family – Crochet blog

Lockdown baby…

Published on May 17, 2020 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin8 Comments

If you have read my previous posts you will know we are awaiting the birth of a precious niece any day soon. Little did we plan the birth of someone so longed for and precious in the middle of a global pandemic and a national lockdown!

However, the rainbows that adorn the windows of homes all across the country and that have become the symbol of communities united and a sign of thanks and of hope over the last 8 weeks or so, have inspired me to hook something for babies born in lockdown.

You probably could have guessed it would be a bonnet…they have become my favourite things to make!

What do you think?

These are available to buy in my shop…just click the picture and you will be magically transported there. Or if you fancy hooking your own, you can purchase the pattern from my shop too…the pattern is for the basic bonnet so you would just have to change your yarn to the rainbow colours in the last 6 rows (the last row been the main colour of the bonnet). The ears are optional! Of course if your not sure just pop me a message.

I have had a lot of love for these and have just sold one to a lovely Mama who is expecting a rainbow baby (a baby born after pregnancy or child loss) and one to a Mama to be who wants to use it as part of her pregnancy announcement.

I really do feel so privileged to make bonnets and hats and to help create special memories for parents and carers.

xxxxx

Birthday treats and fabulous hooks…

Published on April 13, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin11 Comments

I’ve had a lovely few days celebrating another year…yes, it was my birthday!

I have been well and truly spoilt this year and I have had some great yarny presents too, which I thought I’d share with you.

I kicked things off by booking time off work and then was treated to the most loveliest of birthday eve meals with my parents and brother as well as my guys too. It was a really great way to start the celebrations. My actual birthday day…you know what I mean! was relaxed and laid back, hanging out with the boys and Mr R.

We had a game of birthday badminton before cake and coffee…

no guilt involved, as calories definitely don’t count on your birthday! It was a beautiful coffee and walnut cake…my absolute favourite!

We took time out to notice Spring has well and truly arrived…

and I enjoyed finding some more spring inspiration whilst browsing around too.

Fabulous zingy spring vibes right there!

I spent more time with family andfriends and of course did some hooking too…this is how far I have got with my C2C rainbow heart blanket. Pattern details are just here.

I also got some great yarny presents too.

Fabulous personalized crochet hooks of my bestie and…

Mr. R surprised me with tickets to this years Yarndale Festival which is in September….SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

So, I’m feeling very loved and very blessed and quite yarny today.

Have a fantastic weekend, whatever you’re up to.

xxxxx

Sometimes just being underneath crochet is enough!….

Published on January 13, 2019 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin18 Comments

I have not been overly productive on the crochet front since the New Year began, largely down to a chest infection and it’s lingering gift of tiredness. So I have settled for being under my crochet instead…

I have started my new book which I got at Christmas…it has been on my wish list for a while now and I am really enjoying turning the pages and soaking up the next page of words…I haven’t read a book for a long time.

I have put the border on my second ‘Yala’ blanket…I know I have not shown you the first yet, but I am thinking of ordering some cork disc labels to add to them and they are in need of blocking also, so you will have to wait to see them.

Whilst adding the border this morning I relished the feeling that time had slowed down and I drank in the atmosphere here at the nest…home, sweet home. I enjoyed the sound of my youngest two robins chitter chattering to each other and tried to absorb all of them, even their bickering. They are growing so quickly, and I know that in a blink of an eye I will be sat here hooking, wandering what they are doing and when they might visit.

I spent the afternoon baking for the week ahead and we managed to catch the sunset whilst walking the dogs. It was windy and the trees swooshed noisly above our heads. I was grateful to be outside, kicking up the leaf litter and breathing in the cold air; I was even more grateful to come home into the warm, pull on my pj’s and heap my bowl full of slow cooker chilli.

My plans for the week are particularly hectic…today may well have been the calm before the storm; so I plan on spending little snippets of time through out the week doing more of the above, wherever I can…because sometimes just being underneath your crochet is enough.

I hope you have a good week whatever your plans.

xxxxx

Gorgeous Glamping…

Published on June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin15 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.

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.

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

and lighting fires

We 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.

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

and 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.

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

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

There was also plenty of time to crochet

and knit

This place is a true gem…and look what I found in the dresser…

a 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

April crochet…

Published on April 24, 2018 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin8 Comments

Well the rain and the snow finally stopped for a little while and the sunshine made a cameo appearance last week.

It seems more rain and freezing temperatures are on there way again! But, the sunshine certainly influenced my hooking last week and I took my hook alfresco whenever I could. I have also enjoyed getting back outdoors and walking the dogs now my foot has finally healed.

Of course there were pit stops along the way!

I have also been keeping up to date with the seaside stashbusting CAL…this photo was taken at the trampoline park.

