Peru Day 8- Cusco to Puno

The taxi that was meant to arrive at 6:30am to catch the 7:00am bus to Puno didn't arrive until 6:40am, which made it a rush to the bus stop. But we made it in time!
Our first stop was Andehualillas, which was yet another stunning church with an over whelming amount of gold.

Then we stopped for lunch at a buffet place, which had a wide range of food.
There was another stop at a small hill side market but I wasn't feeling well enough to get off at this point.

We finally made it to Puno after a 10 hour bus drive, we went straight to our hotel which was outside of the town and so had a beautiful view of the town bellow.

After the long journey, we where in no fit state to go out into the city again and so ate at the restaurant that was part of the hotel.

Christmas 2016

"Libby, you disappeared again!"... I know and I'm sorry.

This Christmas I was extremely busy and so didn't have anytime to make anything big or difficult for my family. However I did stay up until 3am one night beavering away on these finger-less mittens for my friends. In total I made 8 pairs in one night, each taking 30 minutes. They where a real success, mainly due to the fact that no one was expecting anything.
The reason why this project is so quick, is that the wool used is super chunky. If you want to make a pair for yourself or as a gift for a friend, then use any wool that requires the use of a 10mm hook.The rest of the instructions can be found bellow.

ch- Chain
dc- double crochet
Create 2
Row 1- ch 15, then dc into the second stitch from the hook. dc into the next 13 stitches.
Row 2 to 9- ch 1 and then dc 14
Row 10- dc 14
To assemble the mitten simply sew the two shorter sides together remembering to leave a gap for your thumb.

I hope this has inspired you!

London on a budget (Day 2)

Today, was all about doing some more stereo typical Tourist attractions. We started off the day by going to the horse guard parade to watch the changing of the guards. We got there 20 minutes early and where able to bag ourselves a good spot. If we'de been any later then we would have been a good couple of rows away from the front. The changing of the guards was very spectacular due to all of the soldiers being on horse back.

After that we went on a lovely walk through James park, so that we could have a picnic in Hyde park. However when we got to Buckingham palace, we where just in time to see the changing of the guards there. We where able to get a front row view by standing to the right of Buckingham palace and looking from the edge. Considering that we had already seen the changing of the guards at the horse guard parade, we where extremely happy with where we were standing.

After seeing the changing of the guards we carried on to Hyde park where we had a really nice laid back picnic.
Once we'd finished our picnic, we took the tube to the British museum. We where just in time for the 14:30 free tour about Ancient Egypt. The British Museum have lots of free tours going on through out the day, so it's well worth having a look when and where they are.

We were planning on going to the Curzon cinema in the evening to watch a subtitled film but decided that we were all too tied. So we just went back to Camden and had an early night.  

London on a budget (Day 1)

Hey! Recently I went to London with 3 of my Friends. All of us are students, which meant that we had to be careful with our money. So aside from a few things we desperately wanted to see, everything we did was either free or extremely cheap.

We arrived by train at mid day. Firstly we went to where we were staying to unpack and to buy all the food we would need for our stay. We based ourselves around Camden, so that we could easily get around London.

Once we had settled in and eaten, we set off for the south bank. My friends really wanted to go to the London dungeons (£28 per person), where as I fancied going to the Tate Modern (free). My Friends got a cheaper rate for the London Dungeons by using the Kelloggs 2 for one vouchers. It actually worked really well. My Friends finished their tour at at around 6:00 pm, which is when the Tate closes, so we just met up again by the London eye.

We were quite tired by 6:30 so we decided to eat out at an all you can eat Thai buffet (£7.50), which was just down the road from Camden tube station.
As a first day, it was fairly expensive for my friends but not that expensive for me. However the London Dungeons was something they really wanted to do and they had a really good time.

10 Random Questions

Hey Guys, I realise that you probably don't now that much about me, so I thought I'd share some random facts that you may not know.
1. Do you like your hand writing?
Not really, I think it's a little too functional and not elegant enough.
2. What is your favourite lunch meal?
Probably something quick and easy like pasta or sandwiches, as I'm usually in a bit of a rush.
3. Would you bungee jump?
No way! I'm absolutely terrified of heights.
4. What is your favourite ice cream?
Definitely anything with chocolate in it.
5. Red or pink?
Red
6. Favourite sports to watch?
Gymnastics, the gymnasts are always so graceful and elegant.
7. Any Tattoos?
No, sorry not my cup of tea.
8. Where were you 3 hours ago?
In my room.
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
Yes, I went to watch Star Wars again!
10. When was the last time you went for a run?
A couple of days ago, I struggle to stay on top of exercise in the winter. I mean who wants to go for a run outside when the temperatures at 1 to -1 degrees? Although now the weather is starting to pick up again.

5 Sport Inspired Crafts

So With January being the month where people love to get fit, I've collated 5 sport inspired crafts. Enjoy!

