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Things I Made in December

January 4, 2016February 28, 2026amigurumi, crochet, sewing32 Comments

Better late than never, here are some of the Christmas gifts I made. Not all of them, I didn’t take pictures of everything. These are the handmade things I thought I should record as they’re all firsts.

Amigurumi Zebra

This stripey zebra was finished on Christmas Eve. I spent a long time on him, mostly in little bursts because, like an old lady, I couldn’t work with the black yarn in the dark. And it was always dark in December.

Many hours later…. I think I did an acceptable job.

Little toddler fingers had smudged the camera lense and I didn’t notice until much later.

I followed Elisabeth Doherty’s pattern from her Amigurumi book. The pattern is for a fawn which is surrounded by other ami patterns (although I don’t fancy making a crochet burger really). However, I know that the fawn pattern can be bought on its own on Etsy and maybe Ravelry as a pdf. I’m sure it was the last time I looked.

The back legs twisted too much so that the knees are wrongly placed. I didn’t say anything, and I don’t think the recipient will notice. She’s only two.

Little Crochet Cardigan

I made a little crochet cardi. Super speedy it was. The pattern is from Simply Crochet Magazine, issue 32. I was very good and bought the recommended wool, Drops Nepal. I chose slightly different colours, but mostly I stuck to the recipe.

I had pink yarn leftover, so instead of a ribbon tie, I made a crochet one. It might be a bit bulky, which is probably the reason why the pattern goes for actual ribbon.

It’s worked from the top down with granny clusters, and it’s for my niece.

I’m not sure what to do with the leftovers; only a small amount of the yoke colours are needed. Ohh, pompoms?!

Crochet Doily For Nanna

Nanna and Grandad got a doily for Christmas. I used DMC Natura Just Cotton in Dk. The pattern is from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet. I didn’t do a particularly neat job of blocking it as I ran out of ironing board. My Nanna was pleased as she said it can replace the doily her mother had made her (it is falling apart). I don’t know how old that one is, but she told me that her mother died in 1976.

Handmade Coraline

And here is Coraline. She’s quite a big doll. Whilst not perfect, I am proud of her as I made her up totally from my head. All of it. Including the pattern for the coat, which only bloody well fit the first time! Dead pleased. But not completely over the moon. I want to make her again to sort out all the tweaks that are required.

Her head and neck shape is wrong, which in turn has messed up her face. And I was afraid to press her clothes in case the felt fabric melted. Neatness has been sacrificed.

She also needed an emergency operation on her ears because they were dreadful. I so know what I’d do to make them better, but I ran out of fabric and time.

They are supposed to poke through her hair, and that, they do

It is a huge relief to have ticked these handmade Christmas gifts off my list. I have a perkier list for January, which pretty much includes making stuff solely for me!

The Rush of December

December 9, 2015February 28, 2026blanket, crochet, sewing12 Comments

Crocheting & Crafting For Christmas

It’s properly December now, and the time I thought I had is pretty much gone. I had lots of ideas for Christmas makes, but I have gradually knocked certain things off the list as time disappears. I’ve narrowed it down, and there are three main things still left to finish. Anything else I make after that is a bonus. The first is the crochet above. I started yesterday, and it was fun to get cracking.

I love the colours of the yarn. It is Drops Nepal, an alpaca mix aran. I will be sure to take some more pictures of this little crochet cardigan when it’s finished. I think I will finish it quite quickly. It’s enjoyable to crochet.

This is the crafty stuff that I made, thinking I would try and sell it at the craft fair last month. I also knew that if I didn’t sell it then I would be giving some of it away as Christmas presents. Is that wrong? Feel marginally guilty but can’t put my finger on why.

This is my first Corner 2 Corner crochet and my first Walking Dead blanket. It’s called the Walking Dead blanket because I needed somewhere to look when the zombies/walkers/biters are on screen. When frightened, take solace in crochet!

It’s only a small blanket and made from scrappy yarn leftovers, hence the odd colour choices. They are not my fave colours, but I think they have some appeal. Autumnal.

