Butterfly Baby Jacket & Ripple Baby Hat

I recently made this sweet little

Butterfly Baby Jacket

and Ripple Baby Hat

for the sweetest little baby in our church

Making baby items is such a pleasing thing to do :)
The Butterfly Baby jacket pattern was in Australian Knitting, Summer 2010 Magazine

& the Ripple Baby Hat pattern can be found on Ravelry :)

I actually made these a couple of weeks ago,

I've been a little quiet on the crochet front since then as I have tendonitis in my right arm :(

Its a combination of a few things I do on a daily/weekly basis :( Unfortunately the crochet seems to make it ache even more and nothing but resting my arm seems to fix it! So annoying as I am so close to finishing a couple of projects...Hopefully it will be back to normal very soon!

I hope you are all have a great weekend

~ Gillian ♥

Seaside Tote.....

this is my version of

the Seaside Tote

designed by Stephanie Gage
It is a brilliant little tote/bag to hook, I made this one for my mother-in-law :)

I held two yarns together to make the fabric - Patons Smoothie DK & Sullivans Crochet & Knitting Cotton and used 5mm hook, which made a great fabric for the bag.

I made a couple of small additions - the flap, I made the handles a little longer, I lined the bag and added a magnetic catch to the flap. Details of these are on my ravelry page :)

You can find the pattern on

Ravelry & on Stephanie's blog

Have a wonderful day!

~ Gillian ♥

Shawl no.4......

This is another shawl I have just finished for my mum

This was the a lovely shawl to crochet

I love how the pattern changed throughout

the main body of the shawl keeping it interesting and fun.

Yarn used was - 5 x 100gm Lincraft Surprise Yarn in Sunset

Called the Juliette Shawl it was designed by Dora Ohrenstein

the pattern can be found in the book below

I really love that green scarf/stole on the front cover as well...

might have to put it on the 'to-do' list ;)

so it is needless to say not much else has been crocheted, including my block of the week project....which I think I'll need to change the name of soon to block of the month or even bi-monthly block - oh well, I'm having fun with my hook and that's the main thing isn't it ;)

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Have a lovely week

~ Gillian ♥

Shawl no.3......

I ♥ Crochet ShawlsI made this sweet one for my little miss 10
Being a shorter shawl it is quite versatile and she loves experimenting with ways to wear it, I must admit I enjoyed doing the same when I was photographing it :)
For the body of the shawl I used a pattern I found on Ravelry by Sharon Maher

The shawl is called 'It's just a triangle' and is a fantastic shawl for a beginner.

You can find the pattern on

Ravelry and on Laughing Purple Goldfish

Sharon has provided an Excellent tutorial :)
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For the edging I wanted something very feminine and pretty

and I was recently given some of

my Nannas & Andrew's Grandmas crochet books - what a joy!

Most of them are lovely old Australian and English patterns.

I found the pattern for the edging in a very old Myart book

Crochet Edges by Myart 7th Edition Book No.2

(If you click on the pattern it will make it larger)

I love that it looks quite complex but is actually quite much simpler than it looks.

I found the pattern terms are in UK/Australian terms and they are slightly different to what I am used to...But easy enough to work out.

d = dc UK/Australian (sc US)

Ltr = dtr UK/Australian (tr US)

For this shawl I used Paton's Australia Sorrento yarn & a 4.5mm hook :)

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Hope you are having a lovely day

~ Gillian ♥

second shawl......

Morning Has Broken Shawl no.2

Although I haven't been blogging much lately

or even visiting some of my favourite blogs,

my hook has been very busy.....

I have a few projects to share over the coming week.

I made this shawl for my mother,

She chose the yarn primarily to match her lounge room

as this shawl is to sit on by her armchair

to throw over her shoulders during the winter months

while she is relaxing in the lounge room.

I used the same pattern as my first shawl

all the pattern details are listed in that post :)

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Have a wonderful day
~ Gillian ♥

Fezzes are cool......

It’s a fez, I wear fezzes now….fezzes are cool!lol! actually it's not me who is fez mad....

If you are a Whovian, or at the very least watch a little Dr Who

You will understand the Fez Love ;)

Lachlan turned 12 last week

and not only does he collect hats

but he has started watching Dr Who.

so of course I had to make him a Fez!

