Zeens and Roger

Catching Up with Crochet Blankets and Changes in the Garden.

August 12, 2015February 26, 2026crochet8 Comments

Not quite half way to go in my new blanket.

Crochet Granny Squares

I haven’t been working on these crochet granny squares since the summer holidays began. I honestly didn’t think the holidays would have much of an impact on my crafty gubbins, but it absolutely has. Progress has slowed right down. However, this is still a good batch of granny squares. So far, there are fifty two petal patch squares and shockingly, yarn ends have already been sewn in. I want over a hundred squares to make this crochet blanket. I can’t remember the exact number needed. It doesn’t matter at this stage. I’ll have a play and then decide.

The pattern for this crochet square takes a weeny bit longer to make than a regular Granny, but it looks that much more special. It’s called the Petal Patch Motif by Betsy Makes. I’ll give myself an Autumn deadline for this one.

And More Granny Squares

I’ve also been having a good old tinker around with this crochet pattern. It’s the Lily Pad square, and it’s very pretty. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing this blanket complete. I have a feeling it’ll look lovely.

The first square I made is the one on the bottom right. The middle is tighter and kind of went kind of nipply?! I added some chains between stitches for the first couple of rounds, which sorted that out. I have also only just twigged that it’s someone called Lily who will become the owner of this blanket! Lily pads for Lily. Hee!

Crochet Blanket Inspiration

This pink, yellow and green fireplace tile is the inspiration for the colours. I wrote about it a couple of weeks ago and haven’t moved on that much further. Fingers crossed that the colours match in real life. It’s tricky colour matching by photographs.

A Garden Update

Will I be getting ripe figs this year? Last year, the tree was laden with fruit, but none of the blighters ripened. I always get excited about seeing them ripen, but truthfully, I think figs are a bit pappy. However, I do like to pass them on to friends. People get excited by homegrown figs, and I like to hand out bags and bags of them.

My runner beans are in full swing. I flippin love runner beans. I’m tempted to make chutney this year. I have a good recipe somewhere and I haven’t made any for a few years. Hmm. I could make some courgette chutney too…

The pink Japanese Anemone is looking fabulous at the moment. I wish I could say the same for the white one I got a couple of years ago. The white one is in too much shade, and I’m not sure the ground, in which it sits, is that nutrient rich. I might dig it up and move it.

Scroll past these if you like. I’m gonna add another anemone picture next too…

cottage garden with pink japanese anemone

Behind, on the right, is Arron’s Rod, I think. A bit weedy, but it is adding height. I really need to research some flowering plants that are about 6 feet tall. Any suggestions?

Helloo baby garden spider. I saw loads of these in the spring when they’d hatched, so I knew they would find themselves homes. He flashed his belly at me.

The garden in the summer looks a lot different to how it was in the spring. There are brighter flowers and it looks a lot less organised. I don’t know how to plan planting very well and it shows.

I’m astounded that the Hollyhocks flowered. They have been affected by rust. I sprayed them with Rose Clear, which has antifungal things in it. It seems to have helped them to recover just enough. Not just for roses, it seems. Beside it, the Crocosmia is mightily happy. It isn’t bothered by rust.

Several sunflowers have come up at the bottom of the garden. I didn’t put them there. What I put there was homemade compost. I deny putting Sunflowers in the compost, though. I have no idea how they got there. Lots of self seeding has gone on down at the bottom of the garden. That Borage has barged its way in. And there is what I suspect to be Verbena Bonariensis coming up too. The pink flowers are Lavatera, but that was deliberately planted.

So, there are all these colours going on. It’s a bit of a muddle. It looks nice enough, but I need lessons in planning. Maybe an overhaul for next year? Do I start now? I’m not sure what to do.

Crochet Granny Owl Decoration. Free Pattern!

August 5, 2015February 26, 2026crochet, free pattern14 Comments

Crochet Granny Owl Decoration

For 2019, I have written an update and created a video tutorial on YouTube: How to Crochet a Granny Owl . Cheers.

A while ago I wrote about how I was working on a crochet pattern. It was a design idea that I came up with a few years ago, but I wasn’t entirely happy with it. I dug out my old and poorly written crochet pattern and decided to play around with it; give it a little makeover. I now think it is ready to be unleashed so it can fly off and make new friends!

Here are lots of crochet granny owl decorations in various stages of making. They don’t take too long to put together.

I’m only hurting them because I love them.

I made eight little crochet granny owl decorations in the end, each of which turned out a little different depending on how I tweaked the pattern. Every single one has a unique personality.

What I like is that you can add bits or leave bits off. Wings, tufty ears, a hangy loop. The wings can be sewn on completely or half-sewn on so that they flap about. They work beautifully as cute handmade Christmas decorations, too.

tufted crochet granny owl. free pattern.

