this blog is essentially an online diary of my little creative projects - if you can't fix it, throw some glitter over it and add a lacy edge and everything will be alright.

Thursday 30 October 2014

crochet strawberry leaves with a tiny spider

it's almost halloween! and my mother has lovingly crocheted me a spider brooch for the occasion, so naturally, i have made a little something for her in return:


a spider brooch! ok, so i wasn't having the most original moment when i decided to give a spider brooch to someone giving me a spider brooch...but i think it's cute. the leaves are strawberry leaves from caitlin sainio's 100 lace flowers to crochet which i did in size 30 variegated green with a 1.5 hook. the 'web' bit i did in white sewing thread with a 0.6 hook (it's just a cluster of treble-trebles and a length of chain). and the spider is four bits of size 30 black thread, knotted together in a double knot for the body, with single knots for the knees:


yep, i'm pretty happy with this.

Wednesday 29 October 2014

embroidered hermes wing shoes

anyone who follows this little blog closely, or anyone who looks too closely at my feet, will realise that i have a thing about putting wings on my heals. i don't know why but it just has to be done. here's a little recap for those of you at the back of the class who weren't paying attention:


now i'm in a new city, new streets, new shoes... and here's what happened this time:


 you will need:

el cheapo tat primark flats £4
gold metalic embroidery thread ~£2
a strong needle

to make:

embroider some wings on the heels of your cheap, thin shoes.

enjoy.

(i'm afraid that i did just make it up as i went along with these. 'free form stitching' i think it's called, or stitch doodle if you're me.)
 

Monday 27 October 2014

crocheting in a convent in london

ok, i'm giving up any pretense i had of blogging on any kind of regular basis. sorry about that. life got in the way, as it usually does - i've moved house yet again, only this time i've abandoned scotland all together and ended up in london, which i can't really afford on my shop girl pay, so i'm crashing in a convent until something else comes along.

the usual kind of crazy then.

i miss scotland. i miss my friends, my work mates, my old laid-back job. i miss having the freedom to do whatever i like, whenever i like, without having to worry about a curfew or upsetting nuns or upsetting my mother. i haven't been myself here yet; new job and strict home life mean that i'm on constant egg shells, all smiles and good behavior. and i'm reminded of the life advice a much loved maths teacher once gave me in the street, "do what you're good at".

so here i am in a quiet corner of london holding a crochet hook and building my life back up again, one treble at a time:


yes, that's my bedside table in the convent, and yes, that is a lacy heart shaped coaster for my mug. it already has tea stains on it, but that's ok.

you will need:

size 30 white thread and a 1.75 crochet hook

meathod:

now, i was a bit cheeky with this one so i'm not going to put a link to the pattern. you see it was part of a vintage booklet of heart shaped crochet lavender pillow patterns which a wonderful fellow is/was selling on ebay...and included in the photos of the product was the page featuring the entire pattern for this heart.

oops.

i did modify it a bit, opting for a row of clusters around the outside rather than the big frilly thing it had going on. anyway, if you search the internet hard enough you'll no doubt find the pattern as well.

have fun.