Here's a youtube video of part of the Fez episode if you missed it ;)

It was a fun surprise for him on the morning of his b'day.

The original pattern was for a toilet roll cover, but the instructions make it easy for you to make your fez what ever size you want it to be :)

Thank you to Denise Plourde for making this fun pattern available!

you can find the pattern

on Ravelry & on Irish Lace.net

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Life is starting to get back to normal now after a few weeks school holidays and Andrew having some time off work also,

it was so lovely to have everyone at home for a lovely relaxed break :)

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Praying for all those in southern US

as you as you recover from the terrible tornadoes you have had,

our hearts go out to all who have lost loved ones,

homes & other property x
~ Gillian ♥

Kirby.....

Our home is no stranger to the world gaming
and one of the cutest characters has to be Kirby!

I'm still a beginner at amigurmi and was quite unsure when it was suggested it would be awesome if I could make this little guy.....
closely followed by
"and mum, if you do make him....
do you think you could PLEASE make the Mario hat for him as well"?
Well whats a mum to do? :)
You have to admit he does look very cute in Mario's hat!
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A Big thank you to Emjay Bailey for sharing this fabulous pattern it was very easy to follow for a beginner! I had not done INVDEC until making this pattern, but thanks to Emjay having a great tutorial on her youtube channel (there is a link to it on her blog where the pattern is)
I quickly learnt how to do it :)

You can find the pattern on
Ravelry and on Emjay's blog Nerdigurumi
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~ Gillian ♥

my giant granny square.....

I always have a few projects on the go at once....

on the weekend I started a giant granny square blanket,

I wanted something that I could pick up at any stage

and hook without counting or concentrating.

I started out using the 5ply cotton/acrylic in a single strand with a 4.5mm hook

and it worked up beautifully soft but I wasn't happy with the look of it....

So I unpulled what I had started and held two strands together and started hooking with a 6mm hook. I'm much happier with this effect and looking forward to working on it over the coming weeks and watching it grow.

It reminds me of that lovely red & white packing string :)

Hope your week is off to a lovely start

~ Gillian ♥

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 ♥

look what lives in my street....

a beautiful Koala I've been trying to get a photo of one of the koalas from our street for years.

(if you click on the photos if you'd like to see more detail)

This lovely big fella ran up our street past our home yesterday evening at about 5.30pm.

They don't hang around very long on the ground,

because of the dogs and other dangers

in his haste he climbed up this pine tree (I think it is)

definitely not the eucalyptus tree he normally heads for.

This tree is in the middle of a couple of large eucalyptus trees

that the few koalas we have in our neighbourhood frequent.

I think it is a male, as he is very large.

I ran across the road to see if I could grab a photo

and he sat and looked at me for about 30 seconds

before climbing up the tree - yay!

What a joy :)

have a happy day ~ Gillian ♥

little bunny blanket....

When I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it!!!

this afternoon my little miss and I are attending a baby shower

for a lovely lady from our church so a bunny blanket just had to be made.

Made using two strands of Sullivans Coton-a

held together and crocheted with a 6mm hook.

and a great pattern! I love the little hands that are tied into knots :)

Pattern can be found on

Ravelry & on the Lion Brand Website

I just wanted to say a huge Thank you to all of those who left comments

on the shawl in my last post,

It was a birthday gift for my Mother In Law and she loved it :)

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We've had a great week and a bit, with grandparents visiting, an Easter hat parade, end of school term festivities....and I have been busy making a couple of other projects!

I seemed to have missed my block of the week project this week,

maybe I'll get two blocks done this coming week.

lots of excitement in my home today as its the first day of school holidays - yay :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend

~ Gillian ♥

first shawl.....

I'm very pleased with my latest project

~ Morning Has Broken Prayer Shawl ~ This is the first time I have crocheted a shawl and now I understand the passion people have for making them....it really was a joy from start to finish!

I found this lovely pattern on Ravelry

by Kelly Surace

made using 4 x balls of Lincraft Surprise 'sunset'

and a 5mm hook.

I did alter the pattern a little,

I used a smaller hook so that the pattern was a little tighter.

and I put a different edging on all three sides.

my edging I crocheted a shell border consisting of 2sc,1dc,2sc in first space, 1sc in next space, continue until you reach the centre point

& For Centre Point - in point stitch work 2sc in first space of point stitch, 3dc in centre of point stitch, 2sc in 3rd space of point stitch. (US terms)

You can find the pattern on Ravelry

Here

Thank you so much Kelly for sharing this lovely pattern :)

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Have a wonderful day

~ 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 ♥

party fun.....

