Unicorn blanket

I've always wanted to make a graph crochet blanket but didn't have a subject in mind from which to make one. Back in August I thought about making a unicorn blanket for Poppy but wasn't sure if such a thing existed. Um, hello... of course it does!! I found this graph pattern on Pinterest.

SO, four months later I finished it. I have to say that it was one of my biggest and most testing projects. I only finished it on December 23rd! My wrists were sore and I think I was suffering from unicorn fever but it was done.

It is huge!! Pretty much double bed size. It is 900 small granny squares. I used the join-as-you-go method (thankfully) and used shades of Stylecraft Special DK and a 4mm hook.

I am not sure I'd undertake a graph blanket of this size again but I am thinking about making smaller ones that will be for sale in my Etsy shop.Even though I was a little bit fed up of it by the end seeing Poppy's face when she opened it on Christmas morning makes it all worthwhile.

Advent Calendar

A bit belated but I wanted to share the advent calendar that I made for my daughter this year. 

It's 23 crocheted mittens and a mini stocking for the 24th December.

I took inspiration from a pattern in Simply  Crochet (Issue 11) - photo above. 

My plan was to crochet one a day during November so I'd be finished in plenty of time. The reality was on the 27th of November I still had 20 to make! ! Oops! 

Each one then needed to be numbered which I did with white thread (red for the White mitts). It was soooo stressful trying to get it finished for the 1st but I finished late on the 30th. Phew! 

Poppy was so excited to wake up on the first of December to see it. Each day has a little chocolate treat in. On the 24th she'll wake up to find a note from Santa's elves wishing her a merry Christmas and a Christmas Eve box under the tree with new pjs, dvd and some popcorn in. That way we can have a nice relaxing Christmas Eve watching a film before tucking up in bed and waiting to see what the big man brings! 

 

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014 Update.

It has been far too long since I updated on the progress of my mood blanket. Here it is looking glorious, taken last weekend 

At this point I was 24 days (squares) behind but I spent a lot of time on it and now I'm only 5 behind. Not too shabby considering how busy life has been with the run up to christmas, completing customer orders and starting a new job. 

I'm on row 19 now. The last row. Can't believe a) I've stuck with it all year b) it's nearly finished and c) how lovely it looks!

Time to think about whether I carry on this project for next year. 

Cross Stitch Project Completed

After doing a few small cross stitch sets I decided I'd like to have a go at making something larger. I wasn't sure what I wanted but I knew that it had to be something that I would want to hang when it was finished.

I finally settled on a kit called 'Victorian Charm' that was of a large gothic/victorian style house at night-time. Lots of  fun details and because it was on a dark aida the finished result would look quite striking.

I started it at the beginning of July and I finished it last week. Three months from beginning to end. It is by far the most detailed cross stitch I have ever done! There were times when I felt like I wasn't making any progress, times when I felt like I hated it and times when I felt like I could only see the mistakes I had made. I have even ended up with a callous on my 'sewing finger' - lovely! Despite this I did really enjoy making it and I think the end result is worth all my time and effort. I can't wait to hang it!

 

It measures about 22 x 54cm so I think it will make a good piece to hang in my hallway. 

The kit was great, good quality pattern and threads. Plenty of each colour included (I have quite a bit left over!) The aida was a good quality too. 

I've already started my next cross stitch project - a christmas sampler. It only has four colours! So different from this piece which probably had about 25/30 colours and different thread combinations. I predict that the Christmas one will be a little bit more relaxing.

 

Customer Reviews.

There is nothing more pleasurable than receiving positive feedback on an item you have made. Everything I make is made with love. I know it's a cliche but a little part of myself goes into everything that I make and knowing that someone else has that item in their home is a lovely feeling.

On that note I'd like to direct you to Mum First, Doctor Second a blog by Lucinda. She recently purchased one of my bears and you can read her review here.

Not only that she shares some of her other recent purchases from Etsy and why shopping on Etsy is a pleasurable experience. Something I wholeheartedly agree with.

