Make do and mend...

The plan was that I'd look after the boys during the day, and then after they had gone to bed, I'd write some new crochet patterns. It hasn't turned out that way at all, P started out as quite a good sleeper but the last few months he's been waking up maybe 3 or 4 times a night. So once he's in bed, I'm exhausted and the last thing I feel like doing is switching on my laptop and typing up patterns, my brain switches off after 7pm! So I've been doing some easy crochet or hand-sewing in the evenings, (because my sewing machine is too noisy and would wake them up).  

I found all their old bath towels from when they were tiny babies and I didn't want to throw them away, so I edged them with polka-dot bias binding, and turned them into hand towels. It's an easy project because the towels are already edged, you don't need to cut anything. I added a band of ditsy polycotton along one edge.

Then I got addicted to bias-binding everything, and made some easy quilts. These are cotton cot sheets from Ikea, one has funny vegetable characters on (they remind me of those Garden Gang childrens books from the 80's), and the other is cats and dogs.

I quilted around the characters by hand, then I backed them with some soft blue jersey, and edged them with bias.  

Lovely and snuggly for nap time!

Easter Bunny Crochet Kits...

New for Spring!

 

Make your own sweet crocheted bunny...

Yarn, stuffing, safety eyes and printed pattern, all in a brown paper bag.

The perfect springtime gift for a crocheter.

 Available in my etsy shop

Happy Spring!

Yes, my name is Iggle Piggle...

I crocheted these 'In the Night Garden' toys for H & P for Christmas. I'm not very good at embroidering faces on toys, luckily Iggle Piggle and Makka Pakka are meant to have slightly daft expressions! Makka Pakka is my favourite, he is a quirky stone-age type character who lives in a cave and collects rocks. 

The Pattern was from Ravelry, by Magdalena Svartlok, easy to follow and fun to make.

Crochet Hook Conversion Chart

UK hook size     USA hook size

2.25mm                B/1
2.75mm                C/2
3.25mm                D/3
3.5mm                  E/4
3.75mm                F/5
4mm                     G/6
5mm                     H/8
5.5mm                  I/9
6mm                     J/10
6.5mm                  K/10.5
8mm                     L/11
9mm                     M/13
10mm                   N/15
15mm                   P/19
16mm                   Q
19mm                   S/35

Yarn Weight Conversion Chart

UK	USA	Suggested	Typical uses
		Hook
2ply	Baby	2.25 to 3.5mm	Baby clothes
	Fingering
3ply	Fingering	3 to 4mm	Baby clothes,
	Sock		shawls, socks
4ply	Sport	3.5 to 4.5mm	Baby clothes,
			shawls, socks,
			lightweight sweaters
Double Knitting	Double Knitting	4 to 5mm	Children's clothes,
	Light Worsted		toys, adult sweaters
Aran	Fisherman,	5.5 to 6.5mm	Adult Sweaters
	Worsted
Chunky	Bulky	6.5 to 9mm	Adult Sweaters,
			Bags
Extra Chunky	Super Bulky	9mm-12mm	Bags, Rugs

 
Yarn comes in a wide variety of thicknesses, and it can be quite daunting when you first start crocheting to know which yarn to use. Most patterns will specify a yarn, and give an approximate gauge / tension size, usually how many stitches and rows over a 4 x 4 inch square. (Tension is the traditional term used in knitting in the UK, but the US term is gauge).

It's important to check your gauge / tension before starting a project, to make sure you have the correct yarn and hook size, especially when making something that needs to fit, like clothing. Once you've been crocheting for a while, you'll be able to play around with different weight yarns and not just stick to the yarn weight specified in a pattern.

The names for different weight yarns vary between the UK and USA. Bear in mind that even yarns in the same weight can vary a great deal, eg Paton's Diploma Gold DK is much thinner than say, a budget acrylic DK like Paton's Fab. 

I've included the recommended hook sizes for each yarn, although again, this varies depending on what you are making. For a bag you would use a smaller hook to create a dense, tight stitch, but for something drapey like a shawl or scarf you would use a larger hook. A crochet pattern will always tell you which hook size to use.

Happy crocheting!

Happy New Year! And Thank You!

I'd just like to say thank you so much to all of my lovely customers who've supported me this year. I love being a work-at-home mum, difficult as it is sometimes! I get to spend time with my two boys at home, and I also get to have fun making things and writing patterns when they are in bed. So thank you to everyone who has ordered something from my shop, bought a pattern, posted a picture of a finished item on Ravelry, or just commented, it really means a lot to me and my little family. 

2012 has been a bit rough for a lot of people, I hope that 2013 can be a happier year for everyone. So happy new year, happy crafting, and most of all, be kind to yourself and to those around you.

Tutorial - Christmas Crackers

 

Handmade crackers are fun to make, and you can fill them with personalised gifts and use them as place settings. I'm making the crackers this year, and my husband is in charge of writing the bad jokes to put inside.

You will need, per cracker:
1 loo roll tube
1 cracker snap (I got mine on ebay for about £1.60 for 12)
1 A4 sheet of festive paper
A slightly larger piece of tissue paper
Luggage tag
Ribbon, wool or string
Decorations, eg stickers or cardmaking toppers.

Joke or General Knowledge Question

Chocolates and gift - mine mostly came from charity shops. I'm using vintage wooden push up toys, jewellery, Guatamalan worry dolls, and miniature bottles of whiskey.

 

1.  Put a cracker snap, chocolate, joke and gift inside the loo roll.

2. Roll the piece of tissue around the loo roll, and glue or tape in place. Then do the same with the A4 coloured paper, making sure that the tisse sticks out the ends.

3.Twist each end of the cracker and tie with ribbon, wool or string.

4. Write the name of the recipient on the luggage tag, glue to the cracker and decorate with stickers, toppers, buttons or whatever you like.