Author: Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin

Mostly enjoying this busy, beautiful life with lots of yarn and a hook! I'm hooked on God, my 3 boys, Mr R and if your reading this then you'll know I'm hooked on crochet too!! So thanks for stopping by...feel free to have a good old poke around...and I hope you enjoy your time spent with me because you are very welcome here xx
mixedstitch crochet blanket

seasidestashbusting blanket…The End!

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin17 Comments

It’s done!  I have made the last stitch and woven in the last end of my beautiful #seassidestashbusting blanket. 

It’s huge and I simply love it!

mixedstitch crochet blanketOh! what a journey this blanket has been…a beautiful, stitchy, vibrant and meandering journey of colour, crochet and community…not to mention stash busting too! 

mixed stitch crochet blanket

Thank you so much to Eleanora over at Coastal Crochet for hosting such a marvellous and well organised CAL (crochet-a-long) and to all the lovely people I have met  a long the way; who have encouraged and inspired me with kind words or blankets of their own.  I have really enjoyed scrolling through the IG feed #seasidestashbustingblanket and seeing so many wonderfully unique contributions.

mixed stitch crochet blanket

I am keeping this blanket for myself because honestly, I just can’t bear to be parted from it.  I have hooked in so many memories of my year…like the sunny glamping rows, the foot surgery rows, the world cup rows, the too hot to crochet rows and the snowy day bobbles and I can relate each memory to the specific rows.  I will leave you with my photographic journey…

#seasidestashbustingblanket CAL

#seasidestashbustingblanket weeks 5 - 8mixed stitch crochet blanketcrochet mixed stitch blanketcrochet blanket calmixed stitch crochet blanketseasidestashbustingblanketmixed stitch crochet blanketLove, love, love this blanket. 

I’m not sure what I’m going to do without the weekly rows…

xxxxx

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amigurumi unicorn

Amigurumi unicorn…

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin6 Comments

amigurumi unicorn

 

After dipping my crochet toe into the world of amigurumi with Abe, the delightful zebra dude  I knew I had the bug and it wouldn’t be long before I started another little cutie.  This time I fell for the magical charms of this sweet, sweet unicorn.

crochet blog
Unicorn ingredients…

amigurumi unicornI wanted her to be white and chose Sugar n Cream worsted weight cotton mix, which gives a lovely texture  to her body and face. Her hooves were hooked in a soft lemon aran weight cotton yarn from The Women’s Institute and her mane and tail were created using a dk weight Ricorumi cotton in a baby pink.

amigurumi zebra

I even managed to get everything the right way round this time! and felt much more confident than when I hooked my zebra.

amigurumi unicorn
getting her ears

 

The pattern is by the very talented Chiquipork and is called ‘William the Unicorn’. It is a beautifully written pattern and has lots of top tips for construction.  The pattern is  written very clearly and it was easy to follow as it is formatted into the different sections of construction.  There are lots of photo’s too which I found helped me in the ‘putting together’ process. 

Well worth the purchase!

amigurumi unicornamigurumi unicorn

I have named her Bella, but alas she is only staying with me for a few weeks, for she has been adopted by a little girl who will love and cherish her and who may well give her another name!

amigurumi unicorn

Bella…she is magical isn’t she?
xxxxx

 

 

mixed stitch blanket

Seasidestashbusting blanket weeks 29 – 32

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin13 Comments

mixed stitch crochet blanket
Here’s the penultimate update on the gorgeous

#seasidestashbustingblanket …

These rows were finished a little while ago and I am onto the border now…but, I wanted to show you my progress in chronological order.

mixed stitch blanketI didn’t think this blanket would match any décor in the nest, since it is just made up of stash I had hiding under Little Robin’s bed, but it is looking fine on my bed…

mixed stitch crochet blanket

and in the lounge…but to be honest it is so flipping lovely it would look amazing anywhere. 

So,  I’m off to finish the border and I will be back soon with the final post for this beautiful blanket.

xxxxx

Vintage Market Tote

Vintage Market Tote…

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin9 Comments

Vintage Market ToteAutumn is creeping in and I can feel the joy rising in me.  I adore the Autumn and all of her treasures; it awakens my soul and wraps me with comfort. 

