Crochet Finishes and A Knitting Disaster

 I seem to have been crocheting a lot more recently -  I suppose it is because I am a very slow knitter so I can whip up a crochet accessory in one or two evenings whereas with knitting it would probably take me at least a week.

I bought the coat (below) in the M & S sale in January but have not worn it yet so I crocheted these accessories to wear with it this winter.

Talking of knitting, I have had an Aran sweater for John on my needles for months.  I have finished the back but after working half the front I realised I had made a mistake near the bottom.  I could have left it, it was only one stitch wrong but I know it would bug me if I left it so thought I would unravel it row by row down to the offending stitch.

 

Well, the pattern is so complicated and the stitches twisted and crossed so much that I just cannot get them back on the needles in the right direction so I really have no alternative but to undo it right the way down to the ribbing and start again, eek!  Do you ever have a project that you end up hating?  For me it is this.

I have had more luck with "Hard Frost" and only have a little bit of the sky left so should finish during the next week.  This is the third of Heritage's John Clayton Circles I have worked.  Heritage now have an outlet shop on ebay where I purchased this chart for half price.  They have lots of their discontinued kits, fabric, threads and current products at a much lower price than normal so I have added them to my favourites.

 

Although I stitched this Airedale Terriers design a while ago I only just got around to having it framed.  I used a new framer as my old one had put their prices up a lot.  However, it stil cost me 52 pound which I thought was a bit excessive considering I just chose a plain mount and frame.  I don't know why they charge so much, it puts me off getting some of my other work framed.  The design is from a company called Faces.  I think they have closed the business now which is a shame as they produced some really lovely designs.
 

Walk in the Woods

On 8th July 2012 we attended a charity walk to raise funds for the VRCC which treats dogs and cats who have cancer.  They are trying to raise 100,000 pounds to replace an urgently needed 6 million volt linear scanner.  The day raised over 1,200 pounds and we all had a fun day in spite of the gloomy weather.

Summer of Sewing

Thank you to all who contacted me asking where I had been for a while.  The fact is my computer has been out of order for so long that I gave up on it.  I have also had a few health problems which meant I have had more hospital and doctor's appointments and we have also been redecorating our house so I have been painting, wallpapering and have refurbished a few pieces of furniture too.

My computer is much improved but I still have text bunching up or sometimes freezing when I view blogs/websites.  Very wierd!  I need to remove more of the hundreds of photos and files I have on it to see if that helps.

Throughout it all I have been crafting more than ever and my sewing machine has been working overtime recently.

One of the items I made this summer is this handbag organiser.  Now I can change my handbags over quickly and easily without have to tip everything out.  The pattern is called The Encore Purse Insert and is from Studio Kat designs.

 

Using some of the leftover fabric scraps I made this coupon holder.  The pattern is free from Joann.com website.  My coupons were always running out before I got around to using them so now I use this every time I go shopping and it has definitely helped me save money.

The weather has been so hot recently that I ran John up a pair of loose cotton lounging trousers.  The pattern is Butterick B553.  He has had then on ever since.  I bought extra wide sheeting so I have enough left over to make another pair.

I always have a cross stitch project or three, on the go, to work whilst watching t.v..  At the moment this is "Hard Frost" from the Heritage Circles range.  This is the third in this series I have worked and it shows horses in the snow.

Thanks for stopping by and again for your good wishes.

 

All the best,  Shirley xx

 

Great British Dogs

I love the range of Docrafts Portobello Road papers and embellishment and thought I might use them to commemorate the Queen's jubilee or the Olympics but when I took these photos of my dogs last week I thought they would be good for scrapping them too.  I added journalling under the bowed flap on the left hand bottom side and just a few bits and bobs from my stash.

Recent Finishes

I haven't been near my computer for a couple of weeks as it has been playing me up and running very slow so I just hope I can update my recent finishes without any problems, fingers crossed.

I finished the sweater I promised John for next winter. I put off starting this as it had 141 stitches on each row but using two circular needles and a simple stitch pattern it worked up very quickly. The picture below is from the pattern book which I purchased for just 20p in a charity shop. He is very pleased with it but it will be a while before he can wear it as the weather is still so hot here.

This vase of daisies is my only recent cross stitch. It was a cover kit from a back issue of Needlecraft magazine and I made it up into a card.

