New Crochet Bag & My Current WIP

I’m showing off my new crochet bag from Bonfire Cherry and my current WIP since it has been a little while. I started on a rather large granny square blanket in sparkly purple, blue and silver. The blanket will end up big enough to cover our super king size bed which will also cover all of our corner sofa for film days too!

Purple Granny Square Blanket

My Current WIP

I’ve only managed to squeeze in a row here and there over the last few months alongside a small toy hammock. (I need to make another 3 of those too!) I am pleased with my slow progress and love how warm it is whilst I work on it.

As always I have had a few incidents where the girls knock my WIP all over the floor which annoys me greatly! I finally decided it had been far too long since I spotted the Wool print bags from Bonfire Cherry and asked him about them. Unfortunately he stopped selling these but luckily for me he had one spare so I finally got my hands on a new crochet bag!

New Crochet Bag

New Crochet Bag – Wool Print Design

My new crochet bag arrived beautifully wrapped and fits my current WIP with plenty of growing room. Keeping my WIP & hook together in one place at all times is so much easier. I am relieved and in love with the gorgeous Wool Print design from Bonfire Cherry.

I have been joining in with the #HGDCMakersMoment the last 2 weeks, reminding me how much I enjoy crochet. Connecting with other crocheters and crafters is always so inspiring. Of course last week I joined in showing off my gorgeous new crochet bag which everyone loved. It made me smile even if I was dealing with a projectile vomiter repeatedly appearing in the hallway. I managed to join in the conversation a little at least.

After I finish my blanket and 3 more toy hammocks, I am determined to make myself a cardigan! Heather who runs #HGDCMakersMoment found me some gorgeous designs so I just need to find the perfect wool. My crochet confidence has definitely gone up over the last year. Now I can’t wait to learn more tips and tricks. I would love to make us all cosy socks and jumpers for cold winters!

What’s on your hook at the moment?

First Granny Square Blanket Finished!

It’s true! My first granny square blanket is finished at last! Just over 2 months ago I shared the start of my first  granny square project . Since then it’s been growing at a fair pace considering all the interruptions I’ve had. When I ran out of wool I shared a quick update on how it was turning out and asked for suggestions for a border.

My First Granny Square blanket is finished

As suggested I went for a shell border & Izzy chose a gorgeous Robin Paintbox wool in Rumba for it. I like it but think perhaps a slightly bigger shell would have looked a little better. Izzy of course disagrees & I wasn’t allowed to change it! In all fairness I’m not good at deciding these things haha.

Shell border

144 squares hasn’t taken anywhere near as long as I expected. Whilst I had hoped to finish my first granny square blanket at least a week ago I am surprised how quickly it grew. I ran out of the blue and purple wool half way through. This meant I was stuck for a week or so. As soon as I picked up more I got back on it and somehow managed to work pretty fast though. Considering we’ve had a busy few weeks I am surprised!

My First Granny Square Blanket Is Finished!!

My first granny square blanket is finished

Whilst I can see where I need to make changes for future blankets I am quite pleased with my first attempt. I can see this being the first of many granny square blankets as I’ve really enjoyed working on this. It hasn’t taken as long as expected and Izzy loves how it’s turned out too. She’s spent the entire day snuggled up with her new blanket which is lovely to see!

I am definitely becoming more confident now and mistakes don’t stress me out as much as I know easy fixes now. Crochet has really helped me deal with pain and stress a lot better too. Having something to focus on is really calming and the finished product always gives me a sense of achievement. The only problem is..

Now I’m on the hunt for my next project.. any suggestions? 😂

Crochet Catch Up – Granny Square Project

I figured it was time for a bit of a crochet catch up following my Granny Square Blanket post. Almost 2 months since I started but we all know I’m slow with projects! Most of the time it’s down to my indecisiveness, I hate making decisions and never know what colours or patterns to use. Luckily this time I used a fantastic pattern generator Mrs A from Hooks & Dragons (My crochet guru!) passed on to me. Using that plus some input from Izzy the granny square blanket I ended up with the pattern below.

Crochet catch up - granny square project

After finding myself motivated enough to keep on top of blogging, I shared a post of 10 blogging tips to stay motivated  of course that meant I then lost my motivation. Or rather I quickly found myself falling behind again as I became more motivated to crochet instead.
Granny square project in progress

 

I was ferociously crocheting granny squares for quite a while and the blanket began to grow quite quickly. I picked up a second hook in the same size to pop in my handbag with a small ball of wool for journeys. It really helps my anxiety & passes time quite quickly, the drive to the Rochester Dickens Festival went so fast whilst I crocheted another square.

Using the 4 colours has worked better than I expected though and even though I hate pink, I do love the way this blanket is working up! I have really enjoyed working on this blanket, Until I ran out of purple & blue wool! Now I’m at a bit of a standstill until I have bought more tomorrow.. One day I will learn to always pick up extra haha!

Working out the pattern means I know exactly how many squares of each colour scheme I need. Which also means it will be easier to continue once I have more wool. I am keeping track of the pattern so I can make another similar one for Eva too.

I’m currently around halfway through the blanket!

I still need to work out a border to finish it off, any suggestions? I’m not sure which colour or pattern to use for the border. I’m hoping to have the blanket finished by the end of summer. A nice slow easier project I can pick up & put down easily has been just what I needed. I will definitely be making more granny square projects!

So there you go a little crochet catch up for my readers. What have you been working on recently?  What do you think of the blanket? 

Eva’s Blanket Is Finally Finished (For Now) 

You may have seen me crocheting Eva’s Blanket if you’ve been following my blog  or especially my Instagram. I’ve been crocheting a colourful granny square blanket, letting Eva choose each colour/shade as I go. I’ve been working on it for quite some time now doing a few stitches most evenings, even taking it on the bus with me to work on!

The finished product –

Eva's blanket - finished

We ended up adding 16 different colours/shades to Eva’s blanket and she is absolutely over the moon for it to finally be finished (for now) and able to use it around the flat and on her bed.  Last year I knitted Izzy a soft fluffy blanket but it took quite a bit of time and hurt my hands although I did enjoy it. Crochet seem’s much easier, faster and calming to be honest.

I had one very happy girl last night, Eva settled pretty quickly snuggled up under her blanket and when she woke up this morning it was the first thing she grabbed to bring through to the living room where she snuggled up on the sofa until breakfast!

Eva's blanket - in bed
Sneaky photo of Eva snuggled up falling asleep

I’m feeling quite pleased with myself to be honest. It’s such a lovely feeling finally completing such a big project and seeing Eva so happy with the result! Eva wants me to continue adding on to it as she grows so I haven’t added a border.. yet!

I’ve already started on my next project too! A colourful scarf for Eva using the same wool she asked me to finish her blanket with. I tried knitting the scarf but was unhappy with how it looked. Instead I’ve gone back to my trusty hook and crocheting her a scarf!

 

Have you finished a project lately or are you currently in the middle of one? If you love crafting don’t forget to link up with #CraftingIsMyTherapy too.

Me You and Magoo