Book Review- Learn to crochet

Learn to Crochet

By Coats

Edited By Sally Harding

This book was my very first crocheting book. My Mum bought it for me once I had mastered the basics of chaining, slip stitch and double crochet.
The books primary aim is to teach the reader how to crochet with a set of simple and clear diagrams. I found that although the diagrams helped, I did need the assistance of a few YouTube videos on occasion. As a result I feel that the book would have better achieved it's aim by coming with a DVD that had video tutorials that accompanied the diagrams. However I was able to teach myself the finer details of crochet through this book and have referred to it many times since.
I have also lent this book to a friend who was learning to crochet about a year or so ago and again the book was greatly appreciated for it's quick over view of crocheting techniques and terminology.

I have personally successfully completed several projects in this book. The include: the striped cushion, scallop cushion, cotton afghan, wool afghan and hand towel edging.

Sally Harding has also written Crochet Step by Step, which has an average of 4.9/5 and 4.3/5 ratings on the book people and goodreads respectively.  This seems to be a much more detailed book, with it explaining 100 different techniques and stitches compared to Learn to Crochet, which only explains 20.  However having not read this book myself, I can't comment on whether the book better addresses the staticness (for want of a better word) of the diagrams.

Finally... My First Block Quilt

It's been two years in the making! It's finally finished! I really can't contain my excitement.

Back in the summer of 2015 I really wanted to make a quilt. I think my words where "how hard can it be". Oh it was hard... Actually let me rephrase that. It wasn't hard, it just took a lot of time, patience and accuracy (not exactly traits I'm known for). As a result I returned to this project multiple times. In fact I mentioned this project in a post back in September 2015.

If I went back, would I start this project? No. But am I glad I made this quilt? Yes. The quilt feels like a personal achievement. It has proven to me that I can stick with and complete a project that lasts for more than a week. It is also another skill that I have tried, I wouldn't say I've mastered the art of quilt making but I have definitely tried new techniques. That being said, I don't think I'll be making another quilt in a hurry.

Sneak Peek of the week (hello again)

Publishing Times:

Post 1- Tuesday 18:00 (British Summer Time)

Post 2- Thursday 18:00 (British Summer Time)

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!

Peru Day 7- Cusco

After many early mornings and days of travelling, we decided to have a really lazy start to the day. I still wasn't feeling to well, so this really suited me.

In the morning we just slowly ambled through the shops before taking a look at the cathedral. I must admit I've never seen so much Gold in a church before.
For lunch we, on my request, where really boring by going to McDonald's. I just really wanted something that my body knows and wouldn't make me feel any worse.

We then went onto the Inka museum, which was brilliant at help us understand the pre- Incan history of peru. There where also some really interesting Incan artefacts.
Inside the museum there is also a great tapestry shop that sells beautiful pieces for a good price.
After the museum we went to the arch-Bishops palace, which is also the museum of religous artifacts and sits on an old incan building. The inside is so ornate and beautiful, the tiles and the carvings where the most beautiful aspect for me.

We then made our way to the church of san blas.
The rest of the group then went to the planetarium, whilst I stayed in bed at the Hotel, in the hope that it would help me to recover faster.

Peru Day 6- Ollantaytambo to cusco

The taxi arrived at 9:00am and took us to Moray. However at this point I really wasn't well enough to even think about getting out of the taxi, but I did take a good look at everyone else's photos.
Then we drove to Maras, where I was well enough to enjoy the salt mines, which really do look amazing from above.
After that we went onto Chinchero for lunch at Meriendo which was just a super relaxed place with great food. We also watched an interesting weaving demonstration. Before finishing the day at our Hotel in Cusco.
Because of how ill I had been, I wasn't able to take any photos and the person who did take photos that day, sadly never emailed them across to me. Hence the reason why there have been no posts for so long. I had hoped to have the photos by now but decided to post this without them. If I do finally get the photos, I will update this post.