Back in the Saddle again......

Hurrah!

What's the best way to get creative? 
Join the Freeform Crochet Along for International Crochet Month on Ravelry 

I did this 2 years ago and I had a blast and made this:

Which, whenever I wear it my family cringes and I get loads of compliments (though I have also learnt not to wear it when I want people to actually listen to what I'm talking about - apparently it's distracting :-) )


I was a few days late so had to crochet like mad the last couple of evenings to catch up

Here are my scrumbles* so far:

*Scrumbles is a technical term for freeform which I've chosen to translate to 'blobs of creations put together'

So far I've done 3 stitches I've never done before, including Tunisian Crochet which I'd avoided.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing what it turns out to be.....

Crocheting for All Hallows Eve

It's a long weekend, my special shawl order is finished, blocked and ready to go, the granny blanket request is 80% done and I'm looking for a little fill in project to do.

It's coming up Halloween, and I do love to make little things to leave here, there and everywhere, as well as give to unsuspecting workmates, so I'm about to start making these cool looking skulls. 

And also some of these cute little spiders :-)

 

The pattens for both can be found on the Lion Brand website & Ravelry

The Olympics for Crocheting?

Yes! And for knitting, weaving & dyeing yarn too.

Ravelry is a fab place which I know that I've talked about before, and they are hosting their own 'all for fun' version of the Olympics.  I have entered 4 of the games and am gearing up for tomorrow morning when it's international cast on/hooking time as the Opening Ceremony begins.

I'm crocheting a lacy shawl, a pair of hexagon motif slippers,  a dalek egg cosy and I'm frogging (i.e. undoing - a fab 'technical term'. Named fogging because aapparently if you undo knitting it makes a kind of ribbit sound) a poncho I've fallen out with.

(It never ceases to amaze me about how geeky I can be with my crocheting - it's such a fantastic feeling!)

Enjoy the opening ceremony!  And in the spirit of geekiness, UFOs and my love of The Doctor.  Here is a photo of a lift that is in a building in Wellington that I fell in love with the other weekend :-)

FreeForm Crochet Capelet

March is finished, and so is the freeform crochet along that I was doing.

I had a ball and learned heaps! 

All of the bits came together and decided to be a caplet/shrug/ponchet thing 
(the 'et' just means they are little versions :-) )

I really like how it's ended up and I fully intend to wear it out in public lots as it gets cooler :-)

Craft and Sewing Show

Had a great morning at the Craft and Sewing Show at Greenlane this morning.

There was lots to see and I also went to a class and got to play with the hot glue gun (always a sucker for a reason to get the hot glue gun out!) 

 

Not sure what her name is yet

 

 

I also saw a fantastic display of freeform crochet which kind of put mine to shame and gave me inspiration all at the same time, especially since the people who were displayed were fellow team mates doing the freeform crochet-a-long on Ravelry

Talking of which - it's been a big learning week, I've almost mastered a crocheted bullion stitch, done loopy beaded stuff, tried a version of irish crochet, done crochet embroidery and also messed about with different lacy things.  Phew!

Flowers & Scrumbles

This morning I was packing my bag for a weekend of wedding meriment in Wellington after a brief stop off for work in Napier.  Once I'd decided on the wedding outfit (I'm still unsure..) next was deciding how much yarn to take and which project to work on for the weekend.  I also added an extra ball of purple acrylic to make flowers. 

Over the past year, whenever I've been on a plane or in the departure lounge I sit and crochet flowers and give them to my fellow passengers.   As I picked the yarn I thought I'd share this wee thing I do because I really get a kick out of the smiles I see when I give them away, it feels good :-D

HerHook's influence is all over this

except it's like we're yarn bombing people instead of things!  

The freeform crochet is coming along -  I have found that it looks better on certain days. It's in 3 bits (called scrumbles) at the moment. We get to join them later on, or, when we feel like it.  This is the biggest bit/scrumble on a good day. 

Adding a piece of cloth and learning how to crochet around it, and adding something that wasn't anything to do with crocheting or sewing  has been the highlight so far, even though it meant lots of needle holes in my fingers.  

Freeform & Truffles

One of the ladies I met last week with work told me this recipe for Oreo Truffles.

Very easy to make, they taste fabulous, though they do look a little like bits of, (the boys in the household think cats poo in particular) anyway you can decide....

The instructions:

3 packets of oreos, 250 grams of cream cheese,  bizz it altogether and then blob it on sheets of baking paper, top with melted chocolate and a sprinkle of cocoa.  

