Getting Back To Normal...

Well, after the hottest summer I've ever experienced in this country, temperatures have finally dropped to normal levels for this time of year and I can get back to doing some arts and crafts without dripping in sweat or the paint drying on my brush.  It has been a struggle keeping the garden alive, carting watering cans up and down due to the hosepipe ban, and I have lost a few plants - no cucumbers this year, although the tomatoes have been OK and the runner beans are just about starting now, with help from copious bowls of washing up water!

I saw a funny crocheted coaster on the net last week and decided to have a go at creating my own version.  It works by using the yarn double and making a dome using the amigurumi method of increases.  The coaster sits with the body concave and when you put your mug on it...

 

...tadah!  The head and legs spring up to clasp the mug!  Well, it made me laugh...

 I've also been painting another wooden box - no photos just yet, I still have to put a lining in it. That was a chore as well - hard to paint when the paint dries on your brush before you even get it on the work!

I am also working on a large watercolour - good to be painting again after a difficult summer where my enthusiasm was at an all time low.

Blankies...

I've been crocheting these lap blankets lately to keep my hands busy, using Patatya yarn cakes as they have lovely colourways and require very little thinking!

I like this one best, although the photo does not show the true vibrancy of the colours.

I've also knitted this shawl in a cotton varigated yarn.  

I'm hoping to get some better photos of these items after which they will be in my Etsy shop. 

You're My Lobster...

 A while back I bought a lovely little book - Mini Amigurumi Ocean by Sarah Abbondio - and enjoyed making a few of the cute little creatures when I had a minute or two spare.  One of them was this adorable little lobster, who now graces the cistern in our marine themed downstairs loo!

A friend of mine saw him and asked if I would make this: 

 

A miniature crochet lobster wearing a Santa hat...it's a good job I have known this person for decades so am hardly surprised at the request! 

Bridesmaids Posies...

Yesterday I put the finishing touches to the two bridesmaids posies - wrapping the 'wands' with ribbon and attaching the crochet lace with a bows made up of four different ribbons.  These are now ready to go, with just under a month to spare - phew!  

These are for the bridesmaids at my son's wedding next month, and as my granddaughter is just 4 and her cousin is just 6, I had to make the posies pretty much childproof.  All wires have been well and truly covered by florists tape and ribbon, all flowers have been stiffened and either glued or sewn into place firmly. I just hope the girls don't start whacking each other with them...

This was definitely a labour of love - I would need an awful lot of money to make these again, if at all, as the pain in my hand was unbearable by the time I'd finished crocheting the flowers.
 

Spring Wedding...

We had some good news a few months back, my son and his long time partner have decided to get married at Easter this year.  While discussing the bridesmaids (my small granddaughter and her cousin) we talked about flowers and somehow I volunteered to crochet their little posies so that they would have a permanent reminder of the day rather than fresh flowers that would wilt and die. Also, they needed to echo the embroidered flowers on the bride's dress.

 Well, it seemed a good idea at the time!  I have really enjoyed  doing it, but I chose fine crochet cotton in order to keep the flower sizes as close to real as possible which meant a tiny crochet hook...and very, very painful hands at the end of it!

These are the posies so far - they need the wires trimmed and tidied up,  attaching to some 'wands', some hand crocheted lace around the base of the flowers and some ribbon. I think they will end up being very pretty and hopefully a sweet memento of the day.

Mr.B  suggested I make them commercially...that's not happening!  I don't think my poor hands would stand it...

Huffing & Puffing...

I made a puffer fish!  Not my own pattern but from a cute book called Curious Crocheted Creatures.  He already has a new home...
 

Sunflowers...

A friend of mine commissioned this and provided the pattern.  It's not something I would have thought to make by myself, but I am very glad that someone asked me to as it was a lot of fun.  It was also a fair bit of work - each sunflower is crocheted individually, and then joined by crocheting together with the green - again individually.

This meant there were an awful lot of ends to be woven in!