If you are interested in owning your own bear you can find them in my Etsy shop, Merry Peridot .

Drawstring Crochet Bag

This is a quick project I hooked up yesterday. Poppy needed a bag for her football kit so I had a quick search and came across this free pattern from Lion Brand.

The pattern uses chunky wool. I didn't have any to hand in a suitable colour or quantity so I used three strands of DK. I used two in Stylecraft Special DK shade Grape and  one of Stylecraft Merry Go Round. I used my 10mm hook. I would say that because I deviated from the pattern by bag was not quite as big as the one pictured in the pattern but it is the perfect size for a football kit including training shoes. I also made the straps slightly shorter because it is for use b a six year old.

Here is the finished bag:

And this is a better picture of it in daylight and worn by it's owner who is very pleased with it and she received several compliments from her school friends.

I would say that overall this bag took me about four hours to complete. So a quick and easy project with a great result!

Christmas & Unicorns

Any mother of a small girl has to deal with the incessant unicorn love right? Well, I do! Poppy is six and the love for unicorns is very strong in this household. I recently had to break it to her that unicorns aren't REAL! She was a *bit* upset to say the least!

That is why I have started to make one of her Christmas presents already. A unicorn blanket! It is huge already and I'm not even half way finished! I wanted to start it early in case I get distracted by other projects (I have quite a few pieces that are in the middle of being worked on!)

It's not subtle is it?

I've been wanting to do a crochet blanket using a graph for ages and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I found the graph here (bless you Pinterest and Ravelry). I'll post another picture when it is completed.

Birthday Celebrations!

Happy birthday me! Today I am "dirty thirty" as my family say. I prefer "flirty thirty" but whatever!! 

I have had some lovely presents so far including a Pandora bracelet that I've had my eye on for ages and some lovely flowers from Poppy.

To celebrate further and let you join in the celebrations there is 30% off everything in  my Etsy shop this weekend. 30% - that's a massive discount. Lots of blankets, bears and bunting as well as other gorgeous items available!

Here's the link you need:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MerryPeridot

The code you need to apply at the check out is MERYL30TH. 

Grab yourself a bargain! 

Star Blanket - Autumn is Coming!

Hello! Long time no blog. I really suck at keeping up with this blogging business. 

I can tell that my thoughts are turning to autumn/winter because all the plans in my head for new makes involve blankets. Until you've made your own blanket you don't realise the joy of sitting underneath it whilst you are still working on it! 

My latest blanket is a little bit different. What I mean is that usually colour is my friend. The brighter the better. This time however I decided to go for more neutral colours. Using Stylecraft DK in mocha, camel, lemon and graphite I created this beautiful star blanket. 

When I first started it I wasn't sure about the colours and then the bigger it grew the more I fell in love with it! I never realised that using more neutral colours would create such an eye catching blanket. I think the grey used to seperate the bigger blocks of colour is what makes it. 

What else can I say? It's already on my bed and now the evenings have started to feel a little autumnal I know it won't be long before this gets some proper use. I've already started one for Poppy (pink of course!) 

The pattern I used is a free download from Ravelry. 

 http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rainbow-ripple-baby-blanket

Updating an old classic

Now my sofa is very comfortable. Beyond comfortable. Once you sit down you don't really want to get up again (and that's not just me being lazy!) and the matching armchair is the same. The only thing is that they are cream leather. I got them second hand about four and a half years ago from my brother's very generous parents in law. As I said they are very comfy and a classic style. Only cream leather does not go so well with either small children or people who like wearing black jeans! The last six months I've noticed they are looking a bit worn and no amount of cleaning seems to make a difference. Now, I'm not in the position to replace them and as I said there is nothing really wrong with them. A few months ago I crocheted a shawl to go on the back of the sofa and that made a slight difference 

But I was still a bit fed up with how they looked. 

