Festival Watch ::

A couple of weeks ago Milo and I went off to Latitude Festival for the weekend...we had a blast, seriously far and away the best festival I've ever been to.

Whilst on the way there, I made myself up this crochet watch strap.  It's been a while since I've worn a watch I'm in the habit of using my phone these days, but as I was conscious my phone battery barely manages to last a day without charging, I figured there was no way it would last 4 days.

So the day before we headed off I purchased a super cheap watch to take with me, it cost me the grand old price of £2.50 and came from a charity shop, the only problem was it had a horrible plastic strap.  I grabbed myself some cotton yarn from my stash and a crochet hook before heading off for the train and took the travel time as a the perfect opportunity to amend the dreadful strap situation.

This colourful accessory served as the perfect companion for the weekend, the cotton means it's light and easy on the wrist, particularly good as it was so hot whilst we were away.  I love crochet, being able to fill some time on my train journey with something I love whilst making something super useful, is just amazing.

 

 The pattern for this crochet watch strap is available in my August Newsletter which is going out to subscribers today, if you'd like to sign up to receive emails you can do so here ::

WIP Wednesday :: Tawny Owl ::

Oooh it's a been a while since I did one of these, but I actually have a work in progress that I can share with you!

Last month Milo and I headed off to Norfolk for a little seaside weekend away, as it happened we choose the perfect weekend for it and the weather was amazing.  The day we headed off a friend of mine went in to hospital to have her baby and I needed a little bit of knitting that would be an easy project to take away with me and would serve as a little gift for the aforementioned baby.  Preferably something that wasn't a sweater, as I had already knit her a cardigan and being a summer baby there surely can really be only so many sweaters she would need right now.

After a quick consultation with twitter, I decided a toy would be the best bet and as it happened I had never knit a toy before.  Before I knew it this gorgeous Tawny Owl by Ella Austin was working its way on to my needles.

The pattern calls for 4ply yarn in 3 colours, as it happens I so rarely use 4ply my stash had very little to offer, I was also in a super rush to leave when I was hunting through said stash, but as it turns out I managed to find 3 small amounts of yarn in reasonably complimentary colours and correct(ish) weight.

 

This pattern in fab!  I loved working up the body of the owl and managed to get all that you can see here done whilst away that weekend.  Unfortunately since then he has been sitting neglected in a bag, awaiting one wing, a couple of eyes and a couple of feet.  I hope to amend this tonight and Craft Night In.

The pattern is Tawny Owl by Ella Austin available to purchase :: here
My ravelry notes are :: here

You can see lots of other WIP wednesday posts :: here

By The Yard ::

So, I mentioned yesterday that last month my fabulous friend of Stuffed Nonsense, opened up a shop.  It's not any old shop mind, but I wonderful collection of handmade gifts and art, plus a venue for holding crafty workshops.

Unfortunately I was too busy to help out much in the lead up to the grand opening, but we did offer a little assistance, which if you were ever to happen upon Milo there he would point out to you.  His paint job, in his mind at least, is the most superior door painting work that there ever was!

Bex and El did such a good job of transforming what was a very basic workshop/storage space in to a really wonderful retail unit.

 If you are a Cheltenham local or ever find yourself in the area you must go check it out not least because, if you take a stroll through the back door you will find yourself in Cafe Moochoo, where you will discover the best cake in Cheltenham.

Hello July ::

Oh my am I pleased to see the back of June! It was a busy busy month for me workwise, it saw the first time I turned work down and the first time I wish I had turned more work down!  There were lots of very late nights, lots of coffee and a few breakdowns!  But I made it and having a glance through my instagram shots from those 30 days, tells me (though it seems like it was now) it wasn't actually all work, there were a few peaceful, fun filled moments too.

 

There was a momentous first day of school for the little one and a momentous grand shop opening by my lovely friend Bex, a first, of the year, trip to the lido and sunshiney days in the garden too.

But I am so pleased to welcome in July and all the summer holiday fun we have planned for the next couple of months!

Simply Crochet :: Issue 6 ::

Issue 6 of Simply Crochet went on sale a couple of weeks ago now, but I've been a bit slow at keeping the blog up to date of late as I've been rushed off my feet with lots and lots of crochet!

 

It's another gorgeous issue, full of great projects.

I have 2 patterns in this issue, a tapestry tablet cosy ::

And a pair of lacy socks ::

The socks have so far proven to be very popular indeed.  I couldn't believe how many finished pairs I came across online, before the issue was even out in the shops (subscribers get their issues a few days early)

 I can see why they have been so popular, they are made in double knit weight yarn so they're super quick to make up, worked toe up in one piece, there's no finishing, making them even quicker.

I've recently found myself to be quite the sock crocheter, it was completely by accident but I seem to have become the go to gal for crochet sock designs at the moment!  Not that I mind one bit, I've grown to love creating socks very much indeed!

Vitamin C ::

A couple of weeks ago I took my first trip to Wonderwool, it was all very exciting, but unfortunately I was pretty penniless at the time.  As I couldn't splurge out on all the stacks of yarn that took my fancy, I decided it best to find a pattern first, then purchase yarn specifically for that purpose.

So I took myself off to Rock & Purl, where I got myself a copy of the lovely Vitamin C.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon hunting out the perfect yarn.

I found myself a gorgeous colourway from Fyberspates and cast on the moment I go home.

As it turned out I didn't quite have enough yarn for the project, so I had to miss out a couple of rows at the end and I had to cast off pretty tight to avoid running out too soon, but I still love it.

The pattern was a dream to work from, though I did struggle with the dropped stitches (but this is probably because this was my first time) and the yarn is outright gorgeous! The colours are just amazing.

With this pretend springtime we've been having it's been living round my neck since it came off the blocking boards.

Ravelry notes :: here

This Moment ::

Inspired by SouleMama

In her words...{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.