Wednesday 21 September 2016

I have been quite busy painting this week, but I HAVE managed to add a bit to my sensory play mat....here is the work in progress....
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Wednesday 7 September 2016

Here is the Blue Tbag hat...they look soooooo cute....
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I have now finished two more T bag hats that will be listed in my folksy shop....and a Christmas one that is half finished.......
They can be quite hard on my hands (arthritic) but I keep going........
Once I have finished these ones, I hope to move to the next size......that is best way to design rather than just guessing. Once the smallest size is done, it is easier to add a few stitches and rows for the next size.
Here is the pink one...the blue one will follow shortly.....

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Sunday 4 September 2016

this weekend, I decided that it was time to do a stock take.
I recently sold an item and it took me ages to find where I had put it. Having nearly 200 items in cupboards can make things difficult to locate.
I have a book with details of photos etc and where the item is listed but I am sad to say that I neglected to add "where" I could find them.
It took me nearly 3 hours to get everything out onto the bed, re-label each item and write in the book  exactly where it would be stored.
Lesson....remember to do it as I go along and not leave it for later and forget !
Today I sold a baby cardigan and I was able to go and find it straight away....result !
While collating everything, I found three baby cardigans that I didn't even know I had....so now these have gone into my folksy shop for just £5
www.folksy.com/shops/teabreaks

I have also just finished making a baby T bag hat I think it looks cute and so I will make them in other colours ready for the winter sales rush....(I hope)
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Thursday 1 September 2016

for many years I have loved freeform crochet because it is like painting with yarn. As an artist this has always appealed to me. My biggest issue was what to do with the pieces of crochet (Scrumbles) that I had created as I found it difficult to assemble them into garments.
I have a large stash of yarn and have been sorting through my cupboards and found lots of scrumbles and also stitch samples that I have made.
Recently I have made a lot of blankets which have sold well and so now I have decided to return to doing some freeform crochet and I am joined lots of the pieces together and adding new stitches and scrumbles to make a "Sensory Play mat" for people to touch and feel.
Ideally it would suit babies and children as it will contain lots of texture and colour but it will also interest people with alzheimers or anyone who enjoys touching and feeling.
I know that as a child I would have loved something like this...well I love this sort of thing NOW.
Once the mat is finished, I will offer it for sale in my folksy shop.
At the moment, it is just a WIP (Work in progress ) but I will show more pictures of it as it grows.
This is the mat so far.....
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Sunday 28 August 2016

time seems to be flying by this summer.......I have been sorting out all the yarns in store and rewinding a lot of it into magic balls to make granny square blankets. These sell very well as I list them for rock bottom prices. I helps to use up every little scrap of yarn. The balls are wound using different lengths of different colours, so when you crochet you never know which colour is coming up or where the colour will change. Each blanket of course is different and a surprise.
Next I am going to do some freeform crochet and make a play mat or comfort blanket. It will have pompoms, bobbles and curly bits for the child to play with.
A bit like the twizzle muffs that people make for pensions. I thought it would be fascinating for a baby or child to play with......watch this space.
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Sunday 10 July 2016

well it has been a very busy few weeks....not a lot of crochet got done . I have been trying to work out a way to make a pom pom pram cover without having to buy one of those huge frames. I have nowhere to put one but I do love pompom blankets.
I found a small 5" loom and tried many times to make a mini pompom square.
I have dozens of squares here but I wasn't happy with them when they were joined together..
However, Eureka...I think I have it sorted now and have made enough squares to join together to my satisfaction..... The cover should be finished by tomorrow. I just have to crochet an edging and then list it in my folksy shop
Here is the WIP....
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Thursday 12 May 2016

I have been very busy this week....I made another tote bag and a warm winter Cowl...well Christmas isn't THAT far away is it? I also made another infinity scarf and I am in the middle of a lady's lacy top.....I also made a pink matinee coat...phew !!
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Thursday 5 May 2016

and now the photos of the hat that I also made on Wednesday.....
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well here is the finished bag....the lining is just a solid piece of crocheted fabric. Strong enough to support any larger objects and to stop smaller items falling through.
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Wednesday 4 May 2016

