George's trousseau

The preparation for my second child's arrival was cut somewhat short by my waters breaking at 35 weeks..eeek! Needless to say, I hadn't quite prepared fully for life with baby number two. For starters, the nursery is still not in existence, as we're in the process of moving Albie into the large spare bedroom, along with all of his toys, clothes and some new textiles. This week his new curtains arrive from John Lewis, so all being well we should be able to move him into his new room next week. He turns three this weekend, and I am shocked how quickly the past three years have gone. 

 So here is what I DID have time to make before George's arrival!

 Cardigan from 'Cute and Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes' by Nicki Trench, worked in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I think all these colours are discontinued now, but there are plenty of similar ones available. The buttons came from my late grandparents' sewing box, and I like the think my Nana had my cousin and I in mind with these little duck buttons. There was five in the box- perfect for this cute little cardi! I struggled with the pattern (as always) so went off-piste as usual!

I had some yarns left over from the cardigan so hooked up these cute hats in the hospital. George and I stayed there for four days, so I had time to make these teeny premature baby hats. The cream hat is the Yvestown pattern, and the blue is my own. Again the yarn is Debbie Bliss, the cream is Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino in Vanilla.

This lovely jumper is for when George is a bit (ok, MUCH) bigger! The pattern is the Noah sweater from the most beautiful book What to Knit When You're Expecting by Nikki Van de Car. It's knitted in Rowan Cashsoft DK. I got the yarn in the sale at John Lewis back in January and the project was lovely and easy and relatively quick to knit. I had to learn how to pick up stitches, ssk and set in raglan sleeves! I didn't do too badly though for a novice eh? I want to make so much from this book, but need to increase my knitting skills a LOT first! 

 This blanket is a real beaut. The pattern is a Sara Sinaguglia pattern from Inside Crochet issue 38, and it's just a dream to crochet. I rarely follow crochet patterns, and it's very rare for me to make the same pattern more than once, but I'm considering what colour to make this in next! The yarn is Jeanette Sloan Baby Alpaca DK- recommended in the pattern. I adore the chartreuse colour, and the yarn is probably the softest, most divine dreamy yarn I've ever worked with. I'm thinking up some patterns to use it again!

Lastly, I made this simple granny square blanket using the leftover yarns from all the above projects. I had some Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in aqua, mustard and red leftover from the cardi, hats and a couple of other makes, whilst the teal was left from the jumper and there was a small amount of chartreuse left from the star lap blanket. For the cream, I frogged a plain stool cover to make the hat, and had two extra balls of Sublime baby in Vanilla left so joined the four-round granny squares on the go, then added five rows of granny edging. For the edge itself, I made a loopy edge, making 4ch, then ss into the next ch sp for round 1. For round 2 I slip stitched along to middle of the loop, then made 4ch, ss into middle of next loop along. It's simple, pretty and effective I think. 

So that's all I managed anyway! George was the very lucky recipient of a tiramisu blanket from the lovely Erin, and a lovely mobile from my dear dear friend Hannah. The lucky little man also has a fabulous retro/vintage patchwork blanket I purchased from Jane over at the Little Teawagon, so the little chap is positively surrounded by handmade goodness. And that's the way it should be!

Here is a little sneak preview of a new baby blanket I'm working on for someone else...

I will update you with more handmade tales soon!

Happy hooking

xxx

Gorgeous George

A long blog absence this past month...but this time I have an excuse! Four weeks ago I gave birth to my second son, George William. He decided he was done baking at 35 weeks, and my waters broke rather dramatically leading to two days in hospital before I went into labour at home on the evening of the 15th. I very quickly had to cancel all my plans, return work to my editors and gather everything for our early arrival, but I'm pleased to say he arrived quickly and safely and didn't have to spend time in the neonatal unit. We stayed in hospital for a few days and have since been home getting settled into our new routines! Albie adores him (after a shaky start) and George is growing lots and utterly perfect.

Here is some pictures from our first two weeks together...daily George updates can be found over on Instagram! 

