My latest projects

I've been a bit busy lately so struggled to fit in writing blog posts. With going back to work next week (well, officially three days ago but it's half term so a week off for me!), posts will probably be less regular. Over the last couple of weeks we have had a hospital stay for Miss S due to her fairly severe asthma and the husband has been in a play for the last week. This hasn't left me with much free time for crafting or blogging! Hopefully I'll catch up with myself this week.

I finished the poncho, which I loved making. It worked up fairly quickly, think it was about 7 hours in total and I enjoyed making the granny stripes. It's a good pattern for watching TV to as doesn't require much concentration. Here is the finished article:

The colour was chosen by the lady who ordered it for her toddler. I think it is a fab choice and the colours look so lovely together. I really love colourful crochet!

With the leftover yarn, I finally got round to making the unicorn. Once I got going I enjoyed it and couldn't wait to complete it. I find working with a small hook (3mm) and having to focus on tiny stitches quite tiring though, so it took me a good 7-8 hours. I'm not so keen on the putting together stage either. I've had a few requests to order the unicorn but I'm not sure I'll make amigurumi to sell. I'm not sure I would enjoy it and there are issues regarding safety certificates when selling toys.

Some pics...the first few rows took me forever. Then I found this youtube video which made doing the inital magic ring a bit easier.

I followed the pattern in the order it was written, so legs first, then body.

I posted this picture on my facebook page and got some funny suggestions as to what I might be making...toes, clangers, and russian dolls!

I expect once the head was made it might have been more obvious...

Here she is, all finished. I think she is so incredibly cute! My daughter nabbed her and my 8 year old son wants a "storm" unicorn. I have no idea what one of those is! Very satisfying when amigurumi is complete but hard work and patience to get to that point!

Can't remember if I shared a photo of the slouchy hat in my last post...

My daughter requested it and loves it. I made it from the lovely Caron simply soft yarn. The only place I have found that stocks it is Wool Warehouse, who I have now ordered from a number of times! Their delivery is pretty quick and their prices very competitive.

Once all those items were finished I was daydreaming about creating a beautiful rainbow blanket for baby S. I have been lusting over an Attic24 pack of yarn for ages so bit the bullet and invested in one. It's good value with the yarn costing slightly less than buying individual skeins. Think it works out that one skein is free.

Isn't it beautiful! I bought a couple of additional skeins, the bright orange and bright yellow which are next to each other aren't part of the Lucy pack.

With my daughter's input, I decided to make a granny stripe blanket with a ROYGBIV rainbow colour scheme and with alternate white stripes.

These were the colours we selected, they look even more gorgeous in real life! I made a foundation chain of 120 in red and set off making the blanket. It took me about two hours to get going and hook 10 rows of granny stripes plus the foundation chain and a starting single crochet row. Each row is taking on average 10 minutes.

Can't wait to crack on with the other colours and see it grow but it will have to take a back seat to my Betty's Bells orders and my proper job!

The end is nigh (of my mat leave, that is!)

The last few Wednesdays have come round so quickly. This is my last Wednesday on maternity leave so I expect I won't have as many projects on the go once I'm back to work. I start back on Monday but that's a bank holiday and next week is half term so I should manage to get a bit more hooking in before things get too chaotic once more!

I've mixed feelings about going back, which is to be expected after maternity leave! I'm going to miss my two little people so much. The last few months have been pretty challenging and I've had some really difficult times, but I've loved being there for them, 24/7, so much and seeing how much they've grown and developed has been a real privilege. I'll miss my big two too although they probably won't notice my absence so much with their being at school. I'm on a part time contract so will still be able to pick them up four times a week and drop them off two or three times.

People usually try to console those going back to work with the thought of hot cuppas and toilet breaks in peace. Teaching isn't one of those jobs that lends itself to getting a hot cuppa and to be honest, I usually drink so little I don't need the loo! But there are advantages to going back. Firstly, the money! SMP isn't great so a bit of extra cash will be nice. Secondly, my colleagues. They're all lovely and really supportive. I enjoy working with them. And of course, the children/pupils/learners, whatever the government is referring to them as this week. Those amazing young people who test you to your limits and make the good times great and the hard times worthwhile. I'm looking forward to seeing the ones I have taught before and getting to know new classes.

