Crocheted Owls

I was looking for a picture for a friend of some owls I crocheted last year, and I couldn't find it - so I thought they will be on my blog!  Well it appeared they weren't.  So having taken a photo tonight, I am rectifying the situation.

Cream scarf and Black and grey scarf

I got a tad bored during the week, and found some of my cha cha scarf yarn that I bought last year, when it was on sale in Hobbycraft.   So decided to get the crochet hook out!  The cream one took less than an hour, however, the black/grey one took me a couple of days!

Knitting - me knitting?

Well those that know me know I don't DO knitting.  However, my mate Sassie was visiting last week, and had brought her knitting with her - so of course I was "guilted" into doing some!

 

Well talk about a nightmare - the first angel pocket I attempted was a complete and utter failure - I just couldn't get the decreasing right - goodness knows why as it was a very simple pattern, and I CAN knit; it is just not my favourite thing to do!

 

Well they say a bad workmen blames his tools - but having found some different wool and started again, we decided that it was the wool that was causing the problem!

 

So here we are my first angel pocket and hat for a premmie baby.  (Sassie managed to knit 8 in the time it took me to knit one - ok that included the one I had three attempts at and then undid!)

 

 

Well I wasn't completely happy with the finished result, as I tend to knit rather loosely.  Undeterred once Sassie had gone home, I had another go, on smaller needles, and also amending the pattern slightly for the increasing and decreasing.   Found it much easier with my amendment, and managed to start this on one evening, and finish it by lunchtime next day!  I even crocheted the little butterfly embellishment on it!

 

 

I shall now make some more in different colours.   These little items are being made for charity, and will go to a central point and be distributed to whichever hospital needs them most.

Crocheted Chirpy Bird

Crocheting - me? - you have got to be joking - but I couldn't resist this little fellow:

A crafting pal posted a link on Fb  to Kadi's blog with this little fellow on  http://kadi2tog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/crochet-chirpy-bird-tutorial.html.   The blog then linked to a free down-loadable pattern on Ravelry, plus a very useful video on how to join stripes without a "stepping" in the colours.

 

Now those that know me well know that I don't "DO" knitting and crochet, but my youngest granddaughter has been a tad poorly this week, so I decided to have a go.   I am fairly pleased with the result, and in the process have learned not only how to do a "magic circle" to start off with, but also how to "join" stripes, and to increase and decrease - not bad considering my limit is granny squares normally!   He is by no means perfect, and I had a bit of a problem with the decreasing on the last two colours, so a bit of "creative" darning/embroidery ensued.  (Chatting to friends, they tell me this is quite common - phew - not just me then!).  I didn't have any safety eyes - so I crocheted some using the newly learned magic circle!  He is also supposed to have orange legs, but didn't have any orange wool, so used the gold that I used for the beak.

 

For once I actually relaxed and sat in the garden to make him, starting about midday and with a couple of breaks for visitors, meals and cuppas, I finished him the same evening - pretty good going for me!

Green Ruffle Scarf

The description of this yarn says "green", but it is the most gorgeous shiny, silky blue/green - the photo doesn't really do it justice.  The yarn is King Cole "Krystal".  I love it!  Again I have used the Afghan crochet stitch to create it.

Ruffle Scarves and Needle Felting

At last our replacement for our missing order of yarn has arrived, and I was able to make this red ruffle scarf over the weekend.  It is not a long one as my Daughter in law, who will be the recipient, didn't want a long one, so I only used half a ball of yarn.

Random dye red ruffle scarf

I also had a play over the weekend with some needle felting.  The leaves were completely "free form*, but I tried an experiment with the flower, by drawing a vague shape on a piece of red felt, and then attaching the wool to that.  I then cut into the shape slightly to make the petals.  I am probably going to add a brooch back to it.

needle- felted flower

Finally, last night I made this scarf, again using half a ball of yarn.  The yarn has knitted (or should that be crocheted) up quite differently to the red one, and is quite a bit shorter.  This could be because when I weighed the ball there was't quite 100 gms in it!  I also had the problem of a join the yarn - or should I say a tied knot join - however, it fell in just the right place and I was able to carry on with the pattern!  I wasn't looking forward to having to cut the yarn and join it as being random yarn it would have meant cutting quite a section out to get the colours to match up!  Fortunately this one is for me and I am happy with the short length.

Shades of brown and cream

I can't remember if I showed a picture of my original scarf, but am showing it again, so that you can see the difference between the various yarns.  This was made from a 150g ball and I got this long one and then a very slightly shorter one out of one ball !

Trying again!

Well it appears Carol had the answer - I had to use Google Chrome!  I do hate being dictated to (I  do not like Chrome!)  (and Chrome seems to want me to use american spellings too! sorry Google - I am English and I know how to spell!   will have to see how to stop that now! grrrr)

Anyway here are a few things I have been up to!

First two are variations on a design for two friends birthdays done with Serif  CAP2.  The silk effect background is from a Joanna Sheen CD, and the colour altered as required.

using my favourite scrabble tiles

similar design, but with  faux embroidery added to the background.

using up some stash

using Forever Friends cd

first attempt at a cha-cha scarf - using crochet rather than knitting to create it
(daughter like it so much - made her one with rest of yarn )

a little owl made with a loom kit  (bought the kits for chrimbo pressie for the girls....
.... and decided I needed one too!

Secretly chuffed with the scarf as I am useless at knitting, and always wanted to try the cha-cha yarn; and the little owl was fun to make.  When I bought the yarn for the scarf it was a pretty random choice of colour - and blow me down a couple of days later, I saw some khaki jeggings which exactly matched in Sainsburys - well it would have been rude not to buy them!