Rainbow Baby Blanket

I've been working on this project for a few months and finally finished it a couple of days ago for my lovely friend who's expecting a baby on the 5th Feb.  I was originally making two of these as I found out I was pregnant myself back in September.  My plan was to make one for myself and then one for my friend but sadly, I miscarried.  It took me a few weeks before I felt able to pick up my project again and continue without feeling teary and upset.

These granny square blankets are so easy to make and are perfect for the beginner.  They only use Triple Crochet and Chain Stitch, so there's not a huge amount to learn.  It's amazing how quickly they grow but then eventually you do get to a point where it takes an age just to finish one side! I'm not the fastest crocheter in the world.

I decided on a rainbow theme as the sex of the baby had not been confirmed and cream or beige just gets a little boring.  I'd made a few granny squares before in various patterns but this was the first blanket.  I'm a bit annoyed at how the squares came out twisted but I've seen a solution for this since finishing.  Apparently, if you turn your work over after each round (ie. working on right side, wrong side, right side, wrong side etc) this solves the problem.  Needless to say I shall be trying this next time.  I did decide to block the blanket when I'd finished and this went some way to helping the twisted look and at least made the side line up nicely.

My Basic Concept (UK terms)
DK Yarn
4mm Hook
The blanket follows a basic Granny Square pattern (You can find these anywhere on the internet but try - Little Tin Bird , Girly Bunches - Granny Square Part 1 Video).  I decided that I would like tighter stitches so only chained 1 stitch between each cluster of triples.  The corners were also completed in the same way using one chain but with - 3 tc, 1 ch, 3 tc into the same stitch.  I did 6 rounds of rainbow colours, changing colour after each round and then 5 rounds of white.  This I repeated twice more before completing the blanket with a final round of red.

To finish the blanket I used a slightly different round, this time I used 2 tc, 2 ch, 2 tc in each stitch to create a scalloped effect (or double V edging as it's actually called).  For the full pattern see here - Bunnymummy-jacquie.blogspot.com.au

My friend thinks she'll have her new arrival any day so looks like I finished it just in time!

Thanks for stopping by! x

A Passion for Promarkers!

For a while now I've been looking at the rubber stamping techniques in my monthly Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine and am often in left awe by the fantastic finish others manage to acquire on their shading. I bought myself a pack of 'Skin Accent' Promarkers by Letraset a while back when Hobbycraft were having a sale. Up till now I'd always used watercolour pencils for any small bits of colour that were needed but I'd heard on the grapevine that Promarkers were the way to go. I decided to buy another pack of Promarkers and went for the 'Muted' Blending pack which I managed to pick up relatively cheaply on Ebay. Since then I've not looked back!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="342" caption="Free stamp with Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine"][/caption]

Learning to blend and shade the colours takes practice but it is certainly much easier than I expected it would be. I've since bought the 'Skin Tones' and 'Cool Grey's' pack to extend my collection a little further and although I've also bought a couple of individual pens (Berry and Holly), I could do with a few more reds and greens to help make my upcoming Christmas stamps look a little more authentic.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="342" caption="Lovely Free Digi Stamp from Sliekje Digi Stamps"][/caption]

 

I have to say that 'A' and I both find colouring with Promarkers thoroughly addictive (yes, we have no life :) ). 'A' actually said to me the other day that she could spend hours just sitting there colouring and me personally I feel about 5 again, getting such a thrill out of 'colouring in' lol.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="343" caption="Stamp from Daisy & Dandelion - Santa's Little Helpers"][/caption]

Although I've made a couple of cards using the stamps I've shaded (new post coming soon), I'm currently just enjoying the moment with my new found Promarker friends! I still feel that my stamps could look a little better, but I guess with practice and more pens to add to my collection it won't take too long.

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Cardmaking

I took up the hobby of cardmaking a couple of months ago and am now completely hooked!  My initial plan was to try scrapbooking but seeing as I had all the bits and bobs I thought I'd throw a few cards together and I'm now much more into this then I ever thought I would be.

I have an odd afternoon every now and then, surrounded by all my crafting kit and find it really therapeutic.  A's took an interest too and has had lots of fun also making cards.  I wasn't the most creative person when I first started out but with a bit of practice and a little help from various magazines and websites, I can see my cards are slowly getting more creative.

The only problem is, there are so many crafting goodies on the market to choose from you can end up spending a fortune!  You really have to sit down and think about the kind of craft technique you want to use and then look at which tools/gadgets would be most useful.

Many of the cards I've made so far have been decoupage.  This is a method of layering images which then gives you a 3D effect.  This can be very time consuming as most of the decoupage creations I've made have been cut out by hand.  The Beatrix Potter ones in particular were tricky (especially Jeremy Fisher!) as the figures were quite intricate.  My masterpiece so far has to be the decoupage Owl card I made for A's Brownie leaders when she finished back in the Summer (picture to follow soon!).  Of course you can cheat and buy the pre-cut decoupage sheets which make life so much easier, but somehow not quite the same sense of achievement.

Hope you like a few pics of my handiwork so far :)

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