I haz a win \o/

I got an email yesterday to say I had won joint first prize in a beading competition on Cut Out & Keep. I'm not totally sure what the prize is but I'm just so chuffed to have won something :) My winning entry was my tutorial for a crocheted wire bracelet (piccy of one I made for myself below).



I've mailed back with my address so hopefully a prize will be winging its way to me. I can't wait!

I've also had a fun and cheap day today visiting some of the charity shops in the Fleetsville area. They're a bit of a stroll but usually well worth the walk. Today I picked up a new work bag for £1.99, some more beads and chain for £2 and a book by Joanne Harris. I'm pretty chuffed with the bag. Its just the right size for work and has lots of handy compartments for my phone, purse and other assorted stuff I carry round with me.



On Friday I was also able to pick up some more seeds for the plot. I've picked up some cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, lavender and courgettes. They should go nicely with the ones I fished out of the shed last week. I found tons of squash and pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, parsnips and onions (red and white). I just need to get my arse in gear now and do some digging and weeding so they are ready to go in when the time comes. Fingers crossed it will stay dry.

Crocheted cuffs

I've been having fun and getting back into crocheting again. I've been having a go at making some crocheted cuffs and have been using some of the inchies I made before Christmas and using them as details on the cuffs. Its also giving me an opportunity to use some of the buttons I made last year too. Heres the first one I made. I'm pretty chuffed with the results :)




I've also been reading a lot too and I'm currently reading Maya by Jostien Gaardner. I read Sophies World last year and wasn't majorly impressed considering the hype it got but then read the Solitaire Mystery and loved it. I also read Through the Glass Darkly by him just before Christmas and that wasn't all that but Maya seems far more along the lines of the Solitaire Mystery and I'm enjoying this one far more. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops.

I've also been down the plot at the weekend. I mainly wanted to pick up the seeds we had stored in the shed and just assess any snow damage. I was pleasantly surprised. All the weeds seem to have been pretty much killed off so there's a lot of tidying to do. Most of the veg and herbs we had growing over the winter seem to have survived. Even the Strawberries weren't too bad. They'd got a bit water logged because we'd left them in a tray but once I tipped the smelly water off they looked okay. I can't wait for a few dry weekends so we can get down and do some digging and planting. Roll on Spring :)

Folksy Kat & RIP Ari Up

I've been a bit on the fluey side this week :( This hasn't stopped me creating though and I have been merrily making inchies. I'm making them on a festive theme to use in Christmas cards. I loved making them for the swap earlier in the year so I thought I'd make some more for myself. If you're not familiar with them they are roughly an inch square (hence the name) and can be made from any material and are tiny pieces of art. For the swap we were sewing them but I've seen loads on flickr since which are made from paper and other craft materials so I think its pretty much anything goes. I've been sewing my latest ones and so far have made 7 cards from them :) I'm aiming to do a minimum of 1 a day.
I've also been busy setting myself up in business over on Folksy.com. Woodle Doodle Dandy Designs is now up in business so please go over and take a peak :) I'm thinking of eventually swapping over completely at some point in the future. Dawanda is a great site and there are some beautiful handmade items on there, I was just struggling with getting my head around pricing everything in Euros. On Folksy its all in £s so I'm getting along with that much easier. Also being UK based I'm guessing that the customers will also be UK based and this may help to increase sales.
I've also been doing a bit more crochet and I'm mid way through a crocheted scarf. Its the biggest thing I've attempted but I'm really enjoying it. I'm thinking of making it as a Christmas pressie so I'll have to see how it turns out. The plan is that I make quite a few of my pressies this year. That way I keep costs down but with the added bonus (I hope) that my pressies will be original and more personal.
Also on a sadder note, I spotted that Ari Up from the punk band the Slits had died. If you don't know them, they were an all girl band fronted by Ari. She was just 14 when they got signed up and they did more for equality in the music scene that the Spice Girls could have ever dreamed and they were doing it a good couple of decades earlier. The pic above is a sketch I did a couple of months ago of Ari so I thought I'd post it with this.

Latest Makery

After having a bit of a shift around of furniture and bits I've made myself a new making area in the living room. The shelf next to it now has all my craft books and I have my own little desk. I also picked myself up a cheap lamp for a tenner so I have some decent light to work by. Its great and has got me inspired to finish up some of my half finished bits and bobs.
The bits I've finished include my cowel scarf (which I started over a year ago!), my little crocheted purse, a crocheted coaster and a few bats pendants for my shop :)

Meet Crazy Crochet Lady

I'm getting seriously into crocheting at the moment. So much so that I've purchased myself some more supplies. Check out my new crochet hooks that came in the post today. They came from a German Company via Amazon. I'm so chuffed and can't wait to give them a try. I also picked myself a cool crochet book from my library so I'm considering taking the next step and actually following a pattern. Most of the bits I've made up till now have just been playing around with bits of wool and making it up as I go along. This book I've borrowed has lots of small projects like bags and belts so I'm hoping that there will be something in there that I can have a go at :)
I've also been making some more pendants in time for Halloween. They're in a mix of different colours with little bats on them (of course). I shall get posting pics of them too when I've got some new ribbon to hang them on. If you want a sneaky peak then you should be able to see them in the flickr slideshow on the right side of my main blog page.

All things wooly

Finally after about 18 months I have got round to finishing a scarf I was knitting for myself. I'm really chuffed with how it came out, especially as I'm a bit crap at knitting. I, unfortunately haven't inherited my mums knitting skills and I just look awkward, but I get there in the end \o/. I've also been inspired by Violetta's cowl scarf so I think I'm going to do the same and put some big buttons on it. I also hate it when scarves unravel themselves and you keep having to rewind it so this should fix that problem \o/.
I'm also crocheting more and have finally got round to using some wool I picked up from a craft fair last year. I'm making a small purse so will post pics when I've finished that.

Odds & Ends

Earlier this year I voted in a competition to choose the best Garden Centre in the Country. It felt a little liked I'd fast tracked my way to pension day as most of the folk filling in the forms were a tad older than me. I voted for Burstons as they sell yummy cake, have an excellent selection of information leaflets (one of which saved our Cyclamen) and the staff are always helpful and seem to know a thing or two about gardening (always helpful :) ). A couple of days a go I got a thank you letter from Burstons and some vouchers :) so armed with my vouchers we paid them a visit today and picked ourselves up a few bits and bobs for the plot. We now have a Budleia which I've wanted for ages, so tomorrow I'm going to head down the plot and attempt to plant it. I want to put it near the shed so it grows across the shelter out the front. The plan is that as it grows it will hang down and make the area smell nice and we'll have lots of butterfly visitors :) We also picked up an odd looking plant for the balcony. The leaves are corkscrew like and long and we figured it looked pretty cool and was coming home with us. We also picked up some feed for our Orchid and some more composty stuff so it could be repotted. The best bit was, with our voucher, we only spent just over a tenner :)
I've also been making a few other bits of jewellery to put in the shop. I got some really cool wool a while back from one of the charity shops in Borehamwood. I've been playing around with it recently and have made a necklace. I'm really chuffed with how its come out. I've also been playing with some fringed wool and having a bit of a crochet.

New stuff in my shop

Just a brief post today as I've been a bit of a slack blogger of late and I'm trying to remember to post things regularly again.
Just thought I'd share with the world some of my wierd and wonderful creations. I've been crocheting some odd new bracelets for the shop using mohair wool and pony beads. They're a bit odd but I think I like them so I've stuck them up online and I'll see what happens. I figure the worse that can happen is they don't sell, but no harm done.
I've been trying to get back my card making mojo. I haven't made any bday cards for ages and I've forgotten how I used to make them. I've made all my xmas cards for this year so I'll get writing them soonish and posting them. I got my first one though the post the other day but it wasn't signed. A little curious as it had long message inside with lots of personal stuff. I think I have an idea who it is so I'll have to hold my hands up and send an email asking.

Charity Shopping

I had a nice day out today strolling round some of the local charity shops. I picked up a really nice jumper from Oxfam for £4.99. Its has purple and light blue stripes - very nice and I'm wearing now. I also got a mini sewing kit for 15p which had a needle threader which is what I was after as I broke the last one and probably the one before that too.
I also found a knitting shop which I didn't know was there :). I got myself a crochet book as I'm considering trying to follow a pattern. The one I got has some clothes in but some really simple projects too like a couple of scarfs and about 3 bags so I might give one of those a go when I finish my scarf.
I also finally got round to parcelling up my dinosaur swap for Ashley. I was holding back for a little bit to see if I heard from her. No joy as yet but she's apparently just become a mum again for the 3rd time so I don't mind taking a bit of a risk. I'll send it out Monday and hopefully she'll receive it and it might remind her of CO&K.
I've had some money for my birthday so I've been spending a bit of that on new bits for my DS. I bought the Lego Indiana Jones game and the 100 Classic Books. I'm currently reading The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgeson Burnett. Even though I've seen the film a few times I'm loving the book. I thought at first that reading a book through the DS would be tricky but it actually works well. I love the fact that you can flip over the page using the touch screen. You also use bookmarks to mark your page. Its very easy to use and actually makes reading a bit easier as there are less words to a page so you feel like your flipping through pages at a pace of knots which is pretty satisfying. Also 100 books for £15 - not bad value. I can't see myself reading Shakespear but you never know.

