The Adventures of Kiki

Wow, it's been another age since I last dropped in here. I have so many good intentions, and with Little P at nursery every afternoon for a while, I thought I'd have more time for things like this - but I seem to have less if anything! How does that work?
It's been another busy few weeks, settling the Little Lady into nursery routine, which she has finally got used to just as half term arrives! Also, adopting a 4 month old kitten from the RSPCA has eaten up a fair amount of my time. She is so lovely, such a nice temperament and great fun, but definitely scatty and crazy and keeps me on my toes. It's like having two children. I know there is a big cliche of cats and wool... but I guess I didn't entirely think that through when adopting Kiki! She goes crazy for it, absolutely nuts. she loves grabbing the balls in her mouth and making off with them. She looks as pleased as punch with herself too. It's made crochet difficult at best - I have scratches all over my hands from fending her off! I even designate a small ball of wool for her, but it's not as interesting as the one I'm currently using! And then there is batting the hook. Catching the dangling stitch markers. Emptying the stuffing all over the floor. Crochet is now a battle of wits with the cat, but it is also very funny I have to admit. My Instagram feed is mainly full of Kiki related catastrophes and woolly disasters at the moment.
Meet the Kiki, A.K.A. 'Squeaky' ...

There has been crafting... mainly crochet. First up, I finally managed to finish the 'As We Go Stripey Blanket' (pattern here)

As I have said before, it was a love-hate blanket. Love the pattern and colours, do not like the wavy edges. It is a well written pattern, and I'm glad I went for it, but it's not one with a 'flow' that you really get into and can carry on watching the telly whilst making, as you have to swap pattern every line almost, and do lots of counting and checking. Now it's finished, the wobbly edges bother me less as it is rarely laid out completely flat, but crumpled on the sofa, usually with a child or a kitten on it! It's had a lot of use already, in fact, the kitten is laid out on it right now.

I also made a few hats, as it is getting a bit cooler now, especially when I whizz Little P to nursery on the back of the bike. I had my eyes on a pattern for a while now - The All Grown Up Slouch Hat by Moogly and just needed to find yarn to go with it. I don't get on with wearing wool, I just itch, so wanted a cotton based yarn. I suddenly remembered a certain yarn I had squished in a John Lewis haberdashery once before - Rowan Softknit Cotton - an aran weight cotton blend which is super soft, non-itchy and in some yummy colours. After playing around with a colour palette, I settled upon these...

It's hard to get a picture that does it justice, as it looks very different when it's slouched on a head! I love love love the way the back-post double crochet makes 'ridges' around it, almost like rows of surface crochet...

I really love wearing it! Super snuggly! May have to make a snood to go with it. I would make everything out of this yarn if I could!
On the topic of hats, Little P brought two little friends home over a weekend from nursery. We had to do the usual - write in a little diary what we did with the cuddly toys and take pictures of the fun we had with them. First thing the Little Lady asked for was for me to make little hats for them... so obviously I did!

Two miniature MyBoshi's for two little nursery friends! When we returned them to nursery, I was commissioned by one of the staff to make a pink hat for a little girl who is undergoing chemotherapy and has lost all her hair. I was more than happy to do so, in fact I made 2. One earflap hat to keep her warm in winter, and a prettier one made from the super-soft leftover Rowan Softknit Cotton I used for my hat...

The top one is made from MyBoshi yarn and is a pattern I made up as I went along... I did take notes as I think Little P wants one too now! And the bottom one is made from Rowan Softknit Cotton and is from a pattern called Perenni and is available as a free Ravelry download. It's the second one I have made, and it's a lovely little hat. I really hope these fit the little girl they are going to, as it's not easy guessing sizes!
One of Little P's good friends turned 5 earlier this month, and I made her an 'E' shaped cushion, to match her sister's 'A' shaped one I made her earlier this year. I do like these chunky letters, but they are a bind to put together nicley! The instructions are so well written and diagrams help loads, which makes it a bit easier!

