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.

All the fun of the Circus!

Published on November 2, 2014November 11, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin9 Comments

Well as the title suggests, we’ve been to the circus this half term and had sooo much fun…. I’ve got some hookin’ done to show you and some exciting news to tell you also.

all thrill is an understatement!

The Circus came to town quite literally and up went the big top and the signs and I thought that sounds like quite a lot of fun, so we headed off and that’s exactly what happened… we had lots of fun together and were treated to some outstanding entertainment that in places were quite terrifying to watch. Not a harness or safety net in sight, there were gasps from the audience and the modern day clowns (that were not scary at all!) made us chuckle out loud.

balloons

our ticket in

mmm...candyfloss — mmm…candyfloss

So, if this circus should come to a town near you, then it is well worth a visit. Did you notice my hat… that is one of this weeks finishes… It’s not on my YOP list, but I needed a beanie and it only took an afternoon to make. Here are some clearer pictures of it…

my beanie love

love notion

I adore the love notion which really finishes it off a treat, the yarn is delicious and was not only lovely to hook, but it is warm and snuggly too! Project notes can be found here.

I’ve also made lots more poppies, much like these ones as I have been inundated with requests for them, as I have for brainwave beanies so guess what I am currently up to!

So to my exciting news… I have been short listed for interview, this Thursday coming for my Return to Nursing Course at Uni….. as I’ve written that I realise that may not be hugely exciting for you and it might just be for me… so I will also let you know that this week I have started on my first crochet pattern, that will be free to my lovely readers and will be coming very soon.

I have also received a nomination for the above, which is lovely, so will post about that separately in the week! If you would like to be nominated for the award click here and leave me a message!

So with all my news shared, I’ll be off…have a good week and enjoy the fireworks!

xxx

Year of Projects Progress

Published on October 27, 2014October 27, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin8 Comments

This week has come and gone in a flurry it now seems and I am happy to report that some progress has been made on my year of project list.

bliss x

I had a lovely couple of days at the beginning of the week, catching up with friends sharing latte’s and maybe the odd cake here and there! I have enjoyed several long walks with the dogs through the autumnal leaves that are now carpeting most of the fields and parks nearby.

walking the dogs x

We also had a Parent’s evening thrown in mid week – which was a pleasure on all 3 counts I am both pleased and proud to say. Even work has come and gone quickly this week and so I find myself as I write this at the start of half term, looking forward to and easing into a long weekend (4 days) to be precise, of fun and family and no alarm clock!!!

I have some finishes to show you, if you are a regular reader you will have already seen a couple of them in the last 2 posts….

brain wave beanies for the boys... — brain wave beanies for the boys…

remembrance poppy

If however, you have not read the finished posts, more details on patterns and yarn can be found on these links:

Beanies

Poppies

I did manage another brain wave beanie, this time for Mr. R, who was super thrilled as he is working on a roof this coming week.

Mr R's beanie — Mr R’s beanie

Details of how my list is now looking can be found here and if you would like to join in or take a look at other folk’s progress you can check out the group just here

xxx

A beanie or 2!

Published on October 21, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin10 Comments

brainwave beanie — Autumn Robin enjoyed choosing his own colours!

So here are the promised pics of the beanies I hooked up last week. The pattern is called the Brain Waves Beanie by Liz McQueen.

I made both my boys an adult sized hat from the FREE pattern, which has lots of clear instructions and is easy to follow. The only thing I didn’t have was the stated yarn weight so made these ones from my trusted stylecraft DK Special… it took me a couple of attempts to get the guage correct because of this and my first try was disappointingly huge!! So I came down a couple of hook sizes and used a 4.5mm hook and crocheted using the yarn double stranded… which as you can see has made up a dense, snug fitting hat.

brainwave beanie with ear flaps

Summer Robin made a design tweak and requested the addition of ear flaps… I added one of those cute ele buttons on each hat, expecting a protest… but they loved them and you can’t ask more than that!

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

Jess

Published on September 30, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin3 Comments

it's hard to get a good photo of her as when she is awake she doesn't stand still for a moment! — it’s hard to get a good photo of her as when she is awake she doesn’t stand still for a moment!

It’s been 48 hrs since little Jess arrived and so far so good… the first night she yelped for 10 mins before settling to a full nights sleep and last night she took herself into her crate and drifted off for the night without so much as a squeak. I think having Alfie our lab around has much to do with the suprising amount of sleep we have managed since this little ball of fur arrived.

bath time

She did require a bath however as she wasn’t that fragrant and the smell of her litter mates and no doubt her Mom, was sending Alfie a little grumpy…

she was all of a quiver

Jess, protested throughout her bathe, but seemed to enjoy the hair dryer and she smells much more pleasant both to us and Alfie, I think!

2014-09-29 09.53.22 — Alfie, interested in Jess, but not too sure yet!

House breaking is also going well, only x2 accidents so far, so I am very proud of how well she is doing. Her favourite thing is exploring the growing garden. That is where we have just come in from now and she is zonked!

sooo cute!

The cedum in glorious autumn splendour from Jess' point of view! — The cedum in glorious autumn splendour from Jess’ point of view!

