Change is good but so is rest!

I'm quite proud of myself! I actually managed to find time to sit down, gather up my recent photos and put together a proper blog post this week! Some of them are going on 2 weeks old but better late than never. It's been a bit quieter lately. My dad has been on rest for 2 weeks because of foot pain. Policeman's heel to be exact. Very painful! But it's back to the usual full schedule this week, starting with 4am mornings from tomorrow!

 Not sure how but I managed to pack a fair bit of crochet into the last fortnight so I have a few things to share. Even during the heatwave I found myself crocheting away, sitting on the kitchen floor or in the lounge in front of our huge (18 inch) fan, trying to deal with the zillion ideas floating around in my head. Thankfully, I had a lovely coffee milkshake (camp coffee, ice-cream & milk mixed together = YUM!) & some muffins to help me through it. 

The top photo is the little scrap stash project I mentioned here. I plan on adding to it whenever I have any small bits of yarn to use up. I think it's a great idea for all those tiny scraps & will look perfect in the bathroom once it's done. 

The patchwork granny square blanket is a little project I started a few weeks ago. More on that further down. 

I've also been working on colour ideas for a project I planned & bought yarn for at the beginning of the year. I'm having an issue with a few of my choices & that's lead to me making numerous swatches. You know when you really want a certain colour in your project but it just doesn't seem to gel? Yeah, that's the problem I'm having.

And lastly, the red & brown squares. This is an idea that just recently popped into my head & so far I am loving it. I started it yesterday & should be done by Tuesday....hopefully. I'll be sharing it with you next time.

I've not forgotten about my other unfinished projects. My plan is to get some of them done this week but the big one won't be. I won't be meeting my August deadline for it sadly but it will be done before Christmas!

The heatwave really messed with our eating habits. We often have salad dinners (as shown above) but we were having them way more than usual and sometimes we weren't even having that! I also made melktert (milk tart) last weekend because it's such a refreshing pudding. I did mine without the pastry to avoid using the oven. It's always my go to dessert when it's too hot for baking because it's so easy. 

And with the heat came big changes for my wonderful fiance. We decided it was time for him to get a haircut. He's had long hair for a good few years now but it was just getting to be too much. I got the hair clippers out and an hour later he felt happier and refreshed! Look at that pile of hair! I think the new haircut really suits him! ☺

Parcels! Parcels! Parcels! Yes, I took full advantage of the Drops cotton sale! I've got a lot of new yarn to show you. I've been buying it all throughout July because some of it wasn't in stock when I placed the first few orders. I'm just waiting on one more colour before I show you the other lots. I also bought some new clover soft touch hooks to join my collection. They are very tiny & are for the yarn mentioned in this post. These hooks are great & so comfy! I did have some cheaper small ones but they were lacking in the handle department which makes crochet a little uncomfortable. Oh & I also purchased some yarn for a project that I won't be able to show you until after Christmas.

New yarn! This is Drops Muskat (100% Egyptian Mercerized Cotton). The colours are gorgeous & the yarn is lovely. I spent Monday making shadecards for all the different colours (48 in total). I only wish that there was a better yellow. My plan is to keep this yarn for little projects which is why I needed the shadecards.

Charity granny square blanket! I decided to use some (most) of my scrap stash for making a few charity goodies. I volunteer at our local Volunteer Centre and teach crochet on Thursdays as well as helping out with general duties like sales & admin. I've gained a lot from volunteering & wanted to do my bit in giving back. It's nothing special but every little helps. I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve.....we'll see what else I can add! I'd be grateful for some stash busting ideas? ☺

A bag and a potholder perhaps? Firsty the potholder! What do you think? On Thursday, the manager of the charity I volunteer for handed me a loom to try out. We grabbed some scrap yarn from the pile & sat fiddling around with it for a few hours & honestly didn't have a clue! Then I found this video & it all became clear! It's a great little idea don't you think? Easy to make & quick. I've not figured out some of the more complicated ones but I'm keen to give it a go. It's missing the doodah that goes through to tie the bits so I'll have to make one or something but otherwise it's awesome! Apparently you can even make blankets out of them! If anyone has any other info please share! ☺

Ok, the little bag. I was messing about with tiny squares. Didn't know what I was making but then this idea popped into my head. I'm sure it's been done before but I love that I hadn't seen it anywhere! It's also a donation for my local charity. I hope someone likes it enough to buy it.

