Loving ...

Loving...this little giraffe. It is the sweetest little animal to crochet. It has taken me a week to work out how to follow the pattern, stuff and sew her together. I have loved every minute and my daughter is so happy with her new little giraffe. I am now almost finished with the cutest little Hippo for my eldest daughter. 

Loving.. painting this little watercolour tag of a Bokmakierie  for a friend overseas. I am also sending her some flower and heart tags. 

 

Loving ... the winter days here in Cape Town and although we have had some really cold, rainy days we have also been blessed with many beautiful sunny days. I took the opportunity to take a walk on my favourite Kommetjie beach. It really is like paradise on this beach!

Loving ... the gorgeous bright orange pincushions that are blooming in my garden. Loving that  Spring is on its way! 

 Loving...this quote and the joy of this beautiful life! 

Happy weekend and breathe, enjoy and LOVE!

Shirley xx 

Edwards Menagerie...

I am so excited to be starting these little crochet animals! The book is beautiful with excellent instructions and clear photographs of each animal. 

My oldest daughter has chosen the sweet little Hippo named Georgina. I am so enjoying crocheting this little hippo as it is Level 1 and Kerry Lord the designer has excellent instructions to follow. I love the cool grey yarn she chose for her hippo.

My youngest daughter adores the giraffe! Caitlin the Giraffe is the hardest and Level 3 design! I have persevered with those little horns as they are so tiny! The body is also unique as it has a mix of colour changes to create the patch effect all over the tummy and up the long neck. 

The little horns and ears are now sewn into position and she has her little eyes stitched using  my cross stitch thread. Her body is complete and stuffed and all I need to do is her 4 legs. Little hippo and giraffe should both be complete by the weekend! 

I couldn't resist this picture of a baby hippoptamus. How cute! We are so lucky to have seen hippo's in game reserves and they are such amazing animals. 

This is my first time crocheting animals and I am sure I am going to be working my way through  ALL these animals in Edwards Menagerie! My favourite is the bunny! 

Happy Wednesday and what are you busy creating, stitching, crocheting, knitting this week? 

Shirley xx

Day by day...

This week has flown by so fast but I did go for a beautiful walk with my husband on Monday as it was a public holiday here in South Africa. We celebrated Woman's Day! We decided to take a long walk up Chapmans Peak drive to a viewing point. The views are so stunning as you look down towards Kommetjie and the Lighthouse at the point. This is Long Beach and yes it is very long and very beautiful! 

I have started a new little project with my shades of green MoYa yarn. I will post more pictures next week as it takes shape. 

I am so excited as my book arrived from the U.K. Kerry Lord has created the cutest animals and my girls found it so difficult to choose which ones they want me to crochet for them! Can you guess which one I am starting with?

A sweet friend from America is wanting some crochet and watercolour gift tags so I am busy painting some new birds for her. This is" Mr. Wagtail "and these are very common in our garden all year round. 

My husband has flown to China today on business for two weeks. I know I will be spending lots of time this weekend with my tea and crochet hook as I start my new "Edwards Menagerie" animal and finish my other little project.

Crunchies with chocolate topping are always a good idea too!

 I love this Simply Crochet magazine and its full  inspiration.

I love this quote by C.s. Lewis who also happens to be one of my favourite authors! I am busy reading one of his books at the moment and maybe I will find some time to read too this weekend! It is chilly, cold and raining here in Cape Town so a perfect opportunity to read! 

Happy creative weekend! xx

Hooked on Crochet!

I am just loving all the crochet patterns and inspiration I am finding on Instagram and all the  inspiring blogs. I am following the Toft Alpaca Shop on Instagram and look what they have just put on their website as a free pattern!  

This cute little Ice Cream and Cone pattern is a free download. 

My favourite is always chocolate ice cream so I decided to crochet 3 to start with. 

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate! Which is your favourite?

The little cones and ice cream does not take long to crochet and is easy to stuff and then sew together. It was a great start for me to follow a crochet pattern that is very different from my granny square blanket, flowers and Happy Flower Coasters that  I have been crocheting. 

I was so inspired by the animal designs by Kerry Lord who works for the Toft Alpaca Shop that I just have to try and crochet these adorable little animals. I have  ordered the book and cannot wait for it to arrive so I can start. My daughters are already choosing which ones they want me to crochet for them. 

This is Georgina the Hippo and she is one of my favourites! The little ballet shoes and tutu are also a free download pattern.

As my family all know I absolutely love birds so this will be my next purchase! How cute and amazing are these bird designs!!

I think I might start with  Emma the bunny! 

Here is the amazing Meghan the Toucan. I cannot wait to get started.   

The Toft Alpaca Shop is a Luxury British DIY knitwear and wool compnay. They offer alpaca and wool knitting yarns and knitting and crochet patterns. They are based on an alpaca farm in Toft, Warwickshire. 

They also have a lovely coffee shop and they offer craft workshops and classes. These classes range from beginner and easy for total craft newbies. 

On their website they  have fantastic video tutorials to help you if you get stuck with a pattern or the basic stitches for knitting and crochet. Find them at :

http://www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk/

 Go take a look at their website and I hope you are inspired as I am.

This month I am all about CROCHET  and I am totally hooked on all the amazing possibilities to create with a hook and some beautiful yarn!

Happy Wednesday xx