Gettin' Hooky!

Welcome back! First, I have to say a big "Thanks" for all the lovely comments that were left yesterday! It was lovely to be welcomed back to blogging so enthusiastically!

Yesterday I promised you that I would be discussing all things crochet today, so here I am! Are you sitting comfortably? Got a cuppa in hand? No?!!.... okay, quickly go make yourself one. I can wait!

Okay, now that you're back... lets get started! So, I picked up a crochet hook for the first time in July last year. I was very quickly hooked! Pardon the pun.  Between YouTube and a book that a friend lent me I managed to pick up the basic stitches. After that it was simply a matter of how many patterns I could lay my hands on and how much yarn I could get hold of. I've discovered a whole new addiction!

I started off learning how to do granny squares, but got bored of them quite quickly. Oops. Then I found a lovely pattern on the web for a hook holder. I couldn't resist! In fact there's loads of tutorials and free pattern on this lady's website.  Here is my finished Hook Holder...

I also made a cardigan made out of two Granny Hexagons. It's a really clever pattern!

I made a little drawstring bag using these yarns too, but I haven't quite finished it yet. It just needs lining. Once I've finished it I'll take a photo and post it for you to see!

Over the past few months I've finished quite a few projects including:

Crochet bunting for my kitchen (pardon the strange facial expression, I think I must have been concentrating!) 

A lovely soft frilly scarf. I made a few of these for Christmas presents and to sell. They sold ok, but I still have a few to sell! Let me know if you want one. 

My latest finish is this Kindle Cover. I love my Kindle but I was worried about the screen getting scratched so I made this cover to protect it. I'm quite pleased with the results!

I also made a little handbag for my SIL's Christmas present, but then I forgot to take a photo of it! D'oh! I'll try get her to take a photo for me so I can show you.

Now you may be wondering where I've been getting my inspiration and patterns from? The easy answer is... online mostly. More specifically, I've been browsing blogs like Attic24 and Coco Rose Diaries and finding lovely free patterns on Ravelry. Inspiration has also been easy to find on Pinterest, there's another thing that I'm addicted to! If you're looking for some crochet inspiration on Pinterest then I've put together a board of hooky goodness. Have a look!

I've also started going to a stitching group. It's been great to have a couple of hours each week to sit and crochet and natter without being interrupted by the kids, hubby or any of the three million things that I'm supposed to be taking care of. Some great 'me' time and I get to be creative too! Our group is called Glasgow Fort Stitch'n'Bitch and they meet on a Tuesday evening. If you're local and interested in joining us let me know and I'll send you details. They have a blog and a Facebook page too! I love grabbing a Starbucks and then having a hooky hour. Bliss! (BTW. I should say 'Thanks' to Karen from the group for taking all the photo's of my projects!)

So, are you inspired? Let me see what you make next. I've got a couple of projects that are nearly finished, so come back soon for an update.

WOYWW 8th February

Whoohoo! I'm back for WOYWW again. I haven't posted a WOYWW update in ages. That's not to say I haven't been crafting. I've been doing quite a bit of crafting - as the state of my desk will testify! However, I've been far too busy to blog my craftiness. But I thought it was about time that I did an update so you can see my mess. Here it is! (Don't say that I didn't warn you!!)

Here's one of the cards that I made recently.

However, papercrafting is not the only crafting I've been doing! Last July I took up crocheting. I bought myself a 4mm hook and some yarn and then sat and watched YouTube videos to learn how to do the stitches. Since then I've had something hooky on the go constantly and I've finished lots of projects. So part of my WOYWW really needs to be a picture of my hooky bag

Okay, so it's just a sneak peak really as you can't tell what these projects are in this picture, but it gives you an idea of what I've put my hand to lately! Come back tomorrow for a good look at some of my finished crocheting projects, inspiration and some hooky blogs I've been following!!

If you're interested in reading a some more WOYWW posts, head over to Julie's blog for loads more!

See you tomorrow, don't play hookie we're getting hooky!

Whoohoo Weightloss!

I'm a very happy bunny today!

I've been struggling with my (lack of) weight loss for the past 10 months, and I've been getting steadily more and more frustrated, disillusioned and discouraged with the whole process. On the other hand, however, I haven't really been *doing* the 'diet' properly either so it was hardly suprising that it wasn't really happening.

This year, as part of my "One Little Word" and the "Move More, Eat Well" classes that I've signed up for, I decided that I would get back to doing the 'diet' properly. It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of this but this morning I finally started seeing the results of my efforts. 2 lbs off this week!! Yay! So drinking more water, cooking fresh and TRACKING everything really does work!

Why did it take me nearly a whole year to remember that?!