How To Make a Cut Out Sports Bra

DIY EOS Lip Balm Sports Addition

How To Make A Baseball Flower Hair Bow

DIY Basket Ball Case

DIY Team Spirit Tee

I hope this has inspired you!

Gloves for my Grandma

Who'd have thought that 2016, would start off so busy? How's the start of you're 2016 been?

Where I live, it's suddenly gone very cold and so I thought this change in weather would be the perfect opportunity to crochet something, as I haven't crocheted in a while. When I started crocheting these gloves/ mittens or whatever you want to call then, my Grandma immediately expressed how much she would like a pair like them.

To be fair she had been hinting for a while, that she wanted me to make her something. So I thought why not, if she'd appreciate them, then she's given me a great excuse to make them.

I would love to be able to tell you what wool, I made these out of but I honestly can't remember, as they are left over from various other projects I have completed over the years. Hence the reason why they aren't exactly the same. I basically ran out of wool.

I hope this has inspired you!

Final Wrapping

It's that time again, when I finish wrapping my presents, with Christmas music playing in the back ground.

This year as you know, I've been making pyjama bottoms for everyone who's in the same house as me on Christmas Eve. So when it came to wrapping them, I wanted to make sure that not only where they individually wrapped, but that they where also all in the same place.

This will make it easier to makes sure that they're opened on Christmas Eve. To do this I placed all the individually wrapped presents into a parcel box and wrapped that up and placed it under the tree, with a label explaining that the box needs to be opened on Christmas Eve.

My pan is that everyone gets their present and opens it at exactly the same time, so that it's a surprise as to what's in the wrapping, when everyone first opens their presents. Otherwise if the presents where all opened individually one at a time, it would soon become clear that everyone is getting a set of pyjamas.
If you'd like to see all of the pyjamas, I've included links for them bellow:
The Plan
Pyjama No.1
Pyjama No.2
Pyjama No.3
Pyjama No.4
Pyjama No.5
Pyjama No.6
Pyjama No.7

I hope this has inspired you!

Our Christmas Tree 2015

Over the weekend me and my family have been putting up the Christmas decorations. So today I thought I would share with you our Christmas tree.

I am now well and truly in the Christmas spirit.It's funny what effect a Christmas tree can have on you.

Firstly we found the perfect tree, which is nice and full and not to tall, otherwise it would never fit into our lounge. 

I also got a little bit distracted by all the random greenery lying around our local garden centre.

Then of course we decorated the tree. I know it looks like someone has vomited baubles and beads onto a tree, but isn't that what they're meant to look like?

I hope this has inspired you!

Christmas wreath base layer

So my Christmas posts have begun! (well you knew that already but I thought I might mention it again.)

Today I wanted to share with you a project that I've been working on. This year I've decided to make my own Christmas wreath and I wanted to share with you how you can make you're own wreath base layer out of bits and bobs you probably already have. So let's get started!

You will need:

Pipe cleaners (or the fluffy wires, as I like to call them), it's up to you how many you use depending on how large you want your wreath to be.
Fabric, cut into long strips that are about 7 inches wide.
White, or similarly discreetly coloured thread.

Method

Firstly join several of your pipe cleaners together to make a circle. The size of this circle will be the size of your wreath.
Then make a smaller circle, again out of pipe cleaners. The size difference of your two circles will be the width of your wreath.
Now get two pipe cleaners and cut them in half.
Attach these smaller pipe cleaners to both circles, evenly around the two circles, as shown in the photo bellow.

Next wrap the thread around the two circles joining them together. The thread doesn't have to be too tight, this is just to make sure the circles are joined.
Finally take your strips of fabric and wrap them around the joined circles, as shown bellow, tucking the ends in, so that they are hidden.

In front of you, you should have your base layer for your wreath. Now you can decorate it as you please and your finished!

I hope you found these instructions useful and of course, I hope this has inspired you!

Half Yard Christmas

Disclaimer: All of the following opinions and ideas are my own. I have not been rewarded in anyway to review this book. I simply found it very useful and interesting and so wanted to share it with you guys. 

So today I'm going to be talking about a book that was given as a birthday present to me (so don't even think about asking me how much it cost! :) ). With Christmas getting close it's the ideal time to start thinking about making Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts. Which is where the Half Yard Christmas by Debbie Shore comes in handy.

This book is great in giving Christmas ideas of what to do with your left over pieces of fabric. It also gives a step by step run through of  how to make each item shown, in a detailed and clear way.
The book is split into different themes and styles of Christmas decorations, with my favourite style being the Scandinavian style. I mean who doesn't love a cute little gnome decoration? But the rustic styled Christmas also interested me as well.

I've been totally inspired by this book and already have that lovely warm Christmas feeling inside.
Earlier this week I asked if you're ready for Christmas. If you're not then you should seriously consider having a look at this book.

I hope this has inspired you!

Are you ready for Christmas?