Anyway, on what was a totally separate tangent I started to crochet a blanket using Lily Sugar n cream cotton yarn. It was to be a hexagon rainbow blanket 

Halfway through making it I put two and two together and decided to make it into a long narrow throw to go on the seats of my sofa. This meant a lot of hexagons and when I was about three quarters of the way through I really started to hate this project. Haha! The joining was doing my head in and not having made a hexagon blanket before the amount of ends that I knew I'd have to sew in at the end did not fill me with joy! 

I persevered however and finally got it to the length I needed. 

As soon as I placed it on my sofa I totally fell in love with it! I decided that it had been well worth the effort. I can't get over what a HUGE difference it made to my sofa. It looks so bright and cheerful. It's exactly how I imagined it. Not only that - I feel like I have a new sofa whilst still keeping my same old, lovely comfy one. 

Now just to decide what to do to the armchair! 

Oops!

Naughty me! I have rather neglected my blog for the last month. There are a couple of reasons for that but whilst I'm having a quiet day I am hopefully going to schedule a few posts to show you what I have been up to crochet wise.

First up, an update of my mood blanket. I can't believe how big it is getting. I love adding each square on and now it is large enough to see the effect of my random moods I am loving the patchwork effect it has!

Here are the squares I've added over the weekend -

Friday 25th April - grey: tired, feeling a bit meh
Saturday 26th April - green: quiet day
Sunday 27th April - pink: family, content

 And here it is in all it's glory! It's very difficult to get a picture of all it now. I think next time I will spread it over my bed. I guess that way I'll also be able to see how much it is growing each time. I'm so pleased with it.

 

You'll notice on the 6th row, near the middle there are a lot of dark colours (navy, grey and fawn) this is because I have injured my ankle (torn the ligament) and these darker colours represent the first few days afterwards.Unfortunately two weeks later I am still in quite a bit of pain and have to see a physio but I am coping better with the discomfort and boredom now so I can go back to more varied colours.

Recent projects completed

                           

Hi! I've been meaning to blog for a while but I never seem to get around to it!

I just wanted to post some pictures and show off some projects I've finished recently.

The photo at the top is a baby blanket and matching bunting crocheted with 100% cotton. I loved working with this yarn and really pleased with the finished items. This set is available to buy in my Etsy shop.

The second picture is a gorgeous infinity scarf. It's really soft and snuggly, perfect for spring and the colours are so lovely. Constructed with granny squares, it has a really textured feel to it. This is also available in my Etsy shop.

The final picture is a blanket I made as a present for my Nan. I love these colours together and I think they complement each other really well. It is approx 100x100cm. My Nan was very pleased with it.

                              

                               

Bryan the Bear

Please let me introduce Bryan the Bear...

 

This was my project for the weekend just ended. When I first starting crocheting I tried to make a few amigurumi animals but they were always a bit wonky and not my best work now I have more confidence and a better knowledge of reading patterns I wanted to give it another go. I found it much easier this time around and I am very happy with how he turned out. 

These will be for sale shortly in my shop on Facebook and Etsy but I think Bryan will be making a home with me!

  

He looked a bit sad without a body! He seems a much more cheerful chap now he is all in one piece.

Third Row Complete

  

Last week I completed the third row of my mood blanket. It had to be yellow to complete the row as the sunshine was making a rare appearance (not that it lasted long!)

I am still thoroughly enjoying this project and the bigger it grows the more I love my blanket. I am embracing the patchwork effect that it is giving and look forward to the end of year when I can see how it will look finished.

I will post my diary pages later in the week detailing the colours I used for what days and my mood (or in some cases what I cooked for dinner - yes, really!) 

Now on to March. I can't believe we are in the third month already and how quick this year seems to be going. 

Baby Blanket (Olive Rose Pattern)

I've just finished this beautiful blanket. The pattern is called Olive Rose blanket from Issue 10 of Simply Crochet magazine.

It measures approximately 70x77cm and is the perfect size for a baby shower gift etc. I have just listed it in my Etsy shop. It's made using Stylecraft DK and I used colours that I had in my stash.

I'm very pleased with how this one turned out and will definitely make more blankets in this style.

Did you know?

Did you know that aside from this blog I also have a facebook page, Etsy shop and Instagram that you can follow me on?

