a look over my shoulder

Published on December 27, 2014December 27, 2016 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin13 Comments

This is my end of 2014 review… a chance for me to look over my shoulder and reflect on the last 6 months…yes…this little sanctuary of mine is 6 months old and as we trip in to 2015, I feel both excited and content, which I think is a good place to be.

June 2014 saw not only the birth of ayarnyrobin… but the completion of my friendship blanket.

already a firm favourite!

and the Robin’s nest!

tree house rules... "there aint no rules, there never was none, there aint never gonna be none"!! — tree house rules…
“there aint no rules, there never was none, there aint never gonna be none”!!

In July I completed charity headbands

basket of headbands

a happy ripple blanket

happy ripple in progress

a vintage tea cosy

these little roses are gorgeous to hook

and wrote my first tutorial

my first tutorial

as well as spending some ‘down time’ on the river

messin' about on the river — messin’ about on the river

August saw me settle outside to crochet in the warmer weather and do a spot of blog hoppin’.

crochet corner — my crochet corner

I also broke into my sumptuous alpaca stash

alpaca yarn - Louisa Harding yarns - Orielle — alpaca yarn – Louisa Harding yarns – Orielle

and enjoyed the summer holidays with the boys, making some special memories

down by the canal

and completed a light weight summer scarf

lightweight glamour... — lightweight glamour…

and wrist warmers ready for the autumn

fingerless wristwarmers

and a much needed Summer break away was enjoyed also.

Tenby harbour

September saw the struggle with my hook to complete this basket weave baby blanket

basket weave baby blanket

which led to a frivolous yarnpom in the park

yarnpom

and the arrival of Jess!

Jess

I lost my crojo completely in October…partly Jess’ fault

crocodile flower by Joyce Lewis

eventually finding it, after much help from some lovely readers, and completed a couple of beanies for the boys.

brainwave beanie with ear flaps

and more than a few poppy brooches,

2014-10-21 09.46.42 — poppy brooch

and Summer turned to my favourite time of the year…Autumn.

walking the dogs x

In November I hooked myself a beanie

my beanie love

and had a great time at the circus

balloons

and was very kindly nominated for the Leibster award

Leibster Award

and very proudly offered my first free pattern.

my first pattern

I continued to enjoy the changing landscapes walking with the dogs and rellished the tranquillity that the peace allowed in my mind.

Gloomy day

and then there was the last minute Christmas hooking in December,

Cosy blanket by Attic 24

which did get completed in sort…and which I have yet to post about in finished splendour (I will in the New Year…I promise).

The 'his' cosy blanket by Lucy of Attic 24 — The ‘his’ cosy blanket by Lucy of Attic 24

And finally a traditional Christmas spent with the people I love the most… a perfect way to celebrate my most favourite festival.

our Christmas tree

And there you have it… my 2014 review. May I take this opportunity to thank all of my lovely readers for sharing this journey with me. I have honestly loved sharing my journey with you and appreciate you all so much. I guess all that is left to do this year is to wish you all a very peaceful and healthy 2015.

xxxxx

The ‘his’ cosy colourway

Published on December 18, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin5 Comments

The 'his' cosy blanket by Lucy of Attic 24 — The ‘his’ cosy blanket by Lucy of Attic 24

I have been asked several times what colours I am using in my Dad’s cosy blanket, so thought I would show you with my colour pegs

the 'his' colour way — the ‘his’ colour way

so from the khaki at the bottom of the page and going clockwise, I have chosen

Khaki Turquoise

Parchment Meadow

Aster Cloud Blue

Teal Walnut

Mocha Grey

Royal Petrol

Camel Silver

Denim

The yarn is of course Stylecraft Special DK

consistent colours

The above 7 colours are what I am calling my consistent colours… these are the colours that feature in my Mom’s cosy cottage blanket and will appear in exactly the same order in both blankets and will be the common link… so there you have it and now you know!

xxx

This Cosy Journey continues

Published on December 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin23 Comments

I posted earlier in the week about my big disaster in the Christmas present crochet arena… a calamity which at any other time I would have perceived as a mishap, but at this time of year, has escalated into an undue burden, helped only in that it was as a consequence of a school girl error on my part…in short I only had myself to blame!!

almost done!

After long evenings of hard pressed hooking I have completed the body of the ‘her’ part of the ‘his and hers’ blanket set…and have commenced the ‘his’ blanket. To relieve the pressure, I have decided to set my goal more realistically and I aim to have both blankets finished to border stage…after all Christmas is all about love and as the intended recipients are my Mom and Dad and they love me very much…I can complete the borders if necessary on Boxing Day.

even the ends have been woven in!