So, while I get back into the swing of things, crocheting will have to take a back seat. Although I will be sure to keep something on the go as a relaxation activity once all my homework is done!

This week's works in progress:

Slouchy hat: nearly done. Daughter likes it but wants it a bit "slouchier" so I have to frog the last couple of rows and add a few more of the double crochet rows.

Poncho: done! Will show you pics on finished Friday!

Amigurumi Unicorn: One leg done! That took me flipping ages! If anyone has any tips about how to do a magic ring with a 3mm hook they would be greatly appreciated. Once I'm a few rows in it's fine but those first rows are so fiddly.

Right, back to being referee between the baby and the toddler!

Last week...

Well, what a week that was! Started off wonderfully with the arrival of my sister's baby girl! We visited when she was a few hours old and again the following day. She's so cute, I can't wait for more cuddles!

Miss S is in year 6 and had her SATS exams from Monday to Thursday. She was a bit nervous but after Monday's tests was quite relaxed about it and even admitted "enjoying" them! Strange child. She was keen to do her best, to show what she was capable of and then to enjoy a lovely Friday with her friends. School had planned to take them to the Whitehaven Home and Garden Show to the Science tent and for a general wander.

On Wednesday she started to feel unwell. She's had asthma for two years now and it seems this time of year is really bad for her. Following many puffs of her blue inhaler (reliever), she was getting quite distressed and I could see she wasn't well. I called the GP surgery who told us to come down in an hour. We were seen pretty quickly and the doctor prescribed a course of steroids which, in the past, have kicked in within a couple of hours and made a noticeable improvement. We had the tablets by 6pm and she took a dose straight away.

Unfortunately, by 8pm she was not improving at all, coughing constantly, feeling really flushed and tired. Asthma attacks don't always present as a sudden gasping for breath, in fact Miss S's never have, they've always been a gradual deterioration over a few days. I had to call the husband home from his rehearsal to look after the other children while we went to A&E. The A&E department was heaving and it took a while to get seen by the triage nurse. Most of the other patients were triaged and then sent back to the waiting area but we were taken into resus. Not because she needed resus, thank God, but because that was the only space available.

Following a couple of nebulisers, she was admitted to children's ward. This is always the case when we've been to A&E so we kind of knew what to expect. By this point it was almost midnight and we were all exhausted. I was also well aware that a certain baby would be waking for a feed soon enough and I would have to leave Miss S. So, at this point I swapped places with her Daddy and he stayed overnight.

The next day involved nebulisers, inhalers, antibiotics, steroids, chest x-rays, blood tests and she slowly started to get better. It wasn't a quick recovery though and she went downhill a couple of times before being properly well again. She needed another night on the ward and the didn't discharge her until 5pm on Friday as they needed to be confident she was well on the way to recovery.

We were all so happy to have her home! We've kept her close by this weekend and she's been very sensible, taking her medication and getting plenty of sleep to help her recovery. Back to the GP tomorrow and the consultant in June who can hopefully advise as to how we can avoid these seasonal episodes she seems prone to.

We had a lovely wander round the harbour yesterday, at the Home and Garden Show. There was a lovely atmosphere and lots of lovely food! We also went to visit our beautiful baby niece to deliver gifts and get more snuggles.

Today, the husband has been building the set for Up Pompeii which starts this week and we all spent the afternoon at the theatre, chatting with friends and then watching the start of the technical rehearsal. It reminded me how much I love the buzz of being involved in theatrical productions and I can't wait to get back into it.

Now, all the children are asleep and I am enjoying the BAFTAs and a well deserved glass of wine. What a week that was!

WIP Wednesday

Apologies for the lateness of this weeks WIP Wednesday post, but the original post has gone missing somewhere in the ether between the blogger app on my phone and the internet. Very annoying. The blogger app is pretty useless and causing me to consider moving the blog to another provider. Wordpress seems a popular choice. I like how blogger links to all things google though.

So, this week has been pretty busy! I got a new niece which spurred me on to finish the amigurumi bunny and to make the cutest little hat and shoes set.

I have also been busy completing a lovely hat for an order. It's pretty much the baby cloche hat pattern that I've used before, just done in a adult size. It's made from Lily Sugar n Cream cotton which I love working with. The stitches look so defined and neat. I hope its new owner likes it. 

