plastic fusing and my first yarn bomb!

ooh dear ive gone and found another hobby!! i love it now im going to save all by bread and crisp bags to fuse into bags to sell at bens summer fete make great reusable shopping bags! and a pic of my first yarn bombed tree..card says love your world

plarn wreath all recycled goods!

plarn is basically yarn made from plastic carriers bags there are many websites with tutorials on make plarn i prefer the method where you fold and cut the top diagonally across quick and even! other skills required included minimum of sewing, crochet and plastic fusing..plastic fusing is melting of plastic bags together..again lots of websites show methods of this you don't need to get too fussy with this project though when plarning do not use biodegradable bags as they will fall apart after a while as they are meant to disintegrate materials required 8 dark green bags or another colour for the base..maybe black or white? 2 red bags one for the Berry's and one for the ribbon and bow flower 1 lighter green bag to be fused for the holly spruces one metal coat hanger some red and green cotton a bead or shiny button or bear/milk bottle top 4mm crochet hook first of all make sure you have plarned all your plastic bags except for the 2 red and the 1 light green bag, fuse your light green bag allow to cool and cut out 10 holly shapes from the fused plastic material shape your coat hanger into a circular shape and bend the hanging portion down and over to form a look this will be your hanging hook taking your 4mm hook tie one end of the plarn to the hanger near the bottom and slip crochet the yarn around to start ..now chain ten and slip crochet the plarn around this will for a loop, chain ten and slip crochet the plarn around again forming a loop continue in this method until the hanger is completely covered in chain 10 loops this will create a fir affect now to decorate plarn bow flower and ribbon taking one red bag make a ball of plarn 1.using 4mm hook chain 4 and slip crochet shut to form a ring, 2.8sc into ring 3. chain 5 and slip crochet into next space, then into the same space you have just slip crocheted chain 5..continue around to end , slip crochet into first chain 5 space at the bottom 4.into each chain 5 space around sc 6 times around to end slip crochet into first space to close ring 6..ribbon bows , continuing from last slip crochet chain 20, turn and sc into 2nd chain from hook and into rest of the chain till you return back to the base of the flower, again chain 20 , single crochet in 2nd chain from hook and into the rest of the chains until you return to the base of the flower now fasten off.. 7..sew a bottle top or bead into the centre of the flower ribbon bow i used a beer bottle top and found it easy to Peirce a hole either side using a corn on the cob holder piercing through the top rather than through the base as the base had a plastic covering and was a little slippery holly balls taking your other red bag cut 12 2x2 inch squares scrunch into balls and sew into clusters of 3 balls ..sew each 3 ball cluster evenly onto wreath and place and sew a holly leaf either side and lastly sew your flower ribbon bow onto the bottom of the wreath and sew a holly leaf either side.. all done ..id love to see other colour variations of this any questions please ask!

patchwork square number 2

ok i really like this one..i know im not great but thats the whole point its a journey..i also finally backed my christmas wall hanging and i have a disney cars one to do for the boys joint christmas presant

flat knit socks boot or bedsocks..something more robust

now these socks have the seam underneath which some people can cope with and some can not..i needed a pair of robust socks to wear under my boots and there was no way i was using the delicious hand painted merino stuff in my stash lol so i used some pretty cheep acyclic yarn..if you have sock yarn such as opel you will need 2 balls alas hence why i just used cheep ayclic after all these are designed as bed socks a pair 4mm needles, any large ball of acrylic dk yarn i used Rainbow multi by creative yarns in shade 352..looks a wee bit like a rose garden don't you think? the tension is 22 stitches by 30 rows in a 10 x 10 cm square measure from the base (back end of your heel to the top of your small toe ..this is the measurement you will need later on) cast on 42 stitches 1st row *k2,p2* repeat to end 2nd row *p2,k2* repeat to end repeat rows 1 and 2 , 2 more times (6 rows of ribbing) now ss ending on ws for 30 rows decreases for ankle and heel .. 1st row k2 together , k14 , k2tog, k6, k2tog,k14, k2tog 2nd row purl 3rd row k2tog,knit to last 2 stitches k2tog 4th row purl 5th row k2tog,k10,k2tog,k8,k2tog,k10,k2tog 6th row purl 7th row k2tog,k10,inc1 into next stitch,inc1 into next stitch,k4,inc1 into next stitch,inc1 into next stitch,k10,k2 tog 8th row purl, 9th row k8,inc1 into next stitch, inc1 into next stitch,k14, inc1 into next stitch, inc1 into next stitch, k8 10th row purl 11th row k11,inc 1 into next stitch twice, k13 inc1 into next stitch, k13 inc1 into last stitch twice ..42 stitches starting with purl row continue in ss for (insert your foot measurement as described above - measuring from first row of heel decreases) decrease rows for toes 1st row *k7, k2 tog* repeat to end 2nd row purl 3rd row *k6, k2 tog* repeat to end 4th row purl 5th row *k5, k2 tog* repeat to end 6th row purl 7th row *k4,k2 tog* repeat to end 8th row purl 9th row *k3, k2 tog* repeat to end 10th row purl 11th row *k2, k2 tog* repeat to end 12th row purl 13th row *k1,k2 tog* repeat to end 14th row purl break off yarn and thread through remaining stitches on needle and seam sock shut

