wool eater blanket CAL week 5

well it is MY week 5 anyway ;)

I'm a little behind the schedule...

but that is the beauty of this CAL

you are able to work at your own pace....

and start and finish whenever you feel like it.

So another 3 rounds of pattern complete and 

my wool eater is starting to get some size to it now.
(you can click on the image if you'd like to see it a little larger)

The three colours I added this week are

Gunmetal Grey, Medium Marl Grey, Curry.

It now measures 101cm square and weighs 793gms.

it is not to late to join in

details can be found here on Sarah's blog.

there is also a Ravelry group here for this CAL

Have a creative week everyone!

~ Gillian ♥

Rip Currents....

Please be informed about

Rip Currents

I found this great youtube by Surf Life Saving & UNSW.

Our 16yr old son had a frightening experience yesterday

with a Rip at our local beach, Fortunately he is safe but needed to be rescued and we were so thankful to the body boarder who helped him out. Tragedy was avoided and lessons were learnt.

Learning how to read the water and spot rip currents when swimming

on Australian Beaches is such an important life skill,  The beaches are

so beautiful and the last thing you want to do is avoid them.

But knowing how to spot a rip is one lesson we all should learn.

~ Gillian ♥ 

waiting for school to finish for the day....

This is a little something else I'm working on at the moment.

We took a day trip recently to Sydney

just for fun, went to some exhibits

ate some yummy food

looked at some cool shops

took in some views.

But its about a 4hour one way drive.

Yes I did say we took a day trip!

we drove down to Sydney in the morning

and came home the same day....

So that means a few hours of solid crochet in the car! :D

So I started this lovely pattern by May Cheang

it is called Dorothy's Tail Neckerchief

and it is sooooo much fun to crochet!

I love those little spikes :)

anyway, each afternoon...

 I pick my children up from school in my car, one I pick up from primary school and the other two from high school there is 10 minute wait between picking one up and the other two so I carry this project in a bag in my car and work a row or two while I wait, its easy enough to chat with my youngest and crochet while we wait for my sons to finish high school for the day.
I’m not in a rush to finish it as it is still summer here in Australia, and it is proving to be an excellent pattern to work this way.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry Here
or in May Cheang's Etsy Store Here

there is a small cost for the pattern, but it is very well written and easy to follow and well worth the small price.

Have a happy day

~ Gillian ♥

wool eater blanket CAL week 4

For week 3 of the Wool Eater Blanket CAL
(February 1st - 8th)
we were to add another 3 rounds of pattern...

I added medium marl grey, maroon (I actually think it is more of a dark plum but the name on the receipt for this colour was maroon) & Laguna (once again this was the name on the receipt but it is a medium teal/turquoise blue).
It now measures approx 87cm square and weighs approx 566gms.

it is not to late to join in
details can be found here on Sarah's blog.

there is also a Ravelry group here for this CAL

I hope you are having a nice week
~ Gillian ♥

wool eater blanket CAL week 3

For week 3 of the Wool Eater Blanket CAL
(January 25 - February 1)
we were to add another 3 rounds of pattern...

I added duck egg blue, olive green & light marl grey.
It now measures approx 69cm square and weighs approx 376gms.

it is not to late to join in
details can be found here on Sarah's blog.

there is also a Ravelry group here for this CAL

I hope you are having a creative week
~ Gillian ♥

wool eater blanket CAL week 2

For week 2 of the Wool Eater Blanket CAL
(January 18 - 25th)
we were to add another 4 rounds of pattern...

I added Gunmetal Grey, Teal, Curry and another row of Gunmetal Grey.
It now measures approx 55cm square and weighs approx 250gms.

I'm a little late posting my photo
as I have been away for most of the week..
the hardest part of this Crochet Along is deciding which colour to use next ;)
it is not to late to join in
details can be found here on Sarah's blog.

I hope you are having a lovely week
~ Gillian ♥

wool eater blanket CAL....

 I have decided to join in the wool eater blanket CAL (crochet along)

organised by Sarah London through her blog.

You can find all about it here

and its not too late to start if it is something that interests you, Sarah has provided the pattern for free and also has provided an oblong version as well as the square which I am working.

It is such a brilliant pattern...

you do need to concentrate for the first few rounds

but after that it all falls into place and works up quite quickly.

I will do my best to follow the schedule

but I'm sure I'll probably wonder a little off from time to time ;)

This week 11th - 18th we were to work the first 6 rounds of pattern.

Unblocked my square so far measures approx 37cm square.

