The Hairy Fairy

I had a recent request to make a character that exists in a reading-scheme book at my kids school.

'The Hairy Fairy!'

The request specified that he had to be 'pocket sized' as a previous headteacher had put those cute little fairy doors around the school, and he had to relate to those.

So, I found a great pattern for a fairy:

Crochet Fairy Pattern - Ravelry

And with some tweaking to take into account the required hairy legs and beard, I ended up with:

His wings were made from the bottom part of this butterfly pattern: 

Fancy Crochet Butterfly

I used gold glitter glue to stiffen the crown and the wings.

Really enjoyed making this little guy, and hope he brings some pleasure to the kiddies at the school!

Let me know what you think.

In other news, the fire is on, as it's a chilly night, and a celebratory glass of wine will be poured soon!

Moomins, Owls, Zebras and leaves!!

The weather is beautiful at the moment.  Bright, crisp days - fantastic colours on the trees, that sense of nights drawing in and the heightened awareness of the festive season approaching.

Since the last blog post, I've manage to score myself a wee job - working from home, doing admin for a relatively new company.  I love it, but it does take me away from my love - crochet!

Have posted pics of some of my favourite recent makes below.  Am currently being selfish and working on an Autumn Wreath just for me - I've just got that itch to make something in reds, yellow, oranges, and full of warmth!   No pictures just yet, but they will come soon . . . .

Here are links to the patterns I've used so far:

Oak leaves:
http://intheyarngarden.blogspot.se/2015/10/crochet-oak-leaves.html

Maple leaves:

http://www.thepaintedhinge.com/2015/08/31/fall-leaves-free-crochet-pattern/


And this is the video I used to learn how to wrap a polystyrene wreath in yarn (did my wrapping whilst having my lie in, as hubby played golf this morning!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN41YxquboA

So, these are some of the recent 'makes' since my last blog - I have been fairly busy

My Dusty Zebra - I got the opportunity to be a pattern tester for this fantastic pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zebra-21 

She's brown and cream as she was destined as a surprise gift for someone who is AKA the Dusty Zebra!

This fantastic baby blanket was made using the Marken of the Hat and I's pattern

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/owl-obsession

A paid for pattern that was totally worth the money (the boss-eyed owls are a nod to me and my oldest, bestest friend and the nights we drank perhaps a wee bit more than we should have! The blanket was a gift for her beautiful baby daughter, born after a long wait)

And here is my Moomin!  He was almost too cute to give up!  Find the pattern here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amigurumi-moomin-2

Anyway, it's late, Pink Floyd is on TV and I must catch some Z's before morning!

Adventures in Amigurami!

Life, family, kids and big life events have meant a while away from blogging, but I thought it was about time to get back on it and share some of the things I've been making recently.  

I've deviated from scarves and tried my hand at at Amigurami!  I'd avoided it because I didn't think I could work that neatly, but a desire to make gifts for some of my friends urged me on.  

I wanted to make a zebra, so searched on Ravelry for a suitable pattern, and came up with this one! I was lucky enough to become a pattern tester for the designer, who was wonderfully supportive for any questions I had.  He's not in traditional colours, as he was destined for a friend who likes their Zebras rather dusty . . .

The pattern can be found here: Zebra Toy

In progress - the pics are some of the ones I took for the designer to see the progress  . .  . . .

   

And the finished product!

Hoping you like my work!  And looking forward to sharing my other creations soon!

I read something on Facebook yesterday, and it inspired me.  After everything that's been going on over the last few months, and how I've allowed myself to be made to feel, this really struck a massive chord with me:

I NO LONGER.

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.

I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.” 

- Meryl Streep

I think I'll have to recite this to myself everyday, as I know I have placed far too much value on what I perceive others think of me.  I've got to be more independent.  If I receive criticism, valid or otherwise, I always take it to heart and far, far too personally.

At times, a 'well-meant' apparently friendly rebuke has had me in tears - once for several months.  The author of those comments had. I'm sure, no intention of causing such suffering on my part.  But the implication I read into her words left me feeling that everyone thought I was a horrible person, and had been talking about me behind my back.

And I'm not.  Honest.

