Post and pressies!

Look what arrived in the post! Lovely bamboo crochet hooks from China - all ready to go! I have never used wooden crochet hooks before and have just stuck to my good 'ol metal ones. But I was looking for a craft pressie and came across these. They look nice, they look as if they would feel nice to work with too. So, I decided to get two packs instead of one - just to try them out - of course!

My first concern was that they were strong enough - I really don't want to snap these when I've just got them. But they feel quite resistant and after a few minutes you forget that was even a worry. Then you realise that there is no groove in your finger from the metal numbers on your 'ol metal ones - bonus! These ones have printed sizes - love the look of these!

Longer hours can now be spent on the ripple blanket - yey! (which has been sadly neglected of late - due to crocheted aprons and websites!)

So of course, I put these lovely new crochet hooks to the test - something quick to see the results. I also got to test my new double knit undyed lambswool to see how it works up.

Not convinced about the undyed lambswool but I like the picot edging on the bootie.

Also in the post came todays special pressie - my new camera! I had to reduce these pictures they were so good - but BIG! It's a Finepix s5700 and I love it. It is so easy to use and you can just start clicking away. it has 7.1 megapixels and 10x optical zoom and mega close up. You can use auto or work manually, but I must admit, I haven't read through the whole manual yet - too impatient to get going! If you are looking for a decent digital camera then do have a look at the specs - the cheapest deal I found was at morecomputers.com and super speedy delivery too.
Will have to take some pics of the new camera with the old!

Well, have to crochet a matching bootie now...... till next time.

Unveiling...

As promised, pics of the apron - both sides. You can imagine lots of pictures were taken before I was even marginally happy with the results. (Although, I'm still not really. Anything that has me in it will not be a good photo). Thank you John for taking the pictures and having the patience!!!

I like how you can wear this both ways round. Although I think the wide red stripe is meant to be the main front, I quite like having the overlap/wrap side front so I can see the buttons!

And as I was dressing for the occassion.....

Had to match the daisies now, didn't I?

PS. I was trying out a link to my flickr slide show. If you want to see it, just click on the top picture of this post and it will take you straight there. If the 'i' is in the middle of the picture, you can click and it gives you information on each picture. (If you want it out the way, just move the cursor off the picture.)

Finished!

At last! The red apron is finished! Well, it was finished at 1am this morning but it was a bit too dark for photos! I'm really pleased with it and the colours are lovely. The red is a bit over bright in this photo but not by much!! I added the darker red stripes on each edge at the back and made the top band darker too. Now I'm thinking, maybe I should have put a dark border on the bottom to balance it out - give it a more finished feel? What do you think?

I'm thinking yes at the moment...

I also want to change the buttons as they don't stand out at all but I didn't have any funky ones to hand and wanted to try it out! Something with more definition - I did try white ones but they looked too tacky and cheap. Flower shaped ones would be good but quite hard to button through the crochet stitches I'd imagine! I'll have a look in the shops tomorrow and see what I can find. If not, I'll try ebay -you never know!

Now I've finished this one, I'll have to find another project to do. I have the ongoing ripple blanket - which has been neglected of late - but it is getting a bit heavy now and I like the feel of getting something made in a shorter time span! I'm thinking of a more fitted crochet top or a small 3/4 length sleeve knitted cardi/wrap/shrug - any ideas or links to patterns?

While I'm in town tomorrow, I'll have to get some rechargeable batteries for the MP3 player... yes, already! Too much listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack whilst crocheting, I think! (good motivator for fast crocheting!)

This week, I have to go back to work as the colleges are back for the new term. So, from wednesday, I will have to hoard my spare time for creative endeavours, whatever they will be. I'm intending to work on some new cards and do some sampling for new ideas - I'll let you know how I get on. But first I have to think of a taster session for my new textiles class on wednesday....

Back soon, hopefully with some new buttons and some cards to show you.

La Belle Helene

Hello, I'd like to introduce you to La Belle Helene - the place where I get to play with textiles and create lots of yummy things that I will hopefully sell on my up-and-coming website - http://www.labellehelene.co.uk/ . My intention is that this site becomes my online creative journal, exploring new ideas and techniques while encouraging me to become more structured in my making. But also giving me permission to play! So, here we go and thank you for joining me.