Mermaid's Tail

In my crafty stash of yarn I had some Bernat Blanket yarn which I had purchased with the intention of making a cushion cover but I changed my mind and used some Aran yarn instead.  Then the other week I caught sight of a website where a Mermaid's Tail was being made in the very said yarn.  This gave me an idea of what to do with my Bernat yarn.

The website is called "The Crochet Crowd" and there is a video tutorial that you can follow that shows all the steps in making up this Mermaid's Tail.  A link to it can be found here.

The yarn is beautiful and soft to work with. I adapted the length of the tail so that it worked for me.

The tail looks realistic and has been created by crocheting into the horizontal bars instead of putting the hook through the two top bars at the top of the stitch. This creates a ribbing effect on both the front and back of the work.

I finished this project a fortnight ago and it has been lovely to snuggle into this in front of the television on these colder evenings.

This completes the trio of crocheted objects I have made in the last month so I hoped you enjoyed them.

Sprinkles the Unicorn

In Issue 33 of Crochet Now was free yarn and pattern to make up Sprinkles the Unicorn.  Sprinkles is made in the amigurumi style, in a spiral without slip stitching or turning chains.  It is really important to use stitch markers so you can keep track of the first stitch of each round.  

I found the pattern very easy to follow and made up very quickly.  

Asymmetrical Poncho

I have a few asymmetrical ponchos that I have purchased which are a nice light weight and perfect for the summer.  With the winter approaching I have had a go at making my own based on the same shape.  The shape I was aiming for was a long but narrow piece of work that is large enough to wrap around the shoulders loosely.  Instead of joining the ends like you would if you were making a tube, instead you join half way across the length leaving an opening that your head goes through.    

The pattern is a repeat as follows:

I have quite short arms so you may want to make it wider if you wish to give this a go.  I chained 6x6 (36 + 7 for turning).

The yarn used is Bamboo Cotton by King Cole.  I needed 3 x 100g balls for this project.

Here is the finished result:

And this is what it looks like laid out flat.  From the image you can see where I have left the opening for my head.

       
And one close up:

I have edged the poncho with a series of shells made up of 6 trebles and piques.  Considering I created this design from ideas on Pinterest, I must say I am very pleased with the outcome.

Good Luck

We all want a bit of this in our lives don't we!

Kanban's Good Luck toppers from their Well Wishes & Celebration collection is a lovely shade of green and inspired me to make some 7x7 cards on this occasion.

I made two very different cards with these toppers. With the first, I covered the front of the card with the horseshoe paper and and then laid the topper over the top at a jaunty angle.  A banner down the left edge and a sentiment was all that was needed to finish off the first card.

The second card was made in my favourite way.  A band of card was placed horizontally and the topper laid across this in the centre.  It shows off the nice watercolour cardstock which is the background.

  

Hope you like them both xxx

Golden Wedding Ring Cushion Cover

I have had these quilting templates in my sewing room for some time now and got as far as cutting out some fabric with the intention of making something out of them then my project stalled because I didn't know how to join pieces together.

This project has languished away for a few years waiting for me to return to it.  However, on a routine tidy up I came across the templates and cut out pieces of fabric and thought it was time to get it on with it!

After watching a Craftsy video specifically for making this style of quilt which is called the Golden Wedding Ring, I understood how to join the pieces together to get a neat finish.  It is a complex design and perhaps not one to attempt as your first project in quilting but it was one that I choose because I really liked the design.

After sewing all the panels together I had some batten wadding that I cut to size and then used stick and spray fabric glue to adhere this to the back of the work.  Another piece of fabric was cut to size for the back of the work and also adhered on. 

I had some plastic templates that I used to do the quilting design with.  Using a ink erasable pen I was able to draw the design on the cream fabric and then used quilting thread and hand stitched the design.  I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I have turned this into a cushion and have a zip at the centre back.  I have put an 18" round feather cushion inside.  I tried the next size up (20") but it really was too large.  I am hoping this one settles down and fills out the shape.  

Since preparing this blog I have found an instructional video on the internet by Jennie Rayment who is a very talented and experienced quilter.  I recall watching her demonstration of this on the Create and Craft channel which inspired me to have a go at quilting this in the first place.

I hope you like my first piece of quilting.

Video demo is available here.

Happy New Home

Well I am not going to be short of New Home cards thanks to the collection of cards I have made up recently using my Kanban Well Wishes and Celebration cardkit.    I got my inspiration for the design of these two cards from Pinterest.  Fortunately for me I had the lovely fence die.  I used Collall 3D glue to make these cards with and like the way the flowers appear in front of the house.

Hope you like them as much as I do xxx

Natasha's Vintage Blanket

Work in progress

I am really excited to be sharing my latest creation which is another crocheted blanket.  I have been working on this blanket for the last three months and have enjoyed designing this one using vintage colour tones.  It feels lovely and weighty so great for those cold winter evenings!

The pattern is the granny stitch done in stripes of colours.  I followed guidance from Lucy at Attic 24 to ensure I got off to a good start and had no wobbly rows.    

The starting chain has to be a multiply of 3 plus 2 for turning.

The first row was is was done using the double crochet stitch.  Then it was a case of crocheting clusters of trebles across the row (missing 2 stitches on the first row) and then working in the chain spaces from then on.

I buy my yarn from Deramores.  I have used Stylecraft Special DK in the following colours:

• Grey x 4
• Pale Rose x1
• Raspberry x1 
• Mocha x1 
• Parchment x 2
• and a soft pink that I don't have the details of.

I have made this quite large so it will cover a single bed or simply make a decent size throw.

I used 4mm size hook

Starting chain 182 

178 rows

Baby Pink and Baby Blue Cards

Today's mid week cards are made using Kanban card toppers called Baby Pink Baby Blue.  The topper sheet has 6 square images in both pink and blue suitable for new born baby cards.

I created three different styles of cards for these cards and made use of some of my dies to carry the theme through.

The first two are centre stepper cards made using a stepper card die.  The clothing was cut from dies I had from Crafter's Companion.

Then I used some Dovecraft matching card and envelopes for the bases of my background for these next two cards.  The Stork die is a tattered lace die.  

And then finally for the last pair of toppers I turned to my lace edge A5 cards.  I dusted the edges with a little bit of colour before adding my topper and sentiment.

Heartfelt Sympathy

Every card maker needs to have a few "with sympathy" cards in their card collection and you could do no better than these lovely toppers in muted lilac, pink and cream by Kanban.  The topper sheet is called Heartfelt Sympathy if you fancy having a go yourself.

I used a couple of my Marianne Dies when making up these cards.  These are one of my favourite die makers as the scale is good.  So often dies are made with the big card in mind but with postage costs, the smaller card is more favoured by me.

I also used 6x6 single sided oyster pearl cards and envelopes from the company Pink Frog Crafts and Cards which just gives the cards the elegance they deserve.

Enjoy xxx

Healing Remedies

I find that "Thinking of you" cards are often asked of me at work so I have completed some "healing remedies" from the Kanban Well Wishes & Celebrations collection.

I had some lovely papers to use with these toppers and although the paperkit also came with some bandaid toppers, I didn't really have anywhere to put them on the outside of the card so I have put them in the insert.

I used 7x5 cards for these toppers and were able to make them very quickly.

I hope you like them xxx