That's my Little Lady modelling it! They are fun things, and would love to make more, but I just can't do them too close, as they do test my patience a bit! If you fancy a go, patterns for all letters can be bought through Ravelry in the CAROcreated store.

I have been designing amigurumi again, in the form of a monster. My friend had a little boy earlier this month, and after a flurry of girl babies it was fun to make something boyish. I drew a few monsters in Little P's colouring book with wax crayons one morning and decided I would make one of them. I love making monsters, so much fun. I made up 'Spike' as I went along, (named Spike as that's what my friend would like to have called her little man if she had no boundaries!) and he turned out something like this...

I rather like him, although I think I would tweak his bottom a bit so he sits flatter and not so pear-shaped. That monster took ages due to the amount of time spent recovering balls of yarn from a certain kitten. Oh the joys!

I am conscious that this post is getting lengthy, and I'm getting tired, so I shall leave the second part for tomorrow. That is my adventures in yarn dyeing. Seems like ages ago, but only just got around to uploading photos and sorting them all out. So watch this space... yarn dyeing coming this way very soon!

Priorities

When I embarked on this journey into Blogland, I had great ambitions. I would blog weekly. I would have lots of photos. I would design lots of new things and share them with the world. I would give anyone who took time to read my blog a little insight into the life of me. Weekly became fortnightly. Fortnightly became monthly, and now it is just when I get the chance to sit and organise myself.
Blogging is something I very much enjoy, and think about a lot. I am always thinking of what I'll write, taking pictures and organising them. But actually taking the time to down write has fallen down my priorities list somewhat - until now, when I find myself waiting for the super-late England match to kick off!
Anyone with a high-maintenance 3 year old will know that they will take up most of your time, and energy. Often when I finally get her to bed, I'm ready to hit the sack too. It's not just physical exhaustion, it's the mental too. Questions all day long, good ones too. Why is asked for everything. Why do apples float? Why why why... by the end of the day I have run out of answers!
Of course, I am happy she is inquisitive and asks questions. She's growing up so fast and most of the time is a pleasure (she is very much still a nightmare at other times!) and I love being her Mum and am privileged to spend all the time I do with her.
Spare time gets split between 'boring' household chores and routines and my little bubble of 'being me'. I have been indulging in what makes me happy and what I'm interested in over the last couple of years. Crochet fills a great deal of my creative time... and rubber stamp carving. And lots of other little things I love - music, art, plants, nature, rocks etc... When I sit back and look at my life and the things I have surrounded myself with, I realise I am very happy right now. I love my life - my girl, my family and friends, my hobbies and interests. One interest I have 'indulged' in recently is rocks and minerals... I have always been fascinated by rocks and minerals, the colours, patterns and forms they take on. I love opal... natural opal, not lab created stuff. I love my opal ring, and my Australian boulder opal pendant. I also have a small collection of stones and crystals which I am now able to display on a super shelf!

It is very much inspired by Stone and Violet but made by a friend who takes old wooden pallets and fashions them into furniture. I wondered if he could make smaller items so I dropped him a line and a day later he made the most beautiful mountain shelf! Any local people to me check out Joe's Pallet Wood Furniture Facebook page!
Nature has also been filling my time. Spring is a super time of year, and last year you may remember I was preoccupied with nesting blackbirds in our garden... well this year it has been the turn of the goldfinch. Yep, such a beautiful little bird nested in a small tree outside our lounge window. Great viewpoint! The Little Lady and I spent many an hour sitting at the window chatting and spotting the birds as they were to and fro from the nest. I love her taking an interest too. I even tried some stealth photography to try and capture one of the babies who was peeping out of the nest...

Ahh baby goldfinch and a proud parent. I didn't see them fledge however. They were suddenly gone, but there are quite a few goldfinches about here at the moment so I hope they are doing OK. Last time I spied them, they were sitting right up on the edge of the nest and looked pretty big.
I have been out and about with the camera snapping the beauty that is nature. Here are a couple of my faves:
A single Allium flower opening

A trip to see some wild orchids at a local wildlife reserve was fruitful... there was a field littered with these amazing flowers...

