The Good, the Bad and the UGLY.

I have been converted. I have crossed over. I am going to have to set up a new blog. I never thought it would happen to me. But it has. I am addicted to.......

CROCHET!!

It began about a year ago when I learnt how to make a granny square from that guy Mike off Youtube. Remember I asked for any scrap donations of wool as I wanted to make my dd a big blanket?? Well, I have finished it... but more about that later.

This passion really began with this lovely lady's photos:

ElizabethCat

Please take a moment and see how inspiring this girl's work is! Truely breathtaking.

So this then lead to me getting some of this:



and with lots of help from the aforesaid lady, I was able to make my first African flower motif:



Not quite sharp enough at the edges but a great first attempt.

This lead to this:



which will go towards making a nice little blanket me thinks.

But back to the aforesaid granny blanket. This is definitely the "Ugly" in the title post but my dd loves it and I learned a lot through doing it. I even learned how to "join as you go" to join the squares up. Now I have some ideas about colour and organisation and so the next one will be oh so much better.









I remember having a similar crochet blanket when I was a child and I used to do so much with it. I used it to play on. I used it as a tent between mine and my sister's beds. I used to comfort myself with it and use it to dress up as a queen! I hope my dd will get a lot of pleasure from it.

Sally, Barb, Tracy and I believe Lesleyanne and I are doing the At Home with Jane Austen by The Sampler Girl SAL which was in the Gift of Stitching magazine a year or so ago. I have made a measly start. This is the "bad" in my title. :( However, a start is a start and it is an enjoyable stitch too. Just wish I had all the threads doh!



Here's the good. The very good in fact. I thought I'd save the best till last. My friend and I have been working on big big big baps (you know - the one my dad is now working on :S). Well, my friend, after many years of toil has finally finished her masterpiece. She didn't work on any other project in the 5 or 6 years that it has taken her to finish this. She says she is now going to hang up her needle! It truely is a work of art. Amazing. The design is from Golden Kite and contains lots of blends. I should know the title of this art piece but for the moment it escapes me. We had champagne to celebrate her putting in her last stitch. So without further ado....





Congratulations Michelle!

Thanks for all the lovely emails for the RAKs. I'll be getting on with a few of those soon. Thanks for your kindness and friendship.xx

A little catch up

Hello dears. What an emotional week it has been and very overwhelming in more ways than one. I can hardly think straight and I know that as I attempt to write this post, there will probably be loads of things I miss out and forget so please forgive me if I sound a bit scatty.

First of all, let me say a huge Thank you to everyone who left me and my family condolences on the loss of my dear brother. I, and my parents, were deeply moved by them and the heartwarming prayers and thoughts that have been going out to us this past week. The funeral was on Wednesday and, as well as being very moving and upsetting in itself, it was also very overwhelming as relatives whom I had not seen in about 25 years were there as well. I had really missed them and it was good to see them again and make contact.

Unfortunately, issues at home raised their ugly heads again I found myself between a rock and a hard place. All way too distressing and I found myself back on panic attack pills. An enforced visit to the doc ensued for the other half and now, I hope, we have turned the last corner and things will be on the mend. Time will tell.

So, understandably, my stitching mojo hid in a corner and refused to come out and play this week. I did manage to make some knitted dishcloths to add to my sisters' Christmas packages but I didn't take any pics. Suffice to say, they are a lot like Staci's - here - all in bright cotton colours. I used the remains of the Rico cotton from my bag. I also used a ball of Peaches and creme and I did get a shot of those:

The pattern is super easy and can be found here.

Knitting definitely was on the agenda and I finished up two pairs of wristwarmers - one for my neice and one for Lily's teacher who loved them - phew.

My other neice wanted a Slytherin scarf made for her as well so I got looking on the internet - not being a Potter fan - for a pattern and found one in crochet. This is the result. It is very long so hope she likes it. Pattern found here.

I recently wrote to Karen asking her to do a wee bit of finishing for me as I had this Mirabilia Angel waiting to be finished since ages ago but I had a real problem with knowing what to do with it. Karen thought a flatfold would be a good idea and she did a beautiful job. Here it is now:

Absolutely stunning. I love it Karen. Thank you so very much for doing this finishing job for me.

