Hello there, well that’s the first week of the school summer holidays done in our house and that means week one of my Summer Craft Challenge is done too.
It’s been a really rather special one for me – I’ve been doing this every summer since 2016 (except during 2020) and occasionally other people have joined in here and there. It was primarily a way to give me a focus during the long summer school break (10 weeks long back then when we lived in Gibraltar) with 3 young men to look after and entertain. It had the benefit of reminding me that being creative is good for my mental health and it’s so easy to become overwhelmed with all the things which need to be done at the cost of carving out a little time for yourself.
Back when I started, I invited people to join me and never before has it been so whole heartedly done – thank you so much to everyone who has tagged along with me!
Here’s a little look back at this week in craft..
Day One
This time last week, we were in beautiful Grasmere in the Lake District visiting our good friends who live up that way. School finished the day before and we headed straight up to Cumbria that afternoon. We woke up, had breakfast and headed to the Mere for a morning out on the water. We all took a turn kayaking and while I waited for mine, I sat on the shore hooking! We even had a visit from an inquisitive duck!
Crocheting by the water at Grasmere
Day Two
Still in the Lakes, we hiked to Elterwater for a wonderful Sunday lunch in a hotel – it was delicious and all the more tasty thanks to our walk to get it! I took my yarn and hook with me to get some more al fresco crochet in – it ended up being crochet on the move as we caught the bus from Elterwater to Ambleside after lunch.
Elterwater
Day Three
We traveled back home on Sunday and I took Monday off seeing as it was the first proper day of the holidays. There were lots of jobs to do, as is always the case after a trip away so the first chance I had to sit down and do something creative was after dark! I’m hoping to finish this Tin Can Knits top down jumper I’ve been working on since before Christmas at some point this summer. I’ll keep you posted!
Day Four
Another busy day. Back at work but did manage a bit of knitting while there was still light in the sky!
Day Five
I ditched the yarn this evening and blew the dust off my sewing machine to repurpose an old unwearable school shirt into something new – a couple of little cushions for a project I’m working on.
Day Six
That project I was making the cushions for is finished. It’s a gift so I can only share a sneak peak and this is it. Once it’s been gifted, I promise I’ll show you what it is!
Day Seven
Today, I thought I’d crack out a new project I’ve been saving for this very purpose – the Mischievous Magpie MAL (Yarn by Kitey from The Yarn Whisperer & pattern by Heather from Keep Calm & Crochet On).
I got over excited and went a bit hell for leather on the yarn winding and got myself into a bit of a pickle. I was unraveling hours later as I watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games! I’m pleased to say I got there in the end…
Join the challenge!
So, as I said before, quite a few people joined me this week. You can see some of that creativity above – what a thrill! Thank you to you all for tagging along.
If you fancy joining in, please do, there are no rules. Just take a photo of your moment of creativity and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #SummerCraftChallenge2024
The recent cold snap we’ve experienced in my part of the world reminded me that I’ve been meaning to write this post for weeks. I’ve been crocheting in earnest for well over a decade now making blankets, scarves, shawls, jumpers and a cardigan as well well as lots of little people. Despite that, I’d never made myself a hat. When it’s cold outside I always found myself reaching for the same shop-bought woolly hat I’d bought a long, long time ago. I decided that this winter it was time to put that right, and made not one, but two new hats!
My old hat in use at football training!
I scoured my collection of pattern books and magazines and happened upon this lovely granny stripe hat from the Modern Granny Stitch Crochet book by Claudine Powley also known as Iron Lamb. I had been wanting to have a go at one of her beautiful granny jumpers but with magazine commissions and a knitted jumper in progress, I’d parked that idea for a while. There was nothing stopping me making a hat though – it would be a quick project, almost like a palette cleanser between my commissions.
Fortunately I have a decent stash of yarn these days thanks to a couple of Scheepjes boxes of smaller balls which I have acquired, so I rooted through them to find the right colours for a hat – I wanted something bright and colourful to cheer up a grey day spent standing on the football sidelines cheering my youngest and his team on. I hit on this bright cerise pink and dark turquoise along with the pale grey. The pattern was really clear and quick to make up. I’m really happy with how it turned out – at last I had an alternative to my old shop-bought number!
However, I found that hats are a bit like buses – you wait for ages for one to come along and then another one arrives in quick succession! Just as I was finishing off my Iron Lamb creation I saw a beautiful pattern release by Catherine of Catherine Crochets – the Down the Line Beanie.
In case you haven’t come across Catherine before (although I am sure you probably will have) she is known for her beautiful tapestry crochet blankets and accessories. Catherine was my guest on Making Stitches Podcast – you can find that episode here.
My Yarn Whisperer hand dyed yarn 🩷
I had some beautiful hand dyed yarn in my stash which I bought a while back from the Yarn Whisperer (another of my podcast guests!). It’s called ‘4 of Wands’ and I just loved the rainbow effect it gives.
I had started using it in a knitted shawl project which, unfortunately for the shawl, was just too tricky for me so it was put in the naughty pile. I was feeling guilty that this lovely yarn was sitting unused, then I found the Down the Line Beanie pattern and I knew that this was the yarn for the job. The contrasting grey yarn was bought as a compliment colour to use in the tricky shawl project so I was ready to start as soon as I downloaded the pattern!
It was another really simple pattern to follow and despite appearing to be complicated – it was surprisingly easy. I really loved making it and just love the way the lines merge together as they reach the crown of the hat! Isn’t it pretty?
Then the huge decision – to pompom or not to pompom?
I hummed and hawed for a while, and finally decided it needed a pompom just to finish it off and to make full use of that gorgeous skein of hand dyed yarn – so thanks to a great freebie pompom maker from Simply Crochet magazine, I got winding and lo and behold, I had a pompom!
My completed ‘Down the Line’ beanie
I’m so pleased with how my two new hats turned out – I now have a choice of styles for when I’m heading out for a cold damp morning or evening standing on the football sidelines!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of my latest crochet adventures. If you would like to keep up to date with all my news, please sign up for my newsletter using this link.
Until next time, take care and enjoy your crafting!
Hello there, this time last week I was driving north to Scotland so didn’t get round to posting before now… so here’s a look back at my last 2 weeks of crafting.
Day 8 : Saturday 29th July
It was Black Sheep Wools’ 40th birthday party yesterday & today, so I popped along to join the celebration.
Eek, there I am… I may have made one or two purchases while I was there…
It didn’t leave much time for making though…
Day 9 : Sunday 30th July
I just felt inspired to make a daisy, can’t say why – it just leapt off my hook!
Day 10 : Monday 31st July
I ended the month on a high, almost exactly a year after I started it, I finished my Dragonfly River MAL shawl by Heather at Keep Calm & Crochet On and Kitey The Yarn Whisperer. Isn’t it lovely? I have no idea why I left it almost finished for so long!
Day 11 : Tuesday 1st August
Sticking with the circular theme…
Day 12 : Wednesday 2nd August
A very uninspiring circle was all I managed today…
Day 13 : Thursday 3rd August
A very busy day today, work, housework and preparations for a family holiday (yay!) meant not much crochet time…
Day 14 : Friday 4th August
I’m trying and trying to square my circle but my brain won’t work and I’m not giving in and looking up a pattern. That’s enough for today.
Day 15 : Saturday 5th August
I didn’t manage much ‘craft’ today it was a long day of driving from Manchester to the west coast of Scotland. It was a day of firsts as I drove onto a car ferry for the first time!
Day 16 : Sunday 6th August
My crochet corner for the afternoon
I felt inspired by the Scottish sunshine in the garden of our holiday let to make a sunflower. What a fabulous spot! There’s a very good chance I won’t want to leave…
Day 17 : Monday 7th August
Sock knitting with a view today… our holiday let had the most amazing views.
Day 18 : Tuesday 8th August
It was such a beautiful day, I felt inspired by my surroundings and wanted to create a little crochet square to celebrate it. It also gave me the perfect excuse to visit a lovely yarn shop called Jinty & Baa in the village of Kirn near Dunoon to buy some yarn to make the water/loch section of my square.
If you ever find yourself in the area, I would highly recommend a visit. It’s really well stocked with yarn, fabric and other needlecraft supplies.
Day 19 : Wednesday 9th August
Sock knitting at Tarbet Castle
Nothing to see here… just an embarrassing mother sitting on a historical monument knitting socks 😂. A cruise on the Waverley Paddle Steamer brought us to Tarbet, and we climbed up to see the castle.
Tarbet Castle
Day 20 : Thursday 10th August
Sock knitting on the beach at Ostel Bay
Beach day meant sock knitting on the beach – ignore the grey sky – it was deceptively warm even the water was! It was beautiful.
Day 21 : Friday 11th August
Sock knitting at the Shinty pitch!
Our last full day in the Kyles of Bute before heading onwards to Glasgow. The boys decided to have a kick around on the neighbouring shinty pitch near to where we were staying (I managed a few rows before being roped in as goal keeper). I imagine this will be last of my spectacular backdrops for a while!
That’s it for this week, I look forward to sharing more summer craft adventures with you soon.
Hello there, can you believe it’s the last day of 2022? I can hardly believe it and am shocked I’ve been away from my little blog for so long.
Life (as always) has been rather busy of late and blogging found itself at the very end of the to-do list. This time though, blogging felt quite unattainable – I didn’t have the words to write or anything interesting to say either. So here goes, the jolt of moving from one year into a new one might just be the impetus I need to get me going again!
When I looked back I was shocked to see I hadn’t posted for so long. When I changed from Postcard from Gibraltar to Making Stitches I assumed I’d be back again very quickly but hey ho, I’m here now. Here’s a little jaunt through the past two months in my world.
Paid Work!
