Half Term Break - Pendine Sands

Wow things have been so busy here over the last few weeks.  I have been inundated with custom orders for baby blankets, dolls blankets, hot water bottles, baby hats and bed spreads; so the half term has come as a welcome break.  Time to get away from it all for a few days.

We travelled straight from school pick up on Friday and headed for South Wales.  I have many fond memories of childhood holidays in Wales and was very excited to be returning with Little T.  It took us around 3 hours to cross the Welsh border and the sun was setting just as we traversed the Seven Bridge, providing stunning views.  A little over an hour later we arrived at the Pendine Sands holiday park.  It was now pitch black and we would have to wait till morning to see the local scenery.

It really was worth the wait.  The next day proved to be a blinder, with gorgeous sunshine and hardly a cloud in the sky.  Just look at the breathtaking Welsh coastline...

 rugged cliffs...

gorgeous sandy beaches...

squelching in the sand...

 catching tiddlers...

family time at the beach.

The accommodation in the park itself was great too, we stayed in a lovely caravan and there is plenty to do if you have little ones.  A family indoor swimming pool, play areas for the kids, restaurants and pubs, a chippy and also the show bar for evening entertainment.  The staff were all great too very friendly and helpful.  I am sure we will be visiting again soon...

I hope you have all enjoyed a last blast of summer too, wherever you are.

Back soon

Catherine

x

Half Term Break - Pendine Sands

Wow things have been so busy here over the last few weeks.  I have been inundated with custom orders for baby blankets, dolls blankets, hot water bottles, baby hats and bed spreads; so the half term has come as a welcome break.  Time to get away from it all for a few days.

We travelled straight from school pick up on Friday and headed for South Wales.  I have many fond memories of childhood holidays in Wales and was very excited to be returning with Little T.  It took us around 3 hours to cross the Welsh border and the sun was setting just as we traversed the Seven Bridge, providing stunning views.  A little over an hour later we arrived at the Pendine Sands holiday park.  It was now pitch black and we would have to wait till morning to see the local scenery.

It really was worth the wait.  The next day proved to be a blinder, with gorgeous sunshine and hardly a cloud in the sky.  Just look at the breathtaking Welsh coastline...

 rugged cliffs...

gorgeous sandy beaches...

squelching in the sand...

 catching tiddlers...

family time at the beach.

The accommodation in the park itself was great too, we stayed in a lovely caravan and there is plenty to do if you have little ones.  A family indoor swimming pool, play areas for the kids, restaurants and pubs, a chippy and also the show bar for evening entertainment.  The staff were all great too very friendly and helpful.  I am sure we will be visiting again soon...

I hope you have all enjoyed a last blast of summer too, wherever you are.

Back soon

Catherine

x

The Blanket Stitch - Crochet Tutorial

The crochet blanket stitch is such a versatile pattern and can be used to create many items not just blankets.  You can use this stitch pattern to create hats, scarves, hot water bottle covers anything you can think of, just use the hook size recommended on your yarn ball band.  

This is a stitch tutorial only, if you are looking for the Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket pattern you can find it here...

Video Tutorial

The Blanket Stitch

 US terms are used throughout

Abbrieviations

sc - single crochet

dc - double crochet

sl st - slip stitch

ch - chain

sp - space

sk - skip

st(s) - stitch(s)

Foundation chain loosely make a ch as wide as you would like your project to be, a multiple of 3 +1

Row 1 dc in 4th ch from hook, *sk2, sc in next ch, 2dc in same ch* repeat from *to* until last 3 st's, sk2, sc in last ch.  Turn.

Row 2 ch3, dc in 1st st, *sk2, sc in next st, 2dc in same st* repeat from *to* until last 2 st's, sc in sp between ch3 and dc of last round.  Turn.

Repeat row 2 until piece measures desired length.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

This stitch pattern creates nice neat edges so there is no need for a border, unless you want to add one of course.  You could add a row of simple shells like this baby blanket...

As there has been so much interest in this silver and pink blanket you can now find the full pattern here... or a printable PDF version is also available in my Etsy Store...

The stitch pattern works up great using yarn cakes too.  I made these ones with Caron Cakes.

A printable pattern for the Caron cakes blanket can be found in both my Etsy and Ravelry stores.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and please be sure to share your makes on my Facebook page or Instagram using #lullabylodge.

See you soon

Catherine

x

Helpful Links

Ravelry pattern page

Sweet Dreams PDF 

You might enjoy...

Granny Stripe Tutorial

Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket

This post contains Amazon affiliate links...

The Blanket Stitch - Crochet Tutorial

The crochet blanket stitch is such a versatile pattern and can be used to create many items not just blankets.  You can use this stitch pattern to create hats, scarves, hot water bottle covers anything you can think of, just use the hook size recommended on your yarn ball band.  

This is a stitch tutorial only, if you are looking for the Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket pattern you can find it here...