Happy Halloween mitts

Please note I am not a professional pattern writer, and I offer these for free. I'm afraid there is no graph for these. Enjoy

Materials patons fab black 02311,
  wendy peter pan orange 285 and a scrap of green i used grass by patons fab
4mm straight needles and 4 4mm dpns

Cast on 36 in black and rib in k2, p2 for 4 rows change to orange and ss 2 rows

Diagonal stripe pattern pattern
Row 1 *k3 orange,k3 black* repeat to end pattern
Row 2 p1 orange *p3 black, p3 orange * repeat from *to last* to 2 stitches p2 orange pattern
Row 3 k1 orange* k3 black, k3 orange* repeat from * to* to last 2 stitches k2 orange pattern
Row 4 *p3 orange, p3 black* repeat to end pattern
Row 5 k2 black,*k3 orange, k3 black* repeat from * to* to last st k1 black pattern
Row 6 p2 black, * p3 orange, p3 black* repeat from *to* to last st p1 black repeat diagonal stripe pattern once more.
change to Orange only and ss 2 rows change to black only and ss two rows ***
LEFT mitten PUMPKIN Pattern FOR LEFT MITT pattern
Row 1 k6 black, k7 orange, k23 black pattern
Row 2 p22 black, purl 9 orange ,p5 black pattern
Row 3 k4 black, k3 orange, k5 black, k3 orange, k21 black pattern
Row 4 p20 black, p3 orange, p1 black,p5 orange,p1 black, purl 3 orange, p3 black pattern
Row 5 k3 black,k2 orange, k2 black, k5 orange, k2 black, k2 orange, k20 black pattern
Row 6 p20 black, p6 orange, p1 black, purl 6 orange, p3 black pattern
Row 7 k3 black, k4 orange, k1 black, k3 orange, k1 black, k4 orange, k20 black pattern
Row 8 p21 black, p3 orange, p1 black, purl 3 orange, p1 black, p3 orange,p4 black pattern
Row 9 k5 black, k9 orange, k22 black pattern
Row 10 p23 black, p7 orange,p6 black pattern
Row 11 k9 black, k1 green, k26 black pattern
Row 12 p23 black, p1 green, p1 black, p1 green, p1 black,pl green,p1 black,p1 green, p6 black, pattern
Row 13 k7 black, k1 green, k3 black, k1 green, k 24 black
 purl 1 row black
change to orange and starting with knit row ss 2 rows
change to black and ss for 3 rows
cast off knit wise fold mitt in half wrong side out sew from top side seam down 5cm and leave 4cm un sewn as an opening in the side seam for the thumb portion now sew the remaining 8 cm of side seam closed , turn mitt right way out now complete thumb portion thumb using 4mm dpns in black pick up and knit 16 stitches around thumb opening k6 rounds, change to orange to k2 rounds cast off knit wise.

