JoyofQuilting

Grandmother's Crochet Hug My older Granddaughter recently moved into a new flat. And I wanted to Crochet her something for her new pad. I found this pattern on the Drops Free Pattern Website.  Grandmother's Hug Here is my Version and this picture shows the colours really well. I really enjoyed making this for My Granddaughter.  And the picture below shows you it evolving from a Circle to A Granny Square. Just Six Granny Squares  It was made up of six large Granny Squares and nine rounds of border.  It was a joy to make. I used Scheepjes Chunky Monkey Aran from  The Wool Warehouse It's so Soft & Cwtchy And works up satisfyingly quickly. If you like the colourway I've used. However  I had to improvise on the last two rounds of the border as I didn't have enough Yarn. I'm looking to make this Project again for my 2nd Granddaughter and I'll be ordering another ball of the White 1001 and another Ball of the Baby Pink 1240 So I can finish hers off as per the ...

For The Love of Hand Stitching There is something therapeutic about Hand Stitching. Don't get me wrong. I Love Machine Stitching with a Passion. But every now and then I feel the need to partake of some Hand Stitching. BUT I can't Hand Stitch for long. Weaknesses  Eyes and Joints  My eyes don't now, and never have actually done well with close work. Cross Stitch literally makes me Cross eyed! I just can't keep the Stitches still and get quickly confused. Similar although not quite so bad with Embroidery. My eyes tire quite quickly. And then there's me joints. My fingers aren't as nimble as they once were. And repetitive work can become quite painful. Blackbird Syndrome  Blackbird Syndrome: Also, I'm easily distracted by shiny new projects. And consequently have lots of different projects on the go. My Solution  But I do Enjoy a bit of Hand Stitching. So what's a Girl to do? Play to Your Strengths  So what Strengths do I have? I have quite a good guesstim...

 Block Printing - Hand Stitching  I don't do a lot of Hand Stitching but whenever I do I find it So Relaxing. Late last year I did some Fabric Stamping on some plain canvas Bags and Zip Pouches I bought from  Amazon Block Printing  The Fabric Stamping itself was very easy and fun to do. I have quite a good selection of Wooden Stamps Most from  Colouricious And I used some of the Stamped Bags as Gift Bags at Christmas. The little zipper pouches have come in useful over the last few weeks as storage for my Little Janome Gem Sewing machine bits & bobs. I had got that machine out to take to my local school to help get Year 6 Pupils Stitching, and the little tin I kept the spear bobbins, feet etc was looking rather shoddy with rust marks in. So time for an upgrade me thinks. Hand Stitching  And another for my Hand Stitching bits & bobs. And then I thought um, a touch of outline Hand Stitching would look good on them. So I got out my trusty Pearle Cotton ...

 Emotional Support Chicken  I recently Crochet this Emotional Support Chicken from  The Knitting Tree  for my Neighbour who keeps Chickens. The Pattern is also available on  Etsy And  Ravelry You can also buy Knitted versions. I used a Chunky yarn and it made a life sized Chicken. She's quite Splendid. Just the right size to cuddle. Applique  Some close up pictures. Top Left the Chicken I Appliquéd onto A Canvas Bag. Bottom Right the Chicken I Appliquéd onto A Gift Card. I had so much fun making all these. The Chicken took less than a week to Crochet. The Appliqué on the Canvas Bag took an hour or two and is machine stitched onto the bag. And the Appliqué Chicken Gift Card was made using HeatnBond so a quick no Sew project. Then there's My Grandmother's Hug Throw AND Granny square Baby Blanket   See more of my Crochet Projects More of My Ideas for Canvas  Bags Links to My Small & Easy Crochet Projects Yours in Stitches, Joy

 Winter Village  Thought I'd give a progress report on the Winter Village Quilt I'm currently working on. It's Called Winter Village by Edyta Sitar The Pattern can be found at  Laundry Basket Quilts but it is also in Edyta's Book  A Season In Blue I started working on this Quilt in April 2024 Edyta Sitar  I made a good start following Edyta's YouTube instructions. But then like the Blackbird Crafter I am got sidetracked by lots of Shiny Little Projects... In between these Beautiful distractions I stitched a few Houses here and there over the months. There were 23 Blue Houses in total. Although I did make a rouge Red One just for the fun of it I have Built all the Houses now. And have made a start on the Quilting. Machine Quilting  Some close-ups of My Machine Stitching. Just inside the doors and windows followed by Stitching just outside the doors & windows. And some diagonal Machine Stitching on a roof. Hand Stitching/Quilting  Above. I've decide...

 Camp Stitching  Last week we Camped for three nights in Pembrey Country Park  South Wales. It was perfect weather for Sitting & Stitching  In between sightseeing. Ours is the Blue Tent on the left. Feathered Friends  We had three regular visitors while we were there. The Pigeon was ringed and very tame. The Robin was quite cheeky and almost came inside our tent a few times! And The Blackbird was collecting food to take back to his nest. We did see Mrs Blackbird too but she was much more wary of us and kept her distance. The Stitching Inspector  Mr Blackbird came to inspect my Stitching. I had just started work on my Bothy Threads  Blackbird. I like to think he approved! Camp Crochet  I alternated between my Bothy Threads Stitching and some Crochet . It's early days for a new Crochet Blanket I'm working on. I'm keeping to cheerful flower colours for the little Granny Squares and will be joining them together with a Grass Green. I'm enjoying wo...