Cooler Weather = More Time For Crochet :)

I don't seem to get as much time as I would like to get back here and update what's been happening, today I decided that I was going to do just that :) 

Last time I managed to sit and write, I mentioned that I had found a new love - Filet Crochet!

I've now completed 3 projects and love them all.

You can find the original blog post about my discovery here: 

Heart Filet Doily 

I mentioned that I was on to my 2nd project using this technique and was making a "Welcome" sign for my wall, I finally managed to get it finished and I must say that I love it.

I had to hunt high and low to find a frame that would fit it, some were too big and others too small, I decided to settle for a bigger one and here is the finished result, made with DMC cotton size 20 and a 1.25mm hook.

Please excuse my bird cage, it decided to photo bomb the photo! :)

As you can see, I chose not to block it - in hindsight maybe I should have, but I don't have any immediate plans to remove it from the frame and do that. Besides, the quirkiness seems to fit in well with our house lol.

After the filet, I decided that I needed to do one more project to satisfy the urge to know that I had got it right, and as I've mentioned previously, I have a "thing" for owls. So what better project to do, than an Owl Filet project!

This is the one that I chose to make: 

This one was made with the thicker 4ply crochet cotton and a 1.25mm hook, and I love the way it turned out. It is quite large and at the moment it is sitting on one of our coffee tables.

I have a few more filet projects that I'd love to do, but for now, I'm not in the mood for counting continuously and marking off rows as they are completed, so I chose to return to my real love, amigurumi!

I bought this pattern a while back and it has been sitting in my folder on the PC waiting for me to create it and I have to say I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and think it is one of the cuter projects I have done :) 

It's called "Guardian Bear" by the very talented "Esbelotta"

and can be found here:

Guardian Bear - Esbelotta

I love her patterns and they are so simple to work with. I have made another of her patterns in the past and blogged about it, here's the one I made previously:

Mama & Baby Owl - the first picture in the post :) 

I'm now working on an multicolour afgan, as the weather is getting cooler at nights and I decided it was time to make a bigger project. The fact that as it grows, it also keeps my legs warm, is another benefit :) 

It's a simple pattern made up of alternating sc and dc stitches and the stripes were created using the Random Stripe Generator

and this free pattern and I have to say that I am loving it.

I'm using similar colours to the pattern picture, but I would love to make another when this one is finished in a different colour combination. I think my next one may be made using: orange, grey, black and white :) 

Apart from all the crocheting, things are moving along nicely here, I'm back teaching I.T again this year, mum is doing well, the kids are all happy and life is good!

Keep smiling! :)