RIGHT HAND MITT work exactly as left hand mitt up to *** except substitute the pumpkin pattern part for this one for this one
pattern row 1 k23 black, k7 orange, k6 black pattern
Row 2 p5 black, purl 9 orange ,p22 black pattern
Row 3 k21 black, k3 orange, k5 black, k3 orange, k4 black pattern
Row 4 p3 black, p3 orange, p1 black,p5 orange,p1 black, purl 3 orange, p20 black pattern
Row 5 k20 black,k2 orange, k2 black, k5 orange, k2 black, k2 orange, k3 black pattern
Row 6 p3 black, p6 orange, p1 black, purl 6 orange, p20 black pattern
Row 7 k20 black, k4 orange, k1 black, k3 orange, k1 black, k4 orange, k3 black pattern
Row 8 p4 black, p3 orange, p1 black, purl 3 orange, p1 black, p3 orange,p21 black pattern
Row 9 k22 black, k9 orange, k5black pattern
Row 10 p6 black, p7 orange,p23 black pattern
Row 11 k26 black, k1 green, k9 black pattern
Row 12 p6 black, p1 green, p1 black, p1 green, p1 black,pl green,p1 black,p1 green, p23 black, pattern Row 13 k24 black, k1 green, k3 black, k1 green, k7 black
Continue with right hand mitt from here exactly as set out for left hand mitt happy holidays!

Christmas candy-stripe wristwarmers

you need 4mm needles and (4) 4mm dpns and the small 25g balls one of each white,christmas red and christmas green ..i used patons fab dk and a small ball of some white fluffy yarn i had this in my stash and im afraid its of unknown origin ! make 2 of obviously unless you like one cold hand! cast on 36 stitches using fluffy white garter 4 rows change to red and stocking stitch for 10 rows pattern rows make sure you use a loose tension otherwise it will end up to tight for your hands! pattern row 1..*knit 2 red, k2 white, k2 green, k2 white* repeat to end pattern row 2 purl 1 green, *p2 white, p2 red, p2 white, p2 green * repeat to last stitch p1 red pattern row 3 *k2 white, k2 green, k2 white, k2 red* repeat to end pattern row 4 purl 1 white *p2 green, p2 white, p2 red, p2 white* continue to last stitch p1 white pattern row 5 *k2 green, k2 white, k2 red, k2 white* repeat to end pattern row 6 purl 1 red * p2 white, p2 green, p2 white, p2 red * continue to last stitch p1 green pattern row 7 *k2 white, k2 red, k2 white, k2 green* continue to end pattern row 8 purl 1 white *p2 red, p2 white, p2 green, p2 white* continue to last stitch p1 white repeat rows 1-8 once more tie off white and green stocking stitch 6 rows in red, change to fluffy white and garter stitch 2 rows cast off knitwise fold in half and sew side seam from top down 5cm miss 4cm and leave this portion unseamed for thumb opening, sew rest of side seam shut turn right side out Thumb using 4mm dpns pick up and knit 16 stitches distrubute onto dpns evenly around knit 6 rounds change to fluffy white knit 2 rounds cast off knit wise

the old ball and chain

ok not sure why i wanted one but there was Halloween coming up so could be useful also good for stag and hen nights cheeky wedding pressies lol! so i made this wee pattern up very simple ! one 25g ball of Filz-It Felting Wool - Black 4mm needle i suggest you make the ball and neck/ankle/wrist bit first so you know how much you have left to make chain links remember if you are wearing an ankle chain make sure your careful not to trip over it!! Ball. chain 4, slip stitch into first chain to form a ring round 1 sc 6 times into ring..no need to slip stitch closed just continue to work in a spiral round 2 2sc into each sc round 3 *2sc in 1st sc, 1sc in next sc* repeat round round 4 *2sc in next sc, 1 sc in next 2 sc* repeat round round 5 *2sc in next sc, sc in next 3 sc* repeat round rounds 6 and 7 sc in each sc round round 8 *sc in next sc sc 2 sc together* repeat around round 9 *sc 2 sc together * repeat around stuff lightly at this point round 10 till end ..continue in this manor until the ball is closed ..slip crochet ball shut and fasten off neck strap chain 43 (but please measure around neck once chained before second row should be about 2 inches longer than the length around your neck/ankle wrist these are my measurements) 1st row hdc in second chain from hook hdc across to end chain 2 turn 2nd row hdc in second chain from hook hdc across to end fasten off wrist strap alternative as above but chain 32 ankle strap as neck strap but chain 35 links first link chain 18 1st row in 2nd chain from hook hdc, then hdc to end fasten off now sew/slip crochet link shut to form a circle 2nd and subsequent links as above yet before closing shut to form ring thread through the first/lower link the sew/slip crochet shut this method will form your chain links to make up simple sew chain to ball, sew other end of chain to the middle of your neck , wrist, ankle strap ..all done now bung in the washing machine at 40 degree wash ..allow to dry now just sew a small length of black acrylic either side of your strap so you can tie it on and there you go all done!

