Lullaby Lodge

Well hello everyone.  It's been a long time again (I know I promised).  This year has just been super busy.  Lot's of blankets selling in my shop and lot's of time spent in our allotment garden.   It has been amazing having a green space for little T to play outside in and also a great bonus being able to eat what we have been growing...  Which to be completely honest, was mostly courgettes (zucchini to those of you across the pond).   Apparently 4 courgette plants is enough to keep a large family going all summer.  We had 11.  Suffice it to say they were coming out of our ears... and they are still growing.  We have had them roasted, stir fried, steamed, we have had courgette soup, courgette pasta, courgette risotto, courgette pizza, courgette fritatta, courgette bread, courgette cake and far too many other things to list.  I even tried making jam with them (it was OK...but not the greatest jam I have ever made). The potatoes also did really well.  I still

Hello everyone.  I must start this post with an apology for being away for so long...  I have been caught up with my Facebook page (I try to post daily there...) and have also been super busy with blanket orders.  I thought it was about time I shared with you all, some of the things I have been up to over the last few months... Now that the weather is warming up, little T and I have been spending more and more time at our allotment.  We even have some plants growing there now.  It's so exciting.  I cannot tell you how happy it makes me feel just being there and watching my "piece of earth" changing from a bare patch to something green and growing.  You can see the photos I took when we first got our allotment in this post  here ... We have an amazing neighbour who has been very kind and helpful, who generously gave us some onion sets, broad beans, strawberry runners and some rhubarb plants from his plot.  We planted them late last year when we first moved in and

Over the last week I have been busy again making more baby blankets.  I love to sit in the evenings watching telly with a nice cup of tea and some crochet on my lap.  Making blankets this time of the year certainly keeps you cosy. The design for this blanket is simply  4 popcorn flower squares joined together and you then continue with rounds of granny clusters, until you get to the size that you want. I then worked an even more simple border of single crochets and chains... I have used a mixture of Stylecraft and Woolcraft yarns.  Both are incredibly soft with good stitch definition and make lovely squishy blankets. Baby pink, Fondant and White Of course I can never stop at just one... Peach, Coral and White Walnut, Fawn and Cream Available now in both my Ebay and Etsy stores.  10% of the sale price of all Lullaby Blankets will be going to the MS Society when purchased via Ebay.  My sister has suffered from this life destr

Last week I spent many enjoyable hours hunting through my yarn stash and creating some very simple baby blankets.  I wanted some nice easy TV crochet projects to do with the added bonus of making things to sell in my shop. Now anyone who knows me will tell you that blanket making is my most, absolute favourite thing to do and making baby blankets even more so, because they have the added attraction of instant gratification.  I can whip up a car seat sized blanket in just a couple of evenings.   I don't know why I love making blankets so much perhaps it's the cosy, snugly feeling they give you.  I just love the whole process from start to finish.  From shopping for yarn or raiding my stash, to choosing the design, the colours and the border.  I love to experiment with different colours and textures.   I used a very simple granny square design, just changing colours every couple of rows.  The first blanket is in shades of baby pink, fondant, silver

Happy new year everyone! Things are much calmer now that all the festivities are over.  Time for some serious crochet I think.  This year I am taking part in the 2017 Block a Month Crochet Along (otherwise known as bamcal).  You can find the group  here  on  Ravelry .  The idea is that you make a different afghan block each month and then at the end of the year put them all together to make a beautiful blanket.  There are extra optional blocks each month too... I have taken part in previous years and I love to see everyone's beautiful crochet squares.  It truly amazes me how different the same pattern can look in different yarns and colours.  The group is super friendly and open to anyone. The moderators are very helpful and encouraging too.  Even if you are new to crochet you can give it a go, there is always someone around to help you out if you get stuck. This year instead of making a blanket (I still have more than a few that need finishing) I have decided to use 4

Well as expected this week has gone by in a blur.  We have had Christmas lunch at my school, my son's nativity play, my work's do, visiting Santa in his grotto, decorating the tree and carols by candlelight... This morning we had a lovely breakfast at our local garden centre.  Little T protested greatly at having to get dressed so early on a Sunday, but I gently pointed out that there might be a special someone there today... After visiting the big man we meandered around the garden centre looking at the Christmas displays.  We spent a long time looking at all the lovely decorations.  Every year I always buy something new for our tree and this year we picked out a silver filigree star with crystal drops.   Once home the tree was finally decorated.  It has actually been up for a couple of weeks with only the lights and some tinsel, waiting patiently for the rest it's adornments.  I like to take my time with the baubles, removing them from their boxes and

I recently made these again for my 2019 craft fair season, you can read all about it in this post here... Craft Fair Idea #2 Pocket Tissue Cosy's Free pattern - Pocket Tissue Cosy Need a last minute gift for someone?  This quick and easy pocket tissue cosy is just the thing.  Makes a perfect stocking filler or just a little something extra for that special someone.  You can make this with any yarn weight and the pattern will also work to cosy up your mobile phone or tablet.  The cover is easily adaptable for any size... This pattern is written in US terminology. You will need Yarn, small amounts of any weight Crochet hook corresponding to your yarn weight (4 mm hook for DK, 5 mm for Aran etc.) Wool needle Stitch marker (I just use a scrap of yarn for this...) A button Optional, crochet flowers or other embellishments Stitches used sc single crochet hdc half double crochet ldc linked double crochet (if you have never used th