Another C2C Blanket

This is the second Walking Dead C2C blanket, started when we began watching season three. It’s still not finished, but we have three episodes left, so the two should be finished together. The yarn is made from bamboo fibres. I bought it for £1.39 a ball, reduced from £4. Unfortunately, it smells rank. I’m not sure if it’s the yarn or the cardboard inner wotsit. It has a very specific wet chopping board smell. Hopefully, a good wash will sort it out. It’s very silky feeling even if it is stinky. And it is not the bogey green depicted either, but a beautiful emerald green. The camera does not do green.

Sewing a Coraline Doll

I’m also about to embark on the final version of a doll I’ve been working on. This is a special request from my niece. I worked up a prototype yesterday. After making some tweaks, it is probably what I should finish off first. I don’t take the easy road; I have drafted the pattern myself, which is something I have no real experience in. I make stuff up as I go along. We shall see.

I have another crochet project that I’m putting off, as I know it’ll be tricky. It’s an amigurumi job, and it’ll be in black and white. But that is the third and final thing.

This crookedly cut gingerbread man is what Eldest and I are working on after school. He traced around one of my gingerbread man templates and cut it out. He chose the buttons and stitched on the nose and rosey cheeks himself. I expect him to stitch the two parts together, too. I’m looking forward to seeing it on the tree.

Sooo, that is where I am, and I am getting further behind by tippytappying here. I’m off to see what I can do in the next 45 minutes before I have to wake up Toddler and rush off to the school Nativity!

Surprisingly Easy Sewing Project

October 30, 2015February 28, 2026sewing11 Comments

I’ve been meaning to make this little patchwork baskety thing for ages, and I’m glad I sorted myself out and did it. I thought it was going to involve complicated sewing, but actually, it was mega easy! Pink Penguin is where you need to go. The sewing tutorial is for a small patchwork basket; I made the larger version.

I really like the interior fabric. I only bought a quantity of 40 cm, which was just enough. It was a bit silly, really, but when I bought it, I hadn’t measured anything, so I had to guess. I want to make one for me; this was for my sister.

I also made her this handmade tote bag. Everyone needs a bag now, don’t they?! I made up the basic pattern having seen similar elsewhere.

This pleated purse was the other thing I made in my sewing flurry. I’m running out of people to make this for now. I have done quite a few in different fabrics. The pleated purse tutorial is this one here.

I made stuff pre-blog too; pretending to be a crafting blogger. When you’re not. Yet.

October 23, 2015March 2, 2026blanket, crochet, sewing17 Comments

I’ve spent years being inspired by other bloggers’ work. It became something I really wanted to do, too. It looked like lots of fun, and it looked like a good way to keep on track of what I was doing creatively.

I was lazy and procrastinatey and used several excellent excuses as to why I hadn’t just done it. I’m still so new to craft blogging, but if I had started when I first had the notion, then I would have been being bloggy for six or seven years by now!

I’ve spent much time taking pictures of crafty projects, and each time I’ve thought that maybe they would end up as a blog post. So, I’m going to put up some pictures of work that was done in the six months prior to hitting Publish for the first time.

I went through a mandala phase. These two are both Made in K Town using Rico Creative Cotton. Cheap cotton, very splitty, lovely colours. This has led me towards doilies, which I still need to make more of. Soon.

I made my eldest boy an Attic 24 Ripple for his bed. It’s Stylecraft Special. Everyone loves a bit of Stylecraft rippling.

The boy chose the colours. So off I went. It was reasonably speedy once the first few rows were out of the way. A repeating colour pattern was a weeny bit boring though. Next time, it’s random colours, like it’s supposed to be.

I made teeny niece the mini version for her dolly. I didn’t use the same pattern. This version has more ripples so it looks better scaled down. It’s actually adapted from a cushion cover pattern from Cute and Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench. When I say “adapted” I mean “added a few more rows”. The edging, I think, is the one that was on the Granny Stripe made by Lucy at Attic 24.

This grey and chartreuse granny blanket was a special request for a baby blanket. My sister-in-law chose the colours. It’s Stylecraft alpaca DK. The blocks were from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. Don’t go thinking that all the blocks end with the same stitch count, though. They really don’t. Hmm. I really liked how this one turned out, but I only blocked the edge (which is from Edie Eckman’s Crochet Borders book) and not the individual squares. Next time, I will try super hard to block stuff.

