous pair of dichroic glass stud earrings from Vos Collection which is based in Spain.

The colour of these is amazing - sparkly rich blue with glints of purple and green at certain angles.

They are my new favourite - I've been wearing them all day. Check out the other Vos Collection designs!

CreateCrochet Team Wedding Challenge

Well I've done it - taken up the wedding challenge. The one from the CreateCrochet team that is. I don't think DH would be too pleased if I took on any other kind.

This is my own design which "grew" and changed as I was creating it. It's actually completely different from what I first imagined. I love both the process and the result.

I've crocheted the necklace from 100% fine silk yarn with a 2.5mm crochet hook. I first threaded the yarn with mother of pearl chips - lots of them!

The strands of the necklace all join the choker section at the back. The whole lot is fastened with two small matching buttons.

I love how the silk shines and the pearl chips catches the light. I love how it's a choker and a necklace all in one. I love how it can be worn high or low. I love the colour. 

I only wish I had made it years ago for my own wedding!

Crochet Necklaces

I'm almost done making my entry for the CreateCrochet team wedding challenge, which is a crochet necklace.

I was pleased to discover tonight that one of my crochet necklaces already listed in my shop - Coast - is currently feaatured in two Etsy treasuries!

Garden colour

I am pretty useless in our garden as it stands at the moment. I have no idea what most of the plants are! 

They were either there when we moved in or have been brought to us by Mother Nature (thank you).

But I do know that they are looking pretty stunning at the moment, so we're enjoying them anyway.

Mission accomplished

Phew! After much manic crocheting and mini-skein winding, I've finally sent off my parcel of 70 promotional items today. Hopefully the receipients at the We Make London craft fair in Chelsea next month will like them enough to take a peek at my shop.

It was good fun to see what I could come up with. I've already told you about the mini-skeins, which I have fallen in love with.

Here is a selection of the colour graduated mats and coasters I have included. Suitably summery I think!

I still love the red colourway the best, and those are the colours I tend to wear.

I have also been taking pics of the gorgeous flowers we have around the garden at the moment. 

The aquilegias inspired me to crochet another mat in the pink-green colourway. 

My daughters love it, and I have to say it does make me smile.

Colour!

After I've spent quite some time gathering together an entire collection of all the colourways of the cotton yarn I use, the penny has finally dropped. I love colour. Duh!

Not just colour but graduated, tonal colours and shades together. It's always colour that attracts me to an item, more so than form or function.

It started young - I remember reading through a 1970's craft book and the thing that stuck in my mind to this day is the image of bargello embroidery. It was the shapes but more so the graduations of colour that I loved - and still love to this day.

Hence the latest obsession with colour graduations in my crochet.

Here's a recent project, which has just been sent off to the Med as a birthday gift. Hot and spicy coasters!

We Make London Summer Fair

I follow the UK Handmade group over on Flickr and recently read there about a promotional opportunity.

There are going to be 70 tote bags for sale at a nominal price at the We Make London Summer Fair to be held at Chelsea Town Hall on 26th June.

Anyone can contribute 70 promotional items to go in the totes, so I decided to do just that. Seems like a great idea to me!

One of the items I've come up with are mini-skeins of my hand-dyed yarns. When I rewound my laceweight yarns after dyeing I wound off any broken lengths into little balls and have kept them aside. They are perfect for making into mini-skeins!

These are so cute. I had a look at the patterns on Ravelry and it struck me that there are many patterns using laceweight yarn for smaller projects. So these mini-skeins are useful to the buyer too - they can be used to make a bookmark, jewellery, etc.

They also make a great "taster" for somebody wanting to try out lace knitting without being overwhelmed by a full-scale lace shawl type project.

I think I may work up a little pattern and sell some mini-skeins in my Etsy shop in the future, with the free pattern included.

How cute?

DH's boss and wife had their first baby last weekend - a beautiful little girl. How could I resist such an opportunity?!

I've crocheted these super-cute little baby booties in candy pink and plum. I don't think they'll fit for long but they're just too sweet to resist.

Baby items are such gratifyingly fast projects!

