Colourful Upcoming Projects (CUPs?)

Hi everyone! 

The fatigue has been kicking my butt again, so I've had lots of super boring time to think about all the crochet projects I have planned... Hopefully I'll have time and energy to actually do them soon! All photos below are from the pattern pages or Facebook, unless otherwise marked :)


1. Around the Bases CAL by Keitopalette (ChiChi Allen)

My ATBCAL is still tootling along. Next week I'll get some good photos in the daylight to show you :)


2.  The Quirky Cardigan by The Little Bee (Alia Bland)

(c) The Little Bee NZ

There's no pattern available for this one yet, but isn't it gorgeous! I'm lucky enough to test the elephant size for Alia - I've ordered Jawoll Magic yarn to do it in! This will definitely be my most expensive project yet. These are the colours I chose : 

3. Twig the African Flower Snowman by Heidi Bears Designs 

This little guy is super cute! I'm hoping to have time to make a few before the Christmas market we are going to in early December.


4. Rainbow Sock Monkey by One and Two Company (Carolina Guzman)

Isn't he gorgeous!? This one is for a customer order, but depending on how difficult the pattern is I might need to make a few more :P


5. More Heart Teddies! 

My teddy-making addiction is getting a bit out of hand :P I have 6 finished, and another one nearly finished. They are just so easy to make! I think they will sell well at the Christmas Market :) 

Next week I'll have a much better update - I have some wonderful projects to share with you that just aren't quite ready, and a very special story about my grandmother's crafty talents. Plus, we will be getting ready for Christmas Crochet Class in mid-December very soon!

 Share your easy Christmas-themed patterns in the comments! 

Around the Bases CAL - Afghan Square Round Up!

Hello everyone! 

It's been another hectic week here, but I've managed to tick one thing off my list - my centre square for the Around the Bases CAL, starting on August 9! 

I'm going to use all Stylecraft Special DK for this afghan, choosing colours with a random pull from my bag of scraps and rejecting only if I've used the same colour in the last 10 rows already. It's made for some interesting colours so far... but that will be part of the charm!

The really special thing about this CAL is that each one is going to be unique, because WE get to choose the starting square! 

I spent quite a long time on Ravelry looking at different square options, before narrowing it down to a shortlist and coming to a decision. It was really hard! I ended up deciding on a square and then converting it to a rectangle - after Sophie and the Lily Pond, I need a break from square afghans :P 

But what to do with all the other pretty squares that I found? It seems a shame to just forget all about the lovely crochet that I found... 

So, shared here for you (and me) are the big afghan squares that tempted me the most as the centre square for this CAL :) They are in no particular order, and all pictures are from the pattern pages and belong to their respective owners. 


Tropical Delight
Published by Mellie Blossom

Cost: Free! 
Link: http://www.mellieblossom.com/free-tropical-delight-crochet-pattern/

Starburst Square
by Tera Kulling

Cost: Free!
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/starburst-square-2

August Sun
by Donna Kay Lacey

Cost: $1.99
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/august-sun---wwbamcal

Firenze
by Julie Yeager

Cost: $2.99
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/firenze-afghan-block

Grand Granny
by Angela Harriman

Cost: $1.00
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grand-granny

Daisy Centre Mandala Square
by Zooty Owl

Cost: Free!
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/daisy-centre-mandala-square

Denna Square
by Polly Plum

Cost: Free! 
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/denna-square

The Enchanted Garden
by Courtney Jones Laube

Cost: $3 + $1.99 for the Crocodile Stitch Flower pattern
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-enchanted-garden-tote

Sophie's Garden

Cost: Free!
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sophies-garden

The Darkness Held at Bay
by Shan Sevcik

Cost: $1.50
Link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-darkness-held-at-bay-10-and-12-block

So, what did I go with in the end?

The Darkness Held at Bay, with some extra rows of bphdc after the centre square to make it rectangular, and then an extra row around the edge to get to the right stitch count :) 

What do you think? Are you interested in joining this CAL too?  Which afghan square would you use to start with?

Hugs,

Michelle

Ta-Dah! The Lily Pond!

Hello everyone!

Last week just got completely away from me - between Kiah's birthday, multiple movie outings, the fatigue (justifiably) getting cranky with all the fun things I was doing, going to the lake for the weekend AND still arguing with PayPal and Ravelry about our new patterns... I didn't blog!

But I did get my Lily Pond Afghan all finished, washed, and blocked, so I do have something to share with you today :D 

The Lily Pond, designed by Jane Crowfoot, was a Crochet-A-Long held in conjunction with Stylecraft Yarns. The event doesn't officially finish until next week, but I have been helping Stylecraft with a few secret projects, and had access to the final few patterns through that. 

Jane Crowfoot is a super famous crochet designer, and I love Stylecraft Special DK, so what could possibly go wrong!? It turns out, quite a lot - the Facebook group/s had a rocky start, the patterns were sometimes very hard to decipher, information was missing, and the translation between UK and US terms didn't go very well. I did not get the same great joy of working through this CAL as I did with Sophie's Universe, but that is a very very high bar! 

I didn't choose to go with the recommended yarn colours - it was a bit dark and dreary for me, especially the blues and greens. For a full list of the yarns I used, see my Ravelry Project page :) 

After all the dramas, I do actually love the outcome! The blocking was lots of fun - we ended up using about 300 pins to get all the flower petals to sit nicely!! I am so lucky to have a husband who supports my crazy crafty endeavours, although I think he was starting to doubt this after his third trip down to the junk shop to buy more pins... 

This afternoon, Kiah, Lily and I took a relaxing stroll around Anderson Park (the other side of the bay at Meadowbank from our apartment), taking photos of Lily with the river, the lovely sandstone and quite a lot of enthusiastic clover.

