Tunisian Crochet Blanket + Edward's Menagerie Sheep

A good few years ago I bookmarked a pattern for a reversible Tunisian Crochet baby blanket. I eventually bought some lovely neutral wool earlier this year, only to discover that as a complete noob to Tunisian crochet, the pattern was well beyond my ability! Instead, I dug out some instructions for basic Tunisian crochet, and set about leaning a new skill. The result is this wonderfully squidgy drapey blanket, which is being put safely away in hopes of a future baby. I finished the edge with basic single crochet, and added a final row with a blanket stitch effect, as I thought it tied in nicely with the Tunisian crochet stitch.

I used James C. Brett's Supreme Soft and Gentle Baby DK in shades SNG9 and SNG10. Despite it being so soft and lovely, I found that if I worked with it for too long my hands would become sore and itchy, I think this is because of the 30% polyamide in the yarn mix, so sadly I won't be buying it again.

Also earlier this year, I treated myself to a copy of Edward's Menagerie! It's such a beautiful book - my husband joined me in looking through it and kept pointing out who I should make next! I wanted a teddy to go with the blanket, and given the colours of the wool, the sheep stood out to me. The "wool" look was pretty fiddly, but otherwise came together really nicely. I think we'll end up with our own menagerie!

Funky Sheep Card

So you probably struggle to keep up with all my nibling's Birthdays... But I can inform you my youngest nephew turned 2 over Christmas, and I wanted to send him a fun, textured card. The background is some amazing green paper I've had in my stash for years - it looks so like grass! The texture is similar to crepe paper, but it's much thicker. The sheep's wool is cut from felt, with card limbs and face. I wanted to add some sparkle to the card so gave the sheep a glittery Birthday hat! This is actually made from some amazing glitter tape I recently bought - I was able to line multiple pieces up so it looks like a single piece. I never knew I needed glitter tape in my life, but it has become an essential.

Birthday Wishes and Sheepy Kisses (& using up scraps!)

Whenever I'm stamping, and I have my inkpads, embossing powders and heat gun out, I always try and do a few extra images. Not only does this mean that I have extras if something goes wrong (!) but also that I have a stash of leftovers which I can grab from when I want to make a quick card - such as this! The turquoise card was also a scrap leftover from another project, mounted on some beautiful sparkly grey corrugated card. I did get a stamp out to add "Birthday Wishes", but this was still a quick but lovely card to make :) I love how happy this sheep is!

Christmas 2 || Crochet Nativity Scene

I've wanted our own nativity scene for years, and eyed up a few patterns before deciding on this one, from Gourmet Crochet. When there are so many free patterns available online, I can find it hard to justify buying a pattern, but this one felt value for money. The pattern includes good instructions, which can also be used to make extra shepherds, and which I have also adapted to make reindeer and snowmen, and will probably adapt further in future.

I used a variety of wools, beads and threads from my stash, and Trimits 6mm solid black eyes (although I glue-gunned these on at the end). The star is made using Tangled Happy's Star pattern. The stable is simply a small cardboard box, which can be presented as a stable, but can also be used to store the characters in during the year - storage is difficult in our house, so things that do not take up too much room is definitely an advantage!