Springtime coasters

It's a been a fair old while since I posted a new pattern...between the book and my design work I've neglected my blog readers! So here is a little pattern, adapted from a variation of one of the main blocks in 500 Crochet Blocks...and it happens to be one of my favourites. You'll need to know basic UK crochet terminology; it's all worked in chains (ch) and treble crochet (tr).

You will need:
Yarn of any weight and corresponding hook, scissors and darning needle. I've used Annell Cotton 8 and a 3mm hook!
Crochet terms are UK. Work into the top loops of each st, rather than in between.

Foundation: Make 3ch, join with ss to make a ring.
1. 3ch (counts as 1tr), 9tr into ring. Join with ss to 3rd ch of 3ch to join.
2. 3ch (counts as 1tr) 1tr into first st. 2tr into each st around. Join with ss into 3rd ch of 3ch.
3. 4ch (counts as 1tr, ch 1). Make 1 tr, 1ch into each st around. Join with ss into 3rd ch of 4ch.
4. 3ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr into ch sp. *1tr into top of tr of previous round, 2tr into ch sp. repeat from * around. Join with ss to 3rd ch of 3ch.
5. *miss 2 sts, 7tr into next st, miss 2st, ss into next. Repeat from * around. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Pretty Pastel Style

A week or two ago, I was lucky enough to win a competition over on stylist Selina Lake's blog, the prize being a copy of her new book 'Pretty Pastel Style'. Well, as you can well imagine I was completely bowled over when Selina got in touch to say I'd won! I love her work, and as you may recall last year I wrote a post about her book Homespun Style. her modern, fresh styling along with an eye for colour keeps me interested in all her work, which is usually found in a host of UK mags. I'm currently loving her work in the new Prima Spring Makes magazine, which I picked up at the Knitting and Stitching show, and there is an 8-page extract of Pretty Pastel Style in the new Country Living, too. 

So here is a selection of my very favourite pages...

Firstly, the front cover. Not traditional pastels, I'll admit. So Selina's take adds a dash of vintage, gold and bold pink to offset the sugary sweetness of the pastel pinks in Jeannette Lunde's beautiful living room.

 I also love how brighter 'pastels' can be found, like this vivid green and the bold pom poms in this gorgeous living room (exactly how I'm trying to get mine to look...)

This pink is VERY pink, but I love the splashes of vintage and Cath Kidston to uplift the pastels...

In fact, all the shots of Yvonne Eijkenduijn's home are my favourites! Her blog, Yvestown, is natural inspiration for the pastel-hued home- white, bright, modern and fresh. Beautiful! Unfortunately my home will never be like this because I live with boys. With no girly space of my own. But I do try to introduce splashes of pastel colours with my insistence on Cath Kidston kitchen linen, and my soon-to-be-introduced pistachio kitchen wall!

All in all, I love the book. It shies away from traditional pastels and uses them in contemporary ways with fresh whites and bold neons, as well as balancing the pastel shades with soft beige and gold. Catherine Gratwicke's photography is stunning as always, as is Selina's styling ideas. I can't wait to get on with prettifying my kitchen! If you ever need any pastel colour inspiration, head straight to Laduree, where these amazing macarons came from on Friday...

A palette for your palette!

Happy reading 

xxx

Cherry Blossom Beret

For me, Spring means new life. And much of that new life and growth can be found in the garden. I particularly LOVE cherry blossom, magnolia blossom and that heady scented apple blossom that can be found lining the avenues of my home town in the spring time. Of course, we haven't had any of that yet, so I've made do with a new hat design. With a flower bursting from its centre, and made in cherry red, I called it Cherry Blossom- and its pattern is in the brand new issue of Inside Crochet magazine.

 And so is a little mention of 500 Crochet Blocks!

 This pattern was a particularly tricky one to write, and so I decided to share it with an audience of serious crocheters, as well as you guys here.

 The styling is gorgeous, so Spring-like and fresh.

I hope you love it and will go out and buy the magazine- it's worth every penny and is packed with some amazing patterns. I particularly recommend it to those who like to come up with their own patterns and stitches- there is a guide to pattern writing and reading, and some beautiful things to make for the kiddiwinks. 

Happy hooking everyone!