Crocheted Secret

Pretty cotton/acrylic yarn for my new project (Sirdar Calico).

But I can't show you what I'm making 'cos it's a secret.

Shhhhhhh!

Granny in the Garden

My New Year's resolution to make pretty things for me rather than to sell is going well.

I started making these crocheted Summer Garden Granny Squares over the festive break (see Lucy's lovely blog over at Attic24 for the pattern).

I used some acrylic yarn that I had in my stash - yarn that came with each issue of The Art of Crochet partwork that I collected last year. I never got past the first binder as I was quite disappointed in the number of designs for the price of each week's issue. Anyway, I had enough balls of yarn to make 49 squares (a nice size for a cosy lap cover). Nine colours were used, though I had more balls of certain colours (mainly the blues) so they tend to dominate.

I wanted to make each square different so I wrote out a little chart where I could check off colours against their row position in the square. This ensured that I had a pretty much equal amounts of squares with a white border, or a red border, or a lime green border, etc.

I had great fun trying out different combinations of squares - making sure that no centre colours or edge colours were next to each other; and then of course colours such as the white shone out so they had to be moved around until they were more evenly spaced. And then I joined the rows together in the wrong order so things were slightly more random than intended - but it looked ok and so I didn't bother pulling it out!

I didn't have enough of the yarn left for the border so I'm hunting now for some similar tones. I've found a green yarn in my stash and used that for the first row of the edging but I need a shopping trip to get a couple more to finish it off!

It's such an easy pattern but the overall effect is lovely. Hopefully I'll post a FINISHED! photo soon, and I'll try and take a decent picture in daylight as these photos don't show the lovely bright colours very well.

What have you been making this month?

Keeping Cosy

You may remember a while ago that I crocheted this blanket for my good friend's new baby.

So in true Attic24 style, here's some photos of Adam and his treasured blankie.

Adam loves getting cosy under his blanket; mum says he stares at the pattern and touches it, showing a great deal of interest. Mum and dad like the blanket too as it's a bit heavier than his other ones so he can't kick this one off and get chilly toes.

The cold winter weather is just starting to bite and I could do with a cosy, handmade blanket for myself. I really enjoyed making this cover as the individual crocheted squares are so portable and quick to do; I'd love to make a bright and cheery one (aka Attic24 again - love the style and colour hit!) Maybe that's a job for after the Christmas fairs though...

Bright or Subtle? You decide!

Enough of this gardening and house moving lark… So what crafty things have I been up to lately?

Well, I finished the baby blanket that I was making for my good friend Emma. I really enjoyed making it as the little squares are quick to make and very portable, so I could pop my yarn and hook in my handbag and crochet away happily whenever I go the chance: at home in front of the TV... in the garden enjoying the birds' antics... sitting at my desk during my lunch hour when it was too cold/wet to wander out... sitting outside in my lunch hour whilst enjoying the occasional sunny spell... relaxing on holiday in Whitby... (yes, the crochet goes everywhere!) Even the making-up process wasn't too bad, and the stripy border just finishes it off perfectly, I think.

I was so pleased that the parents-to-be loved the finished article – and hopefully baby will too! I've spent a couple of lunch hours at work this week sitting outside and soaking up the sun whilst crocheting some more of these little squares. I'd like to make some baby blankets in different colourways – and hopefully sell them in my Folksy shop. Watch this space.

Other, smaller projects that I've been doing are these pretty floral corsages. I love the bright, sunny colours and the contrasting buttons, and the shaggy texture of the blooms. I'm going to do some more of these but I can't decide on colourways: I like bright, contrasting colours but hubby prefers the more subtle, complementary shades. Guess I'll have to do both! Do you have a preference?

These flower corsages are a bit of a change for me, but I think they turned out really well and I'd like to do some more of these too, in various colours. They consist of layers of felt, with free-style machine embroidery and sparkly bead embellishment. I've made a prototype purse using the same technique which turned out really well so that's something else to add to the 'more things to do' list.

And finally, I've tried my best to avoid the World Cup but failed miserably. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. We had a stall at the monthly Grainger Market Art & Craft Fair last Saturday and it was the perfect time to sell these England heart brooches, what with England playing their first game that night. They were very popular at the fair and I managed to sell a few, but I still have some left. Hopefully England will do well and I might sell a couple more in the next three weeks!

As ever, click on the highlighted links if you're interested in buying and want to know more...

Have a good weekend - hope the sun keeps on shining!

Colourful critters

I've been enjoying making lots of colourful items this past week or so. I think the brighter, sunnier days of spring are influencing my choice of yarns!

I made this sweet little dog sweater as a commission from a customer at the Grainger Market Arts & Craft Fair - a gift for her mum who adores her tiny Yorkshire Terrier. It was quite hard to make this with just a few measurements; I would have liked the dog to have tried it on part-way through, but as she lives in Taiwan that just wasn't possible! My customer has assured me that she'll take a photo of the dog in her funky bright sweater when she visits home next month - I can't wait, I think she'll look fab - I just hope it fits...!

I've also been making lots more spring chicks like this one. I think they're really cute and look great hung from drawer knobs and cupboard doors; they really brighten a room and add a sense of spring cheer. Lots more colours are available in my Folksy shop (or contact me if you'd prefer another combination).

Last week I bought a fab book on amigurumi. The idea for these cute knitted/crocheted soft toys comes from Japan but it's now a worldwide craze - aren't they just gorgeous?! I've been learning the basics this week, and now I'm starting to play around with my own designs. I love these brightly coloured yarns too - another cheery way to brighten your day!

And the Lucky Giveaway Winner is...

That's it.

It's all over.

You've had your chance to enter my first ever giveaway.

And now the time has come to choose the winner.

So in the interests of fairness and impartially I asked the Random Number Generator to come up with a number between 1 and 389 (includes giveaway comments, blog followers and facebook fans).

And it comes up with... No. 3!

So please give it up for:

Charlotte of Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics.

Woo hoo! Congratulations Charlotte!!

The crocheted goodies will be winging their way to you in the next day or so (just as soon as I get your address!)

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave comments; thoughtful, sentimental, funny - it was so interesting to read them all. And thanks to all of my followers and fans, old and new - it's great to know that I'm not talking to myself!!

Congratulations to my 100th Follower!

I was so chuffed last week when I realised that the Bliss Knits blog had reached the fantastic milestone of 100 followers. I thought it was reason to celebrate, so this sweet crocheted birdie is now winging its way (pun intended!) to my lucky 100th follower, ejcameron.

I love these cute little birdies and have made a few in different colours for my Folksy shop. I thought yellow and white would be nice, fresh, sunny colours; a definite harbinger of spring!

The inspiration for these sweet birds came from a lovely lady over at Attic24. Lucy's blog is full of amazing colours and photos of her gorgeous crocheted makes. She chats about family life, the delights (and trials) of bringing up a newborn and two young children, interspersed with beautiful photos of her stunning home, things she loves, sweet treats that she's baked, and her fabulously bright and cheerful crochet.

Lucy often posts crochet tutorials too and it was this one that I loved so much. I was a bit dubious about making some of these birds to sell as I didn't want to breach Lucy's copyright, but she very kindly agreed to my request. I've tried to make the birdies a bit different to hers, using different crochet stitches and adding button and ribbon embellishments instead of the crocheted features, and I think they look great!

If you'd like to own one yourself (and can't/don't have the time to make one), check out my Folksy shop (with more colours and designs to follow) or watch this space... a giveaway is coming VERY SOON!

Baby Bunting Arrives in Oz

Regular readers may remember me mentioning some Baby Bunting that I was making for a friend of a friend - to give to her friend who had just had a baby girl. Well it's all finished now and hanging on a nursery wall in Sydney, Australia.

This is the lovely soft DK yarn that I started with, in delicate pastel shades to match the baby's nursery.

I knitted nine flags in all, in shades of light and mid pink with alternating white; with a crocheted edging around each flag in mint green. I then crocheted some letters for the baby's name - CECILIA - also in the mint green yarn; these were then stitched onto the relevant colour flag. The flags were then backed with white felt to secure the stitching further and to make each flag more robust, and then they were all attached together with some more crocheted cord, in the mid pink yarn.

And here's the final bunting hanging on my living room wall.

Angie, who commissioned the bunting, wrote me a lovely email once it had arrived two weeks later (not bad considering it was over the Christmas and New Year period). She thought that the bunting was '...absolutely fabulous. Honestly, it's even more gorgeous than I had expected and I know Ali is going to really love it. I can't wait to give it to her!'

It would be great to see a photo of the bunting in situ, but really I'm just so pleased that Angie loves it - and hopefully Ali and Cecilia will too. It's lovely to think that my work may be gracing the walls of Cecilia's bedroom in Australia for years to come.

A crafty lunch

I spent a lovely lunch hour today with fellow crafty colleagues. There are ten of us in the group who meet every three weeks at a local cafe for our Knit & Natter session. Even though we all work for the same company we work in different departments so tend not to see each other on a day-to-day basis, and it's great to meet up with like-minded people for a coffee and a chat. Due to work commitments and holidays there were only seven of us today, but one of the girls bolstered numbers by bringing her sister and a friend along.

Today I showed off my bunting work-in-progress. Everyone loved the bright colours and all agreed that it would look really cheery on the stall and attract people's attention. The separate flags are curling up quite a lot though so I'm going to have to use iron-on interfacing or stitch some felt to the back to stablise the individual shapes. I'll try and take some photos over the weekend to let you see how they're looking.