Not much has occurred on the knitting front, in fact it would be fairer to say nothing has happened. I am enjoying my hooking far too much to be slowed down by needles and I have a couple of commissions that I really must finish. One of which I can now show you…

Aren’t they just the sweetest?

I loved making these little baby shorts.

The pattern is by Mon Petit Violon Designs and I will definitely be hooking some more. I used Rico baby cotton soft yarn in a dk weight and a denim blue and finished them off with some little wooden buttons. Rico was a lovely yarn to hook with and has given a beautiful stitch definition to the garment. Of course it is soft enough for babies skin also and machine washable.

Finally, I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has given me such encouraging feedback across my social media about the Sunshine Jelly Baby Blanket…

It has really made me smile.

Have a good week what ever you get up to

xxxxx

A Wee Scottish Adventure…

Published on January 19, 2018January 18, 2018 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin25 Comments

Last weekend Mr R and I took the train and embarked upon a wee Scottish adventure.

It was business for Mr R but I tagged along with my hook and yarn. The temptation of a long train journey without the little Robins was just too much, even if it did mean an early start!

It provided a whole few hours of just sitting watching the world go by with just Mr R for company and the opportunity for guilt free hooking…what was not to love!

I got some more rows done on my Charming Harbour Blanket…I am still hooking away at this. It is rather slow going, not because of the pattern, more the sheer size of the thing and the fact that I am only working on it every now and then. But, I am enjoying the hook and I do not have any deadline pressures with this one.

Crochet blanket — Charming Harbour blanket PHD

The journey to Glasgow and then onto Ayrshire was hassle free and I can highly recommend hooking on a train…there is something about the rhythm of the hooking combined with the uniform clickety clack of the train which hushes one into a calm serenity.

Mr R got the business thing done quickly and we wound our way down to the north Lake District and found a charming little place to stay in Cockermouth before heading back home to the little Robins because by then we were really beginning to miss them!

xxxxx

crochet tea cosy free pattern and tutorial

The Grandma Florence Tea Cosy

Published on January 16, 2018January 16, 2018 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin8 Comments

In my haste to release the fourth gorgeous tea cosy of the Grandma Collection…The Grandma Florence tea cosy; I realised that I hadn’t posted the formal introduction. So here it is…

Dedicated to my lovely Momma…Florence.

My Mom: the woman who raised me and who has quietly influenced me throughout my life.

I followed in her duty shoes and trained as a nurse, inspired by memories of her putting on her nurses hat and cape…of course that style of uniform has long since gone…but I wanted to help people just like her.

My Mom has been such a creative influence in my life too, for as long as I can remember she has made stuff. Clothes, flower arrangements, knitting, patchwork quilts…no wonder I have the desire to create and craft.

My Momma has also taught me how to be a Momma to my boys…and if I do half as good as her then I’ll do alright by them! But most of all she is always there and she is kind and that is just what I want to be.

So this is the Grandma Florence tea cosy, a pretty cosy woven with bright ribbons to represent the encouragement, love and inspiration that my Momma has woven throughout my life… Thanks Mom!

xxxxx

So that is the Grandma Florence tea cosy in all of her glory, here is the pattern linky thing which is free and has a photo tutorial also.

xxxxx

C2C crochet baby blanket, crochet heart squares in paintbox cotton yarn

End of year review…Bring on 2018

Published on December 30, 2017 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin16 Comments

2017 has certainly had it’s ups and it’s downs. I am pleased to report that it is ending on an up. I have really enjoyed perusing back through my posts and have picked out my favourite from each month in way of reviewing 2017 here at the nest. Before we begin I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of my seasoned readers, to those of you that have recently discovered this little corner of yarniness and to you if you have just stumbled across this post by accident.

Without all of you, I would just be here, hooking and writing and hooking some more; annoying my family by taking photo’s every 2 minutes and whilst that would be ok, it is so much more fun with you dropping by and saying hi every once in a while. You encourage me and inspire me to keep blogging about all things yarny and for that I am very grateful.

So grab a glass of prosecco or the bottle! or maybe a cuppa if you prefer and lets look back at 2017 here at the nest.

January 2017

shawl crochet ayarnyrobin — crochet in bed.

2017 began with shawls, having completed x2 virus shawls I had the bug for more. This‘ is the ‘pink shawl’ by Cecile Balladino, and it is still one of my favourites although I still can’t call it the ‘pink shawl!’

February 2017

I had so much fun doing the yarn love challenge during February. A post a day was a challenge, but I relished the daily prods to share.

I’d love to do this again in 2018.

Here is a little link to my favourite #yarnlovechallenge post and another favourite… well I couldn’t just pick one!

March 2017

Another month another shawl…This time the beautiful Sunday Shawl by Alia Bland. This project proved to be the perfect way to jump into spring, maybe it was those delicious pastels against the warmth of the grey.

