Sweet Peas, Crystals & Intermittent Fasting...

I have before me today, a sea of crystals.... sparkling in the sunlight..

  I could sit for ages just looking at them whilst they catch the light and throw out pretty little rainbows.. but really I should get on because one of today's tasks is working on a commission for some bridal pieces (I do have a bridal tutorial in the wings so will hopefully share that later in the week)

Also so far this week I have been pinching out my sweet peas which I planted a few weeks ago and which have simply shot up!

3 weeks ago...

1 week later...

2 weeks later...

Today...eek!

I can't wait for them to flower - I absolutely love their feminine, papery petals and the delicious perfumed scent of them.  I haven't had much luck getting 'bought' ones established in our garden in the last few years so this year I am planting my own seeds and keeping my fingers crossed.  I haven't decided where I will actually put them yet but there are a few sunny spots to choose from... I will keep you updated on their progress.

'Pinched out' (hoping they grow a bit thicker now...)

My other big 'to do' this week is to try out intermittent fasting as a way of both loosing a couple of pounds (ermmm...ok.. several pounds!) and enjoying some of the additional health benefits it is said to give.  You only have to search for the popular 'Fast Diet' (aka the 5:2 diet) to see how people sing it's praises.  I've never been one for dieting really and I am a terrible sugar snacker (biscuits... easter choc etc) so I hope I am able to keep on the straight and narrow with this simple plan otherwise there's not probably not much hope! 

So, I started with a 'fast day' yesterday and almost managed the target cals for ladies (which I would have made it if it weren't for a couple of dizzy sugar lows...and I'm not into it to feel ill!)  Anyway, today is a 'normal day' so I am having a nice amount of food to fill me up but, I am also now mindful of curbing that sweet tooth so my next 'fast day' isn't too hard.  Right,  I'm off to make another cup of green tea while I play work with those crystals...

xxx

A rose for St George...

Happy St George's Day!

Last night I decided I would make a token craft gesture towards St George's Day with a crochet rose in lovely bright red cotton DK.  I wanted it to look a little Tudor-ish so slightly separated the petals as I worked.  

Anyway, I thought I would pop on a quick tutorial on how I made it...

To begin with you need to make a chain of about 38 then, in the 2nd chain from the hook begin to make a row of double crochets as the base for the petals. 

Turn the work and begin to make the petals as follows:
* 2ch and 1 tr in first dc
* 2 dtr in next dc
*1tr plus 1 htr in next dc.

That's the first 'rose petal'.  After that make a ss to next dc, ss to next dc and begin to make the next petal in it.  

Continue all the way to the last couple of dc which will give only you a 'half petal' but put add extra 2 x tr in the last one for the centre. 

Finish off leaving a long end for sewing the rose up.

Working from the end 'half petal', begin to roll the rose up...

Wrap all the way around to form a small rose..

Once you have the basic shape, use the long end to sew up underneath...

The last thing you need to do is stretch the petals slightly to space the stitches out (this is what I think gave it the more 'Tudor' rose look...)

Now you can simply add a pin to the back !

I am quite happy with the result and it's a good size to wear pinned to a lapel which is apparently a bit of a lost tradition.

Happy St George's Day!

xxx

The knitted Easter Hippy Hat & the Soldiers Buttons...

What fantabulous weather we are having this week!

Spring sunshine & warmth, along with the return of a burst of fresh colours in the garden always makes me feel inspired and, having been locked away sorting beads and various other have to do tasks for the last couple of months, I feel it's time to re-awaken the creative bloggyiness within and get making some new projects!

At the moment I love these gorgeous little 'Soldiers Buttons' flowers (as we call them in our family) which are abundant in our garden - proper name ' Kerria japonica pleniflora'...

I wanted to try and replicate their pretty golden fluffiness and somehow work them into a project. Making something similar was pretty simple - I got out my trusty flower loom, picked the smallest size circle and attached some orangey-yellow wool.. here's the step by steps..

Starting by attaching the thread to the side of the loom, you then begin to work the thread back and forth... 

Keep winding until you have gone all the way around... 

Because the flowers are fluffy, wrap the thread all the way around each peg  further two times..

Then use a piece of thread to sew back and forth between the loops across the middle in a star shape to secure the petals... 

Tie at the back and trim the wool ends... 

Carefully remove the flower from the loom...

Fluff it up a little... 

...and you now should have one cute 'Soldiers Button' flower!

Can you spot the fake flower?

After that I decided to knit a little 'hippy hat' egg cosy on which to put my little button flower..

Some green DK wool and a pair of retro size 4 knitting needles...

Cast on 20 stitches...

Work up 4 rows of rib (1 knit, 1 purl alternately along each row)..

Then begin stocking stitch rows (alternate knit row, then purl row) but knit 2 together at each beginning and end of row so the width of the piece decreases...

Keep decreasing...

Right down to the last few stitches...

Until the last stitch! Then cast off...

Leave a long wool end for stitching later.

Make a second side...

Place the two pieces with right-sides together then sew the first side seam up with one end of wool and the second side seam with the other end of wool.. 

Crochet the ends of the wool into chains..

Separate the end fibres of the wool with a bodkin..

A basic 'Hippy Hat'... so far so good...

Now just sew on the flower! 

It really doesn't take too long to whip one of these for a cute Eastery gift - they'd look great in all sorts of other colours too.

Happy Making :-)

Interruption to service...

Apologies for the interruption to blogging - life (and those darned beads...) have been getting a little in the way but there are lots of ideas floating around in my head and I'm really missing a bit of bloggy creativity so normal service will be resumed very soon :-)

Stay tuned !