I have a couple of WIPs this week...

Preschooler poncho: I'm really enjoying making this colourful poncho. It's the first time I've worked with stylecraft yarns and I have to say, I'm impressed with the quality of the double knitting yarn. It's lovely and soft and stays neat as I'm working with it. The threads don't unwind like some yarns do and there's an nice finish to the stitches. I'm 16 rows in now and I reckon I need at least another 20. Each row takes about 15 minutes now but that gets gradually longer as there are two clusters of stitches added to each row. I think I'll finish it off with a couple of rows of single crochet and then a scalloped edging. 

Neon pink slouchy hat: Requested by my 10 year old daughter, apparently these are what every girl needs these days. In bright pink, obviously. Still, it's a pretty easy request in a lovely yarn. I love the Caron Simply Soft (which is worsted/aran weight yarn) so much, I just wish I could buy it locally. I don't mind buying from the internet but the free delivery for orders over £25 is just too good an offer to miss out on and I have ended up with a LOT of yarn! Have a look here for all the pretty colours that are available.

Not looking likely that I'll have either of these finished by Friday, but I'll give it a go! Oh, and the amish puzzle ball...it hasn't left my WIP box since last week, oops. 

Adventures in Amigurumi

Wonderful news! My baby niece arrived today, 13 days overdue and absolutely perfect. It was lovely to have newborn cuddles with her. So, now she has her amigurumi bunny I can show you photos of it during construction and now it is complete.

I used this pattern by Adorable Amugurumi and it was set out in a very organised fashion and was easy to follow. You have to work in the round which I am not used to doing but soon got the hang of it. Stitch markers are essential so you know where your round ends. I used a kirby grip and have since treated myself to some plastic stitch markers. 

It was still missing one ear and one arm at this stage!

The individual components didn't take long to make up. I found the first row was the trickiest but it was plain sailing once those stitches were done. The stuffing needed to be added to a few of the parts before the final rounds were made. 

I added the face before stuffing although the instructions suggest doing it after. I made the pompom by winding wool around a small fork and then tightly tying a strand of yarn around the centre. I used sharp scissors to cut the loops and trim the pompom so it was neat and spherical. It's a very cute pompom don't you think?! 

Stitching together took a good hour or so as I found it tricky to get the parts looking just right. I also was unsure of how to finish off the stitching and where to leave my yarn ends. At this point, using a variegated yarn seemed like a bad idea. I'm sure it would have been easier to hide my seams if they were the same colour as the main parts! 

Finally I was happy with how it had come together and thought it looked lovely. I tied a ribbon round the neck to complete it.

Fertig Freitag

I thought I'd mix it up a bit and have the title in German today. It actually has a nice ring to it and also it means I have learnt a new German word. Might try French next week...

Anyway, so following on from my WIP post, here are this week's finished items:

Amigurumi bunny: Finished! Hurrah! You'll have to wait for a picture of it though as it's a pressie for my brand new niece but she's not here yet. Stay tuned (you could fill in the follow by email box over there ---> so you never miss an update ha ha).

Amigurumi Unicorn: I hadn't started this on Wednesday and still am yet to pick up the teeny tiny hook it requires. Doing the bunny has put me off a bit. I enjoyed making all the parts but found putting it together stressful as it was so hard to get it looking just right. I'm not sure amigurumi is for me. I may still try the unicorn though as it's really cute, we'll see.

Under the sea sun hat: I finished this sun hat last week but decided to titivate it a bit.

I added a goldfish with a button eye, and three blue bubble buttons. I also did another row of single crochet to define the ripply edge and make it look neater. I think it looks super cute now. Also it fits both my seven month old and my almost three year old due to the stretchy double crochet stitch used. At least I know I'll get a few years use out of it!

Money bag: Totally random but one teatime the husband reminded me he needed a money bag as a prop for a play he's in. I had an hour. I actually finished it in 40 minutes and was pretty chuffed with that!

Here he is, ever the thespian, showing off his bag. It caused a fair amount of hilarity at rehearsal, can't imagine why?!

If you are in west Cumbria and would like to see the coin purse and its owner in action, go along to see UP POMPEII at Rosehill theatre from May 20th.

