2015 - An Explanation

So in the whole of 2015, I wrote 11 blog posts - less than one a month.

A lot has changed in this last year, and some things still are, and I think always might, remain the same. I'm still ill, barely any progress has been made this year into why I'm ill. I'd like to say I'm surprised but as a pessimist I'm not, however I am trying to be positive that 2016 might be the year they fix me!

Dave is still the same, it's nice having someone so reliable. I doubt he'll ever change, and I'm OK with that.

We're still in the cottage, but our Landlord has changed. The house was put up for sale in the Summer and lucky for us, another Landlord bought it and is happy for us to stay. Something I'm very glad of as I really hate moving house.

The time I have spent crafting this year has taken a dip, which has probably then impacted on my blogging because I had less content. The main reason for this is because I started a new job. At the end of August I finally left the call centre after 3 years! I've gone back to working in a Letting Agents which is what I did during the University holidays. Going back to full time has been hard, but I won't deny its been nice to bring home a normal wage again! I don't have the time to crochet at work like I did at the call centre, and I've then been coming home and having no energy to do anything except eat my dinner and go to bed.

So one of my goals for this coming year is to get back on track with my crafting, especially as I never have to work a Sunday any more so could potentially dedicate the entire day to crafting (and laundry because its never ending). I have the added incentive of the lovely posh camera Dave bought me for Christmas and the portable light studio to photograph all the things I make. This is proof, once again, that Dave knows me better than I'll ever know myself and that's why he's so good at gift giving. I'd also like to finally get my Etsy shop up and running, but I'm trying not to be too optimistic!

To anyone who may have stumbled upon this post, I wish you the happiest of New Years, and I hope that you accomplish everything you set out to do!

xx

How to add Fluff!

As I've mentioned in the previous post about the sheep I've been making (will from now on will be referred to as "Brians"), my inspiration came from Stephanie's (at All About Ami) Lambert pattern but with one main difference....

I HATE FLUFFY WOOL

I don't like working with it, I tried, I promise! its just so fiddly, it makes it so hard to see the stitches, which meant the numbers of stitches didn't always add up like they were meant to. So frustrating!

So I had to find a way to ensure Brian was still fluffy and sheep like without using fluffy wool that would make me want to tear my hair out!

TaDa!

So here's how I made him fluffy, just using normal Aran Yarn.

The cream coloured parts of the sheep are ALL crocheted back loop only (BLO)

This leaves us with an extra layer on the outside that we can work on.

I didn't want the waves on the sheep to be too tight but I still wanted to have a bit of curl to it, so I attached the yarn into the first stitch, chained 3, skipped 1 stitch and then did one sc in the next stitch.

Then I just continued it all the way round in spirals. Just make sure that you are only attaching your stitches to the main body of the sheep and not to the other rows of fluff otherwise you won't get the desired textured effect.

At this point it looks like a flower from the top :)

And here's how it turned out

Now I'm not going to lie, this is time consuming, and not exactly necessary for the item to be finished. It's just a nice finishing touch to make Brian look more sheep-y. Plus he is amazingly snuggly - always a bonus in my book!

What do you think?

Hope you all have a lovely day :)
xx

Brian the Sheep!

Brian the sheep, (named by Dave because he thought he looked like Brian from the "Go Compare" adverts) is the biggest amigurumi I've ever made. I know that usually amigurumi are small but I've found that people seem to like to order things that are more standard cuddly toy size.

Brian was a (very belated by the time I finished) Mother's Day present for my lovely mum. She has always been very encouraging of my crocheting. More so since I've moved into my own house and no longer leave bits of yarn all over her carpet!

I had a go at making Stephanie at All About Ami's Lambert pattern, The only fluffy yarn I had was purple (didn't like working with it at all) and my sheep ended up looking like a lion/monkey hybrid.

Slightly disheartened I decided to use the Stephanie's pattern as a basis to make a larger sheep and so Brian was made.

I wrote out a basic pattern which was altered several times while I was making it. I didn't actually intend for him to end up so big (he is about 14 inches tall now he's finished!) but by the time I realised I was too far in.

My mum loved him and he has pride of place on top of a unit in their living room.

I've mentioned before that I crochet at work, and many people saw parts of Brian in the making so once he was actually finished he was taken on a tour round the office for people to see.

I will admit I did have another reason to make Brian, he was a trial run. I have several work friends who have relatives who are having children this year (the year of the sheep) and have ordered sheep off me as gifts. One the same size of Brian and one is smaller with a pink face because they know the baby is a little girl (not sure what the feminine version of Brian is? Brianita?).

Lots of happy sheep crocheting to come!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

xxx

BEDM - Day 3 - Self Care Sunday

I, like probably the majority of people, don't take as much care of myself as I should. I'm reluctant to spend money on things that I feel are unnecessary or frivolous, even though I'd happily spend the money on something equally frivolous for Dave. I think its because when we buy things for other people its easier to justify; passing it off as a gift, or thinking, they deserve to be treated.

Luckily I have people who buy me the things I would never buy myself. At Christmas my friend Bekki treated me to some lovely Soap and Glory products, and told me she had bought them because she knew it was something I would never buy myself, and she's right. Then on mornings when I'm not running late, I can take the time to "treat myself" and even though its something small I feel it sets me up for the rest of the day.

Today was a nice day, spent with my in-laws meeting Dave's brother new girlfriend. She's lovely but much to Dave's mothers horror, she (like me) isn't really interested in having children. I think she feels left out as her younger sister already has 2 grandchildren and another on the way.

