Hello again!

After a break of over a month I'm back and raring to go. Several things have happened since then which has meant that I feel the happiest I have in a long time.

I have a new job which came out of the blue. I was offered an interview for a job as a nursery nurse/ classroom assistant in a yr 2 class. Something I probably would never apply for, after spending almost ten years looking after 2-3year olds. But i went for it and got the job.
 I have to say its the best decision i could have ever made. Everybody is lovely. The holidays are great and for the first time in ages I want to go to work.

The 2nd big thing for me is that I've just started treatment for IVF after waiting 4 years. So my fingers and toes are crossed! and the change in my attitude has got to help with that.

But my crafting has not been pushed to one side i have joined Ravelry, i made my mum a crocheted scarf for her birthday and i made myself a lovely chunky knit spiralled scarf.

my mum's scarf

I'm also gearing up for a crafting Christmas so expect to see more within the next few months.

Cute and easy crochet

I've always looked at crochet and admired it but never thought i would be able to do it. To me it just looked way too difficult.

Being inspired by issue 3 of Mollie makes magazine, which shows a handful of beautiful crocheted flowers on the front, i decided to ask my sister if she'd teach me. 

I seemed to have a mental block when it comes to understanding a written description of how to do something, I need to be shown how to do it first. At first i tried the double crochet then the half treble, then the treble crochet and then i had a go at working in the round and making a flower. It was then I felt ready for my first crochet project.

I noticed this book on amazon...Cute and Easy crochet by Nikki Trench.

It is really lovely and has lots of beautiful projects in it, from beginner to improver to enthusiast. It had a pattern for a crochet hook holder so i thought this might be a good place to start.
So here is my version, funnily enough my crochet is the neatest part of it, I'm afraid i didn't do a great job of sewing the lining, i still need much more practice there, but I'm still quite happy with it. It's unique!

But it's safe to say, I'm well and truly hooked to crocheting!!

My seaside souvenirs.

I've finally got around to doing something with my beachcombing treasures and this, hopefully is the first of many. I love mussel shells - the deep blue, blacks and silvers and I wanted to make something with them.. so here it is!

As a wall hanging..

or  a candle holder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I have lots more ideas to come!
Bye for now! x

I'm back!

Well I'm back from my holidays and it was lovely, the weather was great most of the time. It was very relaxing i don't often get time to read and i managed to read 2 books and numerous magazines, I also discovered a fantastic magazine that is right up my street it's called funnily enough 'MOLLIE MAKES'. (Which sort of looks like I've copied their name, in fact its only the 3rd edition and it only began in May 2011 and my first post was in April...so ner! Maybe they copied off me! OK so I know Mollie Makes is more catchier than Abigail makes..but hey ho!)

The tag line for the mag is Living and Loving Handmade which sums it up beautifully.I will definitely be buying it again.

Anyway back to my holiday, St Ives is full of inspiration for crafts, the shops are full of beautiful handmade goodies and I also spent lots of time beach combing for natural goodies which i hope to use in future crafts. So now I'm back home i hope the inspiration has rubbed off on me. For now I'll leave you with a photograph that i took from the island looking down towards Porthgwidden beach, i love the mixture of the blue turquoise sea and the beautiful yellow flowers clinging to the rocks, it's gorgeous and it makes me home sick for the beautiful place i wish i could call home.

Dreaming of St. Ives

You probably won't believe me but this was taken on the 1st January 2010...Beautiful!

St Ives has got to be my favourite place in the whole world and it is very special to me, my husband and his family have been on holiday here every year since before he was born. I decided to go with them in 2003 the year after we met and fell completely in love with everything about it. We got married here in 2006 and we continue to go every year, twice a year - 2 weeks in July and 1 week over new year.

And guess what...we go next Friday!!!

8 weeks in the making...it's my first knitting project!

When I decided 8 weeks ago to start a knitting project I found a pattern in a shop bargain bin for 10p. It was a pattern for a shrug, you knit it all in one piece and it looked simple enough so I thought it'd probably take me a couple of weeks at most. First big mistake...now it's 8 weeks later!! But I got there in the end.

I'm pretty proud of myself but it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, there was a few times when I thought I'd wrecked it altogether. The other massive mistake was... however much wool it tells to you to get .. get more. I ran out and was unable to get more, so I had to finish 2 rows earlier than I should have and only had a little bit of wool to cast off. Luckily I had some embroidery thread that was similar to the colour of the wool so i used that. 

Surprisingly it doesn't look too bad, see for yourself:

At least I've learnt some valuable lessons along the way :-)  and it really goes well with my favourite summer dress so I'm all ready for my holidays!

Look what I made!

I have spent this afternoon making a cushion for the shoe bench in the hall, I know it doesn't seem like much but I'm so proud of myself! LOOK.. 

Hmmm..what should I make next!