Block no.16 & 17

For Block no. 16

in my Block of the Week Project

I made this lovely block called

Blushing Bride Square

Designed by

Heather Prusia

I enjoyed making this one VERY much

Thank you so much Heather it is a really beautiful block and I know it will always be one of my favourite ones in my blanket when it is finished :)

You can find the pattern on

Ravelry & also on Heather's Blog The Good Life

Block no.17 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #100 Pastel Delight from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This was a pretty easy block,

I am so thrilled with how my collection of blocks is growing :D

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend,

It is a cool rainy day here today....

might just have to settle into some more crochet!

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.15

Block no.15 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #64 Sunshine Lace

from the book 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This was a lovely simple block, the only change I made to it was on the final round I worked 2tr,2ch,2tr into the corners as I wanted my corners to be a little more 'square' than they were in the book.

I'm thrilled to have finished my very first crocheted shawl yesterday, and am hoping the sun will come out a little more today or tomorrow so I can photograph it and show you :)

Have a lovely week ~ Gillian ♥

block no.14

I'm playing a little bit of catch up on some of my block of the week squares

and this time for something different I am using a block I found on Ravelry

Block no.14 in my
Block of the Week Project
I made block
Nuthatch
by Kim at eggbird designs

This is a very cute block! Kim has provided very clear and easy to follow instructions on her blog with lots of photos, so it is easy enough even for a beginner to follow along.
I added two extra rounds of tr (uk terms) with 2tr, 2ch, 2tr in the corners. This made it the same size as my other blocks in the project.
Pattern can be found on
Ravelry & on eggbird designs

Thank you so much Kim for providing such a sweet block and great instructions :)
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I hope everyone is having a great day
~ Gillian ♥

Block no.13......

Block no.13 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block

#19 Lacy Cross
from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This is such an easy block

and works up very quickly.

I found a gorgeous cushion on Ravelry made using this block by

Ravelry member 'rose-dew-drops'

if you are a member you can see it here

It is such a beautiful use of this pattern.

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Apologies for being a little slack with my Block of the week project this month...

but life sometimes gets a little busy ;)

I hope you are all having a wonderfully creative week

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.12......

Block no.12 in my
Block of the Week Project
I made block #86 Sunray

from the book
200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

I really enjoyed this block,
made using dtr, tr, dc, htr (english terms)
it was fun and kept me counting but wasn't hard.
I love the way the centre starts off as a circle
and then turns into a square due to the way the different stitches are used.
I'd like to make this one again soon, but with some extra colour rounds
to make the circles in the pattern stand out a little better.
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I missed my block last week, as we had a very busy week
and had our church camp on the weekend, which was wonderful :)
so apologies if you were waiting for last weeks block to be blogged about,
but from time to time this will probably happen ;)
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I'm working on a little 'upcycled' crochet project at the moment also which I am looking forward to sharing with you all over the next couple of days :)
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I hope you are having a creative week
~ Gillian ♥

Block no.11....

Block no.11 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #197 Fretwork
from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This wasn't too hard to make,

although for some reason I had to undo the light blue round several times I think it had something to do with the fact I was chatting while making it ;)

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Like everyone around the world our hearts wept

when we heard about the earthquake in New Zealand,

We have been watching the heart breaking news unfold daily.

To all those in Christchurch, The Canterbury Region

and the entire country of New Zealand

our prayers and thoughts are with you.

May you find strength to cope in the days, months and years ahead xxx

Block no.10......

Block no.10 in my
Block of the Week Project
I made block #13 Circle in a Square

from the book
200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

Love....love...love this block!

it was quite a bit easier than it looks also.

I added one extra round of dc (uk terms)

so that it would be the right size.

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I've been asked a few questions in my past posts about

My Block of the week project and I have answered them in the comments each time I am asked...but I thought I might just answer some common ones below :)

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~ This is a Fun project - so I don't have many rules except for trying to complete one block a week...but this is not always possible as I have already found out soon after I started, but where possible I will try.

~ This is a project I started myself to help me learn more about crochet and the various stitches and patterns available.

~ At this stage I am using blocks from the 200 crochet block book by Jan Eaton, but I may add a few different ones in from time to time....

~ I am going to make a blanket for my home with the squares when I feel I have enough.

~ I am using Cleckheaton Country 8ply & Cleckheaton Country Naturals 8ply Wool

~ I am using 4.00mm & 4.5mm hook

~ My squares are all approx 14cm x 14cm

~ I have found the 'in the round' squares easiest to make to the correct size, and have had to alter the foundation chain on the squares made by the row...Yes this is frustrating at times, but I am doing this project to learn and this is all part of learning ;)

~ I have extra photos of each block on my ravelry projects page and extra notes when I have found an issue or changed the pattern in some way.

I think that covers most of the questions I have had so far :)

I hope you are having a creative week

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.9......

Block no.9 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #137 Criss Cross
from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

Found this a great block to crochet, easy and quick

- just what I needed this week as I have a sore thumb,

and didn't think I could tackle one of the more complicated blocks.

