One Fat Granny Square

Whilst I do love the simplicity of making Granny Squares....

Letting my fingers do the work whilst I mainly daydream

The huge range of interesting and innovative designs which are available

The colours

The possibility

And never really knowing what the final result will look like

I have to admit that seeing the pile of square growing results in a dramatic mix of emotions for me.

JOY - I love seeing things grow and am a collector at heart so seeing the pile of colourful squares grow is wonderful....the potential....stepping closer to the finishe product

DREAD - I've never been a Completer Finisher....has anyone else been forced to review their role within a team on work away days????

This means I see the ever growing pile as a chore....this colourful little squares will all need stitching together and whilst it is the merging of the squares which actually produces the end product I find it such a dull job that it fills me with dread.

I have found a solution to this character issue, it isnt exactly rocket-science, I have figured out that if I make big squares rather than little ones there is no more stitching together...it seems to simple when its thought through. I love the creative part but hate the stitching....so remove the stitching...yay.

So here is my first big fat Granny Square. I've made this as a cot / pram blanket for bump when he/she arrives.

I guess there is probably a practical maximum size that one of these single squares can get to...might see if a double bed size is possible, maybe not one to complete on the train!

Pom Pom Tastic

I have about a million ideas flying around my head of projects I'd like to try. This afternoon I thought I'd have a go at one and decided to make a Pom Pom, somthing that every 8 year old will no doubt be able to do in their sleep, but something I haven't done for too many years to mention.

Having searched the internet for a gentle reminder of the techniques I started to create....

Cut out 2 x donuts of cardboard with a little V towards the middle (helps when winding the yarn)

then start to wind the yarn....was shocked at how much yarn was needed and very pleased that I had chosen a cheap acrylic to have a go with. Maybe a smaller template would have been a good place to start, but hey I was thinking BIG when I started this project

still winding yarn.........................................

then snip snip snip around the edge of the yarn. Thought this looked liked it could be a cute character in the muppets...unfortunately I dont have any wobbly eyes to stick on :o(

tie MORE yarn around the middle of the ball inbetween the 2 card donuts, remove card...et voila....pom pom tastic, soooo simple

I've got a couple of ideas I want to use pom poms for, but think will see if I can find a template or at least a ratio for the size of the middle circle vs outer circle in order to make take the right amount of yarn for the perfect pom pom...I know....I'm a geek!!! Will share what (if anything) I find.

When size really does matter....

Everything in my life seems to be baby related at the moment, I suppose that is fairly understandable seen as I'm 38 weeks pregnant and havent seen my feet for many months now. Unsurprisingly the imminent arrival of a little one has had fingers whizzing and needles clicking all over the country.... to varying degrees of success....

A cute little cardigan from a proud Great-Gran to be

Adorable booties from a beaming Gran to be

And an almost disaster created by Mum to be .... Me.... I found a pattern online for a cute crochet baby hat...I promise I followed the instructions to the letter....I bought the right size yarn, the right size hook and although I know I dont always get my tension exact I wasnt exactly expecting my creation to fit me....

There are only 2 possible reasons for this extra large baby hat

1) some babies are born with an eye-watering head size

2) I did something wrong

In order not to freak myself out too much I'm going with option 2 and am hoping for a cold winter so I can get some use out of my accidental creation which I actually quite like. Maybe I should stick to getting relatives to make treats for the baby...I'll stick to grown up sizes...

Now I know my ABCs wont you sing-a-long with me

It's been a while since my last update. Life has been crazy, but I'm now 37.5 weeks pregnant and have finally finished work to concentrate on maternity leave and making sure R and I are prepared for the arrival of our first little one.




I finished work last week and have been using my time to finish baby related projects as any day now I could be whisked off to hospital only to return in a whirlwind of our new world.



I'll share my projects with you over the next couple of days but wanted to show you the long overdue finished baby sampler. Well I say finished, I obviously cant add the baby's name (we opted not to find out the sex at the scans) or the birth date, but it is as finished as it can be at this time.

This pattern is from the Historical Sampler Company, whilst I was a little dubious of some of the letters (Ewe for E and Washing for W????) I think the overall effect is really lovely, and hopefully wont be out of date in a year or 2.

I'm looking forward to having this framed and hanging in the nursery, and hope that it will adorn my home for many years to come, I've got images of this hanging on a wall filled with crafty pictures in my perfect cottage kitchen.....well we can all dream....fingers crossed for the next house