Creative Crochet Patterns

As you can see the postman called again today. There is still no sign of the Interweave Crochet that was posted on the 29th December nor of my Amazon parcel. I was chatting to the postman and he said there is still a backlog of post and he has been delivering Christmas cards to people this week that were obviously posted before the 25th December!

Today's delivery is some more patterns from Kay Jones. I have put the link to Creative crochet on here so if you click on my blog title it will take you there. I am especially fond of her patterns as she uses UK terms for the patterns which means that I don't have to convert the stitch names in my head all the time that I am crocheting as I do when I use a US pattern. You have a choice whether the patterns get posted out or are sent as a PDF. I think that I have more than half of her baby crochet patterns now so I am ready for the next wave of babies.

At the moment I am knitting a baby cardigan from a vintage Patons baby pattern that I bought recently from Sue West The Vintage Knitting Lady
www.thevintageknittinglady.co.uk
I used to have this pattern many years ago, I lent it out and of course never got it back so I was glad of the opportunity to buy another copy. I was also pleased to see that I could still buy some Baby Quick Knit. I bought this Sirdar version from Purplelinda but sadly she only stocks it in white. It is a nice weight for babies. Thicker than a 4ply but finer than a double knit. This little jacket is for the Kings Arms barman's new baby to be. I don't know why but I find vintage patterns a lot easier to follow than today's modern patterns.

Last night I went to the Kings Arms Knit Club. There were 4 new knitters that came to join us last night. It's nice when young people are eager to learn. Rachael was doing the teaching. I didn't join in as I do knit and cast on slightly differently to Rachael and I think that it is confusing if learners have more than one teacher at first. I was chatting to a few of the regular club members. Roger brought his crocheted cowl for us to see and Rachael brought the lovely knitted wire and bead bracelets that she has been making. They are very pretty. I might try one out soon but I would need a magnetic fastener as my fingers just don't work well enough for the normal clasp bracelet fasteners. One reason why I rarely wear jewelry is that I can't do fasteners and have even had to sleep in necklaces and bracelets until I can get someone to help me out of them.

I hope to finish off the little white matinee jacket today and will probably start another one tonight.

Not Much Crochet - But Oops I Have Been Stashing Again

I haven't been doing a lot in the way of knitting or crochet these last couple of days as when Buster stays he has a habit of moulting over everywhere so I keep my Christmas present knitting out of his reach. I could not start my niece's black cardigan as I have been waiting for the parcel to arrive.

Today (Sunday) I was amazed to get a delivery of 2 parcels. I think that Royal Mail must have saved them up to get in a bit of overtime money before Christmas unless they really are mowed out with Christmas on line orders. The newspapers do say that more people are ordering their Christmas presents online this year.

The first order was delivered on Saturday and that was my patterns from Kay Jones (Kay's Creative Crochet) I do like her patterns and think that I have now ordered almost every pattern of hers that I like. I have quite a collection. They are written out in UK terms which is a bonus for me. I could order them as PDF's and save the postage but as I didn't have a working printer when I placed the order I sent for hard copies. I am addicted to the nice squeaky paper that she uses to print them out on. If I printed them they would just be on normal A4 paper. I have been using my new printer to print out the patterns that I have ordered PDF recently. I do like a paper copy of my patterns. I haven't as yet tried the scanner that is with the printer. I will have to read the manual for that.

The orders that I got today were from Purplelinda and McA Direct. From Purplelinda I ordered the Black Patons Diploma DK for my niece's cardigan. I also got a bag of stuffing for the Christmas decorations, a Sirdar crochet pattern for my great grand daughters, and two double ended hooks by Knit Pro. Each end is a different size. My online friend Zuleika (Life in the Zu) has had double ended hooks for ages and loves them. I am not sure if they are Knit Pros but Rachael (Artyarn) got a hook bought for her for her as a present and she loves it. I will let you know how I get on with these hooks once I have a trial run. I am famous for buying all different kinds of hooks and then going back to my old ones and giving the new ones away. Still if you don't try anything different then you will never know if you like them.

