More Boodles yarn and a knitting magazine review

Encouraged by the recently crocheted basket and my new chunky crochet experience I decided to get myself some new Boodles yarns. Hobbycraft is doing 3 for 2 deal right now so I've bought 3 new shades for the price of 2 :) 

For the not-so-distant future I'm planning a crocheted Easter basket for my knitted eggs in sunny yellow with a white finish. Think the knitted and crocheted textures will look good together. 100% hand-made! - and that's what we are aiming for :)

I've recently taken to some knitting magazines. I'm not a regular buyer but I'd like one on and off  :) This one was spotted at Tesco - a Sunday treat to myself. I usually don't bother with a magazine reviews on my blog but I think this one is well worth attention.
The current Simply Knitting issue is loaded with freebies and lovely projects.

I adore this gorgeous knitted Gnome. I'm really amazed how cleverly those knitted parts can be combined and shaped. Far too advanced for me to knit right now but it definitely goes on my (never-ending!!!) to-do list :)

The freebies for this issue of SK (in addition to the gnome pattern mentioned above) is a chart for some sweet knitted Easter eggs and a set of bamboo needles to knit them. I've never knitted any balls or eggs using single pointed "flat" needles. Those I have knitted so far have been made only with double pointed needles and I'm used to this method but I'd like to learn more and have a go a this flate way of knitting round things. It will involve sewing up the seams though. 

This is the full cover of SK. Really attractive to a knitter's eye :) Must admit the editors did their best :) I love when a magazine is like that.

Full of inspirations for March

Below a few projects from the mag that caught my eye. Have a peek.

I'm not a big fan of baby theme as such esp. of anything oversweet like stereotypical pink and blue baby stuff with excessive frills and embellishments but every so often I like something I'd like to make. This baby onesie is so cute. Love the knitted pattern, the yarn, the colours, the intarsia-knitted fox. So pretty! :)

Lovely pullover with a sunny collar finish. I wouldn't say "no" to this one for sure!

This forest green hooded coat has simply stolen my heart. So pretty! Would love to be able to knit one sometime.

Some house makeover projects. Very trendy lacy theme! I love it, especially how the the glassy vase and the lamp shade look.

And finally something I like best - small projects :)

How pretty this fair isle tea cosy is! An absolutely stunning pattern.

And how do you like the pot cosies? They look so good with those terracotta pots. So adorable! Another project to go on my to-do list.

And how about some fair isle coasters to match the tea pot? Just too pretty to stain!

Mug hugs - absolutely stunning! I'VE GOT TO KNIT THESE!

Easter is time for knitting and stitching egg cosies so the mags are full of them.

This is a pretty bag I'd love to have myself. I think the pompoms are a super cheery accent to the whole thing.

I need to learn how to make hats too! My bf keeps losing them. This one below has got some nice ribbing and would look good both in a male and female version.

And finally the magazine features some lovely yarn bowls - something I've been dreaming about to have. I'm dreaming of a ceramic knitting bowl. Etsy website has got many offers. Unfortunately they can be quite costly so my buy will have to wait a bit longer, I guess.

So that will be it for the shopping news. Hope you all have had a good chilling weekend. Thank you for your visits and comments. x X x

Chunky crochet: my first basket

Hi everyone. More crochet update from me :) I have been so keen to try out my new Boodles textile yarns so on the day I came back from my crafty shopping, I sat right down to make my first planned "chunky" project: a crocheted storage basket :) This is a proper xxl crochet and I used size 10.0 mm crochet hook on it. It felt so much different to crocheting with a small size hook. Less precision, more bulk. The texture, the hardness, the thickness of the crochet made me feel a bit surprised but nicely surprised. It also feels heavier in your hands when you hold your work while crocheting. And it grows fast!

Here's a storage idea :)

The basket was crocheted with half treble all the way through. The finishing white edging is double crochet. The basket is about 20 cm in diameter, 10 cm in height and 66 cm in circumference. 

I've used about 3/4 of the Boodles spool to make this basket.

My original inspiration was this project: Storage basket from Ros Badger's book: Hook, Yarn and Crochet. I only used a slightly chunkier yarn and a bigger crochet hook than it's recommended in the book.

Due to its "chunkiness" the basket was coming on very fast. I didn't want it to be too high so I deliberately skipped 3 rounds of crochet :) Overall, not bad for the first time, eh? I'm pleased with myself and I'm going to create some more of these baskets.

My cotton Lerke yarn looks so nice when stored this way. But like I said, I need another basket for storing my sewing bits and bobs and another one for some embroidery cotton yarns too! Oh! And I need one for my knitted Easter eggs too! So more baskets coming soon! I'm having fun with this noodle'y yarn! 

Thank you for your visits and feedback you leave. I really enjoy reading your messages. :)

Oodles of Boodles and other shopping trivia

Hi all. A quick update, mostly on the shopping theme ;) A recent (half-term!!!) trip to HobbyCraft in Chester resulted in bringing home this chunky textile yarn  - Boodles. If you don't know this type of chunky yarn, for your information this is ecological, economical and upcycled yarn made from soft textile offcuts in the fashion industry. A similar sort of noodle-type yarn to Hoooked Zpagetti which is also already well known on the market.

I've choosen my first 3 colours - mint green, white and plum accompanied by a 12.00 mm Bamboodle crochet hook :) 

Recently I've had a crafty urge to try my hand at chunky crocheting and my plan is to crochet some chunky storage bowls and baskets. I get to see lots of these projects in crafty magazines. They are easy to make, perfect to practise my crochet skills and I'd love to store some of my yarns and threads in them.

Cookie is clearly jealous of me taking the photos of my noodle'y yarns so he decided to place himself right in front of my camera. As soon as he hears something is going on on the windowsill, he is there! He's already discovered that the Boodles are good to catch and play with and the wooden crochet hook is something good to chew on. 

A few more shopping treasures :) Magnetic window cross stitch markers - something I've wanted for months for myself. I'm always on the look out for convenient ways of cross stitching. How do you mark your patterns? With highlighters? Magnetic gadgets? Pencil? I hope these will work well for me.

In preparation for Easter cross stitch projects, I got myself a piece of black aida. It can be a bit of a nightmare to stitch on but the folky patterns look so good on the black background :)

And the last but not least, I bought these two small lovely books with crochet and knitting projects:

This should keep me occupied for a while! ;)