Chester the cat Stash Buster!

I have just come across the February Stash Link Party over at Linda's Crafty Corner and was wondering what I could enter.  I often find you never quite have the correct colours to match or contrast or the right yarn, to use up your stash so the stash just seems to get bigger and bigger!! Do you feel the same?

Well I do hope the stash buster I'm going to show you will solve all your problems in one go!!  Let me introduce you to Chester the cat.  I made him about 3 years ago now and he is very much part of the family.

He is made using Axminster carpet yarn which I salvaged from a weaver.  Once the cones of yarn have been used they cannot be put on the loom again as there is never enough yarn left to complete another carpet so they get discarded.  They are perfect for doing Jumbo Crochet but as you can imagine I have a lot left in my stash too!!  Click on Chester's name and you will be able to read all about how I made him and what started the idea off.  I used 5 strands of yarn at a time, using grey as the base and every time I ran out of a colour I just added a different one!

 Chester Goes Topless!

Chester has had lots of adventures so if you would like to read about what he gets up to click on any of the links in this post or just type Chester into the search box at the top on the left hand side.

A Birthday Surprise for Mum!

Ooops! Chester's friend Taffy is joining in now.  What mischief have they been up to?

It's about time these two little mischief makers had another adventure.  Can you think of anything they may like to try?

Thank you for reading and I hope this post has given you an idea of
what you could do with your stash!!

That's if you have any left, of course, after entering the February Stash Link Party!

Bye from me
and bye from Chester too!

x

Chester at Lustleigh Spring Show

You will be pleased to know that with all your help and comments last week, Little Ted now 

has a name!

Let me introduce you to ......

wait for it ....

I whispered a few names in his ear and he seemed to like Hugo so ... Hugo it is!

Hugo just seemed to suit him for some inexplicable reason! 

I am so grateful to you for your wonderful suggestions, thank you. 

I really couldn't have done it without you :)

Chester at Lustleigh Spring Show

As far as I can tell, Chester had a very pleasant time at Lustleigh.  He was all by himself this time but being a male he doesn't give much feedback!!!!  Here are just a few pictures for you. 

For those very observant ones amongst you, you may have noticed I have altered Chester's eyes slightly.  I have attached them with velcro this time so I can position them looking in different directions.  I think his extreme crochet flowers were equally as good as those on show, don't you?

I apologise to everyone last week as I had a quick peak at what you were all up to but I didn't have a lot of free time to place many comments.  We've been decorating you see, it seems to eat up the hours!

I shall aim to remedy that this week! 

Popping over to Handmade Harbour very soon. 

See you there!

Oh! Just one last thing

Now have to spend the evening re-threading the heading tape on a new set of curtains I bought from Dunelm Mill.  First pair were tied.  Only when I started to gather the second pair, and didn't seem to be getting anywhere   -  did I twig they weren't attached!!!!!!!!!! Doh!

Thank you Dunelm !!!!!

Extreme Crochet Teeny Weeny Update!

I'm going to need your help for this post!  Nothing too taxing though I assure you :)

First of all Chester is going on an outing next weekend!  He has been asked to appear at the Lustleigh Horticultural Society's Spring Show! Ooooh Errrrr!!

I thought it may be appropriate for Chester to take some flowers along!  Well I'm beginning to have second thoughts!

Those of you who know me may have already seen my extreme crochet flower, so I thought if I did a few more to look like real flowers - Bob's your uncle!  So to speak!

So here's my daffodil.  Difficult to show the scale, but easily as large as the blue one if not slightly bigger.

The trouble is I need 2 or 3 more for Saturday and I'm trying to decorate the house too, and go to work - help!  Time is not on my side!

Wish me luck!

I'll let you know how I get on :)

Now, to the bit I need your help for!! 

You may remember I showed you a teeny weeny bear I was making.  Well he is now finished and here he is :)

I photographed him next to a primrose in the garden to give him a sense of scale.

And a few more just for good measure!

