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

A peek in to Christmas

Published on December 9, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin6 Comments

One of the things that I have really enjoyed this December, when peeking into other blogs and generally taking a good look around, is glimpsing how other people do Christmas… so here is a little peek around the robin’s nest.

our Christmas tree

I love the designer trees and the minimalist trees in the shops and I always catch myself thinking how I would love to get one. This year I fell in love with an all white one with sherbet coloured decorations… but I adore more, our tree, decorated by the boys with our mismatched decorations that we have accumulated over the years, most of which are attached to a lovely memory…like the spherical robin bauble at the bottom of this photo, gifted to us by dear friends.

deck the halls... — deck the halls…

pretty Christmas bows

stockings...just waiting to be filled — and stockings…just waiting to be filled

party shoes! — party shoes that I just couldn’t resist!

the nativity — and the nativity

Certainly the most important part of Christmas for us…the reason for Christmas…the birth of Jesus.

Free Pattern

Published on November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin6 Comments

hot love pattern

hot love pattern

DSCF4942[1]

gorgeous sunset colour way

gorgeous sunset colour way

cute love tag notion

cute love tag notion

and pompoms!

and pompoms!

finished back

finished back

Top 5 things to crochet when it's hot andnumber 1 is ironic!

Hot love waterbottle cover

Click on image to see more

A Yarny Robin would like to offer all of you lovlies this beautiful ‘Hot Love’ warmer pattern for FREE… Just because…

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

Remember Them Poppies

Published on October 22, 2014October 22, 2014 by Nicola Florence @ ayarnyrobin8 Comments

so quick and easy to make — remembrance Poppy

So quick and easy to make, the pattern is by Anne Egan and was in this months edition of Simply Crochet.

light topaz 4mm crystal bicone beads

The actual poppy takes just over 5 minutes to hook up and I added the beads… which took a bit longer and of course the brooch pin on the back

All in all a really quick make… I have had to make several, as friends and family have visited they have all taken one…of course I’ve told them that they still need to make their donation towards the poppy appeal.

so quick and easy to make

Do you have any highly recommended 30 min or less makes… if so let me know.

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