Resting on laurels...

.....is a bad idea.

I've not crocheted for 2 days and not only have I been getting withdrawal symptoms from it but I'm starting to get anxicous and on edge about the fact that Christmas is gonna be here before I can even think...or blink.

So tonight its a go go on making Christmas decorations and things I can sell at a Christmas craft fair. I've never done everything like it before so am nervous that I'm not going to have either enough stuff to sell or people are'nt gonna want to buy anything.

Before I get cracker lacking with crocheting some goodies, I thought I would post a guide to something that I made my friend a couple of years ago.... a record bowl!

Record Bowl

You will need
1) A 7-inch or 12-inch record depending on how big you want your record bowl to be
2) An oven
3) An oven-safe bowl
4) A full sealed tin can

What to dooooo....
First, preheat the oven to 225 degrees centigrade - this should take about 10 minutes. Then put the bowl in the middle of the oven upside-down, and put your record on top of that. Bake for 5 minutes and no more.
After 5 minutes the record will be quite soft and melty so you can start shaping your record how you want it. The record will only be warm, and totally safe to touch, even with bare fingers. Put the tin can into the centre of the record and it will sink down.
If your record starts to cool before you have got it into the shape you want, don't worry. You can melt it again and again!

And thats it! Simples

Frogger.....blogger

Definition of frogging
n
To frog, to rip out stitches.
A play on words which relates to a frogs croak....rippit...ribbit.

Learn something new every day, huh? Up until today I just would call it angry time. Sometimes the thing that you think will be the simplest to make ends up being the hardest. In my case today this has been some mittens. I like to write down my patten as I go so I can make them again in the future. Having a brain like a sieve really does me no favours.
I started on making a pair for myself last night using 2 strands of DK wool and a 5mm hook. I made the cuff then picked it back up today and started on the main hand part. And....after getting close to completing it I've realised its far too stiff and a bit too big around the cuff. Yeah I could just carry on with it but I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I've put it down cut my losses....and started on making a smaller version and writing the pattern down as I go.

Gahhhhh! It looks like a medieval gauntlet!

Put it down, take a breath and start again

Here are some ways of correcting boo boos in your future crochet projects....

• Can't fit your hook into the stitch? You could be pulling the wool too tight, loosen up the tension by possibly holding the yarn differently (AKA don't hold on for dear life). The hook can be too small for the wool that your working with, which leads on to....
• Always check the gauge of your crochet hook with what is recommend on the wool and the pattern.  If you are in doubt then make a quick swatch to see whether you need a smaller or larger hook
• Button hole in the wrong place? Check this out Buttonhole
• Piece of work shrinking? Count the number of stitches in the last row, hold up the piece and see if you can spot any holes where you have missed a stitch. Undo a row at a time until you find the error. Don't rip all of the piece back to the start if the error is only a couple of rows away
• Crochet clothing mistakes? Correcting crochet mistakes the easy way
• No matter how badly you think your creation is going, take comfort in the fact that you are'nt creating some of these 'lovely' things What Not To Crochet

The bottom line though is that no matter what your experience is as a crocheter you will ALWAYS make mistakes. No-one is perfect, not even me (I know shocker!). Yeah, mistakes can be frustrating and I will still call them my angry times, but knowing how to fix those mistakes should hopefully make my angry time less which is better for me and my house mate.

Skater baby

I've been pretty busy over the last few days working 12 hour shifts so have'nt had much time to actually do any crochet :( But here are some things which I have managed to make!

First up a crocheted boob baby hat (for breastfeeding...or for mums with a good sense of humour!)

And secondly a pair of newborn sized roller skates

Hopefully I'll get some time to make a Snoppy that I've been meaning to make for an age. Other than that is nice to enjoy a relaxing day off work. Hope you have a lovely day :)

Oh and Happy Humpday!

