Crochet Squares

Just a very short post from me this week I'm afraid.  I started making my daughter's Wedding Dress today but I can't tell you much about it or show you any photos as we don't want her OH to see it before the big day!  I have to make a calico tuille first to get the fit right, which is what I have been doing today.  So far so good :)

We bought a new 'toy' this week!  A replacement pressure washer to clean patios and also clean the rendering.  There was an argument as to who would have a go first - like a couple of kids we were!!! See the difference it makes to the patio.  It is great fun and very satisfying :)

Crochet wise this week I have been working out a few squares for a Follow On Crochet workshop I am running next weekend.  I'm not too hopeful it will go ahead though as of the middle of last week there was only 1 person booked in!!  I know people leave it to the last minute to book but I still don't think we'll get enough by next week for it to run. Have a look at the squares anyway.

I love this fun popcorn square

This shows various ways of doing simple spike stitch

And this square uses a lot of loooong stitches

And a pretty flower square!

Before popping over to Handmade Monday at Lucy Blossom Crafts I'll leave you with a picture of my pretty Mother's Day cards from my daughters. I wanted to remember my Mum also, who passed away 22 years ago, so I lit a candle for her to make sure she was part of the celebrations too. 

 I hope you have all enjoyed your Mother's Day :)

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

Extreme Crochet Hearts

A very warm welcome to everyone out there! Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine :)  This is the first time I have linked up to We Did It Wednesday over at Sew Much Ado but lets hope it will be the first of many!

I would like to share some Extreme Crochet with you! 

What? I hear you ask. 

 Extreme crochet is using multiple yarns with a huge hook.

Taking crochet to the extreme - so to speak! 

Before I show you my latest creations I have listed links to my previous posts for those of you who are not already familiar with Fiddly Fingers.  

I hope you like what you see - Look out for Chester!!!

 http://www.fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/p/chester-extreme-crochet-cat.html

http://www.fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/experimenting-with-extreme-crochet.html

http://www.fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/chester-goes-topless.html

And now you've all caught up, take a look at my newest creations!

I'd finished this basket one evening and was wondering how to photograph it!

The following day a trip to the supermarket was a necessity and being a bit peckish (never a good time to go shopping!) I bought some hot cross buns - two packets actually (buy 1 get 1 free offer!).It was soon after this I had one of those 'ping' moments!  Hence the photo!

The basket is made using 20 strands of yarn and a 25mm hook.

If you click on the link below you will be able to see the size of the hook!

  http://www.fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html

You may be asking yourselves why I am making these?  Well as you will see from 'Chester the Extreme Crochet Cat' link.  It's all my sister-in-law's fault!!  I started with Chester, on a 12mm hook with 5 strands of yarn, then decided to try something a littler larger!  These are my experiements for workshops I will be running in the near future.  I need projects that can be completed within the day long workshop.  So far I have made a really big flower and a 2 round granny square seat pad (see link 'Experimenting with Extreme Crochet' as well as the basket above and heart below.  If you are interested in either workshops just (you guessed it!) click on the following links

 http://www.countesswearvillagehall.co.uk/vh/Home.html 

and

http://www.rowantreestudio.co.uk/workshopcalender.html

 Here is the latest addition to my experiments.

The photograph below shows the scale!

I thought this heart would make a lovely wall decoration and I even thought it would be handy to hang 'hooky' earrings on.

If you have any other ideas for me to create in extreme crochet please let me know and if I manage to make any I can put a link to your blog when I put up a picture.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Happy hooking!

X

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!

Knitted Wire Brooch Workshop - Countess Wear Village Hall

Hi there!  Happy Monday!

Have had a very busy weekend with my daughter's birthday.  She and her boyfriend cooked a meal for 16 on Saturday night.  Absolutely delicious :) Just managed to seat everyone at the dining table! Our other daughter and her boyfriend came to stay for the weekend too. So lots of fun, eating and drinking all weekend :)

Today I have been busy starting to think about the Knitted Wire Brooch Workshop I am running at Countess Wear Village Hall http://www.countesswearvillagehall.co.uk/vh/Courses.html  If you are interested in any of the courses on offer here, please contact them via the link to their website.

Here is the kind of brooch we will be making.   

I have started measuring out the wire so everyone can have a choice of colour.

Still a few more to go as we may have up to 12 crafters.

Glass pearls for the centre of the brooch.  Oooh which colours to order?

Would you believe that this has taken me all afternoon to sort out and I'm still not finished!