March is National Crochet Month in the USA, and the peeps on Ravelry have decided that this year it's going International.  So I've joined the freeform crochet along, we get instructions to add on to the piece each day, this is it at day 3...

Shawley not?

Another shawl it is...

I got this yarn from my fav internet yarn store Skeinz.

 It is kind of stringy/cottony and it has been made to knit/crochet with another yarn to make a cool effect.  I tried doing that and didn't like how it crocheted and to tell the truth I was quite determined to find a pattern/project that I could use it all by itself. 

I found this one on Ravelry and did my best to follow it... not sure that it's quite the same as the pattern, (since I'm still a pattern reading beginner) it's fairly close though, and I put a different edging on it.

I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out.  

Now, what to do with the other 3 balls......

Squared Away in May

I did the Square-a-day -in- May 'a-long' from a Ravelry group, and I've shown some of the results here.  I got off with a hiss and a roar, and you know.. I always do this... off too quick and then it stops.  I ended up finishing 20 of the 30 squares and I put them all together and gave them to a lovely couple of ladies who are making blankets for Christchurch before I just stopped totally!

 

I've also got a new addiction in Yarn Bombing, Yarn Graffiti, aka Guerilla Knitting and some other fancy names.  It's International Yarn Bombing day next Saturday (11th June) and there is loads going on around the world, keep a look out for something in your area.  

I've set up a separate blog to  keep up with my bombing , so if you fancy please go and visit Her Hook to see some amazing sights such as this: 

I'm Square a Day in May'ing

This is the story so far (though I have gone further and I really like the outcome :-) )

I've added day 4 becasue the 4th is about finished down here :-)

Faeries & Squares

I've been spending any extra money in the Handmade4Chch Trademe shop, I've bought some presents for friends and family for their birthdays, and I bought myself this fantastic faery headdress made by PixieMoon.  It's very cool and I've been wearing it everyday since I got it!

Crocheting stuff has been busy as well.  Today in the mail I got some gorgeous NZ Wool from Skeinz which I'm going to use to make slippers for my mum to take to her sisters in the UK and USA when she visits in June. 

And I've just joined a CAL (Crochet Along) on Ravelry to make a square everyday for the month of May. So I should have a gorgeous throw/blanket for the winter months :-)  If you fancy having a go - check out the Hooked on Handmade blog, it has all the info on it

Lazy & Busy?

Is it possible to be lazy and busy at the same time?

I think so.

I haven't done any blogging, updating shops or keeping up on-line properly for a couple of weeks. And yet the crochet hook has been as busy as it usually is :-)

Coupla things I've worked on lately...

In other news... I've gotten hold of some sock yarn which is pretty thin compared to what I usually use, so it's taken a bit of getting used too.  And the lovely ladies who run Devonport Market have said I can have a spot in April, which I'm quite excited about!

Also keep a look out for the ultimate Gothic Loo Roll Cover Doll which I'm making for the same Ravelry team I made George the Dalek for. Fab fun!

Inspiration

It's about time I got into my etsy bloggers team routine again.  I missed last month because of the laptop being stolen, and now with the new one there is no excuse!

The theme:
What item are you working on?? What is your inspiration for this piece??

Well I'm working on lots of stuff as usual, however my 'thing' at the moment is felting.  I'm really enjoying making things and popping them in the washing machine with an old towel and seeing how it comes out the other side.  I've had a couple of bombs, and a couple of dead cool things :-)

My inspiration comes from loads of places on the interweb, though mostly from the pictures of the fabulous and creative people on ravelry, Drops Design and interweavecrochet

The Photo Story

You remember that scary looking Dalek (he's decided he's called George) - well I had to do a photo story for him for the competition.  Though I might share it :-)

George looks fluffy and camp looking… probably why he tries to prove that he’s tougher than the normal yarn Dalek….he is taking over his new realm with great enthusiasm.

No visitor dare have more than their fair share of biscuits at morning tea time

George is taking over any and all earth technology

He’s even practising hold up procedures so he can take control of the cash holding in NZ

George is taking delight at making sure all the earthlings complete their training as required

Learning of other Yarn Daleks out there George has commandered the photocopier to ensure all of mankind know of the Daleks demands

(thanks go to my fab group of Course participants this week that agreed to being photographed :-) )

Yooo-hoooo... Exterminate Sweetie

Be prepared to quiver behind the couch.....

Though I'll bet you're quivering more with mirth than fear :-D

I had to have some help with the eye stalk and the whisk and plunger arms, the crochet kept curling, so I got some assistance from pipecleaners and wrapped them with silver ribbon yarn to make them a bit more sci-fi - apart from the whisk arm I wrapped that in more fluffy stuff :-)