I know not everyone feels this way…Mr R mourns the Summer, but I am celebrating her arrival. 

A great deal has gone on here at the nest over the Summer months and there is still much more to achieve.  New windows and doors have been fitted, outdoor adventures have taken place, three weddings have been witnessed and celebrated (we still have two more to come), decorating has commenced, and children have been coming and going and then coming back again only to go off once more it seems! 

I have taken great delight in my crochet time, which has been a little bitty.  I wanted to share this Vintage Market Tote with you…pattern details and links can be found at the bottom of this post.  I made it for my Mama’s birthday and it hooked up quickly. 

Vintage Market Tote

The pattern is free and I found it to be well written with clear, concise instruction.  I altered the length of the handle by about 20 stitches, making the straps a little longer, but that was just preference. 

women's institute yarn

I used a lovely  aran weight cotton blend yarn by The Women’s Institute, which flowed from my 5.5mm hook with ease.  I crocheted using x2 strands to make my tote more sturdy,  which meant I used  just over 300g of yarn and finished with a chic black and white spot ribbon.

Vintage Market ToteI will definitely return to this pattern…and my Mama loved it! 

Pattern by Dorianna Rivelli – Vintage Market Tote

xxxxx

seasidestashbustingblanket

Seasidestashbusting blanket weeks 25 – 28

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin2 Comments

seasidestashbustingblanket
I am still behind on my 

#seasidestashbustingblanket …

I have just completed  week 29 and I think the CAL is now up to week 31, so I really want to push on and catch up with this as the CAL is almost done.  I think there may be a couple more weeks of rows before it is time to border and finish.  So I am going to make this one of this week’s hooky priorities; especially since it has cooled down a lot around here.  These weeks pictured contained some more filet crochet, bobbles and some more basket weave! 

I am loving these colours there are 11 in total which I had in stash and they are stylecraft special dk. I did have to go a buy a ball of yarn yesterday as I was short and didn’t want to introduce a new colour so late into the blanket and I really felt that it should feature in some of the last rows.  Other than that I am just picking from these yarn balls randomly, and I like the surprise of that.

I have been hooking some other little makes and have found some wonderful patterns and I will share those with you soon.

xxxxx

crochet zebra

Amigurumi zebra…

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin15 Comments

 

crochet zebra

I’ve been wanting to introduce  this rather charming crochet zebra to you for a couple of weeks now, but I have been working overtime (urgh!!!). 

This is Abe…isn’t he just a dude?  I started hooking him a little while ago…my first foray into the world of amigurumi and most definitely not my last.

crochet zebra
I really struggled to put him down, he was such a joy on my hook.  I absolutely loved every paintbox cotton stitch.  I have made a lot of mistakes and he certainly has taught me  a lot and for this reason he is mine to keep…I am a bit like a 4 year old child at the moment, moving him from room to room so he is with me!!!   

crochet zebra

I think the hardest part for me was sewing him together…Not only was it a bit like a zebra horror show, he proved to be a little tricky.

crochet zebraTo begin with I sewed his ears to his nose…I was extremely frustrated at this point and so I do not have the photo to show you. It was late in the evening and his ears were the first things I joined together for him.  I was feeling rather chuft with myself and  I didn’t make the sickening discovery until just before bedtime.  I lay there trying to go to sleep, but it was no good.  I had to get up and perform some late night intricate facial surgery.  It was silly o’ clock when I finally got back into bed, but worth the midnight oil not to wake up to such a silly mistake.

crochet zebraIf you look closely at that arm and you have a trained eye you will notice that it is actually inside out…another lesson learnt.

crochet zebraBut I just love his cute little face and his stripy pyjamas.

crochet zebraHis limbs have just the right amount of dangle.

crochet zebraOnce he came to life it wasn’t long before his character began to shine through…posing zebra alert! 

All in all I love this dude and I have found a suprising new love in amigurumi (crochet toys)… You can find the free pattern details at the bottom of this post.

crochet zebrapattern by amvabecreations

 

xxxxx

 

 

mixed stitch crochet blanket

Seasidestashbustingblanket weeks 20 – 24

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin10 Comments

mixed stitch crochet blanketHere’s just a little update on the lovely

#seasidestashbustingblanket …

I confess I have fallen a week behind with this CAL.  I am laying the total blame for this at the feet of Gareth Southgate and the England world cup team for smashing history and those penalties…apologies if you are reading this in Columbia. 

I am also totally going to blame the UK heatwave…the hottest and driest summer since 1976…which was also before I was born!  It is glorious but it makes hooking blankets hot work.  If you look closely at week 24’s photo you will see just what I have been hooking instead… but I will write a separate post all about that next time.

xxxxx

Yarn a long Sunday #8

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin4 Comments

 

Well this is the last yarn a long Sunday in this June series.  Apologies for this last session being a bit late…It has everything to do with a manic weekend, a 16 mile charity walk and a wedding in a field!  It is still Sunday in the UK…so only a bit late eh!

I now have  a little collection of cute summer projects and if you follow me on Instagram you will know what has captured my heart…but I will post about that separately in the week.

This week’s topic is

‘Ask me a question…yes you can ask me anything!’

ayarnyrobin

Go on don’t be shy!

xxxxx

 

 

Gorgeous Glamping…

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin14 Comments

Just a couple of weekends ago, I abandoned work early, gathered my brood and made a little journey to a truly magical place. We only travelled 30 minutes away but we found ourselves in a different world. 

glamping

We went glamping…that is camping in style!  

And let me tell you it was absolutely luxurious.  Running hot water, flushing toilet, the most comfortable bed in the world (honestly I felt like I was sleeping in a cloud) and a roll top bath with a gorgeous and very private view. 

glampingThe boys happily shunned their screens and devices and spent hours splashing in the hot tub

glamping

and lighting fires

glampingWe cooked contently on the dutch oven (although there was a large wood burning stove inside our abode)

And we cycled the short distance into Arley where the great Severn Valley Railway passes through.

severn valley railway

glampingIn the evenings we lit another fire and made use of the blankets provided for us;

glampingand we chatted and laughed and breathed in and out deeply inhaling as much of the tranquillity as we could whilst toasting marsh mallows and drinking bubbles.

glamping

glampingOf course I took my own blankets and they looked so pretty out on the decking…which has fairy lights at night.

glamping

(Yes, that is a candelabra you can see on the dining table! )

There was also plenty of time to crochet

glampingand knit

learning to knitThis place is a true gem…and look what I found in the dresser…

glampinga happy piece of yarn!!!! 

So thank you Mark and Sonja for all of the fairy dust you sprinkled for our stay with you….we loved it!

woodhouse farm luxury camping

xxxxx

Yarn a long Sunday #7

Published on by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin11 Comments

Oh my word… you guys have hooked, knit, sewn and crafted in some amazing places…but I think the most out there has to go to Connie who hooks whilst being a pillion passenger on the back of  a motorbike!   Yes you read motorbike!!!!

Now that’s extreme crochet and some serious nerves of steel.

S0, welcome to  this Sunday’s yarn a long.  So far this month we have nattered about our crafty hacks and our alfresco crafty habits in honour of world knit in public day.  

This week I thought I would like to gather your ideas about what you like to hook, knit, sew, or craft in the sunshine.  The weather here in the UK has been quite pleasant of late and I have several blankets on my hook and it’s just too warm to be hooking under a blanket for any length of time.  I did write a blog post about the top 5 things to crochet when it’s hot which is  just here…they included

top 5 things to crochet in the sun
pattern by Sandra at Cherryheart

gloves and tea cosies

crochet tea cosy free patterns
The Grandma Collection

But, I have hooked these now and am looking for some fresh ideas…What do you hook, knit, sew or craft when the temperature starts to rise?

xxxxx  

This series is also on Instagram @yarnyrobin