And some strange moths I have never seen before... No idea how I spotted these on a blade of grass in a meadow, but I'm glad I did. I since researched and discovered that they are Six-spot Burnet moths. Who knew?

Obviously crafting has been filling my time. The main project is the ongoing blanket for the craft swap with Maddy (see her lovely blog FromTwelveToTwoFifteen) The granny squares have been piling up...

And today I reached the 100 mark! Then came the laying out and colour planning, and then learning to continuously join the whole lot! I used this tutorial to help me along my way. So far I have 2 rows of 10 joined, and I really like the continuous process... it's easier than I thought it would be so far! More pictures to follow...
I also made a couple of gifts for a little man who entered the world a few weeks ago... It's a friend of my Mum's, so she asked me to make some bunting with his name on, and I made a cute little giraffe toy for him too.

Pattern is that of I Love Buttons by Emma and yarn is a mixture of Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo and King Cole Bamboo Cotton. I love this pattern - it's super easy and it's great fun to use loads of colours, even if the changes are a bind.

And there is the bunting, looking good against the blue sky. I like this bunting -  a very simple pattern by Pink Milk adapted slightly to add a border to it. Finished off with felt letters, as I find they look neater than crocheted ones.

Yarn is Rico Creative Cotton Aran in a variety of colours  - my favourite for making bunting.

Last year I, like hundreds of others, partook in making bunting triangles for Yarndale. I loved being part of a community project, thinking my tiny contribution helped to make an awesome spectacle of bunting strung up around Yarndale. So naturally, when the Yarndale team called for mandala makers, I was of course intrigued. Firtsly, I love the cause - even though I won't be able to make it this year - and secondly, I love mandalas. I have made a few previously and admit that they are totally addictive. I love playing with colour and texture... and just winging it round by round. I turned to my stash of Lily Sugar 'n' Cream, a lovely stiff cotton in amazing bright colours and set to work. Previously my mandalas had been a riot of colour, but this time I fancied sticking to a colour scheme, so I just picked 3 colours that I liked together...

I'm not sure exactly how I made it as I followed a rough pattern but adapted it a fair amount. I am pleased with it, and rather like limiting my colour use sometimes - I think it shows the pattern off a bit more in this case.
I also decided to decorate the packaging up a bit, and to keep it in my style I decided to carve up a couple of mandala stamps. I researched simple mandala patterns and tweaked them to make them suitable for stamp carving. I used jet black StazOn ink and was super pleased with the overall effect...

I also stamped up the back with some Yarndale bunting...

I mounted one of the stamps up and sent it off to Lucy as a little extra gift, as I was quite proud of it!

So that brings me nearly to kick-off time... can I manage to actually stay awake for the match now? I'm not so sure about that! I will try and pop in and post when I can, but blogging is taking very much a backseat at the moment like I said, but it is always at the forefront of my thoughts! So until next time, however long that may be...

Birthday Preparations

Once again, things have been busy around these parts. There has been much crafting (mainly crochet) in the evenings when the Little Lady is asleep. There has also been preparation for the Little Lady's third birthday next week - agh can't believe I will have a 3 year old! She's having a little party with her friends and I'm currently in the process of (trying) to make a cake for her. I've never done the whole party cake thing, where you cover it in roll-out icing and make it look all pretty, so I'm excited to have a go at that. The tricky part is the actual cake, as Little P has food allergies - dairy and egg - pretty standard in a cake mix! I've made cakes before for her, but they always turn out pretty flat, but there was one Victoria sponge type thing I made once which was great... only trouble is I didn't bookmark the recipe and I am trawling the net trying to re-find it! If it all goes to plan and the cake works, I will show it off here, if it's a complete failure I'll just let the vaults of time swallow it up and forget about it. One 'trial' cake is already out on the lawn for the birds... it was definitely not the recipe I tried before!
Little P is super excited about her birthday this year, finally old enough to appreciate it and understand. It's all about princesses with her at the moment - completely the opposite of me and how I was as a child. She's so imaginative as keeps playing with her imaginary princess friends in the house - this morning they were all at a Royal Ball, and it was so busy we had to queue to get a ticket!
So needless to say, I have a few princess related presents for her birthday - not that I'm trying to fuel the obsession! I also thought it would be nice to make her a little something, as I don't seem to have made her a toy for quite some time. Princess? no... she has enough of them... but maybe a Tinkerbell? I had a look for some patterns on Ravelry and decided to give this one a go as I thought it was sweet (not necessarily the most Tink-like but super cuddly)