Owly with wings and tufty ears.

crochet granny owl pattern. Add wings and tufts for more owliness.

Owly without wings and tufty ears. This one has suffered a minor injury to his hanging loop. He was attacked by a scissor-wielding boy.

A friend of mine knew what I was up to and offered to help turn my pattern into a fancy pants PDF that could be downloaded. This is something I have no experience in, and I am unbelievably grateful that she spent so much time making it for me. She is an amazing artist and graphic designer. It looks so pretty! I have given her an open favour in return, I wonder what it’ll be…

crochet owl pattern. It's in the detail.

The PDF should be just below. It has the pattern and some (hopefully) helpful pictures.

GRANNY OWL PATTERN (2)

I love these crochet granny owls. I feel a weeny bit of proud of myself! They’re very cute. I think a snowy owl version would look lovely hanging from a Christmas tree. Or, I’m thinking of a Halloween version?! I’d love to see one of those. Also, I’m sure it could be turned into other creatures besides an owl. Can’t think of any at the moment though…um… turn it upside down, add a few curling tentacles and it’s an octopus??

If you like this pattern, please take a look at my other free crochet patterns.

I’m also on Pinterest come and have a look. I flippin love Pinterest!

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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.

More Crafting Projects and Summery Garden Stuff.

July 16, 2015February 25, 2026blanket, crochet12 Comments

Crochet, Sewing and Gardening, Oh My

Okay, I think little crochet brooches are the only finished crafty thing this week. But there are more crafting projects on the go.

The crochet pattern for the raccoon is from issue 33 of Simply Crochet magazine. I made the fox so that he had a friend. It’s the same pattern, just different colours. The raccoon pattern is designed by Becky Garratt. I looked at her blog, and I like it very much.

More Crochet on the Horizon

This new wool, Drops Karisma, is for a granny square blanket that has been “commissioned” (my sister-in-law has asked me to make it). The colour inspiration comes from painted tiles from her Victorian fireplace. I’m assuming that once the blanket is finished, it will drape beautifully somewhere beside the fire on a cold winter’s day. I have made a tentative start to making some granny squares, but the pattern I’ve chosen might need tweaking.

collection of petal patch granny squares

Last week I started the Petal Patch crochet blanket. I found the granny square pattern on Betsy Makes, and it makes a change from the standard granny without going crazy. I really like it. I have pretty much pilfered the colour scheme from Attic 24’s Harmony blanket.

Crochet Blanket Choices

I can’t decide whether to complete this blanket first, or put it aside whilst I concentrate on the fireplace blanket. I know what I should do, but I also know what I want to do. Actually, they will both be fun to make, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

This Petal Patch blanket will take at least a few weeks more, though, as I want about 100 squares, and so far, I think I only have 25. I haven’t been working as fast as usual either. This is because of a hurty wrist and a yarn-tangling toddler.

Sewing Too

I bought this poly cotton floral fabric in May, I think. It isn’t posh quality, but it was less than £3 a metre, so I don’t care.

I made a bag out of it first, and this week I hope to sew a summer skirt. If, once finished, it looks good, I will post some pictures. I should probably take a picture of the handmade bag, too. I have found what looks to be a good free sewing pattern for the skirt.

Other Handmade Crafting

This isn’t my hand; it belongs to my blanket-wanting sister-in-law. She is into embroidery, and when she visited last Friday, she whipped it out whilst me and some other fab people crocheted. I wanted to share it simply because I like it!

Obligatory Garden Snaps

Moving on from the crafting projects, I am reminded that the garden is thirsty. These Anagallis are my new favourite flower. For about five years, it was a Salvia, which I think is called Cambridge Blue, but my Mum gave me some Anagallis seedlings after I spotted it in her garden last summer. These guys look like they need a drink; they are a bit hot.

Both the Salvia and the Anagallis are here. I expect the Salvia is feeling a bit miffed now. I love all blue flowers equally. Just some more equally than others.

Down at the bottom of the garden, the Crocosmia is just beginning to flower. It was here when we moved in. I don’t mind it too much, so it has been allowed to stay. This picture doesn’t show the Lavatera that has come up behind it but it does show the Salvia, which looks so much better in real life.

I went upstairs and took a picture. Everything is looking quite nice from this angle! Hopefully, I will get the sewing machine out tonight. I’d like to make a start on that skirt.

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!

8 Go Mad in Dorset. We Went Camping!

July 9, 2015February 25, 2026crochet3 Comments

On a gloriously sunny weekend in Dorset, we went camping. It was hot. There were eight of us, four adults, four children. That’s two families. We had a lovely time.

