Advent-age...

Well, December 1st is here. It's been a gusty wet day and I am typing this in front of a roaring fire. Christmas is defiantly on it's way.

I think my children forgot the date as there was no mention of advent calenders this morning. Whilst they were at school I pulled out the decorations & found their advent bags.

I bought these in a budget shop in Amsterdam years ago, but have seen that Wilkinsons are doing something very similar this year for £6. See here. 

I fill each bag with a chocolate & a sticker for each child & peg to a branch, sprayed gold in my porch. It makes a very attractive decoration and is a Christmas tradition in our house.

Currently, I am making....

.... beards for our school nativity.

Kudos goes to bluestocking stitcher's crafty stuff for the

moustache pattern.

A bag made from bags... Tutorial

Waste paper bin liners.

Cut off & discard the bottom.

I cut each bag into 12 strips, then I opened them out.

This is how I made the plastic "wool"

I will add a photo of the finished product once complated.

Handles:
1. Ch 120
2. SL1 to join chain. SC all around for 3 rows.
3. To separate handles from bag. SC 20, CH 20 (skip 20 to create first handle), SC 40, CH 20, (skip 20 to create second handle), SC 20.
4. SC 120 (one row).

Body of the bag:
1. CH 4, {Skip 1, DC 1, CH 1} ←Repeat the bracketed stitches until you reach the end of the round.
2. DC into the opening created by the chain stitch openings of the previous round. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat the bracketed stitches for three more rounds.
3. (CH 2, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
4. {CH 2, DC 1} ←Repeat for four more rounds.
5. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
6. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
7. Bag Bottom: At the end of the previous round, lay the bag flat so that the handles are lying on top of one another. While holding the front and the back of the bag together, SC through both sides to close up the bottom of the bag, and tie a knot at the end.
8. Weave in ends.

Kudos goes to theadventuresofcassie  for the original idea and to trickee_nic
for the tweaked pattern.

Sock Monkey Tutorial

Now I HATE hand sewing, but these little guys are very cute & don't take too long to make.  Here is how I make my sock monkeys....

Start with a new pair of child's socks, turned inside out. These are size 12 to 2. Of course, you can use different size socks for different size monkeys, but men's socks tend to make the body too long.

For the main body, lay one sock flat and sew the legs (see below

The heel will become the bottom. Snip around the legs & turn right way round. If you are using toy eyes, attach them now, but sewing buttons on after the toy is stuffed will look just as good. Once stuffed, sew up the gap.

Sew the other sock as in 1st photo & cut out. Turn the arms & tail the right way round & stuff. Turn the ears the right way. (No need to stuff) Cut the heel out, stuff & sew onto the stuffed monkeys body as the snout/mouth.  Sew ears, arms & tail onto the main body... & there we have it... a sock monkey!

If you want a sock monkey without the hassle, I thoroughly recommend purchasing one from
Wendywoos' Handcrafted Sock Monkeys

Jack the Robot

After a visit to our local scrap store today, Loki (my 5 year old son) & myself made this robot, which he has named Jack. We had a great time making him & Loki came up with some great ideas for the design.

Rememberance Poppy

Sunday was Remembrance Day. Everyday last week my son, Loki asked for money to buy a poppy, as he lost his daily. Come thursday, I decided to try & crochet him one. I youtubed it (as always) & found this video from Mikeysmail:

Youtube Video: Crochet a rememberance poppy.

It wasn't the shape I was after, but gave me the know how needed to come up with my own version....

Remembrance Poppies

Hook size 2.5 – 4

Start with black 4 ply.

*Make a slip knot. Chain 2.

*Single Crochet 12 into the furthest stitch from your hook to make a circle.

*Change colour to red 4 ply.

*Chain 4

*Double crochet 1 into the same stitch

*Treble crochet 2 into each of the next 2 stitches

*Double crochet 1 in next stitch, chain 4. Slip stitch into same stitch.
*Slip Stitch to next stitch..

*Repeat the red instructions 2 more times to make the 2nd & 3rd petals.

*Fasten off.

Margaret Hitchman of Cake Heaven fame traded me 6 of her delicious cup cakes for a poppy broach.... now that's what I call a good trade!

www.cakeheaven.co.uk

www.facebook.com/cakeheaven

Glove Love

My next project was gloves. (Or hand warmers to be percise.)

Again, I didn't have a pattern, just made it up as I went along. I kept trying them on. Increasing & decreasing as I went along. I chained 6 stitches for the thumb hole, then when I had finished them, went back a crocheted a few rows around the whole for the thumb.

These are very quick & easy to make ( if you use a chunky wool) & are proving very popular. At his request, my husband had some in black & my daughter has requested a trip to the wool shop so she can choose some wool for me to make her a pair.

Yoda, am I

As a crocheter of 10 whole days, I decided it was time to give my self a challenge. I wanted to crochet a little Yoda for my husband. He had recently started a new job, and I thought this little guy could be his desk mascot.

There are lots of patterns out there, but I found this free one was great:
Free Yoda crochet pattern.

I didn't have any small eyes so he looks a bit froggish - but my husband likes him. Maybe I will make some friends to join him on the desk one day soon.

Wierdy Beardy

As the daughter of a bearded man, and finding myself married to one too, I quiet like a beard.

Last year someone posted an article about knitted beards on facebook. Apparently, they were the height of fashion for skiers.

I thought I would have a go. Now, I'm not one for patterns & guages, but will share how I made this in my slapdash way.

I used a chunky wool & a 5.0 hook. 
* Chain enough to reach ear to ear, under the nose.
* Half Double crochet (HDC) 1 row. Chain 1.
* HDC the next row, chaining on enough for a mouth hole. Chain 1
(I folded it in half, so I could get the hole in the dead center.)
*HDC another 5 or so rows, decreasing 1 at each end, until your beard is the desired length.
For the ties:
*Chain on the desired length (approx 30 cms)
*HDC 2 rows
*Sew to the main body of the beard with a darning needle.

Here is a photo of my daughter sporting my beard, looking remarkably like her father!

Living the dream.

I have always wanted to either draw amazingly, or play the piano superbly. I can do neither.

I have just never had the inclination or dedication to commit to learning a craft well. I want to be Chopin within a week, Da Vinci within the month. Of course, it's never going to happen.

I'm not sure what inspired me, but on 12th October I decided it was time I learnt to crochet. I have tried before, but it didn't click. Patterns & yarn types seemed daunting. So I sat myself down in front of you tube & found a couple of good instructional videos to teach myself the basics.
Youtube video: How to crochet - part 1
Youtube video: How to crochet - part 2

I started by crocheting a square in each stitch.

Then I moved on to stitching in the round and making flowers.

It was a start. I now feel so enthusiastic. My husband commented on how excited I got the other day when I passed a shop selling wool. Sad I know.

Crocheting gets my creative juices flowing, I feel I can have a good go at mastering this craft, and although not everyone’s cup of tea, it works for me.