Remember These?

Did you ever make these paper beads as a child? I did.

I spent an afternoon with the girls and my god daughter making some today. It was such good fun and for a child project, very successful too.

I have a had a bad shoulder for three weeks and a visit to the chiropractor has finally put knitting and crochet off limits. It is tough but what is a crafty girl to do? Inspired by the kids crafting I made these necklaces last night for birthday presents.

You can get a tutorial here

Happy crafting. Jo xxxx

Holiday Creativity

Our summer holidays always consist of the children catching up on some crafty projects they have started and not finished or the making of kits that have been gifted for Christmas or Birthdays. 

These cushions are for the mini sofa in the playroom. We have just revamped the cubby hole of a room because the table and chairs were too small and low for them to use and their detritus had started to spill out over three floors of the house so we all talked about what should be in there, what should be given away and what they would like to do when they are in there. Mainly they like to draw, craft or watch TV so we made it so with a few purchases and a lots of sorting out.

The fabric was gifted to me last year by my friend Christina from Colourful life. It is bright and colourful with doodle areas for coloring in. I hunted out some IKEA fabric pens and off they went for an hour or so - I joined in too. 

Heidi has enjoyed her amazing Birthday present from her Uncle (I was so jealous!)She did this to make us all laugh, she wore a shower cap on her head too but we were laughing too much to get a picture.

There has also been impromptu sewing on the machine. I can leave Big Sis on there now aged nine and she squirrels away making little things from her own creative mind and my bin. (yes yarntangler, that is an off-cut from your mum's dress!) She wore the tape measure around her neck the whole time even though she didn't use it. Cute.

We have been playing creatively outside at the cabin too with a sleepover, picnics and play days.

Big Sis received an Indian Tiffin from the aforementioned 'yarntangler' for her birthday, the other girls looked on quizzically as her face lit up in delight. We had seen the gifting family with one and were very jealous but they came up trumps and bought her one for her birthday. The very next week my friend came across another in a house clearance, she did not know what it was, so I explained and bought it for £2. Now we have two. Not seen one before? Look...

Little metal bowls of snacks and salads all perfectly transported with the clip and strap, ready in serving dishes when you arrive. Sweet can be separate from savoury, hot or cold, endless possibilities. Just genius! I love functionality in design, I get a bit awestruck by it sometimes.

My own crafting has been happening in short bursts here and there; at the park, in the garden, in my lunch break on work days, watching the Olympics or a snatched hour on the sewing machine.

Happy Holidays or Happy Crafting. Jo xx

Join as you go Crochet

I have finished a stash busting baby blanket with a little help from a ball of Stylecraft DK in mustard to give the whole thing a lift.

My aunt sent me a text asking if I wanted a couple of balls after seeing my mustard cardigan in so much use but I knew straight away it would complete this blanket.

I used a tutorial from a ravelry link here to learn how to join-as-you-go. It was easy and fun to do.

I made the border with three rounds of UK dc and then used crab stitch to finish the border. I like this edge on a small blanket because it is not too overpowering and will not snag tiny toes.

All in all a fun stash-busting project just in time for my work colleague who is going on maternity leave in September.

Quick wash and block then ready to wrap. Thanks for dropping by. 

Jo xx

Knitting Cardigans

I have made a cardigan for Big Sis with the help of my mum. I just couldn't do that yoke, well that is a lie, I couldn't sustain it. The most I got to was row 45 where I could see the wiggly snake appearing but my concentration levels were too low to keep it going. It was very hard to unpick cables that snake from left to right, I never knew which row I had unpicked to.

If I am honest it is a tad too small. To make it bigger I would need to take off the button bands and the yoke, which is sewn on separately, then ask my mum to add another 20 row pattern repeat to the yoke to give it more room across the shoulders then put it all back together again but I really can't see that happening. She said she will wear it now while she can because she loved the ceramic forget-me-not buttons.

There is another little girl waiting in the wings for it anyway...

The pattern is Sirdar 2259, my favourite children's knitting patterns are from Sirdar. It is for Sirdar Supersoft aran but I have knit in that before and it pilled really badly so this time I have used King Cole comfort aran so I will keep you posted on the condition after a few washes. Oh woe!I so wanted this to be just right for September through to winter, never mind. 

Luckily I have superb knitting friends and family to step in. Big Sis received two beautiful cardigans for her birthday. My friend Maddy knit the one with pockets which is the perfect size. This puts me to shame because Maddy last saw Heidi in February and I see her everyday so why is my cardigan too small!!!!! My Auntie knit the other one with the honeycomb pattern which is a little bigger ready for when the first purple cardigan is too small, it feels so soft. She loves them both.  

Phew! cardigans for Autumn and Winter are covered.

What are you knitting?

Jo xxx

Scrappy Quilt Rainbow

Do you look at the big picture or are you a fan of detail? I am a big picture sort of person. I always try and stand back and look at things from a different angle. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In this instance it really works:

My scrappy 5" square quilt top is looking great. Little M said, 'Is it supposed to look like a rainbow?' 'YES!' I squealed in delight. That is why I was persevering with the yellow in the corners although initially it looked wrong close up, however when you took a step back to gaze at the big picture it turned out to be a fine rainbow accent.

Close up, nothing to write home about. A mix of 5" squares in random fabric patterns from my handmade clothes leftovers, gifted pieces from friends, a sneaky small charm pack and some recycled clothes but zoom out and it really sings.

A little peek there into where I usually sew on the top floor. I need some sort of border. Not sure yet. Any ideas? solid colour squares, plain border strip, patterned strip borders? 

Don't forget to stand back and admire, it really is quite uplifting. Thank you for looking at the Big Picture and not the detailed seam joins!. Jo x

Fi Fi swimwear style

I made this top just before I went away last week, in the final hour, when I shouldn't have really been sewing. I wanted an alternative to my handmade vintage bikini top and bottoms and I had just the right amount of matching fabric left over. I thought the Tilly and the Buttons Fi Fi PJ top could be a good style for a  swimwear top.

Pattern modifications:

cut two sizes smaller than I normally would.

cut the four way stretch fabric on the grain not on the bias.

cut swimwear lining for the cups and front panel.

crossed the straps over on the back for more support.

straightened the hem to remove the curve.

Fitting:

I just kept trying it on and taking new seam lines down all seams until it was snug, trimmed the excess, then over locked the seams but pinking would have worked too.

 

I wore it so much on holiday along with the bikini top. It was great to have a mix and match option.

Thanks for popping over. Back to work tomorrow! Jo x

Happy Holiday Knitting

We are back from our holidays after a restful, sunny time in Portugal. It was our first holiday abroad with the children. At aged eight and six it was a good time to take them away. They could carry their own bags, listen to instructions at the airport, play happily with each other in the swimming pool and deal with 30 degree plus heat. I have had some very happy times this week.

Knitting + Beach = Happy

Knitting + Poolside = Happy

Knitting + Shade = Happy

Knitting + Wine = Happy

Knitting + Airport = Happy

Holiday + Family = Happy

Happy times indeed. Jo xxx

Ps: More pattern and yarn details to follow as this is one of my Minerva makes for Autumn