Two Quilts & A New Year

Remember that time back in lockdown this year, that awful 'term two' of school where we had to have everyone at home? Yeah, I do, I had to  be Mrs Mum and teach the kids school work that was provided by the school and subsequently pretty much cried every day due to the stress of it? 

I remember wanting to do something for me, something to remember this time, something to help me through this time and more importantly.. I wanted 'me time'. So each weekend, I sat at the sewing machine & declared that no one was to bother me and I sewed. I sewed two quilt tops, both from fabric from stash. 

Joe's quilt top was first. It's made up from scraps and a white jelly roll I found in the back of my cuboard. The squares are just the scraps all sewn up then trimmed into a square shape. the long colourful strips at the side were the remaining scraps sewn long edge to long edge then trimmed into a huge jelly roll type shape.

I love the overall effect of it all. 

Delaney's quilt is a Dr Who quilt from the large stash of accumulated Dr Who fabric that I'd sourced over the years. 

It's just big fat squares sewn together, pretty simple really!

The tough bit of each quilt was the trimming, the basting and of course, the quilting. I wrestled it all on the kitchen table and have sworn to myself that I'm never quilting a full quilt at home again!

Mind you, I'm a sucker for punishment, and have enrolled in a class for a quilt as you go quilt. I've even bought a couple of layer cakes to use with the class.

The kids received the quilts for Christmas and they loved them both and have been sleeping with them on the bed every night. Joe keeps complimenting me on the quilt and states he's never taking it off!

Did you receive anything crafted for Christmas or perhaps did you give handmade for Christmas this year? 

Have you already made plans for next year? 

   

For more crafty inspiration & great crafty supplies, please check out this page that I put together here....

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Crocheted Christmas Wreath

I just finished crocheting this Christmas Wreath, shhh, it's a present for my Mum (I'll be gifting it to her when we see her in the New Year).

Do you think she'll like it?

I crocheted white yarn around a wreath & then crocheted the cute (& easy) christmas tree in a cheery green yarn (adding lil bells) then stuck glittery stars around before adding the finishing touch: a red ribbon. I think it looks cute, so do the kids & hubby said it belongs in an actual store! Do you like it? Do you have a handmade wreath at your house?

 

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Crochet Pattern: Temperature Blanket ::: Corner Temperature Blanket

Ahh, I see you're thinking of making a Temperature Blanket! That is awesome, I'm so glad you've come here to me, to figure out how to make one! 

This blanket is called the Corner Temperature Blanket as it's worked two sides at a time, starting from a corner and working outwards, always forming/staying a square at the end of each row. #CornerTemperatureBlanket

For the first 6 months, 1 row a day = 2 sides then for the last 6 months of the year, 1 row a day = 1 side.

Size: 

If you make the blanket as stated for a full 12 months then it will be a king size blanket, at 6 months the blanket is queen size. If you use a smaller gauge yarn (like this..) then it will be a queen size for the full 12 months or if you're wanting a smaller blanket maybe for a double bed try this yarn or for a single bed, then you may like to try this yarn.

Firstly, you need to do a little bit of homework, sorry, but it makes things easier later on and it's the first step in planning your colours.

Homework: you need to determine what your average temperatures are. 

For me, here in Australia, I visited the Bureau of Meterology website to find out what the average cooler & warmer temperatures are. 

You need to find this out as these two colours will feature heavily in your blanket. 

If you look at the blanket below, you will note there is a lot of mint green & burnt orange as the (two) average temperatures use those colours.

Then you will need to come up with a guide for what your temperature ranges will be. This will vary from person to person, state to state, country to country.

We have a lot of cooler weather here, it rarely snows and the summer rarely gets too hot. So my temperature rangers were (in Celsius):

39c +

38c - 34c

33c - 29c

28c - 24c 

23c - 19c

18c - 14c  

13c - 08c

07c & under

Then you can play around with your colour choices, I browsed the site American Yarns to get a feel of the colours.

I came up with the 'temperature gauge' below.

