mini squares in the spotlight...

So true to my word, my mini-squares cushion has been completed and getting its moment if glory in the spotlight

With the joining complete, ends sewn in and a coloured trim all that the cushion needed were some colourful mini buttons to complement the mini squares.

The following day we had a brief spell of sunshine, giving me an opportunity to photograph the cushion, to show it off at its best. As our flat doesn't have many bright spots I ventured outside like a mad lady armed with my camera, cushion and mini blanket to protect from the damp and went to the little green spot around the back of our flat. I had my cushion on concrete bricks,

                                                                     grass

and balanced on bushes.

Ideally it would have looked Lovely laid out on a pretty bed of pastel flowers, but hey you can only work with what you've got!

I also started my friends beanie.

Well I say started, I actually mean started and nearly finished!

Now I'll admit to being a very slow crocheter, as I work in a very cack-handed way (the same way as I knitted) but its comfortable for me, just means I get jealous of those who have blankets flying off their hook. But the hat has been quite a delight to make, although working with a dark grey instead of an array of colours did take me out of my comfort zone!

It required a 5mm hook and although its only 1mm bigger than what i'm used to using it felt pretty enormous!  Having done the swatch previously it meant I could just glide through the rounds. I still had to concentrate, as its all to easy to keep going round without noticing where the start of a new row begins. I believe the band has turned out a little tight, but I will wait till she tries it on in case she'd like some extra rows added, seeing as I have plenty of yarn left.

Whilst browsing through images on Pinterest (don't you just love that place, I could get lost for hours on there) I remember seeing quite a few rainbow granny stripes, so I thought I'd do my own for this weeks mood square. Mid week was when hubby was due for his knee operation (a torn muscle to be fixed and excess tissue to be removed) and the day went as smoothly as it possibly could.  He came home that evening and i've been playing nursie since. I'd taken a few days off to be with him and keep the home ticking over but at the weekend was back to work, so juggling work, caring, shopping, cooking and household chores.  I decided on different colour stripes surrounded by a pale grey for this weeks square, as it has been a week of mixed emotions.

Mini squares appearance...

This week I have picked up another wip (work in progress)
Remember my mini squares cushion, well looking back through the archives, it seems I haven't touched this one since March!

So close to finishing the joining I got bored, and it's sat here forlornly next to me, patiently waiting for some love and attention again. Now the time has come, and ive kicked back into action.

The joining is now complete, and all of those pesky ends have been sewn in. I've also made a start with a coloured border.

This now just needs the front and back putting together and the little buttons for fastening, and it will be ready for its very own ta dah moment, and I promise not to abandon it again until it has had it's moment of glory!

Only a little bit of stickyness took place this week.

I moved onto a larger sized heart box, and with new bright spotty napkins I'd  purchased

I worked on the base, although i'm disappointed that I can still see through it, so will have to try another layer

The top of the box is a squishy satin, so I don't really want to cover it in paper and glue.

I'm thinking of trying a piece of openwork crochet to sit over the top. Initially I tried to find a heart pattern, but not really found anything I liked or open enough. So, I might try a mandala, or just go for it freeform? The problem will be how to attatch the piece to the box, and still have the lid fit its base. But that's for playtime in the future...

I took a little trip to Hobbycraft one evening. Hubby was at a hospital appointment (a health check before next weeks knee operation :-/ ) I went specifically for some holly to go on my little heart box. Time flew by as I browsed at leisure and I got lost in my own little crafty world! Hubby wondered where I'd got to in the end, oops! I am good at being quite restrained at these places, just as well really, so I came out with just 3 little packets (well they were 3 for 2) and a plain muslin bag to play with at a later date.
I think these little goodies will be great to decorate future makes...

A friend has asked me to make her a Beanie hat. This will be another new thing for me to try. I've been given a pattern book, with a couple of favourites bookmarked.

Straight away, in my eagerness, I read through the pattern to see if I could understand everything, and I ended up doing a test piece, as it was easier to get to grips with the stitch by having it physically in your hands.

My test piece, has now been turned into this weeks mood square!

I'm loving how much meaning this blanket will hold. Not just multi-coloured, textured pieces of yarn, but summing up how i've felt throughout the year, a memory blanket using my mother-in-laws yarn, and a learning tool, trying out different stitches and patterns.

Relaxation crochet, and corner makeover...

So this week has been a lot more relaxed and not so dominated by work. Had more time to rest and for me and my little hook... Oh and I finally got round to getting a haircut, which was months overdue!
We did partake in pancake day, well it has to be done, doesn't it!