I have not ordered from McA Direct before but they were recommended to me by a Ravelry friend. I ordered from them as I love Regia wool for socks but in the 6ply and not many people stock that. I can get 4ply anywhere but I do like the 6ply as I only wear my socks around the house or when I wear my boots and so I like the thicker wool. Not to mention that they knit up much faster! The recommended amount is 3 x 50 gram balls per pair of socks and it is £3.95 a ball but as I only like very short legs on my socks I can make a pair from 2 balls. The huge knitting needles are not to knit with. I watched a video on You Tube showing Broomstick crocheting. I tried doing it many years ago but this video made everything much plainer than a book does. My broomstick needle is made of wood and really heavy to handle so I have bought two sizes of plastic needles to try the stitches out. I have the patterns in Doris Chan's latest book and also a booklet with baby blankets in that I have had for many years. The metal clasps are for stash. I cannot buy them anywhere so when I saw them online I just had to buy a couple of sets to keep in my stash. They make a nice single fastener for an edge to edge cardigan.

Yesterday I went to the Islington Mill with Rachael. We were carrying on making some more ornaments for the Christmas tree at the Kings Arms. Rachael is going to take a photo of everything that has been made so far and post it on Facebook. I will copy the photo and put it on here for you to see. On Monday we are starting to trim the tree and see whether we need any more ornaments making. Last night I made a couple of snowmen (they are flat, not stuffed ones) and a couple more Christmas wreaths. I was supposed to be going to my daughter in law's 50th Birthday party in the evening but my back and legs were hurting so much I just didn't feel like making the effort. If the weather had been warmer I would have gone as I do like their parties. They are biker events and great fun. I would have been the misery sat in the corner had I gone. It's hard to feel in the party mood when my back hurts. I don't know why my back pain has suddenly started up again. I can only guess that it's because of the cold weather. I don't know what I would do if I had the snow that Beverooni has. I would hibernate! I have the heating on and still feel cold. I am dreading the winter fuel bills despite getting my heating allowance.

Thanks to everyone for your lovely words and wishes for my Birthday. I do appreciate them. I think that the best part of any Birthday is not the presents (although it is nice to get some) or the cards, it's the fact that people take the trouble to wish you a Happy Birthday. I had visitors, phone calls and of course my online wishes. That, to me, makes a Birthday special. It must be awful for lonely people if they have no one to wish them a Happy Birthday or a Happy Christmas as well.

I have now put most of the stash back in the small bedroom after moving it for my son to take the divan bed away. I decided to take an inventory of what was in there and keep a list on my PC for the future. What I did discover was things that I had forgotten that I had ever bought! They were in plastic bags at the back of the shelf along with a couple of partly crocheted tops. I think having a list of the larger amounts will be beneficial to me when I am planning my next projects. I am not listing all the odd balls or sock wool as that doesn't count as stash. Ha Ha - well not in my eyes. I have bought quite a bit of wool recently that was on offer especially to stash so I want to keep a list of what I actually have in the stash room.

My New Year's resolution for this year not to buy wool for a few months (unless it is for someone else as a gift) lasted until about July and this coming year I should be able to last even longer now that I have catalogued my stash!

I am still waiting for a couple more parcels containing wool and then I am putting my bank cards away for a while. I had to order more as the wool is for presents. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it. Some wool for me might have accidentally jumped into my basket as I browsed but that's allowed. Think of all the VAT and postage that I have saved by ordering now. That's a good excuse isn't it? I don't count the postage as I usually order enough to make it worthwhile. If I had to go and shop for it personally it could cost me more than the postage money in journey costs especially at the moment when I am not using public transport.

I hope to get to the Kings Arms tomorrow night so will make a couple more ornaments tonight. Once I have given everywhere a good hoovering and washed the throws and cushions tomorrow then I will be able to start the black knitting and the navy crocheting.

Time for another cup of hot coffee and a bit of playtime with Buster before he goes home later.

The Postman Called Today

I just love it when the postman calls with a parcel for me. Even though I ordered it and know exactly what is in the parcel there is still something exciting about ripping open the envelope and seeing the contents. My parcel today came from Purplelinda. I love the acrylic hooks that they sell even though I am the kiss of death to the finer ones. They are labelled that they are only suitable for fine work but hey ho breaking a couple is the price I pay for loving the feel of them. They are so lightweight and as I can't use bamboo hooks they are the best thing for my arthritis. The wool is to try the crocheted version of the Baby Surprise Jacket. I bought the pattern on Ravelry a few days ago and I am hoping that this wool has a long enough colour sequence to give the jacket a striped effect. It is so easy to find sock wool with long colour changes but more difficult to find long length double knit unless I pay loads of money for hand dyed wool which quite frankly I think is a waste of money for a young baby.New Mums have enough to do without having to hand wash baby cardigans.