I used Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, which is still one of my favourites for toy making as it's soft and has a very neat finish. I changed the pattern slightly - firstly the skirt 'leaves' weren't working out for me so I adapted it to make my own skirt. Also the wings seemed too 'floppy' and I fancied something a bit more decorative, so I searched for a pattern for some small wings and found these.

I'm quite happy with her, she is cute and I'm sure Little P will love her. I personally am not a big fan of the 'fringe' and if I were to do it again I'd definitely do her hair slightly different, but this is a great little pattern and it's super-easy.

I have also made another softie for Little P's friend, who had his second birthday last week. The Little Man loves Monsters University, especially Mike Wazowski, so I thought I'd give one of them a go...

This little chap was fun to make (although his fingers and toes tool a while to work!) and I'm pleased with him - he's probably one of the more intricate amigurumis I have made - he even has surface stitches for lips and an eyelid! And felt detailing for mouth and eye. He even has pipe cleaners in his legs so they can bend nicely. I like this little chap and was sad to see him leave my table - although I have been informed that he was well received by the Birthday Boy! yay!

In my last post I mentioned a 'blog swap' with Maddy of From Twelve To Two Fifteen, and showed off my stash of yarn I ordered especially for it.... well there has been progress, in the form of a small pile of granny squares. I love this pattern (Summer Garden Granny by Attic24) and it works up so quickly. I am also loving the yarn and the colours and can't wait to make the pile grow and grow!

You may also remember my empty frames waiting for prints to arrive.... well shortly after that post they turned up. Both on the same day too, to make it doubly exciting. Both were bought through Etsy from artists which I very much admire.
First up is a little 5x5 print from an artist called Geninne Zlatkis - I have a couple of her books and love her stamping, so it's great to have one of her watercolour prints up on my wall. It came all the way from Mexico (a country I love) and features cacti (which I very much love) so needless to say I do indeed love it. I also kind of want to frame the packaging it came in - the outer envelope and inner paper bag are both hand-stamped with some of those famous Geninne stamps which are so beautiful...

Love it! The second one was from an artist called RiverLuna from San Francisco (another place I love) and is another watercolour print. It's so pretty, I love it up on my wall, and my little collection is looking good.

I have my old California licence plate up too, and hope to get a picture sometime soon, when light is better. A little bit of 'me' space full of things I love.

I'm now going to head off and maybe crochet some more squares, and I can confirm the cake attempt no.2 is out of the oven and looks good, phew! So until next time...

What a Difference a Day Makes

In typical British fashion, I'm going to kick off with the weather - what an absolutely glorious Spring day! We've had a very mild Winter here in these parts, not really any frosts or anything as yet. And we've also been lucky enough to escape most of the deluge of rain that has battered our country... so it seems very strange that Spring might be on it's way without having a real Winter. I told Little P we could play in the snow, and get the sledge out... no such luck as yet, but to be honest I'm glad about that. I hate cold weather. Give me hot weather and clear sunny skies any day. California dreamin' at the moment!
Today, was an absolutely lovely day here. Considering it's early March, I found myself sitting in the garden, hook in hand, crocheting away with a t-shirt on. And I even have small 'tan lines' on my arms to prove it! I still doubt the weather though - I think Winter will suddenly hit us just as all the plants have budded up and then destroy all nature's good work. But hey, I'll enjoy the good stuff whilst it is here!
It felt so good to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin whilst I crocheted away. And to see tiny snippets of life bursting up around the garden was lovely. I also made the most of the opportunity to get outside with my camera and snap some of my recent makes.
First up is the ongoing blanket project - the 'As We Go Stripy Blanket' (pattern here). It's a slow burner, but then was always intended to be - a relaxed evening project, perfect for watching TV and getting on with. It is intended for my Little P when complete, and she has already had the work in progress out several times to snuggle under.

