Welcome Little Peter

Here's my baby boy modelling a Peapod Soup original cardigan. He's nearly 8 weeks old now, getting more aware of his surroundings and starting to smile.

I'm slowly getting back into making things, but H is nearly 14 months old and almost walking, so I've kind of got my hands full!. We've converted our loft into a craft / office space, so I'm really excited about having some space to work and be creative once the littleys are in bed. 

Both my etsy shops are now open after a short break.  Holding a street party of the Royal Jubilee? Then you need to whip up a patriotic tea cosy, available from The Tree Bridge, my crochet pattern store! There's also a pattern for English cakes and biscuits, for your Jubilee cake stand. 

Happy Making!

strange days...

My baby was due 4 days ago! I closed my online stores a couple of weeks ago, but my patterns are still available at Ravelry, and there are some free patterns there too.

I've been nesting, organizing, sewing, but not really crocheting. H is standing up (and toppling over!) so all my time is spent watching him and catching him at the last moment, he is suddenly very hard work. But lots of fun, and really starting to communicate a lot. He'll be 1 in a couple of week's time. The spd pain is worse than ever, some days I can't stand up long enough to make a cup of tea (which is a disaster for me, as I drink gallons each day!). I'm so looking forward to having this baby, getting back to normal and going on long walks along the canal with the double pushchair.

I made a 'cheat' patchwork quilt for the baby, out of the tablecloth fabric we used at our wedding, and some other scraps. In the evenings I've been doing cross stitch, sometimes I like to do a project that doesnt involve any thinking, its quite therapeutic. I have to do something to stop me going insane from being trapped in the house. I pretty much only leave the house for midwife appointments, even walking to the car is torture.

And a kitsch 70's tapestry for H.

Maybe next time I type here, I'll have a baby!

Waiting...

 

It's kind of a strange time here, I have 3 weeks until my due date so I'm tying up loose ends with work, making sure my website is up to date, sorting out baby clothes, packing my hospital bag, and just generally nesting, but not making any plans and trying not to start any new projects. We're in the middle of having our loft converted, and in the meantime all our junk is piled in heaps in H's bedroom, (which is soon to become 'the boy's room!'). So until it's finished, I wont feel I'm ready for our new little boy. I still think I'm denial about having another baby!

I guess its time to enjoy H being on his own for the last time, but I'm still pretty much housebound, I can just about walk to T's car but managing stairs, or picking up H are getting harder all the time. I can handle constant pain (just about!) but I can't handle having to ask my husband to do pretty much everything for me.

Here's H, falling asleep halfway through lunch! Probably my own fault for keeping him in his PJs all morning.

I finished my hexagon blanket, the colours I chose were just scraps of yarn I had, but I really like how it turned out. 

 

I'll be turning off my online shops in 2 weeks, so now's the last chance to buy my crochet patterns until autumn.

Valentine Crochet Hearts Tutorial

Happy Valentine Hearts 
 

How to make some sweet crochet hearts filled with lavender, just in time for Valentine's day.

You will need:

3mm crochet hook

a button

a small amount of Double Knitting yarn

Toy stuffing

dried lavender (optional)

yarn needle.

British crochet terminology.

Instructions:

Front:

1.     Ch8, Dc in 2nd ch from hook and in each stitch across. Ch1, turn. (7dc)

2.     Dc in each stitch across, Ch1, turn. (7dc).

3-8.  As row 2.

9.     Skip 3 stitches, work 8 dtr in next st, skip next 2 stitches, slip stitch in last st. Do not turn.

10.   Working along the edge of the rows, skip 2 rows and work 8dtr in the edge of the 3rd row. Skip the next 3 rows and slip stitch in bottom corner (the start of foundation row).

Fasten off.

Back:

As front, do not fasten off.

Edging row:

Dc front to back, stopping at the 'v' between the two bumps of the heart. 

Stuff the heart with toy stuffing and lavender. 

Ch35, slip stitch in next st. Continue to Dc around edge back to the start.

Fasten off leaving 6" sewing length. Sew button to front.

Happy Valentine's Day!

White

Last summer I made some funny looking hats for a childrens show performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show has done really well and they asked me to make a few more hats for their new tour, about to start in Australia and New Zealand. How funny that something I stitched in my living room is now on stage halfway round the world! The tour is coming to the UK in the spring, it's a show for children aged 2-4.

Lovely new colourful things in my etsy shop...

Happy New Year! (A bit late...)

I have decided that 2012 is going to be the year of COLOUR! I always used to like dark, earthy colours, greens and browns and the colour of trees and woodlands. Most things I crocheted for myself were sludgy organic earthy 'Rowan' type colours. I would never, ever choose pink. Even though my vintage shopper bike is pink. When I worked in a fabric shop, new yarn would arrive and we would all choose which where 'our' colours, and mine were always the natural undyed organic yarns, or deep jewelled shades. But gradually bright colour has been creeping in more and more, especially now I've been crocheting a lot for babies. Lots of bright colour in my etsy shop! 



I'm blaming blog-land for this tranformation, in particular, Nina and Lucy! I think it's safe to say that i have been Lucy-fied. Her blog is so warm and comforting and colourful, I love the photos of her sofa covered with about a bazillion brightly coloured crocheted blankets. I still shirk away from pink though! Insired by Lucy, I am making her crocheted hexagon blanket for my armchair. 



Look, it even has pink in it. It isn't finished and it still needs to be edged. I spend a lot of time in my old-lady armchair, I'm 7 months pregnant and find my sofa impossible to get up out of. We bought it from a junk shop when I was pregnant with H (I had SPD then, too). So, inspired by this post by Cecily Mae (she makes gorgeous colourful cushions by the way), I have transformed my dull and practical armchair!

Before & After:

        


Yellow shawl I crocheted for my wedding (but never wore!). Mini cushion is from Needful Things at folksy. Definitely helping to make dark, dank, dismal January a bit cheerier!