Accident to a main limb / digit

Yes, I have ripped my left hand index finger nail off, half way down the nail OUCH 

&

I have had to wrap it up to protect it.

However I didn't want it to stop me from crochet - ing the afternoon away, so my first job was to attach a "Crocheted by Ali" label to a hat that was finished pre accident, and look what I did.....

Yes, I sewed it to my bandage!

So I had to use my middle finger to continue the job which made everything take a million times longer and very difficult

Fortunately it's not too painful or difficult to crochet - phew!

More Crochet - Ear Flap Hats & what happens next

Yes, more Ear Flap Hats, one in Black with a white trim,

one totally in white,

& the last a mottled green, yellow & blue which is part acrylic & part "new wool" mix!!

Next job, which I tend to do first thing in the morning whilst sipping green tea in my pyjama's, is to label each item correctly with the kind of yarn or wool used and the washing / laundering instructions that I copy from the label.

And finally I sew in my "Crocheted by Ali" label for that professional finishing touch

It wasn't me!

It wasn't me - really, it wasn't!! 

This was brought in today by one of my Students!!  

She's been making a blanket for her Mum, who lives abroad, for Christmas - wow what a FAB present to receive!!

All she had to do was to finish of the edge

So we had to revisit Double Crochet (that's Single Crochet for all the Crochet Friends in the USA) as she'd been working in Trebles (that's DC in the USA) for so long that she had forgotten them!!

So the edging was finished off and the blanket looks superb!

She's now officially a "Hook A Holic" or Crochet Addict!!

Well done CD

Hard at work today!

After setting my mock stall earlier, which is still occupying the dining room and probably still will until next Saturday, I got my hook out and a few balls of wool to crochet some more Men's Beanie hats, as I have given a few away recently for Birthday presents

I also used up the last of the Seriously Chunky and made an Orange & Lime Beanie with a little tassle top!

This was only possible today thanks to the talents and kind heart of my lovely husband, who offered, not only to do the food shopping today, but to cook the Sunday dinner too - and it was delicious, so thank you my lovely man xxx

Craft Fair Mock Up

I thought I would do a mock up or dummy run of how my stall may look next week, so I have taken over the dining room and used a sheet as a cover - the only thing large enough I could find.

I realise that my table is probably deeper than the one I will get, but at least I have an idea of how thing may look once set up.

I also have a mirror on a stand that I will take with me so that people can see what the Hats and Scarves look like once on

I have priced everything up by way of little price banners on pins

And I have used old boxes at the back to create some height

Any comments and / or suggests & tips gratefully received - thanks for reading.

Crochet Demonstration Today

I was lucky enough to be invited by Carshalton Craft, along to a Coffee Morning at a local church today

So whilst I was there I held a Crochet Demonstration, displayed a few pieces that I had previously crocheted 

& 

talked to lots of people about taking up Crochet & 

coming along to either Group or Individual Crochet Classes

New Scarf & A Birthday Beanie Hat

This is the Birthday Boy 

My Lovely Father in Law in his Grey Chunky Beanie hat which he was very pleased with!

And I made a scarf out of all the hexagon's that I had crocheted some time ago.

I was going to make a blanket with them but a scarf came to mind and so that's what happened with them

Text from one of my students......

Yes this is from a total Hook A Holic as she only started these slippers in class yesterday.....

Aren't they FAB and she even used her own design imagination by adding a flower (learnt in a previous lesson) to the front.

Question #2

Question

If an ALCOHOLIC has a drinking problem or is addicted to alcohol then what is a person called when they are addicted to CROCHET?

A CROCHETOLIC?

or do they have CROCHET-ITIS?

What would YOU call it?

Adding to this from a previous post see http://macscrochet.blogspot.com/2011/11/question.html

HOOK-A-HOLIC??

Vistaprint to the rescue

The "cardboard" sign was fine for the Summer Months, however as soon as the rain set in, it got very damp & tired looking, so I needed to take action.

I went online to Vistaprint and designed this sign.

They even offered "outdoor" weight, so it is protected from the elements.

I know that I had already been to the craft shop today to take a class, but I was so THRILLED with this when the postman delivered it, that I whizzed back down there and to my delight the owner was really pleased as well.

Isn't it just SUPER?

Tales from - Get Hooked - Crochet Classes for Beginners - Lesson #5

It still amazes me how quickly 2 hours go when you are not only crocheting but teaching too!  When the 2 hours is up, it's nice to hear all the ladies moan "oh no, is it that time already?"  That means that they are "HOOKED" which is fab!

CA is hard at work crocheting a pair of "Mary Jane" slippers - Her next project is a cardigan!!

And PA (with her lovely lovely nails) has mastered the start of a Beanie Hat in Trebles.  She kept on saying "By Jove I think she's got it" with a huge smile on her face

The Crochet Classroom at a local Craft shop

Question

If an ALCOHOLIC has a drinking problem or is addicted to alcohol then what is a person called when they are addicted to CROCHET?

A CROCHETOLIC?

or do they have CROCHET-ITIS?

What would YOU call it?

Pink & Fluffy Jar Jackets

I got straight to work (yes, even on a Sunday) this morning and made some more, well about 3, multi coloured jar jackets.  Then I had one of those light bulb above my head moments and out came the pink wool.  However it was 4 ply, so I doubled it up and got going with my trusty hook......

I know that pink is a very popular at the moment and for that added "bling" I added some fluffy glitter white wool, that I had left over from a knitting project.

That's 3 so far - I will make about 3 more to add to my craft fair stock.

12 days to go and counting - OH NO

Jar Jackets!

Some of them were trickier than others

As the mouth of the jar was a lot smaller than the body

So once the main body of the jar jacket had been crocheted

I had to keep the jacket on the jar and finish it off with a few decreases on the jar itself!!

The end result is FAB!

They are so colourful and I love them - I hope you like them too.

If you want to know how I made them then just send me a comment to let me know!

100% Merino wool

Before I get to the ultra luxurious subject of crocheting in 100% Merino wool, I would firstly like to share the following with you:

On my previous post, I posted a picture of these earflap hats that I made the other day.  Well, that night I dreamt that I had adorned each hat with a border in a contrasting colour to "jolly" them up a bit

I do hope you like them and more so the public do too when they come to the craft fair that's  in 2 weeks today!!

Now are you sitting comfortably?  100% Merino Wool - Soft, luxurious, simple divine and totally extravagant!

Combining a rich cream, a subtle pink and a soft caramel, this shawl was created, with loving care and total attention to detail, using 14 balls of 50g 100% Merino Wool.

More for the Craft Fair Stock

I decided to turn some of the chunky beanie hats into ear flap hats

I also made another pair of fingerless gloves in denim blue

"All items are HAND MADE using quality wools / yarns.

HAND MADE = Loving made with care"

And a sign for my Craft Fair Stall

More to come later!

Beanie Hat MADNESS

I think that the pictures tell you exactly what I have been up to today (oh apart from a quick dash to the wool shop & one Crochet Lesson of course)

Yes, I have been crocheting Beanie's

They are all made in "Seriously Chunky" as was the Lime one from yesterday

They make up quite quickly but attention to detail is still first and foremost in my mind when crocheting any item

I probably have enough wool left to make another 5 

Tomorrow is another day!