Snowdrops and a Giveaway

Hello lovelies ,
Well thank you all for your comments about my dress makeover, you lot are really something special.
It hasn't escaped my notice that I now have nearly 400 followers, oh wow !
It really is such a positive thing for me to have you lovely lot to share the crafty , pretty, outdoorsy bits of my little world with.
It's nearly a year since I started this blogging thing and though I sometimes feel guilty for the time I spend on it , I'm having way too much fun to want to stop :0)

I enjoy the interaction with like minded peeps so much. And I really think looking for pretty and positive things to share with you all has made me more positive as a result.It has certainly made me notice natures beauty a whole lot more than I did before.
I love taking the photos  and even writing the posts, though I don't think this is my strongest point .

On the way back from shopping yesterday I pulled over for a second to see if I could find any snowdrops at the edge of some woodland.I do love these first flowers of the year and all they signify....like spring is coming :0)
Just look what I found. Such perfect natural snowdrops.........

On a  bank of moss and fallen leaves , right at the side of the road , but you could wizz past this every day and never notice it .......

I truly gasped at its beauty ...shame it was a dull as ditch water sort of day so the pictures are a little dark( the sunny snowdrops at the top of this post were taken last week)..

These little flowers looked so beautiful just growing there in the wild , and in all honesty I'm sure I wouldn't have made the effort to stop , without you lovely lot to share the pictures with.

So that is just one example of how blog land has been such a positive thing for me . What I'm getting to is that I think it's time I had a little giveaway , by way of a thank you to all you , and to celebrate my first whole year of blogging. I put my thinking cap on  .....something light enough to send anywhere in the world ...... something pretty yet  practical for crafty types .Something to make use of some of my crochet bits and bobs..........

This is what I came up with ...

Needle cases . They are just a small gift but consequently I was able to make several .......

Five little pretties , Two with crocheted Pansy's .....

One with a granny square ....

And two with circles.........

I had great fun making these , you know I love working with felt :0)....

Now I could just do with making one for myself as they are so handy.......

If you would like to win one , just  leave me a comment on this post , and make sure I can contact you if you win. Don't be shy , it doesn't matter if you haven't commented before  .

March the 6th is my first bloggyversary so I'll draw the winners on that day....what a great way to celebrate :0)

Love Jacquie x

A Little Dress Makeover

Hello again Lovelies , two posts in as many days !
Today I had some unexpected crafty time due to the youngest Master BM having a nasty bug.
Unable to go to work , I've been keeping him supplied with drinks and cuddles and sewing my little row of squares onto my knitted dress......

I got this dress off the sale rail at a local charity shop just before Christmas . I've worn it a couple of times . It's so comfortable worn with leggings and like the way it looks on . The only problem with it was it had a rather annoying curly hem ( probably why it ended up in the charity shop in the first place).....

So , remembering a lovely crochet skirt I saw on the drops site ages ago , I thought I would try adding some crochet embellishment .........
I can't say I've enjoyed working in such drab colours , I certainly couldn't have faced it in January.But now the days are getting lighter I gave it a go . I do like wearing black sometimes as it is very flattering .........

I made sure their was a light colour in the squares to "lift" it a bit ...

Here's a close up taken by master BM.......

I'm pretty pleased with the results , the A.line this crochet has created is more flattering .
I'll be glad to get back to some colourful Granny squares now though. Do let me know if you try the granny square tutorial link in  my previous post, I'd love to here how you got on :0)
Jacquie x
P.S . the square I used in this project is Lucy's lovely summer garden granny square ...a favourite of mine, you possibly can see it's also used on the throw over my chair .

Give a Granny a Whirl

Hello lovelies,
I think this post is going to be quite long , so bear with me :0)
Firstly lets talk about granny squares. You see them every where but they are timeless, gorgeous , and most of all ,so easy.......

I remember learning to crochet as a youngster , probably about 12 years old. The first thing I made that I was really proud of was a granny square bag . It was two big  granny squares sewn together on three sides with a drawstring at the open edge.

I frequently get comments from lovely ,clever, crafty types saying they wish they could get the hang of crochet . I  think the basics may feel awkward and tricky to start with but, really , don't give up .

Today I took loads of pictures to do a granny square tutorial  as they are a great way to start Crochet, but it's amazing how many images you need when you want to include the very basics.A photo tutorial would go on forever.

So on to plan B , I decided to find a good video to recommend to you lovelies.

 After watching several I think the clearest one I found was this HOW TO CROCHET A GRANNY SQUARE
It is aimed at total beginners so I think it's perfect for novice crocheters .The link is to part 1 .Then follow the link on the video to part 2.
I would recommend getting a 4.0 mm hook ......

And some yummy coloured  inexpensive yarn , if you are in the U.K. Wilkos has a decent range( £1.27 a 100g ball) .....

Or try your local yarn shop , the Range or Hobby Craft ( rather over priced in my opinion ) Stylecraft special  ,Bonus and Cygnet are the nicest of the budget brands.Patons FAB is quite nice too.

Then sit down with the video and give a granny a whirl , once you master it you will be hooked ( ha ha )

Next I have some pictures taken on Saturday ..... A lovely sunny day that showed up all the dust and dirty finger prints ! I spent most of the morning cleaning and tidying my bedroom. My circle blanket had it's first wash and I hung it on the line to dry.........

Ahhhhhhhh , still love this blanket .........

I'm rather depressed to say some of my circles are coming a bit loose and I think some repair work will soon be needed. I'm never just crocheting over the ends on a big project EVER again.You live and learn.

Never mind,  what do you think girls , pretty hey??????.........

O.K. not much feedback from the bunnies but they were certainly enjoying sunbathing in the garden at last.

Lastly  ( are you still with me ?) I've taken some pics of my latest quick make ..........

Some rather less colourful little crochet squares !?!    the idea is to sew them onto this knitted dress.......

More of how that goes next time . Hope you've had a good St. Valentines day .
Jacquie x

Crochet Happies :0)

Hello lovelies,
Thank you all for your great comments on my last post. It was lovely to get such friendly , chatty feedback .
Today the sun was shining again and I couldn't resist spending a little time photographing my growing pile of granny square goodness, especially as my Irises were looking stunning too...............

 Flowers and colourful crochet ...is there anything better to take pictures of ( except of course your children when they are little , mine are not so little and not always keen to have their photo taken these days,even though they are still cute to me :0) )......

I'm loving these little squares very much . The yarn is mostly Cygnet , which I get at a ( bet you can guess!).......... local charity shop .It's double knitting weight according to the label but it's finer than most of the other brands I use , which makes it ideal for this project. ....

It's acrylic again. One day I will get to try some luxury wool yarn , but not this year. The colours of this yarn are lovely and it is soft with a nice sheen. so I'm happy to use it ..........

My slow blanket project is proving to be just that , I think I've only made 3 of these this week as I've been playing about with other ideas .......including another jar jacket...... but that's just how I like it :0)
Have a great weekend .
Jacquie x

Wednesday Happies :0)

Hello Lovelies ,
Making me smile today........... Finding a little bag similar to my multicoloured bag( Originally seen in this post)   in the same charity shop that I found the larger one ...

I love these bags and use the big one to take my packed lunch to work...It's had so many compliments :0)

Finding some balls of Rowan Hanknit cotton in the same CS......

Only 75pence a ball ,this will be added to my Cotton yarn stash :0)

Some warm sunshine and blue sky on the way home, making the cottages and snowdrops look extra lovely..........

Back home my tete a tete beginning to flower ............

The sweet jug they are in was last weeks CS star find....

It's Woods Wear and has a crack but it only cost a pound and it's perfect for my little pot of bulbs .

Noticing that this months Country Living Has some Multicoloured bags similar to mine on the cover ..........

I'm lucky enough to have this great magazine delivered as I got a subscription for my Birthday last year. The January and February issues were not too inspiring but this months has lots of spring prettiness......

Oh and some crochet!!..........

Available from Cath Kidston

Definitely lots of Wednesday Happies :0)
Jacquie x

Vintage seed labels

Hello Lovelies,
How's your Sunday going ?
Mine has been super busy so far. .....Up before eight , washer on . Breakfast then helping boys with their homework. Next more washing and getting boys ready for Rugby. Thankfully Mr BM takes them so I went out for a run ( Up to 5 miles now ...yay ) Once I got back there was a tiny bit of bright weather so I took some more pics for this post, (see above) then peeled the veg for dinner.
Upon the males return I took youngest  to his swimming lesson and called in the shop for a few bits. Next oven on , more washing , cook dinner , eat dinner , load dishwasher ( wonderful invention  :0))
Phew,I think I deserve a little blog time now .

I've got some pretties to share today . I was lucky enough to win silverpebbles vintage seed label giveaway recently and this is what I received ....

It's a kit to make some pretty bunting with these gorgeous flower pictures, Ooooh so stunning ....

I've strung some up from the bottom of my mirror on the chimney breast, using the jute and tiny pegs Emma supplied, they make me very happy...

Emma makes gorgeous jewellery too, do that a look at her blog, it's very pretty.  And look what she included in my parcel ........

They are made using crystals from the 1930's and seed pearls . I really love these Emma ...they are so me ....Thank you !!.
No wonder we love spending time in blog land ,bloggers are so generous . Not just with giveaways but also encouragement and support which is invaluable :0)

Right, I'm off to read a few of my favourite blogs and spread the love with some encouraging comments , then it'll be back to the family stuff .... only uniforms, packed lunches, sorting and putting away 5 peoples washing !!
Wouldn't change a thing ,I really love my family ( good job :0))
Jacquie x
P.S. Hope you liked my crochet "Cornishwear" at the top of this post
P.P.S. hope this doesn't sound too smug, it's chaos here most of the time ! .

Crochet for Flowers

Hello Lovelies ,
So glad you're out there ,popping over here, leaving me so many sweet comments. It really is truly special to read all your messages.
I'm still crochet obsessed , hope it never goes away as I get a lot of pleasure from creating stuff and being able to share it with you all.

I've been playing with yarn and felt again this week . Great fun :0)

What have I been making ? well my own take on the crochet jar jacket.
There are lots of  lovely versions all over blog land. I particularly like these and these.

Anyway, for my version I decided to go with polka dots , Emma Bridgewater style Polka dots.....

What do you think ??! Just a pasta jar and couple of hours work.
This was certainly fun to make. A cheap and cheerful project to display my cheap and cheerful Daffodils , it made me smile :0)
I used half double crochet (U.S.) as it creates a neat "solid" finish but is quicker than single crochet, and simply sewed on the felt dots.

Checking out Emma's site I also "spotted "( ha , ha ), this , very seasonal, now we are getting closer to valentines and I love hearts any time of year so this was my second jar jacket ...........

This one looks pretty displaying a lovely silk rose found in a charity shop......

I'm not finished with these designer inspired jackets just yet . I'm currently hooking in blue and white . Can you guess the gorgeous crockery I'm imitating ?  All will be revealed very soon :0)

Jacquie x