One of the quickest little blankets ever. It was so much fun. The squares were done in a few days, and it was the first time I used a continuous-join-as you-go. This was for a baby girl born in early spring. I’d make one of these again for sure. It was inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest and it led me to Katie’s Kitchen.

There are six handmade things in the picture above. Six! I am responsible for five of them, but the cream knitted blanket is a mother-in-law job. Three blankets, two cushions and a dolly. Huzzah.

Sewing has been worked on, too. I’m better than I was, but there is definitely room for improvement, too. Having said that, the cherry blossom needlecase is one of my favourite felty sewn things I’ve done.

And a Mermaid’s purse! Well, another needlecase… She was lovely to make. After Christmas, I plan on making more of these sorts of things and giving them a go on Etsy. I’m not entirely sure what the demand is for needlecases and such, I guess I’ll find out. I will obviously shout very loudly on here if these sorts of things head towards my Etsy shop.

Phew, I feel a bit better now. I’m off to have yesterday’s leftovers for lunch, which thankfully, taste better than the experience that I had in the kitchen.

Getting Out There in The Crochet World

August 25, 2015February 26, 2026crochet, free pattern, sewing7 Comments

I’m In A Magazine!

Look! It’s me!! I made these little guys a few weeks ago with scrap yarn and then tagged Simply Crochet magazine on the picture I Instagrammed. I was pretty chuffed to see the crochet fox and raccoon in the magazine. Now I know they don’t make up pretend readers!

I don’t often buy magazines (not reeeallly), let alone make the crochet patterns within the pages, but I did this time. It has definitely given me a boost but I am wondering if I should aim higher next time.

I’m thinking about focusing more on my own crochet designs and seeing what happens if I shout loudly about them… for example:

These little hooters are becoming really popular. I posted the pattern at the beginning of the month. They are my Granny Owl Decorations. A few days later, I twigged that I should probably put them on Ravelry. I did, and it went a bit mental for a couple of days. Then yesterday, completely out of the blue, they gathered loads of interest after someone (I’ve no idea who) posted a link on their Facebook page.

Very interesting, very exciting. I guess I need to be less scared about what I’m doing. Stop being a wimp. And I guess I should say “Thanks” to those who have found and liked my crochet owlies. There will definitely be more patterns from me in the future.

PS I’m many places online: Instagram, Facebook and ~~Twitter~~ pages. Please Follow/Like and what have you. And I’m also on Pinterest (all.the.time). Have a look! Thank you. X

Sewing Curtains, Re-Homing a Crochet Blanket and Enjoying Summer.

July 23, 2015February 25, 2026blanket, crochet, sewing6 Comments

Last week I said I wasn’t allowed to buy any more fabric…. I have….

Fabric For Sewing Curtains

Half a tonne of fabric! Lots of it. Loads. I’m making curtains, it’s totally legit. When I said I wasn’t allowed to buy any more fabric, I had forgotten that I’d planned new curtains. It was not an impulse purchase but a careful, well-thought-out one.

I started on the first curtain the other night but was scuppered by having bought the wrong header tape. I blame IKEA, I don’t think they do the normal header tape anymore, and it wasn’t for normal curtains, it was weird. Anyway, by the time the replacement stuff we ordered from eBay turns up, I’ll hopefully have sorted out all of the other curtains ready for the tape.

I can’t wait to have new curtains!

a mixed up granny stripe crochet blanket

Giving Away a Crochet Blanket

I got a request from a friend on Monday night asking if I had a spare baby blanket they could have to give as a present for someone. Actually, I had three from leftover experiments. This is the crochet blanket they chose. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite finished. Thankfully, I’d sewn in the ends already. However, it had no border, so I had to quickly whizz around it a few times and find a pretty edge that would suit a baby girl. This is the crochet blanket.

mixed up granny stripe crochet baby blanket.

It was initially going to be for a baby I knew, but once I’d almost finished, I decided it wouldn’t suit said baby and stored it away with all the other abandoned crochet projects. Poor, striped blanket. Luckily, someone else saw the potential in it and asked if they could have it. Yes. Good.

There isn’t a pattern for it, it’s just a basic granny stripe mixed in with a variety of doubles, half trebles and trebles in a random order. I used Stylecraft Special DK. I quite liked it once it had its border added. The border was inspired by various patterns I’ve seen around. It’s a bit of a hotchpotch crochet project.

