Blanket love

Duvet days are not for me, just give me a crochet blanket to snuggle under and I'm a happy girl.

I've always loved a pretty blanket, but since learning to crochet the love (and the collection) has grown and grown.

This was the first blanket I made, four years ago.

I taught myself to hook up a granny square from You Tube.

I then started making large granny squares as baby blankets, then gifts for friends.

Got to love a colourful Granny blanket.

However my son preferred this Storm Trooper blanket.

Of course many of you who crochet will have come across the fab Attic 24 page, who can resist making one of Lucy's gorgeous ripple blankets?

I love the bright colours of Stylcraft dk, and the soft feel of it. Perfect for cold nights on the sofa, or stretching out on in the garden on warm summer days.

I also used stylecraft for this gorgeous round blanket from Simply Crochet mag by Hanjan crochet.

I then started to get a little adventurous in creating my own blanket patterns.

I wanted to make one that reminded me of a toadstool, and another like a meadow.

My next project was filet crochet. I loved the idea of putting messages on blankets or making something personal.

My friends son was very impressed with his very own Tardis blanket.

I like the idea of making things that are individual, one of kind.

My latest blankets have been made up using the c2c pattern from Simply crochet mag. I love the way this pattern works up so quickly. A few people are going to be getting this style blanket as Christmas gifts this year.

I hope that I might have inspired more people to go grab a hook and make pretty blankets to snuggle under    x x x

Katie

Mermaid Tales

Hello again

Oh my goodness, I hadn't realised how long it had been since I last posted!

Time flies when you are having fun.

So what have I been up to recently?

Well it seems that lots of my friends and family have fallen in love with mermaid tail blankets. I have had so many requests. Up to now I have made 12!

They are so fun to make! I found a pattern on Pinterest, but have played around with it to change they way it is shaped at the bottom, and have tried a few different ways of making the fin.

I have hooked up adult size to baby size, and I am looking forward to seeing of all the pictures of them in use.

I love using variegated yarn, it gives a really pretty illusion of scales.

I think my little mermaid here agrees they are very comfy.

I wonder how many more I will make before Christmas arrives?

 

Banish the bad dreams

Bad dreams, nightmares, night terrors, whatever you call them, I have them.

I hate waking in the middle of the night in absolute panic. Did I hear someone banging on the door, is there someone in the room.

Then there are the type that make me feel stressed. The dream I regularly have is that I'm sorting all my buttons into jars of different colours, and that I keep seeing a button in the wrong jar and as soon as I get it out I spot another, silly I know.

 

So I decided I would make myself a dream catcher to hang above my bed.

 

 

Starting with a basic doily pattern, I made it until it was the correct size to fit inside a wooden crochet hook, then worked a double crochet stitch around the hoop, securing the doily as I went.

 

Once I finished the first, well I kept going.

 

 

I now have a collection of 40 dream catchers to choose from!

 

Sweet dreams

 

Katie x x

 

 

Spring is in the air

Just a short post to share the story of my little family of blackbirds that nested in my garden.

 

I was rather worried when I first spotted the nest here, and tried to dissuade the blackbird from building here (on the top of my winter jasmine, just below the ivy,  and a walkway of one of the neighbours cats) but every time I came home I found her busy at work.

 

 

The nest was just below my daughters bedroom window, she was so excited when she looked out to see the first egg had hatched that she phoned me at work to let me know.

Unfortunately non of the other eggs in the nest hatched.

 

 

The chick grew quickly, fed well by mum and dad. It was very difficult to photograph as, as soon as it heard the window open it would duck down to hide from us.

 

 

This was the last time I saw the baby, ready to take off into the world.

 

Katie x x

 

 

 

 

 

Glorious day

Don't you just love those mornings when the sun is shining, the air is fresh and the birds are singing. Today was one of those days.

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live by the coast (usually in the middle of winter when the wind is coming off the sea, or in the middle of summer and everywhere else is basking in sunshine while we are covered in a freezing cold sea fret), today it was just perfect.

 

 

This is the gorgeous view I get to enjoy each morning on my way to work. It's my favourite part of the day when I get to walk along the promenade, listening to the sea.

 

 

 

This morning I wanted to head onto the beach to get some pictures of one of my projects, I made them during the winter and put them away until it was better beach weather.

 

 

 

 

The tide had just gone out so I had to dodge some of the pools of water, and had to be careful not to sink into the damp sand. There was also the worry of my makes being snatched away by the dogs that were enjoying their early morning runs.

 

I love looking at the patterns left on the beach, both natural and man made.

 

 

 

 

My next picture isn't so clear, I spotted a group of sea birds resting on the rocks, I only had my phone with me, so was unable to get a close up picture, and I wasn't clambering over rock pools to get closer. I still need to look them up and see what species they are.

 

 

 

I got a little carried away and was almost late for work.

 

As it was such a lovely day I headed back to the seafront on my lunch break, perks of working by the seaside.

 

 

Here's to many more sunny days.

 

Katie x x

 

Words of Wisdom

I don't know if you are like me, but sometimes I find I am my own worst enemy. I'm the one who puts the doubts in my mind, who thinks the things I do aren't good enough, or I'm not good enough.

So to remind myself how amazing I really am I make little affirmations to give me the boost we all sometimes need!

 

 

This was the first piece I made for myself. I had been going through a time when I had a very low self esteem, this was my list of positive things about myself that I was asked to create.

 

I filled the hearts with lavender to help with a good nights sleep.

 

 

It's not till I put all theses pictures together that I notice how much I seem to like hearts.

 

 

Make sure you keep your sparkle, your sparkle is what makes you different from everyone else. Your sparkle is unique, love your uniqueness x

 

 

There are so many people around who make you feel inadequate, spend time with people who help you to shine.

 

 

 

Go out and shine like the stars you are x x

 

Katie x