Christmas Eve CAL

So its that time of year again… We’re almost done running around like headless chickens, faffing around with Holiday preparations, and all we really want to do is sit down and crochet (or knit, or spin, or weave or sew… you get my point) This year, Fay @crochet_circle_podcast and I are hosting another Christmas Eve CAL. Crochet along… Craft along… your choice 🙂 Any yarn related craft is welcome.

A Christmas Eve CAL is where you start a new project using yarn that you’ve saved for a special project or received for Christmas. The trick is to let your loved ones know that you want to open any yarn presents a day early 😉 It is important to take a moment for yourself over the festive period, whether you have time off work or not – after spending the past weeks, if not months preparing gifts and handmade presents, buying, cleaning, tidying, wrapping, cooking and baking – Everything should be finished with and out of the way (unless you’re like me and still have presents to make in January) After working so hard, we all deserve some yarny, squishy goodness.

The CAL starts on Christmas Eve, and if you’re very excited to start a new project you can stay up and start 1 minute past midnight. I did last year, and I might try to do the same this year.

The CAL will be taking place across Instagram and Ravelry. Use the hashtag #ChristmasEveCAL on Instagram so we can see your makes, and follow the hashtag so you can make new friends and see what everyone else is making over Christmas.

Chatter and FO threads are over on my Ravelry group… Click here for the Chatter Thread, and here for the FO thread.

So what projects will you start?

I’ll be working on two projects for myself over the Christmas break. One of them I have already started – I started on Thursday evening at woolgathering. A new pair of socks using Vicki Brown sock yarn in Hendricks and Flamingos. I am in living for these colours and I am love how my project bag matches. I also treated myself to a pin from Sharon @mycrochetmakes and it matches perfectly; as though the three were made for each other.

I am making contrasting toes, cuffs and heels, using @Winwickmum‘s basic sock pattern. The main colour is Hendricks, and the contrast will be Flamingos. I will then be able to make a pair using Flamingos as the main colour.

But this isn’t my ‘real’ Christmas Eve project. On Christmas Eve, I will be starting Arria by Fay. I will be using Riverknits yarn in Eve’s Birthday. (Just a coincidence) This project has been in my queue for a while, and what better time to start than a time when we have time to rest and relax. I am really excited about starting.

Arria on Ravelry

The yarn I have for this is beautiful! And I chose colours that didn’t contrast so much as I want the triangle feature to be subtle. I can’t even begin to describe how pretty this colour way is, the photo really isn’t doing it justice.

I can’t wait to see what you will be making. Please share on Ravelry or Instagram 😀 I also can;t guarantee that I will not start another project over the Christmas break. Hahaa, I can’t control myself.

I will be writing a blog post soon sharing some of our Christmas traditions, and some of the things I like to do at Christmas time. I don’t know whether it will be before or after Christmas, so have a lovely holiday everyone.

Merry Christmas!

Love Charlie, Xx

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#OneSkeinWonderlandCAL – Winners…

WOW! What an incredible CAL this has been! It has been amazing to see what everyone has managed to make with onlY 1 skein or 100g of yarn. Fay and myself have enjoyed seeing how many FOs there are, and there has been a phenomenal amount of FO posts on Ravelry and Instagram… 174 to be exact (excluding Fays and my own.)

We would like to thank everyone who participated and interacted on the Ravelry chatter thread, used the #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL hashtag on Instagram, and posted in the Ravelry FO thread. We hope that you all relished the challenge of only using one skein, and were happy with the results. From hats to scarfs, socks to shawls, cowls to mittens… there has been a project from everyone within this CAL, and now when you buy, or get gifted a lovely skein of yarn; hopefully you won’t be so hesitant to chose a project for it. We hope that the FO thread on Ravelry will provide some inspiration and encouragement that you can make something wonderful with only one skein!

There have been some absolutely stunning projects, and here are our winners. Using a random number generator, we chose 2 from the Ravelry FO thread and 2 FOs from the #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL hashtag on Instagram.

From Instagram…

@hayrie with her marvellous green Hilsborough crochet cable socks. Hayley has won two skeins of undyed yarn and a set of icing colourants. We hope Hayley enjoys playing around dying some yarn!

@crafternoontreats with her clever use of variegated yarn to colour pool in this stunning cowl. Kathryn has won a lovely project bad made by Emya Handmade. The perfect size for One-Skein projects…

From Ravelry…

Stephanie (aka tattedtatter) with her beautiful Boo Shawl. Stephanie has won the Accessories book by The Crochet Project, a lovely little book full of wonderful projects.

Gill (@jpohren) with her lovely Calm cowl using Fjord Fibres yarn. Gill has won a gorgeous autumnal skein of Crafternoontreats yarn. We can’t wait to see what Gill will crochet with it!

Here are a few FOs that stood out for us… I can’t show them all, although I would love to… (Please head over to IG and Ravelry to see everyone’s FOs – We loved every single entry)

We can’t wait to host this CAL again THIS year! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved, and helped to create the FO thread which is now a lovely database for One Skein projects.

Love Charlie & Fay, Xx

Happy Holidays – Christmas Gifts… Blogmas No. 8

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday. This Blogmas is going to be an ‘All about my Christmas’ blog post and I’m going to share all the yarny gifts I received… I’ll also share a few bits that I made as gifts too.

I wasn’t going to make any handmade Christmas presents this year as I found it very stressful last year. This year I wanted to spend more time designing my own patterns and working on ‘Love Charlie’ however there was no compromise for a handmade gift and I still ended up making  few.

