Hello 2018!

I do wonder how long we should carry on ‘happy new year’ for, only 5 days in and I feel like I’ve said it tonnes of times!!

Christmas started in August for us when we started designing the Christmas CAL, and it now feels like spring, seen as @lyndaacraftroom and I are now in the throws of designing the next one, thoroughly enjoying it I might just add!!

So! I’ve started my Janie Crow Fridas Flowers blanket!!!! Yayyyyy!!! Like on Christmas Eve, as soon as I’d finished my last gift, I have to say it’s the most stunning design and colour way ever!! I’m only on block 3 but it’s so gorgeous

Block 1

Block 2 – my favourite

Block 3 – what’s there not to love?!

Just beautiful

Although it’s going to be one of those blankets I probably won’t let anybody touch! So worth waiting for.

I’ve also had a start on Sophie’s stool, it’s so nice!! I’m tempted to just carry on and do the blanket but I really do want this for the stool.

For those like me that have looked at the stool kit for a while and not bought it, let me tell you it’s such good value for money!! I didn’t realise (I don’t think it’s been very well advertised) you actually get the stool in the kit! Plus 9 x 50g of scheepjes catona, the quality of the stool is just fab!

Anyway! I’ve also been working on some designs for the spring cal for knitcraft but obviously I can’t show you those….yet!

We also have literally 1 month and 10 days to go before The Crochet Sanctuary eeeeeekkkk!!! I’m so excited, and excited that some of you lovelies will be joining us! People we talk to on Instagram and some of our CAL members! We literally have sold out on all day passes, we only have 2 weekend passes available, to be honest it’s a bit of crap time of year, asking people to fork out £450 for a weekend of pure self indulgence, SO! As Lynda and I have already paid for everything in advance we obviously need to sell these last two rooms, so we’ve decided to raffle off 1 room, which is Fab really, for the sake of a £5 (virtual) raffle ticket you could win a weekend away of none stop Crochet, beautiful food in gorgeous surroundings with the loveliest people, and let me tell you we’ve sold so few the odds of actually winning is pretty bloody high! So if you fancy buying one, they’re £5, just send a payment through via PayPal to hello@thecrochetsanctuary.co.uk we get notifications straight away, so we’ll send a receipt through for your records. Ooh the weekend is from Friday 16th until Sunday 18th, it’s worth a fiver believe me!!!

We are really very pleased that we’ve sold the original number, then increased the number of weekends by another 5, at this time of year we think we’ve done a super job, so next week we’ll be releasing the dates for April Crochet Sanctuary!

Anyway happy hooking!!!!

Xx

2017 Wow

Well for me it’s been rather amazing!

2017 started with the designing of our first Crochet Along in conjunction with Knitcraft/Hobbycraft, @lyndascraftroom and I honestly thought we’d get about 100 people max taking part, if we were lucky!

I even remember us high fiving each other when we hit 77 😂 77 people! We’re close to 4000 now, 4000 people making our Designs, ours?! <<
u know you’re doing something right when your members start asking for a second CAL, specifically a Christmas themed CAL just just 4 months away from the big day! After a lot of hard work a few choice words and 8 weeks, yes just 8 weeks we managed between us to create The Christmas is…..CAL

<<
onestly cannot tell you how nice that warm feeling is when thousands of people make something that came out of your mind, through your fingers and into a yarny creation (struggled with that bit 😂) it’s just amazing. And it feels phenomenal to inspire people!!!

At the start of each CAL we get asked ‘can a beginner do this?’ ‘I’ve never crocheted before, will I find it easy?’ ‘This looks complicated I’m not sure I’d be able to do this’ we always tell them yes!!!!!!!

I have to be honest at first I found it a little alien, because unlike other areas in my life (weight management is a good start!) I have never looked at a pattern and thought ‘I can’t do this’ I just do it! And I keep doing it until I get it right. To me it’s like a recipe, so long as you can follow instructions you can cook it.

We get to so many people joining who have never picked up a hook! Never made a blanket, or crocheted anything before, and to see their results it’s just amazing!

Take Sarah Miller as an example. I met Sarah at high school, and never saw her a again when we left, she moved to the US and married the man of her dreams, she had crocheted a granny square and she had also done some scarves, in single stitches. She said she’d never be able to do Tea on the green, but she did!! She flew over in November and came to see us!! And this morning, she has posted this beautiful and amazing piece of work

Isn’t it fabulous!!!!

I’ve learnt a lot in 2017, especially about designing! I’ve learnt a lot about people, my skin has grown a lot thicker, like a lot, and that’s a good thing, I struggled with comments I thought were negative at the start of each CAL, I’ve grown to realise they’re not negative towards myself and Lynda or the CAL it’s just a few thousand people looking at what lies ahead of them and announcing ‘I can’t do this!’ But we know that now, and we turn them around and they do it!!! And they do it so well!!!!

Through the CAL’s we’ve made so many new friends too!!! I love crochet friends!

Myself and @lyndascraftroom have also launched The Crochet Sanctuary that’s been a big learning curve, with many more to come I’m sure! We’ve successfully sold out on day passes and initially all weekend passes, so we increased them by another 5, we’ve still 3 more weekend passes to sell, but that’s fine! May just have to add a little more discount to get them sold before February, but this will see an amazing start to 2018, and we have another CAL arranged for Spring and then Autumn, and Sanctuary’s arranged throughout the year!

So I think I can say it’s been a good one!!!

I’d like to thank YOU for following and reading my blog.

Thank you to Knitcraft for actually having faith in two amateur designers, letting us loose on your customers, trusting us and for giving us such a fabulous opportunity.

And too my partner in crime @lyndascraftroom for putting up with me! Listening to my ideas and telling me they’re crap when I needed to be told, we’re so different in so many ways, but together it just works! Thanks Lynda!!!

Until next time

Merry Christmas

Happy New year

And

Happy Hooking!!!!!

Lisa xx

Christmas CAL, WIP and new yarn review!

Well can you believe that’s our second CAL complete, well almost! @lyndascraftroom May have a bonus pattern ready to be released on Friday! And then I might just have one for the week after!

We’ve had some fabulous finished blanket pics getting posted, just so lovely to see!

Some people went for the original Knitcraft colourways but many have chosen their own and they’re all just fabulous!

I’ve been ever so good lately, I’ve finished some wip just in time for Christmas and I am getting close the end of my list, then and only then will I allow myself to get stuck into my primavera blanket.

I finished simply crochet magazine issue 63 gingerbread jumper. (Simply Crochet is Fab for patterns, they’ve an offer on for a fiver, look to the right!) I have to admit, this project did bore me, purely because it was mainly DC’s all the way through, I got excited to do the sleeves which involved some increase rows! But I forced myself to finish it and to say that my gorgeous girl Abby is happy with her jumper is an understatement

I’ve also finished the yarnspirations blast off rocket blanket!!!! Yayyyy!!!!! I did enjoy doing this, but let other projects get in the way, it’s massive, it’s heavy and chunky and my nephew is going to love it!

So I’ve just two troll hats to finish (still) I’ve made the hats it’s just the hair! But with help from the girls at our knitcraft social I’m getting there

Needless to say I won’t be doing anymore!

Now there I was I’d finished some wip and thought right, into the next one, foxy cardigan, when I popped into Blacksheep wools in Warrington, to get some large wool needles, I came across this yarn……..

DY Apollo manufactured by stash fine yarns, oh wow, ok so it’s a dk weight, mainly acrylic with about 20% wool, this isn’t my particular colour choice it’s a gift for someone, but the colour changes are just phenomenal! Absolutely beautiful, it’s lovely to crochet with and I don’t get bored, as the colour changes really make it interesting

Same picture but one with flash one without, the colours are so vibrant, I just love it, each ball is 300g in weight and Blacksheep wools are selling them for £14.95 but to be honest, well worth the money, and they’ve a lot of different colours in stock, well worth a nosey.

So this ball of yarn has jumped the que a little! However I’ve got two weeks to get my foxy cardigan done for my godson then another huge Twinkie chan doughnut for my niece, that’s it!

Then I do believe it’ll be heads down and designing the next CAL!

Ooh only a couple of weekends left at The Crochet Sanctuary !!!!

Happy hooking xx

Christmas is, and an afternoon at The Crochet Sanctuary ☺️

What a lovely afternoon had by all!! So yesterday part two of the Christmas is Cal was released, pattern is available here if you fancy Part two it’s going sooooooo well!! We have people that have never crocheted joining and completed part one, which is just phenomenal, it gives @lyndascraftroom and I such a buzz that we are able to give people so much confidence, it’s just fabulous!!

There’s such a real mixture of stitches, and we know we’ve broken so many unwritten crochet rules so that we’re able to get all of these textures in one blanket, but it’s working! And so nice to see so many colours.

Anyway this morning we met some of the girls at hobbycraft Warrington where the lovely Emma has made a sign for us! We’ve only been there for 18 months so much appreciated!

I also had an old friend turn up, all the way from Nevada!! We haven’t seen each other for 24 years so it was so lovely to see her, a few months ago sarah had crocheted a couple of scarves, we got her involved in the Tea on the green cal and she’s finished it and done such an amazing job, she’s now doing the Christmas cal!

As you know The Crochet Sanctuary is happening in February, and we want both of our weekend and day guests to enjoy every single minute of it, so we thought we’d have a mini sanctuary afternoon, just to see how it was going to work, where we want the sofas positioned, and test some food obviously!! Ohhhh we did not want to leave!!! We chilled out on the sofas, fire on, hot drinks, light lunch and crochet! We even took a few crocheted bits with us as a bit of a dress rehearsal, ahhhhh relaxed doesn’t even describe it!

How pretty is our entrance!! I’m thinking of a bobble rug at the front of the door, we’ll have some nice banners outside too

Just so comfortable!! We’ve requested plenty of sofas so people can kick their shoes off, slipper socks on and chill!

And check out the fire, just lovely!!

Best of all though we had a giggle.

We walked out of cranage hall with that ‘just right’ feeling, it’s absolutely thee perfect place for us, and we simply cannot wait!

We’ve sold out of our day passes for February 17th, and we’ve increased the number of weekend passes by another 5 so there’s a few of those left. But with so many sofas I think we’re going to need to whip up a few more blankets!!

Anyway happy hooking xx

It’s live!

Christmas is…..live on hobbycraft blog, and our Knitcraft CAL Facebook page, I feel exhausted already!! A bit surprised Knitcraft posted whole pictures! But nice to see everyone’s reactions!!

So here they are!!

The grey version is ‘crisp skies and full of surprise’ and the purple version is ‘happy wishes and snowflake kisses’

@lyndascraftroom and I are rather pleased!!

Here’s a pic of part one, this was crocheted by Samantha who is an amazing pattern tester!

Anyways, off for a little cat nap I think, didn’t sleep much last night!!

Happy hooking xx

Sunday already

But I’ve had a lovely weekend! Started with Saturday morning rushing around and falling out of the front door, who does that! I fell out of the front door and landed in a very unflattering heap, so felt a bit shaken up. I turn the horrible 40 next Friday and been feeling quite down about it. Anyways turned up to our knitcraft social at hobbycraft, ready to get one of the #daisiesforvicky blankets finished, @lyndascraftroom normally waits outside for me, but had messaged to say she was already upstairs…..bit odd….gets half way up the stairs and could see her at the top, but as soon as I’d seen her she’d gone, very odd! I turned the corner to our table and nobody’s there, but the table was full of cakes, crackers, my favourite cheese, favourite pate, drinks, I couldn’t understand what was going on, next thing out pops Tanya from ‘What I created next’ lynda and Margaret tanya’s Mum, shouting happy birthday! I soooo wasn’t expecting it, and boy I was overwhelmed! Lynda handed me a bag, i was that busy being in shock I didn’t realise the bag had my logo on it, how ace! Lynda had filled the bag with dream gifts for a crocheter, a gorgeous pack of ice yarn, I do like ice! An amazing crocheted birthday cake!!!! I’ve never had anything crocheted gifted to me before, isn’t it a lovely thing to receive?! And Gorgeous lush shower products, I could not believe it

Then tanya also gave me some gifts! An amazing project book, actually personalised! I’ve never had anything personalised before, and it’s got everything in it for crochet it’s fabulous!

Tanya had actually painted me a picture as well, I mean wow, again, I have never had a picture properly painted for me, if you zoom in she has actually gone to the effort of writing my name inside the bubbles, so special, and a handmade card, I’ve never had one of those either!

Isn’t it fabulous!! I’ve never felt so special to be fair, so lovely! Shortly after that the lovely lynn arrived with gorgeous Lindtt chocolates and another special handmade card ☺️☺️☺️☺️. People are sooooo kind!!!

Our Knitcraft group has been going for about 13 months and during those months I really have made some special friends.

Anyways!! Enough of me! We finished one of the #daisiesforvicky blankets, I added the border, Lyndas started the next one, bless her, offering to do all of that joining is no easy task! It took me about 3 hours just to do the border.

It really is beautiful, so much thought gone into each and very stitch by many different people. Margaret did the draw, and this particular blanket was won by Hannah Thorley from @quietwatercraft how fabulous!!! So this will be in the post for Hannah tomorrow.

I’ve even managed to finish some wip this week, my work colleague became nana last week so I’ve managed to make two blankets some booties and a princess crown

I’m going to sew some silvery gems onto the crown tomorrow.

Anyway it maybe Sunday already but it’s been a bloody good weekend!! Roll on next Friday, Christmas is….CAL launch!!!

Happy hooking xx

Christmas is………..!!!!!!!!!

@lyndascraftroom and I have done it again!!!! The Christmas is…. CAL is now available on the hobbycraft website!! We have two colour ways one is Happy wishes and snowflake kisses and the other is Crisp Skies and full of surprise! Get your Kit here! Or you could be really nice and order it from the link to your right hand side……..

So Knitcraft have not posted a pic of the blanket yet but this picture below is inspired from the CAL launches on 3rd November and will be released in 6 weekly parts

Totally inspired from it!!!

Such an exciting day!!!

Happy hooking!! Xx

Wow! What a day!

Such a fabulous day! Any day filled with crochet is fabulous, but when it’s for charity it makes it all the better. We have been inundated with daisies, and we’ve raised a nice bit of money for victim support too! A massive thank you from myself and @lyndascraftroom for all your help and support, to the people that donated daisies, money and to those that turned up today to crochet or give support, you’re all amazing!!!

We did bite off a bit more than we could chew, we managed to join 1 blanket, we are still to join the border!! And then we think we have enough stunning daisies to make another two blankets, so we will have to do the draw next weekend so that we have finished blankets to handover.

Also a huge thank you to Hobbycraft Warrington, who have let us stay from store opening until closing at such a busy time of year, their support is just fabulous!

Anyhoo, we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but it’s all for a good cause, victim support, in memory of Vicky Wynne-Jones, who was probably looking down on us today having a chuckle.

Happy Hooking xx

So exciting!!

I’m just itching for February, @lyndascraftroom and I never thought we’d get so much interest in the The Crochet Sanctuary it was slow to start, but now it’s really booking up! We were so scared we kept holding off signing the contract with Cranage Hall, as it’s a massive financial commitment, We’ve actually sold out of the Day Passes, so we’ve got 10 Day Pass guests coming, which is fabulous, we have booked all of the rooms that we had committed too, so we’ve just booked an additional 5 rooms, that’s the good thing with it being quite a large place, we can book additional rooms. And nice for Lynda and I too, as during the weekend everything is catered for, so the only thing we need to worry about is whether or not people are enjoying themselves and they’re relaxed. We already have our guest designer lined up for the April Sanctuary, so I think we might release those dates soon, and we’re working on the rest of them.

Tomorrow is 21st October, the day of our Crochetathon, I still can’t believe the generosity of our gorgeous community, and big thank you to those that have donated money, and a bigger thank you to those that have spent time in crocheting a #daisiesforvicky and posting them, its meant so much! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, I whole day of crocheting and joining beautiful daisies!

I’ve started a few more WIPs, no thanks to simply crochet magazine! This months magazine is amazing!! So much fabulous stuff, my daughter had s flick through and has begged me to make her the Christmas jumper, I’m half way through, it’s beautiful, and made from Stylecraft so very cheap to make

I really want to make the fairy too, but, you can’t seem to buy scheepjes Lizzy in gold anywhere, so it’s been put on the back burner I’m afraid.

I’m also 75% through finishing my blast off blanket!!

This just shows you the front, when I roll this pic I still had the back to complete but it’s almost done, works up quick, and it’s rather large too!

Anyway, if anyone would like to donate even just £1 to be in with a chance of winning a #daisiesforvicky blanket then please do, it’s a fabulous cause, none of us ever know if we will ever need support from charities like these, they can’t survive without donations

http://www.justgiving.com/Lisa-Hesketh2?utm_id=26

Happy hooking 😘

Crochet kind

Myself and @lyndascraftroom are both feeling very overwhelmed today, I posted a little while ago about our crochetathon on 21st October. We’re raising money for Victim support in memory of my friend Vicky Wynne Jones.

We thought we would ask for donations on Just giving, and then for each £1 donated, we would put peoples names into a draw and they would win a fabulous daisy blanket, made during the crochetathon. Then we thought we would take advantage of the #crochetkind on Instagram, so we put together the pattern, and what a response!! I did ask little box of crochet for some help too, and they kindly posted about it to their many followers, since then We’ve had crocheters donating daisies from all over the world, literally!! Lynda took a delivery this morning from Australia, we’ve had small parcels hand delivered, posted and more on the way.

@lyndascraftroom has sat and counted 265 #daisiesforvicky this morning!

It’s so overwhelming! People really are truly kind, thoughtful, caring and considerate, and it’s genuine, they want nothing in return.

Victim support……it doesn’t matter where you come from, who you are, how well you’ve been brought up, you never know when you might need support, and I hope none of us never have to use it.

I think it’s the kindness and generosity of strangers that’s overwhelmed me, so I’ve posted a few pics below! I think we’re going to have more than 2 blankets, because we would really like to give one to vickys Mum, she’s moving to her new house soon and it would be nice to give her something, I think it would mean a lot too. Whilst we’ve done amazingly well with daisies we’ve not done as well as we would of liked in donations, so if anyone does want to donate £1, please feel free!! You might just win a daisy blanket full of love! http://www.justgiving.com/Lisa-Hesketh2?utm_id=26

Once joined it’s going to look amazing! We’ll try and colour match as best we can on the day.Anyways!Happy hooking you kind and thoughtful lot! Xx