miss marie's miscellany

3 good things - day 3

1) Hmm, the first batch of mince pies; the house smells wonderful with the spice and fruit scenting the air. 

2) I meet my lovely friend M for coffee and chat; with all the hustle and bustle of getting shopping and presents bought, it's good to step back and make time to sit and catch up and wish each other a happy Christmas.

3) I made a crochet Christmas tree!

I've seen people do this kind of thing with all sorts of objects,Christmas cards and old polaroids to name a few; I used various crochet shapes I made for Christmas last year (stars, snowflakes, hearts and flowers) and fixed them on the wall in a tree shape.  I am quite taken with it, in fact next year I may do this on a grander scale! 

Christmas roses

I'm not sure where I found this flower pattern, I have a little book in which I jot down patterns and things I find when I'm browsing on the computer and it was in there. I thought they would make a good Christmas garland, and I think I was right :-)

They would also look good in what I call 'me' colours, purple and green, maybe with a hint of blue.....I may try that today as I will be staying put at home again. Tales of people being stuck all night in their cars on the main Glasgow-Edinburgh road and cars and buses skidding on the snowy/icy roads have put the fear in me, so it's stay here and go anywhere on foot for the time being.

Hope you are warm and safe wherever you may be.

Snowy crochet day

 

I woke up today to find it snowing again, and so it has continued all morning and into the afternoon, only stopping at about 2 pm. It's up over my ankles now! Still, it really does look beautiful

I have a few days off work, so I can enjoy pottering around at home. The house is getting a thoroughly good clean, I have sorted out piles of papers and books, done several batches of washing, made soup and cake, been out for a walk, well, more of a snowy scramble, dug a path AND have spent some happy hours doing a little hooking. A friend asked me to make a hat for his 4 year old daughter, so this is what I came up with

The effect I was aiming for was a 1920's cloche style hat - what do you think?!

I'm also making a new festive garland, Christmas roses.

These are just being blocked, then tomorrow I'll join them together and let you see them finished off.

This corsage has been a winner, I made some in this multi-coloured chunky wool for the craft fair a few weeks ago and they sold like hot cakes and I was asked to make a few more on commission too. 

It looks pretty sitting in the snow :-) 

Quiet night tonight, I think!

Etsy shop and giveaways!

I have news, which I'm excited about; I have opened an Etsy shop.  I'm spending so much of my free time making things, and enjoying doing so, that it seems a good idea to try to sell some of them. I thought long and hard about taking this big step, it feels quite scary to put one's wares on show so publicly, but I have had lots of encouragement from family and friends, and it feels like a good time to take the plunge. My things did pretty well at the craft fair last week, which was a good way of gauging if I'm on the right track; I made about £85, and have been asked to make another 7 things on commission, which is very heartening. There is a link to my Etsy shop on the sidebar on the right, please come and have a look round and tell me what you think; there are some of my makings there which I've already revealed on here, and there will be some new ones too in the coming weeks. I would welcome your feedback and thoughts, and tell all your friends too!! 

To celebrate this I'm going to have a giveaway! Well, 2 giveaways , really........I have a star garland,

and a flower corsage in a lovely deep red colour

to give to 2 lucky winners. Just leave a comment after this post and say which of the two you would prefer to receive, stars or flower, and your name will be put into the hat. I will reveal the winners next week on Wednesday, 1st of December. Good luck :-)

 

 

Craft fair crochet

Well, tomorrow is the big day, my first attempt at selling my crochet wares at a small craft fair; unfortunately, I can't go as I'm working, but my lovingly crafted goods have been delivered to a trusted fellow seller, who I think may buy several items herself! I will let you have a peek at what I made; something someone said to me about gifts for Christmas inspired me to use a heart motif and to make a string of them which you could hang on the wall as I have, or on a door or even on the Christmas tree. I made some in bright red and dusky pink, both are good 'heart' colours :-)

I made some single hearts too, in either red or gold, perfect for the Christmas tree.

I've also tried some different combinations of star colours; green and red with a lone white star

and red and white; I think this is my favourite, it look so festive and cheery.

And here are all my flower corsages, looking pretty together

I finished these off with a nice crocheted backing and a proper brooch clasp, so they will stay put and look fresh.

I wish I had had a little more time to make a few more things, but I'm pleased with what has been sent to the fair, so cross your fingers for me for a few happy buyers.......I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Today I am......

making Christmas decorations.

know it's only the 8th of November, but there's no time like the present for being ahead of oneself!

October collage

This month; autumn arrived with all its beautiful colours, plus its changeable weather; I crocheted with pink and blue and a touch of romance; I went to my friend's wedding; a garden project ( a little peek is in this collage for you to wonder about!); new friends; lots to be happy about and much to look forward to :-)

Hectic

There's just not enough hours in the day at the moment and I am neglecting this little space of mine. Sorry, I hope normal service will resume soon :-)

What have you been doing, I hear you cry.Well, I have been crocheting away like mad, making more of the flowers from my last post; they seem to have been a big hit as I have had requests for more and my fans will pay nice shiny money for them too which makes me very happy; it's a big compliment that people think what I make is beautiful and buyable. I have been thinking about selling online at Etsy, so it's good to have an opportunity to test the waters.

I also have a little boy blanket on the go; here is a sneak peek of some of the squares made so far.

 I took my inspiration from the colours I've used, red, green, mustard and lemon and lime twist; when I had the balls of wool lined up, I thought of traffic lights! More about this soon.

I have been working on something really exciting, down at the bottom of my garden,but it isn't quite ready yet for me to reveal all; but it won't be long till I can tell you about the culmination of a lot of hard work and the realisation of a dream.  Secretive, but it really will be worth the wait!

 

 

Blue popcorn

In case the titile of this post is making you feel queasy, I talk not of the edible variety, but of the crochet kind. I finished my pink and blue blanket, it now looks like this

I thought I'd use a more ornate edging; this is a popcorn wave pattern

Here it is a bit closer

I thought it was a good choice as it echoes and compliments the bobble stitches on the main part of the blanket. I almost ran out of the blue wool towards the end, getting nearer and nearer to the last stitches it was touch and go, but there was just enough, phew. About 4 inches of wool left over! 

I'm getting quite quick at making these blankets now, and I enjoy dreaming them up, looking over different patterns, imagining how they will look in my chosen colours and making it all come together. 

Next, one for the boys!

Pink and blue

I liked the baby blanket I made recently so much, I decided to make another. Pink and blue look lovely together, just right for a little girl,  and I just happened to have some perfect wool for the job. So, it's based on the same idea but with slightly different patterns and textures for the squares. It's still a WIP, but I thought I'd show how it's looking so far.

All the patterns are in the Jan Eaton book, 200 Crochet Blocks for Afghans and Blankets. I find this book really helpful when making these blankets, there's such a mix of styles and textures in all the blocks featured, truly something for everyone.

A few close-ups of some of the patterns; this is a tulip design.

This one is a band of bobbles topped with a double crochet section

This design is called Lemon Peel; after I'd finished I could see why

Since I started this post, I've managed to sew the squares together; this is how the blanket is looking today (Sunday)

So it will get a pretty edging as soon as poss, and I'll let you see the FO in a few days.