I couldn't resist the bolero pattern. It is P904 by Peter Pan and although I have a couple of bolero patterns already this pattern is in DK. I think that I need to hide my card so that I can't order any more on line for a week or two. It's like an addiction. Other people love clothes and shoes, some collect jewelry. I just love anything related to crochet.

I have finished the pattern 220 by Kay Jones. I decided to edge it with pale green so that it could be used for a baby boy. It was a very easy pattern to make and I am sure that I will be using the pattern again. The pattern goes up to a 26" chest so I am not limited to using it for baby sizes.

I have started another Kay Jones pattern with the green that I have used for the trimming. I have chosen a hooded jacket in a rib effect crochet. I will post photos of that tomorrow.

Yesterday I sorted through my stash and put the baby colours in one box as I seem to be in the baby cardigan making mood. I have quite a few balls of white but have left them in their packages. I just wanted to see what colours I had in stash.

I really need to tidy up the rest of the stash as it has got very higgeldy piggeldy since I inherited lots of odd balls to use in my homeless hat and scarf making. I will use these up later in the year ready for the cold weather. I need to sort out 'my' stash that is destined for my personal use away from the donated stash that is destined for my charity crochet and knit.

My knitting has hit a stop this weekend. I can only knit if I am feeling tip top but if I am not then I find crocheting is something that I don't have to concentrate on quite as much.The weather has turned cold again which affects my joints anyway. Bring on the sunshine!

Boys Sweaters Finished

I have finished Charlie and Finlay's sweaters in time for Sunday. I used a Kay Jones pattern number 77 for them and they took 300 grams of the main colour to make both sweaters. I used Robin DK Shade 059 which I bought from Abakhan in Manchester. It is a cream but has threads of darker colours threaded in the yarn. I used a small ball of contrast that I had in stock. I basically used the pattern but I did change the crochet stitch. The pattern calls for UK half trebles but I changed it to an alternating UK treble and double crochet as I thought that it produced a denser boy type fabric. On the pattern the button bands are in the contrast colour but my ball of contrast was running out so I just used it to border the edge of the button band. I am pleased with the way the sweaters have turned out. It's nice to find a boyish crochet pattern.

I have returned to the Lacy Duster coat and have started one of the sleeves. The pattern has the sleeves crocheted after all of the body is finished but I prefer to do the sleeves earlier than that, before the weight of the Duster makes it difficult to keep swinging the sleeves around as I crochet. The body is starting to get a bit of shape now after the waistline. This is so the coat will swing out at the lower edge once the bottom pattern is started.

My gardener came this morning and weeded and trimmed the bushes and plants in the front garden. It is looking much better but it still has loads of leaves there as the Daffodils didn't flower much this year. Nor did the Crocus, the Bluebells or the Iris. The gardener has fed the soil so that hopefully next year I will get flowers as well as just leaves. I hadn't really touched the garden for a long time and I hadn't fed the soil for 2 or 3 years so it's no wonder I had such a poor show of Spring flowers this year.

I got my Tesco delivery today so I have food in the house once again. It is very convenient having food delivered in this way but to be honest I really do prefer to shop myself and see exactly what I want. Online I tend to buy all kinds of things, spend a lot of money, and finish up with very little fresh meat or veg to actually eat. On the plus side when I go to Tesco next I won't have to lug home any bottles of water and cordial nor any washing powder and softener for a while. I stocked up on my tins also so my future shopping shouldn't be as heavy to wheel home for a few weeks.

It's been a miserable dull day today. I haven't done as much crochet so far today as I fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon. I am getting such a sleepy head these days. I have got into the habit of a little afternoon nap about 3pm. I wish that I felt refreshed after my little naps but they tend to make me even more droopy for the rest of the evening. I try my best not to nap but tiredness overtakes me and I nod off over my crochet. If they were power naps and I woke up raring to go then I wouldn't mind so much. I might sit under my S.A.D light for a little while as there has been no natural sunshine today to waken my brain cells up and it does make a difference to my spirits.

Practising Tunisian Crochet

Last night I had a little practise with my new Tunisian hooks. Although I do find the short hook attached to a cable a lot easier to manage than a long rigid Tunisian hook I still have a long way to go. At the moment although I can do the basic stitch I am struggling with the purl stitch and my tension is far to slack at the moment. I think it's a bit like when I learned to crochet. It's all about holding the hook and the yarn at the right angle and getting the tension right. I think that I will need a lot more practise before I embark upon one of Kay Jones patterns.Once I have finished off the things on my 'to do' list then I will have more time to have another try.