Now is the time to order your yarn, remembering that the amounts will vary for each person as it's hard to predicate the exact amounts as we can't predicate the weather! Hook size for this yarn is a recommended 5.5mm

Here as an approximate guide for the above gauge/colours: 

Temp            Colour            # of balls needed

39c +            Dark Orchid     x 1 ball

38c - 34c      Hot Red            x 1 ball

33c - 29c      Grenadine         x 1 ball

28c - 24c      Perfect Pink      x 1 ball

23c - 19c      Coral                 x 4 balls  (second most common average temp)

18c - 14c      Mint Green        x 7 balls  (most common average temp)

13c - 08c      Light Grey         x 3 balls 

7c & under   Aran                   x 1 ball 

Tip: as you may need to top up your yarn stash throughout the year, it's best to use a commonly made yarn/colourway.

Once you have ordered & received your yarn, it's time to create your swatch reference card. Trust me, you will use this lots, so it's best to make a decent one at the start.

It's a good idea to keep a notebook or a note on your phone to record the temperature each day as you may not always get a chance to crochet the row each day!

Time to crochet:

Day 1: First row is just a granny square!

Day 1 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

Day 2: We work on two sides of the granny square only. 

Day 2 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

Day 3: Starting the row above the start of row 2. 

As you can see from the image below, I started the row where the scissors are pointing and ended the row where the crochet hook is pointing.

Day 3 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

As you can see, you just keep starting back at the start of the previous row, working only two sides at a time.

Now after 6 months, check the size of the blanket. Is it just right or getting too big? If it's getting too big, then instead of working in granny stitch on two sides per day then switch to Single Crochet (SC) and work one side per day. 

Keep on crocheting, keep enjoying the crocheting but if you feel you need to take a short break, then just keep recording the daily temperatures and come back to it when you feel up to it. 

#CornerTemperatureBlanket   

Keep me posted, I'd love to see your #CornerTemperatureBlanket or tag me @CraftyRie on social media.

Check out American Yarns for a great selection of yarn to choose from, they have a great colour range, lots of stock and friendly service.

American Yarns helped me out with this project by supplying me with this gorgeous yarn, thank you!

A Holiday Gift Guide ::: Last minute gift ideas to please everyone!

Yay, it's almost the end of this horrible year but first, let's fill our world with colour & happiness. To celebrate this festive season, I think we all deserve an extra special December this year....let's end the year with a make-a-thon!

Here are some great ideas for last minute gift ideas that you can either make for others or maybe even for yourself!

Dill Pickle Ornament pattern from CupCakeCutie1

This fun dill pickle ornament would be great fun for lots of people and imagine giving a jar of them to someone special!  

Bat Coaster pattern from Quilt Doodle Designs

I love these bat coasters and I think they'll be perfect for blokes, teens, penpals, college students etc.

Mail box & letters pattern from BraidCraft

This fun postage box & mail toy would be a great gift for kids under the age of 9 maybe 10. They could have so much playing with it and you could write fun letters to go in it.

Crochet Gnome pattern from RoKiki

Crochet these gorgeous gnomes in festive colours (or sports colours!). Make just one, two or all three for the perfect gift.

pattern from BraidCraft

Sew these cute sleepy doll & bears with their own sleeping bag, great gift idea for 1-12 year olds.

Crochet bear pattern from RoKiki

Give someone a great big lovely bear hug! This crochet bear would be loved by both kids & adults.

Kitty pouch sewing pattern from StubbornlyCrafty

This gorgeous kitty pouch would be perfect for young girls, teenage girls, college girls and even adults!

Dog mask pattern from LPobject

This fun (cardboard) dog mask is just perfect for teenage boys, lads, college students and well, uncles & brothers too!

Ink roller from Pattern Paint Rollers

I just loved this ink roller, there are lots of gorgeous designs (see here..) and would be perfect for the art/creative person in your life.

Coaster sewing pattern from Malindaann

I love these tea/mug coasters! They'd be perfect for teachers, aunts, grans, neighbours, penpals and well, even perfect for Santa for Christmas Eve.

Crochet pattern from LauLovesCrochet

This little mouse in a stocking in a matchbox is just the cutest thing ever! Perfect for kids aged 5-16, boys & girls!

Unicorn pattern from CupCakeCutie1

How about a stuffed head for the wall? I loved this one as I loved the use of yarn for the mane but there are lots of other types to choose from too. (see here...)

If you'd like some further inspiration, the click over to this gorgeous gift guide to help you out.

And lastly, an e-gift card makes for an awesome present. Grab some from Etsy and send them via email to your loved ones so they can have fun picking out their gifts. You may also like to send a link to the Etsy Gift Guide too, so they can have some inspiration for the gift card.

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Decembering

Ahh, it's December already! Eeks, that means my son will soon be 10 years old and that means that I will have officially been a Mum for 10 years too. Wowzers! Christmas is also fast approaching, it will be here in a blink of an eye. Then we'll be kissing this horrid year good bye and welcoming in a new year.

So, what have you been doing? I've been a busy little bee!

I've been knitting up these cute little babies, I hope to make 4 so there will be 2 for each of my kids. 

I'm wrangling quilts through my sewing machine! I've never actually quilted a quilt on my home machine and well, after this, I don't think I will be doing it again as my machine just isn't big enough but these are only for single beds so they are just fitting. 

I've been sewing small zipper pouches for teachers gifts from fabric from my stash.

I even sewed a cute little zipper pouch that I woven myself! Grab yourself a mini loom and have fun using up your stash too!

I'm still crocheting my 2020 Temperature Blanket, thank the stars that the people at American Yarns has lots of yarn to keep stocking up my stash as this is a big blanket!

I've also just noticed that Craftsy are offering a super deal of $5 for an entire year of membership! That is super cheap and such a fab bargain that I've just treated myself to a subscription as my goals for next year are to use the classes to make a quilted jacket and a great stash busting project for a quilt.

For more crafty inspiration & great crafty supplies, please check out the page that I put together here....

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

A gorgeous Christmas decoration

I just finished making this gorgeous Christmas decoration, do you like it?

It looks really hard but after you've made a few smaller pieces for it, it all comes together really nicely.

And the big plus factor is that it's a great stash scrap busting project too.

Now that I've made one (for a gift), I think I'll make myself one and leave it hanging up in the loungeroom all year long.

If you want to see a small video of it spinning around, then click the video here...

Pattern: is this one....

It also comes as a kit too.

For more crafty inspiration, please check out the page that I put together here....

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Octoberness

 Hello!

It's just turned spring here in Tassie and wow, I'm loving being able to go outside again!

Have you been making stuff, I have. I never stop! Sometimes I even finish stuff too!

Here's some stuff that I've been doing:

I've been making this super awesome 3d paper pieced ornament and I'm loving it! I have another kit to use after I finish this one and I think I might make the next one from denim scraps! I've popped a clickable photo up on the 'zon here.... (yes, it's an aff link) so you can grab a kit for yourself too (& have as much fun as I do stitching it all together).

I made hubby a bunch of boxers for his birthday and it turns out that I got the sizing perfect & they're super comfy ...so guess who'll be getting a bunch more for Christmas! Pattern is from here...... 

If you're after suggestions on where to buy knit/stretch fabric, check out my blog post about it here...

I picked up an old embroidery project and decided to try & finish it. I just simply adore it, the simplicity of the one colour is just stunning but what will I do with it when finished? Embroidery pattern from here.....

I've been doing more but that's all I can think of right now - I just did my income tax and my brain is fried! I think I need a rest, maybe pick up some knitting but I'd love to hear what you've been doing!

For extra crafty inspiration, then check out all the supplies available here...

I utilise affiliate links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Yellow bottoms!

                    

My recent sewing makes are these two legger trousers.

The stripey ones are leggings, made from old stashed fabric as they were a test piece as I was confused by the sizing. It turns out they fit perfect, so I'll be making more.

The lighter yellow pair are called Yoggers and well, they were so easy to make & look so good on my son, that I'll definitively be making more of these!

The leggings pattern is a FREE pattern, get it here...

The Yoggers pattern is available here & is FREE and totally fabulous!

If you're after suggestions on where to buy knit/stretch fabric, check out my blog post about it here...

For extra crafty inspiration, then check out all the supplies available here...

I utilise affiliate links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you.   So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie