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30Oct

WIP: Julissa Jumper

Earlier this month, during a moment of weakness, I splurged on some lovely Posh Yarn. 6 skeins of Bonnie Aran to be precise. On a whim I’d decided I wanted to try my hand at making a jumper and oh! What a coincidence, it was the day of the weekly Posh Yarn update. For those not in the know, yarn from Posh is highly coveted and once a week, on a Sunday evening, a selection of yarn goes on sale on their website. Getting what you want can be a bit of an elbow fight but that just adds to the excitement! The thrill of the chase somehow makes you want that yarn all the more.


So I sat there with bated breath that Sunday evening, my fingers itching as I waited for the clock to strike 7 and the update to go live. My heart began to thud as I refreshed and the buy button appeared next to that precious yarn I wanted. Several furious clicks later and… success! The yarn was mine, hurrah!


Posh Yarn Bonnie Aran

Two days later and a delicious pink package bursting with yummy yarn arrived at my door. Bonnie Aran is an Aran weight yarn (if you hadn’t guessed) made from 100% BFL wool and wow it smells sheepy! The colour, Another woman’s shoes, is a very autumnal rusty brown and just perfect for this time of year. I’d best get cracking on that jumper then!


Having never knitted anything larger than a sock or a hat, I initially wanted to find a simple, plain-ish pattern to ease me into the world of garment making. Then I fell in love the lacy cable-y beauty that is Julissa. Take a look at the pattern on Ravelry and prepare to swoon. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end!


Knitting, Yarn
By : Chris
1 Comment
29Oct

Oh, Tallinn

Early September, my Husband and I took a five day trip to Tallinn in Estonia. We had an amazing time! It’s a magical city full of history with well preserved medieval buildings and a rich culture.

 

The weather was very kind to us. Although we arrived in the pouring rain the rest of our days were filled with blue skies and sunshine, the ideal weather to explore this beautiful city.

 

Kiek in de Kok

View from Kiek in de Kok

 

Tallinn Old Town
Nevsky Cathedral Tallinn
Tallinn Old Town

 

We spent a lot of time walking around the Old Town area of Tallinn admiring the medieval buildings and defence towers. The red roofs set off perfectly by the bright azure sky.

 

At Kehrwieder Roastery, Tallinn Cafe
Kehrwieder Roastery, Tallinn Cafe

The local cafés were fantastic, so cosy and inviting! The perfect place to recuperate from all the walking & climbing.

 

Estonian Open Air Museum
Shadows
Windmill at The Estonian Open Air Museum
Estonian Open Air Museum

One of my favourite places of all that we visited was the Estonian Open Air Museum. We spent nearly a full day there roaming around the old rural houses. It was like stepping back in time.

 

Polar Bear

I couldn’t resist including this picture of a polar bear at Tallinn Zoo. I’ve never seen a polar bear at a zoo before and it reminded me somewhat of LOST!

 

Dining medieval style at Olde Hansa
Food at Olde Hansa

 

We took another trip back in time at the restaurant Olde Hansa. The entire place was lit by candles, the staff were dressed in medieval costume and a band were playing ye olde music. Such a great atmosphere . Mark ate bear sausages!

 

I cannot recommend Tallinn highly enough, I already want to go back. If you’re looking for a European city break and you like history then I urge you to visit, you won’t be disappointed.


Life, Travel
By : Chris
No Comments
28Oct

Catching Up

I completely lost my crafting mojo this summer. I’m not sure if it was the unusually hot weather we had here in the UK or if I was just distracted by a busy summer schedule but my needles, hooks and yarn were left feeling very much neglected.





Although there has been very little crafting I have had a fantastic summer filled with all sorts of lovely things – festivals, weddings, city breaks, country walks and I even got to attend the filming of the very last IT Crowd episode in London! There has also been the not so lovely task of getting our incredibly old boiler replaced with a snazzy new one. Yay for instant hot water! Boo to the cleaning & redecorating that followed.




Estonian Open Air Museum

Estonian open air museum


 

Drinking cinnamon beer at Olde Hansa

Dublin Wedding

Left: At Olde Hansa, an awesome medieval themed restaurant in Tallinn, Estonia.
Right: At a wedding in Dublin


 

Glastonbury Festival

At Glastonbury festival

 

My fingers have been resting but I can’t say the same for my bank account, unfortunately! Several crafty items may have been purchased over the last few months but more on that another time.