Next week I'm looking forward to making a colourful poncho for a preschooler and also a neon slouchy hat for my daughter (her request!).

Until then, have a lovely weekend!

This week's WIPs

Gosh, work in progress Wednesday comes around quickly! This week I've been working on a couple of crocheted baby toys. One is the bunny (I know, I know...). It's been ready to put together for a number of days but I need to get some stuffing. Making up is my least favourite part which is probably why I've not bought the stuffing yet! The plan is to finish it by Friday. Promise.

Secondly an Amish puzzle ball. These look really cool and I know my 7 year month old would love rolling it around and crawling after it. He'd love chewing it too. He loves chewing everything at the minute! I had to make 12 cone shaped pieces and three chains of "lids". Each lid will cover one of the cones. It's a bit of a boring make and I'm really not looking forward to putting it together.

Not a great pic but 12 x cones and one chain of lids

I have a baby unicorn on my to do list but again, I need some stuffing to make it. Have a look at the link though, it is so cute!

I enjoy the intricacy of amigurumi. I am really not keep on finishing them off though. Will give the unicorn a go and see how I get on. There's no point flogging a dead horse, so to speak, so if I've had enough by then, I'll stick with what I enjoy...cute little hats and other baby accessories.

Activities with four kids

It's quite tricky to find activities suitable for a large family that everyone will enjoy. My children are 10, 8, almost 3 and 7 months. Over the last few weeks we had a few days out in Cumbria, some went really well, one or two, not so much!

A day in Keswick

We had a lovely time in Keswick just before the Easter weekend. As it was already the school holidays we were expecting the town to be packed full of tourists. Parking wars and massive queues for the chippy and ice cream van were on the agenda. We were pleasantly surprised and got parked quickly. There were loads of spaces which was strange for Keswick in the hols!

We wandered down to the lakeside through Hope Park. It was a pleasant walk with all the children enjoying exploring the park, jumping over little streams and hiding in the shrubbery. We fed the ducks, who were a lot less aggressive than the last time we visited them! They must be the best fed ducks in the country. One swan got all territorial which amused us all!

We then went back to the town for something to eat. Between the chippy and a pasty shop we were all happy and sat on the main street to enjoy our food. Then there was the obligatory (and expensive!) visit to the chocolate shop, to stock up on treats for the way home.

A trip to the swimming pool was next on the agenda. All the kids were really excited, especially the two year old. It was the baby's first time swimming too! It was pretty good value for a family of six as a family ticket is £16 but under threes are free. Again, it wasn't too busy and much fun was had by all.

A day in Carlisle

On Good Friday we chose to have a day out in Carlisle. It was a lovely sunny day so we thought we'd book tickets to go to the new outdoor ice rink in the city's Bitts Park. Before that, we needed some sustenance! The husband did his research and found a couple of nice looking eatieries. We went with one called Hell Below and Co and weren't disappointed. I can't find a website for them so here's the trip advisor page link.

It was a bit of a squash fitting our family around the table, if the smaller two were older we could have taken up two tables which would have been easier. The tables were cute though, and had cinema seats as the seating! The service was brilliant and they were attentive and helpful, especially with things like high chairs.

The kids were drawn to the amazing milkshake menu and chose a Malteser and an Oreo milkshake. I would have taken a photo but they didn't last very long! Toddler was happy with an orange squash which I was grateful for (hyper child for the rest of the day, no thanks!).

The menu was mainly pizza and light meals like salads or burgers. We chose three pizzas to share between us. I was torn whether to go with 9" or 12", we went with 9" and it was just the right amount. I deliberately chose a parma ham, blue cheese and rocket one for me and the hubby so the kids wouldn't pinch it. Bad Mummy! It was delicious!

I'm glad we went there instead of the usual, McDonalds, Pizza Hut or Pizza Express. It was better value and great service as well as great food and drink.

We had a little wander around the city too which was lovely as it was a warm day and the continental market was on. Lovely smells and atmosphere.

Ice Skating

Next, we headed to the ice rink. When we checked in it turned out our booking hadn't gone through on the system but fortunately there were still places available. We paid for the kids but just for one adult as we took it in turns to go on the "ice" as we are the same shoe size!

