WIP - Crochet - Zoo Blanket

I have decided that my next project will be the Zoo Blanket by Knot Your Nana's Crochet

Although like the previous blankets I will only make it a 3x3 blanket.

I'm not 100% sure on which 9 of the 12 appliques I will choose but if Angus has anything to do with it I will be making a panda for sure! The lion and the tiger look pretty cute. That's three chosen only six more to go.

For now I am concentrating on the background squares.

Walking the Kitten

I came across this video on Facebook the other day. I just had to share it. It's so cute. 

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• slightly warmer weather - it's meant that I have been able to dry my washing on the clothes line instead of in front of the heater.
• crochet - well that goes without saying really (~_~)
• the postman - I received my new clover crochet hook on Tuesday. It's a 5.0 mm (H) hook. 
• my cats - C.K. was the best lap warmer the other night when I was watching TV. Trip, even though he is a it senile, has the best vocals. He talks a lot and that makes up for his craziness. 
• going back to Church. I know I don't talk about that sort of thing much but it's been good to see all the old familiar faces & catch up with them.
• that when my car broke down yesterday that it was only a dead battery and not a dead starter motor like Mark and the mechanic thought it may have been
• for Mark and the work that he does on the car. He sure does save us a lit of money

What are you thankful for this week?

Our New Family Motto

This fits us perfectly. We do have the twistedsouls.com domain after all (~_~)

Finished Item - Little Blossom Blanket

Before adding the border around each square I placed them on the floor to work out which order they should go in. I felt the need to separate all the squares with the light pink so that the blanket will look balanced when it's finished. I don't know if it worked but it made sense to me (~_~)

After adding BRIGHT pink around each square I was wondering how to 'sew' them together. In the end I opted to crochet them together.

Looking at the blanket with just the pink and purple around it made it seem like it needed a larger border. 

So I added another row of pink.

Ta Da! What do you think??

All I need to do is work out what my next project will be and then I am all set (~_~)

Hypothyroidism & Tennis Elbow

I went to see my GP last Thursday. I had made my appointment the previous week and I almost cancelled it (well postponed) because I was sick. I know roll your eyes. Not going to see the doctor because you're sick is a silly thing, right?

Anyway, the reason for my visit was due to a blood test that I had done in June. Apparently my thyroid hormones weren't playing nice. My doctor and I had briefly spoken about it when I saw him soon after I had my last series of blood tests done. At the time he said let's just repeat the bloods in two months. I went back today to say that two months are up are we going to repeat the test? He took a much closer look at the results this time. He even showed me the computer screen so that I could see them. There were results from three separate blood tests that I have had done this year. He even drew a diagram of my thyroid and explained the hormones that it produces along with the pituitary gland. To cut a long story short it turns out that I have Hypothyroidism (an under-active thyroid).

Dr F. was quite laid back about it really. I now have more medication to take and I need to have another blood test in 2 - 3 weeks. Lucky me huh! I can't understand why he didn't do something about it earlier really if there was a problem. Hypothyroidism can be a bad thing.

I also mentioned my arm was still hurting but not the original complaint I had with my shoulder. So after more prodding and poking, with me wincing in pain, I get told some really long name of what I have that ends with "is" or "itis" not that I remember.  Dr. F then showed me a diagram after a google search to show me what the muscles looked like. I then see the name tennis elbow by one of the photos. So yay me! I have another label to add to my growing list of ailments.

I definitely need a new body. This one is wearing out.

The Perfect Motto

snagged from Facebook

WIP - Little Blossom Blanket - Strawberry, Little Girl, Owl & Cherry Appliques

The other day I finally picked up my crochet hook. I hadn't crocheted for 2 whole days.

this photo was taken before I had sewn it all together.

Slowly but surely my little blanket is coming along. Once I get rid of this cold
(it sure is hanging around) I know I'll feel up to finishing this blankie off!

I think the strawberry looks good on the darker purple background

I was on a bit of a roll and made some more squares up. I sure paid for my enthusiasm to finish another square. My arm sure did ache afterwards :-( and sadly it continued into the next day.

How cute is this little owl? I think it's rather adorable!

How about the cherries? Although I think a bowl full of the REAL fruit would be much nicer (~_~)

I can't wait until I have finished this blanket and I am able to show off the entire thing!

My Little Blossom Blanket will look ever so sweet.

 You can find the pattern on Ravelry HERE if you're interested.

WIP - Little Blossom Blanket - Carriage Applique

Another square for my Little Blossom Blanket. 

It's meant to be a carriage but Angus thought it looked more like a little alien (o_0)
I don't know how he got that idea. Maybe if I had made it in pink rather than blue he may have thought otherwise.

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• candles. They sure came in handy on Monday night!
• going out for dinner. The boys, Mark & I went out to a local Chinese restaurant on Saturday night. It was great not having to cook dinner (~_~)
• my heater - it's been on the cold side of things for the past few days
• tissues - Angus and I have had head colds this past week. I'm very thankful for having lots of tissues
• my crochet - I haven't done a lot of crocheting this week but I know that will pick up when I am feeling better
• having my Visiting Teachers come for a visit. It's always nice to see them.

What are you thankful for this week?

Five Favourite Books

Image snagged from Facebook.

This says it all really ... 

although I could give it a try but these are in no particular order

The Witches of Eileannan Series (there's 6 books in this set) by Kate Forsyth

The Harry Potter Series (all 7 of them) by JK Rowling

The Celestial Triad (3 books in this set) and The Ancient Future (another set of 3) by Traci Harding

The Magic Circle by Katherine Neville

That's 20 books in my list so far.

I am sure there are a lot more that I could add to my list but I can't think of them at the moment.
I just knew I would have problems choosing only 5.

An Evening by Candlelight

We had a little bit of excitement last night. Well maybe not excitement really but it was something different to our usual Monday night routine. We heard a rather BIG bang at around 8:30 ish and the power went out. Normally I wouldn't mind so much but it's the middle of winter (it was VERY cold last night) and even though we have a gas heater is wont work unless the power is on too. I think it's rather silly really but that's how this particular heater works.

Of course Brodie panics when anything out of the ordinary happens. He stresses that we don't have the internet and that he cannot get on to facebook. I swear that kid needs to find something else to do other than sit at the computer all day & night. He ended up going to bed.

I however, I go about the place lighting all the candles that I can find. 

I think I had about 12 going at one stage. 

I thought that it looked a little romantic.

Angus was watching a movie on his netbook. So he was all set. Mark had his tablet and was using that.

I went and got my little book light, grabbed my kindle which had plenty of charge left in it and I sat down in the lounge room and read until the power came back around 10 pm.

It sure was nice having a quiet house. No TV, no server noise, no computers. Perfect for reading!

WIP - Little Blossom Blanket - Butterfly Applique

I didn't exactly follow the pattern for the butterfly applique that was included with the Little Blossom pattern. I decided to use my artistic license for the wings and make my own (~_~)

Before I had sewn it onto the square

I think it's funny but it wasn't all that long ago that I would never have even thought to have tackled 

something like this without following a pattern to the letter. 

I guess I'm growing in confidence all the time (~_~)

Leaping Stripe Block Blanket Video

I was checking a few things out on youtube the other day when I came across this video on how to crochet: the leaping stripes and blocks blanket. I really like the look of this stitch. I'll definitely need to file this away for a rainy day for a baby blanket, cushion cover or something. 

WIP - Little Blossom Blanket - Ladybug & Cupcake Appliques

It's hard to believe that the mess in the photo below will look like a ladybug when I have sewn it all together.

The square turned out quite nicely. 

So far the appliques have been pretty quick to make up. 

I've never crocheted a semi-circle before. I was glad it was easy to whip up. 

I'm hoping that the rest of the appliques are as easy to create.

Only 7 more squares to go. 

My Little Rascal

Brodz & I went shopping at Mid-Valley in Morwell on Tuesday morning. We parked down by the Coles entrance and started to walk inside. Brodie was at least 5 metres in front of me. Before I got to the entrance he turned around to stop me from going in. He said that we had to turn around and not go in. That the entrance was blocked. I looked past him towards the entrance and clicked as to why he wouldn't let me go in. The shop just inside the entrance had YARN for sale.

The little rascal didn't want me to buy any more. Pffft like he was going to stop me from getting more! Honestly you'd think I was addicted or something with his carry on. It's not like I have boxes and boxes full of the stuff. Oh wait I do ... I would like to think that he would be happy that I buy yarn. It not only keeps me busy crocheting and knitting it keeps me sane. And a sane Mum is a great thing, right??

This is what I ended up with any way (~_~)

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• both Brodie & Angus have been taking turns washing the dishes this week. They've been doing a great job too! Thanks boys I really appreciate it.
• going shopping with Brodie on Tuesday. We had such a fun day out shopping for clothes, shoes, lingerie and YARN.
• being able to go back to Church. We had been very lazy and hadn't gone in such a long time. It felt good to go and see all the familiar faces and meet some new people in our ward too.
• Crochet! Of course I am always thankful for this but I am more thankful that I am able to crochet considering how my arm aches some days. Pain killers are amazing things (~_o) 

What are you thankful for this week?

WIP - Little Blossom Applique Blanket

I've started making the Little Blossom Applique Blanket by Teri Heathcote 

from Knot Your Nana's Crochet

I've decided that the background squares will be in two shades or purple. 

The pattern calls for 12 squares but I only wish to do 9 like I did with the Crochet Farm Blanket I made a couple of months ago.

So far I have made 5 light purple squares and 2 of the darker purple. Only 2 more of the darker squares to go then I can begin on the pretty little appliques. 

I'm off to make another square .. 

I'm not addicted to yarn or crochet ... honest ...

I definitely had a laugh when I saw these. 

I'm not addicted to yarn. Not at all (~_~)

I Love A Good Read

Do you love reading a good book? I've always read a lot, even as a kid. I love to read in bed at night before I go to sleep, it helps me unwind.

A few months ago one of my favourite Australian authors, Kate Forsyth, whom I am friends with on Facebook (and who I got to meet in person a few months ago) invited me to a website called goodreads. Basically it's a social networking site for readers.

Goodreads is built around books. You can join groups and discussions on your favourite genres, authors or just talk about books you love. You can even keep track of the books you have read or want to read. Once you've reviewed a few books (and it doesn't need to be a written review you only need to give a book a star rating out of 5) goodreads will begin to recommend books for you to read based on your literary tastes.

If you're into books and want to join a social network based on books you should sign up. Even my boys have joined. If you want to find me here's my profile page although I'm not sure if you are able to see it without joining.

Each Day

This picture kind of sums it all up ....

snagged from a friend on Facebook

Finished Item - Tablet Cover

I finished the Tablet cover for Ron on Tuesday afternoon. 

Mark was very helpful and got the over-locker out and made up the lining for me. He is so much better at sewing than I am. It was made from microfibre & it was a lovely shade of light blue.

the flash made this look a bit washed out :( 

Silly me, I forgot to take photos of the cover with the lining inside. 

You will need to take my word for it but it looked great (~_~) Ron loved it which is all that matters really.

I've already started my next project. It's a blanket like the one I made with all the farm things but it's for a girl. The pattern calls for squares made with half treble (half double crochet) stitches but I decided that I liked what I did with the tablet cover better so I am making the squares using that stitch instead. 

I haven't taken any photos of it yet since I am only making the background squares at the moment. Maybe when I get a few more done I'll share what it looks like. 

Crochet Patterns on Craftsy

I have been busy browsing the craftsy website. I could spend hours and hours looking at all the amazing patterns available there. I could probably spend way too much money there too. Thankfully I have managed to find some fantastic freebie patterns there too.

Crocheting Patterns on Craftsy . Support Creativity. Buy Indie.

Here's a couple of pretty/cute patterns I found 

Flower in Granny Square motif

Notes bookmarks by Zabelina 

I'm off to hunt for some more ...

Thankful Thursday

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

• my heater - we've had a few cold days and nights of late & it's nice to snuggle down on the couch at night to watch the tv & stay nice and toasty.
• my crochet - it's keeps me busy and helps me focus on something other than my aches and pains 
• spending time with Mark. We were able to go Op Shopping & have lunch together
• snuggle time with C.K. he's been very affectionate this week

What are you thankful for this week?

5000 Poppies Project

I follow, or should I say like, a lot of different crochet pages on Facebook. I came across a post about a wonderful project called 5000 poppies.

Poppies have long been associated with the battlefields of World War I. They are now considered a symbol of the lost of those on the battlefield and hope for those left behind.

The 5000 Poppies Project gives fibre artists the chance to contribute to a field of poppies that will be on display in Melbourne on ANZAC Day 2015. It will be part of the 100th anniversary commemoration. You can find out more about it on their website HERE. They explain it much better than I can.

Here's the Facebook group if you wish to check it out 5000 Poppies and a link to their poppy pattern page.

I know I will be adding to their poppy collection. I think it's a wonderful idea to be part of something so special to honour our service men & women.

WIP - Galaxy Tab Cover

Mark asked me to make a cover for a Galaxy Tab so that he can give it to his friend Ron. Ron was the best man at our wedding. Here's what I have made so far.

Here's a close up so you can see the stitch/pattern I used

I've almost completed it. All I need to do now is sew it together and add a microfibre lining. The pattern  is a freebie and is called Love my ipad case crochet pattern from redheart. It whips up very easily (which I love) and I'm thinking I might even use the same stitch for some afghan squares to make another blanket. Although that will be on my to do list and it may take quite a while before it gets done.

I'm off to finish this up so that Mark can give it to Ron when he sees him later tonight.

More Yarn Bombing

Mark and I were Op Shopping the other day when we came across some more yarn bombing. I of course had to take some photos so that I could share what had been done.

This time the crafty bombers had covered a wheelbarrow and a chair and they had left them in the main street.

I love how clever the bombers are. I also wonder how long these items will stay where they are.

Hunting For Crochet Videos

I've been hunting through crochet videos on youtube again. This is one I found the other day.

It's a long video (about 18 minutes) but the end result sure does look good (~_~)
I bet it would look great on a blanket or even as a brooch.

Finished Item - Doggy Applique Fleece Blanket

Yay it's finally complete.

Before

I cannot believe that it took me almost 2 hours to sew it all on to the blanket. I must be a slow sewer.  

After

I think it looks a little crooked but then again it could just be me and the way I took the photo. 

Let's just call it artistic license (o_~)

All I need to do it get this over to Perth where my mother-in-law lives. Mark's twin and his wife will be travelling over there to visit family. They have kindly offered to take it over with them.
I just hope that my MIL likes it.

WIP - Dog Applique Blanket

 Here's what the four corners of the blanket look like.
I chose 4 different colours for the paws.

I can't get over how different the blanket looks in each of the photos. I took them using my phone but the photos don't seem to show the blankets colour properly. The third picture is a little bit more accurate though.