I do love how it working up... The colours compliment each other lovely, and I'm loving testing out new stitches...

This will definitely be on the back burner at the moment though, as I have some more 'important' projects on the horizon. A couple of bits of amigurumi which must be kept under wraps right now, but here's a little green hand saying 'hi!'

The most exciting thing coming up for me is a 'blog swap' with the oh-so-talented Maddy - the creative mastermind behind From Twelve to Two Fifteen. A while back we decided on making something for each other (or more likely each other's children!) and blogging all about it at the same time. Maddy makes super amazing patchwork quilts using funky fabrics and modern geometrical patterns... ticks all my boxes! She has already shown a sneak peak of what she has been working on here - take a look at those chevrons! So exciting!
In return, Maddy will receive a crocheted gift from me, and she told me she would quite like another granny square blanket in a bright, cheerful colour scheme... also ticks all my boxes. I decided that for such a special occasion I would order some new yarn (don't need much excuse!) I have wanted to make a blanket using 'nicer' wool for a while now, so I ordered a bundle of merino based wools - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, topped up with a few colours of RICO Design Essentials Soft Merino Aran. The two yarns actually look and feel very similar, so I'm sure they will work well together...

Look at that squishiness...

I'm so excited to get started!

On the non-woolly front, there has been stamp carving by the bucket-load. I will get round to taking some pictures and showing my adventures in stamping, but you can always take a look at my Instagram feed. I ordered some rubber from Hong Kong a while back, and it took an age to arrive (serves me right for ordering just as everything stops for Chinese New Year!) It was pretty good value (even with the enormous shipping bill) and looked great too...

I had some extra large A4 sized sheets and some smaller ones - I was particularly looking forward to using the orange sandwich block. First impressions were that they weren't quite as thick as I'd hoped - the previous ones I bought were super thick and yummy blocks. I started by trying the blue block - it wasn't quite what I had hoped for though. It was quite tough and a bit crumbly. I moved onto the orange sandwich block - this carved better but was still not a patch on the previous ones I tried. So I was a little disappointed - the lesson I took from that cheap was not always cheerful. If I'm going to bother to order premium Japanese rubber blocks, then I will make sure I order the proper ones!

I have also bought a couple of other little bits and bobs to brighten up my space. I've started a mini 'gallery' on my bedroom wall - a few prints here and there. The first one that has arrived and is framed is one by an artist called Eloise Renouf. I love her work and it was hard to choose just one, but I'm so chuffed with it hanging on my wall...

The empty little frame to the right is waiting for a small print from Mexico from the amazing Gennine Zlatkis.  More on that when it arrives!

I'm also rediscovering my love of plants, especially cacti and succulents, and I'm gradually creeping them back into the home...

I found this little beauty in a local garden centre - I love the wooden tray, and the 3 little pots, and plan to fill them with some succulents I am currently propagating. Until then, this little cactus can rest there! I also found a Lithops (living stone) which I have wanted for ages, so picked him up and brought him to a good home. He must be liking it as I can see a new pair of leaves emerging in there...

My Dad was having a clear out and found this old Californian vehicle licence plate he didn't want - guess who had it and cleaned it up?! Fits perfectly in a space on my gallery wall!

I'm still California dreamin'. But now it is time to do some real dreaming, in bed! Goodnight all, until next time...

