Handmade gift giving.... Crochet Placemats

Who doesn't love a good sniff around the Purl Bee blog!?  It's always full of crafty tutorials and inspiration!

 

I've been attracted to the pattern they shared on crochet placemats and thought they would be perfect for my friends upcoming birthday.

 

To give you an idea of size I've included my lovely Rob Ryan plates in each image!

 

I've used a cotton blend for mine so they should be easy to wash and care for.  They were simple to whip up as well and when I shared them on instagram someone said that the pattern they created looked a little like a magic eye image!  I'll definitely make these again but in future I might stick with one colour for the border.  While the bright colours I've used here look great individually, I'm not sure they work well together, and I really like the subtle look of the yellows used in the original pattern. Hope my friend still likes them!!!

Slippers in Summer!

Last night I found the easiest, cutest granny square slipper pattern on youtube!  I have been searching for an easy pattern for these slipper socks for ages as they remind me of the knitted slippers my nanna used to makes us when we were kids - a fresh pair every season!

After a quick read through of the pattern, and a quick watch of the youtube tutorial, I had whipped a pair up last night in an hour and another came off the hook this morning!  I'm adding these to the presents pile... an easy, simple gift for my attempt at handmade this year!

The video tutorial is here and this particular lady has a whole channel on youtube of easy crochet projects.  I always find it funny to watch how someone else hooks!

The link to the written tutorial is here.

To fit my size 9 foot I ended up doing 11 rows after the toe of the slipper is done rather than the 9 suggested.  And dare I admit it, but I actually used a Spotlight acylic yarn for them.  I much prefer to crochet with wool or cotton but I figured these would get a quite a bit of wear and tear and to make them easier to throw them in the wash, acrylic it was... plus, I am trying to use some of my stash up!

Handmade gifting....

Would it be making bold statements to profess that the handmade gift giving commitment I made at the start of this year has well and truly started with a bang!?!

I started the corner granny blanket only two weeks ago and it has come together pretty darn quickly.  It is super simple to make with those rows of lovely trebles running down two sides.  I completed it with a simple red border since the recipient of this one is an Australia Day baby, hence the red, white and blue!

And all wrapped up...

I'm certain I saw this idea on Pinterest at one point - stitching names into paper doilies and then whacking them onto the gift, but for the life of me I can't find the linkyloo to it!

(yes, that's Christmas wrap... but it's Knitted!  Perfect for wooly gifts!)

I forgot to measure the blanket before I wrapped it up but it's certainly large enough for a toasty lap blanket for a grown up and since this is going to a nine year old girl I am sure it will be fine!  I used Patons Cotton Blend and went through a hole bunch of the cream but only a few balls of the blues.

My creative space... The sunny spread

A while ago I came across an pattern called the Sunny Spread.  'Twas pretty and quite yellow.  I pinned it and then promptly forgot about it.  Then I came across the beautiful crochet work of Dover and Madden, and quite clearly I was so enamoured I had to copy her!  I realise this is soooooo not the done thing and is quite frowned upon by crafty types but I'm not selling this, or mass producing it or anything.  It's merely a wee blanket gift for my brother, his wife and their soon to be baby (girl!!! so they say!!!). 

 

The pattern itself is so super simple and so lovely!  Those raised sections are created by crocheting behind a stitch as the circle increases.  Super Clever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not a huge blanket and is really only intended to be used in the pram or praps in a cradle when the lovely wee baby comes home.  I should also have blocked it, something I have never done with my crochet because I am a lazy crafter.  I think I shall just sit something heavy on it and hope for the best!

 

How can one not include a photo of the craft project with peeping toes on display?!  This is standard crafty instagram fare when photographing blankets right?!

 

Then I tried to get toooo crazy....

This is totes supposed to be one of those shots of the crafty type with their crafty blanket floating beautifully next them... looking all crafty, serene and clever. 

Perhaps not.

My creative space....

I have decided to join in with Melissa at One Crafty Mumma and do a Ripple-along!  Now I could have easily used up some of the stash in my cupboard but it was all so bright and lary and made up of bits of this and bits of that.  And while I would have much preferred to be able to wander into a lovely wooly shop like The Stash Cupboard, Hobart was just too far away (Sorry Penni!), so I went with the old faithful and had an emergency dash to Spotlight.

 

I saw this pin on pinterest that inspired my colour choice as well as my decision to go with fat ripples.
 

Source: hellosmitten.tumblr.com via Sonia on Pinterest

 

 My colour choices - trying to keep it simple.



 

Now I just have to settle on which ripply pattern to follow:

(click on the image and it will take you to the respective patterns)

 

The Royal Sisters...

 

Attic 24...

 

Meet Me at Mikes...

 

And, hark!  What else did I spy at Spotlight?! 



Timber Babushka cross stitch!  Well of course I needed two!