I have my moments, as do we all, where I'm not being the best of myself.  However, I'm human!!  Generally I try so hard to be the best I can be.  Most of the time!

Anyway, have got some orders to fulfil - 2 sets of baby bear items, one in brown and one in pink, and a set of 3 owls.

And there is always the small matter of 5 more days until the kids go back to school!

Night peeps!

Another new beginning!

So here at PLNT headquarters, we've had a busy year!

Last September I reluctantly took on the role of Chair of the PTA at my kids school.  I think I did a fairly good job, but hadn't realised the time it would take from the rest of my life.  I'm no super-mum, I am not good at being organised in my family life, and housework and me don't always see eye-to-eye.  However, I was determined to do the best I could do by the school, and for that role, I managed myself pretty well.  We did ok, running successful events and increasing the amount of funds raised.  It was an intense year!

The flip side was my family, and my home life, suffered.  I also discovered that I'm not the strong person I thought I was.  Criticism couched in 'friendly' terms cut me deeply, and left me an emotional wreck for months, paranoid that people didn't like me.  The negative emotions had an impact on my interactions with my husband, and on the kids.  I was short-tempered, snappy, pushy, over-emotional and definitely not a delight to be around.

So, at the end of the school year, I sat down and properly contemplated my future.  When thinking about remaining as Chair, everything felt bleak, and dark.  The thought of NOT being Chair though - well!  Happy days!

And now, after a busy summer of holidays, and entertaining kids, I'm coming back to what I love doing.  Creating!

After sharing pictures of one of my favourite makes, a Baby Bear combo of hat, mittens and booties on a writing blog, I received two orders!  I was ridiculously excited, and it's really fired me up to get going on more!

I've also ordered in new stock - pretty stuff that I'd like in my house (and, at the moment it is!).  

What do you reckon?

Anyway, come the 17th Sept, I will hand over my Chair-ship to a new incumbent, and then I'll be free to concentrate more on what I want to do!

A special little mouse

Yet another bookmark - inspired by another fabulous author (you know who you are!).

This one will be winging it's way to it's new owner soon

Hurrah!  I finished my orange dragon bookmark, and am pretty pleased with the result.  Took me a while to figure out the attachment of the wings - the instructions were quite straightforward but my brain just couldn't wrap itself around them.

What do you think?

Once the ends are all sorted I think this one is on the way to the person who inspired me to try it in the first place.  

I wonder how it'll look in red . . . 

Today I've started on a Dragon Bookmark, in honour of someone who writes fabulous stories about an orange Dragon.  Once I managed to get my head around it, the pattern is fairly easy, so far!  It's been pretty quick to make up (at least to this point!) so will see if I can finish the whole thing today. I have a lot of washing to catch up with, and a mountain of ironing to do, but somehow I feel this should take priority!

If you like the pattern, you can find it here, on Etsy:  https://www.etsy.com/uk/transaction/174946169?ref=fb2_tnx_title

I'm back!!

Golly, it's been a bit of a busy year.  I'm terrible at keeping up with these things anyway, but the year of 2013 was obviously awful for my organisational skills!

In a teeny, tiny nutshell, hubby started a new job which proved rather stressful for us all; his mum was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, which obviously was extremely stressful for everyone; my weight ballooned (as did I), I signed myself up to be Chair of the PTA for my kids school, and I tried to make a bit more money making scarves.  In the last few months of the year, I shook myself up and lost nearly a stone in weight, dropping a dress size in the process; my mother-in-law has beaten the first round of cancer, and the new job for hubby is looking up.

Wow - my potted history of 2013.  There was obviously a lot more, but that's all enough for now.

In amongst everything else recently, I've rediscovered my love of crochet, and quilting.  There is nothing to show for my quilting efforts yet, but I had a bit of fun making some crochet bunting with granny triangles - so easy and quick, and the bright colours are cheering me up in the miserable weather as I look forward to spring.  What do you think:

The twig tree is from a Lilac tree we pruned last spring, that I found whilst rummaging around my garden before Christmas, and on a whim I spray painted it white.  It looked lovely with a few selected Xmas decs on before Christmas, but now my plan is to make loads of flowers and butterflies, and decorate it for the coming spring/summer.  Something the take my mind off the rain.

