Monday 15 February 2010

Freehand embroidery

 
I didn't add a picture of my embroidery when I finished it last week.  I sketched the design freehand using an air erasable pen, and added extra bits as I went along.

Totoro!

  
I finished crocheting this small white Totoro, apart from his small pink feet.  The eyes are a bit far apart and the tail is a bit high.  I used a pattern available free here: http://heavens-hellcat.livejournal.com/730.html.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

New wool!!

I found a haberdashery in Westbury-on-Trym which has a bit of everything - paper, scrapbooking, wool, fabric, ribbon, stuffing...  So I couldn't resist buying a few cheap balls of wool that I can use for making toys, etc.

I also collected my parcel today with my delivery of King Cole Merino Blend DK wool in a range of pretty colours, which I'm going to use to create granny square cushion covers or something, in the style of this throw.

So here's the total collection of wool that I have acquired today:

It makes me very happy looking on Ravelry and seeing my 'stash' all laid out in colour order!

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Yet more Flickr favourites!

I really should stop rummaging around on Flickr - there are so many lovely things that I want to make right now!!  Once I've finished the white totoro, I think slippers will be next, and then I think I'll have to start a granny square blanket, having seen all the gorgeous ones on Flickr!  It will require a whole new stash of pretty coloured yarn though... what a shame!!



Unfortunately, the first six photos do not show up on here as the user has opted out of Big Huge Labs.  She uses the most lovely combinations of yarns!!

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Andy the Alien


Andy the Alien, originally uploaded by happythoughts80.

I finally finished Andy the Alien, who I started over Christmas following a pattern in Nikki Trench's 'Super-Cute Crochet'.

At first I was a bit disappointed because mine didn’t turn out much like the photo in the book! I couldn’t get the hook into the right places to do the hair, so I crocheted it directly onto the head and worked the slip stitches into one loop only. I attached the legs and eyes in kind of the wrong places.

But he's grown on me, and I actually quite like him now. The legs in the wrong place help him to sit up better. And he certainly looks odd, which I guess is what an alien should look like!!

Sunday 10 January 2010

Scarf

I am crocheting this scarf using Cascade 220 Paints (shade 9921 - Carribean Sea) in a half treble stitch (UK) crocheted into the front loop and some other loop below it!  This was the first item I began to crochet, and I was still a bit confused about where the loops were.  Then by the time I realised, I was too far into the scarf and I decided I quite liked the rib effect on alternate rows.  It also gives it quite a bit of stretch.


I started this scarf ages ago (when I taught myself how to crochet), but then ran out of yarn, re-ordered and had to wait ages as it was out of stock.  Unfortunately the new yarn is a bit different - more dark turquoise than light and pink/purple patches in a completely different arrangement in the scarf.  But I'm not going to unravel it all!  It's a very relaxing project to crochet - the combination of the large hook and smooth yarn means that the stitches slide on and off the hook very easily.

Now I just need to hurry up and finish this while it's still winter (and very cold!).  It's almost scarf length now, but it's the same length as a scarf that's always annoyed me for being a little bit too short!

Bread maker - attempt number 3


This one looks like a loaf of bread!  I had to add quite a lot more water, and then the dough formed a ball which shook the machine until it fell onto the floor!  It's still a little bit denser than shop-bought bread, but I like it!

Flickr inspiration Jan 2010

I've just discovered how to use http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php to create mosaics of my favourite Flickr photos.  So here's my first inspiration board (click for larger view):



1. Bella Luce Photography, 2. A Creative Mint, 3. inspiration board, 4. Lori Marie, 5. Selina Lake, 6. Meet Rachel Ashwell, 7. Color Me Pretty, 8. Etsy artist The Black Apple, 9. Etsy artist The Black Apple,
10. Cath Kidston Sew_bag (I got this book for Christmas, but haven't started any of the projects yet),
11. softies_05 (This would be a great present to add to my mum's collection),
12. My Softies book cover (I have this book too),
13. Russian dolls, 14. malabrigo_turquoise,
15. Filatura di Crosa Maxime print (I'd love to find some wool in this colour combination),
16. Cascade9871_Grape (I also like this combination and it would be great for something wintery),
17. Cascade9921_Caribbean-Sea (I have this yarn and am in the middle of making a scarf with it - need to finish before the weather warms up!),
18. cascade cushion (I like this round cushion in sock yarn),
19. Amigurumi cookies (These would also be great for my mum),
20. Super Mario Star, 21. Hexagon blanket - it grows!, 22. Papier Mache Boxes, 23. beaded heart, 24. Don't keep calm and carry on., 25. Gingerbread Biscuit Bunny in blue tea cup, 26. Crocheted Cupcakes, 27. bonnie, 28. vintage kitsch, 29. bird detail.jpg, 30. Embroidery vine on white linen, 31. Pam Garrison's sampler 2, 32. design 1, 33. Little old quilt house, 34. Haikea Art Zine, 35. beata's crochet pillow cases

Saturday 2 January 2010

Bread maker - attempt number 1 & 2

We got a breadmaker for Christmas and tried it out for the first time yesterday.  We started off with the smallest loaf (1 lb) and the results were not a success!

From the bottom, when turned out of the tin, it looked a bit like bread, except for all the unmixed flour.

But the right way up, it didn't look so much like any loaf I've ever seen!

A lot of the flour got stuck in the corners of the tin and not mixed in.
When 'sliced', there were a few good bits, but also some very doughy bits.


This morning I tried a medium sized loaf (1.5 lb) and sifted the flour, then made sure there was no water around the sides of the pan for the flour to stick to.  The flour mixed in much better, but the dough was very crumbly so I added a bit more water.  It appears to have risen better than attempt 1 and tastes much more even!  But it's still a little dense.