Colour Block Crochet Blanket Update

This is just a quick post today to update you on the squares I've made so far for my colour block blanket!

These are made in King Cole Bamboo Cotton which I love working with.  A great soft smooth yarn, and it comes in such vibrant colours.

I plan to make 12 squares, so I'm half way through that stage of the blanket.  This is actually pretty quick progress for me!

I still need to sew ends in - I've done some, but got lazy.  I planned to make sure they were all sewn in as each square was finished, but I keep getting impatient to see the next colour combination come together!  The first two colours of each square are nice and easy - but the third colour seems to take forever, and that's when I slow down and lose my drive a bit.  So once I manage to get through that bit, the last thing I feel like doing is sewing in ends!

I know they look a bit wiggly and twisty at the moment, but that should sort itself out once they are made into the blanket.

I'm so pleased that it's coming together exactly as I had envisioned!  What do you think of it so far?

Check out my completed crochet items here.

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Supersize Crochet - Giveaway Winner!

I used a random number generator to pick the winner out of the commenters on my Supersize Crochet Blog Hop post.  Thanks to everyone who entered!

Without further ado, the winner is...

Rachel H

... who said:

Love it! I love using t-shirt yarn, what a fab idea this is ❤️

Rachel, please get in touch so that I can email you a PDF copy of Supersize Crochet by Sarah Shrimpton.

Sorry to those who didn't win, but thanks for taking part.  You'll just have to buy the book so you too can have fun with supersize crochet!

Yarn Pegs

I've finally made a start on something I've been meaning to do for ages!

Lucy at Attic24 has been using yarn pegs for years - she may even have invented the idea, it was certainly the first place I saw it.  It's such a clever way to play with colours and work out what schemes to use for new blankets and other projects.  However, it was when I read this post from Sam at Betsy Makes, using pretty dolly pegs for her yarn pegs, that I really wanted to give it a go.

Well... it's been two and a half years since I read that post!  I finally bought some dolly pegs in the last few months of last year, and only this weekend did I actually get to work after being inspired anew by this picture on Instagram from colourandcrochet.  So, it's been a long time coming.  Thanks to Lucy, Sam and Clare for the inspiration that finally got me here!

The plan is to have a peg for every colour of the Stylecraft Special DK range.  Then when the need comes to crochet a new blanket (as it does!) it will be easy to decide on a scheme and check how the colours look together, before buying the yarn.

(I do still need to write the colours on the pegs, as that would be helpful!)

Unfortunately I only had 15 colours in my stash (one is not pictured - grey) and I think there are around 80 colours in the Stylecraft Special DK range!  It's a start, though.

White / Cream / Candyfloss / Fondant / Pomegranate / Lipstick / Sunshine / Lemon / Spring Green / Aspen / Sherbert / Turquoise / Bluebell / Wisteria

A lot of these colours can be seen in my waterlily blanket.

I already feel some colour scheme ideas coming from looking at the pegs I've made so far - it's such a great useful idea!

And it doesn't hurt that they look so pretty!!

Check out my completed crochet items here.

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Stash-Busting WIP-Finishing 2017 - Mar/Apr

[If you are looking for the Supersize Crochet Blog Hop and Giveaway, you can find the post HERE!]

As the title suggests, I'm planning to bust the stash and finish the WIPs this year.  I wrote about January and February here.  So, let's see how I've done in March and April...

Not that well, really!

STASH-BUSTING

I made the cute and easy crochet eggs using left-over white cotton yarn from the Easter eggs I made for Hobbycraft, with some thin crochet cotton I had been given last year.

I also made a start on a colour-block crochet blanket using yarn given to me for my birthday and Christmas in December.

No purchases were required for either of these.

WIP-FINISHING

Not a stitch this time, I'm afraid!

PURCHASES

I did make some unnecessary purchases this month.  I went on a great holiday to Orlando, Florida in April - I know, lucky me!  About 20 minutes (very brisk!) walk away from our accommodation was a Michael's store.  I've heard about Michael's from American craft blogs, so had to check it out!  One afternoon my boyfriend was having a bit of a nap, so I strode purposefully out into the blazing sun to visit the shop.  I bought two things which was very restrained of me.  I ummed and ahhed about some other things, but decided I didn't want to buy too much that I didn't have a project in mind for... but I did want a little treat or two!

What I bought:

• A tube of pretty washi tapes in mint, pink/blush and gold - no purpose in mind - FAIL.
• A ball of Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn - no purpose in mind - FAIL.

But, I think that's not too bad really - it was a holiday treat after all!

I'll definitely use the yarn - I've already got some ideas in mind.  The washi tape... hmm well, it will probably be added to my washi tape stash that I'm never quite sure what to do with!

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Supersize Crochet - Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am very pleased to be taking part in this Blog Hop celebrating Sarah Shrimpton's new book, Supersize Crochet!  You may know Sarah from her blog, Annaboo's House, which I have been following for many years.  You can also find Sarah on Instagram here - and while you're there, you can find me too!

I received a free PDF version of Supersize Crochet for the benefit of this post, and will be giving away a PDF copy to one lucky reader too!  Read on to find out more...

Firstly, let me tell you more about the book.  As the name suggests, it's a book full of great crochet patterns using thick and chunky yarn - and you know what that means?  The projects make up so quickly - just what I like!  Here are some of the gorgeous projects you can make (image stolen from Sarah's blog)...

There are loads of fun projects, but one caught my eye straight away - the hanging pouch!  So that is what I made...

It was perfect, as I had bought myself some t-shirt yarn last year.  There had been just one tube/cone/ball (?!) left in Hobbycraft, and it was reduced to £2.50!  I'd been wanting to try t-shirt yarn, so thought it was the ideal opportunity at that price, so I snapped it up.

However, I didn't know what to do with it, so it languished in my messy craft room until I saw the hanging pouch pattern in Sarah's book!  It actually calls for a cotton cord and 7mm hook.  However, I just knew it was the pattern my zingy lime green t-shirt yarn had been waiting for!

I used a 10mm hook to make this, and I did skip a round as I think I would have run out of yarn otherwise (seeing as I'd gone for a thicker yarn and hook than the pattern suggested, and actually have no idea how many grams or yards I had, as there was no indication on the label!).  I left out round 6, and adjusted the following rounds accordingly, to keep the same proportions as the pattern.

I am so happy with this - I love it!  It's so zingy and bright and such a great shape - perfect for holding balls of yarn in my craft room!

Thanks to Sarah for a great book full of inspiration and very clearly written patterns.  It was so easy to follow!

Win a copy of the book!

Now would you like a PDF copy of Supersize Crochet too?  Why wouldn't you?!  Just leave a message on this post by the end of Saturday 20th May and I will announce the winner the next day!

Make sure you check out all the other people taking part in the blog hop:

Monday 1st May - Sarah taking over the Sew and So Instagram Account
Tuesday 2nd May - Sarah's guest post over at Sew and So
Wednesday 3rd May - Maria from Dinki Dots (me!)
Thursday 4th May - Shelley from Spincushions
Friday 5th May - Lazy Daisy Jones
Monday 8th May - Tamara from Moogly
Tuesday 9th May - Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch
Wednesday 10th May - Sara from Crochet Me
Friday 12th May - Marianne from MaRRose
Sunday 14th May - Ruby and Kim from Frank & Olive
Monday 15th May - Kathryn from Crochet Concupiscence
Tuesday 16th May - Twinkie from Twinkie Chan
Wednesday 17th May - Andrea from Woolly Mahoosive
Thursday 18th May - Kerry at Interweave
Friday 19th May - Blog Hop Round Up

Check out my other completed crochet items here.

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