Winners and a free pattern…

Hello! It’s getting pretty  chilly over here, so a head wrap and ear warmer is just what every stylish girl-with-a-ponytail needs 🙂

Thank you to everyone who entered the Mamachee Giveaway, and of course thank you to Tara for generously providing the patterns for the giveaway!

I thought that as well as announcing the winners I would also point you to some of the free patterns that Tara also has on her website.

This week I have made 4 of these awesome  crochet head wraps – for my sister in law, niece and of course for Maia – isn’t it cute?? And it works up so quickly! You can find the pattern here.
And now the moment I know you have all been waiting for! The winners, thanks to Random.Org, are:

• Wild Daffodil – who said ‘Ooo! Yes please!!! Such cute patterns, thanks for the introduction to Mamachee and for hosting the Giveaway. Fingers crossed!’
• Lisa – who said ‘Very cool! I want to win! Hugz Lisa and Bear’
• Little Miss Ling – who said ‘Oh the Yoda beanie is so cute! And the blankets and flowers! How to choose?’
• Anette- who said ‘Oh the cowl is beautiful. And the owl hats. And the afghan… I would love to win!’
• Cute as a Button 82 – who said ‘Wow, so many great patterns! I love all of them, but my faves are the gloves and the pink slippers :)’

Guys if you email me with your preferred Mamachee patterns (two each), Ill let Tara know and she will get your patterns to you.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Janette xox

Good news…

How’s your week going? Hopefully floating along just like this leaf in the river I spotted yesterday when I was out on my walk!

When I posted my WIPs earlier in the week LOTS of people asked about the crochet slippers I was wearing…Cute aren’t they?

Sometimes when I’m browsing around the interweb I fall in love with a little bit of crochet and I have to say this was the case with these slippers!

These lovely little house shoes are designed by Tara Murray over at Mamachee. Here’s her version:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can buy Tara’s lovely crochet patterns at her Etsy store, she even has a permanent discount if you buy more than one pattern (sweet!)

With the possibility of a bargain to be had, who am I to stop with one pattern?

That’s right I got two! The slippers I’ve made for the children are called the Gailee slippers which are totally customisable – sized from children to adult – not to mention super adorable!

Tara’s patterns are superb, well written with lots of photos to explain any tricky bits and even some tips and tricks (this was the first time Ive ever glued in an insole, and it worked a treat).

And now for the REALLY good news:

It’s time for a giveaway!

Tara has generously offered five lucky Green Dragonfly readers the chance to win two Mamachee patterns each from her Etsy store! There are literally dozens of patterns to choose from…

Would you choose this pattern?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or this one?

How cute are these??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe, like me, you’d like to make these?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if you would like the chance to win please leave a comment below to enter the giveaway. And let your friends know too! Ill make the draw next week on 27 May 2015, and in the meantime head over to the store and imagine all the cool things you could crochet if you win, or buy a pattern (or two) 🙂

Thanks Tara and good luck everyone! Jxox

Holiday update and giveaway winner…

Sorry this post is a little late… you see we were on holiday at the beach for a week, having a gloriously relaxing time, which was – as I’m sure you can imagine – just wonderful at this time of year. I had intended to post a quick update from my nice newish (it was only 6 weeks old) smart phone, sometime on Monday. That was until it became acquainted with the bottom of the ocean, got in a huff and now isn’t talking to me anymore. In actual fact, its not doing anything anymore. Well except sitting in a bag of rice praying for a miracle (ok the praying part, that’s me).

Anyway so we got home on Tuesday afternoon and since then I have been up to my eyeballs in Christmas preparation. I thought I’d share a few of our summery holiday snaps. But if you are really keen to find out the giveaway winner, just scroll to the bottom of the post 🙂

Thank you to everyone who entered in the Crochet Pretty e-book giveaway.

Without further ado the winner is (drum roll please)… Rose Griffin, who said:  Love the draw string purse! Add me to the list!! I want one!!!  Congratulations Rose, if you send me an email Ill send you the details for claiming your prize 🙂

Happy holidays everyone xxoo xxoo

A review and a giveaway

Today I’m sharing a quick little project from a lovely crochet e-book I was asked to review…

Its a wee crochet flower brooch, made using 3 ply cotton and the pattern can be found in an e-book by Natasja King called Crochet Pretty

This is just one of 10 lovely accessory patterns in the book. I’m thinking the little drawstring bag from the cover will be next on my list because I have some cotton left over from the tangerine cardigan Ive just finished for Maia (more about that soon) and I’m sure she needs a little bag to go with it! If I hurry I might be able to get it finished in time for her birthday on Thursday! I also really love the earrings. To see all 10 patterns from the book over on Ravelry, just click here.The really neat thing about Crochet Pretty is that its interactive, so there are links to lots of helpful extra information and it even includes some instructional videos  and an interactive quiz! There are also clear step by step instructions, with beautiful photography. I love that because its an e-book its perfect for using on my ipad.

If you want to buy the Crochet Pretty iBook, you have to hop on over to

Sew Together Grow Together- Giveaway Results

Thank you to every one who entered in the giveaway to win a copy of the book Sew Together Grow Together by designer Trixi Symonds. Congratulations to Yvonne, Ill be in touch! I promise Ill be back soon with some crafty makes… J xo

Sew Together Grow Together a Review and Giveaway!

Recently I was contacted by designer Trixi Symonds asking me to review her new book Sew Together Grow Together: Sewing Projects for Parents and Children. As you can imagine I jumped at the opportunity!

Trixi is a teacher who lives in Sydney, Australia. She has spent more than two decades exploring the excitement and endless creative fun of hand-sewing with students.

The book has 20 fun projects which kids (and parents) are bound to love, with lots of photos and clear  instructions to guide you through each step. Here are some of the projects included in the book:

The children spent ages deciding what to sew, Maia eventually settled on the starry night pillow. A friend came to play one rainy afternoon so we ended up making two… they had great fun!And were both incredibly proud of their creations… Both girls are six, and needed a bit of guidance with the instructions. I printed out the patterns and helped them cut out the shapes, they did the sewing themselves and (aside from my role of untangling messes, and re-threading a gazillion needles) it all went very smoothly. The book is the perfect inspiration for any budding crafter, like Maia, who has done a little sewing before, and is always asking about new projects she can make by herself.

Carter’s choice surprised me, I was sure he would pick one of the monster projects… but instead he chose the cute little froggy and this too was a breeze to make. Although not much sewing was actually carried out by Carter, he did fill the frog up with rice and glue the eyes on at the end 🙂

He was proud as punch of his new froggy friend! But getting a sensible photo was clearly out of the question 🙂Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! There are loads more projects the children want to make, and it’s a perfect resource for ideas and techniques. You don’t even need a sewing machine as all patterns are hand sew. If you’d like to purchase a copy of the book or find out more about it click here. You also might like to check out Trixi’s blog coloured buttons for more fun ideas. There’s a fun pencil case tutorial I’d love to try too!

Giveaway time! I’m very happy that one lucky reader can win an electronic copy of this book by leaving a comment below… The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world and Ill draw the winner next Monday 4 November. Good Luck!!  Janette xox