Blanket Finished, New Project Started

Woohoo I've finished my blanket! 

Doesn't it look great and just in time to keep me warm in this snowy weather!

So onto the next project also to keep me warm this winter. Last week I bought myself a new coat. Now when I say new I mean I scoured the charity shops and I found this really lovely red coat for £10 and what's more it still had it's tags :-) but bright pink doesn't go well with red so I need a new scarf, hat and gloves. Well scarves I can do and this is a good opportunity to have a go at making a hat but I don't think I'm up to making gloves so I was treated to a lovely pair from Accessorize to go with the wool I bought. So I have started on my scarf and here is how I chose the pattern and what it looks like so far. Check out my Project Diary regularly for updates on how it is going :-)

I have a folder of pretty crochet stitches so first I had a wander through that choosing the stitch I liked and thought I could do. This is the alternating fan stitch. If you like the stitch and would like to try it let me know and I'll type up the instructions.

It took me a bit to get the hang of the stitch. At first I managed to make my own up but as I was wanting to learn this one I undid it and started again! It didn't take too long before I had done this...

I really love this pattern! It's so pretty that I couldn't put it down and by the end of the evening it looked like this...

And I have done a few more rows this morning. I'm sure it won't be long 'til it's finished!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my projects and maybe it will inspire you to try something new!

Some Kitchen Bits Sorted

My mum has just got some new snazzy electronic talking scales and so I have now acquired her old ones! They are perfect although we only bought them last year they are old fashioned in style and will fit in perfectly with my shabby chic home! 

I just hope I have a big enough kitchen that I can have them on display on the surface!

The other thing I have done today is to sort out the food containers mum isn't using. 

Aren't they colourful? Some of them might be a bit small for food (even if there is only me) So I'm sure they will get put to good use for beads or other crafty bits.

I have found a basket I can use to keep them neatly contained so they could sit on a shelf and look a bit pretty or go in a cupboard and be easy to get out to choose the one I need!

All I need to do now is get on with finding a house! Well I mean there are lots of other things I could be doing to prepare, making things, sorting things, boxing things but I must get on with getting on peoples waiting lists otherwise I could still be here this time next year!

New Cath Kidson Mugs

For my birthday last week my friend gave me this lovely Cath Kidson mug.

I loved it so much that I wanted to have a pair for my new house! I knew I had  a local shop that sold them for just £4 (ok that is more than I would usually pay for a mug but I couldn't resist!) I looked at all the different designs happy to go for a mismatched pair but in the end I decided that I wanted to have them both with the blue scallop edge and so I now have a lovely pair of Cath Kidson mugs! 

 

I can't wait to have someone come to coffee so I can use them together!

*Making Blankets For My New Home*

While I haven't been posting much I am still busy thinking, dreaming and planning and even pushing every door I can to get my own place! The latest on that is I am going to see YMCA who run a deposit bond scheme so that I may be able to privately rent without needing to find the massive amount of money for deposit and up to 2 months rent in advance! I will let you know when I go and how I get on!

In the meantime I am still making things for my new home and also have mum saving ice cream containers for me for storage!

So here are some pictures of the blankets I am working on. The cream one is a simple one that I can do even if I'm tired and watching tv because the pattern is easy to get into routine with and takes no thinking at all!

This is my cream and pink one and this started out as a project to learn new stitches on however there are 2 problems with it. 1. it's been a long time since I did anything on it and halfway through a row I have forgotten how to do the stitch I'm on. The book I took it from has gone back to the library and can't be borrowed again ( I think someone has lost it!); and 2. Somehow with all these different stitches my sides aren't straight! A bit of a bother but I plan to see if I can add a fringe or border when it's finished so it doesn't notice! That's the thing about hand crafting you make mistakes but also have the skill to hide them! And mistakes prove that an item is handmade and not mass produced by machine! I love the fact that when I have these in use in my own home I will be proud to say I made them!

I hope you enjoy seeing the things I am making and it will inspire you to go and try something new or make something pretty for your home!

Ravelry Inspirations

I have just joined Ravelry. A community website for knitters and crocheters (I never know how to say that! is it cro-shay-ers or cro-she-ters? any thoughts anyone?). Anyway I was having a look around and was looking at knitting and crocheting clubs in my area. There aren't many, 1 in Morecambe but that is evening which is not a good time for Mum and me and is quite a drive away and one at Lancaster Uni but that is only for Uni members. And so I go to thinking about having my own group when I have my own house and being able to advertise it on Ravelry. And that got me thinking a bit more about how many people would I have and would I have enough chairs and I had a little flash of inspiration! I would make a variety of floor cushions and people could cosy up and have a natter while letting our creative juices flowing!

So here are some pretty floor cushions that I could have fun making!

This is from Tipnut which includes sewing instructions (thank you very much tipnut!)

I love this idea of sitting around a table and these square cushions would be stackable!

So keep a look out for the finished projects coming up! 

(Now I know I keep saying keep a look out and I have all these plans that haven't made it to fruition yet but trust me they are coming! I am currently working on a storage box! Pictures will be uploaded and have been taken at various stages of creation for you to see)

Shabby Chic Lovliness

So here I am again, just to prove that it’s not always months between posts! Yesterday I went to a little Summer Fayre at my Dads church! 

There was lots of really lovely things on the sewing stall and I couldn’t resist, I had to buy myself a sweet little shabby chic cushion! It was only £2 so a real bargain! 

It made me think about where I am going to keep things I make for my new home! I remembered I had a little white wicker chest with rose fabric lining upstairs. So when I got back I went and got it and bought it down to my bedroom! It is full already but only because it seems a sensible place to keep the projects I am working on. It looks very sweet sitting under my cream wrought iron shelf that has my jewellery hanging from it and as you can see the cushion already has pride of place on top! Doesn't it look lovely? I’m sure as I look at my little chest I will be reminded to get something out to work on while I am watching tv in the evenings! It’s making me all excited about the idea of creating a beautiful new home! 

I will be back again soon with another post as I find out pieces I have already made for my home and other things already in use that will be coming with me when I move! Thanks for visiting and see you soon! Teri xx

Patchwork Plans

hello, ok, so it's a been another couple of months since my last post but don't worry preparing for my next home has not left my mind!

Someone kindly gave us a pile of patchwork and quilting magazines and I have been pouring over them and imagining what I would make and for whom!

My first projects would be for me and my bed as I am always annoyed by duvets that never stay put inside the duvet cover! Making a patchwork duvet with quilting to hold the wadding in place will solve that problem and so my first attempt will be a pretty shabby chic inspired light double duvet for my bed that will be able to travel with me to my new home!

As I have been browsing these magazines I have also been thinking about my hopes to become a foster parent and how I would be able to personalise a room for that child! Now I don't know if I will have 1 or 2 bedrooms and that/those rooms would be for a child of any age or sex! I can't have one room that is kitted as a nursery for a baby boy and then need it for a 7 year old girl!

So I was thinking of having a room in a neutral colour scheme and then change the accessories as required and one way of doing that is through the use of themed patchwork quilts and wallhangings in various craft techniques to fit in with the child I am currently caring for! Meanwhile although I haven't started making anything yet I am still dreaming and planning!

I hope you come back for another look soon (in say a month or so lol) and see if I have managed to start a project when I will be able to tell you not only what I am working on but also the costs and whether I am managing to keep to my aim of handmade, reuse and recycle!