A stripe a day, keeps the grannies away!

Hello Lovelies!! Hope your all having a colourful weekend?!
Look at what the post man delivered earlier in the week!

17 scrummy balls of Stylecraft DK!! I ordered it from Masons last week and was very surprised to have it delivered three days later!!! VERY SPEEDY INDEED!!!
I love to order these Stylecraft assorted packs. Not only are they full of great colours, but they are also amazing value! This bundle of 17 different colours cost me only £25.50 (plus postage), If that isn't a bargain I don't know what is?!

Now I don't want to sound like a 'Yarn Snob', but I don't usually go for acrylic yarns.
My favourite yarns include a nice Cashmere or Merino, so soft and snuggly. The problem with always using fancy yarn.... is the price. It's soooo damn expensive.
So when the budget is a little tight, I find myself looking for cheaper alternatives. Acrylic yarn tends to tick the boxes in terms of price.
The problem I have with SOME acrylic yarns is that quite often  I find them to be just a little too plasticy for my liking. I want my yarn to feel luxuriously soft and not scrunchy and cheap.
For me Stylecraft fits the medium perfectly. Its great value but it doesn't feel like I've dropped down in quality. Its feels lovely and soft. There is such large selection of colours that you can't help but be drawn to it.
This is why I've used Stylecraft for many projects, Its acrylic that doesn't feel like acrylic. Look how wonderfully colourful it is when worked up!:

I ordered my Stylecraft with the intention of making another Granny Stripe Blanket (using the Attic24 pattern). A colleague of mine (Dani) had seen my crochet work and was so smitten with the Granny Stripe, that she asked me to make her one. I'm not usually so keen on making items for people when they know about it. I feel under pressure to get the project finished fast. Instead I like to make a project secretly and give it as a surprise, that way I'm under no obligation to get the project finished by a certain time.
This was different, It was for Dani!
Dani works at the theatre and is part of the wigs and make-up department. She is such a lovely woman! Always has a smile on her face and is so fun and crazy.
Dani and I help each other with our language learning. She speaks to me in English and I'll correct her when she gets stuck. Then she does the same for me in German, it's a win win Situation!
So of course when Dani asked me for a bright (like her personality) blanket, I got straight to work.

Dennis and I have both made granny stripes before. I made mine with Merino the first time around:

Dennis made his with the Stylecraft pack:

As I've just bought the Stylecraft pack, I'm going for a Granny Stripe similar to Dennis'.
Dani told me that there is no rush for the blanket so I'm making this a sideline project. A project that I'm always working on, but that doesn't always have to be my main focus. I hope that this way I won't get bored of it and will have time to work on other projects. :-)

With that in mind I've decided to do just one stripe a day. A stripe is taking only about 20 minutes to complete, so I should be able to fit easily one per day.

With the amount of stripes I'm hoping this blanket will be finished around early September. I'm thinking that's perfect! It will be finished in time for Autumn. So Dani will have a bright and gorgeous blanket to snuggle in during the cold Autumn and Winter months. I cant wait to give it to her!!

There we have it!! Day seven and I'm mid row on my 7th stripe. I'm giving the random colour approach a try, let's see how that turns out!

Have a glorious Sunday!!
Matt xxx

This post has moved!
You can read an updated and revised version on our new blog.

Click here to read this post in full at it's new home!

Granny Square Button Cushion!

Guess who spent a lovely Friday afternoon with Dennis?.......MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Dennis' cruise ship was in Hamburg for the day, so we had a chance to catch up. We spent a lovely afternoon sharing stories and enjoying each others company, it was sooooo  great to see him!
He is doing fine and is rather enjoying his current contract. He promises that once rehearsals are finished he will pop by 'the blog' and say hello to you all!

Friday really was a lovely day! Not only did I see Dennis in the afternoon, I also took the evening off form work and had a little time to myself. I spent some time working on my current WIP and made some scrummy home cooked food.

I also took a venture up the road to explore the local yarn cafe, they were having a 'Knit Night'.
Knit night happens twice a month at this store and I was extremely curious to see what it was all about.
I have to be honest, not only was I curious..... I was also a little nervous. Nervous about the fact I would probably be the only guy and nervous about the thought of having to speak German! 
I didn't have to worry about a thing! The ladies were extremely accommodating, they spoke to me slowly and were patient as I sometimes struggled to find the correct German words.  We spoke about our projects and worked on them whilst having a laugh and drinking good coffee. I didn't always understand everything that was said but I laughed along all the same! :-)

On the way home, I stopped off at a bar and listened to some live music whilst sipping a beer. It was a perfect way to end an evening free from work.