The colours and pattern almost danced in the dappled sunlight - it really does look like a real lily pond! 

Then, just as we were getting in the car to leave, Kiah said "Look! Under that tree with the undergrowth looks almost like a pond! One last photo?" 

One last photo :) 

Projects, WIPs and UFOs

Hello everyone! 

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by - how can it possibly be June already!? Hopefully after next weekend life can slow down a little bit, and we can get into a bit more of a routine... The fatigue doesn't like an exciting life at all! 

This week I'm going to tell you about some of my projects, WIPs and UFOs, to try and inspire me to get some of them done soon and out of the "to do" pile (and also to try and stop me picking up more new projects for a bit)!

Market Day

It has finally arrived! This Saturday is the Eastwood Uniting Church Annual Market Day, raising money for the Exodus Foundation. I am having a stall at the market, selling scarves and beanies (and hopefully taking some orders for more animals!). 20% of my sales and orders is going to support Exodus, so if you're in Sydney and want to check out my stuff, and get some super cheap toys, jam, cakes, books, clothes and white elephants, come on down!

My cousin Tracey, also a crochet artist, has sent me some very cute wool beanies and headbands to sell as well! You should definitely go check out her work at Cooper's Craft Corner :) 

My amazing Mum has been making me some organza bags for my customers - what do you think? A nice touch?

And, because everything we do is a family effort, my talented sister has made me a new set of tags for my wares. Don't they look good!

So, hopefully that goes well. I've decided if I sell 5 things, it'll be considered a success :) Any more is just a bonus!

Coming Full Circle Cardi

You know how you have those moments sometimes, when you see something and your brain just stops and shouts "WOW! MUST HAVE/DO THAT RIGHT NOW!!" Wandering through Ravelry about a week ago, I stumbled across the Coming Full Circle Vest by Lily Chin, and wow! I had to make it for me, right then. It's published in a book rather than online, but thankfully (?) there were so many errors in the published pattern that the whole thing is in the errata notes on Interweave's website! It feels a bit naughty, but the book is very expensive to buy when I just want the one pattern. 

Using Moda Vera Fayette in Pastel Mix (my favourite self-striping yarn is back in Spotlight! Yay!), I've been happily v-stitching round and round in circles for the last week or so :) It's not quite finished yet in this photo, but I wanted to try it on!

I'm up to the border now. The pattern asks for a shell/picot border, and.. well, after my Sunday Poncho I just don't think I can face more picots just at the moment. After a little Google image search (such a great way to look at lots of pictures!), I think I've decided on this two strand braid. What do you think?

Lily Pond CAL

After a slow start, I'm starting to enjoy the Stylecraft/Jane Crowfoot Lily Pond Blanket CAL. I'm not quite up to date at the moment though! The colours are just beautiful - very reminiscent of a pond. I'm glad I chose to do mostly Stylecraft Special DK with a few Life DK colours thrown in when there wasn't a Special DK to match, as it seems to be lighter and brighter than the original while retaining some deep colours for the deep waters of the pond.

The Order Mountain

I'm slowly working my way through my crochet orders. Fortunately my clients give me lots of notice so I don't have to be stressed about getting things done. Next off the rank is a cute pink and tan hippo, and then some Crocodile Stitch Booties in lovely Moda Vera Fayette Jewel Mix! Just like these ones, but adult sized ;)

Tumbling Blocks Baby Blanket - New Pattern

In between everything else, I've been steadily working on my Tumbling Blocks Baby Blanket Pattern - both writing up the (sometimes very odd) instructions for the squares, and crocheting away on the prototype. It's looking really good so far, if I do say so myself! I'm hoping to get it done and published by the end of July, but that really depends on the order list, work, the fatigue monster and whatever else falls in my lap in the next few months!

Overlay Crochet Purse - "Turkish Doorways" - New Pattern

Somewhere at the bottom of my cotton yarn bag is a half-done, half-written, half considered new pattern for a little coin purse (or pencil case or phone case or clutch - so many options!). I really need to pull it out, get it finished and written up, and then published, to get it out of my hair! 

And... don't even ask me about my cross-stitch. It hasn't been out of the bag in at least a month!

Do you have any projects that just feel like they will never end? 

How do you inspire yourself to finish them off? 

Ta-dah! Sunday Poncho!

For such a long time I've been drooling over Alia Bland's Sunday Shawl pattern. 

But... I just can't wear shawls. They always fall off my shoulders, forwards backwards and sideways, and I spend my whole life rearranging the shawl that I'm wearing.

I decided that for our Great Ocean Road Trip (post and photos coming soon), I wanted to make something for myself, and what a great opportunity to convert this gorgeous shawl pattern into a poncho! I took advantage of the Drops sale and got a small mountain of Drops Cotton Merino, a beautiful DK yarn that is 50% cotton and 50% merino wool. So happy to find woollen yarn that doesn't make me itch like crazy! My excellent sister-in-law helped me to pick the colours :) 

After discussions with my mother and my favourite crochet ladies on Facebook, I decided on a 3 corner poncho. There was much mathematics (even a pencil and paper came out at one point, and the printed pattern is all scribbled with little charts and counting numbers), much frogging (and a little bit of swearing), but finally it's done! All the details on the changes that I made to the pattern are on my Ravelry Project Page.

Ta-dah! My Sunday Poncho :D  

It's so warm and snuggly, but not too warm, and is very comfortable to wear around the house and sitting in my crochet chair. I am wearing it right now! 

And of course, if I was getting a poncho then Captain Poprocks needed one for himself :P