Win Win Win \o/

I'm pretty chuffed with myself as I have won 2 tickets to a craft event on my birthday \o/. I enter a lot of the free giveaways in some of the crafty magazines and the other week I found out I'd won these tickets. I was a bit sceptical as I couldn't remember entering this giveaway but the tickets turned up the other day and sure enough they are real :). The tickets are for the Knitting & Stitching Show 2009.
Even cooler still.... my ticket for Peter Murphy (who I'm going to see play live on my birthday) turned up yesterday too :) That should be very cool as he's advertised as playing Bauhaus stuff as well as his solo stuff. I can't wait!
I've finished my dinosaur swap bits and bobs but I've been a bit on the slow side getting it sent out. Ashley, who's my partner for this swap has just had her 3rd baby so I should imagine she has her hands pretty full at the moment so probably isn't too worried. I'll get it sent Wednesday. I hope she likes what I've made. I've made dinosaur earrings, a dinosaur keyring (I think its a triceratops), lizard necklace, bookmark and some stickers. I'm sure I made something else too but can't remember. I'll take some piccies before sending and post them later. The earrings and keyring were pretty fiddly to make - threading a jump ring through the tiny holes I'd made in the dinosaurs were pretty tough.
We've been harvesting more from the plot - some parsnips this time. They're a little small so could probably do with a bit longer in the ground but they look pretty good. We've also been given a beetroot and some kale to try. I've never had either (other than pickled beetroot) so I'm looking forward to trying them :)
I've also started on my crochet scarf from the other ball of multi coloured wool. The colours are more autumnal so it won't be as loud as the hat but hopefully it will turn out well. At least its easier.

If I can't keep a cat in my flat I'll keep one on my blog :)

I am now the proud owner of a virtual cat, a long haired silver tabby which I've named Sparticus. If anyone is reading this feel free to say hi, play with him and feed him :) Its a bit of silliness but its a close as I can get to having a cat where I live. I live right on a main road which doesn't seem to be compatible with cats and I don't want one which we keep indoors all the time as that seems uncatlike.
I also finally finished my crochet hat \o/. I've uploaded a pic here of my boyfriend modelling it :) It doesn't totally stand up to close inspection but I'm pretty chuffed with it. Especially as its my first proper attempt at crochet and I didn't use a pattern. I just kind of played around with what I'd learnt from youtube until it looked hatlike. Excuse the pun, but I'm well and truly hooked on crochet. It suits me more than knitting as you're not holding onto so many stitches and it feels more portable :) I look forward to creating more in the future.
I've eventually got back into sewing my dress. Thats such a long process though as the straps as incredibly long. I knew that in advance though as thats part of the secret of how infinity dresses work but it takes a long time to hem when your hand stitching. Quite relaxing though.
Also finished 'a spot of bother' by Mark Haddon. That was amazing. Really witty but moving too. The characters were all really likeable too. I'd definitely recommend to anyone. I'm reading 'Little Green Men' now but I can't remember who thats by.

