Sun Hat

Hello there! How are you all doing? 

I don't know about you, but today I'm feeling rather spritely. The sun is shining, I woke up early (but not too early) without the help of my alarm clock, which is always a nice feeling,  and I'm getting in a quick bit of blogging before I had into work and play two shows.

Not to mention I'm sat on my balcony sipping on my coffee and enjoying the Spring blossom that has rather suddenly appeared everywhere.

Today I have a rather quick little post...

I wanted to share a cute little project that I have been working on, as requested by a very special person.

A few weeks ago I received an email from somebody that I haven't spoken to in many years, but have always had such fond memories of.

The message was from my primary school teacher, Mrs Pyman. 

I'm sure that when you look back through your life and you think about the key people that influenced you and touched your heart/soul there will be a list of parents, siblings, Grandparents, family, friends, teachers and people you've met along the way. Mrs Pyman is on my list. She was not only my teacher but also my Cub Scout Leader, something I loved. We'd go camping, rafting, hiking....such great memories. 

So when I received a message from Mrs Pyman after some years,  It brought back all sort of happy memories and stories that I had not thought about for quite some time. I was delighted to hear from her. 

Mrs Pyman had seen some of my crochet projects and knew that I was the guy to help her out with a gift that she wanted to give to a friend of hers. 

One of Mrs Pymans friends is going through a difficult time at the moment with some health issues and so as a way of helping to lift her spirits, Mrs Pyman asked if I would make a sun hat for her friend. In BRIGHT BOLD HAPPY COLOURS!

I got to work...picking out some nice shades of cotton. (rico baby cotton).

 

 Following a pattern by Kim Guzman, called the Elegant Hat, I worked round and round in spirals.

Creating what was to become a simple cloche hat.

 

Once done I made an assortment of flowers to add a spot of summary flare to the hat. 

I added some leaves (by Lucy at Attic24) and some slip stitch swirly detailing, some buttons and beads:

All done!! It's a rather happy looking hat!!

Already posted to Mrs Pyman so she can give it to her friend. 

Lets Hope that Mrs Pyman's, friend makes a speedy recovery and that this hat will shine some light on what I can only imagine is a difficult time.

Happy sunny Sunday my lovelies!!

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Sasha's Tunisian Cushions

Hello there! 

As mentioned in my recent post "Works In Progress" I've been working on some cushion covers (as well as other things) for my friend Sasha.

Well....On Tuesday I finally gave Sasha his completed cushions back.

Not only was I thrilled that he was happy with them, but a little relieved that I had actually finished them!

I don't know if you find this... but sometimes when people ask me to make them things, I cringe at the idea. Mainly because of the amount of work it takes (and they don't always realise), but also because of the responsibility of creating something that the recipient is going to like. 

Sasha asked me to make some covers for some old cushions that he had. Being the great friend that Sasha is to me,  I was more then happy. 

He wanted some simple yet fun cushions in a blue or grey. Sounded easy enough, so I got to work on them.

Now the reason I was so relieved to finally give these cushions to Sasha, was because this project could have been completed within a week or two. But alongside other commitments I had to work on, it turned out taking 4 months before I finally got around to finishing them!

Sasha asked about his pillows on a couple of occasions and I kept saying "they are almost ready". He waited another few weeks, then asked again...."they're almost done"  

Finally the week before last, they were actually "almost done".  I finally got them finished!!! "Phew!" (I say as I wipe my brow).

For Sasha's cushions I chose some deliciously soft Rico Baby classic dk. An acrylic blend that comes in some great shades. I was actually looking for a thicker yarn, but decided on this purely because of the colour. 

To make up for the yarn being a little thinner than I had wanted, I wound three balls together and made one luxuriously thick ball to work from. 

Isn't that a pretty sight. One perfectly wound ball of yarn, ready to be worked up into something special.

Yarn at the ready and a nice thick crochet hook (Size 9) with cable attached and I was ready to start this project. 

I needed the cable as I had decided to do (once agin) some Tunisian crochet. I decided to use the Tunisian simple stitch, as when worked up in rows this stitch creates a lovely dense fabric, that isn't as holey as your average crocheted material. 

I made four rectangular pieces. Two for each cushion, making up both sides of the case.

I single crocheted both pieces together, making sure to leave one end open. 

On the end that I had left open I sewed (by hand) a zip into the cushion cover, making it nice and easy for Sasha to remove the cushion inserts if he needed.

Once done, I settled upon some big shiny red buttons to add a little something special to the simple blue cushion covers. 

I sewed the buttons on, with nice chunky stitches.

All finished! I'm hoping they are masculine enough, as I can get a little carried away with my crochet work. I figured simple was the key to this project and I think that I succeeded in that.

Sasha was very pleased when I gave the to him. I was very happy to finally have something to show for his long and patient wait.

I may make myself a couple once I have a free minute. Not too sure when that will be though, as my brain is buzzing with other ideas and projects. I like it when I'm feeling like this.... feeling inspired!

Happy Easter weekend lovely people!

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