Four ways with a crochet flower and a tutorial

I love the last page in "Your Home and Garden' (NZ) magazine each month -"Four Ways With...' - lots of creative crafty ideas and little projects.

So after emailing this lovely crafter my crochet flower pattern she gave me the idea of writing my own 

'Four ways with ...a crochet flower'.

1. Decorate a woolly hat  (I bought the hat for $1 from the Bethlehem Market -bargain!)

2. Make a little brooch ( I found these brooch backers at a bead shop in Tauranga)

3. Embellish a granny square

4. Make a crochet flower hair-clip

A few people have asked where I found the pattern for my crochet flower...my crochet class teacher showed us how to make them in our first class so here are the instructions for any beginner crochet crafters like me!

How to crochet a small daisy flower

1. Chain 4

2. Do a slip stitch to make the chain into a ring (put your hook through the first chain stitch you did and hook the wool through that stitch and the stich on your hook) 

3. Wiggle your little finger through the ring you have made to make the hole a bit bigger and easier to see

4. Do a treble stitch into the hole (UK/AUS treble)

5. Do 2 more treble stitches into the hole (each set of 3 trebles makes a petal)

6. Now slip stitch by putting your hook through the hole, hooking the wool and pulling it through the hole and under stitch on your hook

7. Do 3 trebles into the hole again then another slip stich

8. Do 3 trebles and another slip stitch

9. Do 3 trebles then another slip stitch

10. Do 3 trebles- you should have 5 'petals' now 

11. Slip stitch into centre and fasten off/

I've made a pdf of the tutorial with step by step photo's that you can download or print here.

And for more crochet inspiration here are some clever people to visit...

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com (she has a lovely giveaway at the mo)
http://attic24.typepad.com/
http://greedyforcolour.blogspot.com/
http://auntymum.blogspot.com
www.kootoyoo.com

Megan x
PS: I'd love to hear of any more flower ideas and does anyone have a link to a pattern to make a bigger flower?
PPS: Go the All Whites!!

my creative space: crafty books

I went to the library the other day to get a couple of novels to read and just had to take a look upstairs at the knitting and craft section...our library really does have a great selection of crafty books! I've been wanting to read "Homemade" after seeing it in the Viva a while ago and it is a lovely book full of creative ideas.  I just opened up Cath Kidston's "In Print" this afternoon and already my head is full of things I would like to do from it.  I am really good at getting ideas, writing lists and thinking about the million things I would like to create for my home but not so good at the actual follow through. Maybe I will write (another!) list down the side of my blog of all the things I want to do and then I might actually start some!
I am loving these colours at the moment, especially bright yellow which I am completely obsessed with. It's hard finding that right yellow though, not too lemony but not too orangy as well.

I can crochet flowers now too yay!

I love the pink of these tulips :)

Well, not much more to show you, all my creative space is in my head at the moment!!

Head over to Kirsty's  for more creative spaces..
Megan x

a crafty magical menagerie

My mum came to stay in the weekend and brought with her a lovely pressie for Amelie that I just had to share- this amazing box of cardboard animals that you punch out and put together (by Japanese designer/illustrator Junzo Terada).

Each animal comes with its own envelope (with the instructions) so you have somewhere to put the pieces if you want to take them apart again. Aren't the colours and patterns just gorgeous?!  Mum bought them from a book shop in Napier but you can find them here and here.

And here's another crafty animal- a ribbon taggie hedgehog toy from Cherish Child in Mt Maunganui- isn't it cute!

Megan x

tidy up time

It's 'interesting' how quickly toys spread from cupboards and containers to the floor and just keep on spreading. These pics are from our lounge and kitchen this morning...

I guess this what happens when Amelie decides that 5am is time to get up for the day and Stella makes it 6am to join her! She has fallen asleep on the couch now though so I grabbed a moment to do a bit of a  tidy and sort out while they are both asleep.

That's better! How long will it last though...??!

Some toys off to the Sallies...I love decluttering!

Did you spot these cute velcro balls in the photo's above? I bought them from Clare at Greenvalley Crafts- Stella loves pulling them apart and throwing them around. Clare's got some more for sale here.

Megan x

my creative space: more woolly goodness

I have been crocheting up a storm using my lovely 'Sublime' Merino wool from the Tauranga Knitting Centre. It feels so soft and the colours are just gorgeous! I'm going to make a blanket using these colours.

We're off the Raglan for the long weekend so I've a got a couple of things ready to pack...a copy of Country Living UK Magazine and my crochet supplies.  I'm using the lovely zip purse Jennie from A Little Vintage sent me as part of a giveaway prize- it's the perfect size for a bit of crochet- thanks again Jennie! I even took my crochet to the car testing place yesterday when I got my warrant-it was nice to have something to do while waiting.

My new knitting/crochet mania means I am really coveting this print at the moment- its from the very talented designer Colleen from Dear Colleen.  I am also loving yellow at the moment so it's perfect really! 

And if you are still to catch the knitting bug or a beginner like me but you really want some knitted goodies for your little ones the clever Jo from Cherubkids on Trademe sells gorgeous slippers and hats in lots of scrummy colours (and very reasonably priced too!) I have asked for a pair of adult ones tee hee! 

To see what's been happening in other creative spaces today head over to Kirsty's here ☞

Have a lovely cosy weekend:)

Megan x

granny squares and baby blankets

Well I've finally got a bit of time to write a post again- it's been a while!  Isn't it the perfect weather for some crafty woolly projects. One of my crafty challenges this year was to learn to crochet and I am so excited to have made my first granny square this week. I went to an afternoon class on Saturday at the Tauranga Knitting Centre and along with 3 others we all learnt how to make a square. I was by the far the slowest and needed the most teacher attention, in fact I had to move to sit next to the teacher ha! but I got there in the end. Of course when I got home and tried to make another one I ended up completely stuck and had to use some tutorials on the web but four days later I think I've got it! I found this photo tutorial from Susan London Textiles the best for making the first 'round' and then used Pip's lessons from "Meet Me At Mikes' to make the rest of the square.