I managed to finish off the Triangular Shawl for my sister in law's 70th birthday party. It is from the Contemporary Crochet book by Sys Fredens and is so quick and easy to make. I used approx 300 grams of James C Bretts Marble Chunky that I bought from Abakhan on Thursday. I have added an edging to the shawl as I think it looks a bit bare without one. The shawl is on a 12mm hook but I had to use a 10mm hook. Not only do I crochet a bit loose I find overlarge hooks hard to grip as I have arthritis in my hands.I think that is another reason why I am struggling to get my tension right on the Tunisian crochet.

I have started a sweater from a Kay Jones pattern 77 that I bought this week. I am using the Robin DK that I also bought from Abakhan this week. I have changed the stitch as the pattern uses a half treble stitch for the main body of the sweater and it was turning out too loose with the way that I am crocheting at the moment. I am using the pattern for size and shaping but am using an alternating treble and double crochet stitch which is closer crochet. I never used to crochet loosely so I am blaming my arthritis and the fact that I cannot grip the hook as I used to. I compensate by using smaller hooks but some stitches still come out too loose for me.

Another sunny day today but as I haven't yet been outside I don't know if it is warm. Our weather is deceiving. I can dress for a sunny day and then go outside and it's quite cold. I will stand outside for a while before I decide how to dress for the party tonight. I am, at the moment, quite sedentary I do tend to feel the cold more than most so I will be taking a cardigan with me no matter what.

I hope that you have a good weekend. I am hoping to be able to get to my monthly Knit Out tomorrow but it all depends on how the old knees hold out tonight.

Pink Crochet Baby Jacket

I do love crocheting baby clothes - especially ones for baby girls. This jacket isn't destined for any particular baby. A friend of mine fosters babies, as does a friend of hers so one day one of them will get a little girl baby (I hope) Much as I love little boys it isn't quite the same thrill crocheting or knitting for them. The pattern for this jacket is one of Kay Jones number 199 and is made from 100 grams of Robin Bonny Babe DK. The pattern has a matching beanie but as I only had 100 grams I didn't have enough to make that as well. I like working with Kay's patterns as they use UK terms and I don't have to convert with every line. I have placed a link to her site in the blog title. Take a look at her site she does adult patterns as well as baby and children's crochet patterns.

Today I got a lift to the Knitting Noras in my niece's new car. Oh the luxury of a lovely comfy ride instead of dragging myself on the metro and the bus. My knees have been particularly bad this week so I would have had to give the Knit Out a miss if not for a lift. My niece has offered to take me to the Kings Arms knit club tomorrow night so I am a very lucky lady this week.I wasn't able to get to the Islington Mill knit out yesterday as I still have Buster and I didn't think that it was fair to leave him on his own for hours two days together plus the fact that I would have had a metro trip and a bus trip both directions. If I had one good knee I would buy myself a little scooter and scoot my way up to the tram station as it is the walk to and from there that really kills my knees. That would be a sight for sore eyes. Fat lady on a kid's scooter flying up the road with knitting bags on the handlebars!

I gave my niece her Ugg type crochet boots as she will be away for her birthday. I told her that I am making her something else but as it is on hold because of Buster hair then she will get it later. I didn't tell her what it is as I don't want to spoil the surprise. It won't take me that long to finish it once Buster has gone back home.

The couple who live across the road were enquiring why I had Buster as they know that I can't walk him and I was explaining about his injuries. He is raring to go out for a walk but I can't put a collar on him as yet. Bernie offered to walk him for me as she has a harness for her dog which will not go anywhere near his neck wounds. She said that she will take him for a short walk on a long lead on Tuesday. I just hope that he will go with her.He is a funny dog. Very clingy. We can only try. If he is on a lead then he won't be able to go into the water but will be able to run a bit free on the extending lead.

I have started crocheting another baby cardigan in lilac from the new crochet book that I like. I will post photos of it once it is finished.

Woman's Weekly Knit and Crochet Special

Tonight I went to the Kings Arms, Salford Knit Club. It felt good to go there tonight as I have missed a couple of weeks. I really enjoy the company there. Great bunch of people plus the joy of knitting in a pub that always makes us feel so welcome. Somehow it all makes for a different atmosphere to the usual Knit Clubs. Not as many people there as usual but we had a good natter and a good laugh.

