Sunday, April 21, 2013

Crochet, holidays & plenty of nature!


We've had such a strange few days. It's been busy & fun but also slow compared to most weeks! I got to speak to my mom on Sunday (it was her birthday) which was awesome! The last time we spoke was my birthday. The weather has been all over the place but we made the most of it. My dad was on leave, my fiancé's dad was visiting & went home last night and today it's straight back to normal routine! I've not quite caught up, my brain is feeling very muddled at the moment!

I've got so many photos to show you so I'm apologising in advance because this could end up being a long post but hopefully the colourfulness will make it all worth it! 


I finally finished the cat nest! Yay! I'm not sure if I'll ever make one again. The yarn I used was Patons Fab Big and the colour is Poppy. I used about 2.5 balls. Munchkin is the only cat that can get inside it & thankfully she loves it. The rest are a bit too big but that didn't stop Moe from trying! I got carried away buying the super chunky yarn, thinking I'd be making many of them but luckily it won't go to waste because I can use it to make a rug. As I mentioned last week, I am planning on making this mandala rug by A Creative Being. I think it's gorgeous!




At the moment I'm trying out her Mandala pattern but I'm not doing a very good job of it! I think I need a lot more practice crocheting in the round...especially the seamless circle. 

First it won't lie flat...so does that mean my tension is too lose or too tight?

And then the next problem...I end up with a gap in the one spot! The place where the faux stitch is...? 
If anyone has any tips I'd be very grateful! ☺








And now, onto some scrappy rainbow ripple news! 

My scrappy ripple is coming along nicely! All that's left is to sew in the ends & do the border. I tried to take some photos of it today but Moe had other plans! Every time I laid it out on the window sill he leapt on there and started pulling it, burrowing under it and eventually knocking it off the window sill completely! He just loves crocheted blankets & yarn! He is forever jumping into my yarn bag! Such a funny little boy & I love him to bits ♥


I did manage to get one photo without him...maybe that's because it was all crumpled up! The scrappy ripple is about single bed size or at least will be once I do the border. This is all Stylecraft yarn, some possibly discontinued because a lot of it was bought in 2008! I'll try to list all the colours when it's finished! It's the best way to use up scraps!


Another way to use up scraps is to make granny squares! I am still participating in this granny CAL. I've not done the squares for week 3 yet but hopefully I'll get round to it this week. My plan is to use up all my old stash so I can stock up on each colour again!


That doesn't stop me from buying more yarn for projects though! I had another yarn delivery this week...it was thoroughly inspected by the quality control team. It's all Stylecraft Special DK except for the lovely Patons Fab DK Purple. While watching movies late on Thursday night, I suddenly had a few ideas pop in my head and that resulted in a late night shopping spree at my favourite online store...Wool Warehouse! It was all delivered on Saturday! So super duper fast !☺



I had a few other deliveries this week!

My new crochet hook arrived. It's a 15mm hook so it's pretty big and will be used for rug making. I tried to get a more colourful hook but that was the only one I could find! If you know where I can get a colourful one please let me know! ☺

I also bought this awesome crochet book to add to my ever growing collection! It's a very compact little book but it's full of so many wonderful patterns/ideas & loads of inspiration!







On Tuesday, while everyone was out of the house, I managed to squeeze in some tidying & cleaning! 

I had some help from Moe (he's into everything) and a lot of moaning from Tabby! Shortly after the cleaning was done, Moe & Vinnie decided to have a play-fight which meant the floor didn't stay clean for long. They certainly keep us entertained & busy! Socks did her bit, she helped me with dinner & Bella just lazed around! They now have a green play-mat in the lounge. It stops the carpet from getting too dirty.


I made spaghetti bolognese for dinner (my fiancé's favourite). It was the only time I had to cook all week. My wonderful dad made dinner nearly every night! I love his cooking ♥ 


On Wednesday & Thursday we went walking. My dad came walking with us for the first time ever on Thursday. That brought a very big smile to my face! It had been raining both days but we were really lucky because it stopped shortly after we left the house. The farmer had all his sheep out so we got to see all the cute little black lambs & the parents. There were also a few mallard ducks near the edge of the river which my dad spotted. They have such beautiful colouring.


The river has come up a bit over the past week thanks to the recent rainfall. By Thursday, the rocks in the above photos were no longer visible.


The sand was also almost all covered up. It's also looking a bit more alive now that everything is coming back to life. I love the peaceful sound of the river. I find it very relaxing & that's why I love these walks so much. It's great for stress relief. 


It's amazing how many different shapes, colours, & sizes of leaves you can find. My fiancé's dad & I found these on our walk. They are so colourful.


Isn't it lovely to see so much green? Our walks are so refreshing and the air is so fresh. We spend a lot of time chatting & I spend a fair bit of my time taking photos. I just can't help myself. There is always something that catches my eye!


Look at all those beautiful colours! It makes me smile! There are more flowers popping up now and many other things! I'm still waiting on the wild garlic though! ☺ After our last walk of the week, we went home & had a very healthy lunch. Plenty of salad & fruit! Our plates looked nearly as colourful as the above photos!


On Friday we went on a trip to the dentist for our 6 month checkup....not my favourite place but the drive there is amazing. We get to look at these incredible views the whole way. This is the Brecon Beacons or at least some of it...like a very small part of it. 


On our way home, after the dreaded "D", we stopped at a roadside cafe for some lunch. This little roadside cafe makes the best bacon rolls! The weather was lovely so we sat at the benches to eat. It was a rather enjoyable day.


On Saturday, the sun really did make an appearance. There wasn't a rain cloud in sight. I decided to let poor old Tabby out for a wonder. He is very much an outdoor cat but for his own safety we keep him in more often. I love photographing him because he's such a gorgeous cat and such a poser!


Socks came out for a kick nibble of grass and a bit of fresh air. In her younger years she used to be very active. We used to throw tiny stones for her and she'd jump up and catch them or run after them but she's slowed down a lot more. She'd rather sleep in the sun and occasionally have a mad half hour.


It's amazing what you can find in your own back garden! Thanks to that wonderful sunshine, I got a chance to use my macro lens. I hadn't even realised that we had these beautiful blue flowers in our garden. Are they bluebells? I'm clueless with flowers. I just love the colours ♥


I found a tiny cracked blue egg in the grass. We feed a lot of birds so I'm not sure what bird it's from...any ideas? I think it may have fallen out of a nest, poor thing.

I adore these tiny blue flowers! They are so beautiful! 

Ok, that was my week! I hope I kept your interest until the end! I did promise that it would be colourful. We have a busy week ahead of us so I doubt that next weeks post will have too much in it so better make the most of it!

Best wishes to you all for the week ahead! Thanks again for reading my little blog. Take care x

2 comments:

  1. You have such full weeks! Every post is happy and full of interesting things to see. It was indeed a colorful post too. :) I think your mandala looks good so far but I understand your frustration; I know how to crochet in the round but I never feel like I'm getting it right. Hopefully with a few more rounds you'll feel more confident with it. :)

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    1. Thank you, your comments are always so kind & really build my confidence :) I'm getting there with the the mandala! I've been trying & trying and slowly succeeding!

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