After buying a new card making book I was inspired to try some tea bag folding and this card was the outcome. Great for using up all those small bits of paper I hate to throw away.

Whilst tidying up my craft room recently I found a lot of art deco style Christmas papers and thought I would try some out. Well, in the end I made about 12 Chrstmas cards, here are a few of them. It seems funny to be making these whilst the weather is so hot but at least I will be ready well in advance this Christmas.

Had a lovely surprise in the post today, all these fab craft goodies from Crafts Beautiful magazine for being their member of the month. I can't wait to start some new projects with them.

A Monthly Make: Summer Dress

Decided to make something different this month with the warmer weather inspiring me to try this loose, floaty sundress. The pattern was free with the January 2011 issue of Prima magazine and the fabric I already had in my stash.

The holiday weekend gave me more time for crafting and I finished off this flower fairies kit which came with the current issue of The World of Cross Stitching magazine - I have made it into a card.

I have spent the last couple of weeks gradually sorting out and spring cleaning my craft room. It was starting to look like an episode of Hoarders! Now I have everything a lot more organised and can see what I have, I made these two oriental iris folded cards over the bank holiday. I still have some work to do in there but at least I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I can't remember an Easter where the weather has been so glorious for years and on Easter sunday we took "the boys" to the beach.

After a few hours in the sun and a lot of walking we all came home to enjoy our Easter eggs. Here are "the boys" enjoying theirs:-

Archie

Higgins

Wilberforce

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter holiday and is enjoying the glorious weather. I just hope it stays nice for the royal wedding on Friday, another 4 day holiday, yipee.

This and that

I seem to have a lot of projects on the go right now - knitting, sewing, cross stitch and crochet but nothing actually finished so here is one, as they say, that I prepared earlier. This Barn Owl is called Night Stalker and is by Karen Couchman stitched on twilight linen.

I have wanted to learn Hairpin crochet for a while so when I found this frame in a second hand shop I snapped it up. I paid 80p for it but when I peeled off the label it said 14 shilling underneath and as decimalisation was in the early 1970s it is pretty old and still in its original packaging. Below is my first attempt, I have made a few more pieces with different decorative spines and found it quite easy to do and very relaxing.

As part of my crochet course I have had to learn and produce samples of Tunisian crochet and broomstick crochet. I am not so keen on the broomstick but the Tunisian, worked on a long crochet hook, produces a knitted effect but at a much faster speed so I would probably use this more whereas the broomstick I could only envisage using for scarves or shawls but it is nice to have learnt them both.

I have mentioned before what a bad cook I am but in an attempt to improve my cooking skills I made Coronation Chicken after seeing an updated recipe in a magazine. It is one of those foods that has gone out of fashion but I love it and I only know one restaurant that serves it now. I made it exactly as the updated recipe but used sultanas instead of grapes, as per the original version. It turned out ok although I have to admit that John helped me by grated the lemon and chopping the spring onions or I probably wouldn't have bothered!

Whilst out shopping today I popped into a second hand shop where I bought these three bags of linens, some printed with embroidery and some plain. I especially like the art deco tea cosy cover in the second picture. Each bag was just 99p so I got the lot for 2.98 pounds, a real bargain.

Finally, as this blog is Crafting with Dogs, I just had to include this cute picture of Higgins sleeping under this furry throw the other day. For a working dog he sure likes his sleep.

Till next time,

Shirley

Everythings Coming Up Roses

Not just roses, everything else is coming into flower too. I love this time of year with the expectation of warmer days and longer evenings. Yesterday was so hot, we came back from shopping via the beach and there were lots of people laying on the sands and the ice cream van was doing a brisk trade. I don't know if it will last, you have to make the most of it when you can here and whisk those shorts and sandals out while the goings good, LOL.I've never considered myself a flowery person but I seem to have completed quite a lot of floral projects. The knitted roses were made with a vintage pattern from my collection and the daffodils below are my one and only attempt at glass painting. I have all the equipment but cannot seem to find the time to do more. It's simply a case of too many crafts, not enough time.

I have planted three types of tomatoes from seed this year and they are already shooting up. I just hope they grow as big as this crochet tomato pincushion I made with a pattern from Annies Attic.

I am not much of a gardener and don't have much success with flowers so I tend to stick to the papercrafting variety below. The last two cards were made with papers from Anna Griffin, one of my favourite designers. Enjoy the sunshine all.