I have started an All Shawl with a part machine cone that I was given and will have to adapt as the cone is a mere 4ply weight and the pattern is for much thicker yarn. I will improvise when I get to the edging pattern. I wanted some mindless crochet for the Knit Club yesterday and tonight. I cannot concentrate on anything too complicated whilst chatting.

I have also started another baby pattern by Kay Jones. Once again I will be adapting as the pattern is for 4ply and I have double knitting yarn. A minor detail that I will work on. I will use the pattern stitch from this new pattern but use the stitches and rows from the pattern I have just made with a bit of improvisation to make it a V Neck. All will be revealed when I take photographs tomorrow.

The photos today are from the Woman's Weekly Knitting and Crochet Special Autumn 2009 that I bought yesterday from WH Smiths in Bolton. It has quite a few garments in there that I like. One is the grey shawl collar cardigan which is crocheted and I like the striped baby all in one with a little hat which I will adapt to make a sweater. The crochet duffle coat is another pattern that I like. There is also a pattern for a knitted Noddy doll and a Thomas the Tank sweater in the magazine.

Fringed Baby Jackets by Kay Jones

I have finally finished the two fringed baby jackets for a friend's foster babies. After all of the boys that have been born lately it is so nice to have girls to crochet for. I have put the link to the pattern site in the blog title. The jackets took 200 grams of white acrylic by Sarah Louise and 50 grams of Lilac Wendy DK which has a lustre in it. The pattern is one of Kay Jones number 152 and has the advantage of being written with UK terms.

Today I went up to Bolton to the Knitting Noras and spent an hour or so crocheting in the Costa Cafe. Not such a good turn out today as a lot of members were either away or doing other things. My niece gave me a lift there and back which was a God send as my knee isn't liking this damp rainy weather. She did some shopping in M&S whilst she was waiting for me so I fear that I am to blame for her being led astray by a new pair of winter boots and a handbag. Blame Auntie Nettie I don't mind if you do. I bought a new knit and crochet magazine ( yes another one) whilst I was in WH Smiths and will post photos of that tomorrow.

We didn't get up to the wool shop in Ramsbottom yesterday as my niece went out for a night on the town with the girls on Friday night and so ,quite rightly, decided not to drive on Saturday as she had consumed a few units of alcohol on Friday. She is off school on half term this week so we are going to the Yarn Barn in Shaw one day. I like that shop as it stocks my favourite Sirdar Wash n' wear which is ideal for babies. They have the most wonderful garment displays in the window and big squashy sofas for pattern browsing.

My friend Dee told me that she has seen an advert for How To Look Good Naked with Gok Wan and it flashed a photo of me from the calendar. I am a bit confused though as she said I was in the middle of two other ladies so not sure that it was me as I was photographed on my own but she insists it had my face on it! I will have to tune in on Tuesday to Channel Four and see if I get my two seconds of fame on National TV. I am surprised that there was room for other people either side of me (if it was my photo). Surely the size of me would fill the whole screen!

Pattern 55

This is another of Kay Jones's patterns. It is number 55 and is the second pattern from the top if you click on the link in the blog title. It is made with Wendy Lustre DK and has taken about 150 grams to make the 20-22" chest. The rosebuds are just balanced on as I don't have enough of them to put on this sweater and the one I have yet to make. The person I am making them for will finish off the trimming as she desires. I have to make a smaller size sweater and another of the cardigans from my previous post in s smaller size.

Today Kath and Sylvia came to visit along with Wilma the dog and the foster baby B. I took some beautiful photos of the baby with the dog but for obvious reasons I can't post them on this blog. The baby must remain anonymous until his future is decided.

Whilst I showed Kath and Sylvia the way to the bus stop I missed the friend who was coming to pick up the knitting machines by a few minutes. He came early. Isn't it always the way that you can stay in for hours and the minute that you go out for 10 minutes someone calls. Such is life I suppose. It is the same reason why your toast always drops butter side down! I have missed deliveries before today merely because I visited the smallest room for a natural break and could not answer the door quick enough. I have thought of wearing a catheter for such occasions or putting a sign on the door saying back in a weeeee while!

I have started the second cream sweater but if I post another photo then it will look like more photos of the same sweater so guess you won't see many project photos for the next couple of days! That's the only trouble with making two things the same.