Keeping on Top of Things

Nobody needs reminding that Christmas is just around the bend. I installed an app on my phone to create Christmas lists, and each day it reminds me how many days to go until the Big Day... today it is just 25!
I am rather excited again this year about Christmas - since having Little P I seemed to have regained a lot of the festive excitement I had as a child - but it also means there a lot of things to do. Especially this year as I have decided to make my cards, and gift tags, and even some wrapping paper. It did seem like a great idea back in October! I am really enjoying making them though, it's just the time factor as usual, and having a very helpful Little P who wants to join in with everything!
I've had a go at lino printing again. Very simple stuff, but very effective too. I've carved a few 'trial' stamps and blocks and have had mixed results. The ones that have worked though I'm very happy with, and I am learning more about carving lino with each attempt. The cards are still mostly a work in progress but I have a sneak preview...

I made these with a simple triangle and snowflake stamp, and some block printing inks...

I plan to do some more tomorrow when I have some spare time, and have a new block to try printing with... exciting! I really like the simple, yet colourful effect of these cards, and am chuffed with them... they looked great all lined up when they were drying off!

I have also finished the Christmas bunting that my Mum asked me to whip up. Tomorrow will be decorating day, and I will hang it then but light in the lounge is notoriously bad, so I'm not expecting the photos to be great. I took a couple of sneak previews in the little light I could find by the back door...

I love a pile of bunting triangles! It's made using RICO Design Creative Cotton Aran in 3 colours - Cherry, Pistachio and Natural. It's based on the Simple Bunting Tutorial by Pink Milk although I've tweaked it a little bit to suit my needs. There are 11 triangles - 2 with holly on, and the rest spell 'Christmas' using matching felt letters. I'm very pleased with it and can't wait to see it hanging up!

It will also be time to hang the star garland on the fireplace, so I'll try and get a picture of that too! I really hope it stays and little hands don't pull on it too much...
I also have the little felt decorations I made to hang on the tree...

I'm also very busy trying to crochet some gifts too... I have had a little Santa production line going on in the evenings when Little Lady is tucked up in bed...

Ho Ho Ho! I do like these little chaps!

Me and the Little Lady have also been making pom poms. The idea is to stick them around a paper plate wreath, although she has claimed them as her 'fluffy balls' to go in her 'special box' and I am not allowed them. She loves picking the colours for me and choosing which size pom pom maker to use for each one. I just do the donkey work and wind the things! I'm just using up some scraps of Stylecraft Special DK, but I love all the colours!

With all the gifts for everyone else, I felt I needed to treat myself just a little bit. Those of you who follow the Attic24 blog, will have seen the giveaway she is hosting with Fig1 to giveaway a load of RiceDK goodies...
I had my first glimpse of RiceDK wares several years ago and really liked it then. Over the last 18 months of following Lucy's blog - who often makes reference to Rice products - I have been sorely tempted to order something. Somehow I resisted... until there was a 10% discount code on her blog to buy from the Fig1 online shop. Sorted. Now just to choose what I want...
That was the hard part. The range of melamine products are to die for. Over the last year I have been collecting a few oddments of melamine, the plan being to one day to have a cupboard full of mismatching colourful melamine cups, bowls and plates. I have previously bought some from John Lewis...

The top ones are by a company called Anorak. The bowl and plate in the bottom picture are John Lewis' own (I think the range was called Pioneer) and the cup is an Orla Kiely. And no I have 3 more items, from Rice! Yay the collection is growing slowly!

I love, love, love these. The colours are great. The patterns are beautiful. And they are nice and sturdy too (and very bouncy thank goodness!) Little P instantly claimed these for a pretend picnic on the lounge floor, and she had to use all 3, so I didn't get to study them for a while!
I love how the insides are coloured too. So pretty.

What a happy treat to myself!

Now I must go, time is of the essence and I need to go and make some more gift tags whilst I have 5 minutes! So, until next time (when Christmas will probably be pretty much on top of us!)...