It's nice having another "outsider" in the group after it being just me for the last 6 years, although its hard finding a table to seat 7 people while out for tea.

On that note I'm going to sign off and pester Dave until he makes me a brew...

Hope everyone had a lovely Sunday

xx

BEDM - Day 2 - Adventure

As a child I loved Winnie the Pooh, a love that has stayed with me into my adult life and when I saw the theme for today's post he once again came stumbling into my mind.

An adventure doesn't have to be something huge. The definition is:

 An unusual and exiting or daring experience.

It can be an adventure even if its something that everyone else does, as long as its new to you.

It can be an adventure even if no one else thinks it is, as long as its exciting to you.

When I went off to Uni it was an adventure.

When Dave and I moved in together it was an adventure.

The first time someone ordered something crocheted from me, it was an adventure.

Maybe not to everyone but it was to me.

I feel we spend too much tome worrying about what other people think. My mum doesn't understand that at our age (24) me and Dave are happier to sit in on a Friday night, me crocheting and him playing computer games, she thinks we're boring. In fact we enjoy it far more than we would going out. We do enjoy going out occasionally, but spending money that could be spent elsewhere and getting blind drunk every weekend doesn't appeal to us anymore. Maybe that makes us odd, but we're happy. We're happy strolling along and having our own little non-conventional adventures.

Which led me back to my favourite bear. When I was 6, the film "Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin" was released. In this film Christopher Robin goes to school and the toys mis-interpret the note and think he has been taken to "Skull" and proceed on a grand adventure to save him. At the end of the day Christopher Robin explains where he has actually been, and although he wasn't part of the "grand" adventure he has had one of his won; as his first day at school.

It's not as big but it's an adventure all the same.

Not all of us can be Pooh Bears, some of us are Christopher Robins. And that's OK.

It also gave rise to one of my favourite inspirational quotes, Christopher Robin was clearly wise beyond his years:

"If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you"

Wishing you all a weekend full of adventures

xx

BEDM - Day One - Introduce yourself

So true to form, just like last year I am a day later with the first Blog Every Day in May post. Although last year it slipped my mind and this year I was doing the very important job of dying my hair (it was so long overdue).

I'm going to use this opportunity to re-introduce myself for anyone new who might stumble upon my crafty ramblings. My name is Charlotte, I'm 24 and I live in Crewe, its in the most Southern part of Cheshire which makes it (just) in the North West. I live with my long-term (and long-suffering) boyfriend Dave.We live in a little Victorian Cottage, which I love but it is a listed building which means no double glazing (I'm so glad summer is on its way!).

The majority of posts you'll find on my blog are about my crocheting endeavours, with  some chunks of baking and a sprinkling of my everyday life. My big passion is amigurumi, I think it's because there are no limits, you can make anything you can think of, and for someone who isn't very exciting generally,  (I'm in no way shape of form a risk taker) its nice to have an outlet.

My family and friends are all very supportive of my craft, a lot of my custom orders come through Dave and his work colleagues. In contrast to this I am very harsh on myself regarding my craft and any little mistake I find myself focusing on. This is something I am trying (and sometimes failing) to do better with.

Onto something that I haven't really shared before but may help to explain my sporadic posting. I am sick. At the moment I'm still undergoing diagnostic tests, and if they come back (in many many months time) as what the Drs are thinking, its not something that can be easily cured, and possibly something that I'll live with for the rest of my life. It's a horrible thought that I might be in this much pain forever but I'm trying not to assume the worst until every other option is exhausted.

In the mean time I am going to carry on the best I can, small steps are better than none at all.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, I can't wait to read the other BEDM posts!

xx

Just because I <3 pink and dinosaurs

Cupcake Giveaway

I hope you’re all having a lovely Easter! I can’t believe a quarter of the year has gone already. This post is about the crochet cupcake giveaway currently taking place on my Instagram. Below are just the technical bits to cover the outline of the giveaway.

Cake Details

·         The cupcakes are crocheted with double knitting yarn, in a smoke and pet free environment. They are filled with standard toy stuffing.

·         The eyes on the cupcakes are safety eyes but these are not recommended for children. If requested, felt eyes can be sewn on instead.

·         Cupcakes are just under 3 inches tall and just under 1.5 inches wide.

·         Cupcakes are made up of a cake base (usually light brown but you can request a different colour) and then 2 colours for the top (one for the main base and one for the icing “swirl”) and these are up to you.

·         If you would like a zombie/bunny cake you can request one (if you do not state a colour for the bunny ears they will be white).

Competition Details

·         The giveaway is limited to residents of the UK only (due to postage)

·         The giveaway will run from the time the photo was posted on Instagram ( 12:00 05/04/2015) until 12noon on Sunday 11^th April 2015. Any entries after this will not be included.

·         Entry is limited to one per Instagram account.

·         There will be 3 cupcakes to win, so 3 winners will be picked using a random number generator.

·         Winners will be contacted via Instagram on Sunday 11^th April 2015, if one of the winners fails to provide the details needed to send the cupcake within 1 week (18/04/2015) another winner will be chosen at random.

·         Cupcakes will be posted to the address provided as soon as possible by second class royal mail post (this also depends on how quick a response I receive following the winners announcement).

·         To enter the giveaway you need to follow me on Instagram (handle @craftycharlotte) and share the giveaway photo (ensure to include the hashtag #ccgiveaway so I can find the photos), if only one of these is done your entry will be disregarded.

Any questions please contact me, either on here or on Instagram.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

xx