The trouble is at the moment he is known as Little Ted.  But, I think he needs a BIGGER name as he is such a tiny teddy!  

What do you think?

I thought if I asked you all nicely, you may just come up with one or two suggestions?

Do you think you can help me with this?

I'm off to give some thought to my next extreme crochet flower and to have a quick peak over at Handmade Monday

Have a good week all of you and do pop back next week to see how I get on

Bye x

Update on Fair and a Round Square!

Hello again

I wish these Handmade Mondays didn't come around so quickly.  You start the week off with plenty of determination to get a mountain of things done, only to get to the weekend with a list longer than you started with!  And of course all this rain isn't helping!

Well, moan over, I thought I had better update you on last weekend's fair as so many of you left such lovely comments.  After the first day (Sunday) it got progressively better.  More signs were put up and we had activities going on inside and outside the marquee.  As you all predicted, Chester was a real crowd puller, even if people weren't interested in crochet they still wanted to know all about him.  I lost track of the amount of times I told people what he was stuffed with and how long he took to make!  He had his photo taken with another bear to go back to nursery school with them!  And the nursery school bear had his photo taken 'doing' some extreme crochet!

Lots of people had a go at extreme crochet and I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that quite a few men can crochet too.  I managed to photograph one having a go!

I was overwhelmed by the interest in the huge balls of yarn I had wound.  It was my daughter's suggestion to market them like this and I'm so glad I did (I owe her one, but don't tell her!).  I had to go home on the Monday night and wind 5 more.  I only had two left at the end of the fair! (Sorry for the grainy picture!)

So, it was a totally brilliant weekend after all.  I met lots of interesting people, apart from the interest in the extreme crochet many customers were also interested in the workshops and the atmosphere between stall holders was very friendly.  I made new friends and caught up with past ones too, a far better weekend than I had ever imagined it could be.  A big thank you to everyone who came to visit Fiddly Fingers, I hope you all enjoyed the fair.

A round square basket!

I decided I would do something a bit different and make a square basket, after all I couldn't find many square crochet baskets on the internet so I thought an extreme crochet square basket would be a little more interesting.

Well, as you can see the base started off square!

But after the first round things started going round too!  A bit of a flop really, may as well have done a round one!!  Maybe the fact I couldn't find many pictures of square crochet baskets on the internet should have been a warning!!

Anyway, back to the drawing board! Next time I'll try crocheting each side separately , although probably not for a while as I need to be in the right mood!  I've moved on to a small 'v' stitch rug now, another trial so we'll see how this one turns out.

I'd love to hear any ideas for other items you think may work well in extreme crochet.  I'll give anything a go!

Hope you all have a good week, I'm hoping not to end up with webbed feet by the end of it!!!!

Bye for now!

x

Dartington Food (and Craft) Fair

Hello everyone

I'm shattered!  But was determined to link up with Handmade Monday today.

Liz and I have been to the Dartington Food Fair today and will be there tomorrow and Tuesday as well.  Hence why I am shattered!

This is my first outing with my extreme crochet hooks and huge balls of yarn!  My main purpose for this fair is to promote the workshops I'm hoping to run.  As you can see Chester has pride of place and was a BIG hit all day long.  Why has he got his feet in a bag? I hear you say!  Well it was only raining slightly but we found the water ran under the marquee wall and collected in small puddles.  So the reason for this bag is to keep poor Chester's feet dry.  Perhaps tomorrow I should take some wellies for him :)

I was very pleased with the interest people showed in the huge hooks and the balls of yarn.  The basket which can be made from one of the huge balls is visible in front of the crochet hooks.  The bags I made, quite a while ago now, are hung on the front of my table as I had very little room.  The one on the left is in Astrakhan stitch, the grey one in the centre is Crocodile stitch and the duffle bag on this end is in spike stitch.

Here is Chester sporting his Jubilee bow tie.  You can just spot a 'normal' amineko and Taffy in the picture too!  Luckily Taffy had his boots on!

