Quilt Love

I thought I'd just give a quick update on the craft swap with FromTwelveToTwoFifteen... well as planned last Sunday I quickly popped over to where she was staying, dodging rain showers and traffic in town and we happily swapped blankets! Very happily! I was so eager to see the patchwork quilt she had made for Little P after seeing photos of it on her blog... It did not disappoint!

It's so bright and cheerful and each and every fabric is lovely - I like just sitting and looking at them all and how well they work together! 

It certainly is a feast for the eyes. It's so soft and squishy too. My favourite part is the edging...

and how it works so well with the fabric on the back. Amazing. I wouldn't know where to start when making one of these but I'm so glad Maddy does! Little P also loves it too. She spotted it as soon as she walked in and promptly made herself a bed on the floor with it and asked it she could sleep under it all night. I like it because it is just the right amount of 'girl'... It's not covered in pink, pink, pink, but it's definitely a little girl's blanket! Love it! So glad we did the swap! Here's a look at some of the fabrics...

It will definitely be a Forever Quilt... so thank you so much FromTwelveToTwoFifteen! 

I've been getting on with new crochet projects since the completion of the big granny square blanket. It didn't take long at all to get inspired for new things, and with plenty of babies on the way again (not my own!) why not start with a baby project? Something not quite so big as the last project!

I'm not usually a fan of baby yarns. Don't get me wrong, I love the softness and squishiness, but it's the colour palette available that gets me. Pale pink. Pale blue. Yellow. White. That's it. I like bright and vibrant colours usually. But it just so happens that the idea I had for my latest yarny venture called for these colours. After looking at my own stash and realising I did not have the correct colour combination available, it seemed only natural to order more yarn. What else? After scouting about the internet for various colour combinations and yarn weights, I settled on Lion Brand Baby's First - a chunky weight cotton blend yarn in just the right colours for what I wanted. I do love cotton and cotton blends! 

So it is essentially pink, blue and yellow - traditional baby colours, but the blue is more 'teal-ish' and the pink is a bit stronger than many baby pinks. It's so lovely and squishy and nice to work with - it can split a bit but as long as you pay attention it's fine. Also being chunky weight, it works up really quickly, and I'm almost done! The only downside of this yarn is that it is only available in 9 colours - all quite pale and babyish. It would be awesome if it was available in a range of bright colours too, I would use it loads.

It's been a dull rainy week here in my part of the world. Except yesterday which was a scorcher. I've been papping in the garden again whilst Little P runs around playing. I soon know when she gets bored of me taking pictures as she tries to put her hand in every picture! Loads more daylilies out in the garden, but one of my fave plants, my Pineapple Lily (Eucomis bicolour) is in flower and looking great...

I have also had a stamp carving session but will show more of that when I finish the rest of it, but now I'm going to head off and try and squeeze in a bit of crochet before Little Lady returns, so until next time...

The Crafty Swap

You may remember that once upon a time I mentioned a craft swap I'm doing with Maddy of From Twelve to Two Fifteen... well the time is almost upon us to complete the task and swap creations. Tomorrow is the day, I'll venture over to see her whilst she is back in the UK and present her with what has been a mammoth project over the last few months... the giant granny square blanket.
Firstly I was building up piles and piles of brightly coloured granny squares made from lovely yarn - Mostly Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran with some RICO Essentials Soft Merino Aran thrown in to complete the colour palette.
This...

Became this...

which have eventually become this...

I have to admit I love it, and this picture doesn't really do it justice at all. There are 100 granny squares (made using Attic 24's Summer Garden Granny Square pattern) and they are all joined in one continuous motion using this method  by Babylove Brand which I found very easy to follow! It actually all joined together quicker than I thought, and I will definitely be joining future granny square blankets in this way. Revelation. I have really enjoyed this project, and will miss it somewhat. I've had endless evenings of crocheting random colour squares and then the privilege of combining them to make a blanket which I hope will be greatly received. I have already had a preview of the quilt made for Little P, as Maddy finished a while back and posted about it here... I have 'borrowed' a pic off her blog to show it off, but will no doubt take more photos when we receive it tomorrow!

Isn't it super lovely? Sewing is really not a craft I know a lot about, so I can't even imagine the work that went into this, but I know it will be huge amounts since it has been dubbed 'the forever quilt'! I know Little Lady will love it and spend many hours using it in her games and snuggling under it... as will I.

Here's a few more pics of the blanket, before I part with it... I think it deserved a montage...

and another full-body shot...

and a little look at it all packaged up...

and a close-up of that super little detail...

Yep, personalised wooden buttons bought for me by my trusty friend Curly Girl Coop... the perfect detailing to finish it off!

So there was an enormous cavern left where the blanket once filled my evenings... but not for long. It seems it's baby time again... it always seems to come in gluts, 3 babies due close together, then none for months! So I'll be back on baby crafting for a bit, and see what else takes my fancy. I also still have the 'As We Go Stripy Blanket' which I started work on months ago but it went on the back-burner when the BIG granny blanket came along. I did find time last weekend to figure out and type up a pattern for a square I created last year (or maybe actually the year before that) as I have been asked a couple of times recently for a pattern for it. I have titled it 'The Popcorn Flower Square' and it can be found from a link at the top of the page or by simply clicking here.

I've also been enjoying the glorious sunshine over the last week, and have had lots of lovely days with my Little P, including trips to the park and beach. We took a day trip to Southwold earlier this week, which was great fun. Always such a lovely place to visit. I particularly love the shot of Little Lady wandering along the pier...

I've had great fun also playing with my camera, and trying to snap some nice shots of the nature around me. There are plenty of flowers in the garden to practice on, since I went overboard on my daylily collection a few years back! They are great plants, the flowers may only last a day but there are so many of them, staggered throughout the summer months. Here are a few of my faves...

I also found myself a teeny weeny baby cactus from a local exotic plant nursey, and look forward to watching him grow!

My cacti and succulent collection is coming along nicely... Now I realise I do have a few collections going on... ooops.

I also made it out into the countryside again with the Little One and spotted a few more of those Six-Spotted Burnet moths I took a photo of before. I managed to get close up this time and I am pretty proud of the photo I got...

Look at him drinking! I love it!

Right, got to go, I'm continuing on a new project and having a well deserved cup of tea. I shall update you all on the craft swap in due course! So until next time...