Thursday, October 28, 2010

My Block a Week Project...

Since I blogged about my new
I've been thinking about working my way through it block by block,
while I'm not sure if I can achieve crocheting all 200 blocks
I thought I will have a go at making One Block a Week.
I'm not sure how many I will make at this stage
but it will be at least enough for an afghan
and along the way I look forward to learning
lots of new stitches and techniques.
I also thought that in keeping it limited to One Block a Week
meant that it wouldn't interrupt my other projects I am currently working on
and will keep me excited as I know I will look forward to doing the next one.
- Well that is the plan anyway ;)
I should also add that I will not be doing them in order,
this is meant to be a fun project and part of that fun for me will be picking which block I do just before I start each week, and I'll also be leaving out some of the ones that don't appeal to me ;)
So here is my block no.1
#93 Sequenced Stripes
I really liked the look of this pattern in the book, and loved crocheting it!
it was quite easy and a great one to get me excited about this project.

Thank you so much for visiting
~ Gillian

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

little ipod pouch

Recently My eldest son purchased a new whiz bang ipod touch
and of course he no longer needed his old ipod
so it was passed onto his little sister :)
But to make her feel like it really truly is hers
I made her this little ipod pouch :)
I used the left over Surprise yarn from the granny slippers
I made her a few posts down
So now she can slide around on the floor boards
in her slippers listening to her tunes in style ;)

as you can probably see it is made up of two little granny squares

Crocheted together on the sides and bottom with DC (eng/au)
and then rows of DC (eng/au) around the top
with a button loop and a little loop on the side to attach to her lanyard
also, a little opening at the bottom needs to be made
for the earphones to plug in,
this was formed by Slip Stitching a couple of stitches
when when joining the front and back together.
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It has been fun making lots of little projects at the moment,
have also been busy crocheting more washcloths
but I must get back into the striped cushion
and finish that off over the next week it.

Have a lovely week everyone
and thank you so much for visiting me ♥

Monday, October 25, 2010

book love.....

I am really pleased to have added two new books to my crochet library.
The first is
by Mags Kandis

which my lovely friend Catherine recently 'gifted' to me ♥
It is just the most darling book!!!
so many fabulous things to make
and I love that it celebrates gifting handmade things :)
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And today my copy of
200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws and afghans
by Jan Eaton
arrived :)
I've been looking forward to this one coming
and it is all I hoped it would be and more!
No wonder it has been reprinted so many times, it really is an amazing book.
can't wait to get crocheting with it ~ so much to learn!
I hope you can find a little time this week to pick up your favourite craft book
or magazine and learn a new technique or new craft.
until next time
happy crafting :)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

sweet softness.....

I have been admiring the beautiful Crocheted washcloths around the blogging world for a little while now and have wanted to have a go at them myself.
Well I finally joined in on this sweet crochet trend and made my very first set of washcloths.
I found this beautiful pattern while perusing the Ravelry site
it is a very simple pattern to follow so they work up quite quickly.
I will be making a few more of these to tuck away into some Christmas gifts this year.
Thank you so much to Helda for sharing this lovely pattern
and for providing such easy to follow instructions.
The Pattern can be found on
helda's blog Heldasland
and also on Ravelry


I hope you are all having a lovely week ♥

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Granny Slipper Love......

We are in Love
with Granny Slippers :)
I made these sweet little Granny Slippers
for Georgia today
using a brilliant pattern I purchased from
Michelle from The Royal Sisters Etsy Store

The yarn I used was 'Surprise by Lincraft'
it was so much fun watching the colours change as I crocheted Georgia's slippers
and I love that the colours are a little different on each slipper :)
Thank you so much Michelle for making another FABULOUS pattern!
Find the pattern at The Royal Sisters Etsy Store
Michelle's Blog The Royal Sisters
and on Ravelry
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Until next time
Stay Happy
Gillian ♥

Friday, October 15, 2010

Paper and Yarn....

My Eldest is turning 15 - gasp!
can't believe it
anyway, I needed to make a card for him
~ teenage boys...hmmmmmm
anyone who makes, cards knows cards for teenage boys can be as difficult
as sympathy cards to get your head around.
But it had to be done ;) lol!
So, here it is ~ Simple Clean Lines.
I was quite pleased to get a new phone a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to protect my new toy.
So finally plucked up the courage to have a go at making a cosy for it.
I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, it even matches my little coin pouch :)
I found a pattern on Yarn Pixies Blog
for an MP3 Pouch,
My phone was a little larger so I added a couple of extra rows
and a little 'pinkie finger loop' instead of the drawstring top on the original pattern.
You can find the pattern on
Yarn Pixies Blog
& on Ravelry

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Have a Creative weekend Everyone :)
and thanks so much for visiting me ♥

Thursday, October 14, 2010

sweet things.....

I just had to share these cute little coin purses I made last night
I used Melissa Mall's Pattern
These little pouches are so quick and easy to crochet and of course after I made one for myself I had to make one for my little miss.....
I threaded buttons onto the drawstrings on Georgia's little coin pouch.
For both little pouches I crocheted two different yarns together which makes the pouch quite sturdy and strong and gives a lovely interesting texture.
Thanks to Melissa for making this gorgeous little pattern I had so much fun making these two and I'm sure I'll be making some more very soon :)
Pattern can be found on Melissa's blog
and also on Ravelry
Thanks so much for visiting
I hope you are having a creative week
Gillian ♥

Monday, October 11, 2010

Making progress.....

I am indeed making progress on this striped cushion
It is a slow project but very enjoyable and rewarding.
All Double Crochet (uk/aust)
and beautiful crepe wool.
The front is now complete and I am working on the back which will be in two pieces which overlap and close with buttons & buttonholes -another first time technique for me
The children went back to school this morning after two weeks of school holidays so I thought I'd bake them a treat for their afternoon tea this afternoon
This is a new favourite of theirs

Muffin Carrot Cakes

recipe courtesy of The Australian Women's Weekly kids cooking book
I think they like the Cream Cheese Frosting the best ;)
Also this week
I decided I needed a couple of covered coat hangers for my wardrobe
and wondered if I could possibly make them myself
well I found a pattern and whipped these up plus 2 more.
It's been a great couple of weeks in our home

The kids as I mentioned have just had two weeks school holidays,
Andrew had three weeks of Annual leave,
we built another vegie garden,
had a couple of day trips, dined out a few times,
had my parents come and stay for a weekend,

And I celebrated my 40th birthday and it didn't hurt a bit! :)


Have a Blessed week everyone ♥