Going Wild in Town....

No, I didn't drink myself to oblivion, threw up and flashed my boobs to shocked bystanders on a chav night out (been brought up the European way, I get flamboozled quietly at home with a bottle of red whilst cooking dinner). Instead, I went to W H Smith and bought not just one but four Knitting & Crochet magazines after I couldn't decide, which one to choose - how decadent. And then I recently received my delivery of some lovely bargain Louisa Harding yarn, all very soft wool with cashmere.

The magazines are so inspiring; Let's Knit! magazine came with an additional crochet projects booklet, and I've already started trying out the lace scarf pattern with some leftover yarn. I will make this scarf in the gorgeous red yarn you can see on the yarn stash photo.

Crochet today! is a US magazine; it has some fantastic projects inside including a lovely turquoise sweater designed by Debbie Stoller and a Keepsake Lace Shawl. At the moment, I'm definitely hooked on crochet!

Issue 76 of Knitting is focusing on vintage style designs - fabulous 50s and 60s designs overhauled for the 21st century. Vintage and lace patterns feature in the other magazines, too.

Needless to say ideas are just buzzing in my head right now waiting to be turned into reality over coming weeks ahead.

Toodle-di-doo....

Crafty Crochet: Glasses Case

I love quick projects that can be completed easily on an evening, while the "men of the house" are watching football or other boring sports. When I realised that my bulky shaped sun glasses don't fit in any regular glasses case, I had the bright idea to make one myself.

So I took some yarn from my stash and without a particular pattern, I started with a chain of 22 and worked double crochet stitches into a scarf-like shape until it was long enough to fit in the glasses when folded.

The elastic of one of my pearly hair baubles was worn out, but the pearl beads were too good to throw away, so I started using some of them as decoration and added crochet flowers, frilly trim and cord. Finished! Overall this project took me about 2 hours to complete.

This is a great project for a beginner, and you can use your own imagination when it comes to colour, yarn type and decoration. All I'd suggest is using a yarn for needles up to 4mm; thicker yarns would make the glasses case too bulky. Double crochet stitches make the case material nicely stiff, offering more protection for contents.

Yarn used: Sirdar Balmoral

Shade 476, Damask, and 487, Royal Purple, for flowers, trim and cord

Crafty Crochet: Pen Holder

Spring has finally arrived, and I'm finding it harder to continue knitting the black sleeveless jumper I started a few weeks ago; I want to work with happy colours, not dark and depressing black. I've been looking through my knitting magazines to select my next project, and until I find something suitable, I pass my crafty time with creating little things, like this crochet pen holder.

Making notebook covers is nothing new, but if you own notebooks too pretty to be covered, all you need is a pen holder. This way I no longer need to search for my pen, when I want to write something into my notebook, which used to happen frustratingly often. But not any more!

Crochet is the easiest way to create these nifty little holders; just start off with 7 chain stitches, join the round and keep on crocheting until it's long enough to hold the pen. Add crochet chains to top and bottom, so the holder can be tied to the notebook. The yarn used is for 4mm needles.

I kept the one I made simple, but if you make a pen holder for a plain notebook, why not embellish it with some embroidery, sequins, beads etc. And don't forget to send me some pics of your creations.

By the way, if you like the notebook pictured, you can find similar ones here:

Funky Notebooks & Journals