Facebook: Merry Peridot

Etsy: Merry Peridot Shop

Instagram: Merry Peridot

One Down...Eleven to go!

The first month of the #crochetmoodblanket2014 is complete! I know I'm a little bit late considering we are already a week into February but I thought I'd post the pages of my diary which document the colours I've used and why.

 

Please excuse my weird looking fingers!! I'm very happy with how this month has gone and I am growing to love the randomness of the colours I've used so far. The only colour I've vowed not to use is black. I do have a very dark navy and purple though. 

I'll hopefully post some progress pictures of the blanket later in the week. I'm very happy that I started the third row yesterday - I love seeing this project grow! 

I hope everyone elses blankets are continuing to grow and are going well! 

Progress

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update and my, oh my, how my blanket has grown since then!

You can't even see the other end of it in this picture! As I think I said before it is going to be 19x19 squares big with three rows of border. Having reached the end of my first row of 19 squares I can see that it is easily going to be big enough to cover my double bed. Lovely!

It's so exciting to see it grow. I also love doing just  one square a day. Something I have managed to stick to so far. It is very tempting to do more than one square a day but I love the idea of choosing one wool to match that day and then waiting until the next day to see how I feel. I am sure at some point I will end up having to catch up on a couple of days at once. Hopefully if that happens I'll still manage to write the colour I want to use for that day in my diary and come back to it when I have the time.

At first I thought that I'd struggle with the randomness of the colours (I love a pattern!) however the bigger it grows the more I am enjoying the random patterns I can see this beginning to make. One thing I haven't done yet is joined two squares of the same colour together. I seem to be avoiding it but I know it is going to happen at some point - I need to get over that particular fear!

It was also very pleasing when on the 20th January I got to start my second row. Only because now I feel it is more of a blanket than just a huge snake of granny squares! I'm also very pleased that I've chosen to join as I go and sew in ends every day. It's going to save so much time at the end of the year.

The bottom row in this photo shows the last three days. White (22nd), meadow green (23rd) and mid-pink (24th).

I'm glad that I changed my mind and went with simple granny squares. I know that compared to some of the other amazing and beautiful blankets that I've seen from others participants that my finished blanket may look simple in comparison but I know it is a blanket that I will want to use at the end of the year when it is finished and that is my main point. There is no point putting time and effort into this if you aren't going to love it and feel proud at the end of 2014.

The first week.

So far one week has passed which of course equals seven squares. Since I posted the first two I decided to restart my squares. I wasn't happy with the white border and the way they joined together so I scrapped them and went with plain and simple granny squares. I kept my colours the same for days I had aready done. I am using the join-as-you-go technique so that I don't have a million to join together at the end.

I've given each colour an emotion or feeling for that particular day but there is no set colour for any mood. So on January 6th I used red for panic/action but I might use it again another day to symbolise something else, for example, love or passion.

Here's my squares so far:

Jan 1st: yellow (hope)

Jan 2nd: Rose pink (happy)

Jan 3rd: grey (tired) 

Jan 4th: mustard (blah, tired)

Jan 5th: sky blue (relaxed)

Jan 6th: red (panic, action)

Jan 7th: white (quiet)

Small progress

2014 is here!

Happy new year one and all! 2014 sounds like something from the future...why don't we have flying cars??! :( 

I'm going to try and blog more regularly this year. This is NOT a resolution it's just that I'm starting a new project that I want to blog about to keep track of it. It's a year long crochet project so this seems like a brilliant way to document my progress. 

The project is called #crochetmoodblanket2014 and was thought up by some clever lady on Instagram. So far hundreds of people have joined in! The idea is very simple - you crochet a granny square a day or a square a week (depending on what you feel like) and the colour depends on how you feel that particular day/week. At the end of it you are left with a big and beautiful blanket.

I have decided to go for one square a day. My blanket will be 19 x 19 squares big meaning I will do four border rows to take me up to 365. I am so excited to see what my blanket will look like this time next year.

Here is my first square: