Snuggly Comforts for Small People

So here's the first item I've chosen to show case to you on here!

Beautiful hand made snuggly comfort blankets for babies / small children.

This one is a stunning scarlet red with a beautiful freindly lion design.  The front fabric is a stunning soft fleece and the backing fabric is a simple white satin feel fabric.  These are machine washable on 40 degrees max, you can tumble dry them but on a low temperature is advised.

These blankets make lovely gifts and encourage stimulation by colour and texture.  This blanket measures approximately 11 x 9 inches.

The blanket shown can be purchased directly from the following link for £5.50 P&P in the UK is £1.50:-

Folksy - Friendly Lion Blanket

There are may more colours and designs also available in my store via the above link.

New Blog Feature --->>

Have a nosey to the right of the screen, I have had a big uploading session to Flickr with a mass of my finished items so there is a slide show of them for you to see over to the right of the page!  Hope you like it!

I hope to do a bit of a *feature* piece once or twice a week showing you some of my finished makes with a bit of info about them and if they are pieces I have available to purchase how / where they are available to order.

I will have a look through my picture archives and choose a piece to show off later this evening.

November Already!

So I decided it was time to overhaul the blog again..... Yes I know I'm hopeless with this blogging lark but every now and again I get a bee in my bonnet re vamp it and have a mindless waffle.....either to myself or anyone that actually reads this!

It's been a MANIC year and that's a minor understatement!  After losing my mother last year then returning to the world of full time work in every honesty the crafting has been on the back burner to a degree, I do keep pottering along with bits though!

I am currently pottering with a few personal projects and a couple of custom orders.  One is a large cross stitch of a friends cousin who passed away and I am making a colleagues wedding invitations.

My 3 small people are growing fast, the big monster is fast approaching 9 now, the middle moo is 7 and the squirt is fast approaching 5 and started school this year!

On a really wonderful positive note my partner and I got engaged in September (officially on my birthday in fact!)  We're hoping to tie the knot in 2013 so lots of planning ahead!

I still have the stores open on Etsy and Folksy (links to the right) and I can be found via my fan page on facebook too with LOADS of pictures of all sorts of the items made and works in progress.

If you do read this I hope you are all well and looking forward to a happy festive season!  I will try to come back more with pictures and waffling.

Have been busy!

There are lots of new items in my web store now!

I have made a range of crochet stitch markers as well as extended my range of knitting stitch markers to include light weight small markers specifically for socks!

There are also 2 stunning new neecklaces in stock!

Please drop in and have a browse around!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dippydappyblonde

I have also set up a facebook fan page that can be found here:-

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rainbow-Crafts/131048020302668

Please do join me there!

Idle Ponderings.......

So since I set up the Etsy store the hits have come in but the sales are lacking.  Is this just typical of Etsy as a site overall or is this the norm with all sites featuring handmade goods?

I'm considering some new lines if it would help me get off the ground, any hints / tips any suggestions whats in whats not?

Ideas at the moment are very floral and summery accessories like brooches / hair bands and so on, may have a play about with a few ideas but would welcome all feedback / suggestions!

Off for a stash rummage after Sunday lunch is served to see what I can come up with!

Oh my poor neglected blog!

Sorry folks that thing called life has kinda got in the way lately!!!

I have been crafting on and off despite work and home life being manic!  I am still taking part in the friendship blanket swap on the phoenix forums and managing a project a month even if it is only a small one!

This is my little Gnome, the pattern was one from Ravelry.

I've given him to my colleague Alexis to add to her collection of bits and bobs on her desk at work :-)

I will try to make more of an active effort to get posting more on here as well!!!

All done.......

So here it is at last....... I have set up an Etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dippydappyblonde

Please do have a browse and share the link around!

The link will always be in the right hand side under links I like.

Watch This Space......

........I am hatching a plan, it may not work or work as well as I'd like but I'm gonna give it a go and see what happens!

I've not been crafting as much as I'd like to of late care of new a new job that is full time hours but the passion is still there and I'm eager to keep going with it as much as I can around the mundane side of life!

The new plans will all be revealed very soon!

Swarovski Bead Earrings

I had a tin with some swarovski beads that I love but have never been sure what to make with them, until the inspiration for these four pairs hit me.  The beads are threaded onto complimenting colour wires, the leaf charms in the green pair called Eden are tibetan silver.

Eden, Teardrops, Ring Around the Roses and Moody Blues.

Jelly Bean Stitch Markers......

I was using up some odds and ends and made these stitch markers.  One set has larger beads the other smaller.  All are light weight plastic beads that I have nick named Jelly Beans :-)

Lace Stitch Markers

A Phoenix forum friend asked me to make her some smooth stitch markers for lace knitting.  They need to be light weight smooth and preferably have no joins on the rings etc.  So I had a play with my beading kit and came up with the following 2 sets.  I made them primarily on wire with some very light weight small beads, I added the lettered beads as a bit of fun :-)  Both sets will fit up to 5mm needles max which should be plenty big enough for lace knitting :-)

They are now in the post on their way to Yunaleska :-)

Crochet Pram Blanket

This was a quick make at the request of a friend for her 6 month old daughter.  I used some mixed DK oddments that I had in stash, my only colour guideline was as girly as I liked!  So here is the result!  A very girly 31 inch square pram blanket for Nymue :-)

Playful Eeyore!

Another finish - Eeyore cross stitch!  He's looking rather playful in this one :-)  Not sure where he will be homed as yet but he'll be put with the other finished ones to be framed in due course :-)

Busy Fingers!

February has started with a busy theme!  I am happily still plodding my way through an Eeyore cross stitch.  On the *to do* list is 2 8 inch squares for the friendship blanket project on the Phoenix forums, I have the yarn at the ready just need to start them off :-)

I also have a request from a friend for a crochet pram blanket for her youngest daughter, when asked what colour scheme I have been let loose with instructions to make it as girly as I like :-)  So I have had a good stash dive and have made a start!  Piccies to follow when there is progress, naturally there will be one of Eeyore when he's done too!

Still on the to do list is also my chunky cardigan and summer top but there's no rush for them as they are for me :-)

Dare To Dream.......

I am so pleased this kit is finally finished.  It's been touch and go if it ever would but I am glad I stuck at it and got it done!  The feathering especially started to get a bit stressful and confusing, the chart for the kit had all kinds of errors and I had to improvise a few bits to make it look right where the errors were!  BUT I got there in the end!!!

 I have a friend who has fallen in love with this picture so it may well be framed and end up finding itself in a new home :-)

Uguns The Dragon.....Hello!

Sorry it's been a while but I have come back with some finishes!!!  Firstly I take no credit on the one I'm about to show off other than getting the kit out the foot stool upstairs!  My partner Bob did the whole kit, it's his 1st cross stitch and I'm really proud of him!  Even more so that he did it to keep himself occupied while off work and completed the kit in approximately 4 days!  I think you'll all agree how lovely it is and that he should be very proud of his work!

 The finished picture will be washed etc then framed and mounted by a local framer who does a wonderful job with cross stitch pictures, then hung up in our boys bedroom :-)

Dreaming.......

I have NO idea how long ago I started this cross stitch but I have picked it up again and am making good progress with it!  It has been an utter swine at times, I have miss counted areas and had to improvise and re-stitch parts where there are glaring errors in the charts!  But I am winning with it at last!  The pic above is how it looked Monday morning, I was off work so I had a lazy day sewing and did a bit more last night too so below is how far it has progressed.  Just some wording then a lot of long stitch and backstitch detailing to add to finish the design.  I hope to have it complete by the end of January......I can dream!

Life Gets In The Way......

.......Like with everything life gets in the way sometimes so the crafting has been a bit non existent the last few days this week!  I do miss it when this happens so I make a point of getting something out and getting on with a bit of it.  In fact I think the most I managed to do this week was to make 1 of 2 squares for the friendship blanket swap we're doing on the Phoenix Forums that I frequent.

