Experimental blue crochet that's going nowhere!!!!

And this is as far as it has got and it doesn't seem to be moving any further along, which is a bit depressing at the moment.

This is how it all started, I found these three lurking in my yarn stash and thought that they looked good together.

So I started to crochet a blanket, because a blanket is quite a nice project to do in the winter, ok it starts small but it soon gets big enough to snuggle up and that is quite a nice thing to do on a cold Sunday afternoon.

I soon settled on a pattern, for a change I thought I would like to try an ombre pattern, which would look a bit different than doing just stripes. 

And this is as far as it has got, I don't think I'm a hundred percent happy with it, I like the idea of an ombre blanket, but at the moment I don't like the way the pattern is working out. So I think it's back to the drawing board for this one.

Happy new year?

No I haven't gone completely mad 

But September feels more like new year to me than January does, I think it is because I can start to get the house back to normal after the long summer holiday, it's also the start of the new school year as well, for me that means packed lunches again, having to remember what days is PE, swimming, music practice, after school clubs and homework! The word homework can be classified as a swear word in my house at times.

So what have I been doing since I last posted anything on this blog? 

1. Well I've finished the ongoing granny square project finally!!!

A picture of some granny squares I did on a weekend trip to Scotland 

Don't know what I'm going to do with them all yet, currently they are all in a bag in a box, waiting for a fash of inspiration.

2. I made myself a summer top 

Made from a piece of cotton lawn (not Liberty) which I found in Abakhan last year, it was £1.50 a metre in a end of roll sale bin, there was nearly 2 1/2 metres left on the roll so I had the lot for £3.00!

3. Two charity shop finds up cycle projects for my daughters 

A £3.99 dress turned into a skirt for my eldest daughter 

And so she didn't feel left out

A £1.00 top turned into a skirt for my youngest daughter 

They both are pleased with their new skirts, they didn't take long to make, I think the unpicking of the unwanted bits off each items took longer than the actual making of each skirt.

4. Some knitting 

Ok this is where things get a little complicated 

Well here is the story, as I was approaching the end of the ongoing granny square project I decided to put the crochet hooks away and get the knitting needles out, so the said day arrived I finished, away went the crochet hooks, out came the knitting needles and off I went to rummage around the nice and expensive yarn section of my stash and found this nice sparkle sock yarn

I purchased this last year at Fibre East, along with other yarn from Truly Hooked, the colour is Dusky it's a lovely yarn to work with and a nice colour too. So I found a shawl/scarf pattern in my Ravelry library - no fuss shawl pattern by Susan Ashcroft, which is a lovely easy pattern to knit, a real sit down and relax knit. Well I finished it and I don't like it, I love the pattern and I love the yarn, but the combination of the two together just don't work for me, so it has been abandoned for now and guess what the crochet hooks are out again 

An experimental blue crochet project 

Next off the sewing machine

Well not exactly that exciting, but I have made something. 

After publishing my last post I put the granny square project away, out came one of the tried and tested pyjama patterns again, down came the four metres of brushed cotton fabric, which has been hanging over the door since the beginning of May and the said fabric became more pyjama bottoms for the girl's again! 

Nice fabric to work with 

French seams for the legs, very neat!

And finished with a label, not for personalisation but so my girls can tell the front from the back 

I most probably can make these in my sleep (ha ha!), I have made "NINE" pairs of pyjama bottoms this year! I've already done more sewing makes this year than last year. 

All nine pairs!!!!

Now I think that it's time to leave the comfort zone of pyjama bottoms and do something different, as the great pyjama shortage has now ended. But the big question is what to do next? I'm not short of fabric or patterns and I don't even have a shortage of sewing thread or other haberdashery supplies either, so what will I make next? I'm off to look through my pattern box and fabric stash.

Stuck in a big rut

That's how I feel at the moment and it's a horrible feeling too.

Well let's start with the ongoing granny square project, which is basically going nowhere at the moment, a little while ago I counted  how many granny squares I had made and there is over two hundred, which is a quite a positive thing knowing that I had made that many, but I have still got a basket full of yarn which is a negative thing. But I think it's time to put the ongoing granny square project away for awhile.

The positive side 

The negative side

So what have I been doing since I last posted? 

Well on the non-granny square making front I have done some sewing, well a little bit of sewing to be more precise. 

Project number one:- some pattern weights 

A little project that has been on my want to make list, these were a quick easy project to do and they used up some squares that I had left over from another project and are filled with some of the rice from the damaged beyond repair doorstop (ask my youngest daughter why she destroyed it). I have certainly made use of them and wonder why I didn't make some sooner.

Project(s) number two:- pyjama bottoms 

Not for me for a change, for the girl's instead. They both are in desperate need of some new pyjama bottoms and this need was made more urgent by that my eldest daughter was going on a school residential trip and she hadn't got a hole free pair to take with her. This would use up some of the fabric from my stash, it was going to be green brushed cotton with owls for my eldest and cream brushed cotton with monsters on for my youngest. I managed to make two (long and short) pairs out of each piece of fabric.

Project number three:- is something that I'm not ready to blog about yet, as at the moment I have got a problem with it, well let's just say it involves something that my youngest daughter has done, so at the moment I'm trying to salvage it.

So what is happening on the stash fronts Then? Well the yarn diet is sort of working, I haven't bought (or received) any yarn since October last year, but due to the slow ongoing granny square project all the odd bits of yarn are not disappearing as quickly as I want them to do and I desperately want to do some knitting for a change. 

Let's move on to the fabric stash front, well let's just say that is a diet that isn't working. First let's look at the plus side since the beginning of the year I have used five pieces of brushed cotton fabric, but those five pieces have been replaced by five more pieces - another piece of brushed cotton, a piece of polar fleece, a piece of knitted lace fabric, a very nice piece of liberty fabric and yesterday a piece of tee shirt fabric.

 Do I have a problem yet?

Still got a long way to go till the stash in under control

January makes and other things

So what have I been doing last month then? 

Well due to a bout of insomnia I've managed to finish one of my books that I have being reading, well sitting at the side of the bed to be more precise.

Also I've managed to make not one but three pairs of pyjama bottoms, which is quite an achievement for Me!  When I was intending to try and make one item of clothing a month, which is better than none.

Pyjama bottoms numbers one, two and three

I wanted to carry on making, I have basically run out of ready fabric, not fabric I've still got loads of that, but what I mean is fabric that has been washed and ironed.

Well let's talk about cost then; 

Fabric- from stash  £0.

Elastic- from stash  £0.

Thread- also from stash  £0.

Patterns- pair number one are from a pattern I've had for ages £0.

pair numbers two and three  £4. The fabric pieces were not big enough to use my usual pattern, Hobbycraft had a half price sewing event on at the time so the pattern was half price, should of  been £8.

So the cost for three pairs of pyjama bottoms comes to the grand total of £4.
Everything, apart from one pattern, came from my stash. So far so good!

After that mad pyjama bottoms making session I went back onto a granny square making project again! Which is starting to bore me again, but when I have still got a ridiculous amount of odd bits of yarn around (hoarded) I just want to to get it used up because I feel that it is becoming a burden around my neck.

can you see the bottom of the basket yet?

First make of the new year

Fresh start for new year

New years Eve I decided that I wanted a fresh start, so I didn't drink myself into oblivion like I normally would do when welcoming the new year in.
So next morning hangover free I was up early and I decided to start the new year with some sewing and make a new pair of pyjama bottoms for myself, so out came the pattern, scissors, pins and tape measure, along with the piece of fabric which has been hanging over the lounge door since October.

Ready, steady, Go! 

I felt relieved that I was finally doing something with the fabric which had been hanging around the house, for nearly three months let's just say. This is my fifth pair of pyjama bottoms I've made using this pattern, it's a easy pattern to use, it has got to the point that I only look at the instructions to check that I'm turning the right amount of fabric over for the waistband and the hems.
I didn't have any problems major problems, apart from getting the elastic in a twist didn't realise what I had done until after I had sewn the ends of elastic together! Luckily I had been a bit over generous with the elastic, I'm not feeling very skinny at the moment. So now for the Ta dah! Moment.

Hopefully the first of many makes 

After that the rest of the week was spent trying to get the house back to normal and the girls ready to go back to school, my youngest daughter needed new shoes.
Last day of the holidays I did treat them I took them to Prestatyn for the day and let them play on the beach, along with a picnic which we had in the in the car because it was freezing cold!!! But they enjoyed themselves and I even managed a quick visit to Abakhan in Mostyn on the way home and I didn't buy any fabric, but I was tempted, I bought a pattern instead with the last of my Christmas money, so far so good with the no fabric buying resolution.

Freezing cold day at the beach

Let's reflect and think about new resolutions

First let's reflect on the year just gone and think about the year ahead, but first let me reflect on my resolutions from last year

1. De-clutter and clean the house properly!

Well all I can say there is that it is still an ongoing project, currently I have a clutter free kitchen, bathroom, landing and a sort of clear dining room! The rest of the house, my craft area included are still cluttered, but I have made numerous donations to the charity shops and many trips to the tip as well. 

2. Post at least one photo a day on Flickr 

Well this one of my successful resolutions I actually manged to keep this one and post at least one photo a day, I will admit it wasn't easy there were days I struggled, days when the weather was against me, or illness got in the way, and I couldn't get out of the house but I managed it.

                      Even though I did take some very random photos some days!

3. Try and make one item of clothing a month 

Well to this one I can say yes and no, yes I did make some clothing, but no I didn't make one item of clothing a month but I will say that I made more clothing than the year before. What did I make Then?

1. One pair of knickers 

2. A summer top for me

3. Two pairs of pyjama bottoms 

4. A dress

5. Two world book day costumes, the girls went as golden tickets from Charlie and the chocolate factory 

6. A pirate costume for youngest my youngest daughter 

7. And finally two Christmas skirts for the girl's 

The year before I only made two pairs of pyjama bottoms 

4. Read more 

Well currently ive got three books on the go, I haven't finished one book this year, I'm listening to one audio book, readingone on a kindle and a good old traditional book. This will be one of my new resolutions for the new year finish all these books and not start any more books until these are finished.

5. Try a new craft 

Well this is it, drop spindle haven't done it yet another one for the new list.

6. Finish off the lurking UFO'S 

Well I only finished one UFO that's the one pictured above, that includes weaving in the ends and sewing up any seams, the rest are still waiting to be finished. 

7. Do more baking 

All I can say there is that yes I did, hope to be more adventurous this year.

8. Get the garden looking like a garden 

That is still a on going project, there is a lot of work to be done, well Rome wasn't built in a day was it!

9. Try and grow some fruit and vegetables this year 

Yes, but with success and failure. I got three ripe strawberries and five blueberries, youngest daughter ate the rest before they had the chance to ripen and I only got fourteen potatoes, which is a small success. 

10. Start blogging again 

Well I did, not as many posts as I would of liked but I did and I hope to do more in 2017

Time to move on to a new year 

What are my new resolutions for this year? All of the above, but I'm adding a yarn and fabric diet to the list as my stashes are starting to get a little bit out of control, so no yarn and fabric buying, I will shop from my stash until I've got them under control.