Yet Another Blanket!

Sorry for the late reveal. Things have been mental of late. However, I don't want to let this blog go as I love the creative outlet and I like seeing what other people are up to. A few weeks ago my knitting group had a baby shower for one of our members, Aileen. I was sadly working and as I had just moved to the ward I didn't want to ask for a swap. So I had to miss it.

I was still able to send in a gift though. I once again made one of those hear blankets. This will make for the third time as I did two of these last year. I did one for Swati and one for Lisa.

As with the other two ladies Aileen wanted to wait to find out the sex of the baby. As I am not a fan of traditional baby colours this was a good thing for me. I chose this vibrant orange against the white. I love the way it stands out and I love the edging. I decided not to add a round of white to it as I wanted to keep the effect.

I never learn. It took me hours to sew in all those ends. I am definitely not going to do this pattern again. I think I will look out something different for next time (as I am more than sure that there will be a next time). Something maybe without ends.

I still enjoyed making it though and I am still happy with the end result. It is a pretty pattern. The last few times I used Eco essentials cotton. This time I used the Women's Institute 4ply yarn. It feels like a cotton and goes a lot further. It's maybe just a tiny smidge thinner but it really has a lovely sheen to it and there is far less splitting.

The baby shower theme this time was Valentines as it fell round about that day. You can see how the night went over at the Stitch 'n' Bitch blog thanks to my friend, Helen.

Pins I Love - Crochet Valentines!

 I had a completely different post planned for today (still a pinterest post). Then I remembered that it is Valentines day this week (blurgh). Whilst I have never been one to celebrate it (even when I had an other half) I do like some of the crafts involved. I think us spinsters should claim back the heart. Anyway, it just so happens that all the heart related pins of late have been crochet hence another crochet themed post.

This first one is called the sunburst granny hearts. I quite like these and think they would make fab bunting. A lady called jacquie of Bunny Mummy posted a free tutorial on how to make them. I like the look of her blog and think I will investigate further later. Meanwhile just click on the image and it will take you straight to the tutorial. I should warn you that it's in US terms so if you are from the UK (like me) you will have to translate the stitches.

More heart bunting. I quite like the use of different stitches in this. Plus the edging gives them a delicate vintage feel. This is another free tutorial this time by Yarn Pumpkin designs. You can also find her on ravelry. Again this is in US terms but if you get the UK it's easy to translate. Just write it out again in a notebook.

Not a free crochet design this time. This is a set of washcloths from HoneyBeeAffairs. A lot of people seem to be making washcloths from crochet. This set though I think could be used as coasters. The friend I gave a shout out to in a post last week was making heart coasters for Valentines day. Not quite like these but it did give me the idea that these could also be used that way.

 This one is probably my favourite. It's another take on the solid granny. The facebook group I join in on (for the Love of Yarnigans) is having another crochet along. The charity one is ongoing but they are also doing heart bunting. This was one of the patterns put forward. Another free tutorial this time by loopsan. Plus, they also translate the pattern into UK terms for you. So no need to do it yourself. Not sure if it's the colours I love about it or the solid granny pattern. Maybe a combination of both. I was tempted to join in for this pattern alone. However, I came to the conclusion I can only fit so many things in at once. Maybe next year.

Not a free pattern but still a pattern you can purchase to do yourself. This one is by Zoom Yummy. Worth checking out as she seems to have a number of great patterns there. I like the stitch pattern on these which attracted me to them in the first place. Not sure what you would do with them though. I am a practical gal and think most things should have a purpose. Perhaps these could be used as a pincushion?

Apologies to those who don't like Valentines day although I still say us singles should claim back the hearts. Next week I will post the one I had originally planned.