jewlerry for a friend

wanted to make my friend a personalised piece of jewlerry so i found a cute pic of her twin boys and printed off onto shrink plastic..(i love this stuff why have i not discovered it before.i now am going to make bens artworks into a charm bracelet for me i think) shrink plastic is easy to use its like paper and you just need an inkjet printer ..the pic needs to be 50% bigger than you want it to end up as it shrinks obviously and be careful not to touch the pic as it will smudge..then i just added a chain either side fastings and green and silver glass beads..im happy with it cost less than £5 to make and about 1.5 hrs

and i made a button bracelet as a sort of trial run ..thats turned out quite well too i think

busy week

ben helping to sort the fruit out

my wall hanging needs backing and a section for the 25 days of chrsitmas for an advent calender

elderberrys, sloes and cobnuts

my first lot of jam sloes and damsons using the pound for pound recipie

jam making, made a christmas wall hanging , picked some more fruit elderberrys and sloes and some cobnuts, 3/4 made my own dress out of a pair of daves surplus work combats just need to put a zip in..

this week i shall be..

mostly doing de cluttering have cleaned out the veg plot and re potted the pumpkins and

some more spuds thrown away a rotted beyond repair bench and huge borken jcb toy ..so now have some clean garden and i have 5 black sacks of weeds/dead veg waiting for the compost van made ben a mini washing line as i was getting pestered for him to help me so just cut up one of the planks that was left off the bench..nothing spectucular but he was very pleased and thanked me for it very much one happy little sandboy

starting my christmas list

ok so my chritsmas list.. mum 2009 cal crochet blanket..11 squares done 13 to do freebie samples in a preety fabric gift box ..ive collected about 30 odd now tea at the ritz recipie book photo necklace slippers bird seed/feeders paul..? superman scarf to make spider man throw to make dave..? fruit port ben.. jigsaw darlick face cloth for stocking checkmat jumper knitted patchwork christmas blanket..5 squares done fiery dragon scarf pirate patch for stocking knitted darlek knitted fireman hat ladybird gloves train from wilkinsons that lights up and blows smoke socks cars dvd poundland chrsitmas plate poundlnad chrsitmas cup for stocking twizzly straw for stocking keon ducky face cloth for stocking 2 board books hooded sweater knitted steg knitted trice knitted jeans snowbaby bib macca pakka socks intg dvd twizzly straw for stocking christmas plate from poundlnad chrsitmas cup for stocking jo photo jewlerry necklace/bracelet for them both..cars wall hanging..giant sit on turtle

this weeks activitys include

some pics of the boys and my marrow

17 inches long just over 4.5lb now what the fork do i do with it?

include..finish brandons jumper do at least 3 of the cal 2009 squares or i shall be miles behind start one of the boys chrissie preesies do 2 blanket squares post out book leaflets

extras completed my first qal square at last!

well this week i plan too..

pick up my first twlight book from library ..yay and hopefully read it all finish bens jumper done finish keons knitted vest done make cushions for the sofa done finish my cal sqaures up to date find a recipie for stuffed marrow and mince

also made a nappy wrap

well had my first real harvest carrots a tiny cabbage ..the bugggerrry slugs got the rest a small cauliflower and 2 more rather large courgettes..ones 12 inches long..so plan of action for this week ...do all the cal 2009 squares up to date ..finish off other sock ..sort veg plot ready for next lot of planting..oh and our first tomatoe has popped up!

courgettes,cakes, clothes, and erm quilting!

yesterday was a productive day!

