Lariath- Live a Little.

I crochet squares for  Knit-a-square  charity between crochet projects. I'm using these squares to try out/ practice new stitches that I haven't used before. I started a Square using bobble stitch . I used bobble stitch (also called puff and popcorn stitch) to make the  Dalek , I struggled with the bobble stitch on the Dalek so thought this would give me some more practice. However I started the square and struggled and struggled with the stitch. One row was taking me a long time and considering 1 row of the square is only 8inches long this wasn't fun. I just can't seem to get my hook through that many loops without a lot of effort. I crochet quite tightly so I tried crocheting the bobbles looser but still no luck. So after a few different ways of trying I gave up as it was making me angry. I will still use bobble stitch in my project it will just take me longer to do. I don't think I will be making a square that is made up of bobble stitch though. Shell Sti...

I haven't been blogging much recently due to lack of time. However I have managed to finish my biggest crochet project yet! A draught excluder. It is not the most exciting thing in the world, I know, and even though it's bigger than my other crochet projects it was definitely not as complicated as others. It did, however, take a long time to complete. Click  Here  for the pattern I based this draught excluder on. For this project I used scrap DK yarn. I chose colours that I thought would look OK when used together. The width of the stripes were chosen as I went along. To stuff the draught excluder instead of spending money on that much stuffing I used old T-shirts. The T-shirts also made the excluder heavy which is very useful. I didn't crochet the draught excluder closed, instead I crochet a sort of rope; crochet a chain to the wanted length, turn, single crochet in each chain along, finish off. I weaved the rope through the last round of stitched, pulled tigh...

As in an earlier post I mentioned that Tim was my VERY shy hamster. Due to his timidness I was struggling to get him out of his cage for taming and exercise etc. Honestly it was taking me up to an hour to try and coax him out of his nest/tube so that I could scoop him up out of the cage. A waste of time for me and a bit stressful for him. To overcome this I decided that a cage door would be so much more efficient to get him out of the bin cage rather than taking the lid of and trying to scoop him up. To do this I used: An old wire cage (that I was never going to use again) Some wire cutters A drill A pen Sandpaper Some wire Part of the old wire cage: Using wire cutters I cut the door off the old wire cage leaving enough wire either side of the door to attach it to the bin cage: I then placed the door onto the bin cage where I wanted the door to be and using a pen marked where to cut the opening for the door and where I needed to drill holes to attach the door wi...

I've always found mug cosies awesome but I've never actually made one myself so I gave it a go with the simplest pattern I could think of. The cosy was easier to make than expected, I should have started making these ages ago! I only used single crochet stitches in rows for the actually cosy and a loop made of slip stitches that goes over the handle and is secured with a button. I used a bit of crochet embroidery for the mouth and strap (the first time I've done crochet embroidery, it's so easy!...and probably addictive....). The eye was the hardest part to get right but saying that it's pretty easy when you know how. I will be making more of these and hopefully post a pattern so watch this space.  Click  Here  for the pattern!  Enjoy this post?

Just a blog to update on a few bits and bobs. Mario Mushroom The first thing I ever crocheted was an Amigurumi Mario mushroom for my lovely friend lilangelsg2  (who also does lots of crafty things check her out!) It took me ages to make as I'd never picked up a crochet hook in my life. Now that I've had a bit more practice I gave it another go and made her a green one....and it's still not perfect. Compare this to my first one and find the pattern  Here .  Recycled Plant Pot A while back I made a  DIY Recycled Plant Pot  to add to the 'recycling' theme of the plant pot I used it to regrow spring onions. It's cheaper than buying more spring onions and saves you just throwing the spring onion ends away. All I did was cut the spring onions and leave about 2 inches at the base  then put them into soil (in my recycled plant pot) and after a few days they start to regrow. Just cut some off when needed, remember not to cut them down too short or else...

Meet Tim my extremely 'Tim'id hamster. I got Tim about a month ago and decided to make him a bin cage so that he had a lot of room to run and a place to burrow (and an excuse to get my craft on). I bought the biggest storage box I could find that was tall enough to fit the 11" wheel in. My boyfriend excited to use his manly drill drilled many many many holes in the box sides and lid.  I bought a small kitchen bin to use as a burrow, the top of the bin was cut off and sanded down to fit comfortably into the cage. So that Tim could reach his burrow I bought him this  Flexible tube . I think these are awesome as they bend to whatever shape you need, can be as long or short as you want and are big enough for Syrian  hamsters to use. The only downside is that they can be a bit tricky to clean due to the ridges but I definitely think it's worth it. Here's the bin/burrow where he's made a nest right at the bottom: I made a sand bath for him out of a...

Money origami makes owing someone money, giving money as a gift, leaving a tip etc slightly more fun. I made these as a gift: The butterflies are so simple to make but look really good. The shirts are slightly more complicated but I wouldn't say they were difficult and neither take long to make. My Mum took the ones I made her into a shop to buy a mirror she wanted... the assistant was very amused. Instructions for butterflies:   http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WipQCf9hgNg (Even though in the video dollar bills are used, it's the same as using pound notes) Instructions for shirts:  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G_CMmYZv-yA They don't even have to be made out of money; coloured paper looks good: Enjoy this post?