A Doily Kind of Day

The first thing I ever crocheted when I was a little girl was a doily (well of sorts). My grandma taught me to chain and the double crochet and so I just went round and round feeling very pleased with myself.

Ever since then I have always loved a doily. I didn't care when they were out of fashion, I was still happy to display my doilies with pride.

 

Now the doily seems to have become a little more popular again (I don't think it's just my wishful thinking). Large, small, plain or colourful, the possibilities are endless. I started adding more colour after looking at beautiful mandalas on Instagram.

 

I admit I love working a repetitive pattern and getting mathematical with my crochet.

 

 

 

I have been hunting through all my old copies of Simply Crochet to find pretty patterns. I don't always follow the colours given as I like to go with colours that match my mood, or other things that become an inspiration, such as a vase of flowers on the mantelpiece.

 

 

Sometimes I like to just pick up my hook and yarn and let the crochet flow, add colours and shape as I feel them. Although I do get cross with myself if I can't work out what I've done when I later want to write out the pattern.

 

 

So why don't you pick up a hook and decide how colourful you are feeling today, see what beauty you can create x x

 

Katie x x

 

 

 

A purse fit for a fairy

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love all things fairy-tale.

 

 

I have a selection of crochet fairies that sit on my shelf (you can  follow their adventures on A wander with the fairies ) and I love making little accessories for them.

 

At the moment I have been inspired to make slightly larger fairy accessories and have been hooking up some pretty fairy purses. Each one for a different kind of fairy.

 

 

 

The first one I made, I imagined would be used by a flower fairy to keep her seeds in, ready to scatter across the meadows. I love the basket weave pattern in this purse.

 

 

The ripple pattern, I decided, would be perfect for a mermaid to store her shells. The smaller purse was the free gift which came with this months copy of Simply Crochet.

 

 

This purse is to store fairy dust and is covered in ribbons and bells.

 

 

And finally (well up to now anyway) is this little purse. I was looking out at the stars the night before I made it and was thinking of fairies catching falling stars to add to their fairy dust.

 

Yes I do seem to have a rather overactive imagination, but isn't that what makes crafting and making so fun.

 

Sometime we should all use our imagination a little more to put some magic and sparkle into our day.

 

 

Katie x x

 

 

 

 

 



Snow, Hail, and Thunder

What a morning it has been, woken early by very loud hail storm, followed later by thunder and lightning and snow.
It was then followed by rain to clear it all away.
Luckily I did manage to get out and get some photographs of the snow earlier in the week.

I am very lucky to get to see these views each day on my way to work.
My favourite times are those when I arrive on the promenade as the sun is beginning to rise, truly stunning.

 

I have followed last weeks crochet inspiration from the Big Garden Birdwatch, with more from the African topic we have been doing at work. It's not often you get to see a giraffe in the snow.

 

 

To add to my collection I am now busy hooking up a zebra, very tempted to make a multi coloured version but stuck to black and white for now.

 

 

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

 

Kathryn x x

Big Garden Birdwatch

This weekend has been the rspb Big Garden Birdwatch. While getting ready for this I have been inspired to get out my hooks and yarn and make a few little birdies of my own.

 

 

These little lovelies are much more obliging when needing them to stay still while I try photograph them.

 

It was nice to work on a nice small project, and once I got going I kept having new ideas for more and more birds.

 

 

This little blue bird is my favourite of the flock.

 

 

 

Hello New Year

Well it has been a long time since I posted here, and I have no excuse.

So here I am, first post of the New Year and my first makes.

 

I have been loving these two projects from the issue 27 of Simply Crochet.

Sometimes you just need a project that works up quickly and is pretty. I now have myself 6 of these lovely pincushions x

 

I have also been working on one of my own patterns

 

 

I first had a go at a monkey a few months ago, but he was in pink, but this little cheeky chap is going to be part of a display where I work so I thought I should make a more 'monkey coloured' fellow.

 

 

Although I do think pink is quite fetching for a monkey.

 

Katie x x

 

 

Here comes Halloween

Wow, this year seems to be flying by. Summer has gone, Autumn has created some beautiful photographic opportunities and now the clocks have gone back bringing early dark nights.

 

I am hoping for some nice weather this week so I can get out with my camera while I have some time off work. Unfortunately watching the weather forecast is not making me hopeful for this.

 

However, no matter what the weather decides to do I can still pick up my hook and work some of my own magic ready for Halloween.

 

 

Love these little ghosts I hooked up last night. They will look great strung up on invisible thread and hanging in the trees. Wondering if I can find some glow in the dark yarn to make a few more.

 

If you would like to make your own cheeky ghost, here is my pattern.

 

 

Dk yarn

3.5 mm hook

 

Make a magic ring, 6dc into the ring

1) 2 dc into each   (12st)

2) 1 dc, dc inc, repeat around    (18st)

3) 1 dc x 2 dc inc, repeat around   (24st)

4) 1 dc x 3 dc inc, repeat around   (30st)

5 - 11) 1 dc in each

12) 1 dc x 4, dc inc, repeat around   (36st)

13 - 16) 1 dc in each

17) 1 dc, 1 tr, 2 dtr, 2 dtr, 1 tr, 1 dc, repeat 5 times, slst to finish.

Weave in ends and add features.

 

 

Now I just have to get the fairies sorted out with their Halloween costumes.

 

 



 

Sunny Days

For most people I am quite sure the thought of getting outside to get some crafting done is a lovely idea, and for me, well it starts that way but I get distracted very easily!

 

I always start out with great intentions, then I start to spot the butterflies that are visiting and I just have to get my camera and start taking pictures.

 

 

First to be spotted today was this lovely peacock butterfly getting some sun.

Then more and more began to arrive.

 

 

I am lucky to have two beautiful buddleia bushes that attract lots of beautiful wildlife into my garden.

 

 

 

However my favourite of all the picture I took today was from when I was looking up at the clouds and spotted one that to me looked like a giant fairy.

Take a look and see what you think x