picked my first 2 impressive 8 incher courgettes ooh er missus very tasty there where too made a aubergine less moussaka which ben always manages to eat all of it so least hes getting quite a bit of veg down him, mushrooms, tomatoes,courgettes,onions and potatoes and surprisingly he always loves it, ben had a pair of jeans that where really tatty at the base and i thought id convert them into a pair of dungers for keon by just cutting off about 3 inches off the bottom of the jeans , cutting one part of the cut off in half width ways and sewing that to the top of the jeans for the bib then just adding blue cotton to the bottom of the legs , some strips for the straps and a star..took about 1hr hand sewing quite pleased with them, made a load of cakes and biscuits for Ben's fete and spent an hour there having fun, and winning a bottle of booze! then to round the day off nicely id finished my 1st quilters square for my qal monthly quilting square again quite pleased with the how its turned out just need to finish it off

now busy weekend harry potter tonight with my mum whilst dave baby sits, and then tomorrow craft fair with katy eek scary stuff..the fair that is not katy

ooh just enrolled for a ten week silversmithing jewlerry making course, a 5 week florestry course and a one day quilting course also a pottery day for ben and daddy. plus im also looking into child minding eek!

simple garter stitch cardi for prem baby if you can knit squares you can make this 16 inch chest all worked in garter stich no increases or decreases on 4mm needles using double knit yarn arylic is best as it washes well and is soft x BACK cast on 39 stiches knit till peice measures 20cm cast off frounts knit 2 cast on 20 stitches knit till peice meaures 20 cm cast off sleeves knit 2 cast on 29 stiches all sizes knit till peices measure 16cm cast off to make up sew frount shoulder seams onto back ..but leave about 1/3 unsewn so it forms a colar sew sleeves onto back and frounts sew frount/back seem togeher and sleeve seems turn inside out so all sewing is hiden inside carigan now to make a tie..get 2 peices of yarn in same or coordinating colour about 50cm long twist until it goes back on itself and secure and sew into place about 1/3 of the way down all done!

rosey posy and spinning

had a go at spinning for the first time all i can say is omg..i need help!

off to a shop today thats just opened up near me to buy new soft furnishing for the front room..but they also do wool and other crafts bits..so two for the price of one! picked a little posy for fil , he allways had flowers in his house until mil died thought it would be nice for him to have flowers once more

spuds!

not many i might add and not huge but they are there ..now i need to leave the rest in too grow much bigger..these to go into tonight's casserole..I'm currently working on a very simple quick two needle sock pattern using socka sock wool seems to be working ok at the mo..i

hate dpns!

Tasks for this week

make rag doll for group done just need to take pics think my stitching is quite neat but alas i didn't have any white cotton ..can't believe that!

make johnny cakes but find out if cornmeal and cornflour is the same or can i just use plain flour? make crochet hook..DONE yay! finish rag rug done but i didnt work..so back in storage for now

Make rainbow mobile for market not done make sandles x 3 for market not done start on pink baby blanket for market started write out thankyou cards/letters done! finish tma 2 and send done get form e11 done visit hannah and have a picnic yay! looking forward to that one! delayed till wednesday next week sort out passports ..fill in forms forms filled and pics taken

extras done..oven cleaned..beds changed..cupboard under stairs sorted out i can get in it again! half a pair of socks made

hello!

HI I'm Laura I'm 31 i have two children Ben aged 3 and Keon aged 1. I happily married and have been with my partner for almost 11 years eek how time flys. I come from a long line of crafters and the crafts have been passed down to me with love and laughter. I learned to knit at 3 and later cross stitch and crochet , I've also been know to do a bit of bobbin lace but its very very basic lol! apart from two pre school kids keeping me very busy i also like gardening , hand sewing , reading , and I'm also currently writing a book, Ive had 4 bits of poetry publish before so I'm hoping this will be accepted too! Ive almost finished level one of a degree in Environmental sciences (yup I'm an eco warrior hippy chick!) but I'm going to put it on hold till the kids start school as it detracts too much from my craft work, besides i was only doing it , to A) prove to myself that i am intelligent and B) make my mum proud ..but seeing as I am and she is ..it seems a pointless exercise really! I'm a happy go lucky , girl who is hopefully quite a nice person , id hate to think anyone has ever been upset by my actions , and i try to help people as much as I can even if this means I've been put out, which unfortunately seems to happen quite a lot lately..but I'm afraid that's just my nature, I do tend to be a bit of a door mat, but i have slightly Buddhist views and believe what goes around comes around, I don't get revenge karma does!