An old pattern, a new owl

Look who's watching you! I realised that my owl amigurumi pattern is just over a year old, so I thought that to celebrate I'd make a new little owl. The great thing about the pattern is that someone with a bit of crochet experience can adjust it to almost any size, just by making the starting chain row shorter or longer and shaping accordingly. For example, for this little owl I started with just 8ch and working only three increase rows. I love his big red beak and his shiny eyes.
Have you made an owl with the pattern? If so, please share it in our flickr group. You can also see more owls like this one on the Ravelry project page (you have to be a member of Ravelry, but that's free and easy, and Ravelry is such a huge resource I can't imagine anyone who is interested in crochet or knitting not being a member). See you there!

Birdie decoration

I've not been feeling very well for the last 10 days or so, and I really needed some instant gratification. I had lots of scraps of cotton yarn and decided to have a go at the birdie decoration from Lucy's Attic24 tutorial. I love it!  I didn't follow the pattern exactly, for example I used dc instead of hdc, and my cotton yarn was a lot finer than the yarn Lucy used for her bird. But the general idea is the same. It was a fun project and I would advise it if you want a quick, cute, easy project.

We have a winner!

Hi everyone,

Well today was the day to draw out the winner of the International New Year's giveaway. I wrote all the names on pieces of paper, put them in a pretty yellow bag, and my teenage son drew out the name of....

Mor Lotte

Well done, Mor Lotte! Please send me your contact details so that I can send your prizes!

I need to receive your contact details by 20th January, via the email link on my profile. Looking forward to hearing from you!

2012 - a busy year indeed!

Made in 2012, a set on Flickr.

Oh my goodness! I've just sorted out my photos on flickr and I crocheted A LOT in 2012. I've made a set of 33 photos, but the individual items come to nearer to 50. When I looked through the photos I'd already uploaded, I thought I'd made some of the earlier stuff ages ago, but no, it was at the beginning of 2012. Doesn't time fly?

This year I made and sold quite a number of baby toys in organic cotton, and I also did some fun CALs (crochet-alongs) in one of my Ravelry groups. I also received some gorgeous alpaca yarn and it was lovely to work with that for the first time.

Now it's 2013 and my WIPs (works in progress) are already building up. I have the granny ripple blanket that is growing v e r y  s l o w l y  and the shawl for my mum that is not getting very far either. At the moment I'm working on a new pattern for a work colleague.  You'll learn about that soon, hopefully :) I'll give you a clue - I'm a bit fed up of crocheting legs!

Wishing you all a crochet-rich year!

International New Year giveaway

Anyone who follows me on facebook will know I've been promising a giveaway once I reached 200 followers on my blog (to join the 100+ facebook likers). Well, it's happened! A very big welcome to all my new followers and best wishes for 2013.

So here's what I'm giving away:

A bright pincushion

A little owl holder

Some lovely French toiletries/perfume samples (from L'Occitane en Provence, Nuxe, Givenchy and Marionneaud)

And a silk tissue pouch (with tissues)

I'm also including a rattle insert, because I know these are difficult to find in some parts of the world. Maybe it will inspire you to crochet a teddy rattle :)

The giveaway is open to all my followers on this blog and on facebook and I am prepared to mail the gifts anywhere in the world. To join, just leave a comment below telling me if you're a follower on here, on facebook, or both. If you're a new follower, please tell me that too! And just to make it a bit more interesting, please let us know what it is you most hope for in 2013. For me, it is to remain healthy. And to keep on crocheting!

The giveaway is open until 15th January. On that date I shall name the winner (whose name will be drawn out of a hat) and the winner will have until 20th January to send me their contact details. In the absence of a reply, another draw will take place, giving the new winner a further five days to contact me. And so on...

Good luck!