Dinosaur Cross Stitch Bib

I've always wanted to cross stitch one of the dinosaur designs in Anne Sohier-Fournel and Sonia Lucano's Pictos, Logos & Autres Tags Au Point de Croix, but since I mainly cross stitch for special people's birthday cards, it is perhaps not appropriate ~ hey, happy birthday, you dinosaur!

I cross stitched this for Baby B using a DMC blue variation embroidery thread on a pre-sewn bib. Baby B is almost 3 months old and simply adorable (he didn't cry or fuss once during the entire time I held him... ok, he was fast asleep at the time but that's beside the point!), so I don't think he'll be offended by the dinosaur at all!

Sneak Peak: Stylecraft Special DK Chevron Crochet Blanket

One of the reasons I was super keen to complete my pinky purply chevron crochet blanket was because I was looking forward to playing with the Stylecraft Special DK yarns I bought from Deramores a couple of years ago. I've long admired Lucy's Attic24 and According to Matt's crochet projects using the yarns so I just had to buy the scrumptious looking yarns for myself!

Lucy uses 17 colours...but I bought 18 because I'm Chinese and it's a more auspicious number. The order I'm going to crochet are as follows:

1246 - Lipstick; 1083 - Pomegranate; 1241 - Fondant; 1132 - Shrimp; 1263 Citron; 1020 Lemon; 1316 - Spring Green; 1065 - Meadow; 1422 - Aspen; 1068 - Turquoise; 1034 - Sherbert; 1019 - Cloud Blue; 1003 - Aster; 1188 - Lavender; 1432 - Wisteria; 1390 - Clematis; 1084 - Magenta and 1061 - Plum.

I started this blanket during the Easter long weekend and it's still early days.  It will hopefully be completed in over a year's time, perhaps just in time for Mum's birthday in May 2016!

Completed Pinky Purply Chevron Crochet Blanket

I've been crocheting The Royal Sisters' chevron granny blanket for around 14 months, and I'm super pleased that it's finally completed! What do you think? I'm really proud of it actually and relieved that it's finally done ~ I love crocheting because it's so therapeutic, but after all these months of the same pattern, I was SO ready for my next project!

Can I share a secret?  I can't actually chain properly ~ it's the reverse of what it's suppose to be! I chained 240 stitches using size 5 hook, casted off, and started from the other end which is handy because if I mess up the pattern, I don't need to re-count the chains. I used a size 4 hook to crochet the rest of the pattern which suits me as my stitches are tight.

I started off with two lots of 100g Vera Moda yarn ~ dark, medium and light purple, and dark, medium and light pink, but ending up buying additional balls of the medium and light shades. I had plenty of the dark yarns left so I was able to crochet three rows for the side borders.

There are sixty-six rows of colour with three rows for each colour so that a total of one hundred and ninety eight rows! The completed blanket measures 145cm (W) x 147cm (L).

I haven't decided on my next crochet project yet but I'm keen to use the Stylecraft Special DK yarns I ordered from the UK over a year ago so stay tuned...

More Spotty Felt Elephants

I made a few Effie & Ollie felt elephants last year, and since I still have rolls of polk-a-dot felt from Daiso (doesn't help that I keep buying more!), I sewed a few more during the Labour Day long weekend for friends who are going through challenging times. Although there is little I can do to help, these spotty elephants symbolise strength and wisdom, so it's my way of saying they can get through the tough times.

Timber Heart Keyring Charms

I completed some timber owl and babushka cross stitches back in late 2012 (doesn't time fly?), and I bought these heart ones by Leutenegger at Big W the other day.  Not that I need more aida cloth, but I also picked  up a couple of packets too so more cross stitch projects to come (sigh, if only I can find the time)!

I've turned these timber lovlies into keyring charms (key rings from Daiso) for Mum and Dad (the bird for Mum of course), so this was a perfect way to spend an hour of one's time.

Baby Pram Cross Stitch

I haven't had a chance to visit Baby B yet, but I made this red baby pram cross stitch card for him. The pattern is from one of my trusty source of wonderful cross stitch patterns, Pictos, Logos & Autres Tags Au Point de Croix by Anne Sohier-Fournel and Sonia Lucano. The pattern is stitched on 14 count aida cloth with DMC 321.

Hunky Dory Baby Patchwork Quilt

It's been ages since I updated my blog so a belated happy 2015 to you!  I've been busy with lots of things ~ super busy with work before Christmas, then we travelled to Taiwan and Singapore for a couple of weeks, and work has continued to be busy in the new year, but all is good!

Remember I made this Bride and Groom cross stitch for K and M in September 2012?  Well, Baby B arrived on Valentine's Day! Mazel Tov!

I started this patchwork quilt in December with an strict completion date by the end of January.  I bought Moda's Hunky Dory charm pack a little while ago, and since I don't like cutting fabric, I found a set of cream Bella Solids from Etsy.  I had a vague sense of the pattern...well not really but I thought triangles would be a good start so I completed half square triangles before Christmas.

What to do with 42 lots of half square triangles? How about putting them together to make even bigger triangles? So that's what I did, but then couldn't decide how to arrange them...

After seeking Mum's opinion, we decided on the following which is like the flying geese pattern.  The backing fabric is a cute rabbit garden print with a green background which I thankfully had the foresight to buy 2 metres of a couple of years ago (the joys of having a well stocked fabric stash!), and I machine quilted in the ditch.

The quilt measures 73cm x 123cm and I hope it will keep Baby B warm during the coming months (since we're not having much a Summer this year!).