Spring, Spring, Spring! And Giveaway winners!

Posted in Blogging, Giveaways, Life, Outings by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Any fans of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will be completely forgiven for breaking out into uproarious song after reading the title of my post. It’s my lovely mum’s most favourite movie so the show tunes have become ingrained from childhood!

This weekend we definitely enjoyed ‘Ma Nature’s yearly miracle’ as we went on a visit to Tatton Park, an historic estate in Cheshire. And OH but the sun was glorious and the sky was so blue, the birds were a-twitterin’ and blossoms…well they were just so blossomy!!!

I can’t even begin to tell you how nice it was to get outside and enjoy some good weather after quite a grey March – and to walk about with no coat on either; just delightful!

It was an absolute pleasure slowly walking round the gardens with all my family (as my mum and Dad came too), talking and taking in and appreciating the scenery.

I even spotted a bit of crochet in one of the farmers huts…though I might question the realism of the colour palette of the bottom blanket for the olden days – hot pink yarn?!!

Then whilst hubby played with the girls on the play-park my parents and I wandered over to look at the house. Inside, amongst lots of other things, they had what seemed to be a little embroidery showcase. There was no denying the talent of the artists that had created some of the pieces – they were just stunning! I took a picture of my favourite work because I just thought it was so beautiful (silly me though I forgot to look for the name of the artist) I just love the colours, the composition of the piece…just everything about it!

The highlight of the day for everyone though was Tatton Park’s lambing week…

By some sort of wizardry they had synchronised their ewes to lamb within a 10 day period and there were so many of the little cuties bouncing about ‘waggin’ tails, rubbin’ noses’. Although we didn’t see any lambs actually being born, we saw some that had just been born! Little G asked lots of interesting questions…and was thoroughly intrigued by the whole thing.

By the end of the day we’d walked over 8.4km (about 5.5 miles) round the gardens and house, enjoyed some eating alfesco with the first picnic of the year and all went home with happy hearts! So glad that Spring is finally here!

And before I forget there are some giveaway winners to announce aren’t there! Just to remind you, I set a little competition so some lovely people could win some pattern prizes (details in this post). Was the winner you? Did you get the answer right?

Well the answer to my clue was my Daisy Chain Flourish blanket…

but some of you answered that it was my Daisy Chain afghan square which was kind of right too – so I’ve tumbled you all into a random.org and the winners of a pattern of their choice are:

Patricia Giles
Trisha Smith
Nicola
Yolande Timkoe
Kirsty

Congratulations folks! Please can you get in touch with me so you can claim your prize!

Well until next time, happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

8Mar2017

I Like Crochet Magazine | Jelly Bean Bunny

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Patterns by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, when you make a purchase through these links I do receive a small commission – thank you so much for supporting my blog! 💗

The April 2017 issue of I Like Crochet magazine is now available for your reading and crochet pleasure…and it’s chock-a-block full with over 27 lovely Spring patterns for you…including one designed by me!

If you haven’t heard of I Like Crochet magazine before it’s a US bi-monthly digital magazine which is published by the creators of AllFreeCrochet.com.

Can’t wait to get ready for Easter? For this months issue I have designed a sweet little Jelly Bean Bunny amigurumi which you can personalise in your favourite spring colours and add a yummy sweet snack in its arms. It’s a fab little stash buster for any odds and ends that you have lying around – you can make up a load of bunnies in no time!

This month’s features:

27+ spectacular spring projects
Easter Sweets
Fairy Tale Shawls
Birds of a Feather
Crochet Classics
Make it for Mom

There are patterns for Easter, mum, and just for you!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY to get your own copy of my new pattern plus more straight to your desktop or iPad.

Well until next time, happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

11Jan2017

Toy Hammock | Pattern Special Offer

Posted in Crochet, Family, For Baby, For Child, Sale / Special Offer by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

If your house is anything like mine after Christmas well it was a bit of a jumble…the culprits – a vast influx of more toys! Now with stuffies for two girls pretty much taking over our house I decided it was high time to remake one of my old designs, a toy hammock.

The one that I originally made for Little G was still fine (and that’s after 3 years and several washes!) so I moved that into the nursery ready for the emerging soft toy collection of Little Miss…

and then I made a supersized hammock for Little G – because SO many toys!

Are toys taking over your little one’s room? Then a sturdy toy hammock is just what you need to keep all those teddies off the floor or the bed. This pattern really is ideal for the bedroom or nursery to display and keep collections of soft toys tidy. You could also use the hammock for organising lots of other things around the house such as gloves & scarves or sports equipment.

And now the special offer! To help in your tidying endeavours from now until 31 January 2017 you can get my toy hammock pattern for just £1 / $1.21 over in my Ravelry store. No coupon code needed – just add the basket to your cart and you should see the discount appear. After the sale the pattern will go back up to full price so get your copy now and don’t forget to share this deal with your friends!

Until next time, happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

17Apr2014

Getting a bit crafty with string eggs

Posted in Family, Getting Crafty, Life by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So as it’s nearly Easter I swear that string eggs are everywhere! As they look so cool I thought Little G and I would have a go at making some as the one thing I do have a lot of is spare yarn lying around.

If you want to have a go at making them here’s what you will need:

PVA kids glue
A saucer or a bowl to put the glue into
Wool or String
Scissors
Small Balloons (or water balloons)
Some treats (in wrappers)
Apron (it does get messy!)
A tray to put your string eggs on to dry

1. Make sure you have an area you don’t mind getting messy and I would suggest aprons for anyone involved!

2. Stuff your treats inside the deflated balloon and then blow up to the size you want your string eggs. The treats I had brought were like chocolate coins so it turned into a fiddle-fest to get them inside so I would definitely suggest roundish treats!

It’s only natural that not all the chocolate will make it inside the balloons if you are working with small children…

3. Next put your glue into the bowl, you will need quite a bit as you need to soak the string or wool thoroughly.

4. Then start to wind your gluey string or wool around one of your balloons; this bit gets extremely sticky and there is likely to be glue splash! You don’t have to wrap your eggs too neatly; cross the yarn in lots of different directions to make an interesting ‘cage’. You will need to wrap the balloons enough so that your treats won’t fall out.

5. Once you have finished wrapping your balloons you will need to set them aside on a tray to dry; we left ours for a couple of days…

6. Check to see if the yarn feels hard and if it does pop your balloon. You may need to snip the balloon a bit to release the treats this can be a bit tricky. Once the treats are free you can then pull out the balloon bits leaving the chocolate behind and that’s it, place on a shelf and admire!

I really love them! I have now added them to my Eastery looking shelves ready for Easter weekend! Hope you all enjoy a lovely holiday with your family x