Another Epic Crochet 'Not Quite Right' moment...

Will I ever learn?

Not looking likely at this moment in time!

The 'Girly' blanket was coming along very nicely...all the squares where made, then put into cutesy 4x4 squares, which were then put into lovely rows...which in turn were put together {a bit slowly} and it was shaping up to be a super cosy blanket.
All set and ready for Christmas delivery.

But then I had a moment of clarity.
I had been making it an extra long blanket to fit my middle daughter, Lolly, who is almost 6' tall.
But what I hadn't really considered {well not even given a thought about} was that it was shaping up to be a very long thin blanket...not what I had envisaged or wanted.

So after a chat to Lolly we have decided to make it a double bed size, perfect for long legs to curl up with on the sofa!
Another 144 squares are needed to make this a blanket I will be happy to hand over.
68 are done and I am just waiting for Mr Postman to deliver the wool so I can complete the rest.  

Another blanket that has missed it's self imposed deadline.

Have I learnt my lesson?
Nope of course not!

A big bag of colourful yarn is sat waiting for an Easter blanket, for my youngest daughter Loopy.
Am I planning this one?  Well yes in a manner of speaking...
I plan to whack the stitches on the hook till it looks the right size, get hooking and just wing it!

***
edit to add
wool arrived and my hooky fingers are going bonkers!!
Show n Tell soon

Crochet Blanket almost there...

All the individual granny squares are almost done!

Finally the end is in sight...

Soon to be 200 pretty squares will soon {I hope} become a pretty blanket.

No pictures of them/it till it's all done and been gifted.

Sorry just in case my daughter {Lolly} passes by, unlikely but not impossible.

As we enter December I get distracted, thoughts of my youngest daughters birthday and Christmas are popping into my head.

Fighting for a place in the single cell that still seems to spark!

Birthday Bunting goes up on the night of the 1st ready for Loopy's birthday on the 2nd...

that marks the start of Christmas decorating and then I'm dreaming of pretty decorations

What seems like miles of paper chains are on the list, 

I've left it too late {again} to make them from felt...perhaps next year?!

But first the blanket!  

And a name for the blanket, I cannot give a blanket away without giving it a name!

***

I have an awful feeling I need to order more white to complete it, ack who am I kidding?  

Looking at it I KNOW I need to order more white...off to the Wool Warehouse I go.

Retro Caravan Craft Space { 2 }

No photo's today

 a big *SIGH* instead

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment...

what needs doing to make my crafty space reality is so far beyond my ability that it's all I can do not to have a good old grizzle over it!

The constant rain and dark skies don't make the problems look any better.

In my fantasy world I would either buy a nice 'new to me' van which is dry or pay a professional to come fix mine.

But that is a fault in me, I like to have instant fixes.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that all good things come to those who wait and hard work brings its own rewards.

So I take a deep breath and do what I do when I want to put my head firmly in a bucket of sand...

...pop the kettle on and pick up my crochet.

I guestimate 

{I wish spell checker would stop telling me guestimate isn't a real word!} 

that I still have another 50/60 squares to go on Lolly's blanket, which I would like to have done for Christmas {this year}

So perhaps it is meant to be that I cannot carry on working with the Crafty Van...for now

And perhaps I concentrate my efforts on the blanket.

All good things come to those who wait...

{repeat, repeat, repeat}

Retro Caravan Craft Space...

I've made no secret that I would Love A Craft Space all of my own!

I have a lovely large family, but we have a regular sized house and there simply isn't enough room for all my bits and bobs.

I thought about a new shed down the garden but in my heart of hearts I knew what I really wanted was a little caravan!

As always I had no budget.  So I knew it would be a waiting game for the right little van to come along....

and along it came!

It was terribly expensive

a whole £10 was handed over in exchange for this

A 1992 {I think} Sprite

It was and still is in a right old state!

I've said it before but the 'I could do that' attitude has taken me on many a crafty/DIY venture.  

From papering the walls, ripping the tiles off the kitchen and re-tiling, endless painting, furniture restoration, crochet, baking, tiara making, sewing... 

the list is literally endless.

It had been used by a young lad working away from home and was full of fag ash, butts, filthy clothes and vile bedding.  The real cherry on the cake was the HUGE bottle of pee he had left in it.

Filthy after months on a building site...in all honesty it was tempting to leave it behind, cut my losses and run to the hills

But I didn't.

I set about clearing the piles of crap and in the process found £1.83 in change, 2 PS3 controllers and a pile of DVD's with a 2nd hand value of around £20!! Oh and a nice pair of Wrangler jeans that my son can wear for work.

Inside was, on the surface, ok-ish.  

Filthy dirty but loked quite sound...

oh how wrong could I be!

With a screwdriver, a hammer and a dream I've set about gutting the van out.  

Bonkett seating has gone, the sink and hob ripped out.  If it didn't unscrew the hammer took care of it.

I've left one seat to store the awning 

{haven't checked it yet but hopeful it will be ok}

and the washroom wall has been left so I can create a bit of a storage space for the ugly bits.

The carpet had it's own eco-system and also went to the dump.

So whats left to do?...

Deepest of Deep Breaths

It has damp, lots of damp and that will be the biggest challenge. 

This is taking me way, way, beyond my comfort zone or ability

again

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet...

and looks like you have to almost destroy an old caravan to bring it back to glory

4 days into the project that's where I'm at.

The work will be slow, done when I can afford it.

The aim is to have it in the garden for Summer 2015...but we'll wait and see!

Tear Jerker! - #MontyThePenguin

Nearly every year it brings me to tears...this year is no exception!

Lovely

My middle son has a bear called Hector and this ad is reminding me of them...

back to blanket making

The Candy Floss Suitcae...

I admit this could become an addiction/obsession,

...that said when you can make cush pretty things

who cares!!

This isn't mine, my sister is the lucky owner

Before the event it was a standard not very pretty vintage suitcase

Halfway through it was named...

The Candy Floss Suitcase

almost finished

and just awaiting the final touches
something to cover the nasty mark on top of the suitcase
What to do?
Decisions, decisions!

Ta-Da moment to follow...

***

Progress on the blanket...

I like to name my makes, call me quirky but it makes them more a part of the family.

So far, touch wood, this blanket is moving along nicely the pile of squares is growing at a surprising pace...

but it has no name and that simply wont do.

It is taking up my spare moments.

I don't like to crochet outside the house, I've tried it a couple of times and people seem to assume I know what I'm doing...which in all honesty I don't feel I do.  

That or I feel they think I'm simply showing off...which I'm definitely NOT

Back to the blanket.

I am this time weaving the ends in as I go, I make 20 or so squares and weave those ends in.  I'm hoping it will make the final making up process more enjoyable.  

It makes the actual square making a tiny tad slower but it's also nice to take a break from the nifty crochet of making them!

Each square is measuring 4" x 4" so to make it a nice BIG comfy size I'm thinking I'll need between 180/200 in total..
90 down...90 to go!