Garden Pics

The garden is getting pretty again after its June lull. It makes me ponder what I need to do for next year, to ensure I have colour in more places. I’ve noticed that the greenfly have come to party on my Sweet Peas.

My six year old and I went outside this morning and snipped all the Sweet Peas and some Lavender to make posies for his teachers. It’s the last day of school today. I shook off the greenfly before he handed them over.

There is loads of Borage in the herb bed, I didn’t realise it was such a prolific self-seeder. There are so many plants. It’s managed to travel to some other parts of the garden too. I’m going to have to keep on top of that.

The bees flipping love it. It would make me feel guilty if I took too much of it out. I’m going to have to keep it to one part of the garden but still make sure the bees have enough to keep their tummies full.

Bees are also having a great time in the Nasturtiums. I’ve spotted more bumble bees here as opposed to the honey bees on the Borage. I don’t know any other type of bees. I could well be mixing my bees.

I’ll soon be running the risk of repeating myself with the garden pics. I’ll need to look at past blog posts to remind myself of my green-fingered blatherings.

Here, another one of Borage! I put them in ice cubes last year. They looked absolutely nothing like those pictures you see on Pinterest.

Sewing a Simple Skirt & How I Added the Pockets.

July 20, 2015February 25, 2026free pattern, sewing4 Comments

Sewing a Summer Skirt. With Pockets!

Last week I decided to make a skirt from a sewing pattern I’d spotted on Pinterest ages ago. I made it last Friday. The night before, I drew out the pattern pieces and cut out the fabric ready for the next day. The pattern is for a summery skirt on sewinglikemad.com, which has the basic formula for the skirt and you kind of work out for yourself how it goes together. It has a useful link for making the waistband, which is much better than a plain elasticated waistband. I also found a video tutorial to help me put the pockets together. I can’t remember if I’ve ever done pockets before.

Pocket Facings

The above photo shows pinning the pocket facings onto the front of the skirt. It was very easy to do and quite good fun. A step up from my normal sewing level, which isn’t usually adventurous.

Once I had sewn and pressed the facings, I added the main pocket piece to each side.

What I should have done next was gather the whole piece across the top. However, I had already gathered the front main piece of the skirt before I attached the pockets. I should have waited until this stage. I had to do a teeny extra bit of gathering at the pockets to make it the same size as the waistband, ready to sew them together.

This is it all stitched together. It didn’t take very long to get to this stage at all. It was definitely helpful to follow the link in the pattern to make the waistband. I was so impatient to get it finished, I kept to my usual of 1inch elastic rather than three lots of thinner stuff. However, next time I will be up for making the smaller casings as it creates a really nice finish to the waistband.

Sewing a Summer Skirt with Pockets

This is not a particularly good picture, but it is good enough to demonstrate what my new summer skirt looks like. I’m enormously pleased with my new handmade skirt!! My favourite bit is the deep pockets. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be adding pockets to everything now.

Handmade Elderflowers Are Better Than Real Elderflowers.

July 12, 2015February 25, 2026crochet, free pattern, sewing8 Comments

Elderflower Brooches and a Crochet Purse

I made pretty embroidered felt brooches, inspired by the real thing growing in the garden. Then I had to crochet a purse for one of them to live on. So here, I talk a little about how I designed the elderflower brooch, and then how I made up an on-the-spot crochet purse pattern!

Elderflower Cordial

I think it was the weekend of Father’s Day that we saw lots of elderflowers blooming in Grandma and Grandad’s garden. Six year old and Daddy filled a little trug with elderflowers because six year old wanted to make elderflower cordial. I hate the stuff, it sucks. I do not get why everyone loves it so much. Blurgh. Anyway, seeing as he’s only six, I obliged and helped him make a drink out of the pretty but stinky flowers.

It was a made up recipe because we didn’t have things like citric acid. To go with the collected elderflowers, I whacked in a tonne of sugar and loads of lemon juice. It was far too sweet, but mixed with fizzy water, we got away with it. My six year old made me drink some.

Anyway, playing with these flowers gave me an idea for an elderflower without the stench. I quickly sketched out my idea and got stuck in. I decided to sew a brooch using felt. The last time I did felt sewing was when I made a cherry blossom needle case. It was one of my first blog posts so no one saw it!

