Winner, winner

I am officially no longer allowed to say that I never win anything. Inspired by a conversation I had on Yolanda’s blogiversary giveaway (go check it out!), here’s a round up of my blogging wins from last year.

From Cherry Heart Blog I won a copy of Colourful Crochet by Marianne Dekker-Roos.

Even more wonderful, I immediately started a puff stitch scarf and when it started to go a peculiar shape I sent a message to Marianne on Instagram, and she answered me!! She talked me through it and we had a lovely conversation, and I basically felt like I was dreaming. I had a crochet conversation with a crochet superstar. Wow.

When Julias creative year had a blogiversary giveaway I knew instantly which card was my favourite, but also that I would have been happy if I won any of the lovely prizes. Then the results day came, and would you believe I won my favourite.

I was introduced to I am simply hooked through Stitching Santa (which is brilliant by the way – you should totally join this year!), and I really enjoyed reading and commenting on lots of posts. Then Jenny had a giveaway for guessing which of her items sold best. It was actually really hard to decide and I dithered for ages between the jellyfish and the cute spiders. In the end I went for jellyfish and I was right, hooray!

My prize was one of the fab jellyfish, which is now hanging quite happily from my pull-up bar.

He helps me get stronger

 

And finally – remember I made some Daisies for Vicky?

These were sent down to England to be made into a blanket, which would then be raffled off to raise money for Victim Support. People could donate any amount they wanted, and every £1 was one entry into the raffle.

I think I donated £2 just to bring the total up to a round number, and with absolutely no expectation of winning when there were people who donated £10 or £20 or even more. But guess what?

Totally won!

 

Lynda’s Craft Room did an unbelievable job of joining the squares together, it’s so neat!! Then Lisa from the Wee House of Crochet sent it over and I have not stopped admiring it since.

Before anyone asks, yes I did do the lottery last year (several times) and no I didn’t even win a tenner. I suppose you can’t win them all!

So that was my incredibly lucky 2017. Did anyone else win last year? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

2017 makes

I have no new FOs to share this week – still plugging away at my swirl hat. So instead I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and have a look at all my FOs from 2017.

I’m so, so glad I have this blog to look back on because my memory is not that great, if you’d asked me to guess I would have said maybe 30-40 yarny items and 20 cards. Want to know what I actually made?

1 bikini top

1 cushion cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 custom doily

 

 

 

 

 

2 cowls

2 pairs of fingerless gloves

3 phone/kindle cosies

3 coasters

3 pairs of baby bootees

6 blankets/lovies

6 daisies for Vicky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 hearts for Manchester

8 shawls/scarves

8 octopoms

9 non-octo amigurumis

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12 hats

15 snowflakes

And 35 cards

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That’s (if my maths is working today) 87 knit and crochet goodies in a year! 87!!

I mean, some of them were teeny snowflakes that only needed 15 minutes max, but there was also my friend’s mahoosive flat warming blanket, which took me two weeks of non-stop crocheting.

It’s been really tricky choosing my favourite makes of the year. There are so many different types and I’m proud of them all for different reasons.

The flat warming blanket is definitely up there. I finished faster than I expected, it was huge, the colours suited my friend’s flat, and it just so happened to fit perfectly on the back of his sofa.

I loved the Daisies for Vicky and hearts4MCR, because they helped other people and that’s important to me.

The Seafoam scarves make me inordinately proud. My first knitting that wasn’t just garter stitch, plus they’re beautiful.

Also my hats in the round, which was a new technique for me.

I’m also proud of the couple of items I made without following a pattern, and the fact that Dad looked at my amigurumi pokemon and nearly asked me where I bought them from.

Basically, it’s been a good year!  I can’t wait to see what makes 2018 will bring.

Have you reviewed your 2017 makes? I bet it surprised you too. Do you have a favourite (yours or mine)? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

FO Friday 15.09.17

Only one FO this week, as I was ill for a wee bit and just slept the days away.

Well, I suppose technically it’s 6 FOs, isn’t it! These are my daisy squares to be sent down in time for the crochet-a-thon in October.

They’re so quick and fun to make, even if you’ve only got a spare 20 minutes you could whip one up. So if at all possible please consider making some daisies for Vicky, or buy a raffle ticket to win one of the finished blankets. It’s all for a good cause 🙂

I’m determined to get Squirtle finished up next, so I’ve made a deal with myself: for every part I sew onto Squirtle, I get to knit 2 rows of the Seafoam Scarf. I loooove knitting this scarf so I should be super motivated! This Sunday is looking like a blank slate so far so hopefully I should be able to tick this first Christmas present off my list. Wish me luck!

Who’s got some FOs to share? Got any yarny plans for the weekend?

Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx

WIP Wednesday 13.09.17

Current WIP count: 10

I decided to leave my seafoam scarf quite short and then try a doubled up version with some complementary yarn, and oh boy did I make the right decision!

Just look at it. I do, frequently. I love the way the colours work together, I love the feel of working with ‘thicker yarn’, I love the way the pattern looks more solid and regular. I just love it!

Pretty good for my first ever foray into holding two yarns together. I rolled them both into centre-pull balls so they just sit on the floor in front of me as I knit away. It’s perfect.

I’ve also done a little more work on Squirtle, although I can feel myself slowing down as I approach the sewing together stage.

What I definitely must not do is crochet the pieces for all three starter pokemon and leave the sewing together until the end. Sewing one together is a lot less daunting than three!

The small squares for my scoodie took forever to dry so it’s still not joined up yet. I’ve almost finished the hood, heck knows how long that chunky bit will take to block.

I’ve also added in a new WIP, for a good cause.

Head on over to the Wee House of Crochet for more details about the Daisies for Vicky appeal, raising money for Victim Support.

I’m away up in Scotland so I can’t make it to the crochet-a-thon, but I am going to make some squares and post them down to be joined into the blankets. If you fancy helping out, you can make a square (or several), or donate for a chance to win one of the blankets.

That’s my busy week. What’s everyone else working on? Let me know in the comments!

Hannah

xXx