Chester

Unfortunately Chester has ground to a halt until I can decide what to stuff his arms and legs with!

I emailed a foam company to see if they could help with any waste bits of foam but they haven't got back to me yet!  Maybe I shall have to try somewhere else.

Taffy

Taffy is relaxing at the moment and having a fitting for his new boots, kindly being made for him by my daughter! The birthday weekend and Uni work seem to have got in the way though!  Should be finished soon hopefully.

Needle Felting

I've been having a play on something a little smaller than Chester recently!  This is a tiny needle felted picture which is a fraction under 2" square.  It is made completely from scraps of carpet yarn needle felted together.  It's not backed on felt or any fabric and was done using a single needle.  I really must invest in one of those multiple needles!  This is my first attempt at something like this so the picture was made up as I went along.  I shall have to see if I can find a few inspiring designs so I can try another one.

Ok, shall be at work for the next 3 days so not too much time for crafting :( boo hoo! but needs must.

Folksy

Just a last minute thought!  I've got a small shop on Folksy (only two items on there at the moment!) and am thinking of getting organised on the selling front and putting more items on.  If you've had any experience with Folksy or Etsy I would love to here how well your items sold or didn't as the case may be!

Thank you for taking time to read my ramblings, I've enjoyed my little chat with you all :)  I read, appreciate and reply to all comments you leave so please feel free to stop by for a chat.  

Bye, see you all again soon!

Busy, busy, busy!

Hello again
Washing's in the machine, washing up done, coffee made, just enough time to squeeze in a post.
I've had a lovely few days since my last post.  Over to friends on Friday night for a meal and drinks.  Had a really good night with ler....vly food and maybe a tad too much to drink?!
Recovery day on Saturday, comfort food to mop up the alcohol, walk in the fresh air with my hubby, visit to a textile exhibition at The Guild in Bovey Tracey not far from us http://www.britainsfinest.co.uk/attractions/attractions.cfm/searchazref/80001150DEVA where we met my brother in law and sister in law, and some crafting too.  A couple more brooches for the workshop and a little bit of french knitting (you'll be impressed with this photo!!!!!)

My first attempt at french kniiting.  Told you you'd be impressed.  Not sure what it will come in handy for but you never know!  Always good to add another skill to your list! Lol!

This is the outside edge of the latest brooch but unfortunately I cannot finish it as believe it or not out of the numerous beads I have in my stash, I haven't got any suitable for the centre!! Typical!  You can just see another brooch in the top left hand corner of this picture.

Another relaxing day on Sunday :)  Another walk where we bumped into some friends and all came back for tea and cakes by the fire! Followed by Sunday Roast and more crafting in the evening!! A perfect day.


Extreme Crochet
You may or may not remember that I am running 3 workshops, one of the others is Extreme Crochet http://www.countesswearvillagehall.co.uk/vh/Courses.html Crochet on Extreme hooks and using multiple strands of yarn at the same time.  I thought it may be interesting to be able to show people a larger item of crochet to encourage them onto the course, so they had some idea of what extreme crochet could look like.  My sister in law, Lime Green Lizzie, link to her website here http://www.limegreenlizzie.co.uk/ started crocheting Amineko cats (amigurumi) which really have a character of their own.  I thought it would be fun to make a large one of these, so this is what I started last night.  Have a look at the pictures you'll see just how high tech the process is!

This is how some of the yarn comes and I have learnt  from  previous experience NEVER to work straight from the skein unless you have a suitable holder - hence the very technical piece of equipment in the next picture!

Ta da!  I am using 5 strands of yarn in this project only 2 of them are on skeins, just as well I may not be able to fit 5 chairs in the lounge!

This is the base of the cat's torso - basically the cat's bottom!

A close up of the cat's bottom!

This is how the rest of the yarn comes.  I have to undo the  chain and choose  3 strands to add to the other two.  I change the colours all the time so he will be a multicoloured cat.

I'm using a 12mm hook with 5 strands of yarn for this project. Not too extreme really because I want the 'fabric' of the cat to be nice and firm without holes.
I'll keep you posted with my progress, if you search amineko in images on google you'll be able to see what the finished cat will look like.  I'm hoping his body will be about 3ft tall.  Not worked out what I shall stuff him with yet.  Answers on a postcard please!

Right, must get on with life.  Tesco this afternoon (yuk!)  Have a good few days any comments would be gratefully received. Look forward to hearing from you soon Bye!!!