Are you ready for Christmas, because I know I'm not! It's around this time of year that I start to get excited. In fact I've got my Christmas candles on already.
Of course, like the previous two Christmas's I will be sharing with you, what I make people for Christmas, so stay tuned.

Coats fashion show

So, over the weekend I went to the London knit and stitch show and I had an absolutely amazing time, but don't worry if you couldn't make it, as there are also knit and stitch shows in other places (have a look here to see if there's a show near you). At the show, there was also the coats fashion show, which displayed the new work of Rowan, Patons, free spirit and of course Coats. As well as new patterns from Butterick, Vogue and McCalls.
Whilst watching I also took photos of some of the items, so that I could share them with you, and also where you can find the relevant patterns (this only applies to some items as I couldn't trace all of the pieces on show, but let me know in the comments if you find any of the patterns that I couldn't source).

 Don't you just love the amazing texture in this cardigan and its colours just fit right into the themes you would associate with autumn. Sadly though I couldn't find the pattern for this cardigan.

I'm afraid I wasn't able to get a front row seat, so you may just see some head bobbing into the frame now and then. But don't let that detract from how cool this oversized jumper is. Again this was another pattern I couldn't source.

Normally knitted things for men just look naff but this men's cardigan is not only wearable but also really fashionable. However no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't source this pattern.

With it coming up to Christmas, and the season where I don't know about you but I love to wear a really nice jumper, this no doubt will be a real hit and this style has certainly been making the rounds already. Sadly I was unable to find this pattern.

And of course there's an equally stylish version for men. Unfortunately I was unable to find the pattern for this jumper. 

Sadly I wasn't able to get a full photo on this skirt but trust me when I say that the back is really something. So according to the program, the information is as follows:

Pattern company: Vogue

Pattern: V8882 style D

Fabric: FreeSpirit Elizabeth by Tula Pink Ship Shape PWTP065-SKYXX

The fabric used in this men's shirt really gives it that wow factor and it also reminds me of the 70's style that everybody seems to be loving at the moment. According to the program, the information on this is as follows:

Pattern company: Vogue

Pattern: V8889 Style C

Fabric: Coats Electric Elements by Tim Holtz Cigarbox PWTH015- MULTI 

Okay, just take a minute to appreciate the sheer beauty of this cardigan,it totally captures the autumn colours and how autumn is totally about leaves. This pattern was designed by Martin Storey and you can find information on his pattern here. 

 Look there's yet another cool men's jumper, Rowan are on a roll :) This pattern was designed by Marie Wallin and you can find more information on it here.

This jumper is a really nice take on the oversized jumper trend, as it has a really nice tailoring to it. For more information on this pattern take a look here.

I reckon the cowl styled neck on this jumper could come in really useful come the cold weather this winter. This pattern was designed by Sarah Hatton and you can find more information on it here. 

And here's another really cool men's jumper, you can't say that Rowan haven't catered for men. The pattern was designed by Martin Storey and information about it can be found here.

 This knitted hood has a great comfort meets ready to go style, which is just really wearable. However I was unable to find the pattern needed to make one.

When this jumper came out onto the cat walk, there was a gasp among the audience and I think you can see why. This jumper won't just complement an outfit, it will make an outfit. This jumper was designed by Martin Storey and information on the pattern can be found here. 

This is my personal favourite and I could totally see this item in my wardrobe. The pattern was designed by Emily Platt and information on it can be found here.

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 This is yet another classic jumper that has such as timeless feel to it. This jumper was designed by Emily Platt and you can find more information about it here.

The colour of the wool used here, really stands out and complements the patterns on show here. The snood was designed by Emily Platt and there is more information on it here. The hat was also designed her and information on it can be found here. Although you can't see them in the photo the model was also wearing these super cool welly toppers, which where also designed by Emily Platt and information on them can be found here.

Don't you just get a great 70s vibe from this jumper. This pattern was designed by Kim Hargreaves, if you would like to find out more information of this pattern, take a look here.

Personally, as someone who loves to snuggle up in front of the TV in jumpers and ponchos, I think this take on the classic poncho is really interesting.It was designed by kim Hargreaves and more information can be found here.

So you've seen lots of over sized jumpers in this post but here's an oversized cardigan that I personally love. It was designed by Kim Hargreaves, you can find more information on this pattern here.

Although this may look like your average cardigan, it's actually got some Swarovski beads added to it, which really gives it that extra sparkle, there was lots of murmuring when this came out and I think you can understand why. This pattern was designed by Jennie Atkinson and you can find more information on it here.

As you can tell from the women's faces in the background of this photo, that this jumper really is something. It was designed with Swarovski and again has beads threaded through the jumper. This was definitely the most stunning item in the whole show. This amazing dress was designed by Jennie Atkinson and you can find more information on it here.
I hope you've enjoyed this quick round up of the coats show. Don't forget to join me again next Thursday.

I hope this has inspired you!

P.S. I haven't been asked to or paid to write this post and all the views expressed are 100% my own.