 

So now that autumn is upon us and the temperature has dropped considerably my fingers are itching to get back to work. New yarn purchases are calling to me and I have exciting plans to knit my first sweater. Watch this space!


Life, Me
By : Chris
No Comments
06Jun

Granny Flower Cushion

My latest finished object is one that I’m super proud of mainly because it’s my first real crochet project. I started making these granny circles last year with the intention of making a blanket. In fact it was the whole reason I learnt to crochet, I really wanted a lovely flowers in the snow blanket to call my own.


Crochet granny circles

Every now and then I would make a few circles and add them to my growing collection. It was fun to mix colours that normally I would never dream of putting together. I liked naming the colour schemes as I made each one. There was the superman circle, the sunflower circle, the blue jeans circle and OK you get the picture. After crocheting over 70 circles I couldn’t wait any longer, I had to start joining them up to see what my blanket would look like.


cushion6

But something didn’t feel right, my blanket wasn’t soft or snuggly like I thought it should be. It was actually kinda scratchy and rough. I fell out of love with my blanket idea and I fell out of love with acrylic yarn – big time. So the project lay neglected for months as I concentrated on my new found love – sock knitting.


Recently I lost my sock knitting mojo and found myself drawn to crochet again. This blanket that had been bugging me for over half a year grabbed my attention and the idea struck me that I could make it into a cushion! Most of the work was already done, I only had to join a few more circles, sew up the sides and bingo! A lovely crochet cushion.


So I bet you want to see the finished cushion now don’t you? OK, OK, here it is…


cushion3

Ta-dah!!


cushion

It certainly adds a splash of colour to an otherwise dull sofa. What do you think?


Crochet, Stash Busting
By : Chris
No Comments
31May

Pom Pom Pens

I was making an iCord recently when the idea struck me that if I made one large enough I could slide a biro inside to make a cute yarn-bombed pen. Now I don’t know about you but when I get a crafty idea I have to stop what I’m doing and try it out immediately. Away went my current project, out came some more needles and yarn and hurrah, it worked! As soon as I stitched the end up I knew it would look even better with some kind of embellishment attached. What better than a large fluffy pom pom?


pom pom pens
blue pom pom pen

What do you think of my pom pom pens? Would you be interested in a tutorial on how to make them? Let me know and I’ll write one up.


Knitting, Stash Busting, Yarn
By : Chris
No Comments

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About Me

me Hi, I'm Chris. I love to knit and crochet. I want to make ALL the things.

Latest Posts

  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013

Archive

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  • 7 years ago Latest blog post - Granny Flower Cushion http://t.co/AwAdSozBbh
  • 7 years ago I yarn bombed my pens pompom style: http://t.co/SMyYqEgQpL
  • 7 years ago woah - 20 Unbelievably Tiny Knitted And Crocheted Things http://t.co/CHCkEswauo via @buzzfeeddiy
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  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013
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    06 Jun, 2013
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Ravelry Projects

  • Ubuntu Scheepjes CAL 2018 12 February 2019
  • Nuts about the Sky 12 February 2019

    Using the Nuts about sky colour pack in Scheepjes Sunkissed. First time using this yarn, I love the look of it but it’s a lot thinner than what I’m used to crocheting with.

    2/4/17
    First Square and a steep learning curve for me! Lots of stitches and techniques I haven’t used before. Definitely not TV crochet!

  • Hygge 17 March 2017

    11-02-2017

    Completed gauge square using 4.5mm clover soft touch hook. Correct width of 10cm achieved but fell slightly short on height - with a bit of stretching and the added embroidery I get the correct height.

    First try was with a 4.5mm crochet lite hook and the measurements were way off! Much too wide but also too short. Also found the hook very squeaky and grabby, not pleasant to work with. Shame as the extra light was handy.

    19-02-2017

    Week one complete, loving the CAL so far!

About Me

Hi, I'm Chris. Web developer by day, crafter by night. This is my quest to make ALL the things.

Latest Posts

  • WIP: Julissa Jumper

    30 Oct, 2013
  • Oh, Tallinn

    29 Oct, 2013
  • Catching Up

    28 Oct, 2013

Latest Tweets

  • 7 years ago Latest blog post - Granny Flower Cushion http://t.co/AwAdSozBbh
  • 7 years ago I yarn bombed my pens pompom style: http://t.co/SMyYqEgQpL

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