It's not every day your little girl turns 10....

So I made some sweet little brooches for the girls attending the party that looked super cute on the party boxes....
and the little girls who attended all enjoyed wearing them at the party.
Georgia and I also made these lovely tissue paper flowers together
for the centre of the table.
They were very simple to make & looked so pretty :)

all the girls got to take one home with them when they left the party.

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the crochet flower brooches are very simple too.

I used 5ply cotton/acrylic blend.

the pattern is from this Beret pattern

(the instructions are at the very bottom of the pattern)

on the lincraft website

for the paper flowers

I found this youtube video with easy instructions

click here

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back hopefully tomorrow with my block of the week ;)

have a wonderful weekend

~ Gillian ♥

Who said Granny's don't look good in Denim?

5 pairs of denim jeans

+ 1 size 15mm crochet hook

+ one tired arm

= a new bath mat for my boys :) Well it is finished.....

I've wanted to make something with the old pairs of jeans in my wardrobe for a little while now....so thinking that I'll probably use about 3 pairs for this bath mat I started cutting them up.

Of course things like this always use more supplies

than you will think they will ;)

So I ended up cutting 5 pairs of old jeans.

Crocheting with cut up jeans, seams and all...

is a little tougher on the arms and wrists than normal crochet,

but you do cover a lot of ground quickly.
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If you are interested, here is what I did.

Starting with the jeans - Use scissors to cut the hem off the bottom of each leg, then cut up the leg in a spiral till you reached the crotch, cut off this piece from the jeans, Roll into ball.

You don't have to worry too much about how straight your cutting is, just do your best to keep it a similar width so that your granny square stays neat and square.

Cut the other leg the same way, sew onto the end of the previous ball with sewing machine (I stitched back and forwards across the join several times and trimmed excess seam) roll onto the ball you have already made, making sure when you join each length the right sides face each other and the seam is on the wrong side.

As you use up each length you can just cut more jeans, and roll them up into balls sew the balls onto the denim yarn end when you are near to crocheting it.

I found working in smaller balls (one or two legs at a time) stopped the yarn from twisting.

Now your denim yarn is ready you can crochet it how ever you like...

I chose a simple granny square as I wanted a square bath mat for the boys.

once it was the right size, mine is 55cm square.

I crocheted a round of dc (UK terms) or sc (US terms)

give it a bit of a tug to make it nice and square and you are finished!
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I hope you are having a creative week

~ Gillian ♥

my boy has a new scarf.....

Lachlan asked me to make him a for a scarf for winter

I searched for a pattern that I thought would suit him

and failed to find the right one.

Knowing he wanted a simple design,

that was NOT scratchy (lol!)

in his colour choice of grey this is what I came up with.

It is very easy and definitely a beginner crochet design
simple and easy to make with any yarn or hook size,
with appropriate adjustments made to suit your choice.
Measuring approx 170cm x 12cm
we think it suits a 12 year old boy perfectly.

I used DK weight acrylic yarn
and a size 4.5mm hook
180gms of yarn used
UK terms used

I chained 20 + 2
htr into 3rd chain from hook, htr to end, chain 2, turn
*htr to end, chain 2 and turn repeat from *
till desired length....
when finished dc around edge

for corners work 1dc, chain 2, 1dc.

The edging of dc keeps the scarf simple and masculine.
htr (UK terms) = hdc (US terms)
dc (UK terms) = sc (US terms)
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I mentioned in my previous post I'm working on an upcycled project
it's almost finished :)
here is a photo of it in the early stages.....
I ♥ wooden hooks :)

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Our hearts go out to all in Japan,
know that you are in our prayers.

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 ♥

I ♥ making cards......

We have a church family camp this month and the card above is for the lovely couple who run the children's activities and the card below is for our guest speaker.
It feels like it has been ages since I have sat at my card making desk
and created anything with paper......
I must say it did feel good!
but I had forgotten how messy I can make a my desk!

So happy my favourite season Autumn has arrived :)
have a lovely day
~ Gillian ♥