Gifts I made for Christmas

Gifts I made for Christmas

I made a few presents this year... I love making things for friends and family. In fact, the only thing I've ever made myself is a teapot cosy. 

Anyway - this year I made two blankets, an embroidery, a crocheted bag, and a stuffed sleepy cat... and a few coasters.  

Sunburst Granny Square Blanket

The first blanket I made was for my girlfriend's Nan and Grandad. I used the Sunburst pattern from CraftyMarie. 

http://www.craftymarie.com/2015/07/easy-free-sunburst-granny-square.html

I used the women's institute wool from Hobbycraft, as it's super soft and great value for money. I managed to get exactly the colours I was looking for and I think the end product is nice. 

Victorian Lattice Square Blanket

The second blanket I made was for my mother-in-law. I wanted to make a big blanket that could be used for either snuggling up on the sofa with or using as a bed spread. I used a beigey brown? colour and cream so it would match the interior decorations. This blanket turned out lovely. I used the Victorian lattice square from Destany Wymore. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/victorian-lattice-square

I chose this pattern as I wanted the blanket to look vintage and classic but I didn't want to use plain granny squares. I felt that this pattern was kind of shabby chic and antique. I used the women's institute wool from hobby craft for this blanket too - it's just so soft and snuggly. 

Sleepy Cat Plush

I made my mum a crocheted cat plush from Nekoyama. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amineko-crocheted-cat

This project was fun and was my first proper amigurami-type finished toy. He's been named Bob Cat and he looks cool however he's sat. For this I used a varied coloured yarn from my stash. Not sure what the brand was, 

Cotton Bag

For my girlfriend's great grandma, I made a bag. I made this pattern up myself, taking inspiration from photos on Pinterest. I lined it with pretty floral fabric.

Embroidered Elephant

Finally, I made my mum an embroidery of an elephant. I got the pattern off Pinterest. It is an embroidery that my Gran wanted to make my mum, but I only remembered this as I was halfway through making it which I thought was quite cool. This is the first embroidery I've ever finished so I'm proud of myself. 

That's it for 2016. I'm very happy with my handmade gifts. I like to make gifts specifically for people I love as it's so much more thoughtful, and shows you care. 

Hope you liked these, check my projects out on my ravelry page:- http://www.ravelry.com/people/lovecharlieblog

Love Charlie, Xxx

I'm Back

I'm back.

It's been a long time since I have blogged, A lot has happened in 2016, and I can honestly say it's been the worst year of my life. I am very happy to see the end of 2016 and welcome the new year and it's bright prospects. 

I am sad to say that I will be moving into 2017 without my Gran by my side. My Gran, June Inman, died on the 5th of June 2016. 

This is why I haven't been online. My Gran was everything to me. She taught me to crochet and we were extremely close. We did so much together, and she was my best friend. We shared a lot of precious memories together, and I will never forget her. Six months later, I am starting to heal, although the grief is like a scar and I think of her everyday. My Gran helped me to shape who I am, and that impression will never fade. 

Moving forward, I am changing things up a bit. This is still a crochet blog, but I don't want to confine myself to just crochet. I have a lot planned for 2017, and I want to share that on here. I have recently started to play the ukulele, and I will be learning to knit in the new year. I also want to talk about life in general, health, well being, family and everything in between. 

This post is insignificant to the world - but to me, it means everything. 

Thank you to whoever reads this! 

Love Charlie Xxx