Jar Cosy {crochet}

A nice simple stitch-up. Two jar cosies with more to come. A really easy and adjustable pattern to suit any round jar size.  Follow this link to the free pattern from bec @ handmade and home. 

Jar Cosy Pattern

  

These two were worked up in 8ply bendigo cotton with a 3.75mm hook. 

L.

Lucy Bunny {crochet}

Last week I posted the WIP of Lucy Bunny. Today I share with you the finished Lucy. She has worked up so well directly from the pattern. It sure was a delight to see her come together. She has been passed on to the little girl it was promised for. Just a year later...  Here are some snapshots of Lucy. She comes in on my favourites list for amigurumi crochet at the top with Froggy (on my banner at top of the page.)

  

 Lucy's Designer: Amigurumi Barmy

Printed in Inside Crochet magazine, issue 53

Yarn used: Patons Big Baby 8ply

Hook: F/5 - 3.75mm

L.

WIP Wednesday

Hello! It has been a while. We enjoyed some family time away during the school holidays, and the kids have all started school again. Life has gone back into some routine, we have dealt with the winter cold's and flu's, and have occasionally managed a bit of crafting. (sadly, the sewing machine is not accessible.)

A holiday treat is picking up a crochet magazine and curling up in the van while it rained and blew a gale outside, to read it. This one had this super cute bunny. I think it was the fabric ears that sold me on making it. Over a year ago I promised a handmade softie for a little girl that was born. She has just turned one, and it still hadn't been fulfilled. I knew the house would really cut into my craft time and that is ok. But I found some yarn, and started it. I couldn't put it off any longer!

And there is good news. The designer shared her blog and you can find Liz's blog here, for a whole lot more cute amigurumi patterns. For the link to her blog post about the bunnies she makes click HERE. The pattern available in her Etsy store.

I took the stripey-as-you-go blanket from my last WIP post along on our holidays, but it just didn't progress as much as I thought. Since being home, I have enjoyed picking it up from next to my chair and completing a few more rows.

 

Lastly, there is our family WIP. After two days this week of sanding the gyprock, we have the stairway, passage and kitchen/desk area ready for painting. And once that painting is done, we look forward to the carpet on the stairs and some floor coverings. (yes we are on bare, unpolished concrete!)

And then we get to tackle the dinning and lounge.

L.

WIP Wednesday

The crochet hook has been picked up a little more lately, and hence there are a few WIP's lying around at the moment. Perfect for the cold evenings here. The sewing machine is kind of hiding amongst boxes of flooring and tools for a while, which is rather sad, but that's ok. I did manage to squish in and finish off  the Maisy floor cushion cover though! That was a rather must, so it can go back in a suitcase to Canada.

and completed with a handmade card from the littlest lady.

We have been having a few crisp mornings and late afternoons. My feet and my hands suffer at the moment and cannot get warm. Mittens didn't appeal to me as I still wanted to be able to carry out my housework... or craft... or driving. After a quick search on ravelry I downloaded and printed this pattern. First attempt at cable too with crochet. (never tried it with knitting either though!) The pattern is for advanced beginners and didn't take long to work up.

Cabled wrist warmers. In 100% wool 8ply charcoal classic from bendigo. 

Pattern from here on Ravelry.

 And then there was this acrylic that I had kept turning away from, untill it jumped off the shelf and into my basket. I actually love how it is working up. Another blanket in hdc's.

 And lastly, this colourful as-you-go blanket  coming along nicely. I really loved working the star stitch out (the light pink, 3rd from top). All yarn for this blanket is from the classic range from bendigo and using a 5mm hook.

The house is still a major WIP. That is for another post.

L.

house update {twelve}

The house is still plodding along slowly. We have now removed most of the old kitchen and the island bench is in and up and running. The current fridge recess and cupboards will be the last to go. We are currently waiting for the other side kitchen that will go along the wall (see photo below) where the stove is currently being a real-freestanding stove. 

 The front elevation has been base-coat plastered. We need to wait till really dry weather before applying the top coat to match the pod and also the porch. At least it isn't so patch work anymore!

  
L.

WIP Wednesday

Colour overload!
Linking up with Bec from over at handmadeandhome. Always a little bit of time here and there for a bit more progress.
This week I have finally made some headway on the quilt from the previous post, and another book-based floor pillow made it to the cutting board. The scrap-busting granny stripe has also grown and we have received part of the yarn order for the as-we-go-stripey blanket. (this looks like a fun blanket to do, involving different stitches and colours each row.)

This maisy material was gifted to me some time ago. So happy to have finally put it to use. It's nearly done, and super cute. Check back soon!

Last night I put my daughters maths to the test. 

77 clusters of 3 trebles makes the length of the granny stripe = 231 plus 1 for the starting/finishing treble. = 232 trebles per row. 

double that for each colour = 464 trebles per colour. 

times that by 26 colours = 12064 trebles so far on the blanket. 

That's a lot of yarn overs and pull throughs :) 

Dare you to do the maths on your current blanket.

L.

crochet: grannystripe

In amongst all the rubble and building supplies, there has been a little bit of time here and there to sit and crochet for a few minutes. While waiting till I could decide on what next big blanket pattern and yarn to use, I wound up all my scraps of 8ply acrylics and started on a nice bright and colourful, 150cm wide granny stripe blanket.

The sewing room also very quickly became a storage room, but with the need for the boxes of winter clothes it has slowly come to life again. I have a birthday in 4 weeks, and there is a quilt that should be finished. Nothing better then a race against the date. And then the next girlys birthday is 4 weeks after that. And her quilt should be finished too. And I should get the pins back to their rightful owner. I had better get busy.

I had better get busy.

L.

House Update {eleven}

It has been a year almost to the day, that the major house renovations started, with the removal of our old roof and the addition of the second storey pod. With last house update back in November, here are some more progress photos. In the heat of summer, the three front windows were pulled out and replaced, enjoying alfresco dining for a day.

The lounge and dining room have all been gyprocked and flushing in progress.

Goodbye kitchen of 13 years.

Hallway starting to appear.

Lovely lino from underneath the cupboards. When we first bought the house, they had this lino covered in a red carpet. In the kitchen of all places.

How we currently use the kitchen while we wait for the new one. Fridge and cupboards haven't been moved. Coffee facilities are in the pantry ;) No fancy meals coming out of here for a while.

Studframe love notes. 

Rebuilding the old bathroom into my pantry. We took out the old window and gyprocked all the walls, and put in some powerpoints.

Rather then disposing of a still-very-useable benchtop, we shortened it a little and placed it in the pantry, along with the chest freezer. 

And that is the end of this update.

L.

Sewing: duffle bag

Back before school swimming lessons started, I followed this tutorial and made missy muffet her own duffle bag. Not too big, and not too small. The tutorial uses laminated cotton for the outside, pockets and lining, but I opted for just a laminate cotton for the outside, and a cotton for the lining and ruffle pockets.

Links:

Web: Family Ever After Blog.com

Pin: it on pinterest