I've never written a pattern, and I'm sure that anyone with basic knowledge of crochet would be able to make the bunting with no problem, but if you'd like some guidance, let me know and I'll do my best.

Cheers Peeps - lets not leave it so long next time, hey?
xx

And I have a best seller!

Firstly, I have to say that the ball last night was absolutely brilliant.  In aid of the RSLB, the aim was to raise money to expand the nursery services that they offer to blind and visually impaired children, from just being based near Sevenoaks, Kent, to more of the south east and London.  The work they've done with our friends kids is so fantastic, giving so much hope to kids who would otherwise be left behind by most of society.  Slightly gutted that hubby's attempt to secure us a two night stay in a 5* hotel in London was out-bid in the silent auction, but hope that the very large sum of money we spent last night will help towards the overall goal.

The second thing, is that I sold two of the baby hats as well - the pink, and the large fluffy one.  Very exciting!

Thirdly, I was approached by one of the mums at school who feels that my scarves are not really her style, but would be perfect for her sister-in-law, if I could come up with something in orange.  Handily, I happened to have a ball of yarn in the very autumnal colours of rust red, orange and browns.  I also managed to find the time, amongst all my other tasks, to knit the thing last week, and showed it to her on Friday night.  She loves it, and is happy to buy it!  But she did agree to me taking it home and getting some pictures of it, so that I could add it to the FB page, and the website, (which is still very much a work in progress - will post a link in the hopefully near future!).

Yesterday, I duly took some pictures of the scarf, and finally uploaded them this morning (when the after-effects of last night had dimmed somewhat!).  Through that picture, I have now taken two more orders!!!  Slightly annoying in that I don't have any of that yarn at the moment, but a quick order and they might be in and knitted by Wednesday if I'm lucky, but definitely by the end of the week.  Have also found some more colours that might become popular too.

So, here, I present my new bestseller:

New Things

I'm off to a charity ball tonight!  Very, very excited.  I haven't been to one for a long time - since pre-kids I think.

The event - The Little Heroes Ball - is being held to raise funds for children who are visually impaired or blind.  The people who we are going with have two children who have a rare condition which means they only see in shades of grey, and have been going there for the last 2 years or more.  Their eldest child was the poster boy for this years fundraising campaign.  It's going to be a great night with friends.

Last Wednesday I spoke to the people we're going with to arrange the logistics of the evening.  During the conversation, my friend asked me whether I'd ever knitted a hat for a baby?  Apparently a friend of a friend of hers had her baby 10 weeks early, and the tiny little girl is now just about 4lbs.  The friend saw a blanket that I'd knitted and wondered if I could do a hat for her friends baby (confused yet?)

So, despite getting nervous about my first ever fayre to sell my scarves, for which I'm also the event organiser, next Wednesday, I popped out on Thursday to get some very soft, but still machine washable, yarns, and here is what I've come up with.  Thing is, I'm not entirely sure just how tiny the baby's head is, so have done a few sizes.  What do you think:

Another step . . .

Today, I finally sat down and brought some of the elements of my recent purchases together.

In anticipation of selling something in the not too distant future I've ordered, and received, burgundy tissue paper, brown paper bags, a rubber stamp, and a maroon ink pad.  My arms are now aching from stamping 100 bags!!

Let me know what you think:

Woo Hoo - it begins!

The new yarns to fill the order for yellow scarves arrived yesterday evening.  I took them to a school PTA meeting and started on one of them.  Managed, by dint of us ladies talking for ages, and some committed knitting, to get one of the scarves done during the meeting.  It's a new yarn that I haven't used before - it's got lots of lovely tiny, tiny sequins along the edge that just catch the light in such a lovely sparkly way:

The second scarf was the other loopy one, with a sparkly silver edge:

And, finally, I finished the ruffle version - very soft, with a silver edge:

So excited!! Will be posting one, two or all of them out on Monday, depending on what my friend wants.  Now, I have plenty of other colours to knit up  . . .  busy hands!

I will, at some point, post up the pictures of the other projects that I have going on in the background . . . the amount of UFO's I have hanging around is getting a little scary!

So many things to try!

Another busy day.  Had my quilting course today.  Wow, so many new techniques to try!

