Merry Christmas

to all my readers and friends.........

                     

Crochet Hats

I have the crochet bug! I admit it, I am totally hooked, ( excuse the pun), hehe.

I found this gorgeous, local, 100% Cotton yarn on a sale the other day. For 2 days, I just kept looking at and rearranging all the lovely colours.

Then, inspiration hit me and I started crocheting baby cloche hats.

Preemie to Newborn

Newborn

Toddler

 3 - 6 months

0 - 3 month

I don't know what got into me..... You think I'm ready for a grandchild?

Lol, a granddaughter please.....?

And then I finished Penny's (our dog), blanket.

If you look closely, you can see that she has used it already.....lol

And......... wait....... I am already busy with a new crochet project.......

here is a sneak preview:

What do you think ?  Maybe a baby blanket......?????

(Pierre and Kati, if you read this, please, I am only joking...... no pressure, lol)

Poppies

 I haven't forgotten about the Poppies. How could I? It took me the better part of 2011 to stitch them all.

They are done in long and short stitch, some french knots, stem stitch, and a few odd straight and lazy daisy stitches. I used DMC threads.

The plan is to cover a lamp shade with the embroidery. I saw it in an old "Anna", an embroidery magazine from Germany, and fell in love with it. As it happens, one of the  embroidery competition articles at our Women's Agricultural Union is long and short stitch. So I thought I'd give it a try.

There are 9 Poppies and some buds in this design.....

Now that I'm finally finished with the embroidering part of the article, I have sleepless nights, thinking and planning on how to get the lampshade covered without making a total mess. The magazine has no instructions included. Phew......????

Wish me luck.....

Any ideas are very welcome, I appreciate your comments....

.

And hello again

Remember these?

I have turned them into bags.

The bags measure about 30 cm wide by 40 cm long.

I have lined them and added a handy inside pocket.

The following bag has some bling added on the front and back.

The next bag is awaiting assembly.....

As well as this one.....

And finally, the first Dahlia of the season....

And this little beauty.....

We call it the rain lilly as it only flowers when the rain comes.....

Rag Rug

Hello again! I have been busy recycling my old t'shirts as well as some t'shirting material I had lying around for a few years. The pattern on the material was so out of fashion that it could not really be used for anything....

But, as it was still brand new, ( one of those purchases), I kept it at the back of the cupboard for many years. ( Bad conscience, lol)

 I am glad I did!

The other day I was surfing around the internet and came across a recycling website. I was totally inspired by the use of old t'shirts to crochet rugs.

Rolfi is very happy with his rug.

The tshirts are cut into 2cm wide strips and then, with a giant crochet hook, (I carved my own because I could not source one in South Africa over the internet. Remember, I live in the bundus...)

you crochet away. It is really quick and easy and the t'shirt yarn feels real soft in your hands.

The metal crochet hook in this picture is a size 6.5mm and I guess my carved one is about size 10mm.

Hope I inspired you a bit......

The possibilities with this type of crochet are endless....

Here are some links that might interest you:

http://vintagechica.typepad.com/the_life_and_times_of_thi/2006/10/rag_rug_tutoria.html

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/39345/how-to-crochet-a-rug-out-of-t-shirts/page/all

http://www.designsponge.com/2009/07/mini-crochet-baskets.html

Have been busy with overnight guests, baking Christmas cookies, spring cleaning etc.

Thought I'd just quickly post some pics for you to look at......

I have been crocheting  granny squares and hexagons, embroidering long and short stitch flowers,

crocheting a mat for the dog with strips of old t'shirts.....

It seems like I have creative overload at the moment... :)

And I must make time to make photos so I can show you. I will try this weekend, I promise

Felt Ornaments

Christmas is but only a few weeks away.

 Today I want to show you  some Christmas tree decorations I have made.

I used felt, odd embroidery threads and beads as well as other findings.

.....and a whole lot of imagination.....

....... and even more patience .....

Some of them were quite fiddly to make..... the biggest one measures only 6cm x 8cm.

I hope I inspired you.......