Would you like to see what I was working on at the knit cafe?
I started this project last week, It's made using the leftover yarn from my blanket.

This project had two purposes. The first was to be quick and easy and the second was to use up the last of this yarn. It fulfilled both!
I planned on making a cushion that would match my blanket. I decided to keep to a similar theme and made the pillow out of Granny Squares.
49 squares in total.

I made 24 colourful squares

 Then I added 25 white squares to the equation.

I stitched the squares together using single crochet. I wanted to create the same raised ridges that my blanket also has.

I rummaged the 'bits and bobs' box for all of the left over buttons we had. Some buttons I had bought, some I had found and some were salvaged from old clothing. 

I'm totally fascinated with buttons at the moment. I love the endless amount of colours and sizes. I love that  randomly you may see one whilst walking to work or find one down the back of the sofa. I think they're rather enchanting!

I sewed the buttons to the white Granny squares. 

Once the front of the cushion was complete I got to work on the back.
I simply made a large granny square out of my left over yarn. Changing colour for each round.

Isn't that just so stunningly sunny! I'm loving the back of the pillow almost as much as the front!
Once the back was finished I stitched the front to the back (cushion in the middle) also using single crochet. I finished it off with a simple picot border.
Wanna have a look?

 I'm very pleased with it! The buttons add a rather playful touch!
 Here's the back:

I'm not sure which side a love most?

It compliments the blanket nicely and sits fittingly with its sibling cushions!

With this cheery cushion it really doesn't matter that its so gloomy outside!
Apparently these days, sunshine comes in the form of granny squares and buttons!

Matt xxx

This post has moved!
You can read an updated and revised version on our new blog.

Click here to read this post in full at it's new home!

Marvellous May.

Hello Lovelies!!
Just wanted to touch base with you all!
I've been struggling to find time to work on the blog this week. I've missed you all dearly!
Balancing work with German language school is proving a little tricky.  It's really not leaving me very much crafty time :-(
When I have had a free moment,  my head has been somewhere else. I haven't been able to focus on any ideas or even attempt to make my crafty dreams a reality.
However, this evening, I've not had to work and have spent the evening getting organised.
The idea 'flood gates' have opened and I'm once again swamped with creative crochet ideas.

May should be an exciting month! I have a a couple of patterns I'm working on and will hopefully be heading your way very soon!
I also have this gorgeous  'Baby Alpaca' wool to play around with. It's going to be worked up into a glorious frenzy of gorgeousness.

Not as bright and bold as my usual colour choices. A little more classic! Isn't it delicious looking?

Before I get working with the Baby Alpaca, I must finish my current WIP. I'm working on another Granny Square project using the left over wool from my blanket! I'll be sharing this with you very soon!

So...lots planned and happening for the month of May!!!
I can't wait!
What creative craziness have you all got planned for the upcoming month? I'd love to know!
I say "BRING ON THE MARVELLOUS MONTH OF MAY!" It's going to be exciting!

Matt xxx

This post has moved!
You can read an updated and revised version on our new blog.

Click here to read this post in full at it's new home!

Crochet O'clock!

Hello gorgeous people!
WOW!!! I can't believe we have reached the 500 followers mark!!! That's really fantastic! I simply love how you all take the time to pop by and see what's happening. Isn't it amazing how we all connect through our hobbies and passions, people from all corners of the world!!!
A massive SQUEEZY HUG for the continuous support and for taking the time to come visit Dennis and I.

I've been a busy boy over the last couple of days, completely and utterly obsessed with my new project! A quick and cheery project that I hope will bring me lots of sunshine for months to come!
You may remember at the weekend I mentioned that I had bought a crafting clock from the craft store.

Its been really fun having this clock to play around with. Not making something from scratch, but building on an already existing product makes for a different perspective to crocheting.
I raided the yarn box and found our stash of 'creative cotton'. The colours are so bold and summery, I knew that they were exactly what I wanted for my clock.