Designing felt flowers. beginning elderflower brooch

Elderflowers Made of Felt

Cutting out the little felt flowers was a fiddly job. I didn’t bother using the templates I’d made for those, just cut little circles and snipped petal shapes into them.

Felt elderflower brooch design taking shape

I have white felt and off-white felt. They are both different sorts of felt. I wanted to use the off-white but I think it must be 100% wool because it is mega fluffy and breaks away at the edges very easily. I decided to make two brooches as I wasn’t sure which felt fabric would be the best.

In the above picture, you can see I have used off-white flowers on a white felt backing and vice versa in the other bloom. The extra woolly felt was definitely not good for the small flowers.

Adding Crochet

I’m going to pin one of the finished flower brooches onto a new crochet purse. Originally, I was going to do it applique style and have the flower as the purse’s design feature. It turned out I couldn’t be bothered to do that, so I added a little brooch clasp instead and that way I had a removable brooch, or bag decoration!

Crochet Purse Pattern

I used a 4mm hook and double-knit yarn.

To make the purse, I chained 34+1 and did enough rows until I was happy with the length, approximately 46 rows of UK dc / US sc crochet stitches.

Then I began a few regular decreases to shape the purse flap. I dropped the first stitch of every row for about eight rows (it might have been ten rows!). I then did six (maybe eight?) rows with a UK tr2tog / US dc2tog at the beginning and end of each row.

Adding the Buttonhole into Crochet

To add the buttonhole to the top of the purse flap, just before the last couple of rows, I missed two stitches in the middle of a row and chained two instead. In the following row, I made two single crochets in the chain space and then did the final row normally.

Apologies, probably not the best instructions in the world, but I didn’t write them down, so I’m remembering. Before fastening off, go around the edge of the entire piece with UK dc / US sc stitches for a neater result.

Adding a Simple Lining To Crochet

I sewed on the lining by hand and cut a hole for the button to go through. The buttonhole is hand-sewn, so a little messy, but I still like it.

I measured a piece of fabric against the finished crocheted piece and folded the edges in to hide the seams. Just eyeballing it all, really.

Finishing the Crochet Purse

I folded the straight section in half to meet the bottom of the flap. I then crocheted the sides together (a sewn whip stitch would be good too). I actually forgot to go around all edges first with the single crochet, so I botched it, as usual. To rectify my error, I attached some yarn to one of the corners and just single crochet stitches along the flap edge. Seeing as this is a prototype, it’s not bad. You learn as you go, I suppose.

I absolutely prefer the brooch on the right. It is brooch number two. The first one, I used a darker embroidery thread for the middles of the flowers, and it doesn’t work for me. I also went crazy with some dodgy French knots, but they don’t work for me either.

They look lovely! I’m pleased with how they match the crochet purse. I think, if I were going to get brave and open an Etsy shop, this is the kind of thing I’d want to sell.

So, that is the new thing I made. Sewing and Crochet, two fab hobbies!

Back to just crochet this afternoon, I reckon. And after a week of feeling rough, I have my appetite back just in time for slow-roasted pork and veg from the garden. All is good. Hurray!

A Sewn Toadstool Handbag, and Self Indulgent Garden Tour.

July 1, 2015February 25, 2026sewing4 Comments

Sewing And Gardening This Week

It was weeks ago that I cut out all the fabric pieces for this bag, and because I’d never used the pattern before, I had mild reluctance about starting. It always happens, and I know it’s down to the fact that, at some point, I’m going to have to concentrate. I am an easily distracted person. Finally, I managed to find some focus, and I am so pleased with the result!

Sewing a Handbag

I picked up the sewing project again a couple of weeks ago to make a start, but it was abruptly stopped by a toddler waking from his nap. That means no sewing allowed. I got as far as basting and stitching mitred corners. I was then disrupted by lost magnetic clasps. Should I even bother with them? Well, I’d bought them, and one day they’d turn up, so I really ought to give them a go. Two days ago, I found them, so sewing resumed.

Magnets on My Sewing!

Look! Look at the magnetic clasps! They are so snazzy. I actually put them in and it was so straightforward. I feel silly now. My one disappointment is that I placed them too low in the bag opening. They need to be a couple of centimetres higher so that they’re nearer the top. I will know for next time.