Purple Stripy One Strikes Again \o/

At uni one of my nicknames was the Purple Stripy One. This was largely due to the big, purple, stripy jumper I used to wear most of the time. I was also a fan of stripy tights and had a couple of purple ones and they got worn a fair bit too. That however was some time ago. Purple stripiness has now reentered my life in the form of a new, mum-knitted, purple stripy hat :) Its very cool and will come in very handy for when the weather gets properly cold.
My multi-coloured, crochet hat is also coming on pretty well. I really need to get on and finish this, especially as it is so close now.
I've been working on a new swap the last few days. This time a zodiac themed swap where I'm crafting for a Capricorn again. I've got some ideas on the go and a nice piece of turquoise, which is apparently her birthstone, but its proving a real bugger to work into anything. This is largley due to its shape. Its kind of flat and wavy so isn't going easily into any necklace/pendant design so I'm thinking of getting some strong glue and making it into a ring. That means finding some ring bases though and I'm not sure there's anywhere nearby that sells those. Hmmmm.......
Off to my sisters wedding next weekend so need to sew the straps on the dress I bought a few months back for the occasion. Its really nice, an ivory colour with green, teal and orangy coloured circles all over it. It had really badly placed straps when I bought it though so I've moved those so it will be halter necked. The weather has been a bit nippy though so I hope I'm going to be warm enough in it :/ If not I do have a back up dress. A black one with bright orange swirly-circly things all over. I wore that to our staff Christmas dinner last year and its really comfortable and nice. I'll have to try the originally planned dress on and see how it feels.
My mobile contract was also up for renewal this month so I have a shiny new phone with cool camera. Its the new Nokia one with 5 mega pixal camera (not sure what that means but its apparently pretty good). I went to the new Butterfly World/Future Gardens place today and saw some amazingly beautiful butterflies so gave my new camera a bit of a test out. If I wasn't at work I could quite easily have stayed there all day watching the butterflies do their thing. They looked absolutely magical and so graceful. I hopefully got a few good pics so they will be posted online as soon as I can work out how to do that :)

In the red \o/

Horray for payday! \o/ For some reason this month has seemed especially long so I'm extremely relieved to have some cash in my account again. Probably going to Craftacular wasn't one of my wisest moves but it was really nice to see what other people are making. There were some really cute things out there, especially the sock monster (which I forgot to take a piccy off). Doh! Also some really nice jewellery. I didn't buy anything though but did find an art and crafts supply shop round the corner so stocked up on some more fimo. I also paid a visit to the Museum of Childhood Experience. That was just down the road from the hall Craftacular was being held in (in Bethnel Green) and was free admission. They had some very cool toys that bought back a lot of good memories, especially the sticklebricks. There were some stuff from childrens films too, including a robot which looked extremely familiar but I can't place my finger on where I know him from :/.
I've been working away on the multi coloured crochet hat too. Thats looking a little odd but hatlike. Its coming out a bit like one with a floppy brim rather than a pull on one, which was what I was originally planning.
I've been good with my wardrobe refashioning though and, although its been hard, I haven't slipped off the wagon yet. I'm a third of the way into my 6 month stint now and I've made a couple of things and bought about 3 things from charity shops. My most recent purchase was a couple of t-shirty tops from a charity shop in Bethnel Green. They were only 50p each and the money goes to a local charity to raise money for building a memorial for those who died in the Bethnel Green Tube Station during an incident during the 2nd World War. Everyone who was working in the shop lost family so I had no problem parting with my £1.
We've been doing more harvesting from the plot - this time onions, sweetcorn, garlic and herbs. The sweetcorn was lovely and we had it for dinner the night we got it so it was so sweet and tasty. The onions are also doing really well too. We haven't bought any for over a month and have just been using our own from the allotment.

Shooting stars, crochet hats and dresses

I got back Sunday from a weekend meteor spotting and camping in Wales. We had a brilliant time and even saw some meteors on the Saturday night. They never fail to fascinate me and after a while watching them becomes almost addictive. We gave ourselves quite a stiff neck leaning back on our camping chairs to watch the sky. It was well worth every second of pain though. They just look so magical :)
We had a bit of an explore on the Saturday and I found an amazing craft shop. It looked tiny on the outside but was like an Aladin's cave inside with bits and pieces of everything you could ever want. My inner magpie was well and truly awakened and I felt quite proud of myself for only coming away with 2 balls of wool. The wool is very cool though, both are multicoloured and great for crocheting with as every stitch comes out a different colour. The first is bright pinks and greens and purples and the other is more autumny colours. I'm having a go at making a hat with the bright wool. I have no idea how its going to come out as I'm not following a pattern but its fun to do.
I've also been doing odd bits and pieces to the dress I've been making. As I'm doing it all by hand its a very long process but in spite of this I'm finding it oddly therapeutic. Its just nice to sit on the sofa with a pile of fabric on your knee while listening to some music and just sewing away. I've put a picture up of it at the moment. I've still got tons to do, mostly hemming but as its an infinity dress theres absolutely tons of hemming. Hopefully it will look cool when its finished. I mostly liked it as its such a simple pattern. I'll have to have a poke around on the internet and find the site I got it from and put up a link. I was very impressed :)
Hopefully I'm off to Craftacular this Saturday. Its a Craft Fair in London. Its my first full on Craft Fair so I'm hoping it will be good. I'm sure I'll give feedback after Saturday :)