Baubles of wool

I came across this really nice pattern and couldn't resist a little more festive crocheting. Our tree is going to look so grand (when we get round to putting it up!)



Free pattern can be found here (i am making the most of it!)



There are a lot of projects in progress around here at the moment, but i am feeling confident that everything will come together in the (st.) nick of time (ho ho). It's nice to be so busy with making at this time of year.

Happy festive crocheting!

all the colours

When Rose was a baby i didn't do as much knitting for her as i imagined i would as a mother (in fact i knitted her nothing after she was born, and really only this little one while i was pregnant) I did however get a rather magnificent collection of hand knits for her from charity shops, and i am in denial a little bit because some of them were so great, but am beginning to accept that mostly they are all too small now. So i felt that it really was time to fulfill my knitter mummy duty and make her a new cardigan.



I had in mind this lovely diary scarf (an idea i really like) my friend Debbie made a little while back, although i didn't use the diary idea, i really like the design of it and thought something like this would be a perfect use for all my odd balls of wool. I found a basic raglan cardigan pattern (i like a raglan with stripes, i think it works so well) in my extensive library (handed down from nanny) and started with the back to set the pattern.  Although i wasn't doing a colour a day like Debbie did,  i really enjoyed the  process of deciding how much of each colour and how to order them.

I finished this project just in time for Rose's birthday and she was very pleased to wear it at last. I was just relieved it fitted her! And just in time for this cold spell too.



perfect scamp-wear!

Crocheting Beads

I found a nice little project this week - crocheting beads (not to be confused with bead crocheting which is something completely different - but something I might have to give a go...)

I really love the trend for painted wooden beaded necklaces - they are so bright and cheery, and just so cool! I found the idea for crocheting beads from a baby teething toy, which is probably not really so cool, but I really wanted to have a go at it.



I bought a few wooden beads in different sizes, but the ones which worked best for me were the big 25mm ones.

Here is how I crocheted my beads:

I used:

4 x 25mm wooden beads

a 3mm crochet hook

DK yarns in off white, bright orange, mustard and turquoise


My abbreviations:

SC = single crochet (in American terminology. This is a double crochet in UK terminology)

2SC = working 2 single crochet stitches into the same space

SC2TOG = single crochet decrease - single crocheting the next two stitches together.

(you might need to experiment to get the right tension - I found some of my DK yarn was slightly thinner and this made quite a big difference so if your yarn is thin you might need a slightly bigger hook)



Row 0:  6 single crochets into a magic ring.
Row 1 - 2sc into every previous row sc. (12sts)
Row 2 - working into the previous row, **1 sc into the next space, 2sc into the following space**
repeat ** to ** to end of row (18sts)

Work 5 rows straight.
If you want to make a half and half coloured bead, change colour after the third row. I have found a neat way of changing colour is to do the final yarn over and pull through of the last single crochet stitch with the new colour, rather than changing colour in a new stitch (hope that makes sense) 

Row 8 -  **sc2tog, sc1 into the next space** .Repeat ** to ** to the end of the row (12 stitches)
Row 9, sc2tog the entire way around the row (6 stitches).
Finish by breaking your thread and threading through the final row to draw it in and neaten it up.

and ta-dah!

I really enjoyed this project also because it was so quick. My necklace just took me an evening. And it's just to bright and lovely. One of my winter wardrobe staples are black thermal vest style tops, and this little accessory is just the ticket to brighten that up a bit on a gloomy day.
I would love to see if you have a go.

you can stretch right up and touch the sky

Hello dears,

I am not doing very well at keeping my in touch am I? I had good intentions of making a dress a month (a good aim for me) and being here much more than I was - but I got somewhat sidetracked over the summer...

I was having a very lovely time though. I am so lucky to live in a very beautiful spot. We have been here nearly a year now (one year next week) and I love this home we have found. We have a ferry crossing to France very locally, but I wasn't organised enough to sort out our passports, but as it was our first Seaford summer it felt like a holiday for sure.

My favourite memories of the summer are of one very hot weekend of impromptu sea swimming with Rose the little fish. I did some sun bathing on the beach which felt like it had been a long time since i last did that, and it just felt wonderful. Rose was very tentative towards the sea at first, but as soon as the first little wave hit her feet and she realised there was nothing to fear she couldn't stay away - she just wanted to be immersed in it as totally as she could, little teeth chattering from the cold and bare bottom shining in the sun!

Another lovely day that stands out for me is a lovely one i spent alone with Rich while Rose hung out with Nanny Jo and Grandpop. We walked over Seaford head to the seven sisters (quick refresh at the pub along the river, including a free portion of chips from our table neighbours who had over ordered) and back again in time for tea.

It is starting to feel very chilly around here now.

I hope you had a nice summer too. And enjoying cosying up for autumn.

Love from Emily. x

What year is this?

It's 2015 now! Where has the time gone?! I hadn't realised my last posting on my blog had been over a year ago - that is a long time ago.

But i am really pleased to let you know that I am back (hopefully) and I have made a dress! This is a happy time for me - it's been such a long while since I made one of these - in fact the last dresses i made were maternity dresses - many big tents for my big baby tummy.

But now I have something like a waist again i thought maybe it was time to make some less tentish dresses (although i do still like to wear those ones)

I have been thinking i need to start making some clothes again for a while now - it struck me that i really did used to make a large proportion of my clothes, and i had been struggling to find the sort of things i really like to wear. It's so nice now that i have a bit more time in the evenings and during naptimes (when i am not doing some hoovering) to start to make some things to revive my wardrobe.

So we were out in Brighton this week (because now we live in Seaford - but i am sure i will speak more about this at a relevant time) and we wanted to have a tea so we went to the C&aH fabrics cafe which is good when you have a pram, and also good when you really like wool and fabric. I had earned enough stamps on my loyalty card to get a free £5 gift voucher so it was a sign that it was time.

I found a couple of lovely pieces i really liked. This pink delight, i couldn't resist it even though i don't really have anything pink, and never wear this colour, but it looked so pretty and summery, and i had in mind that dress of Holly Golightly's and decided to be bold.

Unfortunately my fabric doesn't have tassels but i think it's still very festive.

Rose enjoyed wearing the fabric like a little Russian doll toddling about. Yes, that is her there - she is eighteen months old now.

The pattern i used was this one, my wedding dress pattern - which has a very similar bodice to Holly's. I altered the skirt slightly to give it a bit more of a fuller shape. I was a bit nervous about it still fitting me, so I just used 1cm at the seam allowances rather than the 1.5, and the result was a perfect fit!

Rose is normally much better dressed than me these days, but today we were a good match

It was a lovely feeling to have made something new and i am really really pleased with how it came out, and that i hadn't forgotten all of my dressmaking skills. I am going to try very very hard to make time for this pastime. i have a small pile of lovely fabrics now so will be back soon.

yours, one year older, none the wiser,

Emilia x