General Happenings

Good day to you my friends! I have been having a very crafty few days- aided by my new books of course. I came to the conclusion one afternoon, Thursday I think it was, that I should crochet a crochet case for my growing number of crocheting tools. I based it on the pencil case made before my Portugal holiday- although this time I did some counting so I can tell you exactly how it was made!!

I began with a chain of 40 stitches (plus 1 extra for turning) and then worked 63 of rows of double crochet, making a chain stitch at the end of every row to enable a neat turn. My colour pattern was three rows of a blue colour and then one row of white (although sometimes the coloured stripes look different widths because of the thickness of the yarn used). To make the peaked flap I tried out a technique learnt in my 200 Crochet Blocks book by Jan Eaton where you make regular reduction stitches to curve your crochet.

So, as I wanted it to curve right in the middle, on the 64th row I dc 18 stitches, then dc3tog, then continued in dc for the rest of the row. (dc3tog = insert hook into first stitch, yo and pull through, insert hook into next stitch, yo and pull through (3 loops on hook), insert hook into final stitch, yo and pull through (4 loops on hook), yo and pull through all the loops on your hook) For the next few rows, you decrease the amount of dc stitches before the dc3tog- so, after that first decreasing row (the top white row in the above image), you dc for 18, then 17, then 16 etc before the dc3tog. Not sure if I am making sense here. I hope I am- I might try and do a tutorial for you all to try and explain better.
I continued for a few more rows (8 to be exact) and then on the last row, I made the buttonhole loops by chaining 6 after 5 dc (work in reverse for the other side). All that is left to do is to fold the length into 3, turn right sides together and sew up the 'pocket' bit, turn the right way round, sew on some buttons and voila!

Hmm, onto something less complicated I think...how about a shopping trip to Asda? My family go there quite regularly (it's where my Dad likes to buy his new clothes- we aren't followers of high fashion in this house) for big shops, and I was particularly entranced with these gorgeous Gladioli, going very cheaply for the grand old sum of £2!!

They are only just beginning to flower so I will keep you posted on their progress into blossom-hood. What do you think of my floral display there? The cards are for my parents, it was their wedding anniversary yesterday (22 years!!).
As well as Asda we took a quick detour to Dunelm Mill where my Dad decided he really liked these little lanterns- they are quite cute.

Ooo, would you like a trip round the garden? We haven't done one of those in a while! Come with me and we will gaze and drool over the beautiful flowers in the garden...

Thanks for popping by! Before I go, I would just like to draw your attention to a little white blob next to the bottle of vino in the photo of my gladioli- more on that blob coming soon, as well as some more gorgeous books! You're gonna love it!!!