Oh Frogg!

Question. Why is it called frogging? Frogging what eh? I'd never heard the term before either but apparently that's what the action of undoing all your work is called. Funny really.

When I first started to crochet, way way back last summer, well last August (not sure it can be classed as summer really the weather was so appalling) I bought a magazine in Tescos. You know the sort, they come complete with wool pack and a crochet hook. So this was my little foray in crochet. I started to make a teddy bear. It was a lovely striped teddy bear, done in the round (amugrami) and I took that thing apart so many times until I got it right. Any way, I subscribed to said magazine and so every month I have received a new wool pack. They're some lovely colours these wool pack, always coordinated. But the projects in the magazines left a lot to be desired (the crochet clock was a particular low IMO). So I have accrued a lot of 'magazine' wool over the last 10 months. But what to do with it? They are only 25g balls. Granny stripes was the answer!

Yes I know very pretty. Trouble is the wool is acrylic and not at all soft so it feels quiet stiff. And it's not decent quality will either, it keeps splitting and although not difficult to use it is not without it's frustrations. Here's another pic, as it it very pretty. We've taken to calling it my Gay Pride Rainbow blanket (lol)

But I started it as a beginner not really following a pattern, not knowing what I was doing. I didn't really know how to turn properly when I first started it. So because of this the edges of the blanket are really uneven. It no where near finished, only roughly 25 balls used on it. My sister told to just put an edging on it and it would be fine, but ever the perfectionist, I would know that it was wrong. And as I had just crochet on a 25g ball at a time, there were some rows of 2, some rows of 2 1/2, others of less than two. It was all a bit uneven. Not uniform and equal as I like things (I'm ex military, can you tell?) so I decided to unravel it, or 'frog' it as I've discovered it called. Where does that term come from??

So I googled it! It's quite sweet actually. When you undo your work you literally 'rip it'. So you 'rip it, rip it'...get it?? That's where frogging came from. Thought it was funny. There also another knitters term of undoing your work called 'tinking'. This one was genius, it's basically knit backwards, 'knit-tink', lol. Love it. 

Here's how my granny strip look now. Pretty pretty balls of colour. Tx

Chuffed to bits

Oh my goodness, I'm so so so happy with my latest little project. Do you want to see??

How beautiful is that?? Can't tell you how pleased I am with him. So easy to make, making it up is hard but very rewarding when it starts to take shape. I want to make another now straight away. He needs company. Hubby wants to turn it into a door stop, which is a good idea but I objected on the grounds that I wanted to keep it clean. And he also needs a name. Thinking of Huw Happypotamus? Suggestions on a postcard please. 

Oh go on have another picture, just for luck! Lol Tx

It's been a while....

It most certainly had been a while since my last blogg. I've been pre occupied with various family 'things'. Both daughters have been sitting their exams in school. It hasn't been going well!! Lots of work in the 'Mum's taxi' department too! 

We've had some fab weather here in Somerset about a fortnight ago and I planted out a veggie patch, I've been titivating and generally getting down in the ground with that.

 Looking neat and tidy eh?

And the other thing is that I've returned to the gym last week after quite a long six week hiatus due to a poorly back. (Silly me tried lifting a 90kg boxed trampoline by myself, ouch). Sooo good to be back in the gym, managed a 5k run yesterday and oh spin classes I have missed you. Kettle bells tonight!! Woohoo

Elder daughter has decided to 'make some bunting for my room' which I initially thought was a 'mum could you...', but no she wanted to do it for herself. She bought her materials and fabrics, measured out her triangles with the precision of an A level maths student (OCD) and set her self up cutting away.

She's done very well, except for the small hiccup of the sewing machine breaking down after sewing only two triangles. She's been hand sewing since and doing a really good job.  She wants to come to the next crafting bee at the end of the month, AND she went out yesterday and bought the British sewing bee book! Gob smacked!! For years I've tried to get my girls into 'making'. 

Think I need a new sewing machine though. Oh poo, I've had that machine 10 years! 

So my crafty projects have had a little bit of a back seat this last two weeks, but there has been some progress. 

The 400 is doing well, it's about a third of the way put together now, reckon another week should break the back of it. However I've run out of cream stylecraft and my local wool shop in Cheddar have stopped selling stylecraft wool. Changed the whole range to Patons!! So now I've got to go and hunt down some stylecraft elsewhere, probably in Burnham-on-sea, there's 3 really good wool shops there. 

So I started a new project and I'm oh oh oh so excited! It going to take about a week. Here's a little sneaky peek.

Oooo what could it possible be???? Tx

2nd Crafting Bee event

We all had such fun on Saturday at the crafting bee that the next one is already booked! Hope to have more guests from local crafty business's and I will let you know who will be attending closer to the event. I look forward to seeing some of you very soon at the 2nd crafting bee!

The Crafty Cwtchers get together!

So yesterday (Saturday) we held a little get together in Pips local community centre in Pontnewynedd. We had a lovely kid free afternoon chatting about our various crafty like and crafty histories. But the absolute best thing was the sharing of skill!! Pip had five of us simultaneously making a heart. Something I've never been able to grasp until yesterday. There's clearly something wrong with me (twp in the head!)  as she made it so easy!!

And then Andrea from Black Mountain Fabrics, who came along to show us her 'fat quarters' took the time to show me how to make a fab raised flower square. Ever so slightly chuffed with my result! 

I did that!!!

So excited to learn something new (twice). Well the afternoon was a lovely success and Pip is going to repeat it again at the end of June. It was a gloriously sunny afternoon yesterday so maybe next time we could do it outside?? (Yeah right, this is Wales, rain for 40 day and 40 nights is considered the best summer ever!!!) Tx

Pip the teacher!

The lovely Gemma and Tracey xx