So that I can stock up my etsy and folksy online shops. I am spending a few days making smaller items. There are quite a few items that I can make in just one day...sometimes in just a few hours or less. Yesterday I crocheted another infinity scarf and although summer is coming (I live in hope) it is always a good idea to have plenty of stock well before the Christmas rush that I am hoping for this year.
Today I have crocheted a hat and also a Tote bag.
I used to make a lot of bags and purses and love being able to add a variety of yarns with no rules. The only trouble with crocheted bags is that they need a lining or items will fall through the gaps.
I am not the best person at sewing and there aren't any material shops near to my home and so I crocheted a lining in tight double crochet. (US single crochet). The bag is now finished and I hope to take pictures tomorrow. In the mean time, here is a picture of the infinity scarf....available for an unbelievable price of just £5 plus P&P  www.folksy.com/shops/teabreaks
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Sunday 1 May 2016

I have been very busy this weekend. I finished another bolero  cardigan and also another child's 24" top.
Both using the same stitch design and both my own patterns.
Betty is modelling the yellow bolero.....I am so pleased that I found her on ebay....
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today I have done another child's 24" top....this time in yellow and an infinity scarf in a neutral fleck yarn. I will take photos on Tuesday and post them on here .......

Thursday 28 April 2016

Well, this morning "Betty" my new mannequin arrived from ebay. Goodness knows how they can sell these at only £5.20....and they are available in all colours....fantastic buy.
I was amused to say the least to see our "shy" young My Hermes lad with a female torso tucked under his arm. It was wrapped but very tightly so it was plainly obvious that it was the female form.
Poor lad hadn't even noticed until I asked him why he was man handling a woman...lol.
What a different Betty has made to my displays and photos. She has a hook in her neck, so that she can be hung from a door or tree branch etc.
I took pics of her in the retro waistcoat and also the bolero.
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Tuesday 26 April 2016

I have had a very busy week with my crochet. Firstly I made another corner to corner blanket to go in my Folksy shop.
I made this one like the last one, by working two strands of 4ply yarn together. This made the blanket extra thick and cosy. I just did a plain blanket stitch around the outside. There is something quite satisfying bout finishing a corner to corner blanket.



Once this blanket was finished...I rewound some beautiful purple glitter yarn. I wanted to make a retro 60's waistcoat but it is many years since I made one. In the 60;s I had them in by wardrobe in every imaginable colour and on holiday once, I sold TWO "off my back" to people who came up to me and asked where I had bought them......never one to refuse money !!!
Not being able to remember the mechanics of it (old age) I found a free pattern online and commenced to make it.
Mmmmm....that was NOT a good idea...there were mistakes in it right from the start!
The pattern had a shell stitch on every 5th chain and each size was 2 shells wider than the next size....so that is 10 ch per size (I may have failed at maths but I am sure that is right) SO WHY did it say 120 ch for the first size and 140 for the next size? yet every other size was just 10sts extra....
My brain might be getting older but I knew this wasn't right...When I got to the armhole shaping there mistakes there too.....Fortunately, because of my past designing experience, I was able to "cobble" and adjust the pattern to make it correct.
It makes me wonder though, how these patterns get through the loop.
When I worked for a well know Spinner back in the 60;s , each pattern was sent out to three knitters to be tested....
Moral.....design my own,.... just as I always have done.
Now I am designing a summer lady's bolero.
The main part is finished, I just have to do the sleeves. This one has been worked from the shoulders down . That makes it easier to pick up the sleeves and know that the shells are all facing in the same direction....watch this space !!!!!

