The Fox and the Hare

Hello............ It's been a bit hectic here at the Summerhouse as I'm desperately trying to get some items made for our craft clubs annual exhibition which is due to start next week, yes I've had a whole year to make stuff but lets face it I've just been too poorly to get much completed over the last 12 months.

I had so many plans but hey ho it's all ended up a bit last minute, I'm still really struggling, with a relapse and what the Dr suspects is neuralgia, so far with my other conditions finding a pain medication I can have is proving tricky, it's been eight weeks now and I've just about had enough of it.

Any road today I thought I'd share with you these felt creatures I've been slowly making up, to fit the Woodland theme of the exhibition, they came as part of a kit with Crafts Beautiful magazine, some time ago.

So recently I've spent some time cutting out the felt pieces 

and assembling my little fox

Ta-dah 

I couldn't resist giving him some sparkly eyes.

I then went on to make this little stitchy Hare, I'm hoping to complete this set of woodland hanging decorations with a red squirrel and a deer but I'll just have to see how I go with my energy levels so low at the moment.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

PS If anyone has any alternative/natural remedies for treating neuralgia I'd love to hear them.

Patchwork January

Hello........... Here's a little Summerhouse round up from January, seems like an age ago now.

I'm afraid January here at the Summerhouse was mostly viewed from my comfy bed, I've been really poorly since Christmas with a relapse, the lurgy and then a horrible new symptom affecting the nerves in my face and head, so painful.  I did try and keep crafting, it's my escape after all !! and managed to leave the house only three time the entire month.  So I'm hoping things will start improving soon.

Over on Instagram the month of January looked like this......

As for the Summerhouse garden I didn't really make it out there much, but not a lot was going on as it's been so cold it was lovely to see the visiting woodpecker though. Everything is behind not even a crocus to be seen, one of the very few times I ventured outside I managed to have a fall oops, slipping on route to the summerhouse, one muddy Clare my own fault as I was really to poorly to be out there.

This year I've decide to add a new mosaic to each of the patchwork posts, it's going to be all about WIP's (works in progress) that I hope to finish or get back to in the next month, here we have my Angel wings shawl, Rainbow drops blanket, Seaside pebble blanket and my Purple leave cushion which has recently had it's ta-dah moment

Well that just about sums up January, the sun is shining here today at the summerhouse and I ever hopeful for Spring being on the way.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

Purple Leaf Cushion (take two)

Hello........... Today's post is a long awaited Ta-Dah, that dates back to the early days of the blog, yes I have been intending on making a purple leaf cushion with this yarn since 'here' yes that's right since 2013 !! 

Back then of course I was foolishly attempting to knit a cushion, this was long before I discovered crochet and it's lucky I did because my knitting is shockingly bad.  I persevered and it was only last  October that I finally called time on this make after yet another disaster.

A knitter I will never be...........

So I was left with a huge 400g ball of Hayfield bonus Aran, Plus some leaves I had somehow managed to knit.  I decided I still really wanted a cushion however I was just going to have to crochet mine.  !!!!

I decided to make a round cushion as it's so much easier with crochet and found a wonderful tutorial for a flat circle over at Attic24 'here'

Using a 5mm hook the circles worked up really quite quickly

something even full of lurgy my foggy brain could manage

I just kept adding rounds until

the circles were large enough for this 14 inch cushion pad, which I bought from amazon at the bargain price of less than £2.

I then simply crocheted the two half's together

Then it was all about whether to add a border or not, decisions decisions.....

In the end I opted for a simple 5 treble shell edging

Which really helped to neaten up the join.

I'd been playing around with so many design ideas, with the original knitted leaves.

here are just a few

In the end I just loved the rose leaf combo, I borrowed nicked some of the roses and leaves from my Autumn wreath, opps I'm going to need to replace them later in the year !!

and finally settled on a more is more look for my cushion, with a trio of Roses set amongst the leaves.

I then just had to stitch them in place

one by one until...........

Ta-Dah

My purple leave cushion was finished, completely different from what I originally set out to make but I got there in the end and I'm very happy with how it's turned out.

It's ready just in time for the Craft Club exhibition.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

(who needs knitting anyway !!!)