My initial idea was to attempt to crochet one of the scenes from one of my 'Sunny Pictures'. 

After throwing that idea around in my head,  I soon realised that I would have to simplify the picture immensely. I decided rather than recreate one of the pictures, I would simply try and keep to the style of the pictures. I made a couple of quick sketches and decided upon something similar to this.

(Not a great drawing, but sketching out my ideas really helps me to visualise what I'm aiming for)

I got cracking with the design and started by crocheting a big circle out of two brilliant shades of blue cotton. This would act as the base colour to my clock face.

As I got further with the circle, I changed colours to add a rainbow to my blue circle.
Once the circle had the same circumference as the clock face, I added a little wavy border.
With the help of my trusty glue gun, I glued my crocheted circle to the clock:

At this stage, I was already loving the mix of rainbow colours against the blue sky background! I'm a sucker for a Rainbow!
I had reached the part that I was most excited about....decorating!!!
I had bought some inexpensive wooden numbers and painted them a shocking pink.

 

I searched the web for some crochet flower designs but settled on two designs I had previously used:

Attic 24's Teeny Tiny Flowers; They are sooooo cute, quick and easy to make.

'Mollie Makes' Crochet Flowers. These flowers are a little fiddly at first, but the step by step guide had some wonderfully clear pictures. The Mollie makes website is full of free tutorials and articles! Its really worth checking out for inspiration (if nothing else).

 

I bought this large ladybug and bee from the craft store. I thought they would go perfect with the ladybugs I already had lying around at home.

Finally I rummaged around for all of the bright buttons we had hiding aroung in our boxes. I thought they would fit this project :-)

How about I show you what I came up with?

I used shocking pink numbers as well as little ladybugs to symbolise the numbers.

 

The bigger Ladybug sat playfully on the hands of the clock. 

 

I made many gloriously bright flowers finished off with the bold buttons!

Here it is in its full glory!!!!

I'm so very very happy with it!!! Bright and cheery! Summery and simple!

Brings a touch of Spring/ Summer to the screen, don't ya think?!
Hope you're all having a FAB weekend!!!

Matt xxx

Crochet O'clock pattern available here!!!!

This post has moved!
You can read an updated and revised version on our new blog.

Click here to read this post in full at it's new home!

Long Lists!!

On Monday I had my usual day off from work and it was the first Monday in a long time that I hadn't  planned anything to do. Instead I saved the day entirely to sort out all of the little bits and bobs I had been neglecting over the past couple of weeks.

In theory it should have been a day of achieving. A day of crossing off jobs on my "things to do" list.
As usual things didn't quite go to plan! That evening I found myself sitting at my laptop with a half completed list in front of me! Its not surprising really that I didn't get everything done. I have this tendency of making my lists far too big. A list that is way too long to complete in a week, let alone one day!

At least I got the apartment tidied and finally managed to get around to sorting out the yarn box. Everything is now bagged up into types of yarn and/or colour rather than all mixed up together.
I also sorted through all of my projects and I have to confess I have far too many on the go!!!! I think I am going to have to restrain myself from starting anything new until some off the older projects are finished.

That being said,  this week I have been obsessed with researching a future project. "What is the project?" I hear you ask. Well..... lets just say I have a very strong urge to try and make lots and lots of glorious bunting! I bit of a weird urge, I admit. But a feeling for bunting is one that can not be ignored!
I had a little look about and there are some gorgeous examples about. Here a couple of picture (not my own) that I found and find completely inspiring!

 

The problem is that I really have to finish one of my current projects before I start with" The Bunting Extravaganza"

I guess its not so much of a problem as I am almost complete with one of my projects.

Here it is a little glimpse of one of my current creations! Its made using the gorgeous Merino wool that I splashed out on last month. I'm totally in love with it! The wool is so soft and the colours are really soothing to look at. A little sneak peak to get those sensors buzzing!

I CAN NOT wait to  fully share this with you once it is completely finished!  I'm already getting excited to snuggle up in it during the cold winter months here in Hamburg.
So my final thought is that once this project is finished then I will give the bunting a whirl! That sounds like a fair compromise/ solution to my ever growing stash of incomplete projects! :-)

Can't wait to go barmy over bunting! Crazy crochet times ahead!!

This post has moved!
You can read an updated and revised version on our new blog.

Click here to read this post in full at it's new home!