Other progress made is that Jess is happy to wear her collar complete with name tag, which I am pleased about as you can always hear where she is, as it jangles gently when she runs, which is also very sweet as she runs and springs about like a baby lamb with a slight tendency to lean to her left as she goes.

All in all she is lovely xx

It’s all Jess’ fault!!!

Published on September 29, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin7 Comments

My head has been turned a little recently and I have done absolutely no hooking what so ever…. diddly squat….nothing…

and this is why

5 weeks tiny xx

This is little Jess, just 5 weeks old in this picture, we didn’t get her til yesterday, when she was 8 weeks old, but the anticipation and waiting has rendered me unable to settle to anything let alone hook. So now that she is here maybe, just maybe I will pull out that hook!!

How Ironic!!

Published on September 1, 2014October 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin10 Comments

It’s ironic that I have been hooking a winter hat whilst on my summer holiday. It’s not that the weather was all that bad, we had days that were windy and rainy and sunny and sometimes all at the same time… but then we were on the beautiful coastline of South Wales, and we had a ball, spent some really lovely family time together and made memories that will last us a lifetime!

2014-08-23 20.47.25 — Sunset over Tenby Bay x

I had packed up a project bag that had a ridiculous amount of yarn in, as the boys had asked me to make them beanies for the Autumn Term. They had all placed their pattern and colour order with me in preparation, and of course they all wanted different colours, hence the bursting project bag! However, I didn’t hook that much whilst away, as we were just too busy. I did manage to finish Little Robin’s hat though…

minion hat

This is the minion hat that he chose and once I had it done, he wore it everywhere xxx

I also hooked up another 10 rows or so of the chilli pepper baby blanket, this is not going as quickly as it should, I think I’m just a little bored of it!

I thought I ought to show you these lovelies too, not made on my holiday, but just before, out of some of the left over alpaca yarn from the infinity cowl

Pattern details can be found just here. So just a couple of finishes then and some additions to the YOP list… more beanies!

So, I will leave you with a few more holiday snaps as I cling on to the remaining hours that are left before the boys go back to school tomorrow…. and I must return to work!!!

xxx

Bloghoppin

Published on August 15, 2014October 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin5 Comments

So this is a blog hoppin post, which means I have been tagged to write a piece by the lovely Ruth over at My Spare Moments.

I have been given 3 questions to answer, which is quite fun and I hope that you enjoy this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Question 1: What have you been doing/making/scribbling at your desk/making table?

Well, firstly I wish I had a desk/making table, but I don’t… our house is way too small…and way too busy for that! I do have my outdoor crochet corner for when the weather is fine, but I live in the UK, so I’m not out there that often..

crochet corner — My crochet corner

There has not been any hooking out there for a good couple of weeks, hooking has had to come indoors as the weather has changed, but hooking always continues and I always have several things in progress

mini squares for my scrappy afghan

chilli pepper baby blanket

infinity cowl

doodling future makes... — doodling future makes…

Question 2: Where are you currently finding inspiration?

My inspiration for projects comes largely from need, but I like to feel I am moving forward in my hooking abilities and stretching myself too. The chilli pepper baby blanket is a gift for a family member who has just had a baby… and I wanted to learn a new stitch technique in with this project, hence the basket weave. Most of my makes are gifted, so the person I am making for becomes the inspiration for the project. For example the roses and posies tea cosy made for my friend, who is a chain tea drinker, and the happy ripple made in bright colours, for a friend who needed to be reminded that she had a bright future ahead of her!

these little roses are gorgeous to hook

for a special couple on their wedding day!

That and my love for colour inspire me the most. Right now I am looking forward to my most favourite time of year…. Autumn, so am thinking about cowls and mitts and boot toppers and such other lovliness.

Question 3: How important is being creative to you? and how do you blend with work/family balance?

Well this question is simple… its like oxygen to me… I have to hook!

My Coffee Coaster

An elderly lady taught me to hook, when my smallest robin was a tiny baby and I had post natal depression, she came to a group that my Health Visitor had coaxed me into… and quite simply I have never looked back and have hooked ever since. It has become my default setting and just satisfies a part of me that nothing else seems to… no one else at home can crochet, so it belongs to me and yet everyone appreciates my pieces (or seems too!). Hooking is so portable too, which means I can hook anywhere… more often than not its on the settee in the lounge, amongst the boys playing on mine craft or making loom bands! or at the kitchen table, whilst the dinner is cooking. Sometimes, at the park sitting on a bench, whilst the boys play, or in the car when I’m waiting to pick the boys up from school, sports or cubs. It fits in so well with the most important things in my life… my family!

precious!

so, there you have it… time to tag another for a blog hop. I would like to tag Kim at Aunt Maud Knits a truly talented lady, whose projects are simply gorgeous and who may introduce you to Aunt Maud!

mention who tagged you.

What have been the doings/makings/scribblings at your desk/making table this week?

Where are you currently finding your inspiration?

How important is being creative to you and how do you blend this with your work-life-family balance?

My week in Pictures

Published on August 9, 2014October 14, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin14 Comments

A busy week… lots of fun and work… not much craftiness… here is my week in pictures!

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That’s all for this week, hope you all had a good one!

xxx