What time is it?…

We have been in full half term mode this week… my routine has gone out of the window, pyjamas are the new uniform, I have barely had time to pick up a crochet hook, but I have been loving it!  I love half term.  I love spending time with the children without having to share them with the school system and 30 other 6 year olds.  But at just 1 week long, they go back to school before I feel the need to list them under ‘free to a good home’ on Ebay.

Twinkle has been learning to crochet and spent a glorious morning teaching her bestie how to chain stitch.  Look at the concentration on their beautiful faces!

I took full advantage of the lack of school runs and got out my WIP tin and decided to finish off a few projects which I had been neglecting.

About a year ago I discovered the joy that is the blog ‘Look at what I made’.  Its author is the amazingly talented crocheter and blogger Dedri, who generously provides a lot of her beautiful patterns for free.  Her patterns are so easy to follow and she has step by step picture guides which makes even the tricky bits manageable.  Her Sophie’s Garden CAL (which grew into Sophie’s World and then Sophie’s Universe) really took off in 2015.

I completed my Sophie’s Garden about 5 months ago but hadn’t sewn in all the threads (of which there were many!)  I planned to frame this large square and bought a box frame with the assumption that my project would magically grow to exactly the size of the frame.  My optimism was misplaced and it is about 1cm to big to fit.  I can only assume this must be fates way of telling me this frame is destined for something else…something which probably involves me buying some more lovely yarn!

Anyway, here it is…I have finally sewn in all the loose ends, but it still needs a bit of blocking…

Dedri, has the most wonderful eye for colour.  I used her colour recommendations from the Stylecraft DK range. This yarn has a huge range of vibrant colours and is so reasonably priced.

The flower details on this piece are so cute and it was really enjoyable to crochet.  It almost felt like a crochet sampler, and I learnt a few stitches I hadn’t tried before, like the crab stitch.

If you aren’t comfortable with such bright colours there are plenty of other suggestions and pictures of other examples, including the full ‘Sophie’s Universe’ if you are feeling really motivated, on her page.

I want to make another one almost entirely in white with just accents of colour for a friends baby once I know what they are having.  It is the perfect size for a pram blanket.

The repetitive elements of the piece is worked in 12 parts.  This makes it a perfect pattern for a clock face.  I made a variation on the central mandala to make a clock for my kitchen which I mounted on a round wooden board.

As you can see my crab stitch is still bit wonky…maybe it will improve on the next one!

The winner of my last giveaway is Peggy Clayton. Congratulations!  Email your address to hookedblogpage@gmail.com and I will send your crochet rose out this week. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, I loved hearing all about your favourite flowers.  Keep your eye out for another giveaway soon.

I have a hook-a-long board on my pinterest page:

https://uk.pinterest.com/hookedblogpage/hook-a-long/

This board is for crocheters to post pictures of projects they are working on, or ones they have seen and really liked.  If you want to join in, comment below or leave a comment on one of my pictures on the Hook-a-long board and I will add your name to the contributor list so you can add your photos.