Pumpkin socks

 

When our children were young we read them a book called Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper.

 I loved the books that rhymed like this one,

with repetitive lines that the children learned and repeated with you...

 

'Pumpkin Soup. The best you ever tasted. Made by the Cat who slices up the pumpkin. Made by the Squirrel who stirs in the water. Made by the duck who scoops up a pipkin of salt, and tips in just enough.’

 

These socks reminded me of the colours of the book and our pumpkins are still out on the garden table. This is a free sock pattern found here and is a bit of an experiment. I am not a knitter and have never tried socks before but the pattern is very good and not too bad for a beginner to follow.  

 

There are also a few more bits for the Christmas wreath.

A poinsettia flower, pattern here by Happy Berry Crochet, I think.

 

And some pine cones, pattern by Lucy of Attic24 here

and another one on a blog called In the Yarn Garden here.

 

Eek mice!!

I went on a short trip to London this week for work but spent the three hour train journey happily sitting doing crochet!
I have always loved the beautiful wreaths made by Lucy at Attic24 and was planning to have a go at a Christmas one last year but it was one of those things that needed far more time than I had anticipated so it has turned into a 2 year project.

 

 Thankfully this time I have a head start as the main wreath has already been covered so its just the fun bits and bobs to do.
 

I started by making some "jolly holly" the pattern for these is here at Attic24.

 I have also made a couple of weeny pompoms but will need more of these
 to make enough holly berries.
 

I found these absolutely gorgeous mice on Pinterest.

There is a free pattern on a blog called LucyRavencar-Crochet Creatures found here.

This is a new blog for me and I will certainly be going back for a better look.

 I found the first mouse a bit of a nightmare to be honest

but I have never done any amigurumi so it was all very new. 

The most helpful bit of advice was to mark the beginning of each round

 and I used a little safety pin for this.

The wreath is still very much a work in progress but there should hopefully be plenty of time to get it finished this year and on the door!

A quick fix of sewing finished this little cushion which I am now sitting on..

 

 And the other finish up has been the flower garden blanket...



 I started this back in May and the flower block pattern was in an issue of Making Magazine described here.



After completing the central panel I decided to do a big border.
It's funny how sometimes the unplanned bit turns out to be your favourite, do you find that?



The edging is again one from Lucy at Attic24 and the tutorial is here.
She used it to edge her Cosy Blanket which I made last year and I love the way the edging just gives it a bit of structure holding the blanket flatter somehow.



I
This blanket is destined for the camper but is in use on the sofa at the moment and I can't see it going anywhere else before spring.



I hope that you have had time for some crafting too.
x

Still here..

It has been a very busy few months here which left little time for blogging but things are starting to settle down and here I am!



It was a gorgeous sunny morning here so I ventured outside with some stuff to get pictures and Tally came along to "help". I just love this picture of her rummaging for a stone and completely oblivious of the stir she was causing with the cows.

On to crafting....



The crochet blanket has continued to grow with a big stripy border and it is nearly about the size it needs to be so I am contemplating the edging. The nosey cows came to take a look too!



And on the sewing front there have been a few small projects that I failed to photograph but this is the main bigger one. A quilt top inspired by a quilt called "Summer Chelsea" from the book Kaffe Quilts Again. I think it was designed by Pauline Smith.



I have used recycled shirts for the background as usual with appliqued shapes added on top.

And finally the garden. Lots of successes but also lots of weeds due to mild neglect but I am slowly learning to plant more carefully to minimise the amount of time that needs to be spent on it. I love being in the garden but it's all a matter of juggling the balls if you know what I mean?



The apples are good this year and we are collecting them up ready to be taken to Derek for juicing.
Someone sneaked in while I was getting a picture and tried to steal one!!!!