Lullaby Lodge

Well haven't the last few weeks been super busy.  There has been lots of crochet, school Christmas Fairs, School discos, The annual Reindeer Parade and of course the Christmas craft Market.  I have also been doing a little pattern testing on Ravelry, hence the neglect of any bloggy pursuits.  I'm hoping the next couple of weeks will calm down a little but who am I kidding... I have just enough time to share a few photos with you. The Reindeer Parade.   We love to go to this every year.  It begins outside Windsor Castle with a marching band,  followed by Santa's Elves and finally the big man himself with his reindeer... We like to follow the parade as it winds its way around Windsor.  The band playing a jolly rendition of "Santa clause is Coming to Town" and little T madly waving his flag... Having children certainly brings back the magic of Christmas. I am fondly reminded of the traditions we kept when I was a child and now

Inspired by all the lovely Granny Stripe blankets out there I wanted to create something similar in a Christmas Stocking.  I searched the Internet and didn't quite find what I was looking for so decided to design a pattern myself.    This pattern is written in American terminology and is suitable for a beginner.  You may use as many colours as you like, making this project perfect for stash busting. You will need... Main part of the stocking approximately 100g of DK Contrast colour (heal, toe and cuff) approximately 30g of DK Size 4 mm crochet hook (G) Wool needle Optional - ribbon for hanging, pom poms, buttons, bells etc. to decorate your stocking Stitches used... dc - double crochet Granny cluster - 3 dc in one stitch or space slip stitch dc2tog - double crochet 2 together When starting a new colour I always use a standing dc for my first stitch and a no chain dc when starting a new round with the same colour.  There are some great videos

This week has been very exciting for me, very exciting and very busy.  Firstly I received my first ever commission from my Etsy shop and secondly I have been beavering away making lots of things for my craft stall at the Pudding Cup Art Market .   I don't know if you remember this post  here  where I made myself a crochet hot water bottle cover?   Well I put a picture of it in my Etsy shop and last weekend I received a request for a custom order of 4 covers.  I must say I was both excited and terrified at the same time, (excited to receive my first order but a little worried how well they would be received...).  I think I tend to be a little over critical about my work. The colours for the hot water bottle covers were chosen by my customer from the Woolcraft DK range.  Luckily I had all the colours she requested so could get started right away. The covers incorporate the beautiful  Sunburst Granny Square  pattern by Priscilla Hewitt, which is available for free at

 Some lovely ladies over at Ravelry have been kindly testing my  Sock Yarn Bauble s pattern.  I would just like to thank them all, for the time and effort they have put into this.   If you are interested in taking part in some pattern testing head on over to this  group .  Designers can showcase their new patterns and have them tested and  as a reward the testers get to try out new patterns before they are published free of charge. I am very excited to share with you some photos of the baubles made with my pattern. This one is lovely and bright.  Sock yarn is always a delight to work with as you watch the colours change as you crochet... I love the sparkly yarn used in these two.  Anything with a bit of glitter or sparkle always gives me that "it's nearly Christmas" feeling. The variegation in this one is very pretty... and lastly another sparkly bauble in traditional red gold and green. Thank you again ladies your baubles are g

Gosh, what a busy day I have had today.  I spent a couple of hours this morning at the allotment.  It was the most glorious sunny day here in Berkshire, not a cloud in the sky.  Then home to cook Sunday Lunch, Roast chicken with all the trimmings... and then after lunch I went to our local monthly craft fair.  Pudding Cup Art Market. By this afternoon sadly the sun was disappearing and the temperature had dropped considerably, so sensibly everyone at the market had their stalls inside in the warm.  I love perusing craft fairs and especially love to stop and chat to the crafters about their wares.  I am always fascinated to hear about how things are made.  Especially crafts that I know nothing about... This stall caught my eye as I walked in.  They were displaying the most beautiful glass jewellery. Another table had some really cute ornaments made from Fimo clay. More hanging decorations... These super cute doggy face cloths.  What an ingenious ide

Over the summer holidays, The Gilmore Girls came out on Netflix and I spent many an afternoon hanging out with Lorelai and Rory.  It's nice easy viewing, perfect to watch while indulging in some afternoon hooky.   Having very eclectic tastes myself I love the style of Lorelai's house.  I particularly love the crochet blanket you can see in some of the episodes, draped across her sofa.  It's a beautiful pale duck egg colour (this just happens to be my most favourite colour). I decided that I wanted to try and create something similar.  First I needed some yarn.  I discovered that Woolcraft New Fashion DK had added some new colours to their range and one of them just happened to be Duck Egg.  So I ordered some right away.  I use Woolcraft yarn a lot and particularly like it for blankets.  It's a bit thicker than some DK yarns and has a really soft almost fluffy texture.  It makes lovely squishy blankets and has a good choice of colours.   I searched th