Starburst Crochet Beret....Completely Ignoring Patterns

I'm sorry to have to report that I went through this winter without a hat. I know, I know, what a tragic tale. It is of course only now that I find a crochet pattern for a beret which I like the look of:

www.bhookedcrochet.com/2015/02/22/crochet-beret-pattern

It's a beautiful hat I'm sure you'll agree. However, I wasn't loving the ribbed brim she had going on, or the fact that the way the pattern is written out is a little hard to follow (not that I could have done any better....also I shouldn't really complain as it was posted online totally free...). So instead of following the pattern or watching the youtube video of how to make it, I followed the stitch diagram that was provided for the first couple of rows:

 And then, well, sort of just made it up as I went along until I had a hat:

Helpful, right? I must say I am rather fond of the starburst stitch, though you do find yourself in situations like this:

That's right, 9 hoops on my hook. 9!!! I feel like I can pretend I'm a knitter now. In fact I am so chuffed with the actual making process of this one that I may even crochet a matching scarf. Thank goodness for pinterest:

tinashandicraft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/scarves.html?m=1

Customising T-Shirts With An Old Friend

Summer is finally here! So it's time to revamp the wardrobe a little, but without spending lots of money because, y'know, who wants to spend loads on clothes when there's wine and cake to be had? Customising plain t-shirts is a fun way to add new and totally unique pieces to your summer look without breaking the bank. The beauty of this D.I.Y. is that you can do pretty much whatever pops into your head!

Time to grab some cheapy cotton t-shirts, a fabulous friend and a bottle of bubbly. Plus any or all of the following:

• scissors
• thread
• fabric paints/pens
• card for making stencils
• fabric for appliqueing
• beads/general findings
• tassels/pompoms

My best friend Ellen and I came at this from totally different angles - she went straight for the fabric paint and painted/stenciled pinterest/Harry Potter inspired designs on the front of her new tops (and they turned out so well!). I made a grab for the scissors and hacked away at the back of my tops, leaving the fronts plain, then prettied them up afterwards with stitching and paint. I'm really happy with one, the other....well it's always useful to have scrap fabric in the craft box!

When in doubt, cover it in bees. Can this be my catchphrase? It's not very catchy....

I say 'hacked away', but there was a degree of planning with this one - I made a rough hexagon template and drew around it three times running down the back. I then cut out the one nearest the neck and realised that stitching around them before cutting would help the hexagons keep their shape. So I stitched, and then I cut, and then I stitched a bit more, splodged on a little black fabric paint and did a little free-hand embroidery of a bee over the top.

It's pretty minimalist but I find with a top that it's often more striking to go with the less-is-more approach. I do however, now have to find a bra which doesn't totally wreck the look...oh well.

BEE!!!!!!

I'm Back! (Again) And This Time There Will Be Capitalisation, Maybe Even Grammar....The Spelling Will Still Be Pants Though.

A good friend once told me that I need to finish what I start. And looking over the last year or so, she has a point - I have started, despaired over, and eventually deleted 8 blogs. 8!!!

This is the only one I do not have the heart to erase.

I have poured too much of my silly into it.

I suppose it makes sense to continue on then. Here's a couple of things I have done recently(ish):

I made Harry Potter style wands out of chopsticks (just add a glue gun and paint).

And Golden Snitch Christmas decorations...guess who went to the Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio before Christmas... Shrinkles wings, gold pen, heat tool, glue gun etc.

 

I wrote my first complicated crochet pattern. I'm not going to do this again unless I get a long holiday, and maybe some sort of payment.

And I became a bit mermaid obsessed - indelible ink pen fabric appliques on pre-existing lace top.

So yeah, not a whole lot has changed. I'm happy though, and will aim to post again soon : )