So, that's the start of my charity stash busting collection! 

Bella's got the best bed in the world! I've had my scrap stash in the lounge most of the week and no cat can resist sleeping on a bed made of yarn! It must be super comfy! She certainly looks happy. I don't think I even need to tell you that Moe's already been in there! He can't resist balls of yarn! He loves peddling & snuggling up to them. 

My little burrowing Moe man has been at it again. I had our blanket on the floor, ready to be thrown in the washing machine and then he decided that it was the perfect opportunity to burrow & snuggle. Believe it or not but this was on the hottest day of the heatwave! The hottest day & he decides to snuggle in a HUGE blanket!

That's the blogging done for the week, the house cleaned and my dad's doing dinner so I think I'll go put my feet up for a bit. I won't be doing much crochet today as I've strained my neck. I have a bad habit of leaning my neck to the one side when I crochet and I'm paying for it now!

Hope you are all well & that your weeks have been enjoyable! Best wishes for the week ahead! Hopefully I'll be doing my regular blog post on Sunday so hope to see you again then! Thanks for visiting.

Take care!

♥

The Big Stash Reveal!

Do you remember seeing this photo a few months ago? Do you remember how I kept planning to sort out my stash but never got round to it? Well, with the help of my dad & my fiance it's finally sorted! It was an ever growing pile and needless to say, it was getting out of hand! Before I show you how neat & tidy it now looks, let me take you on a tour of my stash....

Let's start with my scrap stash. The top photo is mostly leftover Stylecraft Special DK. Yeah, this pile has been growing since I started crocheting in 2008. I am trying to use it up but it just isn't happening fast enough. I gave up on the squares I was making but I've got big plans for my scrap stash, don't you worry!

Under that and to the left, we have a photo of the colours I am using for my dad's blanket. Again, it is all Stylecraft Special DK, 32 balls (8 of each colour) in total. I need to make a total of 775 squares! This project is currently taking up all my time as it has a deadline (that I don't think I am going to meet). So, I apologise for the lack of completed projects but that is the reason why!

And lastly, bottom right is Patons Fab Big Super Chunky. I was a bit lazy with this one. I recycled the photo I took when the yarn arrived. There isn't much left of it now as a lot of it was used to make cat bed 1, cat bed 2 an cat bed 3 but there is enough to make at least another 2 beds!

Top left is some plastic yarn/twine I purchased from a charity shop. I might make a basket out of it but it's not easy to crochet with. I've got an idea in my head of what I want so we'll see.

Top middle is 2 balls of Drops Delight (Rainbow print & red, orange, grey print). I'm not a big fan of this yarn. It's a bit too scratchy for my liking but the colours are lovely. I don't know what I'm going to use it for yet as I don't plan on buying anymore balls.

In that same photo, right in front of the Drops Delight, is some lovely yarn from Ice Yarns (more on them in a bit). This yarn is Veline Paper Blue Shades, it's 55% paper and surprisingly soft! I mainly purchased it out of curiosity and because it was sooooo cheap!

Top right is more yarn purchased from a charity shop. Anyone have any ideas what I can make with it? I honestly haven't got a clue! I just liked the colours!

Ok, bottom left is King Cole Gentle Touch DK. It's another one I just wanted to try. It was cheap and the orange is gorgeous!

Bottom middle is Magnum Multi Chunky. Lovely colour and I actually have a project in mind for it, it's just not as important as all my other ones. ☺

Lastly, bottom right is Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton. It was on sale, that's all I'm saying! ☺

Ah, we've arrived at the expensive stuff! These were little luxuries I treated myself to. The first one is Manos Maxima Merino and the colour is Passion Flower. Here is a link to their facebook page if you want to know more about them. The yarn is beautiful. 

The one on the right is obvious! It is Debbie Bliss Andes which appears to have been discontinued? It is so lovely and soft. I'm almost too scared to use this yarn because of how much it cost me. For now I am happy to look at it and occasionally stroke it. Hopefully when the right project comes along I will have enough! A lot of it is on sale now but I have no idea what colour would go with the 3 I already have.