Thank you so much for the lovely comments regarding my post below x

I hope you can all find sometime today to be a little creative

~ Gillian ♥

pages from art journal.....

how does one keep calm and carry on

when all you feel like doing is screaming?

in the past three weeks since my father passed away

I have felt every emotion and cried more tears than I thought were possible

I have times were I have felt strong and then weak once more.

Prayer has at times flowed and at times felt impossible

knowing that God knows my heart has been a huge comfort

and the love of my dear family has been such a blessing.

I have started a new art journal for 2012

no great art works in there just doodles and collage and thoughts from my heart

but I thought I would share this collage of some of the pages I have made.

I have really found working on it has helped with all the muddle that seems to clog your brain when you lose someone you love.   Somehow working on it has helped me 'Carry on'.

a dear friend of mine wrote out these verses

 in a card she gave me and I wanted to share it here for you all....

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV

~ Gillian ♥

I wish all of the visitors to my blog a

Holy and Special Christmas.

On the 17th December, my father passed away suddenly

so I will be taking a break from blogging for a while.

~ Gillian ♥

Making Progress...

Just thought I'd share a progress photo of my calico crochet floor rug :)

it is coming on really well and very enjoyable to make

with the exception of a bit of a sore thumb from working with such a big and heavy project...

a small price to pay for what I am hoping will be a lovely piece in the end!

PS...the flooring you can see in this photo is our new flooring!  I took this photo on our kitchen floor, we now only have our lounge room to floor to lay and hopefully we will finish it off this weekend.

Have a creative and lovely week

~ Gillian ♥

Three Granny Stockings.....

Ok....so I have gotten a little sidetracked from making my Calico rug!

But when I saw this gorgeous granny stocking pattern

designed by Michelle from the Royal Sisters Blog

I just had to make some for my children.

I still need to add some cute little pom poms,

I am waiting for a smaller pom pom maker to arrive - oh I know I can make pom poms the old fashioned way, but I much prefer using pom pom makers!

Michelle sells the pattern on Etsy here

and her Ravelry page for this project can be found here

Pattern is very well written and easy to follow,

it is written in UK/Australian terms with US terms in brackets

Lots of great step-by-step photos, well worth the small purchase price.

I used 8ply Moda Vera Marvel & Panda Magnum Acrylic

with a 4.5mm hook.

a little update on my Calico rug 

thank you all for your interest in it :)

I'm almost finished my second ball of calico!

It now measures approx 90cm in diameter.

So far its turning out great!

Trudi asked me how my arms and wrists were coping with the heavy hooking..

Thanks for asking Trudi, so far ok but my left hand thumb is feeling the pressure from working with such a heavy project so I need to work a row or two, then take a break...

its not as hard to hook as the denim was in my

Who said Granny's dont look good in denim bath mat

But I think it will be all worth it in the end ;)

Have a great weekend everyone

~ Gillian ♥

Calico Crochet Rug

 Our little family has been busy since October laying new Bamboo flooring in our home, it is looking so beautiful! We only have the lounge room and staircase to go, we will be working on the staircase this weekend...so exciting :)   I've made a couple of small rag rugs this year and so decided I'd make a large one for our lounge room to add a touch of softness for the kids to lay on and for exercising etc...

 The previous rag rugs I have made have been out of old sheets I had in my linen press, But I decided I would use calico for the lounge room....It is growing rapidly and is much bigger than shown here in these photos and I'm already onto my second ball each approx 1250gms in weight. 

I'm using a lovely chunky 12mm hook and I have torn the calico approx 4cm in width all worked in dc (sc in US terms) with increases when needed...very simple and enjoyable :)

I've got a few projects on the go at the moment....as always ;)

I am almost finished my giant granny square blanket -yay!

I am also hooking another pair of slippers...

But I really want to finish this calico rug before our lounge room floor is finished,

so it is taking priority at the moment.

I hope you are having a delightful day

~ Gillian ♥

Edna Slippers.....

I made these fun little slippers this week....

The pattern came from Crochet Today Magazine Nov/Dec 2011

The pattern is called 'Edna Slippers'

of course I just love anything that has a granny square in it ;)

I used Moda Vera Cardellino yarn (from Spotlight) & a 6mm hook.

They were quite quick to hook, I did make a few alterations to the pattern so they fitted me a little better.

if you are interested about what changes I made

I have noted them on Ravelry page for these slippers here

Hope you are having a creative weekend,

Gillian ♥

Dodecahedron Thingymabob......

I've been busy crocheting Granny Squares over the past month or so

and decided I needed something a little more dimensional for a change this week.....

and crochet doesn't get much more dimensional than this ;)

The pattern is called Dodecahedron Thingymabob, which makes me smile :)
and anything Mathematical is always going to find a home at our place, its being tossed around our lounge room as I type..lol!