April2017

A milestone birthday, an alpaca birthday cake, and a graduation. I couldn’t have imagined a happier set of celebrations. I was so blissfully unaware of the catastrophe about to beset us.

May 2017

At least I got some crochet in whilst juggling hospital trips and the absence of a critically ill Mr R…crochet is not only my joy it’s my default when things get tough…my sanity.

This Baby Wilmer blanket, filled me with hope, a new life just entering this world, whilst life at the nest felt as if it had paused in some horrific nightmare.

June 2017

yarnbomb, ayarnyrobin gate installation — yarnbomb

Mr R had prayerfully turned a corner and our healing had begun, it was time for some fun and this yarny gate installation celebrated that!

July 2017

free dog collar crochet pattern...simple free pattern which you can crochet in under an hour — Jess… with her new crochet collar.

Still healing, but healing well!

Small projects worked best and this ‘Oh so cute’ free dog collar pattern went down a treat with little Jess.

August 2017

I fell so in love with these adorable C2C (corner to corner)hearts that I just couldn’t stop hooking them! I couldn’t!!

They fell off my hook so quickly that before I knew where I was I had enough for a blanket of hearts.

I have to confess that I still need to border this lovely…yes it is still a PHD (project half done). In my defense I just can’t decide what colour to border it in!

September 2017

crochet barefoot sandals - Corfu designed by ayarnyrobin.wordpress.com, summer feet — Corfu – Barefoot sandals

September felt much more ‘normal’ although I don’t know why…I spent a large majority of it bobbing around on a lazy river being drenched in golden sunshine on the amazing island of Corfu. I didn’t forget about you though…look I made these barefoot sandals by the pool… here’s the link to the free pattern just in case you fancy a pretty 20 minute hook up!

October 2017

Autumn woodland walks a plenty, a suprising wildlife sighting and family…I am so blessed.

November 2017

The Grandma Dot Tea Cosy, crochet tea cosy, The Grandma Collection by ayarnyrobin — Grandma Dot Tea Cosy

Finally, the release of my newest tea cosy in the Grandma Collection…the Grandma Dot tea cosy. I don’t know why this took me so long to publish but it did. Anyway, thank you for your frankly very kind feedback about this free pattern…there will be another one coming very shortly in the new year.

December 2017

loom knitted hat, ayarnyrobin — loom knitted beanie…

I told you 2017 ended on an up…the hat fit!

Enough said.

Thank you 2017 for the joy, for the triumphs, for the challenge and even for the heartbreak…for all the folk that have stood alongside me whether that has been for a few minutes, a few days or for those lifers that are always cheering me on… you know who you are.

Finally, thank you once again to you, for riding this journey with me… I think you are amazing and want to wish you all a very blessed and extremely yarny 2018…

wherever it may take you.

xxxxx

Picture Perfect…

Published on December 11, 2017December 11, 2017 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin3 Comments

A picture perfect weekend…

Jess enjoyed chasing the sledge…

winter berries

picture perfect

a snowy tree

sledging…then home for hot chocolate…

Christmas tree

A snowy Midlands…

Dudley Castle in the snow

With all this snow, I have started another hat…let’s see if I can make this one to fit Mr R’s head this time!!!

Yes, the countdown to Christmas has begun at the nest.

xxxxx

Crochet, senior moments and mud!

Published on November 18, 2017November 18, 2017 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin4 Comments

What do crochet, senior moments and mud have in common?

Well the answer is me!

It has been a looooong week…let’s just say that. Yesterday I was the Duty Health Visitor in the office, we take it in turns to triage calls and sort out various problems…I won’t bore you with the detail. I took a call from a worried parent and said I’d get the Duty Health Visitor (which was me…I just forgot!!) After several enquiries amongst my colleagues I was gently reminded (actually,ribbed to the max) it was me. I returned to the phone and in a posher voice said Duty Health Visitor, how can I help you?

This was followed later in the day when I received an email from my GP asking me to attend a well woman check (for women over a certain age)…sigh!

Then…yes there is more! I had to ask to borrow my Mom’s glasses for the very first time ever to read a food packet.

Oh my!…little signs.

Another feature looming large in my week has been mud…lots of mud. I have become a rugby mamma and I need help! How on earth do I get this….erm…earth out of his kit.

Please let me have any top tips for getting rid of all this mud!

I also need your crochet help…pattern recommendations. I want to make a few beanie style hats for Christmas, male and female. I have a few, but they always seem to come off my hook too large or I am always a little disappointed with them. Can you wholeheartedly recommend a superb pattern? I would be so very grateful.

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I have not been overly productive on the crochet front since the New Year began, largely down to a chest infection and it’s lingering gift of tiredness. So I have settled for being under my crochet instead…

I have started my new book which I got at Christmas…it has been on my wish list for a while now and I am really enjoying turning the pages and soaking up the next page of words…I haven’t read a book for a long time.

