Bags of Fun...

I love bags. I have lots of bags. Some women love shoes. Some love cars. Some love ludicrous men. I love bags and have one for (almost) every occasion. I didn't however, have a lovely woolly bag made of scraps of yarn :) I also have lots of yarn. Buckets of the stuff. Skips full. (I fear that my hubby would like to see it all in a skip being taken away...) In fact, I think that a lot of men fear and loathe the bucket loads of yarn that are taking over their houses if the blogs that I follow are anything to go by...
A couple of weeks ago it was sunny here in Blighty. We had two glorious weeks of beautiful, warm, happy sunshiney days. It was bliss. It coincided with me finding myself unexpectedly with no work which was not a particularly positive state of affairs, but I felt that I needed to try to make the best of the situation...
So, I gathered together lots of odds and sods of purple, green, nice blue and turquoise ends and scraps, a pint of Rhubena (love that stuff, and love the name too!) I set off for the garden, dug out a chair from the shed, dusted off the majority of the spiders and other misc. shed life from it and found a spot in the shade (I burn just thinking about sunbathing) Here I am...

Oh, I also took out this lovely book with me, a real fave of mine...

Here is the finished bag...

It's more purple in real life.

And a perk of being outside... here is a bug on my pattern :)

I like bugs that don't bite me.



Craft it Forward

Have you heard of this?? It's a wonderful idea that has really taken off...
I took part last year and received lovely gifts from Claire at Loopholes by Badschnoodles and sent crocheted necklaces to the three ladies that I had to 'Craft it Forward' to.
This year I've seen a lot more people taking part which is great :) I'm lucky enough to be on the receiving end of gifts from both the fabulous Odd Sox and the tremendous Raggy Rat so this means that I need to Craft it Forward to 10 people! (It's gone from 3 to 5 in a year!!) I'm going to send to the first 5 who comment on my blog and to the first 5 who comment on my Facebook page which is here

So here's what YOU need to do...

If you would like to receive something handmade by me, just comment below, I'll contact the first 5 of you for delivery details and Hey Presto, you'll receive a little handmade gifty from me :) Your end of the deal is to publish the rules onto either your Facebook Page or Blog and send out 5 handmade gifts to people before the end of 2012 (who in turn send out to another 5 people) until everyone receives a lovely handmade gift! How fab is that??

Happy New Year :)

I've been inspired to start up the old Blog again... I discovered simplenaturalhandmade.blogspot.com via one of my absolute FAVE blogs Attic 24
Juanita started her blog just this year and it is absolutely fab (go and have a look, go on!!)
Today I am going to blog about TOTE BAGS... I Love Bags!!
In 2010 at the Knit and Stitch Exhibition I discovered Morse Bags Here is a photo from the main entrance of Ally Pally :)

The display was SPLENDID, I was *I*N*S*P*I*R*E*D*
Here are a few that I have made... I'm bad at remembering to take photos...

 My first ever Morse Bag!

This is one that I sent to Estonia as part of a swap...

 Playing with the fancy stitches on my Lovely Sewing Machine

 Applique Cat

Using my own labels :)
This is a replacement bag made for a swap... I made the original last year, posted it off to The US of A but it didn't get there... Luckily I never throw anything away so dug out my catty template and whipped up another one this afternoon instead of going to the gym... I know, any excuse... I love the black stitching, but the white 'ivy bud' stitch is a bit odd I think. The theme for the swap was Hallowe'en... I hope that the recipient likes it (Let's hope that the Postal Services get it there this time!)

And the 'Rubbish Blogger Award' goes to...

Me!!

I've come to the conclusion that this is NOT going to be a regular blog... how on Earth do people manage kids, home, work and the odd creative moment and still find time to blog about it all???

This will now be an Occasional Blog.

So, this is what I've offered up to the world recently... ;-)

Firstly, Amineko (the pile of bits mentioned in a previous post) has now been completed (!!trumpet fanfare!!) just in time for my daughter to take him away on her first school residential trip...

Here he is looking a bit superior...

And not so...

I've been involved in another ATC swap on Swap-Bot this one was entitled 'Kawaii Mushroom ATC Swap' I was a bit nervous, but got out the Sharpies and the kids' Staedler Ergosoft pencils (fab) and rattled along with an ATC. This one was sent to my partner :-

And this is the one that I received - isn't it lovely?!

You can see more of her artwork here

I'm also a real fan of bags - any bag, I've got hundreds! So I joined a Tote bag swap. I made my partner a Morse Bag (I'm keen to save the planet and if it involves MORE BAGS then hurrah!!) Have a look at this fab and easy tutorial on the Morse-Bag website... and more info about the project too. Anyway, here is the bag and a few goodies thrown in... including, not pictured, a nice packet of Minstrels :-) Nom Nom Nom... I also included some morsebag.com labels in case she fancies having a go (available from the website, super-cheap)
Anyway, that's all for today, if I make anything else I'll remember to take a photo...

