I finished an Ombre crochet shawl and bought a new knitting book.

Hi Everyone,

How are you all I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far, we had heavy rain today but I just managed to walk Bruno before we were soaked. Tomorrow appears to be looking good with sunshine on the way which will be nice.

Well today after doing some ironing and cleaning etc; I concentrated on finishing a shawl I was crocheting for myself here is a picture

the yarn I used was by Lion Brand shawl in a ball. When you purchase the yarn there is a free pattern available to download from Lion Brands website using a code on the ball band, but I had decided I would like to crochet the shawl, and I had this pattern from Inside Crochet magazine called the Ombre Shawl by Sarah Shrimpton

The pattern is easy to follow mainly consisting of trebles and chain stitches, even though I did not use the yarn as suggested  I think it still works well for me anyway.



I also have a new book it arrived today called Knit Yourself Calm,

it is new out and the designer for the patterns is Lynne Rowe, there are at least 16 projects inside with plenty of helpful picture tutorials and instructions with new how to techniques for beginners.

It is a lovely book and would make a nice gift for someone you know who loves to knit.

If you want to read more about Lynne Rowe's work visit her website at The Wool Nest

there is also a monthly Pod Cast to follow.

That's all for now folks

bye for now

Julie xx

Crochet doll finished and cute cross stitch cow.

Hi Everyone,

Wet and warm evening here in the UK more rain tomorrow but the ground needs it badly and so do our farmers.
Our dog Bruno certainly loves a muddy paddle but is not to keen on being washed before he comes in the house.

So on with showing you my latest finish a crochet doll which was made for Suzie my Grand daughter,

she adores this and I have only been able to take one picture because it is now in her bedroom. The pattern was from Love Crochet magazine, and the designer was Liz Ward.



I also finished stitching this cute cow cross stitch pattern

the pattern was from Les Marottes de Nathalie

I stitched it on 16 count cream Aida added red check fabric top and bottom, and displayed in a wooden hoop. It is unusual but fun and if you visit the website you will see plenty of other designs to choose from, this is now hanging in my kitchen.

Oh and before I go here is just a little progress on the Owl Bell Pull WIP cross stitch I have been working on

loads more to stitch but I feel this will be a labour of love I am not really in any hurry to finish I seem to be enjoying the process, I love these colours though they are so pretty.

For now that is all I have to show you so till next time have a lovely week and I hope you find some stitching time.

bye for now

Julie xx

Cross stitch Owl Bell Pull update and I finished two cushions.

Hello everyone,
Welcome to April, how are you all?

The sun is shining here this afternoon it is a lovely day, I will be going out with Bruno in a bit for a nice walk but first I will do a quick post update.

I must show what arrived in the post this morning,

something I ordered from my friend Lynn B look how lovely it has been wrapped, I love the card and owl tag.

Look what was inside, how nice and Lynn made me a sweet Owl fob. Thank you so much Lynn i have somewhere safe to keep my sewing project and needles, it will be ideal to take away with me in the caravan too.
Check out Stitching Fairy Crafts by clicking the link on the side of my blog.



Now for an update on the cross stitch Owl Bell Pull

this picture was taken a few days ago and I have stitched more last night so I will post again soon and show you how it looks.


In a previous post I told you about a cushion I was going to knit for my Grand daughter well that is now finished.

Suzie loves it and has promised me that the cats will not go to sleep on it.

I also crocheted a cushion for myself with left over yarn I had.

This is one side,

and here is the back either way it dose not matter, I made this to go on the sofa and I think I have managed to match the colours well with the two fabric cushions that I have on each side.

Well that's all for now I am off to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Happy stitching or knitting.

bye for now

Julie x

Finished crochet cowl, knitted chicks for charity and new yarn in my stash.

Hi everyone, Hope you are all well?

We are having lovely mild weather on and off here in my part of the UK, lot's of rain mixed with sunshine.

I have been busy crocheting a lovely warm cowl for my friend at work,

the pattern was from Inside Crochet magazine Dunes Cowl. I did not use the recommended yarn as on the pattern my friend already purchased the yarn.


I have not crossed stitched much of my owl pattern lately since I seem to have knitting projects piling up so there is not much progress to show you at the moment. I intend to save a few hours to stitch at some point.



At my local knitting group we are in the middle of knitting or crocheting small chicks, they are just the right size to fit a cream egg inside.

I have knitted about 14 so far and other members have made similar amounts, all these will be going off to St Lukes Cheshire Hospice where they sell them at there charity stalls to raise funds.

Within our group we take some of our sub money to put towards funds every week and so far we have raised £700 pounds. It is so much fun when you have others to share with what you are making.



Also I have some lovely yummy new yarn to show for new projects.

This jester DK yarn will be for  a cushion for my Grand daughter.

One 100g skein of hand dyed yarn 4ply weight this will be for a pair of socks.
You can find more of similar yarn at Betsy Makes etsy shop


So I think I will be pretty busy for the coming weeks that is something to look forward too, I think I had better knit the cushion first though.

Till next time 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and find a little time to make something.

bye for now

Julie x

Knitting updates, cross stitch updates and general chit chat.

Hi everyone,
Hope you are all well and keeping snug and warm, it is a cold and grey day here in the UK we have had a few snow flurries but it has not progressed to much(thankfully) I feel my Grand daughter would love for it to snow a little heavier.

I have made some progress on sock knitting, a little slow granted but i did undo a little and then started again but never the less I am enjoying the process.

I have nearly finished a pair of knitted house slippers,

this all started through watching a Pod Cast (i am addicted to these) by Tina at Simply In Stitches on You Tube she was holding a KAL for these slippers. I know the picture dose not do them justice but I assure you they look lovely on with a nice snug fit.

The pattern is free from Temple Of Knit
the yarn I used was Pure Shetland Wool from Blacker Yarns it knits as DK



I have a cross stitch update for the Owl Bell Pull

not much I know as I had a few other projects to do one being a crochet cowl for a friend at work so I had to squeeze it in, I will show you in the next post when it's finished. But as you can see I think the colours for the flowers are going to look lovely when they are all stitched and then I will start on the owl.


I am sure I will have more to show you next time, so till then enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Happy stitching or knitting/crochet

Julie x