Meet Freddie, he’s a field mouse, but the cute kind, not the “sneak into your kitchen and eat all your food kind”….oh…he tells me that he is the “sneak into your kitchen and eat all your food kind”,
Find out what I’ve been up to this week in my WIP Update
Soooooooo….this week I have mainly been knitting to be honest (sorry Crochet!) I’ve been making some solid progress on my new shawl design (Need to think of a name, any ideas welcome!) I was even doing my bit for “knitting in public” earlier and I knitted on the train down to a customer meeting in […]
How to … m1L and m1R … and to never forget which is which …
I’m making a new cardigan and it has tonnes of M1L, M1R, M1pR M1pL in it, I’m constantly forgetting which is which but this is a really handy tutorial to remember which is which! 🙂
A Giraffe is born – meet Gerty…
Some time ago, one of the members of one of the many Facebook groups that I’m in was doing a “WIP-dive” project. I thought it was a great idea so I went into the box of WIP that I have and found a half-finished giraffe. I decided to finish her off…and today I have! 🙂 […]
Knitting Espionage -reblogging
Fascinating article about knitting as a code during the war….blogged about on “Chris and Shana Craft shack”. I’ve often thought that knitting patterns are a kind of code! Here the knitting itself might have been! check it out here! “I’ve mentioned to Chris on a few occasions about my design notes for patterns looking like […]
Take a peek at my weekly Instagram round-up
Here is a quick look at some of the pictures I’ve put on Instagram this week. This week I’ve been stalked by penguins…All over the place….they are even watching me now….sinister! I also have a lovely smooshy delivery of yarn… from All Wool that Ends Wool! Look at those lovely colours, can’t WAIT to start […]
Sore hands from knitting or crocheting? These stretches might help!
Do you get pains in your hands and wrists when crocheting or knitting?
The Long Tail Cast On – photo and video tutorial
Is it really sad to have a “favourite” cast-on? If so, sign me up, I’m sad! The long tail cast on is my favourite cast-on, its simple and quick and relatively painless (once you have your head around it!)
New Shawl design
So, the rain has driven me to yarn and needles…..
Crochet Fun Facts
A WIP in time…or is it nine?
I’ve just got back from a nice sunny Saturday run. I went “nosing” around all the posh houses and gardens (all £1m plus!) today.  I can only dream of owning one of those. I’ve returned to the more reasonably priced end of town and an sitting on my patio pondering what to do next! I […]
Keeping your brain active – can knitting and crochet help?
I was driving to work yesterday morning, when i heard an article on the news about there being a link between keeping an active brain and reduced risk of dementia. I thought about it on the way to work and decided to do a bit more reading on the subject. I’m in the unfortunate situation […]
I’m now on Bloglovin’
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Just if you want to of course! 🙂
Lorna’s Star Mandala Free Crochet Pattern
New Pattern update! – after my fun playing with colours earlier, I’ve created another couple of Mandala’s You can download it “here” This one has two colour variants, this first one reminds me of a summer’s day so I’ve called it “Lorna’s Star, sunshine on a summer’s day” This second one was designed specially for […]
Experimenting with Colour – How to use a Colour Wheel
I’ve been having fun this week using a colour wheel to experiment with colours for some Mandala’s that I’m making. I thought I’d share my thoughts on how to use a colour wheel in the hope that it will help you do some experimentation too!
How to crochet a “double treble” (dtr)
A couple of the patterns that I’ve published (or ones that I’m working on at the moment!) include a double treble crochet (dtr) stitch. Its really a very simple stitch but I thought I’d share how to do it….I’m using UK Crochet terms 🙂 The double treble is made the same way as a treble […]
Mexican Sun Mandala Free Crochet Pattern
What do you do when you have left-over yarn? Make a mandala! This could be used as a coaster or just to look pretty on your desk!
Blocking – why bother?
I thought it might be useful to write about how to block different items that you have knitted or crocheted.Â
Rippling Waves Afghan Square Pattern
This is my pattern for the extra square that I’ve designed for my “Last Dance on the Beach CAL” blanket (I know….that’s sooo 2016 darling!).Â
Sheepjes Whirl Shawl Update – Liquorice Whirl Shawl
I’ve finally finished my Liquorice Whirl Shawl!!