The Cosy Cottage blanket is just so beautifully girly and I have, despite my error, loved, loved, loved hooking it… I think my Mom will be so pleased with the colours too. I have followed the colour sequence that Lucy from Attic 24, used in her cottage ripple blanket, take a look if you want all the details of Lucy’s exquisite colour placement.

colour therapy

This is how the ‘his’ blanket, which I am naming the Eastern Bluebird Cosy blanket is looking so far…

6 bands done!

I love how the essence of the blanket changes and grows with each colour band that is lovingly added.

for my Dad

Guess what I’m off to do now…. yes, this cosy journey continues.

xxx

16 days to go!

Published on December 8, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin17 Comments

colour therapy

Just a short update this week and here is why…..

It is with great panic that I have to report that I am still hooking the main body of this blanket, which is my Mom’s Christmas present (I have one to start for my Dad, yet, hence the panic!!)

I had almost finished it last week, when I noticed a distinct increase in stitches, meaning the sides were not straight. The reality of this meant that I had to rip out over a weeks worth of hooking and so now I am behind…seriously! My ONLY saving grace might be that I finish work on the 18th so may be able to make some time up then.

My error…simply becoming complacent and not counting every 4th row or so as this is such a simple pattern. Anyway, let’s not dwell, lesson learnt and it is such a lovely pattern that I am still very much in love with it.

Now, I must get back to my hook

colour ways

Published on November 25, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin10 Comments

Attic 24's 'cottage colour way' — Attic 24’s ‘cottage colour way’

This is not my idea, but how clever to keep a record of your favourite yarns and to use as a tool to make colour choices. I chose the colours below for a blanket I am making and it took well over 2 hrs to painstakingly choose them, looking at my screen trying to decide if the colour way was just right… this will make it so much easier in future and certainly more fun!

for my Dad

2014-11-24 14.02.17 — wooden pegs and yarn!

Stylecraft DK Special is my all time, go to yarn, because it has an amazing choice of 60 colours, it is washable, dryable, durable and affordable!

I think this is a great idea…..thanks Lucy x

Cosy Afternoon

Published on November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin22 Comments

Today I have had a lovely cosy afternoon hooking happily, listening to the radio, I will show you some pictures of that gorgeousness in a minute.

down by the brook

This however, is where I walked this morning with the dogs, unbelievable that this little path which runs alongside the brook, is just 2 minutes away from my home.

going up the hill

This morning was so sunny, but very cold, in fact my little thermometer read -0.5 degrees centigrade, so I didn’t stop for long but instead walked briskly up the hill!

at the top!

Once at the top I was rewarded with this… I see this most days as this is where I walk the dogs, however, today I appreciated it more than ever…maybe the bitter cold coupled with the glorious sunshine had something to do with it.

Jess at 16 weeks

Little Jess enjoyed it too, Alf didn’t hang around for his photo! Anyway, here are the pictures of ‘that gorgeousness’ I promised you…this is what I have been hooking this afternoon

Cosy blanket by Attic 24

Yes this is the glorious, heavenly to hook Cosy blanket which is currently part of a crochet along that is being hosted by the enormously talented Lucy of Attic 24. This one is the ‘her’ part of the ‘his and hers’ set I am making for my Mom and Dad for Christmas….the colour way is beautiful and is from the Attic 24 shop at Wool Warehouse and comes as a pack called ‘cottage’… my Dad’s colours I selected individually and look like this

for my Dad

My Dad’s blanket will be the same pattern as my Mom’s to complete the set. Do you want to have a look at that pattern again… close up

colour therapy

So simple, but so beautiful.

update

Published on November 23, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin5 Comments

A quick update this week.

This week saw my first pattern release on a yarny robin… and it’s free

This is how my list is looking today,

COMPLETED

headbands for Bowdazzling (charity for young girls undergoing chemotherapy)

poppies
hot water bottle cover
basket weave baby blanket (added to the list Aug 2014)

fingerless gloves (added to the list Aug 2014)
x1 yarnbomb in my community
winter hats for the Lil’ Robins and Mr R

– minion hat for my winter robin by request

– beanies for my Summer Robin and Autumn Robin and for Mr R.

OUTSTANDING

scrapghan

fabric buttons
bunting

hook holder

a crochet wall hanging

charity SIBOL blankets (Sunshine International Blankets Of Love) charity for the elderly… have a look at SIBOL

tree house decoration

broomstick crochet photo tutorial

purse

9 more yarnbombs in my community

If you would like to take part in a year of projects it’s never too late to join in with us or if you would like to take a look at some other blogs taking part, take a look here.