Here is Liz's stall, with all the lovely things she makes.  Her Jubilee bags (on the top shelf) are wonderful and you can just pick out a couple of Jubilee cushions on the table in the front l/h corner.

As you can see from the above picture, I laid out chairs so anyone could have a go at the extreme crochet.  It was very popular, even for people who hadn't crocheted before.

We had an enjoyable day although it was pretty quiet really.  Apparently there will be more signs up for tomorrow and something going on immediately outside the marquee to encourage people up our way as I think the problem was there was a large demonstration tent just down below us.  People saw that and didn't realise the craft tent was behind it.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better, although I met some lovely people today and made some interesting contacts.

For anyone who saw Fiddly Fingers at the fair today, I would value any comment as it was wonderful to meet you all.  Thank you for dropping by :)

And ... for those of you who are nowhere near Devon, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what went on!
I will let you know how the next couple of days go at the beginning of my blog next week.

I'm off to relax now as I have a fairly early start again tomorrow.  I will have a peek at your blogs over the next few days as I am looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to.  Thanks for reading hope you all have a good weekend x

An Extreme Wind Up

Hello everyone!

What gorgeous sunny weather we are having at the moment.  Doesn't it make you feel so much better?

I have been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently as I have been very busy trying to get ready for a 3 day food and craft fair over the Jubilee weekend.  I am going to be using the fair mainly to promote the workshops I will be running soon.  So in order to get people's attention, I am encouraging people to come along and have a go at extreme crochet.  Therefore I haven't really been making much, but I have been winding balls of yarn by the bucket load!!

I have been trying to design some Extreme Crochet kits to sell at the fair, this is what has been taking up my time and unfortunately I have come to the decision that time wise it is just not viable.  I was going to include a pattern, a 25mm wooden crochet hook (hand made by my OH) and 20 balls of yarn in the kit.  Well winding and labeling all the balls took ages to get them looking professional, on top of that you have the time spent making the hook, and the cost of the packaging!  So all in all what seemed like a good idea at the time turned out to be too time consuming, but it took me at least a week if not more to work this out!!

,

After much discussion we are still going to offer the handmade crochet hooks, the yarn and the pattern, but I will be selling them separately.  Instead of 20 small balls of yarn I have been busy winding huge balls with 20 strands at a time, this reduces the labeling from 20 down to 1 and the winding is so much quicker.  Rather than measuring the length of the yarn on each ball I have weighed each one at 500g.

I added my cup of coffee just to give you an idea of scale!

So as you can see, my link to Handmade Monday this week isn't strictly correct as I haven't actually managed to make anything over these past couple of weeks!!!  But I hope you will forgive me this time :)

To finish off my post I thought you may like to see a photo of Chester that I took a while back (both him and Taffy have been a bit neglected recently :( )

I think you'll agree - he looks such a cool cat!

See you all again soon, have a good week and enjoy the sunshine! 

Alison 

x

Pretty Bits and a Crochet Workshop!

Hello All

Well here we are at another Handmade Monday! Don't the weeks just fly by?  We've had a bit of rain for the garden and a few lovely bits of warm sunshine in the sheltered spots, so hopefully you all got the bit you wanted when you wanted!  I hope this next week turns out to be a really good one for everyone, not just weather wise!

I was really pleased to be a Friday Guest Blogger over at Christmas Pie Crafts last week so if you haven't already why not pop over and have a look.  You'll be able to see what Chester and Taffy cooked up between them!  Ooh and I was also awarded the Versatile Blogger Award, very exciting as I have never been awarded anything like this before!

I meant to share this make with you for a while now but kept forgetting, so before I tell you about the workshop I ran on Saturday, have a quick peek at this!

I used a pattern from Attic24.  She makes some lovely things!  I don't think this one is quite as pretty as Lucy's but it was using carpet yarn and the colours aren't quite so bright.  I made it just after I finished Chester as I wanted something quick to do.

I've just started making Lucy's Blooming Flower Cushion, this is as far as I've done but I'll keep you posted on progress!

Ok now to the workshop.  It was a one day workshop at Countess Wear Village Hall.  A lovely group of ladies who used a tremendous amount of concentration, punctuated by chocolate mini rolls to keep the blood sugar levels up!

Here's the hall set up ready for the students

And of course, Chester had to come along to supervise again!

Very busy!  Not a chocolate mini roll in sight - just a healthy looking apple!

Just a few of the projects completed by some of the ladies.

(Wonky photo - can't get it to turn around!)

I was really pleased with what all the ladies achieved, a couple really struggled with wrapping the yarn around their fingers (something I remember finding difficult when I first started) and during the morning I was beginning to wonder whether they would ever crack it.  They had a lot of information to take in, all in one day.  But fear not!  Everyone managed a granny square and some even went on to do a little bag and a flower. 

I had lovely comments from some of the ladies and thought I would like to share them with you.  It makes it all worthwhile!!

Excellent day!

I learnt absolutely loads and made 2 items!

Thrilled I could even read a pattern!

Very enjoyable course.

Clear instructions.

Thank you.

Great class!

Very interesting and informative!

Very patient teacher.

Would come again!

I think you'll agree I couldn't ask for better comments. 

Thank you to all the ladies who attended for making this a very enjoyable workshop!

Hope you have managed to take a look at what Taffy and Chester cooked up for me, they really did get in a bit of a mess!  I have a few other photos of Chester I know you're going to love but that's for another blog.  Hope you all have a really good week!

See you soon!

x

Chester Goes Topless!

Hello Everybody!

I expect you have all had a wonderful weekend with wall to wall sunshine?  I know I have!  A wonderful walk around Salcome on the Kingsbridge Estuary, with 270 degree views from Snapes Head up, down and along the river.  Absolutely stunning!  And a day in the garden today topped off with a few G &T's in the late afternoon sunshine (wine ran out!!).  Ignore any typing errors please!

Well Chester was enjoying the sunny weather too!  He fancied a drive out in Rob's Mazda with the top down.

Come on then Chester, start her up!

Oh dear Chester!  Don't like the look of all that smoke!  Better make sure there is nothing wrong before you drive off!

Have you checked the

oil?

 Better book it in for a service when you get back!

Not looking too bad now!

Have a safe journey Chester!

Byee!

Just in case any of you are wondering who Chester is, I have written a page 'Chester the Extreme Crochet Cat' on my blog explaining how and what he is made from.  If you click on this link it should take you straight to it http://www.fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/p/chester-extreme-crochet-cat.html I am using him to promote Extreme Crochet workshops.  If you would be interested in holding a workshop or attending one here in Devon please contact me via my blog or email me at alisonjoyw@hotmail.co.uk

One more thing! I am linking up to Handmade Monday over at http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/ why not pop over to have a look at all the other interesting blogs.

It looks like most of us are going to have a good week weatherwise, so lets hope it lives up to expectations otherwise! 

Can't wait for tomorrow! Am going to collect another car load of yarn for even more Extreme Crochet!  Oooh! So excited! Can't wait to see what colours I'll get!  Better than Christmas!!!

Have a good week!

Talk soon!

xxx

A Fantastic Workshop

Hi there!

I have had a fantastic day today and thought I would share it with you all!

I ran the Knitted Wire Brooch workshop at Countess Wear Village Hall, Exeter, Devon today http://www.countesswearvillagehall.co.uk  and I am very pleased to say a brilliant day was had by everyone.   A lovely group of ladies, 8 in total, with lots of chat and laughter and some wonderful brooches made by the end of the day.

I took Chester with me today, to promote the two crochet workshops in April.  He managed to squeeze into the front seat on this journey!  He didn't look too comfy but didn't complain!

I arrived early to set up well in advance.  

Here is the hall, set up ready for use.

Chester 'supervised' the table with the beads and wire and the ever important tea and coffee!

He seems to have a certain 'air of importance' about him, don't you think?

Wire and bead colours chosen, we finally got down to business!