Little lemon - Free Pattern

Need...
3mm/D crochet hook
Small amount of DK yellow
Small amount of DK green
Small amount of polyester toy stuffing
Keyring chain (if you are wanting to make it into a keyring)


Abbreviations
dc = double crochet
sc = single crochet
dec = decrease
hdc = half double crochet
trc = treble crochet

ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch


Lemon
*Do not join in rounds, mark last stitch in each round with a stitch maker*

Round 1: Magic ring, ch1 6sc into ring, pull ring closed (6sc)
Round 2: *sc in next sc, 2 sc in next sc, rep from * around (9 sc)
Round 3: sc in next sc, *2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc, rep from * around (13 sc)
Round 4: Sc in next sc, *2 sc in next sc, sc in next sc, rep from * around (19 sc)
Rounds 5-7: Sc in each sc around (19 sc)
Round 8: Sc in next sc, *dec across next 2 sc, sc in next sc, rep from * around (13 sc)
Round 9: Sc in next sc, *dec across next 2 sc, sc in next sc, rep from * around, (9 sc), start stuffing lemon
Round 10: * Sc in next sc, dec across next 2 sc, rep from * around (6 sc), add more stuffing if needed. Fasten off and weave in ends

Leaf
Ch 10
Sl st in 2nd ch from hook, in each of next 2 ch, sc, hdc, dc, trc, dc, (hdc, 3sc, hdc) in final ch
Working along opposite side of the beginning ch:
dc, trc, dc, hdc, sc, slst
Fasten off and weave in ends.

With yarn needle and yellow wool add loop to top if you want to make the little lemon into a keyring

Showing some blog love

Having just gotten in from a 12 hour shift (I think my legs are about to drop off) I'm not gonna be doing any crochet this evening.....boooooo(!). But, I have found this brilliantly lovely blog called Yellow Pink and Sparkly, where there are loads of free crochet and knitting patterns all of which are well written and totally gawwwwjus!

Heres just a few that I have fallen in love with and am definatly gonna be making.....

Reason goes without saying!

 Bowl of cherries

My housemate loves badgers so this one is going to be made for him

Badger

And this one is my name sake... 'Yay! Candy Mountain!' Click here if you have no idea what planet I'm on!

Charley the Unicorn

In other news, I've been asked to make Miss Mouse from Cbeebies. Here she is....

...sooooo much detail think I'm gonna have my work cut out for me.

Anyhoooo, tomorrow is about boob hats and baby crocheted rollerskates....now where did I put my peach wool.....

Today I have made....

Animal baby hats!

Basic sock monkey

Panda hat

Basic panda hat

Black kitty hat

All are made from lovely soft baby Dk wool, snuggly and warm :)

With a Cherry on Top's Granny Square - Free Pattern!

With a Cherry on Top's Granny Square

Abbreviations
dc = double crochet
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch

Ch 4, join into ring with a sl st

Round 1: Ch 4, *3dc into centre of ring, ch 1 (repeat from * 3 times): 2dc into centre of ring , join to third chain of beginning chain with a slip stitch

Round 2: Ch 3, work corner (dc 2, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch, work remaining corners: *ch 1, skip over the 3 dc from the previous round, (dc 3, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch; repeat from * two more times. Ch 1 join to third chain of the beginning chain with a sl st

Round 3: Ch 3, work corner (dc 2, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch, work remaining sides: *ch 1, skip over the 3 dc from the previous round, (dc 3, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch; repeat from * two more times. Ch 1 join to third chain of the beginning chain with a sl st

Round 4: Ch 3, work corner (dc 2, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch, work remaining sides: *ch 1, skip over the 3 dc from the previous round, dc 3, ch 1, skip over the 3 dc from the previous round, dc 3, ch 1, work corner (dc 2, ch 1, dc 3) into the same stitch; repeat from * two more times. Ch 1 join to third chain of the beginning chain with a sl st

Finally!....

So I've finally managed to get my page how I want it to look....now to start putting on here my crocheted creations as I make them.

For the most up-to-date info check out my Facebook page