Pattern is available on Ravelry

The pattern is Excellent! with lots of photos & well written. 

This was loads of fun to make, quite easy once you have made a couple of points and ss them together.

I decided to put 6mm black safety eyes in the end of each point to add a little something ‘extra’ :)

I also filled the points with plastic pellets (the type used in softies) then toyfil…and added a cat toy to the centre to give it some noise.

The plastic pellets give this a wonderful weight and makes it spin through the air as it is thrown (just make sure that your crochet is tight so the pellets don't come out).

(Hold the Thingymabob cupped in one hand and flick a point with your middle finger as you throw up into the air & it and it spins...very cool!)

It would of course make a lovely baby present for a new baby boy

(they are often hard to make something for)  maybe in sweet greens & blues, I think I will be making more of these in the near future.

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Gillian  ♥

a little spring bunny......

 My niece found this cute bunny pattern online and asked if I could make it for her, isn't it adorable! 

 It took a little longer than I thought it would, mostly because it was a little fiddly using such a small hook.

 But I'm so glad she found the pattern for me, and I'm glad I finally finished it, in time for her birthday...

Happy Birthday MJ x

Pattern can be found on the

Craftzine Blog and on Ravelry

I used Panda Cotton Blend 8ply (purchased at Lincraft)

& a 2.5mm hook.

Thank you all for your lovely blog comments, we have been away for a few days and it was so lovely to return and read them all x

Have a lovely week

Gillian  ♥

Amineko......

Meet Amineko

Such a fun project!  I made this Amineko for Georgia using the book

Hello my name is Amineko by Nekoyama

I purchased the book a while ago but other projects needed to be finished before I could start this little cat.  It didn't stop this from being a much read book in our home in the meantime, The book so adorable as it has so many cute photos of different Aminekos having lots of fun adventures :)

So after reading this book for months

 and wishing and hoping for her very own Amineko,

Georgia finally has one! 

If you are wondering what the name Amineko means it is
'Crochet Cat' in Japanese.

I used Sullivans Coton-a (purchased at Lincraft) & 3.25mm hook the pattern is easy enough to work from if you have made anything in amigurumi before.

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend

we are 1/3 of our way through our Annual leave,

can't believe how quickly the time is flying!

the children started 2 weeks of school holidays on Friday,

so we are looking forward to a few small trips!

~ Gillian

little urchin....

I've wanted to make one of these 'little urchin' covered stones for the longest time.... and finally made one last night as I needed a break from my two big projects and as a reward for finishing another smaller project (which I cannot show you just yet).

Pattern was designed by Margaret Oomen and is so easy to follow,

it can be found on

Ravelry and also on the Purl bee blog

I hope you are having a wonderful week,

we are enjoying our annual leave at the moment....

so our days are full and we are making the most of the beautiful spring air!

~ Gillian :)

Lachlan's Blanket....

This week I finished this blanket for Lachlan, It has been a long time coming for him as I started it in January.....along the way I got sidetracked with other projects, so it took a little longer to complete than I originally wanted, but I'm pleased to say I have finally finished it :)

I used some of Lachlan's favourite colours and the block pattern 'Square Target'

comes from Jan Eatons book 200 Crochet Blocks
My aim with this blanket was to use the five chosen colours and not repeat any combinations (each square has its own unique combination) Total squares 48.

The squares were then joined using dc (UK terms) and then a border worked around the outside made up of a single round of tr, then 7 rounds of 2tr granny stitch, 1 round of tr and then 1 round of dc, with 2 chains in each corner.

The total unblocked size is 125cm x 170cm and

I used 3371.3mtrs of 8ply pure new wool with a 4.5mm hook :)
......................................................................................................

I hope you all have a lovely weekend ~ Gillian :)

my new bag.....

I am pleased to be able to share with you

my new bag :)

This is the second 'seaside tote' I have made. This one is made using 1 strand of nettle & 2 strands of cotton held together. I was really keen to try using nettle and was pleased with how my bag turned out. I lined the bag with pure linen fabric and added leather handles and a magnetic closing flap. I feel so proud to use it :)

Pattern for Seaside Tote can be found on

Stephanie Gage's blog & on Ravelry

Nettle Yarn can be purchased from Spunkyarn on etsy :)

It is the last day of school holidays tomorrow, it's been a fun and very busy time....
and I will miss having the kids around....but I guess I will be happy to get back into the normal weekly routine once more ;)

Have a happy week
~ Gillian :)

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 ♥