Video Tutorial

The Blanket Stitch

 US terms are used throughout

Abbrieviations

sc - single crochet

dc - double crochet

sl st - slip stitch

ch - chain

sp - space

sk - skip

st(s) - stitch(s)

Foundation chain loosely make a ch as wide as you would like your project to be, a multiple of 3 +1

Row 1 dc in 4th ch from hook, *sk2, sc in next ch, 2dc in same ch* repeat from *to* until last 3 st's, sk2, sc in last ch.  Turn.

Row 2 ch3, dc in 1st st, *sk2, sc in next st, 2dc in same st* repeat from *to* until last 2 st's, sc in sp between ch3 and dc of last round.  Turn.

Repeat row 2 until piece measures desired length.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

This stitch pattern creates nice neat edges so there is no need for a border, unless you want to add one of course.  You could add a row of simple shells like this baby blanket...

As there has been so much interest in this silver and pink blanket you can now find the full pattern here... or a printable PDF version is also available in my Etsy Store...

The stitch pattern works up great using yarn cakes too.  I made these ones with Caron Cakes.

A printable pattern for the Caron cakes blanket can be found in both my Etsy and Ravelry stores.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and please be sure to share your makes on my Facebook page or Instagram using #lullabylodge.

See you soon

Catherine

x

Helpful Links

Ravelry pattern page

Sweet Dreams PDF 

You might enjoy...

Granny Stripe Tutorial

Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket

This post contains Amazon affiliate links...

Glamping at Long Acres

We recently spent an idyllic couple of days at Long Acres Camping & Glamping site in Surrey.  Little T had been asking and asking if we could go camping and living in a small flat with no ample storage to keep all the gear we would need, had meant that the answer was always no.  So when I came across a deal on Wowcher for a 2 nights Glamping trip, I thought this would be the perfect compromise.  Little T could get his outdoor camping experience without us having to buy all the gear, plus we could have nice cosy beds to sleep in.

I have never purchased a holiday with Wowcher before but the whole process was pleasantly simple.  Once receiving my voucher code all I needed to do was call Long Acres to make my booking.  The lady I spoke to on the phone was very friendly and helpful and we ended up paying a little extra for the luxury package and also the hire of a fire pit (this was well worth the extra money).  Now all we had to do was wait...

The day finally arrived for our camping trip and little T was so excited.  It was only a short drive to  Long Acres and we were not disappointed when we arrived.  The camp site was in the heart of the Surrey countryside and was beautifully maintained.  The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful, we were shown to our accommodation and given the low down on all the amenities.  We stayed in their Cedar Pod which was very quaint.  It had 2 beds, a small cupboard and electric points, a porch decorated with fairy lights and an outside seating area with the fire pit.

We loved every minute of our time here at Long Acres...

Cooking outside...

Dutch oven cooking on the fire pit...

...and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

I cannot recommend Long Acres enough and look forward to planning another visit...

Bye for now

Catherine

x 

Glamping at Long Acres

We recently spent an idyllic couple of days at Long Acres Camping & Glamping site in Surrey.  Little T had been asking and asking if we could go camping and living in a small flat with no ample storage to keep all the gear we would need, had meant that the answer was always no.  So when I came across a deal on Wowcher for a 2 nights Glamping trip, I thought this would be the perfect compromise.  Little T could get his outdoor camping experience without us having to buy all the gear, plus we could have nice cosy beds to sleep in.

I have never purchased a holiday with Wowcher before but the whole process was pleasantly simple.  Once receiving my voucher code all I needed to do was call Long Acres to make my booking.  The lady I spoke to on the phone was very friendly and helpful and we ended up paying a little extra for the luxury package and also the hire of a fire pit (this was well worth the extra money).  Now all we had to do was wait...

The day finally arrived for our camping trip and little T was so excited.  It was only a short drive to  Long Acres and we were not disappointed when we arrived.  The camp site was in the heart of the Surrey countryside and was beautifully maintained.  The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful, we were shown to our accommodation and given the low down on all the amenities.  We stayed in their Cedar Pod which was very quaint.  It had 2 beds, a small cupboard and electric points, a porch decorated with fairy lights and an outside seating area with the fire pit.

We loved every minute of our time here at Long Acres...

Cooking outside...

Dutch oven cooking on the fire pit...

...and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

I cannot recommend Long Acres enough and look forward to planning another visit...

Bye for now

Catherine

x 

Pattern Testing - Yarn Cakes Shetland Lace Scarf

Hello everyone, now that Autumn is in the air it's time to get knitting all those winter woollies.  If you are looking to try something new why not join in with my latest pattern test.  It is for a lovely warm winter scarf, knitted in an old Shetland Lace pattern.

If you would like to take part in the test please head over to The Testing Pool at Ravelry to join in the fun...

You don't need to be an experienced tester or even knitter to take part.

Happy knitting

Catherine

x