 A pic of the square I made at the class (a bit wonky!) and my numerous practice pieces!

 I also made a start on a knitted peggy square for a baby blanket but I think I am going to crochet one first as its a lot quicker and winter is already here! 

And for some more crochet/knitting goodness.... a few weeks ago the very clever crochet gal Kirsty over at Kootoyoo showed us this amazing granny square necklace from jeweller Victoria Mason. I had a look at her other gorgeous jewellery and there's a little ball of knitting too- love it!

Well, better go before the baby wakes up.  It's pouring down outside and I've got the heater going, a chick flick on (the Meryl Streep movie 'It's Complicated' which my hubby will be pleased I'm not making him watch with me!) and a cat wanting to snuggle while I do some crochet- bliss!
Megan x

my creative space: kozo tape

I am just loving this awesome Kozo tape that my friend brought me back from Japan. I had a few pressies to wrap the other day and it was heaps of fun to use and so quick to decorate with.

Today I am thinking about making some sort of an art work with it so I'm going to plan out a few ideas.
If you aren't lucky enough to have a pal in Japan you can buy it here http://emporium.katydid.co.nz/category/wrapping,
here http://www.presse.co.nz/paper-supplies 
or here http://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyTape
 I am feeling the need to add to my supplies- there are so many gorgeous ones to choose from!

To see what's happening in other creative spaces today head over to Kirsty's here☞
Megan x

a bag and a bib for a baby boy

Been a bit quiet on the blog this week! I had a fun night in Auckland on Saturday taking Amelie to Disney on Ice. She was very excited and watching her quite gobsmacked by the whole thing was very entertaining. It was a great show :)

On the crafting front I made my first baby bib the other day. My friend Ange asked me to make one of my personalised kids toilet bags for a friends one year old baby boy and I had just enough fabric left over to make a bib too. I am really enjoying using bias binding- it looks so professional! I didn't even pin it on- I just pulled it around the edges as I sewed. I went through quite a few fasteners trying to attach them to the bib- I think I was hitting them a bit too hard with the hammer!
Megan x

and the 'SewMamaSew giveaway day' winner is...

 Catherine from A Time to Create. Congratulations Catherine! An email is on its way to get your details :)

Thank you so much everyone for  your lovely comments and for following my blog or my mousehouse facebook page - I was really amazed by all the entries!

Have a great weekend-  me and Amelie are off to Disney on Ice tomorrow- can't wait!

Megan x

my creative space: a crafty morning and a little dress

If you read 'Your Home and Garden' magazine you might recognise this lounge...this is where I got to spend the morning yesterday learning how to use a pattern to make a little dress.

My friend Anna's house is in the latest issue (June) and it is the most gorgeous home.

I went up yesterday morning with Stella- Anna had the fire going, choccy chip biscuits and coffee and took me through how to make this lovely little dress. I cut out the pieces yesterday afternoon and sewed it together last night and I just love it. The gathering was a bit tricky as my threads kept breaking but luckily Anna said to sew two lines of stitching for the gathering so at least I had one thread to use when the other one broke! I got the cute fabric for an absolute bargain- it was $4 a metre special at Arthur Toyes a while ago. Good to practice on! It looks pretty summery but with a merino top underneath, a cardi and some stockings it will be good for winter too.

Anna made this dress from the same pattern - she is really creative with the little touches like the ribbon along the bottom and the applique heart on the back.

Looking forward to going pattern shopping and seeing what else I can make now.

And on the subject of people I know in magazines at the mo... my sister is in the latest M2 magazine! She wrote an article about Karen Murrell organic skincare and cosmetics and her photo is on the contributors page. I took the photo by putting my marimekko canvas behind her to match her red lippie :)

To see what's happening in other creative spaces today head over to Kirsty's here☞

Megan x

Ink Apples Oven Mitt

I made my first oven mitt in the weekend for a friend Kelli who put in a request for one after seeing my ink apples fabric. I was a bit nervous about making this as it needed a lot of binding and I have never used bias binding before! Whenever I mentioned bias binding to people they would give me that look and tell me it was a bit tricky so I was feeling pretty apprehensive before starting!

I found a pattern and instructions in Cath Kidston's 'Sew!" book so off I went to Bernina to get all my supplies.
They have a product called Insul-Bright which is an insulated lining for oven mitts, tea cozies etc so I used that. I bought some 10mm bias binding but with all the layers of the mitt it wasn't really wide enough for a novice like me so I went back and got the 25mm instead.  One of the ladies at Bernina gave me some good advice which was to zigzag around the whole mitt before binding it so the layers would be nice and flat to bind. I also used the zigzag stitch to attach the binding to the mitt. It's not perfect at all but I am happy with it for a first go, and Kelli was rapt with it so thats good! I was a bit worried that I should have put some cotton batting in the mitt as well but Kelli used it last night and said it worked a treat so that's a relief!
I bought a tea towel from Briscoes and added a strip of the apples fabric to match the mitt. I got the idea for that from another Kelly- she put a tutorial on her blog here.

Here's a pic of them in Kelli's kitchen :) She is really getting into all the crafty blogs out there and even talking about doing some sewing- go Kelli!

Now I just want to go buy heaps of binding and make some oven gloves and maybe even some baby bibs to practice my binding. My little one Stella has an ear infection though so my sewing time might be a bit limited- she's asleep now though after being up till midnight last night on and off, oh well at least she slept 6 hours last night!

Megan x