Spiral Cowl

Hello, lovely ladies!  Thank you SO much for all your comments on my last post - and for all the name suggestions for my crocheted dolly.  It was VERY hard to pick - I really did like ALL of the ideas you gave me.  I've decided to call her Molly - it begins with 'M' (so goes with 'Mortimer'), and it rhymes with 'dolly' - perfect!  

Molly and Mortimer have had a whale of a time lately - they had the house to themselves for 3 whole weeks, while we were in the UK.  

We had a whale of a time, too!  We visited Simon's family in Devon, visited my parents in Staffordshire, spent a weekend on a narrow-boat (photos to come in another post), caught up with friends, went on two successful wedding-outfit-shopping expeditions, splashed out on lots of new hobby supplies, ate some yummy meals out, ate some yummy fish & chips in, worked our way through WAY too many Easter eggs, caught up on magazine-reading and TV-watching, and stocked up on essential UK food supplies - to last us until our next visit.  

As I haven't been at home, I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up-to-date with goings-on in our lovely crafty-blogging world (I cheated - my last few posts were scheduled).  I've missed reading about what you've all been up to, and feel very behind!  I'm looking forward to catching up this week.....

In the mean time, here's a quick show-and-tell.  I started this Spiral Cowl ages ago and, at last, it's finished.

I had to learn lots of new knitty things to make it, and the whole thing got ripped back more times than I can remember!  But I'm quite pleased with it now it's done.  There are a few little mistakes, but they're all hide-able if I wear the cowl the right way around.  Shhhhh! 

I think I may have to put it away until next winter, though.  It was 22 degrees here today, so I think that spring may be here at last - YIPPEEEEEEE!!!

Hugs to you all,

Carly

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Crocheted Dolly

Do you remember the crocheted monkey I made ages ago?  You can read all about him here.  He was my first ever finished crochet project – and got me ‘hooked’!!!  He’s been sitting on a chair in our living room, looking a bit lonely (and with nobody to play with when he comes to life at night – which, of course, he does).  So, I decided to make him a little pal.

I made my monkey by following the brilliant Annaboo’s House crochet-a-long.  Sarah’s super CAL gives instructions for making a monkey, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a bear and a doll.  So, this time, I decided to make a little dolly.

She was a bit trickier than the monkey – especially the hair!  I spent HOURS making her ‘wig’, and then HOURS more trying to make her two (level) pigtails and tie ribbons neatly in them!  She also required some clothes (it’s still pretty chilly in Düsseldorf, after all).  I followed the dolls’ dress tutorial that Sarah suggested in the CAL, which you can find here.  It wasn’t complicated – just a little bit fiddly.  I made it reversible – red with white dots on one side, and blue with bigger white spots on the other.  Of course, she likes the red side best!

And here she is, all finished:

  

And here she is with her best pal, Mortimer:

  

They have lots of fun together!  They like to watch movies together and play on the wii, after we’ve gone to bed.

 

I haven’t given her a name yet.  Do you have any good ideas???

Hugs,

Carly

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CAL Monkey

Thank you for all your sweet comments on my last post.  I’m glad you appreciated our silly Jubilee antics!!!

I have to admit that there wasn’t TOO much crafting going on while we were away.  With all the preparations for out ‘Open House’ party, I’d been ridiculously busy with my sewing before our trip, and so I decided to give myself a bit of a break for a few days.

BUT, you know me.....  imposing a TOTAL crafting ban on myself (even for just a couple of days) would have been IMPOSSIBLE!!!  So, I took along my CAL monkey.  And what a fun and relaxing holiday project it was! 

Before we left, I’d made his head: 

And I’d given him a body and some legs:   

While we were away, I made all his other body-parts:

And I sewed them on.  The day we got back from Center Parcs, we had our new IKEA sofa and chair delivered.  My little monkey was ALMOST as excited as I was about this grand event, and INSISTED on having his photo taken sitting on the new chair:

For my first non-granny-square crochet project, I was pretty pleased with him.  The only problem was that his head was a bit wibbly-wobbly.  To resolve this, I crocheted him a little red scarf:

Can you tell what a poser he is???  He loves to work it in front of the camera!!! 

Now he has his little scarf, his head doesn’t keep lolling to one side, and he looks like a real dandy!!!  I’ve named him ‘Mortimer’.  I think it reflects his personality..... and it begins with ‘M’!!! 

I know that my crocheting looks a bit odd.  I wasn’t aware I was doing something not-quite-right until it was pointed out to me.  Now I need to work out how to do it properly.  Then I need to get me some pretty-coloured yarn.  Then I’m going to crochet a whole stack of little monkeys.....  Thank you SO much, Sarah!!!  You were the BEST teacher, ever!!!

If you haven’t entered already, there are only a couple of days to go until my GIVEAWAY closes (on Monday night).  So, if you’d like a chance to win a super book and some Crafted by Carly goodies, take a quick look at this post.....

Wishing you all a wonderful (and sunny) weekend.....

Carly

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Grannies Galore

Last month, I excitedly did a ‘show and tell’ of my first ever crocheted granny square.  Well, like with most new crafty activities I try, I'm now well-and-truly addicted!!!

And, as with all my other crafty activities, one of my favourite parts of the process is putting together the colours.  How many different combos could I conjure up from 7 colours of yarn, using 4 for each square?  Well, I could work in out precisely.  But I think it’s adequate to just say LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS! Yippeeeeee!!!

So far, I’ve made 13.  Here are some of my favourites:

I still haven’t decided 100% on what I’m going to do with all my grannies.  In my head, I'm picturing a big, colourful blanket.  But I’m going to need a fair few more if I stick to that plan.  I think I’ll just keep on making them until I get bored, and see how far I get.....

By the way, can anyone explain (or point me towards a good video that can explain) what I should do with the ends after I cut them and pull them through?  I’m just wrapping them around and around, but I think there must be a neater, ‘proper’ way of doing it.  I’d be really grateful for any tips!

Right now, I’m also working on another crochet project.  It’s very exciting indeed, as it’s my first try at crocheting something other than grannies!  I’m joining in with Sarah’s wonderful crochet-a-long over at Annaboo’s House.  If you enjoy crocheting, or if you’re a beginner (like me), and fancy trying something fun, you should definitely join in!  By playing along, you can make either a cat, a monkey or a doll.  Can you guess which one I’m working on???

Off to grab my hook and do another granny square.....

Hope you're all enjoying lovely, warm days and beautiful, blue skies wherever you are!  

Carly

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