Apologies…..

First things first…. I must apologise for not blogging for ages! And it really has been ages 😦

The reason for this is not because I haven’t been crafting, its because life has got in the way a lot. We are currently in the process of packing all our belongings up ready for the move to our very first house next friday. Very excited about owning our own home but equally stressed out about it – just wish I could click my fingers and it would all be moved over – somehow do not think that will happen 😦

Still yet to pack away the craft supplies – I’m determined to leave it to the last minute (because you never know when you might get a few spare minutes to do a bit more crocheting etc!) 🙂

As well as putting our lives into boxes, we have also been busy with wedding plans. Which are coming along nicely now (was not particularly organised to start with!) Invites have now been sent out – just waiting on RSVP’s so that we can organise the seating plan – which I already know will not be an easy task.

The above picture shows a cross stitch card that I did for my Nan’s birthday – stitched it up at pretty much the last minute (good job I have kept a lot of the free kits that I got with magazines!!). It is a Kate Knight design which I am pretty sure it came free with a Cross Stitch Crazy magazine.

I have also been crocheting (still massively addicted to it :)). However, I forgot to take photos of a couple of things I hooked up before I gave them away – one being a three eyed alien toy and the other being a bunny rabbit complete with a pompom tail (first time I have ever made a pompom – took a while but turned out much better than I expected).

I did, however, remember to take a photo of one of the things I crocheted up which is for a new baby that is due to arrive soon……

I used a pattern that ‘HodgePodge Crochet’ posted a while back – it is called Baby’s First Bunny and you can find the post here. I bookmarked it ages ago because I thought it was so cute but did not have a reason to crochet it…..until now! It was so very easy and quick to crochet – the instructions are very easy to follow, will definitely be making more when the time comes 🙂

I am hoping to blog again before the big move happens (and also before the internet gets turned off – will be a few weeks without it 😦 how will I survive not being able to look at my favourite crochet blogs – oh yeah, I know, I have the wordpress app on my iPhone, no excuse to be moody then 🙂 🙂

Ta Ta For Now…..

Miss C xx

My First Flower Arrangement

It must be all this wedding planning that made me want to get some flowers for my lovely vase that I got for Valentines Day (the roses did not last long :(). Yesterday I brought two bunches of daffodils – none of the flowers were open when I brought them but by the late afternoon a few had started to open. This morning – they are all pretty much open and add a lovely bright yellow springness to our dining room!

So this morning I hobbled up the road (still have problems with my knee :() to a lovely little flower shop called The Red Flower Barrow. I have always driven past this shop and thought what a lovely little shop it looks. The florist was lovely and very helpful – I love it when people are very enthusiastic about something they love – a bit like me with my crafty stuff! So after 20 odd minutes going through different types of flowers, I walked away with everything I needed to make my own flower arrangement.

Here is what I brought:

 

I have pink Gerberas, purple Tulips, purple Aster, Eucalyptus and green Leather Leaf.

Now here’s hoping I can do them justice and arrange them nicely!

 

 

 

 

 

After fiddling with what height I wanted for the arrangement and where to put each of the Gerberas and Tulips – I was finally happy to start adding the filler flowers – the Aster, Eucalyptus and the Leather Leaf. Proved a little difficult to get it all balanced right as the Tulips were remarkably heavy compared to the other flowers and the oasis kept tipping forward because of this.

So, after a few little distractions (Dottie and Lillie decided they wanted to sniff every single flower and brush past my arrangement constantly!), my first ever flower arrangement was finished!

What do you think?

Not bad for my first attempt don’t you think?

Think it looks lovely in my butterfly vase – thank you PR for your excellent choice 🙂

Miss C xx

Craft Time Of The Non-Hook Variety.

Today I decided to try and make a good stab at our wedding plans. I have many (probably around 20!) of magazines similar to that above. All of which have been stuffed into a drawer for the last 4 or 5 months.

So, out came the glue stick and scissors to make mood-like boards for wedding ideas:

Most of the ideas I seem to be drawn to are all of the colour purple or variations of. Found a lovely picture of a long cascading bouquet in purple – but think a bit of ivory would help break up the ‘purpleness’ of it.

I also spent some time a few days ago looking at different types of ivory fabric – but then stumbled upon some lovely ivory lace 🙂 I must admit, I was in my element!