What is the best type of Crochet Hook for beginners? – Inline or tapered
When I first started crocheting, I wanted to find the best type of crochet hook for beginners. Do you know what I found? The perfect crochet hook doesn’t exist….. …..but before you switch off and think, why bother reading on, let me explain. As a new crocheter, I came from the land of Knitting. I […]
Which is the best crochet hook?
Question: Which is the best crochet hook….? Answer: Any of them..!! There are so many different types of crochet hooks, the best crochet hook is really subjective and completely up to you. Some people love the “in-line” style hooks like Susan Bates, whilst others wouldn’t start a project without their trusty “Clover” hook. If you’re […]
Chicken and Tomato Saagish
The first thing I will say, is that I am in no-way saying that this recipe resembles the Chicken Saag recipes that you get in Indian Restaurants. Reason being that I’m really not trying to!! When I’m working hard, but also trying to eat healthily, I find that I constantly get led-astray by the portions […]
Liquorice Yum Yum Shawl
As you’ve probably spotted, I’m a little obsessed with Scheepjes Whirl at the moment. Having finished off my Green Tea Tipple Scheepjes Whirl Shawl I’m absolutely loving wearing it, I almost don’t want the summer to come, just so I can keep wearing it….!! OK, I said ALMOST!! come on Summer, hurry up and be […]
Lined zip bag
I have a million different things to carry round when I’m in the office, pens, pencils, paperwork, notebooks, glasses, phones, wallets, etc and I’ve had ENOUGH of walking 7 paces, stopping to pick something that I’ve dropped up and then dropping everything else whilst I pick that up…only to walk another 10 paces and repeat….so, […]
Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pasta Bake
So, one of my “go-to” recipes when I want something tasty but not packed with calories is this Chicken, Leak and Mushroom Pasta Bake. I usually do it to serve two, but its easily modified for one, three, four, five, six, seven, etc up to four hundred thousand…so long as you have a pan (and […]
Scheepjes Whirl Shawl
I’ve finally finished my Scheepjes Whirl Shawl (You’ll remember I wrote about it here). I’ve been concentrating on getting it finished instead of my Hygge recently but its now complete. It is a perfect little thing to wrap around your shoulders when the weather is sunny enough to sit in the garden and read a […]
Hygge all over the world….
Its been a while since I blogged, mainly because I have been in Australia visiting friends! You may remember that I blogged about my Joy’s Journey blanket. I’d decided to make it for my friend Beccy who lives in Perth in Australia. It not as odd as it sounds, it does get slightly chilly in […]
Some birds appeared…
This week in the Scheepjes Hygge CAL 2017, we are doing another week of double crochet. Another 59 rows. I’ve still got 10 rows of last week’s double crochet to finish off too!! its not that interesting but I suppose as it doesn’t need any concentration its perfect TV crochet!! Oh, and that hook? That’s […]
Sue’s Peawack Soup Recipe
This is a totally scrummy, totally frugal but fairly fatty recipe that was given to me by my neighbour. She tells me that its a “scouse” tradition and reminds her of her childhood. It all came about on Christmas Eve.
Whirling around…
As well as continuing with my Hygge CAL, I’ve also been working on my new shawl using Scheepjes Whirl. This week its time to show you the “Green Tea Tipple” one that I’m working on.
Beanz Meanz Mmmm…
In my quest to find fast but interesting dinners, I’ve recently taken to adding things to baked-beans to make them even more tasty when put on a jacket-potato (or toast I suppose!) I thought I’d share a few of my favourite recipes with you…and whilst I’m at it you might like… My top-tip for speedy […]
WIP-WIP, Cross-stitch style!
Nothing much to say, I just enjoyed this picture of my WIPs that I took last week. Oh and I’ve started “proper cross-stitch”, as if I didn’t have enough hobbies….!!!
I thought I’d give this a whirl
Scheepjes have recently released this new yarn called “Whirl”. It comes in this giant “cake” of yarn which is 1000m long. Easily long enough for a shawl I thought!. The yarn is fingering weight and gradually colour-changes to make a really gentle transition between colourways. From what I’ve discovered so far, they are right about […]
Hygge CAL Week 4
I posted a couple of weeks ago about my progress on the Scheepjes Hygge CAL 2017. I’ve been faithfully keeping up with each week and so I thought it was time for a further update.