Here are a couple of brooches with the outside edge completed
and before the centre was added.  Looking good so far!

At this point we stopped for lunch and how lucky we were!  The sun was shining and there was a little sheltered spot just outside the hall door, perfect for a picnic!  Not the most scenic position (hence no photos) but good to feel the sun on your face.

After lunch, fat, full and drowsy after our session in the sun, we pressed on with the centre part of the brooch and finally got around to sewing all the components together.

Here are all the finished brooches.  Don't they look fantastic?

You may notice there are only 7 brooches but there were 8 people on the workshop!  One lady had been ill previously and this was her first day out.  Unfortunately during the afternoon she was feeling unwell again and decided to go home.  She just needed to sew everything together so took it with her to complete when she felt better.  We all wish her well and hope she starts feeling well again soon.

From the above photos I think you will all agree everyone produced a very unique brooch, some of which were being given as presents.

I'm about to blow my own trumpet now as I had wonderful comments from all the ladies, with requests for some more workshops (which I shall work on as soon as I can).  I hope you don't mind but I feel so proud and would love to share them with you.  I've listed them below!

"A very well paced day - very relaxing.  

Instruction sheet clear and plenty of personal attention"

"Great to learn a new skill"

"Great course

Great lady

Great way to spend a Sunday

Thank you"

"Fascinating day learning a new craft"

"Knowledgeable tutor, friendly group. Good size class.

Great to produce something in a day.

Lovely selection of colours of beads and wire.

A really enjoyable, creative day.

Thank you.

Look forward to further classes with Alison."

"Really enjoyed the knitted wire corsage course.

Many thanks"

"A lovely day - I'm so pleased with the end result.

Thank you"

The delightful ladies showing off their unique creations!

Thank you to all the lovely ladies who joined me for the workshop and for your wonderful comments. 

 You really did make my day!

Alison x

Hello Chester!

Hello, hello.  I'm over the moon and really excited. Chester is finally finished! I bet you are all dyeing to see a picture of him?  Well just hang on one minute! I have to get the important stuff out of the way first.

Favecraftsblog are offering the chance to one lucky blogger to feature in their newsletter.  All they ask is for a mention, so please visit their site to see what they are all about  http://www.favecraftsblog.com/about/ and hopefully Chester and I may feature.

Before you have your first peek at the finished Chester, I would like to mention the creator of the pattern.  It was taken from a book called 'Hello my name is Amineko' written by Nekoyama.  My sister-in-law http://www.limegreenlizzie.co.uk/ started making Amineko first of all and this gave me the inspiration to try an extreme crochet version of Amineko.  Hence Chester was born!

Ok!    A drum roll please!    Here he is!  

I am really pleased with him.  He took me long enough!  I've been making him now since Christmas on and off, more on than off really. It took me all day yesterday to add his nose, mouth, eyes and ears. This photo was taken very quickly yesterday evening before we went out. I finished him at 6pm and we were due at friends down the road at 6.30pm.  Not bad timing really!

I think he's going to be quite a character!  

Here are some facts about him.

He's about 6'5" tall!

His legs and arms took a whole single duvet to stuff them!

He's put on weight since I started making him ... his waist is 50" now!

His first journey was rather undignified I'm afraid!  He wouldn't actually fit in the back seat of the car.  We had to put the seats down to fit him in the boot!  

Well I hope you like him and please keep an eye out for him, to see where he gets to in the future.  

If anyone is interested in an extreme crochet workshop, I have a couple going on over the next few months in the Devon area and I would be happy to travel a reasonable distance if a group of you fancied having a go.  Why not email me on alisonjoyw@hotmail.co.uk and have a chat, I'm sure we can arrange something.

One last thing, I am linking up to Handmade Monday over at http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog so why not pop over and see what other craft bloggers are up to.

I'm also linking to http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/ who I recently stumbled upon, so why not have a look at them too?
If you like what you see, why not sign up to my blog, I look forward to reading yours too!

Bye for now x
Happy crafting!