My Purple (with a couple of exceptions) flower board:

Sorry this next photo is not that great, but I just had to show you this dress – personally don’t think the photo does the dress justice as the fabric is heavenly! I love the tulle material over the arms. I don’t think it is a dress that I would wear as don’t think it would suit me but that does not mean I can’t drool over the fabric does it?? 🙂

This next picture might make you realise just how much mood-boarding I have done today – whoops, out of glue!

But at least the wedding drawer will now be tidy and organised (well, sort of…. for now anyway!) Off to a wedding fayre in a few weeks so will probably have more ideas/plans to add to the ever growing stash of magazines, business cards, leaflets etc etc. I’m definitely becoming a firm believer of too much choice is a bad thing!

Ahh...tidy! For now 🙂

 

Well, I think that’s enough about weddings, so tomorrow its back to my lovely hook and my crochet project. A few more granny squares have been done for my Moroccan inspired project – new yarn colours turned up so have a few more with different colours in which I think look more ‘Moroccan’. Photos to follow another time…..

Miss C xx

 

A Touch Of Moroccan Crochet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures above are what I have used as inspiration for my next crochet project. As me and my fiancé are getting married in October this year and that our honeymoon will be spent exploring the sights of Marrakesh, Morocco, I thought it would be nice to make something that perhaps can reflect on this very special year for us.

As you can see from the above photos, typical Moroccan colours mainly include browns, golds, deep reds, and orange. Sometimes a splash of different colours such as bright blue, pink and purple can also be seen in some art pieces.

So, bearing this in mind (and also what colours I have in my yarn stash 🙂 ), I have decided to try and use very similar colours as above but with some brightness as well – well I hope they will appear Moroccan colours when it’s all finished!

From all this inspiration you may be wondering what it is I shall be making – well, since I have started crocheting (which to be honest, has not been very long at all) I have never done a granny square! Well the time has come 🙂

I have decided that whatever my granny squares will be made into at the end, I did not want the design to be symmetrical – equally I wanted splashes of colour in some of the squares but then not others (hopefully this will turn out how I imagine, eek!). So far I have decided to do 6 (maybe five though) different designs which I will then duplicate to make the required amount.

And now for the sneak preview of what I have done so far – please bear in mind that I have not blocked any of the squares yet (also have not weaved the tails in – really must do this as I go along!). Here they are so far:

The above photo does not really do the colours much justice – the peach colour looks pink in this photo! I have actually used deep red, brown, blue, mint blue, yellow, peach and cream. So what do you think so far? The next few I am going to do are going to be more of the browns, cream and yellow. I also need to decide what colour to use to join them together – am currently awaiting delivery on two colours – a rust colour and orange but I don’t think I will use these two for joining. However, time will tell 🙂

They measure 5 inches squared – however some of the patterns I have are for ones much larger than this so I have had to improvise on some of the finishing rounds. I’m not completely happy with a couple of the squares so may not use them in the final product. Hmm, what to make these into? I’m thinking maybe a blanket – perfect for snuggling under when we are back from our honeymoon 😀 that’s hoping I finish in time for then!!

Hope you like my first attempts at granny squares!

Check back for more updates soon,

Miss C xx

Cute And Easy Fingerless Gloves

My latest crochet project! Managed to finish weaving all the tails in today. They were so easy to make – much easier than I first thought. They are made with wool that make them feel so cosy and warm! Might have to make another pair in a fuchsia colour for someone I know that loves anything pink! Obviously had to do mine in purple 🙂 Love the colour purple.

I have adapted the pattern slightly – the original pattern makes the finger end very frilly (not really to my taste to be honest). So instead I did 6 long dc’s into each chain space around the top and then finished the edging with a row of dc’s. This makes the top edge a bit like shell edging.

The original pattern is in Nicki Trench’s Cute and Easy Crochet. Had this book as a Christmas present and there are so many lovely patterns – took me ages to decide which one to do first. I’m definitely going to make the little purse and the blankets are to die for – seriously need to invest in more wool for the blankets though! There is also a lovely pattern for a pink and a blue teddy bear – perfect for little ones – so very cute!

On a completely different note – away from anything crafty – but something I am so excited about – we’ve booked our honeymoon! Yay! Only three days after our wedding we shall be jetting off to Morocco in a lush hotel. Excited much?!

Ciao for now (not Moroccan I know, but I dont know Arabic at the moment  😉 )

Miss C xx