Home makers insanity!

YAY! over 15,000 hits on my blog..well more than that as i didn't install the counter straight away opps!..Anyway to celebrate im giving away a bag of pinkness! A chinese style silky brocade pink drawsting handbag, with a preety pink and antique gold finish necklace (not real gold!)..a pink lipstick by avon in colourway carnation and a very preety pink headband, just comment below this post, with a top recycling tip , winners will be drawn on the 12th of January by random generator. U.K only entrys please ..Good luck my friends!

Yay at last scrap blanket is finished 600g worth of scrap yarn that most whould have thrown out as it was in small amounts..now just to iron it zzzz ..next another blanket to finish must be done before christmas eeek..

I love her, made from recycled yarn too! All in aid for this good cause auction to start 3rd december http://www.facebook.com/RaisingHopeforTheHales  now back to my scrap blanket

Friend had a request to make her daughters waldorf some clothes i used poppys cardigan from raverly pattern then i used that as a ratio to make some shoes, jumper and trousers apparently they fit perfectly , having seen the pictures i agree too!

scrap buster! Another scrap buster im working on its fab i plan on log cabinning around he edges in black. This is all my scrap yarns over 2metres great way to use up some yucky colours too ! only another 28 squares to go..then the making up zzzz ready for my brothers new house at christmas and best of all hasn't cost a penny pattern is from here http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/knit_a_community_afghan.php

So ive started another shawl, seeing as my wips are slowly coming down lol thought i might as well build it back up again im currently using a recycle yarn from another projects and its lovely and sparkly just hope the recipient likes it http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fizzi

Eldest son needed a water bottle for school and i wanted something that stood out so it was easy to identify from the other childrens, there was also a challenge on trash to treasures on raverly so heres my entry! Take one large or medium size bottle i used a smaller one as its a perfect size for little people. 4mm hook..and approx 6-10 carriers i perfer the thicker ones but i used both thicker ones and supermarket ones..beware though supermarket ones are usually biodegradable so they wont last much longer than 3 years. if you have never made plarn from plastic bags i used the continual spiral method of cutting there are many others but this is my personal favourite. Heres a quick show of how to do it.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ58E2o83Cw When worked up plarn has a great texture just like raffia. It can be a little harsh on you hands but take it slowly and you will get there. This bottle holder will work up quickly and i made it in about 3 hours. Enjoy 4mm hook..i pe...

Newest memeber of the avery clan Luke jonathon arrived at 10.09am on the 28th August weighing in at 7lb 15oz , a quick 5 hour labour , born at home without pain relief (well 3 puffs of gas and air) . Best labour yet not bad considering my first son was a clomid baby, induced and then an emergency crash c section, see what you can do if you believe in yourself!..Anyway alls going well breast feedings going good, back into the reusable nappys , having fun with those lol. The weather here has changed to autumn it seems almost overnight..and now i need a baby wearing weather proof poncho. My friends golf brolly broke so she gave it to me and i turned it into this..complete with free gifted fleece and buttons ! Basically i just cut off maybe 6 segments then pinned it to the fleece cut off a small top portion sewed the umbrella part to the fleece , then added buttons and cut the bottom end for a fringe effect. hope you like it , it looks really cute when on!

Ok baby number 3 is due any day now and im getting very craft restless . VERY!! Ive got a terrible case of "startitis". For those not knowledgeable in "startitis" it means starting loads of projects and not finishing restlessness or itchy fingers. Ive spent 3 months getting my craft wips down and now its almsot back to wear it was..and i want to start more! Im going to have to learn how to craft whilst nursing! Anyway i wanted to make something from a jumper i felted on purpose i wanted to make at least one wool soaker, but i managed better than that! I managed a Newborn to size 1 old school wool soaker, an Adult pixie hood/hat and a pair of baby warmers , they took just 1hr to make and all i had left was a small handfull of fabric. If you wanted to make felted wool soakers id recommend purchasing a at has at second hand jumper that has at least 70% wool/animal fibre in it, i found one that was just £1.50. I washed it in with my other clothes on a 40 twice this...

i found this pattern on raverly http://knitting-and.com/wiki/Leaf_Pattern_for_Half-Square_Shawl , the entire pattern book can be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21032 which has pdfs available for download..for free! I was very excited to see the pattern was from 1846 , i couldnt make head nor tale of the original pattern even though a few people had tried to rewrite it, heres my version of it, after much charting, recharting and rewriting ive made it much simpler, i hope you like it x I used to original k2tog method of decreasing to make it in keeping with the historical chart. All i did was rewrite the pattern and change the parentheses to make it more readble and easy to understand I also added a k2 edging before the original starting yo just so there was something to anchor too 3.75 mm needles , 2ply yarn ALL even rows are as follows k2, yo, purl to last 2 stitches k2 Cast on 3 stitches , knit for 20 rows, turn work on its side and pick up ten stitches along ed...

Ok i seem to have a thing for blankets at the moment..i have 4 in wips stages...3 of which are all scrap busters..one is a magic ball blanket..my first magic ball i love it! 1 i started yesterday a 4ply sock yarn left overs blanket..thankfully its only going to be single bed size lol.. and a corchet scrap yarn blanket..the latter is working out beautifully..theres 74 (?) six inch squares with granny squares interspaced with more complex squares..this will then be crocheted around the edge and gifted to my dh for christmas, im hoping to complete most of these blankets before mid august when my new baby son should be making an arrival..still can't get my head around the fact im having another baby..let alone another son..thats son number 3..im going to paint my house pink, going to breed female cats and shop only at monsoon and per una from now on..(if only!)..as i said we are on a complete frugal drive to save for the attic conversion..doing well so far almost 1/5 saved in less th...