So what about the others in the group?

Anna is a really prolific knitter and always has some new garment on her needles. She has even been known to knit in presentations at work as she is one of those clever knitters who doesn't need to look at her work as she's knitting! Today though she was teaching her friend how to knit with chunky needles and a gorgeous, soft blue/pink/cream mix yarn.

As well as knitting a few rows of my latest bunting flag, I helped Rebecca to take up knitting again today. She vaguely remembered the odd knitting lesson at school but hadn't done it since then, and her interest was sparked when she came to our last K&N session 'just for a look'. The memories were obviously waiting quietly in the filing cabinet drawer of the mind marked 'knitting' though, as she picked up the different basic stitches straight away - cable cast on, knit and purl stitches. She's going to spend the weekend experimenting with making stripes and ribbing by alternating the knit and purl stitches.

Sue has a habit of forgetting when our group meets so she rarely brings along anything on the day! She's been inspired to take up crochet again though. Her enthusiasm is infectious; she's so interested in other people and what they're doing, asking about different techniques and crafting materials.

Steph was knitting a Dalek today. We're all really impressed with Steph as she has only taken up knitting recently (after a brief furore with a baggy jumper in the distant past!) but being a beginner does not stand in her way. If she sees a pattern she likes, she'll go for it, no matter how hard it looks. Steph's first item was a gorgeous black cardigan with frilly edges for a friend's wedding (the deadline was too tight for the wedding but she perservered and DID finish it after a couple of problems). After the cardi, Steph turned back to her love of crochet to create a similar bag to one I did in the summer (but in lovely warm and muted colours) from Simply Knitting mag. She's now trying to have some fun with her knitting by making the Dalek. Even though the pattern calls for stitching in the round (a technique she's never tried) and knitting bobbles (a stitch she's never tried) Steph is knitting the Dalek for a birthday gift in two weeks time. No pressure then! I think Steph is such an inspiration, she's so enthusiastic and willing to give anything a go.

It's not just about knitting though; Emma spent her lunch hour working on her beautiful embroidered bookmark. It's a close-up of a forest with embroidered tree trunks and hundreds of beads making up the forest floor and the tree foliage. It was started a couple of years ago, then was put down and almost forgotten about; but Emma was inspired to pick it up again when our group started. It's going to be fabulous when it's finished!

Ruth didn't have anything with her today but she's usually working on some exquisite piece of embroidery too - often goldwork. I just found out today that she has a blog too. It's a really interesting technical 'how to' blog, detailing the fabulous commission from the Northumbrian Association that she's working on: to make a replica of a lost Medieval processional banner dedicated to St Cuthbert, for presentation to Durham Cathedral. Wow! As well as some smaller projects such as these fantastic goldwork dodecahedrons.

I find these K&N sessions to be so interesting: it gives you a chance to show off your latest project and to be inspired by what other people have on their needles; to ask for help with problems and to be able to help with ideas when someone else has a query; to look at magazines and books recommended by others; and above all to socialise with like-minded people, to take an interest in their lives as well as their craft interests - and it's fun!

Birthday presents for my big sis

Happy Birthday Sis!

And now that the birthday girl has opened her pressies I can tell you what I bought...

These gorgeous, sparkly Citrus Twist Earrings from Pretty Little Things.

Which came prettily packaged in this sweet little box.

And this useful and really attractive crochet hook holder from Nics Knots.

My sister loves to crochet and she adores poppies so I thought that this was the ideal gift for her.

She also got this crochet book, which I bought at the Pins & Needles Show way back in April and she's been dying to get her mitts on it ever since!

Diane was also the lucky recipient of one of my knitted scarves! Niece Sarah bought Comfort Scarf off me for her mum.

I knitted it ages ago, and Diane loved it and coveted it so I made sure that no one else got there hands on it before she did.

Happy Birthday Sis - hope you enjoy wearing...using...reading your presents!

Making, eating and reading

It was so lovely to have a long weekend away from work over the Bank Holiday. I made some spooky Halloween brooches - here's some of the making-up process... (and click on the link to see the final items in my Folksy shop).





I also enjoyed pottering in the garden on the one day we had decent weather; and spent some time with my family. My brother and his wife, who live near Aberdeen, are staying with Mam this week. They met me from work last night and we had a lovely pub meal in Newcastle (Surf 'n' Turf for me - delicious!) and a good old chinwag. My brother and I email and chat regularly but I haven't spoken to his wife for ages so it was great to catch-up on all the gossip.