The main headline I guess from the last two months is that I’ve managed to secure the impossible – paid work for my crochet. I have rather excitedly been commissioned to design some things for a craft magazine. This has taken up a LOT of my time. Solid crocheting from the moment the Little Postcards leave for school in the morning until they come home! I’ve loved it, but it has been a lot of hard work.
The old spectre of self doubt popped into my head on many occasions during this work but I’m pleased to say, the first commission was gratefully received and got a stamp of approval so I’m thrilled about that. I have 3 more projects to complete by mid January and I’m in the midst of those right now.
I wish I could tell you more and show you photos of what I’ve been working on but sadly I can’t for now – just some of the yarn I have used for one of the projects (above). I will investigate further on whether I can share them once they are published.
New article published
Within the last week the latest issue of Simply Crochet magazine popped through my letter box complete with my latest article for them. It was prompted by the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the outpouring of support I witnessed in the online craft community. The main photo is of Amoami bears. This amazing social enterprise helping Ukrainian refugees featured in one of my podcast episodes too. You can listen to it here.
Inspired by their work, I ordered my very own mini Christmas Amoami bears. They were made by Yuliia. They look gorgeous on our tree this year!
A trip to the Lakes
Easedale Tarn
A very dear friend of mine and her husband moved away from our home town earlier this year and settled in beautiful Grasmere in the Lake District. It’s been something they’d been talking about for years, and this year ended up being the right time for them.
I don’t know this part of the world very well, but I have a feeling I’ll be getting to know it a whole lot better from now on!
In November we were invited for a visit to their new home – and boy what a move they have made. They have lost their old decent sized back garden but blimey with this on your doorstep, they have all the greenery they need!!
We took a walk from their front door up to Easedale Tarn. There were butties and crisps at the top to give us the energy to walk back down… what a picturesque picnic spot!
The weather was so kind to us!
It was wonderful to be able to share this with the two Littlest Postcards – unfortunately Eldest missed out by being away at University but hopefully he will be able to join us another time. It was remarkable to see a real change in the youngest two though, from their usual slightly grumpy teenagerish (11 & 15) demeanor to being full of life and scrambling over rocks as we undertook our walk.
We had one whole day of sunshine before the weather turned a bit grey and damp. We were so lucky to be able to truly see the beauty of their surroundings. We most definitely will be back!
November in a nutshell
Throughout November I took part in an excellent daily photo challenge on Instagram run by The Yarn Whisperer and The Pigeon’s Nest. It was called ‘Yarnovember’ and was lots of fun. That kept me rather busy on social media and reminded me just how much crochet has been in my life for the past few years which was such fun.
Also in November I competed my second pair of knitted socks. I picked up the ‘Hope’ yarn from Yarndale in September and used the Winwick Mum basic sock pattern to knit them. I love the colours – they are so autumnal.
I also had a lovely morning walk with Eldest to see the deer at Dunham Massey National Trust park early in the month. He managed to get home for a few days during his University reading week, and we headed out for a walk one day, coffee cups in hand to enjoy the greenery.
The big painting challenge
At the start of December I set myself a tough challenge – to redecorate our lounge in time for a surprise birthday party just over a week later. It was a tough one, but I managed it, despite 4 coats of paint to kill the pattern of the patterned wallpaper on the feature wall.
Before the paint!
I’d been living with wallpaper I disliked for 2 years, and the surprise party was the kick up the behind I needed to get busy. I’m very pleased to say I managed it (with a bit of help from the unsuspecting party recipient). We were all ready in time to welcome party guests to my lovely Dad’s 80th birthday party!
The delicious cake made by my brother & sister-in-law
Cold weather
Whilst it’s been rather mild recently, earlier this month, it was decidedly nippy. We had a proper cold snap in mid December which made the early morning school runs a bit on the cold side. I believe it was minus 9 one morning when my friend’s husband left for work. I walked with Littlest to the bus stop that day to keep him company as his friend was ill and I can confirm it was COLD! It had warmed up slightly when I drove son Number 2 to school (see below)…. It’s so hard to comprehend that a few months ago, parts of the UK were burning in the heatwave!
Back at Old Trafford
I managed to get back to Old Trafford to watch the Manchester United Women’s team play against Aston Villa. I went with my youngest two and my Dad. It was brilliant – the atmosphere is so lovely in women’s football. As you can see, the sun shone and they got a win too – a perfect trip out!
Betwixtmas
This year I’m taking part in the Betwixtmas Makealong by Black Sheep Wools. I have had a skein of Yarn Whisperer hand dyed yarn waiting for the right project to come along and I think this is it. I took it along to Black Sheep wools and picked out two contrasting colours to make up this ‘knitted’ – yes – knitted shawl. It’s pushing my abilities and a bit of a challenge but I have enjoyed putting my hook down for a while over the last few days. I wonder if it will be finished before next Betwixtmas?!!
That’s all I have for you this time, but it’s been lovely to be back and sharing my comings and going’s with you. I hope you have had a restful Christmas – I know it’s very difficult for so many people. I wish you a new year filled with joy and creativity.
