Journal 52 - Jumping Ahead to Week 8

Despite not having even starting week 7's prompt yet, I've already completed week 8's (and the prompt was only posted this afternoon!)
The prompt was 'Found Poetry' encouraging us to create a poem. The inspiration page was an altered page from a book where words were highlighted that spoke to the artist.and the rest of the page blacked out.
I was inspired to have a go at this technique and grabbed my copy of pride and prejudice I use for craft purposes, ripped out a random page and grabbed a black pen. I followed the guide and just highlighted words that stood out as I read them and ended up creating this poem which is really relevant to me at the moment - it was as if the page and words just jumped out! I then added my little stick 'sisters'!
Incase you can't see it, it says:
Fatigued.
Inadequate.
Silence.
Wished she had understood the truth traveling among sisters was great for her.

Working in Progress - Poncho

I'm still enjoying working on crochet projects that are all for me.  I finished my Rainbow Jumper last weekend and am really pleased with it (I will post some photos over the weekend) and have moved onto a cosy poncho.

 
The pattern I've chosen is the Intertwined Poncho from Curvy Girl Crochet by Mary Beth Temple.  It combines 2 of my favourite things - half treble stitch and crocheted cables.  I'm making it in Deramores Vintage Chunky yarn in a lovely grey colour (I chose grey as it will go with pretty much everything) and is a really nice yarn to work with.  I'm currently 2/3 of the way through the first panel and I love the way it is looking.

What are you working on at the moment? 

Bargain Crochet Books on Kindle

I was browsing Amazon a few days ago and spotted some amazing deals on a few excellent crochet books to download to Kindle. You don't need a kindle to access them, I use the Kindle app on my smartphone to read them.

Here are the links to the books. All are well worth their current price!

Stitch 'n' Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker - £2.49

Crochet One Skien Wonders - £1.99

How to Crochet: A Complete Guide for Absolute Beginners - £1.99

I'm not sure how long these books will be available at these prices so be quick if you like the look of one.

The end of summer!

Well, it is here, the end of the Summer holidays (not that we've seen much of the summer).  On Thursday I go back to school and have my pencil case and new school bits 'n' bobs ready to go and have planned lots of exciting lessons to teach my new class.  The start of the new school year is really my New Year, it's a new start, a new class and new lessons and it is quite exciting.  It does, however, mean that there will not be as much time for me to craft and, once again, I will have to squeeze it in during my dinner time and whilst catching up on my favourite TV programmes at night!

The start of the new school year is also a sign that autumn is on it's way and it is nearly time to get the wooly's out - cardigans, jumpers, hats, mittens and scraves!  Hooray!  It is heaven for knitters and crocheters as we can finally wear all the items we have been making during summer. 

I recently bought the Complete Guide to Knitting and Crochet by Nikki Trench after it was recommended to me by a friend.  It is a great book and has lots of information on the history of knitting and crochet, yarn, basic stitches and more complicated ones as well as a good number of modern patterns. 

I have already crocheted hats (one for me in Noro Silk Garden and one for a Christmas present) and am currently working on the Frill Shawl in a gorgeous teal King Cole Haze Glitter.  I have plans for other projects in the book to!  It is well worth getting and I bought my copy for £1.51 on Amazon and I have seen it in Asda and The Works to.  

I can't wait to wear my hat!

Blog Hopping
This coming weekend, 3rd September,  I am involved in something rather exciting in the blogging world - my first blog hop!  All I am going to tell you is that it is all linked to Art from the Heart's 10th Birthday celebrations and includes a bit of a competition.  Check my blog on the 3rd of September from 10am for more exctiting details.    

The Secret Life of a Knitter by The Yarn Harlot

Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't put down?  I have read quite a few of these and my post today is about one such book.  I want to share and recommend to you all "Yarn Harlot ~ The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

I came across the book purely by chance as I was searching Amazon for crochet books.  I had heard of The Yarn Harlot's fabulous blog and had even taken a peek at it and, before I knew it, it had fallen into my basket and had been bought.  When it arrived I resisted temptation and saved it for my holiday and I am so glad I did! 

Now, I feel it is important to add that, at the time of reading, I was not yet a knitter.  Since then I have learnt to knit (more about that in a later post) and part of this was down to reading this book. 

The book is extremley well written and difficult to put down.  It is organised into sections which are then split into short stories about her knitting experiences, some of which are taken from her blog and some written for the book.  I laughed out loud an awful not (much to my husbands puzzled looks), sympathised with some of her yarny experiences, nodded along and also, at one point in the book, felt particularly sad.  I am not going to share any of the stories with you as it would spoil the book and I hate people who spoil books!!! My favourite part of the book, and it is very difficult to pick just one favourite bit, in The Green Afghan.  

I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who loves yarn. It is a great accompaniment to any knitter or crocheters book collection and would be most appreciated for a present. 

Amigurumi Crazy (and Giveaway update!)

I have gone amigurumi crazy!  My good friend, Jo, has lent me an amigurumi book that is just full of the cutest patterns that are so easy and quick to make.

For those of you new to  amigurumi, it originates from Japan and is the art of knitting and crocheting little small creatures or objects as stuffed toys.  There are hundreds of books out there talking you through how to make mini animals and some more obscure objects (including a hamburger and some crochet tombstones!). 

The book I have been lent (see above) is defintley one of the more sensible ones, with patterns for a ballerina bunny, snail, monkey, aeroplane and a whole host of other gorgeous animals.  The only problem I had was which one to start with!  

So far I have made the ballerina bunny for me, a cupcake bear and a snail for Mr Gingerbread Bunny.  I started with the cupcake bear as it was a very simple pattern and very quick.  It is adorable and I am going to use it as a pin cushion.