The older two took to it fairly quickly and were whizzing around in no time. I say whizzing, it's quite hard to whizz around on plastic ice. It's nothing like actual ice which was a bit disappointing. The toddler wasn't keen at this point so did one lap with his Dad and then came off for a drink and a rest. By this point it was really warm and they were all thinking about ice cream and cool drinks.

I then had a go and the toddler did another couple of laps with me. He got a bit more confident and was able to keep his balance and "skate" a little. Eldest child was really good at it by this point. #2 was bored and wanted to go to the park!

The play park in Bitts Park was fabulous! It was really busy but kept the children happy for ages. In fact, they didn't want to go. I think we could have skipped the ice skating totally and they wouldn't have been bothered. There's a wet area, where they got pretty soaked! We've promised that we'll go back in the summer, with cozzies and towels. The baby had his first go on a swing and loved it.

 We also went to Maryport Aquarium but I'll have to save that for another post. Must make tea!

Operation House Move: Part 3

Just as I was about to write an update, saying we have been on the market for one month and not had any interest, we got a phone call! We have a viewing booked for Tuesday! We have a LOT of tidying to do before then. It's impossible to keep the house spotless and clutter free at the minute. So, that's what we're doing this bank holiday weekend.

If we manage to sell the house, we're going to have to start the mortgage application process again. We went to the bank in February to start the application process and see how much we could borrow. It was all pretty simple then, our combined income minus any loan repayments and utilities etc, multiplied by 3.12. Since then new rules have come into force.

These new rules will undoubtedly reduce what we are able to borrow as they now take into account where pretty much every last penny goes. I'm trying to be good and cut out McDonald's because that will be embarrassing when they're going through my statements with a fine toothed comb!

I understand why they have done it, to avoid the reckless lending of a few years ago. My worry is that it will slow everything down and cause more sales to fall through. Also that it will push house prices down, reducing the equity we have and forcing us into a higher loan to value mortgage.

Still, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Got to actually sell this house first!

Finished Friday

Writing my WIP Wednesday post always spurs me on to get something finished by Friday! I have a couple of things from this weeks WIP post to share, plus another that I started and finished in one evening.

The Blanket: Done. 

Finally finished this order. I just had the edging left to do and started doing it by doing a round of single crochet in grey. It made the edges all ripply though, and not uniformly so I ripped that back and just went with the scalloped edging I had done on one of these blankets previously. I have to say it looks lovely.

Corner to corner blankets

I used this pattern which I found via ravelry. The first time I made it, I used a chunky yarn and a 6mm hook as recommended on the yarn label. It looks great but it quite dense and not as drapey as I would like a baby blanket to be. It will be more suited as a cot or pram blanket rather than a swaddle or for tucking round baby in a car seat.

This time, I have used the same chunky yarn, but a 6.5mm hook. I prefer the feel of the blanket, it's not so heavy. So while it's still not a swaddling blanket, it would be suited to cot, pram or car seat. For a swaddling blanket, I reckon I would need to use double knitting weight (light worsted) and a 4 or 4.5mm hook. This would take a long, long time though, as the squares would be smaller and you would need many more to get the blanket to size. I like chunky yarn!

The Sun hat: Done.

This made up in no time at all. A couple of hours for the hat and half an hour for the flower and weaving ends in. It feels lovely and light, and the ripply brim is perfect for a toddler. Click here for a link to the pattern. 

Sun hat mk2: Done!

I only started this yesterday, while sitting in the car waiting for the big kids to get out of school. An hour or two in the evening and it was finished! I just need to wait until the morning to try it on the baby. 

It's a bit of a mish mash of patterns. The main part is from KT and the squid's Newsboy hat pattern. The brim, I made it up! I was hoping there wouldn't be any ripples but it has a gently rippling brim. If it fits my baby, I'll keep this one for him and try again, tweaking the pattern. If it doesn't fit, I'll frog it! (Frogging: ripping back :-( pulling apart...don't want to do this!). 

Both sun hats were hooked using Lily Sugar n Cream. I love this yarn. Beautiful colours and a beautifully defined finish. Wish I could buy it locally. Bet my husband is glad I can't!

Bunny: Not done. Will try and finish that this weekend. 

Happy Friday to you all, hope it's a good one x