Just never enough time in the day ....

I have so many projects on the go right now and just not enough time for them all.  I work full time, I leave the house at 7am to get to work and generally don't get home until 7pm so during the week I really don't have much time for crafting.

Right now I need to get my shawl finished, I only have 3 days and there is still a lot to do... I have to crochet at least 1 ball of yarn every day to get it finished in time!!!  and I don't know about you but the faster I try to work the more likely I am to make mistakes and have to frog-it.  In an effort to try to catch up some time I used a few minutes of my lunch hour today to ball-up my yarn.  I  can't find a way to work with this yarn with out it ending in knots without unravelling it and balling it up myself. 

So the aim this evening is to finish the ball I'm currently working on and also the one I just balled up this afternoon - maybe I can get a bit ahead that way.

I've also got a cap on the go that I'm making for my DH.  He wants a crochet peaked cap.  The cap is made but not the peak ... I think I have worked out what I need to do now, having tried crocheting the peak without an insert I think it definately needs one -  now I have a plastic insert so that the peak will hold its shape, I just need to find the time to finish it.  If it works I'll write up the pattern.

Speaking of patterns, I also have to write up patterns for a pair of fingerless gloves I made

And also a hooded scarf I made myself.





I hate wearing hats - they make my head itch!! so I decided to make this hooded scarf to keep my head warm with all this freezing weather we've been having ...  It turned out quite well so I'll have to get the pattern written up - just in case anyone else wants to make themselves one :)
Then I have a few other projects waiting in the wings ..... Just never enough time in the day !! 

Aran crochet

I have done quite a lot of aran knitting over time, but up until now I have not tried anything more aran than a simple twist using crochet.

So always one for a new challenge I thought I'd try to create an aran shawl in crochet.  So far its slow going,  It takes a bit of time to understand how to create the shapes and make sure that everything hangs together.

I have chosen to use Sirdar Click chunky.  I have always preferred the look of aran when done with quite chunky yarn.  I am using the Cobble (0129) shade.

You can see my attempts so far

I think I have mastered the bobble ... the jury is still out on the cable though !!

I'll update with progress as things move along.

My hairpin crochet work

Here are a couple of examples of my hairpin crochet work.  Its quite versatile.

The first example is a shawl I made, its worked with a mohair mix yarn to make the shawl even more etherial. 

Another example is using hairpin crochet to create jewellery.  I made these earrings using my loom, in the second example I have added in some pretty little beads.

Mohair Crochet scarf

I saw this beautiful mohair mix yarn and thought it would make beautiful scarf.

I wanted to make more of a fashion scarf than a woolie winter one.  I also wanted to make a little feature of the scarf ends.

The scarf is 10cm wide & 190cm long.  The scarf is created with a mix of stitch sizes, starting with DC's along the midline, then TR & DTR stitches.  The ends are ruffled to create the feature I wanted.

Finished the Twist scarf

I finished the scarf, I loved the colours of this yarn but was struggling to think what to create with it.  I think the decision to make the twist scarf with it was the right one.

Its now available on my shop WalnutBaby

The colours suit this type of hyperbolic crochet

I wanted to make the scarf just long enough to be doubled over, so that in this style it would almost create a colar.

The colours in this yarn are really vibrant, they remind me of tootie frooty sweets :)

I think that the scarf looks really pretty worn with a simple knot too.

Multicoloured crochet "twist" scarf

My next project is to create a twist scarf, its something that I've been meaning to do for a while but not got round to it.

I'm using some wonderfully colourful yarn from patons, Fairytale Colour 4 me DK - its the orange, green, yellow & purple one.

The scarf is underway, and here is progress so far.....

I love the way something as simple as increasing the stitches can create such a lovely texture.

Crochet Cowl is finished

With a little concentration ... I managed to finish the cowl.

This picture is a bit shoddy, but it was taken on my phone :)  I'll have to wait until the weekend to take some daylight shots properly & then I'll be able to list it on Walnut Baby.

Crochet Cowl

My next creation is a crochet cowl. I haven't tried one of these before so its a bit trial and error to get the size right.

I want it to have an interesting texture so I am using Trinity stitch.

I am using Sirdar Softie super chunky yarn & getting the right hook size has been a challenge, I started with an 8mm but have decided to move up to a 12mm hook as it was coming out a bit stiff & tight.

I am planning to fasten the cowl with a couple or maybe 3 very large buttons.