Two Adventurous Nights in a Field

There was only one heavy tumble down into a badger’s set (resulting in lots of bruises) and only one incident with a hand saw (involving a quickish trip to a Minor Injuries Unit) but they somehow have added to the weekend, making it more memorable… and good for story telling.

Our shoes had to dry by the fire after a short but heavy downpour.

We briefly took refuge in the woods but it got slightly soggy so, in a break in the rain we went back to the tents.

Camping By a Fire

We had delicious meals on the camp fire. The first night was a chicken and chorizo stew with new potatoes. The second night we had carbonara with homegrown courgettes.

We camped in this very green and clovery field.

Lots of West Country Sunsets

I took a ridiculous number of sunset pictures.

It was a beautiful and peaceful place to be. On the first night, we had to listen to music from a nearby party. It went on until 2am, ugh. In the first photo, peaking out from behind some trees is a white marquee. That is where the party was happening.

Camping On A Dorset Farm

We stayed on a farm I know. I’ve been camping there a few times, but this is the first time since having kids. I was worried it would be a nightmare, but the children had a fantastic time. I didn’t like them waking us up at 4.45 but at least it was only for two nights.

More Silly Adventures

Unfortunately, we forgot our sleeping bags, so Husband kindly drove back home to get them. It’s only about fifty minutes from home, and I don’t think he minded tooooo much. I just can’t believe we forgot such fundamental camping equipment. Duh.

Intense Stuff

This is our new tent, bought so that the boys could have one section and we could have the other. It has a porch in between. Nice and roomy.

Camping isn’t camping without a proper fire to cook on and keep warm.

This looks messy in the photograph but in reality, it was very well organised. Instead of crafting, we set to work making an awesome drying rack for dishes and a washing line for clothes. There is a rudimentary rubbish bin in there, as well as extra sticks stuck in the ground to hang lanterns from. It was very cosy.

Here is a proper camping breakfast!

Nice views.

All Camping Things Come to An End

Promptly upon our return we all came down with a bug. I’m still feeling rubbish as I’ve been kept awake by pukey kids for two nights. Decent sleep hasn’t come to me yet. It’s such a shame because it put a downer on coming home. I think we caught the germs before we went camping and harboured them whilst we were away.

I might get back to some crochet today but I still don’t have much energy. I’ve been doing too much camping laundry instead. Boo.

Little Crochet Flower Pattern

July 3, 2015February 25, 2026crochet, free pattern14 Comments

I often share quite a few crafts I’ve made from other people’s patterns, but there hasn’t been much that has come directly from my own brain. Sooo, I am going to rectify that now and share a crochet pattern for little flowers that I’ve come up with myself.

It’s a pattern for some delicate little flowers. I’m sure there are lots of similar ones out there, but this one is nice because I created it for my friend’s daughter. She wanted some hair clips with crochet flowers, and this is what I came up with. There are two sizes because the first size I made was just a bit too big to stick on a hair clip. So, I downsized the flower motif. I don’t remember if I took photographs of the original flowers I made; this idea happened about two years ago!

A free crochet pattern. A bunch of crochet flowers

Little Flower Crochet Pattern

Please excuse me if the pattern doesn’t work; I’ve never done this properly before. My notebook has words and pictures that I deciphered, translating that has been…interesting… Gosh, if that doesn’t fill you with confidence!

For both of these quick crochet patterns, I used a 3mm hook and Stylecraft Special DK. I’ve written the pattern in UK terms.

Small Crochet Flower Pattern

Chain (ch) 6 and join with a slip stitch (ss).
Round 1: Ch3, 1tr into the ring (counts as 1 pair of spokes), (ch5, 2tr into ring) x5, ch5 and join with a ss to the top of the ch3 – [6 petals].
Fasten off (Fo).

Round 2: Join new colour with a ss between a pair of spokes (pictured above), 6dc in each 5ch sp (space), ss in between each pair of spokes, join with a ss to the first ss. Fo and sew in ends. (Round 2 is pictured, below).

Extra Small Flower Pattern.

Ch5 and join with a ss.
Round 1: Ch2, 1htr into ring (counts as 1 pair of spokes), (ch3, 2htr) x4, ch3 and join with ss to the top of the ch2. – [5petals]. Fo.

Round 2: Join new colour with a ss in between a pair of spokes. 4dc in each 3ch sp, ss in between each pair of spokes. Join with a ss to the first stitch. Fo and sew in ends.

With the help of a glue gun, just wodge these on a hair clip. I can see lots of them together on a headband, too, or do whatever you like with them! I am pretty sure these little crochet flowers are very versatile!

My First Ever Written Crochet Pattern!

There, my first ever published crochet pattern. I do have more designs that I’m going to blog about, including one that I am completely in love with, which is very cute indeed. I want to see if I’ve got this one right before I get overexcited though. I’d love to hear what people think, but please don’t hate it!!

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.