Whats in my Travel Bag??

For my birthday (in December) my lovely husband bought us flights for Venice! I was so happy as one of my goals this year is to travel more. I've never been to Italy so I'm really looking forward to experiencing the food, sights and culture. We've decided to only take hand luggage as we're going just for three days/two nights, so there's no point lugging around a suitcase just for a short break.

The last time we went on a plane (to Scotland) I took hand luggage and seriously over packed making my bag awkward and heavy to carry so this time around I've gone for a decent sized back-pack. For me, when I have a limited size for packing I know I can't take a lot so it makes me pack in a more organised way.

 

Navy Bag: Primark

 

Selection of clothes, pj's and socks!

 

Something for the evening

Top: Primark

Coated Jeasn: New Look 

 

Skin care which will be decanted into smaller pots

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

Hydraluron

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo 

 

Toiletries

Soap and Glory Hand Maid (hand sanitiser)

Sanex roll on deodorant

Clear pots for skin care

Soap and Glory Clean On Me shower gel

I'm super excited for our little adventure! Lots of yummy pasta and ice cream awaits!
Have you been to Venice before? What are your top tips?

Betty xXx

#Crochetmoodblanket2014 // Week Two

Hello lovelies! This week has been a bit of a slow week. I'm off to Venice this weekend as my lovely husband bought us flights for my birthday so I've been dreaming of that all week. The blanket has actually been quite therapeutic to sit down with almost every evening - it seems to focus and relax me.

From what I've seen on Instagram, people seem to be doing the mood blanket in different ways: some have pre-assigned a colour to a mood whilst others have just picked pretty colours that they love. I have done a bit of both; picking colours that I love but choosing one each day (or how ever often I can do it) to represent my mood on that day. I'm also jotting this all down so that when I finish I can look back and see my moods!

This week (so far) I've managed about three colours/6 rows which I'm pleased with and it has started to feel like I'm getting somewhere with it. Here's my progress so far:

Glacia and Mocha added

 Raspberry was added last night

I'm not sure how well it will 'flow' colour wise but so far I'm happy with how it is forming. It's been brilliant to see so many people taking part and the fantastic crochet talent.

I'll update again next week. 

Betty xXx 

#Crochetmoodblanket2014 - The Beginning

As mentioned in my previous post my first big project of 2014 is the Instagram hashtag as the title above suggests. My wool has arrived, I'm almost decided on the style and stitches so lets get started!

Firstly I have a gorgeous selection of yarn, purchased from the lovely Anita who is on Instagram (I don't think she has a website but her username is mycraftlife). She sells Stylecraft Special DK and New Fashion DK at very reasonable prices. I have chosen ten Stylecraft and two New Fashion:

From top: Pale Rose, Silver, Denim, Glacia, Raspberry

 

From top left: Lavender, Mocha, Teal, Clematis, Cream, Saffron, and Sherbert

At the moment I have decided to keep it simple by using the humble granny stitch with the colours in a stripey formation - I do keep changing my mind about this and may have to include a couple of additional stitches just so I don't get bored! I do still really like the idea of a patchwork blanket but not sure how it would all go together.

So for now this is my progress: 

I started with Sherbert, my personal favourite which is representing 'calm'. I have assigned a mood to each colour but I have a feeling the moods may change to represent the colour (or the other way round) I may feel on a particular day/week. The next colour is Lavender to represent 'sleepy' - the first week back to work after Christmas is taking its toll!

I'll be updating on a weekly basis so pop back to see my progress.

Are you taking part in #crochetmoodblanket2014? How are you getting on?

Betty xXx 

New Year Crochet Plans

Now that Christmas is out the way I can start thinking about projects for the New Year. I have one main plan in particular but I'll share that with you later when I have more details. It's lovely to make things for other people but I do like a project you can do at your own pace and then being able to enjoy it once it's finished, so I thought I would spend some time of these things and hopefully learn some new skills.

A while ago, whilst flicking through Simply Crochet magazine I came across a piece on filet crochet  and was intrigued by how delicate but intricate it looked. It seems that there are many patterns to follow, similar to embroidery and lots of things to make, from coasters to wall art. I'm planning to purchase the book by Betty Barnden (link here) to learn some new skills and hopefully create something pretty!

For a long time now I've wanted to make a jumper or cardigan for myself. I've practiced with small people sizes as seen in this post but have not had the time or inclination to set myself the challenge of an adult size. There are some easy to follow patterns on Ravelry and Simply Crochet mag so I'm going to attempt one and hope I get it right! I am tempted to adapt the baby pattern for an adult size as I really like the style! However I'm not very good at doing that so don't think I'll try on this occasion.

My first big project for 2014 is going to be a mood blanket. There is currently a hashtag on Instagram going around for #crochetmoodblanket2014 and despite saying that I was not going to do one, I caved and have just placed an order for 12 balls of lovely coloured yarn! I'm still undecided about what stitch(es) to use - originally I thought of doing a patchwork blanket with each square being a different stitch but realised that some squares may need to be bigger or small than others. I then thought about a multi stitch striped blanket but am now leaning towards a simple one stitch multi colour stripe...I'll keep you posted. 

Currently I am working on baby things to hopefully sell on Etsy once I get enough practice to think they are good enough. The gifts for my Godson went down really well which has given me some confidence but I'm planning to start small and see how I get on.

I have a lot of goals for 2014, both crafty and personal. I hope for a fantastic year and wish you all the very best!

Betty xXx