What I am working on at the moment along side the 8 inch squares (I make 2 a month at the moment for the swap) is the summer top I was getting cross with in a post below.  Also a cardigan in a lovely chunky green yarn, I am knitting the back at the moment but was struggling with the armhole shaping so now I have the advice I need I must get cracking with it!

In the cross stitch world I am working on a dream catcher picture that's been long over due finishing (surprise surprise!!!) Then there is another heap upstairs of half done ones so I'll pick another one when the dream catcher is done.

Add to that list my son has asked me for a new scarf and I think I have more than enough to keep me out of mischief for a while!

I was hoping for some crafting time over the weekend but we were busy with my partners kids and I baked a cake saturday then spent today doing a mass of ebay listings, let the flinging commence lol!  Anyone interested my link to my ebay sales is over there on the right :-)  Hopefully I'll have a new post for you all tomorrow maybe even with a couple of piccies of the cross stitch and my chunky cardigan in progress :-)

The Power of Fluff......

It's amazing what a group of friends some of whom have never met can do.  I had a surprise parcel yesterday through the post from my wonderful forum friends to send me a huge hug for the loss of my mum.  They sent a Sushi Sock Roll Kit! I will knit it and snuggle up in it with pride and feeling very lucky to have some utterly amazing friends.  

I've never seen anything like the kit, you un knit the dyed knitted fabric to knit the wrap in the pattern!  The colours are amazing, I look forward to the challenge of knitting it up :-)

Massive thanks again to all my wonderful friends on Da Fluff forums {{{HUGS}}}

Diamonds - A Girls Best Friend?

So they say anyway!  I have to disagree tonight!  I'm currently clicking away at a summer top that I started in June 2009 (yes I am a bit lapse at times!)  It's a nice simple halterneck top, the pattern has been beautifully clear to follow.....Until now!  I've never used charts before and this pattern has a charted section for the diamond detail on the front!  Add to that my novice with cables and Diamonds are not my friend tonight!  I'm winging it and so far I think it's going as it's supposed to be!

On the plus side I still love the pattern and am determined I'll have it done for summer this year.  The yarn is a discontinued Debbie Bliss - Stella, it's a very soft silk, cotton rayon mix that is a pleasure to knit with and gives beautiful stitch definition.  I've attempted to capture a pic to show it off!

Pull Up a Chair.......

...........Firstly hello!  and thanks for stopping by my blog!  I can't promise it will be filled with humour or well versed etc but it will be me chattering on about my crafting, whether it be through gritted teeth when it just doesn't want to go well or sharing the triumphs of finished creations.

My name is Kirsty, I am a busy mum of 3 small people (all of whom are growing far too fast!)  I live with my partner Bob (he also has 2 small people that visit us regularly).  Our busy house hold is also ruled by the crazy antics of my 2 cats Phoenix and Zephyr where as the garden is ruled by M'Ladies - our 5 ex battery hens!  When I'm not at home crafting I work part time in a local pub restaurant and I am also an instructor with the army cadet force.

I was always creative growing up, usually found scribbling away in a corner or helping my grandmother with her sewing and so on.  Mum was also an inspiration with the crafts, when I was younger she did hours upon hours of cross stitch, latterly she steered towards card making on a big scale.  My grandmother tried to teach me to knit when I was younger but it didn't go so well!  On the other hand I started cross stitching when I was 12 and have stuck with that on and off right up to today!  I taught myself to crochet after I had my 2nd child in 2004 using online resources and books etc.  Following on from that I picked up the pointy sticks and something clicked!

For me now I craft for pleasure, I love to just wittle away an evening curled up with some knitting, crochet or cross stitch.  I also do some sewing now and then, predominantly small comfort blankets with taggy ribbons for babies etc.  The other craft I took up in a big way is beading.  I have an enormous bead stash and a vast array of hand made earrings, phone charms and stitch markers lurking in a drawer!  That is just to name a few of the items I have stashed away that I've made!  I do have a web site (see my links to the right) Rainbow Crafts, I also sell on ebay (link is also over to the right) I would love to do more with it and sell more etc but it seems I'm missing a niche somewhere or just going about it all the wrong way!  But I keep trying and pottering and we shall see what happens!