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!!!

8/52

Better late than never....

Oscar - pre 50m butterfly, calm and relaxed and just happy to be getting the morning off school.

Isaac - just casually walking into school in his homemade minecraft mask.... because why not?!

Matilda - getting comfy on the bookshop floor.

Joining in with Jodi at Practising Simplicity

7/52

Oscar - clearly iPhone images cannot capture the delight that are the freckles which dance across your nose!

Matilda - who knew that school would give me the opportunity to display my hidden talents as a hairdresser... this was my poor attempt at a love heart braid for Valentine's Day!

Isaac - obsessed.  Completely and utterly.  Minecraft and Terraria have provided this child with a vocab I simply cannot participate in!

I don't know how on earth I will manage to keep up this picture taking each week!  Once the kids are all at school, opportunities for a secret snap disappear.  And I'm embarrassed still that the iphone is my camera of choice! 

#notreallycuttingthemustard

6/52

Oscar - Sunburnt and squinty but clearly a winner at the swimming trials! 

Isaac - I have been in love with your beautiful lips and eyelashes since birth.

Matilda - such a big girl now at school during computer class (mummy was on parent help!)  You could not meet a girl who loves school more!

Joining in with Jodi at Practicing Simplicity

5/52 ~ A new Preppie!

Matilda - experiencing one of life's big moments this week with the first day of school!  She loved it!  And so did I....

Three kids at school for mummy! Yay!

 Oscar and Isaac - started back the day before Matilda with Grade 4 and Grade 2!

Such spunks!

Playing along with Jodi at Practising Simplicity



4/52

Oscar - exhausted after I forced him on a bike ride which, GASP, included hills!

Isaac - inherited his mother's love of craft of course, here in his homemade Minecraft suit! 

Matilda - school starts for you this week miss!  Lucky you have your own homemade hopscotch to take with you!

The 52 Project - a portrait a week, every week, for 2014

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!