We have also been trying to focus some of our attentions on the house.
This week we decided to change the pc corner.

Since having a laptop we rarely use this area, it's become a bit redundant. So we searched for a new unit, and I came across one in our local heart foundation store. We compared it to others in furniture stores but all other entertainment units were too low. This was a perfect size and actually matched some of our other furniture.

This enabled hubby to bring his stereo unit out of the garage. Once we are able to connect our laptop to the printer, which means finding a disk buried in the depths of the garage, we will be able to get rid of the monitor and keyboard. I'm really pleased with our find and how it looks, but the area does look a bit techy for my liking, not enough pretty things on it, but for now I can live with it..

I've had some little jars tucked away for awhile, and as hubby likes to carry less and less change with him, i thought they needed to turn into penny jars.

But we couldn't just have plain glass jars, and coins to look at, these needed a colour makeover...

Aaaah, now thats better, now its a pretty, cosy, colour corner...

I gave myself time off from joining my mini squares cushion, to relieve the boredom, but I did get plenty of it done, honest!!

 Why is it when you have to focus on finishing something off, is the time when that you think of so many new projects that you'd like to start...

So my mood square this week is made up from a multi-toned lilac yarn, for my lovely relaxation sessions, with a contrasting turquoise for working on our homely tasks.

This one will need blocking before it gets attached, as for some reason its a bit tight, and doesn't lay as flat as the others.

Hooray for sunshine this week, what a refreshing change. Although i'm sure there must be some nasty, evil snow lurking somewhere in the future, i'm happy to take the spring feeling...

PS... I've just spotted that this is my 100th blog post... how exciting!!

mini square joining...

So this weeks mood square is completed. Not a very exciting week. Work has been slow, plus had a meeting in Basingstoke, a shopping centre that I really do like, so I needed no excuse to pop in to Zaras and Wilkinsons. So ive used a neutral cream. Home has been quite relaxed, so I made a lilac centre, but feeling tired and not sleeping too well, so added a touch of blue...

I have managed to complete the horizontal joins on my mini square cushion

Once my little coloured squares are completed, I double crochet across the full width of the squares, adding a chain stitch in between each square.
Then to join, I put two strips together, right side facing, and double crochet the two white strips together...

This is the back of the squares, you can see the ridge going along...

Now i've got to figure out the vertical lines

I think it may be a little fiddly but i'm looking forward to seeing it completed...

With Valentines fast approaching, hopefully i'm in for a fairly busy week at work, and ive always got my squares to come back to, to help me relax...

January squares....

This weeks mood blanket square is made of two different colours. Firstly the pink, as things had settled at home, finances were getting sorted, and despite being a bit cluttered and surrounded by stuff, we had made a start working through the boxes.

The second ball used was a multi-toned yarn, predominantly green, but with some yellow and cream too. This summed up work, which is pretty quiet, but still managing to bring stress and frustration

I like how the squares are all turning out so completely different

And already a whole month has gone by!

I haven't had much chance to work on my mini squares, as i've not managed to have much free time

But I did begin the joining process, and have worked the first two strips together

Am hoping to be able to have a lot more of the front joined by next time

so until then....

Remembrance and learnings...

Thank you for all your kind words last week.
It has been quite a heavily emotional week. We have had a positive step forward with the finances, and the house clearing did finally come to an end, although that was a heavy emotional pull for hubby to say goodbye to the family home. Final plans came together and Friday was the day of the funeral, and thankfully the rain held off. The day went smoothly and it was a good turn-out. We certainly felt very drained after such a long day, with the journey, the poignant service, and socialising with family at the wake.

We had booked the weekend off, and this was set aside purely to shut ourselves away from the world, to rest and spend some much needed time together.

There was no decision to be made for the colour of my mood square this week, it had to be purple. This was Tisha's favourite colour and the main shade at the funeral.

A bit of sparkle mixed with the plain. This shows the mix of mood and personality.

This is how the first four weeks of my mood blanket are looking. Just hoping now that the colours can start to get a little lighter and brighter as the weeks progress.

My mini crochet squares are still travelling round with me, and the pile is growing...

Back at home the joining process has started. I was unsure what I was doing, and it's been a bit trial and error. I tried to combine the edging and joining together but i didn't like the ridge showing on the front and i felt the crossover joins were a bit hit and miss and were turning out too lumpy.

So I unravelled, and this time i'm doing all the horizontal edging first, before joining.

I''m still learning as I go, but hopefully I can manage okay when I come to do the verticals. Only time will tell.