I managed to sneak a bit of reading in over the weekend too - I finished 'The Surgeon', so that brings my total to 24 books read this year so far. Not as many as I'd like to read, but not bad considering I usually only read on the relatively short bus journey to and from work. Hubby and I are off for a week's break in Corfu soon so I'm hoping I can fit in a couple more books then.

The Surgeon is Tess Gerritsen's first book in the Detective Jane Rizzoli series. I thought that the Rizzoli character played a fairly small part in this novel though, with the main interest being between her homicide partner (Saint) Thomas Moore and his relationship with Dr. Catherine Cordell, the main focus of the serial killers' attention. Cordell was attacked by a serial killer two years prior, but those murders were brought to a halt when she shot him dead. So who is the new killer and how does he know so much about her and the previous murders?

Gerritsen's story is told through the well-rounded characters - the warring and grieving detectives, the traumatised and terrified victims and the chilling killer himself. The descriptions of the crime scenes and the murders are shocking in their detail (Gerritsen was a medic so she knows her stuff), and it is quite disturbing to listen to the killer's actual thought processes, but it's a great psychological/forensic novel full of supense - a definite page-turner.

I've now started 'In Cold Domain' by Anne Fine. I try to intersperse the crime novels with something a bit lighter so I don't get too scared and depressed! What books have you read lately? Any recommendations?

Why do I always leave things til the last minute?

I remember a teacher writing on a school report that I was 'easily distracted'. And I'm afraid that about 30 years later I still am!

Here's a lovely baby knit that I made for a work colleague this week. The design was from Let's Knit magazine's Natural Knits extra pattern book (July 2009).

I found that the instructions were quite confusing in a couple of places, but that could be the hour of the day that I was making it...

I started the design last week, but as already mentioned, I get easily distracted and wandered off to crochet a cupcake for my niece's birthday (see previous blog), and then I twittered, and blogged, and joined in the forums on Folksy. Honestly I spend more time on the laptop now than I actually do making stuff.

Anyway, I finished the baby tank top at 12.45am on Wednesday, ready to give to Jolene that day at work as she's on maternity leave from today (Friday) but I had Thurs and Fri off. Talk about leaving it to the last minute!

Jolene was thrilled with it, so that was a huge relief. And she's promised that her little one will send in a photo for my blog when he arrives!

Sorry for the quality of the photos - 12.45am is not the ideal time for snapping!

Must not be so easily distracted next time...

Handmade gifts for the birthday girl

Both of my nieces love to get 'bits and pieces' for their birthdays and Christmas, and I enjoy visiting craft fairs and independent shops, so all year round I'm on the lookout for handcrafted gifts that they'll love. Websites like Folksy are also great for a browse in a rainy lunch hour. It's just like one massive shopping mall, but the difference is that everything is lovingly handmade. Fantastic for that unique gift!

As I've mentioned previously, it was my eldest niece Louise's birthday last week and this is the bits and pieces selection that she got this year. She seemed really thrilled with everything I chose.

I bought this gorgeous purse from Dinky Daisy on Folksy. The beautifully made cotton purse is fully lined and is decorated with crocheted flowers, embroidery and a sweet little butterfly charm. I love the delicate colours, and all the different textures and details.


It came really prettily wrapped too.


Hubby and I spent a great week in Polruan, Cornwall in June. As well as the spectacular coastline, fantastic gardens and charming villages, I love to visit the gift shops and galleries, looking for that special something that I know a friend or relative will adore.

This necklace came from one such shop - Bibi in Fowey. A great little shop selling an eclectic mix of accessories and gift ideas. The different shades of green mixed with the old gold look stunning, I think.


Louise loves her cuddlies, so as soon as I saw the sock bunnies from The Warren on Folksy I knew I'd have to pick one for her birthday. She loves pink too, so Checker Bunny and Baby Pinky seemed like the ideal choice.


But you don't just get a bunny in her sleeping bag, you get a postcard, badge and sticker too, with a request to keep in touch with the other bunnies back at The Warren via the Widget and Friends blog. I'm sure Louise will have great fun taking photos of Checker Bunny when she jets off to Australia soon.


And the last gift was made by myself - a tasty looking birthday cupcake, from a pattern in Let's Get Crafting! magazine (crochet edition). There were four different crocheted cakes to choose from, and the instructions were really easy to understand. I changed the colours to use what yarn I had available, and I mixed and matched the techniques to give an individual cake. I think the finished item looks absolutely gorgeous - delicate pastry, juicy fruit and luscious cream - Mmmmm!



I've already got one thing for my other niece's birthday, but I've got plenty of time to get a few other gifts as it's not Sarah's birthday until December.

And that's when Folksy will really come into it's own - no more trudging through the snow to go Christmas shopping, or braving cold winds and driving rain; no screaming kids and frustrated shoppers - I can just sit nice and warm and dry at home, with a glass of wine in one hand and a credit card in the other...