This is my second course, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  On the first course I did, I learnt how to create a 'monkey wrench' block (I think this block might be known differently elsewhere).  It was all hand stitched, and an absolute pleasure to make :

I gave this to my Mum for her birthday - must say that I'm pretty pleased with it.

On the current course, we're learning how to create a Medallion quilt, with possibly a Christmas theme.  Mine is going to be a snow covered house, on a dark starry night, with golden windows.  Will take some pictures tomorrow, when I get the camera working again.

With regards to my scarves, I've taken a second order today, for the dove grey one.  It is very lovely, with silvery threads running through it, and I'm so glad someone else likes it too:

Things are picking up

Biting the bullet, I've been pushing myself at my FB friends, (almost) shamefully promoting myself.  It feels a bit awkward, but I suppose if I'm ever to get anywhere then I have to start somewhere.

Thing is, it's already had a pretty good result.  One of my friends from nursing college, so many moons ago that I've lost count, got in contact to ask for a scarf for his girlfriend.  Thing is, her favourite colour is yellow, which isn't a colour that I've got.  It's necessitated the buying of another bulk of yarn, but has found me another fab supplier on ebay with some lovely new yarns to knit up into more scrumptious scarves.

It's forcing me to consider things such as how to deal with distance selling (invoicing, payments, postage etc), so my mind is boggling with such things as Paypal Business accounts, and creating a website (scary!).

More pictures to follow tomorrow . . .

I said I would, and so I did!

Finally got round to taking pictures of my scarves, and posting them to my FB page for Pretty Little Needful Things - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pretty-Little-Needful-Things/440770519296382 (if you have the time and inclination, could you 'like' my page please?  Many Thanks!)

Am going to share some of them here as I think some of these scarves are truly lovely (well, I would, wouldn't I?!)

Let me know what you think of the different styles.  I'm struggling not to wear them all myself!

Getting back to it

Well, it's been a while - kind of took a break during the summer months to concentrate on the kids, and trying to be a good mum.

However, September is long past, and so are any reasons for not getting my backside into gear and starting to push myself a little more.  This is in part inspired by helping a good friend of mine get her FB page set up to promote herself - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sew-Tweet-Crafts/175774085880474

She now has more likes than me!!  However, I've been dragging my heels for no good reason, so tomorrow, hopefully, I shall be taking more attractive pictures of my scarves, and will update the FB page with more scarves - I got some lovely new yarns in and they are knitting up to create some beautiful scarves.  It's hard not to keep them all for myself!

Well, no more new enquiries, but what can I expect - only 9 'Like's' on my page so far. Mind you, am not quite ready to push myself out there yet as I don't have much in the way of stock built up, and with the impending Summer holidays looming, I don't think I'll get much time there either.

However, I have set up a wee little Twitter account - @PretLitNeFuThi  - you never know when you might need such a thing!  

I did sneak some more wool into my shopping bag this morning though - completely different from what I've been using so far - so we'll have to see if I can knock up that scarf and put more pictures on the site soon.  It's cold and damp enough here to be wanting something more substantial than the light and loopy ones I've done so far.

When I get the pictures of the new scarves I'll post an update.

Early Days!!

This is my Facebook page - early days yet, but have completed my first 3 orders and hope to get more orders in soon!!

Pretty Little Needful Things - FB

New beginnings

Since being made redundant last year, apart from spending much more time with my kids, I've also been delving into my creative conciousness, and trying new crafty things out.  It has long been a wish to actually make a little bit of money out of it, but the confidence just hasn't been there so I've made lots of things but not really got anywhere.

This is hopefully about to change!

When not with the kids, I'm frantically knitting scarves at the moment, in the hope that someone will see them and want to buy them.  This is in part inspired from a night out with the girls, where the scarf I was wearing attracted the attention of two lovely ladies who have asked me to knit the exact same one for them.  The order for more yarn had gone out, and I hope to have their scarves knitted by Monday.  Thing is, I've ordered a ridiculous amount of this scarf wool, and just hope I haven't jumped the gun too much.

I will post pics here and on my FB page when I've knitted enough to feel that I have 'stock'!!

It's SO exciting!!