Look who's soaking up the sun!

RW Junior put in a request for some more of the little monsters hooked a couple of years ago for his friends...
Here are the boys of summer 2014 -

having fun in the afternoon sun!

The chirpy chap below is shaking his tail feathers...

 

.. this smiler has a wibbly foot!

 On previous mini monster projects I have stuck to the pattern and counted religiously...
this time I just went with the flow...
multithreading in single spirals
with medium lengths
from my odds and ends bag..

the compulsory backside view...

Three have bushy tails, one has a hairy hobbit foot...
and one is a complete ball of fluff!

Each has needlefelted features,  all are stuffed full of short ends and happy hooky memories!

It was fun to use the fluffy yarn....
the floor is littered with tiny shards of pink and blue silky reminders!

They weigh in at a monsterous 83g -
a significant proportion will be the stuffing...
now my TUSAL jar is ready to be replenished!

A very Happy Accident....

.....one of the things on my to do list for a looooong time has been a purse for myself.

I eventually got round to it, and had in mind a drawstring design with a flat spiral bottom, that would be felted to cater for wear and tear.

Selecting two wools from my feltable stash I began the spiral....

..the two selected wools were different weights....

and it was tricky to keep the spiral flat....

 ...it grew quickly and was rather inflexible..

 it began to take on a different form...

So I continued going round in circles and made a freeform vessel.....

It seems to have found a place on a shelf that we see several times a day...

I love the knubbly bits on the edge!

So, this got me thinking.......

There were lots of sequins in one of the wools - but only a few are visible...the rest hidden between the stitches!

 

This sea inspired vessel is different from every angle - 

an ocean of photos follows, come for a paddle...

some sewn sequins for sparkle!

sunlight on the waves!

There are 17 yarns and threads in total - some singles and lots of combinations

This is a gift for a very special friend who spends holidays by the sea!

 Both randomeanderings have used plenty of wool!

The first wades in at 39g and the sea waves weigh 68g.

I loved the going round in random circles, 

freeforming is definitely my favoured hooking method at the moment very therapeutic and relaxing.

The purse is still on my list!

Off the cuff...

For holiday trips, one of the things that is always packed is my crochet bag...usually stuffed with more than one project, all my hooks and paraphernalia. 

So far though, it returns unopened...or has the occasional minor disturbance whilst hunting for a pair of scissors.

On a recent trip to visit family, the last decision I made was to leave the bag at home...

One of our nieces is fund raising for a charity she has been working with during the summer.

As I was there, I offered to crochet her some brooches...

Their market town is well stocked with everything a crafter could crave...so I could source everything* I needed quickly and relatively reasonably.

With two hooks, a ball of Stylecraft Harlequin, Yarnfair stripes,  Stylecraft Senses Lace, and some multicoloured thread (*the one thing that eluded me was sparkly thread!) 

I began...

There are 20 items in total, 

brooches with safety pin backs, 

and some hanging decorations...

no written patterns, 

 some remembered, 

some made up and some freeform!

In town there were some fab charity shop finds in the form of sequins and a bagful of sewing supplies - lots of coloured cottons and needles to sew the safety pin backs on!

My mother-in-law also donated a bag of  vintage buttons...

I made this for her as she had admired the crocheted colours and the stylish gold button, from her collection, really sets it off ....

.... as did the velvet button centre for this flower...that had started as a star!

We wondered whether the button had originally been part of some furniture...

There were a few happy accidents...

this also started as a star...I got the counting a little awry...and the silky acrylic curled beautifully, 

as it did for the inner petals (an attempt at a different flat flower),

the combination of the two 'mistakes' made one of my favourite items!

I learned a lot....

that twenty items can be made from less than two balls of wool -(I still have more than half of the thinner yarns left),
that I can finish things in a couple of days,

that relaxing, experimenting and going with the flow works wonders

..and that I should always pack my crochet bag!

Hoping they sell well!

More on happy accidents soon - I seem to be making a habit of them!

Daisy Daisy...

Earlier this week my friends celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary...

I have enjoyed looking back at the photos of their special day and remembering all the happy details!

My friend wore a beautiful lacy dress, 

in our delicate bouquets and hair we had small yellow roses, gypsophila, gentian and ivy.

My Laura Ashley bridesmaids dress had coiled white roses at the back.

The Orders of Service were bound in deep blue sugar paper and inscribed with the groom's beautiful handwriting.

I still cherish the framed coloured pencil drawing of an Ox-Eye Daisy drawn by my friend....

I have sent them my interpretation...

A wet felted background, loomed daisies with needlefelted middles and tiny crocheted gypsophila

Happy Anniversary R and A

Hope you have many more to come!

x