We've reached the yarn from my current favourite yarn shop! Ice Yarns! They deliver all over the world, their prices are shockingly low and the yarn is gorgeous! Only problem is you have to buy it in packs but that's not really a problem now is it? ;) A dear friend of mine told me about them. The top left photo is an example of how they are packed. I was really impressed with their service! So far I have purchased: 

Velina Paper Blue Shades (as mentioned above).

Angora Design (20% Angora) (Yellow, purple, pink blue) which is very fine, lighter than it appears in their picture (as you can tell from mine) and lovely! I've been browsing the beautiful projects made from it on Ravelry. I have a strong feeling this is going to be a shawl!

Magic Light (100% Acrylic) (White Maroon Black) is lovely. It's not as soft as the Stylecraft yarn but the colours are so lush! I'm planning to buy some of the rainbow ones one day!

Magic Mohair (70% Mohair) (Yellow Orange Black) bought mainly to make a scarf for my fiance. He loves flame colours.

And lastly....Cotton Perle 12! (100% Mercerised Cotton). I bought 10 different colours. It was extremely cheap! Don't know what I am going to do with it as it's really thin but I'll think of something! I'm open to suggestions!☺

I won't bother mentioning the small balls of black & purple wool as they no longer sell them.

These are all my cotton yarns! Ok, top left is Rico Creative Cotton Aran. The colours are beautiful and so vibrant! It's a bit splitty but the colours make it all worth it. Top right and the middle photo is the Cotton Perle 12 again from Ice Yarns. I just love staring at those colours!

And lastly is my stash of Drops Paris! I don't remember where I purchased this yarn from as it was so long ago. They have the old black labels on them and I've noticed that the newer stock has white labels. So, seeing as Drops are having a sale all through July on all their cotton yarns, I decided to use some of my saved up birthday money and buy some! I got a few other ones to try as well! ☺

If you would like to buy some, here are some helpful links that will give you an idea of the prices and shops near you that sell Drops:

US - 35% Sale on Cotton Yarns (It's worth checking Nordic Mart)

UK - 35% Sale on Cotton Yarns (Highly recommend Wool Warehouse)

Europe - It depends on your country but this link will take you to the main page to start from.

*Australia etc, it's worth looking at which shops ship worldwide. I know that Crochet Chain does so it's worth checking them out.

Hopefully that info will be helpful to someone! ☺

Phew! We're getting there! Ok, top photo is Drops Merino. It's ok yarn, not great. The colours could be better. Honestly, I still prefer Stylecraft! It was pretty cheap when I bought it. I'm planning on it being a winter lounge blanket as it's Merino so should be lovely and warm.

Middle photo is Hoooked Zpagetti that is currently being used to make my rainbow rug! Um, this yarn is great for making rugs but it's very inconsistent. It'll be lovely and thick and then suddenly you will get a metre or so that is too thin to be of use!

And lastly is more Stylecraft Special DK (I bet you're getting tired of reading that name). Rainbow colours for many rainbow ideas! I know, I'm obsessed! (Oh and one ball of Patons Fab).

Ok, we have reached the end! If you've stuck around till the end then well done! If not, I don't blame you! So this is Stylecraft Special DK but it's for a special project. I planned the colours out at the beginning of the year and have since changed a few things and come up with a very different (though not unusual) idea. More on that later in the year. 

The scary thing is that I have a bit more yarn coming and another box in the upstairs office which is for a planned quilt style blanket. I think that will be it though! I'm going on a yarn diet! (Yeah, right!)

So, the above images show you how my yarn used to be stored. In bags, in laundry style bags, in boxes and some just piled up but now............

Ah! It brings such a MASSIVE smile to my face! It might not be a craft room or a studio and it might not be a huge space or beautifully decorated but it's my own personal little piece of heaven! I am so grateful to my amazingly awesome fiance and equally amazingly awesome dad for helping me sort this all out and for letting me have that space to store all my yarn (and for not complaining when more yarn gets delivered). It's the little things in life that make all the difference. I love them both so much! ♥

So, I hope you enjoyed your tour of my yarn stash. I won't be posting again this week like I had hoped (my Sunday post will just have to be a Saturday post this week). I will try (but I'm not making any promises) to post sometime in the middle of next week. If not then, then sometime over the weekend. Things have been a bit chaotic and I know I keep saying that but honestly, they have. 

I hope you are all well and please take care! Hopefully, I'll see you all back here again next week! Thanks again for visiting and for all the comments!

♥