I have seen on the Naked Knitting Blog site today a post that says the calendar should be ready tomorrow but I won't get to see it until the next knit out. It will be available for order from the weekend if you pop along to the web page (links on the right hand side) If they ask who told you about the calendar then please tell them that I did. If you are going to the I Knit show in London then I believe it will be launched and for sale there. I don't know, as yet, when it has it's launch in Bolton. I do hope that they have one after all it is a Bolton project and should be publicized in Bolton where more people are aware of us, and of Christies Hospital, through the Bolton Evening News and the Manchester Evening News articles that have appeared recently, plus local radio and TV appearances. It would be nice to get all the Calendar ladies plus the rest of the Knitting Noras together for a big launch.

Hurray for Mondays

I don't usually like Mondays much as a rule but today has been a good day. The sun shone. OK it wasn't warm but at least it wasn't raining!

I had a few phone calls in the morning, did a bit of washing and then had a visit from an old friend who brought me a knitting machine and ribber which belonged to his late mother which I am passing on to another friend. We had a chat outside and another friend who knows both of us joined in the chat. These are the things that you can do on a sunny day. It's no wonder that I feel better on a sunny day than on a wet rainy miserable day. I miss days like this when the weather turns cold and everyone huddles indoors.

I have finished a crochet baby cardigan. The pattern is number 173 from Kay Jones If you click n my blog title and scroll down it is the last pattern on the page. She is UK based and therefore writes her patterns in UK terms which for me is far easier to understand. I have to make another cardigan in the same colour and pattern but I am going to wait until this one gets tried on to see if the second baby needs one bigger or smaller than this one. The wool is Robin Bonny Babe DK and is basically white with little flecks of pink.lilac and lemon. The little flowers have pearl beads in the centre on the pattern but the person I am making these cardigans for doesn't want me to put those on. It has taken 100 grams.

I am now making another of Kay Jones baby patterns. A sweater in cream lustre. It may be finished tomorrow if I have any time to crochet during the day.

Tonight I went to the Kings Arms Knit Club. I was lucky enough to get a lift from Pam as I really don't like waiting for buses after dark. There were not as many there as usual. Nine if I counted right. Jane was there and for the first time since I have been going to the Kings she wasn't knitting her plarm (plastic yarn) bags. Her niece is having a baby so she was busy knitting baby clothes. Rachael is going to do a residency in Germany with her art for 3 months soon so I hope that the Knit Club will continue to be as popular whist she is away. It is the second anniversary of the start of the club soon and she is thinking of what to do to celebrate it this year. Last year we went to an Italian restaurant in Monton but I hope we choose somewhere more central this time.

Popo from Brooklyn

This is Popo, a travelling sock monkey, who comes from Brooklyn in the US. For those of you who have followed my blog you may remember Ladybird Murphy who made her TV debut with the Knitting Noras when we appeared on Channel M news some months ago. Bev, a fellow Knitting Nora, belongs to a Ravelry group called When Monkeys Fly on the John Deere Tractor Group forum. The idea is that people make a sock monkey and he or she then sets off on her travels around the world and in each place the sock monkey visits photos are taken and their wardrobe is added to. I am not sure what Bev has added to Popo but the last lady sock monkey that she fostered got a tiara and a ballgown and went to London to be photographed in various places including the Ritz and Buckingham Palace.

Popo was born (knitted) in Brooklyn to Lulu, then set off on her travels and is currently residing in Bolton with foster mum Bev for a little while before setting off on her travels again. Bev's travelling sock monkey is called Blathers but I am not sure where he is at the moment or when he will be back home to mum.

I made a sock monkey called Thelonius Monkey but he only travelled to Kentucky as he was a gift to a friend who is a jazz fan. Technically he isn't a travelling monkey as he has only made one journey!

I have posted photos of my new hair clip and its instructions as Beansieleigh was wondering how it fitted as she has fine hair. My hair is long but very fine and the combs really grip into my hair and they feel very secure. I also like the way that the clip lies flat to my head so if I am travelling in a car or sitting on the sofa then the clip does not stick into the back of my head as my others sometimes do. Once the clip is in place then you wiggle the comb so that the teeth interlock together and that makes the clip doubly secure. If you look at the instructions then you can see the method used. My niece called today and said she had a similar clip that she would give me. Her hair is quite thick and bouncy so she had not managed to get hers to work in her hair successfully. She says hers is shades of purples which is my favourite colour.

I am crocheting a baby cardigan from one of the new patterns that I ordered from Kay Jones last week. I will hopefully have it finished for tomorrow when I can take a photos of the finished cardigan. I have another one to make for a different child but I need to see which child this cardigan fits so that I can make the next one smaller or bigger.