Tuesday 19 April 2016

I have had a busy few day crocheting.
Firstly, I needed to use up some 4ply yarn. I use 4ply for lady's summer tops or baby clothes but these colours were not really suitable for babies and those colours that were, were not enough in quantity to make something larger.
After a lot of thought, I decided to mix 2 x 4ply colours together to make a random yarn and I made a corner to corner blanket.
I am really pleased with the result.
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corner to corner blankets are fun to do and once you get to the widest point each row gets smaller and I find myself getting faster and faster to get to the final row.
I finished off the blanket with a row of blanket stitch.
Once this was finished I decided to make some ribbed winter hats. I know summer is coming but I also like to stock up and also I hate having small balls of yarn just hanging around. I made a black/grey mix hat and then one in a pink/grey mix.
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Finally I decided to make another poncho as I had some 100% wool that I wanted to use up. I am pleased with the result.
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Friday 15 April 2016

Way back in the 60's I crocheted literally hundreds of pretty angel tops. Now, mostly called Matinee coats I decided to crochet another one.
Although many of them are similar, this one is my own design and created in 4ply acrylic to give it a light and delicate feel and look.
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Friday 8 April 2016

this week I have been working on lacy summer tops. I live in hope of a nice summer.
I started off  with a lady's version in 4ply acrylic in a bright orange colour. I think it turned out quite nicely, so then I made a 22" one in dk for a child and yesterday a 24" one in a white lurex acrylic dk.
Today I have almost finished another 24" dk one in bright pink. I can now work on larger sizes and get them listed in my shops,.
The ones so far are in my folksy shop
www.folksy.com/shops/teabreaks
The pink one that I am just finishing will go into my etsy shop over the weekend.
Here they are......
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Thursday 31 March 2016

Yesterday I decided to try out another poncho....I just love them.
This one was made with an Aran mix in lovely Autumn shade.
Using this pattern is lovely because the resulting poncho is light and airy.
I was so pleased with it that I made another one but this time in double knitting......
I think I will be making a selection of these.....
My only problem now is where to store all this stock while I am waiting for the people to rush to my folksy shop and buy something.
www.folksy.com/shops teabreaks
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Sunday 27 March 2016

After I finished the chunky jacket I decided to make a little girl's shopping bag. This pattern came from youtube and was only 15 rows in total and so was extremely quick to make.
I haven't lined this one as that would add to the cost of the materials and I made it to help use up some of the mounting stash of left overs.
Each day,. I try also to make a few classic granny squares to try to keep that mounting stash at bay !
Once I have enough, I will join them to make a blanket to sell in one of my shops.
Here is the little bag...
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sadly I succumbed to the lurgy this week.
I am rarely unwell and was not happy when hubby went to the hospital for an appointment and brought home piles of germs. He got affected first and kindly gave it to me!
SO......crochet has been slow this week.
I made another hexagon cardigan, with my own adaptions.
This one I did using two strands of 4ply together to give a chunky finish. It made a lovely thick little jacket

Friday 18 March 2016

well, here is the finished hexagon cardigan. I adapted the original idea to create a round neck as I wasn't happy with the high neck on the original hexagon jackets. I also didn't like the sleeves being as wide as the body and so I altered that as well,.
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Thursday 17 March 2016

I have been crocheting my little fingers off in the last few days.....I have lots of ideas going around my head and rush to finish one thing, so that I can start the next project.
I started on Saturday with a new Corner to Corner blanket. This one was done in blue and yellow stripes as my other ones have been bright colours or pink and I didn't want to leave out the baby boys.
Yesterday I had an hour to spare and so decided to make a small 6" purse from granny squares.
I am always aware that pennies could fall through loosely crocheted work and so I always line my purses.
However, I hate sewing and so I also crocheted a lining in double crochet (single crochet to the Americans)
This morning I wanted to make a little girl's cardigan and decided to use the hexagon granny square idea. However, I have never liked the fact that using this method the sleeves are far too wide.
You keep making the hexagon until, when folded, it is the correct chest measurement, but this makes the sleeves look ugly.
Also there is no proper neckline on the basic patterns that people use and I don't like that either.
I KNOW, I am fussy,.
SO I made a basic hexagon and then added rows here and there to form a neckline and to make the chest wider than the sleeves.
 I will take pics of that later. The cardigan is finished...just needs sewing up.
I have added a picture of it as a work in progress, along with my notebook and copious notes on what I have done, plus a drawing of how I would LIKE it to look when finished.
What a busy few days...!!