I also got my exchange ornie from Tina (no blog) through the post this week too. Look at this:

I love it and the tinkling bells are a fantastic touch. See - hung on my tree already. Tina also spoilt me by getting me a PS chart from off my wishlist too. Love love love.

Now, I can't remember if I showed a pic of my HOE exchange ornie or not so I'll show you that too. I stitched this for Marie and it is from one of the Just cross ornie mags. Marie has got nicer pics of it.

Well, that's me spent. I am exhausted. I have one last present to wrap and that is it. So I will leave you of some pics of my decorated home.

Wishing you all a very peaceful and stress free Christmas.

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PS Next post i will be doing a kit review so look out for that. x

A RAK and Granny Square blanket no. 2 finished!!!

Hello folks in lovely blogland. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. It has been going okay here. I have my two lovelies to keep me company. DD has been to a few different activities including crafting at the local craft centre where she has done all sorts of wonderful crafts. But more about that later.

Firstly, after my last post, I received this gorgeous RAK in the post from Robin



Isn't it great?? I love the chart and fabric and that pink lace - oh I love it. Thanks Robin so much. This was a neat thing to get in the post.

Speaking of giveaways, my followers list has grown to over 200!! I have been doing a few things for the giveaway but I haven't got it all together yet. I can tell you though that it will have a mixture of "Hazel Handmade" and some bought goodies too. So stay tuned.

Next up, I am very proud to present my latest finish. This is my second crochet blanket and I call it my Baby Steps blanket. If you remember my first blanket and how I completely ad-hocked it, this latest blanket was me learning about square sizes and colour organisation. It is also for my ds who, although no longer a baby, is still my baby.





I even learned how to do this lovely shell edging around it thanks to attic24.



As I have got more and more into the crochet and yarns etc I started to really dislike the colours I chose for this blanket. Originally I was so excited about them esp after the Ugly episode. However, now that it is made up, I am really pleased with how it turned out. Not bad for cheap Hayfield Bonus wool! My son loves it too and he is snuggled up asleep in it even as I type ;).



My dd says she wants a ripple blanket now!

Speaking of DD, she has been to a few things this summer. Here is some of what she has been up to:



Jewellery making, wheelwork, tile making, mask making, Hama beading!!!!! She has also done some artwork and the usual colouring in etc...

Right, I'm off to catch up on some blogs whilst also thinking of more crochet blankets! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Park picnics

I have been moping around the last couple of days feeling very poorly and very sorry for myself. You know how it starts with a bit of a sore throat and you think, "Ack!" and then it suddenly turns into something so very nasty that knocks you off your feet literally for the next few days? It has gone from a bug like flu with nausea and tummy ache and shivers and aches to a full on head cold. However, trying to stay positive I thought I would post about our recent pinic in Lyme Hall last Sunday. Do you remember my post not so long ago about the same place where the snowdrops were budding? I thought it would be nice to show you what it looks like in the heart of spring. We got there around 10.30- 11.00ish - a good time to go as it gets really busy after then. Found this lovely spot by the lake:

and settled down on the Ugly blanket which proved to be a great picnic blanket as it is massive and so there was no teetering on the corners on those small roll up blankets people use. I would have been using mine but I lost it in typical ME fashion and was kind of forced into using theUgly blanket.

Nothing posh. Just what we had in the house. Butties, pringles, fruit and juice and some chocolate mini rolls. There's nothing like eating outdoors is there? Then into the house and the gardens and here are some snaps of how the garden is looking now: Hyacinths everywhere and the smell so fragrant.

And these were taken in the arbetorium:

So colourful. I can't wait for summer. I have been doing some crochet too and finished off Clare's scarf and she now has it and loves it thankfully. Cream centres this time with more pinks and purple shades:

Also had a go at Julia Crossland's Popcorn Flower:

Really like this and will be making more shortly.

And another flower square by Rose Hip:

So there you have it. That was last weekend. This weekend I am staying home sulking! Thanks for all the lovely comments and especially new readers and followers. I will be heading over to read your blogs soon. Have a lovely weekend whatever you are doing. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx