Wednesday 17 February 2016

A whole year on-line !!

It dawned on me recently that I've been writing my little blog for almost a year and maybe I should write a round-up post, like other bloggers. (And I must apologise that my blog writing has been somewhat disjointed and often jumps from subject to subject - I still haven't quite got the hang of it!)
Originally, I had intended my blog to be simply about crafting (Allsorts of crafting) but it hasn't quite turned out that way. But I think perhaps an anniversary round-up should concentrate on the crafting side of my life, as that is an area that has given me great pleasure throughout the year. And I may throw in some photos from Hillier Gardens and the like. I find a walk in pleasant surroundings always soothes the soul.

So, do I go for just for a timeline of photos of what I've made and what I've seen? Or a bit of text with some links so you can go and read about it?? Maybe a mix of the two?? Or make it up as I go along and hop from subject to subject?!

Let's start with Emma's blanket - that's the Stripey Crochet Blanket that I originally used for my header (although I have now changed it, albeit temporarily). You'll see a link in the sidebar to my Ravelry page for the blanket. I never wrote a pattern for it but there is some info about it and the links to the lady who wrote the pattern that inspired me.Watching the "view count" gradually going up has given me a lot of pleasure in the 3 years since I made it and you may have seen the screen dump I posted recently when it reached 11,111 views.

I had quite a shock last week when I was happily cruising around Pinterest (I loooove Pinterest in case you haven't realised) and by chance came across another of the Ravelry pics I'd posted and noticed it had been re-pinned 34.3k times. Yes, over THIRTY FOUR THOUSAND times!!! Woo Hoo!!

It seems strange to think that so many people liked it enough to re-pin the picture and clearly, quite a few of them followed the link to Ravelry and possibly from there to this blog. Fancy that!

Maybe one day I'll get round to writing a proper post about the other 2 blankets you'll find in the sidebar - the hexagon blanket and ripple blanket. They haven't been viewed anywhere near as often. But maybe one day...

Looking back through my blog, the next project I shared was a book cover. This was in response to something I had seen on Pinterest and I wanted to make my own version. I will add a link here to my Book Cover as that's my first try at a tutorial. You'll find links there to a better tutorial that I followed, along with the reasons why I was making it and who it was for. Those reasons still continued to echo through my life to this day.

Tina's Allsorts

Tina's Allsorts

Following hot on the heels of the book cover was Pocket Love, which if you are a regular reader you'll know I have returned to recently. The original idea came from HERE and is a simple, yet very sweet idea.
I think I'll keep returning to these little love hearts as they are a true pleasure to make.



Tina's Allsorts

My next project was a needle case. Oh what an absolute JOY it was to design and make! There have been few things I have enjoyed making as much as this sweet little needle case. It's one of the best things I've ever made and I love everything about it - and it's currently being used as my blog header. I do so hope Mara, the recipient, loves it too and is making use of it.

I enjoyed it so much, I took lots of photos along the way and used them to write a TUTORIAL which has it's own page. There are links there if you'd like to read more about who it was for - it's part of that echo I mentioned.

I made some other little bits to go with it and then put together a sewing kit with everything I could think of that might come in handy. I often wonder if Mara uses it. Or maybe her Mum does.

Tina's Allsorts

During the sewing kit's journey to the far side of the world, I came to hear about Dress a Girl Around the World. This is an international project that aims to give every girl at least one best dress. Or for the boys, shorts.
I realised this was something I could easily get involved with and having followed some links to find good free patterns, I proceeded to make quite a few dresses and shorts.

Tina's Allsorts Tina's Allsorts
I tried to make/write a pattern for this little version of one of the dresses I made and a link to it was added to the "Dress a Girl" website, and lots of you have come via that link, for which I Thank You.
I plan to make some more dresses for this very worthwhile project soon.

The little smiley face was designed to go in the dress pocket, so the girl receiving it would have her own little toy to treasure.

Tina's Allsorts
Around the same time, I was also working on a Chicken Doorstop Tutorial. Something else I really enjoyed doing.

They were quickly joined by paperweight sized chicks.

We're six months into blogging by this time and August beckons. There were lots of garden visits and walks but I think I still managed to make a fair amount that month. The thing that sticks in my mind are the boys shorts as part of the Dress a Girl project.

Tina's Allsorts
Life started to get a bit strange for a while after that - for want of a better word. I was still making things but with the intention of trying to sell them to supplement my income. It turned out to be a complete waste of time as almost no-one wanted what I'd made. I won't talk about it further, just share a pic of my favourite make. I actually kept this zipped purse - it was the first one I made in this design and I used my favourite fabrics at the time (from Mara's needle case) and it's currently filled with all the bits I need to make the Pocket Love Hearts.
Tina's Allsorts

After that, work became so busy that for the next 3 months there wasn't much time for making things. I managed to make some crochet flowers which I shared amongst family and friends - which were sort of a contribution to Flowers for Memories. These were my favourites -

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Then Christmas came and went and in January I started work on a crochet mandala cushion cover. It turned out somewhat gaudy I must admit, but the recipient didn't mind one bit. 

Tina's Allsorts

Tina's Allsorts
If you visit regularly, you will already have seen the Valentine Pocket Love pic. This was a January/February project I worked on as a fundraiser and every single one sold!


And that brings us up to date with the crafting really, other than to say, if you look up at the tool bar you'll see a Tea Cosie tab. I used to make them to sell for charity and thought it might be nice to share some, should you want to take a look. Every so often I go back and write a bit more as I come across photos.

Shall I pick some "garden" photos now? I take so many, it's probably best just to pick them fairly randomly - I'll be here all day trying to choose favourites! I'll try very hard not to pick too many! And in case you're wondering about the second photo - no, there's nothing wrong with your eyes or your screen, there really are 2 bulls-eyes mowed into the lawn!!

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And that's it. A year in the life of, so to speak... 
For  a while I did consider winding up my blog but I think I'll keep going for now at least, although probably not as often. But I'll try and bring in more crafting if I can.

Thanks for reading - I really do appreciate it even if I don't say so. Bye for now,
Tinaspice xXx

Tina's Allsorts








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