I have also set myself the crazy challenge of hooking a ‘his and hers’ blanket for my Mom and Dad for Christmas, hence this quick update… my hands should be hooking!

I’ve looked high and low…

Published on October 13, 2014October 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin13 Comments

Apologies for my distinct absence lately… I’ve found myself waking each morning yearning to create and yet by the time I’m home from work and the chores are done and I have the opportunity to hook, that a severe melancholy rises up from within and my hook stays in it’s case….

I fear I may have lost my crojo!!!

I’ve looked high and low…I have tried and tried… I have put my hooks away and I have got them back out… I’ve thumbed the delightful pages of books and magazines… trawled through many of your lovely project pages on ravelry, where fleetingly my heart skipped at so many inspiring creations, only to find myself with yarn and hook in hand and still no hooking action.

Holey!!!!

My brother dropped round last week, to my horror with the blanket I had made as a wedding present last year. It had a hole in it and he wanted me to repair it, as now the evenings are chillier, the blanket is required once more. A hole!!!!

As I mended, I certainly didn’t feel inspired and worried about other gifts I had made… what if?….!!!!

repair in progress

With the repair done and my brother gone, I reflected that actually, that wedding blanket is super heavy and probably with hindsight, should have had a more substantial joining method than the pretty but delicate flat braid join that I gave it… hence the hole. I did take some close up pics to cheer my soul a little…

crocodile flower by Joyce Lewis

double treble burst, Crochetville

wedding present

It is a very pretty blanket.

In other news, Little Jess has finally found a best friend in Alfie and this has really warmed my heart, after 2 weeks of grumbling and growling our Alf decided that Jess was not so bad after all.

best friends now x

Importantly, the evenings are now drawing in nicely, I so love this time of year,

The evenings are really beginning to draw in now... — The evenings are really beginning to draw in now…

drawing the curtains, lighting the candles and snuggling in for the evening… what could be better… maybe just a little crochet

settling in for the evening

So, please would you have a little look to see if you have any extra crojo that you could send to me… I’m desperate!

xxx

Chilli pepper Baby blanket

Published on September 7, 2014October 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin10 Comments

2014-09-06 17.09.49 — Chilli pepper baby blanket

It’s done and it’s gorgeously cushy and it is a baby blanket that any Great Grand Mother would be proud of, BUT…….

I’m not in love with it, and because of this I am hugely disappointed.

It is a fabulous colour…Chilli red and not the traditional blue for a boy. and I love that. I also love that it has made up so densely and is beautifully warm and snuggly for the winter… I have also mastered blanket stitch!

2014-08-16_13.28.01_medium2 — about the yarn…

That’s where the positive ends for me tho…. although the yarn is soft in the finished blanket, it was not that pleasurable to work with…it didn’t slide on and off the hook and was a bit splitty and annoying.

chilli pepper baby blanket in s.l.o.w progress

It has also taken me soooo much longer than I had planned and I can’t work out whether this is one of the reasons for my poor relationship with this blanket, or… because I wasn’t having much hooking joy, that it has taken me longer than anticipated to hook!!

This blanket became a real block for my other hooky plans too… another reason for my lack of love for it.

So, to get my crojo back, I thought about the last hooky thing that really rocked me…that pompom border on my happy ripple…..

and I got creative by making a brand new pompom board on pinterest… go on I dare you to have a peek!

Oh...the potential! — Oh…the potential!

and once I had done that… I felt much better…and found myself thinking maybe a basket stitch blanket in a thinner yarn would be nice…

It’s A Wrap!

Published on August 1, 2014August 5, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin6 Comments

A true labour of love

I love to gift my creations, as I’m sure most of you do. It is very rare that I keep what I make. Often, I will hook a project and think I must make one of those for myself, but I never seem to get around to it!

Handmade… it just says ‘you are so special, I took the time and thought to make you something unique, individual… just for you.’ It is a tangible and often practical expression of love.

The saying that it is better to give than receive is so true. That is why I think it is important to present your gift with just as much attention to detail as the actual gift itself. I think that a gift should look as beautiful as it can to excite and shout…

‘LOOK AT ME – I’M JUST FOR YOU!’

For me a gift is not only the present it’s the experience of receiving as well. Here is the Happy Ripple ready to go

gift tag — hand crocheted tag

I even wrote a little poem!

And this was another handmade of mine, gifted as a wedding present.

presents should be pretty x

So wrap happy!

xxx