Crochet Baby Blanket

I'm still here and no sign of baby! At least I've finally got my camera back so I can post pictures of some of the things I've been making.

The first thing I made for baby was this crochet blanket.....

.....The pattern came free with the yarn (Sirdar Snuggly DK) when I bought it in John Lewis. It was really simple to make and it's lovely and snuggly and soft. It's strange to think that in a few days there will be a little baby wrapped up inside it x x 

A crocheted gift for a special 4 year old

Recently it was my beautiful little niece's 4th birthday. 

She lives a long way away, down under in the land of kangaroos and koalas.

So, I decided to make her her own little koala friend and sent it all the way from Italy.

 Handmaking this little gift made me feel so much closer to her even though she's so far away.

She loves her new wee friend and now I have to make another for her little brother to stop them fighting over it!

It was really easy to make following a pattern from here. I loved the way all the little pieces suddenly became a little character once I sewed them all together. I think this could become a new favourite hobby, crocheting toys, especially since soon I will have my own little one to make gifts for!

Have a lovely week everyone x x 

Handmade Christmas

Sticking to my Challenge of the Utmost Kind proved difficult at Christmas time. A few of my presents were handmade but I ended up making a last minute purchase of a shirt on Christmas Eve for my husband after I made a mess of the scarf I was knitting for him. It's a lovely shirt and something he needed. I feel a little bit guilty.... but not too much.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to take pictures of all of the things I made. The only thing I did photograph was this star garland which I made for my mum. The pattern for the stars is from Michelle at The Royal Sisters and I had the idea of making it into a garland from Tina at Rubies' Place. The stars are made from hemp which I bought here.

It's such a lovely feeling giving someone a handmade gift and this is a tradition I think I'll continue even when my challenge is over.

Hooked on Crochet

We spent the whole weekend harvesting olives again and on Saturday night we had our first sample of the new oil from the olives we harvested last weekend. We toasted bread on the fire, added a smidge of garlic and salt and then drizzled it with olive oil. Buonissimo!

Despite being so busy the past few weeks I've still managed to fit in some crafty time. My mother-in-law has been teaching me how to crochet. At first it seemed like the most impossible thing. I tried to copy my mother-in-law's quick, neat turns of the hook but my fingers lacked any kind of coordination. However, once I decide I'm going to do something I don't give up until I succeed. So, I spent a whole evening in battle with the crochet hook and finally I got the hang of it. And now I'm hooked! Every spare minute I get my work out and do a few more rounds, I've even been dreaming of crochet!

I've spent hours looking online for patterns of things I can crochet. The only trouble is, since my mother-in-law taught me I now know how to crochet in Italian and these English patterns are all Greek to me!

Have a nice week x x