GAD 196 + 197 & more!

It's been such a busy weekend that I am surprised that I actually managed to complete GAD 196 & 197 at all, but here they are!

I am also organising a "Crochet Days" for my old Surrey Students in September, so that they can come to me in Dorset and have a full day and a half of Crochet Fun and tackle all those nitty gritty problems that may have arisen since their last crochet lesson.

This has prompted a couple of photo's to accompany their emails, of their recent masterpieces!

This is Johnson on his lovely blanket

And his is a "ripples" blanket that is a WIP from another student

And look at this wonderful jumper made by another ex student of mine!!

I must say that I am more than impressed by them all

Now for my other news.  My friends birthday is coming up soon and he works for Dorset County Council as a Ranger and is out in all weathers, so I thought that a nice cosy Beanie Hat in County Council colours would be just the ticket.

Here is my husband trying it on for size

& here is the finished hat

I put a white trim on it to break the monotony of the bottle green colour up

And put it on the head of a manikin to give it a good shape before the big day!

A new pupil arrives!

I know that I sound a little surprised with the title of my post today, however with people cancelling, here, there and everywhere of late, I was not too sure whether or not she'd turn up, but she did.

I have made the decision to ask new clients to pay up front in the future and after a little research this does seem to be the norm with lots of different craft classes & as someone else quite rightly pointed out, if you were signing up for an Adult Local Education Class, you would not only have to pay up front for one lesson but for the whole course!

Ok back to today ......

JC has crocheted previously but sadly not for a few years.  She picked up the basic VERY quickly as we went through the foundation chain, slip stitch, double crochet and treble crochets together.  Working at her pace, she crocheted a really good practice block.

To my delight she brought out a blanket pattern that she would like to work on over the Festive Season and I was thrilled when she brought out a print out of an Attic 24 Classic Granny Blanket

Here's the link

So we went through the recommended practice swatch together and I must say I am thrilled with the way her work has turned out!

After a dog walk, an adjustment to my husbands beanie hat (he wore it today on the dog walk and realised that he needed more of a turn up to pull down over his ears in these days of chill) and making sure that all my bits and bobs were packed and ready to go off to Merton Abbey Mills tomorrow, I continued with my swatch as I think I could turn it into either a Kindle Cover or a scarf!

Wish me luck for tomorrow. I would LOVE a total sell out - obviously - so call back in tomorrow and I will update my blog with news

Another Wool Sale to attend

I have had several cancellations this week including both private/ individuals and Group Classes at local venues - all of them last minute & therefore not letting me have any time to re book / re schedule my own time or allowing me to book in other classes due to the short notice.  I know that this can't be helped, but it does mean that I don't get paid a bean and as I can't book in anyone else at such short notice, so I am really out of pocket, which is hard when you are trying to start up a business.  I wish this was a "hobby / work" type of arrangement but it's not.

Should I start to ask for a Deposit to be paid when I get phone or email enquiry, to secure a booking?  I am not sure that it will put people off, and even if they do agree, will they actually remember to go on PayPal to pay it, or are they even with PayPal???

However the "Silver Lining" to this cancellation and loss of earnings was that I didn't have to rush the Wool Sale - I think that I have mentioned these before, however here it is again.  A local couple used to own a wool shop, they sold it due to retirement, but they still had all their stock - hence the wool sale!

Each ball is £1 and I spent £30 there today, which is very good for me as I have spent over £50 there before.  The best thing is that I managed to get 4 balls of Sirdar Denim Chunky in Navy, which I have been after since the last sale.  I also got a Sirdar Denim Chunky in a mix and I have started on a Beanie Hat for my Husband.

Here are some pictures of the hat being started and the wool colours.

To change the wool each time, I simply worked along in DC (SC in the US) until the last stitch, so in this case (above picture) a blue

Then on the last stitch I work with the blue, so pull the blue through, I now have a loop of each colour on the hook

& once I pull the last loop through I only have the blue loop on the hook and I continue working in blue until I get to the last stitch, which will be a mix one, and change to the mix wool 

This is the back of the work to show you how neat it looks.

So I am not fastening off and joining at the start / end of each row, as this would be a pain!

And here is my LOVELY husband having the "final fitting"

He loves it and so do I

I am glad that I have finally crocheted a warming hat for him

My week ahead

I have a very busy week this week, starting with 2 lots of 2 hour classes today, a group class tomorrow morning,  another 2 hour class on Wednesday, then another group class on Friday, followed by my first Saturday class which I had to do (I was trying to avoid working weekends) but this lady works full time all week so I couldn't say no!

I didn't crochet at all yesterday, although I did sort out my new FOLKSY shop - I still have some items to add in, however it's a start.

I also finished off the Beanie Hat ordered by my Postman - he wanted his unions initials put on the front so I did that for him last night.  However I wasn't happy with the finish, so I re did it this morning in a thicker stitch and I think it's now FAB.......

Oh, did I mention that I have a customer commission order to complete too?  It's for an Ear Flaps hat in Lime Green and the wool I have bought for this is wonderful to touch and a really great shade of colour - I can't wait to start it!

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

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!

More from Hooked! (Modeled by Pixie)

Yes I have been crocheting away as I only have 20 days, yes 20 days until the Craft fair !!  P-A-N-I-C There doesn't seem like there are enough hours in the day sometimes, what with Crochet classes, dog walks, house cleaning, ironing and the likes it feels like I should be crocheting in my sleep!

Anyway here's more to add to the Crochet Craft Fair stock....

One of the "Posy" flowers of a scarf , so there are now two in Cream and one in Red

A "ruffles" scarf in a soft beige - This is crocheted in 100% Merino and it's a bugger to work with as it's so soft, so you need  (A) very soft hands so that you don't snag the wool and (B) the patience of a Saint as its so slippery and you have to keep on correcting your hold on the wool!

This is the scarf previously featured (so not made this weekend) but it's now being modeled for me by my new model "Pixie" who I picked up today from Woking in Surrey thanks to a very very kindly TWITTER friend who gave this to me today - swapped for a bag of veggies from my allotment (see previous post)

And last but not least is another beanie hat in "Denim" a chunky Acrylic / Wool blend that crocheted up a little on the large side but with my husband close to hand, who is kind enough to lend me his head for fittings every now and then, I managed to size it down a little to make sure it was a snug fit

The Alphabet...

One of the books that arrived the other day, had letters of the Alphabet patterns in it.  As I have a friends birthday coming up this week, I thought I would make her a name banner & I am pleased with the way its turned out.  

As you can see they are being "blocked" at the moment but I will join the K, E, R, R, I to the lavender band later in the week.

The A, L, I & C were practice letters - not too sure what I will do with them yet.

Finally......

This is Derek at the allotment trying out his new Beanie Hat that I made for him last week

See Latest Projects Blog

He said that it kept his head really warm and toasty, which is good as it was a particularly cold day yesterday

Latest Projects....

A Beanie Hat in a thick Aran Wool using a 6.5mm hook - this took one evening to make!

Here's the pattern to follow - thanks Crochet Geek

Take a Cotton Buds tub....

Double tape the inside to secure the edge of the work....

Add an old pot that  you get posh puddings in and you have a lovely crocheted pot that can hold business cards or paper clips etc!

I liked making the Beanie Hat so much that I wanted to make another for a friend at the allotment that helped me no end the other day!  I didn't have any more thick wool, so I put 2 balls of DK together (e.g. using 2 strands from 2 balls) and made this hat!