 

Ballerina Bunny was my second project from the book and took a little longer as she has more bits to her.  But she is just so cute.  She gave me lots of practise at working in several colours at the same time and joining all the parts together.  

The snail was quick and easy to make.  You make the shell in 2 pieces and my 2 pieces where different sizes (oops!  Well it was about 8pm when I started him!) With some stretching whilst stitching it worked out.  

Finishing off the animals requires a bit of embroidery skill for noses and mouths and I purchased some 6mm safety eyes from eBay for a very reasonable price (if you are planning on giving these to small children then safety eyes are a must).  

The patterns are predominantley worked in the round, which is easy, but you definitley need to use stitch markers at the start of each round, a tip not given in the book, or you just cannot work out where the round begins and ends.

For those of you not lucky enough to have a friend with a book, there are plenty of free patterns available online on Ravelry, Lion Brand Yarns and by searching for amigurumi patterns.

Happy Crocheting!

GIVEAWAY UPDATE!

There is still plenty of time to enter my giveaway from my last post!  All you need to do is leave a comment on my last post, Pretty Presentation and Great Giveaway, or one the link to this blog post on The Gingerbread Bunny Facebook page, before 12pm GMT Wednesday for a chance to win a funky feather clip or a beautiful book pouch! 

As you may have noticed, I am now taking comments on the Facebook page as a few fans of the Bunny weren't able to comment on the blog.  Please feel free to pass on the details of this giveaway to your friends.

The Happy Hooker!

My new crochet hook wrap

I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter; I have!  I have spent it with some of my favourite people, visited the gorgeous Babybee, been on a steam train, had many fabulous meals out, have extended my yarn stash and hook stash and have been busy making!  The holidays aren't over yet and there are many more opportunities to make, buy yarn and attend an art journaling workshop before I return to work next week.  Phew.  I may need a week off to recover.



My Easter weekend purchases

As you may have realised, I am currently loving crochet!  I am most definitley hooked and have a list of projects as long as my arm that I want to have a go at.  Today I have been started a very simple triangular shawl in double crochet stitch which I hope to use for dancing.  It is giving me an opportunity to develop my increasing skills.  I am using a yarn called King Cole Riot which is a variagated yarn 70% acrylic and 30% wool.  It is gorgeous to work with and the colour is looking fab-u-lous!  I can't wait for it to be completed and I am pretty certain that I will be CIP (Crocheting In Public) with it at the hairdressers tomorrow.  Pictures will be posted when it is complete!

To support the development of my crochert skills, I have purchased a book.  It is Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.  Now, to be honest, I have judged a book by it's cover!  The title was enough for me to hunt down this book in my local craft store and purchase it for the reasonable sum of £10.99.  I simply couldn't resist a book called The Happy Hooker! 

It is a good size book that will fit into a reasonable size handbag and is very well made on glossy, good quality paper.  It is most packed full of great information for new crocheters (like me) nad seasoned hookers! (pardon the pun!)

The book is in two parts, Hooking Up: Learning to crochet and Crochet Away: The patterns.  Part one is divided into 8 further sections. 
Voulez-vous crochet avec moi? Is an interesting and concise background to where crochet has come from and how it is developed and gives a good introduction to crochet.

Tools of the Trade  I never knew there where so many parts to my crochet hook!  Wow!  The conversion guide between UK and US crochet hook sizes is very useful and clear as is the guide to yarn, it's weights and suitability for different projects.

Sections 3, 4, 5,6,7 and 8  These sections are jam packed with the essentials and extras to begin your crocheting addiction.  With clearly written instructions and colour diagrams, a whole range of stitches (both basic and fancy) and guides to increasing, decreasing, finishing and blocking (yay) are explained here in depth!  I will most definitley be revisiting these chapters and am going to mark them with page tabs for easy finding.

Patterns The second part of the book is a vast and varied selection of patterns, from scarves and shawls to jumpers, bag and an iPod cover that looks like an animal!  Many of these patterns I am desperate to have a go at while others (yes I'm talking about the hat that bears a striking resemblance to a plant pot!) I will probably leave for someone else to attempt!  

I definitley recommend this book to all budding crocheters/hookers out there!  It is well worth it's £10.99 price tag and will be abook that will be picked up time and again!  

Beautiful Bag Making!



The completed bag!



I am so pleased!  Today I finally had the time to make my bag and I am so pleased with the result!  There where a few hiccups along the way and I did get rather grumpy with some of the binding at one point but all in all it went pretty well!  It is a bucket bag from 'The Bag Making Bible' by Lisa Lam but I have added an elasticated pocket inside (just the right size for my iPhone) and I chose not to make it reversible!

Inside elasticated pocket



Last night, whilst watching my favourite episodes of The Vicar of Dibley (the very last ones where she gets married in her pyjamas!!) I made some beautiful cards.  They are a large card, with 2 of them, 4 smaller matching cards.  I am very pleased with them!!!

I used some beautiful card that I saw in Hobbycraft and it just looks beautiful!  On each of the cards I have added a small embellishment, a little fabric butterfly, sparkly jewel, brad or paper flower!

 

 

I plan to put these on my Folksy shop to sell (when I eventually set it up in half term!)

Sunday's Craftiness!

So today I have started to make my bag!!!  I have been waiting to make this bag for weeks, ever since I got 'The Bag Making Bible' by Lisa Lam!  The bag I'm making is the Bucket Bag as it seems to be the easiest! (I hope)!  I have spent the day cutting out the fabric templates to so that when my wadding arrives next week I can start to assemble it!!  I am also making a matching purse and phone holder to go with it!
My biggest, and most exciting, make today has been the yoyo flower!  Very simple and very effective!  I am using them to decorate my bag, purse and holder.  I have covered some buttons myself to go in the middle so it all co-ordinates!

YoYo Flower