Neat & Tidy Sewing

I’ve impressed myself with the sewing on this bag, even if I haven’t impressed anyone else. There are straightlines for goodness sake. I never usually manage that sort of thing…. Straight lines!

There are some untidy areas, such as the attachment of the handles. By that point, I was sewing in the evening and getting distracted by the telly, so I had some unpicking to do. Strangely, I didn’t mind. However, I did mind a little bit when I got a random handle stuck to the handle I was working on. That was unnecessary unpicking. I got the fabric from Etsy.

Anyway, I have been randomly pushing it in people’s faces and parading around looking very pleased with myself, whilst I swing it on my shoulder!

A Quick Garden Tour

A quick tour of the garden in its current state. Here are some flowers I bought at Aldi (!). The salvia and the osteospermum are both Aldi bought.

A Proud Hosta

This is the best hosta I have, and I think that must be because it is in a pot. The other hosta plants are down the bottom of the garden, which, once weeded, I shall take a photo of.

I’m starting to wonder if most of this year’s annuals are actually bought from supermarkets because I think this lobelia came from Tesco! I’ve grown them from seed in the past, but I’ve had a very lazy year.

Views of the Garden

Yep, the snapdragons are from Aldi too. I’m beginning to feel embarrassed. Look, I’ve spotted rogue horseradish trying to invade again. The winter before last, I spent days digging the biggest hole ever, trying to get rid of the stubborn roots…. So, that worked :\

Pansies from um, Aldi. But that blue salvia isn’t, I grew that from seeds I collected. That is going to look amazing in a few weeks. They all will, I have five or six of them.

Self-seeded nasturtium. It used to be a deep red but is slowly turning to orange. Each year, the orange takes over a little bit more. I still like it.

I was surprised to spot the first sweet peas yesterday. These are one of my favourite flowers. They smell gorgeous, and I totally love them. I love you, sweet peas!

Crocheting, Sewing, and Baby Vegetables

June 28, 2015February 25, 2026crochet, sewing7 Comments

Crocheting A Shawl

I made a new crochet shawl a couple of weeks ago. It uses a mohair mix yarn that was once a 90’s-made jumper. An old knitted sweater was unravelled by a 92 year old Nan, and remade as a shawl by me, for her daughter (my Mother-in-law!). The crochet pattern is the Elise shawl, which I found on Ravelry. It was such a nice and straightforward to make.

It needed blocking, which I did directly on the bedroom carpet. I don’t have any fancy blocking boards (if such things exist). I’m not sure this method is recommended, but it works for me. Anyway, the shawl turned out well, so that’s all that matters.

Sewing Projects

As an accompanying birthday gift to go with the crochet shawl, I made this reversible bag. The tutorial is clear and easy to follow. A few years ago, I sewed a knitting needle case for my Mother-in-law out of the same fabric, so I thought it would make a nice matchy-matchy present. If I remember correctly, the fabric was from Ikea. I probably bought it about four years ago. Hmm, I obviously didn’t press this bag very well.

More Crochet Projects

I also made up a very quick project from the crochet pattern book, Hook, Yarn and Crochet by Ros Badger. I bought a ball of King Cole Cottonsoft DK especially for this project. The cotton yarn is beautiful stuff to use. I’d love to make a baby blanket out of it, but I can’t justify the cost at the moment. If anyone I know begets a child, then I might consider spending the extra to buy some.

I Crocheted a Lamp Shade Cover!

It’s a lamp shade cover! I still haven’t sewn in the ends yet because as soon as I finished it, it was shoved straight onto the lamp. Maybe I’ll do that job today. It left the room a little bit darker, but I like it. With the yarn leftovers, I made four little crochet coasters, but I haven’t taken any pictures of those.

Time For Vegetables!

At the beginning of the week, I came up with an excuse that these new vegetables were ready to eat. In reality, they were super small and probably needed a weeny bit longer suckling from their roots.

Nevermind, we ate them anyway! I fried them in butter, garlic and lots of salt and pepper. Looking in the garden yesterday, everything has replenished, and there are definitely some spoils to be had. Properly grown this time, I reckon.

Good, now I feel as though I’m catching up with crafting projects. I have a few things half done and some things waiting to get started, but I’ve also ticked other things off the list, which makes me feel better.