Day Two, (yay, I've caught up)

Day Two. What is currently on your hook?


I am SOOOO bad at starting projects and not finishing them, am determined to finish this little fellow.

Can you see what it is yet?? (hehehehe)
He's from this fab little book that I bought on Amazon...

A great book, but after it arrived I discovered that the pattern is available FREE on Ravelry. Grrrr. (just search Amineko on Ravelry) I love cats and I'm enjoying making him, the only problem is that he needs pellets in his paws and bottom to make him sit and pose... I've been to my local 'Making Shop' and traipsed over to Hobbycraft, but no, not available due to Health and Safety. Double GRRRR. I know that I could use lentils, but I don't want him turning into a vegetarian's dinner if he gets wet... Ho Hum, so anyway, this is what is currently on my  hook. :-)

Day One (okay, okay, I'm lying a bit)

Due to a ludicrous 'off duty' at the moment, involving lots of extra nightshifts, (bleh) my Day One is now happening on Day 2, but don't worry, it'll all work out in the end...

Day One. What was your first finished project?


For this one I'm answering with my first finished project as an ADULT - I did loads of crocheting as a kid, then abandoned all creativity to pursue my career, then started again when preggers with my first. So here it is. It started as a crib Blankie, grew into a cot blanket then ended up big enough for a double bed!! I SO enjoyed making this lovely big floppy Granny Square. Navy and Cream acrylic yarn - our chemist used to sell monster big balls of the stuff, and so easy to sit and make - that's why it got so big. When I finished it I realised that my poor little baby would be a) crushed by it's weight and b) would get his fingers caught in the holes (believe me, this is a real worry for first time mums!!!) so I folded it up and put it into the loft. And forgot about it. When my son was around 8, we found it in the loft, he was so chuffed that I had made it for HIM when he was a mere bump and then a wee baby. He's had it on his bed almost constantly ever since :-)

So, nothing special to look at, but deep sentimental value...

30 Days of Crochet

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm not too hot at this blogging business and now have a BIG respect for the bloggers that I follow - how do you find time and be so organised??? So, due to lack of inspiration, time and everything else, I'm pinching Esshaych 's idea, and I'm even doing THAT badly - cos I'm a day late... so, for the whole of June, (starting now LOL) I will post every day answering these crochet based questions...

30 Days Of Crochet 

Day 1: What was your first finished project?

Day 2: What is currently on your hook?

Day 3: Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)?

Day 4: How did you learn how to crochet?

Day 5: How long did it take from the time your learned how to crochet, to finish your first project?

Day 6: What is your favorite piece that you’ve crocheted?

Day 7: Your least favorite?

Day 8: What’s your most challenging project?

Day 9: What fiber or yarn do you love working with?

Day 10: Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?

Day 11: Do you have a “Crochet Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share!

Day 12: Where do you keep your stash? Post pictures!

Day 13: Do you have yarn that you love but can’t find a project for?

Day 14: What’s the worst yarn/fiber that you’ve worked with and why?

Day 15: What was your least favorite pattern and why?

Day 16: Have you ever had a crocheting related injury?

Day 17: Have you ever had a project that you loved become ruined? What’s the story behind it?

Day 18: Do you crochet English or American?

Day 19: Do you watch movies and/or listen to podcasts while crochet? What are your favorite things to crochet to?

Day 20: Do you crochet in public? Was anyone offended/incredibly happy/curious that you were doing so?

Day 21: Do you crochet gifts for friends and family for the holidays or birthdays?

Day 22: Have you ever stricken someone off your to-crochet-for list because they didn’t appreciate/take care of your last crochet gift to them?

Day 23: If you had the supplies (and patience) for it, what project would you start today?

Day 24: Have you ever made your own pattern or dyed your own yarn? How did it turn out?

Day 25: Do you have a crocheting book or a place where you keep patterns, ideas, size measurements? Post a picture of it!

Day 26: Have you ever been a part, or wanted to be a part of a crochet-a-long? What was it? If not, why?

Day 27: How do you acquire most of your yarn? Online retailers, local yarn shops, swaps, or large chain craft stores? What’s your favorite?

Day 28: Do you do any other crafts besides crochetin? What are they, and did learning to crochet come before or after learning these other crafts?

Day 29: Do you have any tips, or things that you’ve learned from crocheting?

Day 30: What’s your name on Ravelry? If you don’t have a Ravelry account, why?

Ok, so now I have my plan... get ready for the first post... (drum roll)...