Featured!

I was delighted to find today that I am currently featured on the SWAC (South West Arts & Crafts) team blog! 

Woohoo! Thanks guys!

Please do check it out.

Sneak peek..

..at what I'm currently playing with - colours!

100th sale promo

My etsy shop currently has 99 sales - bag the 100th sale and I'll refund your shipping cost via PayPal after payment!

Treasuries

I've been lucky enough to be featured in several treasuries recently. Here are a couple of current ones:

Green With Envy - gorgeous shades of crocheted items!

Earth and Water - turquoise and brown - what a great colour combination!

All Tooled Up

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day Eight - The Final Instalment!

 My favourite tools for yarny crafts have to be these:

Firstly my beautiful wooden swift bought as a birthday gift from my DH from Purlescence - he was under strict instruction!

This feels so wonderously smooth to use and is invaluable when working with skeined yarns - either winding from them to knit up or re-skeining yarns that I've dyed, ready for my Etsy shop.

It makes life so much easier when the penny finally drops about which way up to use it too.. ahem...

The other tool has to be my many sets of long Addi Turbo knitting needles in different sizes which I've invested in over several years. 

I love magic loop for circular knitting, and find long Addis the most lightweight and smooth needles to use.  Circular needles are great for straight knitting too - much more portable!

What a Yarn

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day Seven

OK, coveted yarns... When sorting out what to include in this post I realised that for me a yarn has to be soft. I mean really soft! So here are 3 yarns from my stash - amongst many others that could have been included too!

1) Hand Maiden Lace Silk in colourway Nova Scotia

100% silk

I bought this several years ago at the same exhibition as I got the Hipknits cashmere (previous post). I couldn't resist the intensity of colour, the gorgeous sheen, and the luxurious softness of the silk. I don't do much lace knitting but this yarn is so worth it!

2) Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in colourway Vera (shade 70)

80% superwash wool, 20% nylon

I had been on the lookout for this colourway of this yarn for so long. It's not the easiest yarn to get in the UK, particularly if you want a specific shade. I finally found somebody destashing 2 skeins on Ravelry last year, and jumped on it! Fabulous colour combo - and so soft!

3) Mirasol Sulka in Cream (shade 200)

60% merino wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk

I got this in a sale from an online UK store to try out for winter neckwarmer or such. The finished item was originally to be sold in my Etsy shop but it's soooooo soft and squishy and yummy I may not be able to let it go...

Revisit a past FO

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day Six

I don't think cashmere is the most durable yarn for a pair of socks, but sometimes you just have to go with your heart instead of your head!

I knitted my Tidal Wave cashmere socks in March 2008 from a great free pattern which I think I'll probably knit again. I used some Hipknits cashmere sock yarn in a gorgeous Raspberry Ripple shade which I had bought at a great price from the Knitting and Stitching Show at the Birmingham NEC.

In November 2009, disaster struck - the most enormous hole in both heels! They had actually lasted over 1.5 years, which is pretty good going for a luxury yarn I suppose. They are still in the same state today, as I haven't got around to fixing them yet. One day..

Oh and by the way - Happy 70th Birthday Mom!

Location, Location, Location

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - Day Five

I guess my favourite place to knit is my armchair. I've found that I need my arms to be supported but not restricted, so a wide armchair is ideal. Knitting on a chair without arms or a sofa for anything more than a few minutes makes my back and shoulders ache!

My crochet projects sometimes come with me to the beach - but only when I'm too cold to go in the sea! Knitting projects rarely do - there are usually too many interruptions to finish a whole row at a time. I find crochet is much more portable for that. 

I used to take knitting/crochet projects to the swimming baths while my kids had their lessons, but we're past that stage now. We're in the process of joining the local surf lifesaving club which I imagine will be much more hands-on!

The other great place to knit is in the car when we're going upcountry to visit my family - obviously I'm not driving! It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's great. I get several hours of knitting time without many interruptions as our DDs are busy watching the in-car DVD system or sleeping. Perfect!

*Note - Cushion cover from UK Etsy seller MariesCosyCushions - fab!