Hello everyone 🙂

It’s been a busy week or so what with being back at school. Gosh, it’s like I’ve never been away! I’ve had a lovely, relaxing time this weekend and enjoyed it, just doing some crafty stuff and watching what I wanted on my laptop.

There is a CAL (crochet a long) going on on Facebook and I thought it would be great fun to join in, just like I did with one a year or two ago. I saw some people had started two and I thought ‘utter madness!’ Then after I did the six rows required, I thought…. hang on, that was fun, I want to do it again. So, now I have two blankets started! It will hopefully make a decent dent in my acrylic stash and give me two gorgeous blankets into the bargain. No-one can ever have enough home made blankets, right?

I really should weave in the ends straight away as there is nothing worse than having hundreds to do at the end…

I’ve also used up a bit (finally) of the gorgeous cotton yarns I bought last year from woolwarehouse.com. I haven’t made baby items in a while, and this hat was a lovely, quick crochet.

You can get the pattern from here –

Blackberry Salad Striped Baby Bonnet

The only thing I changed was the stitch count. It says to start with 58 for a 0-6 month old. I found it far, far too long so I took off 20 stitches and made it to 38 stitches instead. This would fit a 0-3 month well, I imagine. I did three or four rows with the original 58 stitches but it was too long for me. Another thing that I found odd (just personal preference) was that it started at the front of the bonnet, and decreased stitches at the back into the middle. I prefer bonnet patterns to start at the back and increase stitches. But again, just personal preference. I would make it again. It would make a lovely addition to any outfit, just changing the colours as you go.

The last big news from me? It’s snowing! Not so much news as it has happened over half of the UK this weekend. The dogs have loved being in it, and we have had some gorgeous photos taken. The chickens were a bit peeved at first but perked up when they were able to rummage around in the garden.

Alfie loves looking out of the window to see the snow outside.

I’m off to watch some more Prisoner: Cell Block H. Does anyone else watch this??

Have a great night everyone,

xXx Love Kais xXx

Hello everyone,

Been a few busy days yet again. Getting back into the swing of teaching and not having as much time for my own craft activities.

I’ve been trying out some soap making and I love it! I need to buy some more melt and pour soap base soon as most of my supply has gone. Too much enthusiasm!

 I’m really happy with it. I used a silicone loaf mould and I think the result is pretty good. I like the rectangle like soaps, but this one has sloping edges. The roses on top are also soap from a small rose mould. Most of them came off because I did not put them on top when the top was still sticky.

My favourite part was cutting it into blocks when it was hard enough.

What do you think? It lathers up really well and we now have soap all over the house! I also had a bit of fun with some other moulds . . .

 The LEGO ones are great! The heart ones were thicker but I cut them in half, so I could use them for things like this –

 I used a white base on the bottom, with two heart embeds in the middles, and then clear base poured on top. I used a rectangular mould with six inserts. The soaps got pretty wet after being left in the room which was a bit annoying. I’ve wrapped each piece of soap in greaseproof paper and put them in a large plastic clip box.

What else?!

I’ve finished my beautiful woollen blanket!

 It’s really warm and soft. It looks great folded up too, haha..

I’ve started a new CAL blanket. Only six rows to start with and the next lot is not up until the 21st January. Oh well, maybe I can make two?

I have also been doing a little bit of sewing too. I found an old, blue, polka-dot dress in my fabric stash so thought that I would make it into something useful. I have made it into an apron, so my clothes won’t get messy when I’m working with fleece or soap.

 First attempt – very simple, waiting to be sewn.

 Here it is with added pockets, sash sewn on and the bit around the neck too. I think it could possibly be a little bit longer and the bit around the neck a bit shorter. Pleased for a first attempt though!

And a gorgeous photo for finish –

 My sweetheart not allowing anyone to take his Christmas present away!

Have a great night everyone.

xXx Love Kais xXx

 

 

Hi everyone, new year, new resolutions!

I hope everyone had a happy, fun-filled Christmas and you got everything you wished for. I had a lovely Christmas at home with family.

Ok, I’ve been looking back over my blog, and disappointingly, my last post was on the 18th October. I have been so busy (I’m a teacher, for those who don’t know) that I just have been too tired to do pretty much anything in the evenings. That is going to change. I have joined a short blogging course that will hopefully get  me back into stride. For those who don’t know me, or have never visited my blog, I am aiming to just give a little insight into why I write what I do and who I am.

Let’s get started!

I’m Kais and this is me demonstrating spinning. If you had said to me at the start of that year that I would be demonstrating how to spin in October, I would have laughed in your face. I didn’t even own a spinning wheel then. Since the start of 2013 I feel I have changed a lot. I am almost ravenous in trying out new crafts and finding out new things in the world of fibres.

I love anything to do with wool. I had read up on countless blogs and internet pages to bulk up my knowledge and give me the courage to try out my own things. I decided that it would be a good idea to put up my thoughts and ideas online just as others had done. I’ve always knitted and when I finished University, I needed something to do between jobs.

Once I felt like I got as far as I could with knitting, I wanted to go back, how was the wool actually made? Was every piece of yarn from a sheep? How could I make my own wool? When I mastered that with a drop spindle, I went further and got a spinning wheel. I went further back still and started preparing raw fleece, straight from the sheep! My dream now would be to go back even further and shear the sheep myself! Further back I would like to have my own smallholding, with sheep, goats and lots and LOTS of rescue chickens!

Then I thought, hang on, the yarn is different colours… so I got into dyeing. I got a drum carder and started creating my own coloured batts to spin.

This blog is for me to keep a good photographic record of what I have achieved and how I have done it. It allows others to see how I have done something and hopefully encourage them to make their own way in the crafting world. I am proud to say that I have helped others with their questions, just like I once asked others a while ago.

I feel that I am still on the right track for my blog, and have been happy with what I achieved with it last year. I have put up two free crochet patterns (which I am very proud of) and it helps me to revisit if I am struggling with something that I did before.

I’ve been looking at how I can further my involvement in the fibre community. I have started my own website, all to do with spinning, knitting, crochet, etc. It will probably not be up and live until the summer but I plan on doing it bit by bit.

Here are some screenshots.

I’ve learned a lot since doing this website and hope it will be helpful to those starting out.

I have also been working on my feather and fan blanket –

Anyway, I hope this is a quick insight into why I write what I do.

Have a great day everyone,

xXx Love Kais xXx

Ooops, almost forgot to add – if anyone is interested, I run a crafts group on Facebook and you are VERY welcome to join! See you there!

Empress Spinning on Facebook.