I have put the border on my second ‘Yala’ blanket…I know I have not shown you the first yet, but I am thinking of ordering some cork disc labels to add to them and they are in need of blocking also, so you will have to wait to see them.

My plans for the week are particularly hectic…today may well have been the calm before the storm; so I plan on spending little snippets of time through out the week doing more of the above, wherever I can…because sometimes just being underneath your crochet is enough.

I hope you have a good week whatever your plans.

xxxxx

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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.

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.

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

and lighting fires

We 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.

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

and 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.

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

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

There was also plenty of time to crochet

and knit

This place is a true gem…and look what I found in the dresser…

a 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!

xxxxx

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Like this:

Well the rain and the snow finally stopped for a little while and the sunshine made a cameo appearance last week.

It seems more rain and freezing temperatures are on there way again! But, the sunshine certainly influenced my hooking last week and I took my hook alfresco whenever I could. I have also enjoyed getting back outdoors and walking the dogs now my foot has finally healed.

Of course there were pit stops along the way!

I have also been keeping up to date with the seaside stashbusting CAL…this photo was taken at the trampoline park.

Not much has occurred on the knitting front, in fact it would be fairer to say nothing has happened. I am enjoying my hooking far too much to be slowed down by needles and I have a couple of commissions that I really must finish. One of which I can now show you…

Aren’t they just the sweetest?

I loved making these little baby shorts.

Finally, I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone who has given me such encouraging feedback across my social media about the Sunshine Jelly Baby Blanket…

It has really made me smile.

Have a good week what ever you get up to

xxxxx

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Last weekend Mr R and I took the train and embarked upon a wee Scottish adventure.

It was business for Mr R but I tagged along with my hook and yarn. The temptation of a long train journey without the little Robins was just too much, even if it did mean an early start!

It provided a whole few hours of just sitting watching the world go by with just Mr R for company and the opportunity for guilt free hooking…what was not to love!

The journey to Glasgow and then onto Ayrshire was hassle free and I can highly recommend hooking on a train…there is something about the rhythm of the hooking combined with the uniform clickety clack of the train which hushes one into a calm serenity.

Mr R got the business thing done quickly and we wound our way down to the north Lake District and found a charming little place to stay in Cockermouth before heading back home to the little Robins because by then we were really beginning to miss them!

xxxxx

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Like this:

In my haste to release the fourth gorgeous tea cosy of the Grandma Collection…The Grandma Florence tea cosy; I realised that I hadn’t posted the formal introduction. So here it is…

Dedicated to my lovely Momma…Florence.

My Mom: the woman who raised me and who has quietly influenced me throughout my life.

I followed in her duty shoes and trained as a nurse, inspired by memories of her putting on her nurses hat and cape…of course that style of uniform has long since gone…but I wanted to help people just like her.

My Mom has been such a creative influence in my life too, for as long as I can remember she has made stuff. Clothes, flower arrangements, knitting, patchwork quilts…no wonder I have the desire to create and craft.

My Momma has also taught me how to be a Momma to my boys…and if I do half as good as her then I’ll do alright by them! But most of all she is always there and she is kind and that is just what I want to be.

So this is the Grandma Florence tea cosy, a pretty cosy woven with bright ribbons to represent the encouragement, love and inspiration that my Momma has woven throughout my life… Thanks Mom!

xxxxx

So that is the Grandma Florence tea cosy in all of her glory, here is the pattern linky thing which is free and has a photo tutorial also.

xxxxx

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So grab a glass of prosecco or the bottle! or maybe a cuppa if you prefer and lets look back at 2017 here at the nest.

January 2017

2017 began with shawls, having completed x2 virus shawls I had the bug for more. This‘ is the ‘pink shawl’ by Cecile Balladino, and it is still one of my favourites although I still can’t call it the ‘pink shawl!’

February 2017

I had so much fun doing the yarn love challenge during February. A post a day was a challenge, but I relished the daily prods to share.

I’d love to do this again in 2018.

Here is a little link to my favourite #yarnlovechallenge post and another favourite… well I couldn’t just pick one!

March 2017

Another month another shawl…This time the beautiful Sunday Shawl by Alia Bland. This project proved to be the perfect way to jump into spring, maybe it was those delicious pastels against the warmth of the grey.

April2017

A milestone birthday, an alpaca birthday cake, and a graduation. I couldn’t have imagined a happier set of celebrations. I was so blissfully unaware of the catastrophe about to beset us.

May 2017

At least I got some crochet in whilst juggling hospital trips and the absence of a critically ill Mr R…crochet is not only my joy it’s my default when things get tough…my sanity.

This Baby Wilmer blanket, filled me with hope, a new life just entering this world, whilst life at the nest felt as if it had paused in some horrific nightmare.

June 2017

Mr R had prayerfully turned a corner and our healing had begun, it was time for some fun and this yarny gate installation celebrated that!