Quite a few variations of this..but this is my fav and easiest, great way to use up over ripe bananas Preheat oven to gas mark 4 grease and line a 2lb loaf tin 4oz butter 6oz sugar 8oz self raising flour 2 eggs 2/3 medium overripe bananas..mashed up cream butter and sugar together, add eggs, flour and bananas..bake for about 40 mins or until firm to the touch and golden brown..this needs to be eaten within about 2 days as it is very moist and the bananas might make the cake go off quicker than normal..this isnt normally an issue in my house though!

having saved all of my sons jeans that where too frayed to pass on , an old odd curtain and a worn through sheet that was threadbare in the middle, i made this quilt topper and pillow case for my sons 3rd birthday, theres even a pocket at the top for a teddy or book. Best of all it cost nothing to make, decluttered a black sack full of odd ends of fabric and saved that black sack full going to land fill..win win win!

Thought id start posting some of my fav recipies..well basically we have some fabby if some what scary news..we are expecting the thump thump thump of little feet again..who said your fertility decreases after 30? So as we live in a 2 bed house..we need to save as much as possible for the attic conversion sheduled for summer 2011 eeek..So have to be as frugal as possible, which includes making, recycling, and managing food wastage..well this week i had a bit of cheese i needed to use up..so i made cheese scones from my great grans recipe.. cheese..or other scones.. 8oz self rasing flour 1 level teaspoon of baking powder 2oz marg 1 egg 4oz grated cheese pinch of mustard powder or white pepper preheat oven to 425f/220c/gas mark 7..lightly grease a baking tray rub fat into flour to make bread crumbs texture, add egg and cheese, mix in enough milk to bind it together, turn out onto lighlty floured surface and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into rounds..bake for about 10 mins ...

I inherited a load of 1940s patterns after as much research as i could do i believe these patterns to be in the public domain to make the pictures large just click and a pop up should come up with a tool for zooming in, this works on ie and crome but im unsure of others ..enjoy!

A couple of lovely ladys mentioned my flower square would make a good spider square whould also make a good crab or squid so i re wrote the flower pattern to make it into a spider , well done ladys ( Relodie and j9yammy ) row 1, chain 4, work 7 hrt into first chain ss to join to form a ring row 2 chain 2, work 1 htr in each stitch around row 3 chain 3 work one htr in each stitch around this will form a small mound shape *chain 7, skipping first chain, dc into each chain back down to the dc where you have justed chained from, slip into next dc* continue around unill 8 legs have been formed, fasten off. change colour, attach to the very top of any leg, *chain 3, ss to top of next petal ensuring the petals lay flat* continue around until all petals have been joined together..i found if i used a bigger hook id need an extra chain between each leg(hope that helps) row 4 chain 3, 3htr,2 chain 4 htr all into first chain 4 space, *chain 1 4 htr into next chain 4 space, chain 1, (4 htr, 2 ...

Please do note whenever i post a pattern it is not for you to claim as your own, neither do i give permission for you to use any of my photo graphs . You can use items made from these patterns to sell, or for charity , as long as you give me credit for your works, Many thanks! The garden flower square 3mm hook, scrap yarn pattern uses english crochet terms row 1, chain 4, ss to form a ring row 2, chain 2 (counts as first dc) dc 11 more times into ring, ss to starting chain to form a ring row 3, change colour, slip into dc, *chain 7, skipping first chain, dc into each chain back down to the dc where you have justed chained from, slip into next dc* continue around unill 12 petals have been formed, fasten off. row 4, change colour, attach to the very top of any petal, *chain 3, ss to top of next petal ensuring the petals lay flat* continue around until all petals have been joined together..i found if i used a bigger hook id need an extra chain between each petal (hope that helps) r...

Two pinnys made from a £1 skirt i found at a second hand shop cut into half moon shapes and lace added to the bottom. A 1950s teacosy from pattons, pattern on raverly made using scrap yarn A fairy outfit made from a second hand girls skirt some material some hula flowers beads second hand fairy wings, lace a hot glue gun , an odd knitting needle 2 hours sewing..and a rather impressed little boy..although its not actually for him..total cost just 80p! A 1940s patterned bag made entirely of plarn

Sorry its been ages ive been so busy making over christmas ive neglected you! I have plans to design a scrap yarn magic ball blanket, so keep your eye out for that one coming soon, another freebie pattern! I also have some very old patterns i know im ok to share having not found any info about the company on the web , these patterns are over 70 years old so should now be in the public domain, i also feel they need to be preseved , having worked as document restorer and microfilmer for the british libary i know how very very important it is to keep historical documents "alive", im also in contact with a lovely lady from the V&A museum who supplied the wartime knitting patterns on the website , as i have so very many patterns, so am hoping between us we can get my patterns on the V&A but one particular well know company is being a pain in the butt even though these are approaching the 70 year mark haven't been reproduced, the main office burned down and they offical...