As with all my knitted and crochet wraps and shawls, I washed this carefully by hand and then thought I would pop it in the washing machine for a short spin to get rid of the excess water before blocking it. That was when disaster struck - the washing machine decided it did not want to spin that day, it just kept going round and round, tossing the unfortunate shawl as it went.  Despite several tries, and increasing panic at what might be happening to the shawl, the washing machine never did spin that day.  I ended up taking the shawl out and wringing it by hand before squeezing as much water out as I could by wrapping it in a towel and standing on it.  Thankfully there did not appear to be any damage other than a couple of ends had come loose, and I successfully blocked the shawl - it did take nearly 3 days to dry however!

Mr. B pulled the washing machine out and took the back off it the following day - discovered there was no way he could get into the workings without breaking various seals, so screwed the back on and put the washing machine back in it's place.  Needless to say, it was worked perfectly ever since - go figure!

Not So Prickly Customers...

 I crocheted this adorable cacti collection this week, pattern from the book Whimsical Stitches.  This is a birthday surprise for someone who really loves their plants...

Bears & Blankets...

This week I have made a Holly bear - she sold within 2 minutes of being in my Etsy shop...

...an Otis bear - he's still available, but not sure for how long...

...and completed the lacy crochet blanket that I have been working on over the past few weeks.

 The blanket is also in my Etsy shop.

Currently on the easel is another bear painting, although at the moment it is just the background whcih has taken me a week to finish - tomorrow I start painting the bear, yay!

Finished!

After weeks, nay months, of work in the evenings, this crochet blanket/throw is finally complete.  It has turned out beautifully!  I knew when I bought the yarn cakes that I wanted a stitch to show off the fabulous colour mix and luckily a simple zig-zag did just that.

I wasn't sure about putting tassels on the points, but decided to give it a go, using the brighter colours in the same order as the stripes, and it was the right decision.  This is such a lovely blanket, even though I say so myself.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon - I am having difficulty getting decent photos of it due to bad weather and the sheer size of the thing!  If you'd like to nip in and get it before I list it, just give me a shout!
 

In other news, I have been sewing yet more Otises - these three are already spoken for and I have further orders to complete.  What started off as a silly experiment really snowballed and I have lost count of how many stuffed bears I have made over the past 3 years.  Thankfully I still enjoy doing them!

On the drawing board - I am now booked up until about Christmas.  I am currently painting a couple more Otis trinket boxes that have been commissioned and I have three bear paintings to do.  The first 2 are for the winner of the American Travel Guide magazine's summer competition - the lady couldn't decide which bear she wanted me to paint so has commissioned me to paint a second one so that she can have both!

It is great to be busy once again - the summer was dismal, both weather-wise and mentally and my creativity almost disappeared.  Being 'forced' to paint and make things to a deadline has kicked my backside back into action, haha!

It Seemed A Good Idea At The Time...

I've been working on this blanket for weeks now - I bought some gorgeous cheap yarn cakes and thought I'd try something different from the usual granny square throws that I've been making.  This is a very simple stitch to do, but as it is in dc (sc for the US) it takes forever!  It also eats yarn, so I have had to buy some more yarn cakes in order for this to be a blanket of a decent size.  It might be finished round about 2022...
 

Bears & Blankets...

Last year while the pandemic was in full swing and we were in strict lockdown, I found it comforting and stress-relieving to crochet giant granny squares for throws.  I think I made four or five and ended up giving them away to friends and family.  Stress levels are fairly high again at the moment for various reasons, so I am crocheting like crazy in the evenings once more.  This is the latest blankie - the camera has not done justice to the colours unfortunately.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop once I take some decent snaps.

I'm also back to making Otis stuffies - they seem to sell before I have even finished them!

I must sit down one afternoon and cut out some more fabric for them - that is the worst part of making these, the mess and the coughing up of furballs afterwards!

Once the cutting out is over and done with, the rest of the making process is quite fun - I wish I had kept count of how many of these I have made!

One the easel...well, it's the lid to a trinket box, but I am painting Otis as well.  Nearly finished.
 

Bits & Pieces...

I've not been very creative for quite some time now - still having trouble getting motivated.  However, I have crocheted this small lap blanket out of a couple of nice varigated yarn cakes.  I quite like the haphazardness of the colours.

Also knitted a tiny elephant, lion and tiger - there were several cute animal patterns in the latest Lets Knit magazine and I thought to knit them all and make a mobile.  Half way there!