This is where I am up to with my scrappy quilt along thingy.  Just two more blocks and I think I am done.  Then of course I have to work out what to do next!!!  This is not the final placement of each square - I just needed to lay it all out to see what colours I need to go with for may last two pieces.  I'm thinking a greeny block and maybe a purple one too.

 

My creative space....

Spinning a yarn!

My lovely friend Penni and her gorgeous yarn shop, The Stash Cupboard in Hobart, featured on the 7.30 report the other night!  Sqeee!  Such a sweet story about a wee film that is being made all about knitting.

 

Click here for a looksy.

And these are some happy snaps from when I got to visit Miss Penni's lovely shop way back in August on my Hobart weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo a day in October... something close up

 

How could I not do a close up of a granny?

 

 

They still do it for me in a big way!

 

 

By the way, I survived my first day back in front of a classroom today! 

Really, how frightening can 17 six year olds be?!

 

A work in progress

I had a dream....

 

(don't mind my shoes!)

 

I think my dream got to big.

He is currently just shy of the width of our king size bed.

I still have 164 squares to do and join. 

The ends to sew in

An edge to do.

 

Each square is taking me about 16 minutes.

 

16 x 164 = 2624

 

2624 divided by 60 minutes = 44 hours (rounded up)

 

That's 44 hours of work peeps to just get the squares done.

Before the 26th of October.  Isaac's birthday.

 

I had a dream...

And am now having a nightmare!

 

(but, my word, how cute is Mario going to be!!!!)

My creative space: Unfinished!

 

Please tell me that I am not the only one with eleventy billion crafty projects on the go at once, none of which are recieving my full attention, all of which are strewn across the craft room floor????

 

 

 

This basket of traditional granny squares made using left over bits of yarn from various other projects.

 

 

The rainbow rug, using Lucy's granny stripe tutorial.

 

 

The rest of the colours for the rainbow rug.

 

 

 

 

And of course, the poor Mario blanket.  Which has all but been forgotten about since I ran out of the blue and it's on back order with the Bendigo Woollen Mills and since I am joining as I am going I can't continue on with the other colours without ruining my pattern of joining!

 

So of course with all of that laying about the house I'd want to start something new!

 

 

 

After seeing this beautiful scarf I had to give it a go myself.  The wool is a purchase I made on my Hobart weekend from The Stash Cupboard and my instagram pictures really don't do the colour any justice.  It is a Cascade Yarn in a lovely steel blue colour.

 

What's on your hook at the moment?

Some beautiful 'completed' creative spaces are at Kidspot.

Severe Mondayitis

My Monday morning looked like this:

 I tripped over the dog bed, fell onto the child safety gate that we have in the laundry to keep the dog contained which then came out of the door frame with the elephantine force of my weight on it, landed on my knees on top of the gate, skidded my elbows on the carpet getting carpet burn and hit my head on the wall!  On the way down I did some kind of twisty action as well, so my back is feeling quite ouchy as well.  I lay there moaning and in tears wondering whether to get Oscar to call an ambulance!  Fearing that would freak the kids out and since I was still in my pjs, no bra, bed hair and all (which would clearly freak any ambo's out) I lay there and swore instead.  I have been limping all day and have terribly bruised knees, a ripped toenail, carpet burnt elbows and an achey back to show for it.

Moral of the story - the bloody dog can sleep outside from now on!

Things that cheered my limpy Mondayitis up a smidgen:

My sister found this somewhere on facebook -

Sooo true!  Especially if you add in Pinterest and Blogging!

Source: asos.com via Sonia on Pinterest

Cute crochet runners from ASOS!  Going straight onto my birthday wishlist!

 

Watching Isaac be a flag bearer for his 'country'!  The closest he will ever get to the Olympics I think.  He is not renowned for his athletic ability!

Having this Rainbow of Yarny Goodness watch me from the corner of my craft room.  I feel a rainbow rug in my waters!  Maybe something like this or this.

Hope your Monday started off better than mine!

My creative space...

I have been pattern testing this week!

My super lovely friend Penni who owns and runs ...

 

... has written a very lovely crochet scarf pattern she is calling 'Crumbed'.

The end product is a very fancy, scallopy, long scarf.  It easily loops around my neck twice with plenty left over for some draping in front. 

I must confess to being a little overwhelmed by the starting chain of 298, but it is because of this that scarf ends up being so beautiful and gives you the length to really wrap it around yourself.

Don't mind my wrinkly bed in which the scarf is being draped on.

See! How pretty and fancy is that!?

The pattern is easy to read and requires nothing fancy in terms of stitches - chain, dc, half trebles and double trebles.  Penni supplied me with the lovely navy wool, Cascade 220 I believe it was.

Would you like to make one?

Contact Penni at The Stash Cupboard and she will help you out with the pattern and some lovely wool.

Other creative spaces are right this way....