It is very similar to the Square Target Block form the book,

but I do like the extra eyelet on each side of this square.

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I hope you are having a lovely weekend,

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.8......

Block no.8 in my
Block of the Week Project
I made block #9 Arcadia

from the book
200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This was my first 'two hook' block from the book,

(I didn't actually use 2 hooks, by the way...

its just how they show the skill level in the book

- just thought I should mention that..lol!)

so it was a little more advanced than any of my previous blocks.

But still easy enough to complete and very enjoyable :)

I'd love to make an afghan made only using these blocks

~ adding that to my Crochet 'to-do' list....

Thank you so much for visiting,

Have a great weekend!

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.7.....

Block no.7 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #2 Tiny Textures

from the book

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

This is a wonderful pattern, simple and quick to work up.

I also love this gorgeous soft blue

Cleckheaton Country wool.

It's been a fun week here,

with our kids final week of school holidays drawing to a close

and Australia Day yesterday...

and I have even managed to crochet 26 squares already for

Crochet a Rainbow

with more to come over the next couple of weeks :)

I hope you are having a lovely week,

Thanks so much for visiting!

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.6......

Block no.6 in my

Block of the Week Project
I made block #61 Nine Patch Granny
from the book
200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

this was fun, the finished block measures

14 x 14cm

Wouldn't this block make the cutest dolls quilt for a baby doll,

But I think 5 x 7 little granny squares joined together

and of course in little girl friendly colours :)

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Thank you so much for visiting I hope you have a great day!

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.5.....

Block no.5 in my
Block of the Week Project

I made block #3 Square Target

from the book

200 Crochet Blocks
by Jan Eaton

I know this will be a block I will use block again in future projects,

as it was very simple and quick.

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And now for some new Book Love

My Brother & Sister in law
recently gave me this scrumptious book

there are some truly gorgeous afghans in it
like this one.....
oh and this!
so much to crochet, so little time :D

I hope you are having a lovely day

however you choose to spend it

~ Gillian ♥

Block no.4.....

Block no.4 in my

Block of the Week ProjectI made block #129 Anemone
from the book
200 Crochet Blocks

by Jan Eaton

This one was quite bumpy I have blocked it but it still remains a little bumpy,
I'm sure when it is joined into the blanket with the other squares it be fine :)
I really love the way the Green round works on this square
and found it quite simple to crochet.

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I do want to thank all who expressed sympathy

after the passing of my dear Nanna,
She was a tremendous loss to our family

and it warmed my heart greatly to read the lovely comments

by those who read my blog, love to you all x

Thank You so much for visiting
I hope you all have a
Very Happy New Year
~ Gillian ♥

Block no.3.....

Block no.3 in my

Block of the Week Project

I made block #145 Chocolate Box

from the book

200 Crochet Blocks

by Jan Eaton

I really love this block.....

it's a very clever twist on the traditional Granny Square

and works up really quickly and is very easy.

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I am trying to finish off the striped cushion this week,

it seems to be taking a lot longer than I thought it would to complete

and because of this I am easily distracted from it!

But I must get it finished as Jacob is keen to claim it for his room :)

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I also wanted to show you these lovely little

Noisy Miner Chicks

Manorian melanocephala

This nest is very close to our front verandah, it has been a joy to watch the adult birds build the nest and then to watch these sweet little chicks grow, I've been trying for a bit over a week to get a good photo of them to share with you all and finally today I managed to get one, it helps that they have grown a bit and are now easier to see :)

And here is one of the adult birds back with a little food for them.

I wish I had a big zoom lens so I could really photograph them properly and study them a little more, they have nested in one of our melaleuca trees.

I found this interesting info in -

The Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds

Only female builds a nest, but males occasionally carry materials - although not necessarily to the nest site. As many as 10 or more males visit a single nest while it contains eggs and most of these participate in the feeding of the nestlings. In a single nesting season, one female may been helped by as many as 24 males.

Thank you so much for visiting today

I hope you are having a great week.

~ Gillian ♥

my second block......

I am really enjoying my

Block of the Week Project
I am starting on some of the more simple blocks in the book

which I think will be a good way to work up to some of those

pretty tricky looking ones ;)

I loved hooking my Block no.2
#101 Into the Blue

Starting off with a circle in round one and then turning into a square,

Stitched in Treble (UK/AUS terms)

I really liked the corners on this block, although in my photos they don't show up as clearly as they do in the book (as you can see in the photo below) but I think they will be more clearly visible when the blocks are joined.

It was quite easy to hook and worked up reasonably quickly as well.

A Big Thank you to all of those who visit my blog

and to those who leave comments ♥

I hope you are having a happy day!

~ Gillian :)

My Block a Week Project...

Since I blogged about my new

200 crochet blocks

by Jan Eaton

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

in my Block of the Week Project

#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

book love.....

I am really pleased to have added two new books to my crochet library.

The first is

Gifted - lovely little things to knit & crochet

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.

I would love to work my way through it block by block

(although this is probably only a crochet addicts dream......)

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 :)