At least I am painting - I have a very complicated watercolour on the go, a scene from Alderney that someone asked me to paint.  It is of a sunset over the beach and I thought it would be a doddle - turns out it is in fact one of the hardest paintings I have ever undertaken, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Nice to get the juices flowing again!
 

Lost Souls...

I enjoyed crocheting the first Lost Souls shawl (free pattern by Maryetta Roy) that I decided to make another on and had the perfect yarn in my stash.  This has been crocheted using a cotton yarn that starts off dark greay and gradually lightens as you go along - creates a great effect in this shawl!

This is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

 In other news, the air plant in the bathroom has flowered!  I usually manage to kill off my airplants but this one has not only survived but put out this interesting bloom.  I have been told that once they flower they die...but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Booties Too...

Another pair of these - after showing the first pair, I got an order for some more.  I'm not planning on going into production though, fun as they are to make!  I'll make the occasional pair if anyone wants them but not a regular thing.
 

Boots & Budgies...

Last week we had a new patio door fitted - which meant I had to clear out that corner of the sitting room - which meant I discovered a pile of craft magazines that had been hidden under a side table - and on the cover of one of them was a picture of these cuties with a pattern inside - so of course I had to make them!  They are tiny, about 8 cm long - hopefully will fit the new granddaughter!

The previous week we had a sad few days when we had to have our budgie put to sleep as he had a large tumour on the side of his face and was not well at all.  He wasn't very old, about 4, but I think as we had bought him from a garden centre he probably did not have the best start in life which contributed to his health problems.  It was horribly quiet in the house without him so I set about looking for a new feathered companion.  Turns out that due to recent legislation plus Covid, finding baby budgies is a lot harder than I thought!  However, we tracked down a shop that had 6 little budgies coming in last weekend so we made the drive (down to the coast!) and picked one up - I had to reserve one as apparently there had been about 100 enquiries!  So meet JoJo, a seven week old little chap/chappess who is settling in slowly but surely.  I am hoping this one will also be a bit less frightened of handling than his precedessor as he has had a gentler start to his life.
 

Crochet Baby...

I did not realise when I ordered several balls of baby wool in order to knit a few things for my granddaughter just how far one ball of it would go.  Having given the baby two jumpers, a hat, a pair of socks, and a blanket, I thought that was probably enough for now, especially as my sister appears to have gone on a knitting marathon and made twice that amount of small clothes. But I was left with quite a lot of yarn - so decided to crochet another blanket anyway as we have another baby in the family due in the summer. I've also knitted another small jumper...and there is STILL yarn left over!  I've run out of enthusiasm now - the leftover yarn can be put away for another day!
 

Blues...

I've found the whole lockdown/pandemic has affected my creativity quite badly over the past few months.  I've managed to paint during the day, but the time I used to spend knitting/crocheting/sewing in the evenings has taken a bad hit.  For one thing, I just do not feel inspired.  For another, I tend to pass out in front of the tv by about 8.30 and spend the rest of the evening dozing - perhaps it is my body's way of escaping!

I have found that crocheting throws using varigated yarn cakes has helped though - they are mindless, keep the hands busy, and at the end of it you have something pretty and useful with not a whole lot of effort.  This is the latest one in shades of blue.  Once it has been washed, it will be for sale in my Etsy shop - winter is on it's way and there is nothing more comforting than being wrapped up in a woolly blanket!
 

Eleven Little Geishas...

I have finally finished this set of amigurumi geishas.  They have only taken me most of lockdown!  I admit I was not working on them all the time, other projects are in the pipeline.

They were as lot of fun to do, choosing different colour combinations and decorations.  The pattern called for a lot more embellishments on the dresses, but I felt they looked better kept fairly simple - they are only about 4 inches tall so really didn't need a lot of fripperies.

Crocheted in cotton yarn.

Crochet & Bears...

 Among other things, I have still been using crochet as a comforting activity in the evenings - this is the third throw I have crocheted (not quite finished yet) since being in lockdown.  I used another set of the wonderful Papatya yarn cakes in a rainbow mix this time.

I've also had this sweet commission - it's a repeat of a painting I did last year, but thankfully that was long enough ago for this not to be boring.  Interesting to see the difference in colours used this time compared to last time when I had cataracts.

I think you can say my colour vision has improved a little!