This year, I made a scarf for Katie themed on Gryffindor house colours, a winter wreath, a sprout Christmas tree decoration and a felt needle book. Katie absolutely loved her scarf, and I really need to make a needle book for myself. It is getting hard to part with them.

 

For some of you, it’s time to go back to work – luckily I have a few more days to enjoy some time knitting and crocheting, spending time with Katie and eating ridiculous amounts of chocolate before the New Year diet kicks in.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was the ‘calm before the storm’, the house had been tidied and cleaned (I mean I finally put all the craft supplies from Christmas preparations away) presents were wrapped and I had time to start my Christmas Eve Cast Ons for the ‘OneSkeinWonderlandCAL.

 

Katie and I managed to binge watch the full 2nd season of the Crown in a day and it was so nice to be able to sit on the sofa in PJs drinking wine and actually relaxing – yes – relaxing. I thought I’d forgotten that word existed. Both of us have been very busy and stressed; so the relief of putting your feet up and turning your brain off was very well welcomed and appreciated.

 

Christmas Day

 

This year I spent Christmas with Katie’s family, swapping gifts, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and eating far far too much… all followed by singing Christmas songs merrily around the dining room table and Disney, 80s and 90s karaoke in the lounge. Dogs in Christmas jumpers, lots of yarny gifts, and my #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL WIPs to hand. What’s not to love?

 

 

 

Usually I enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them, but this year I was very excited for my presents as I had only asked for wooly bits and bobs. I was given so much more than I ever imagined and I have been extremely spoilt. I have lots to keep me busy for a long time. I am very grateful and thankful to my friends and family for their generosity and thought for me.

 

 

My next crafty venture is knitting; and knitting socks in particular. I asked for some of Arne and Carlos’ Pairfect sock yarn, Super Socks by Christine Perry, some short circular needles and DPNs. I was also given some wool wash and needle end protectors specially for circular needles. I literally have everything I could ever possibly need so there is no excuse. 2018 is the year to advance my knitting; and also have warm toes!

Katie bought me some beautiful River Knits and Fjord Fibres hand dyed yarn, some Wilton icing colourants and a double stranded sock blank ready for New Year’s #Fridayisdyeday. My Nan & Granddad bought me a yarn swift, so I wound up my #OneskeinwonderlandCAL yarn in my enthusiasm. I also received the KnittyGritty book, a Star Wars Crochet set, and my Mum bought me the Woodland CAL yarn pack ready for Attic24’s CAL in the New Year. My Mother and Father in Law also bought me another year’s subscription to my favourite Crochet Magazine, Simply Crochet.

Well, I sound like a spoilt brat now… and maybe I am.. but I’m a happy one – does that count? I hope you all got some crafty bits and bobs for Christmas – but more importantly, I hope you all got to spend valuable time with your friends and family over the Holiday period.

 

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, Me and Katie went on a little trip to Liverpool in the afternoon. I bought this beautiful ‘project bag’ (supposed to be a cosmetics bag) from TKMax and it has a pocket on the inside perfectly sized for crochet hooks. This currently has 2 of my #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL WIPs in it so it is very roomy. We had a lovely Yo Sushi! meal and went home to do some online bargain shopping.

Overall I have had an absolutely amazing Christmas, and I have so many new projects lined up; I’m going to have to do some serious planning to stop me from having about 50 WIPs at one time. I can’t start them all now; although the ‘force is strong’ – forgive me; I’m preparing for our Cinema trip to watch the new Star Wars… Katie is very happy with my Star Wars Crochet kit) Hahaa. What did you get for Christmas?

Love Charlie, Xx

 

 

#OneSkeinWonderlandCAL Preparations… Blogmas No. 7

Are you ready for the Christmas Eve Cast on 100g Challenge?

I think I’m just about ready now… I can’t believe how quick Christmas has come around this year.

If you don’t know about the #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL head over here to read about it, or head over to Fay’s The Crochet Circle Ravelry Group to find the chatter thread. FOs will be shared on a FO thread on the Love Charlie Crochet Ravelry Group. Three winners will be selected randomly on the 1st February from the FO thread.

My first job was deciding realistically what I could achieve in January. But let’s be honest I’m not a realistic kinda gal. That’s why I’m stupid enough to pick 4 projects to cast in in January. Yes. 4! Am I crazy? (Or do I just have a WIP addiction) I’ve been working on Katie’s scarf for a couple of months now so I’m ready to start something new.

 

Yarn

First there was the job of picking what yarn I want to use. I know I’ve asked for yarn for Christmas; but I wanted to use some of the wooly bits I bought at Yarndale this year. It’s been sat in the same bag since September and I think it’s unfair to leave it there. This yarn is very special to me as it’s the first hand-dyed skeins of yarn I’ve ever bought (and had to cake up)

I have decided to use:-

1. #Fridayisdyeday Laxtons sock yarn (Bought from Yarndale, dyed in November) This colourway was inspired by sunsets and fairycake confetti.
2. Manos Del Urugauy Alegria (Lost the tag so I don’t know the name of the colourway or yarn content) But it’s colour’s are deep purples and blues.
3. EasyKnits Fidget in Peach Melba, which is a lovely grey colour with vibrant pink and orange flecks.
4. Fjord Fibres in Petal Power. This is the only skein that’s not from Yarndale. I bought this skein of Norwegian Sock Yarn recently after seeing on Fay’s Instagram how beautiful the yarn was. This colourway is a soft combination of delicate pastel shades and is so pretty!

Patterns

It has taken me a long time to finally decide on what patterns I want to use. A couple of these patterns are ones that I’ve had my eye on for a while and others are last minute choices. Here are my final picks… if you’re still struggling to pick a pattern, check out the Bundle that Ravellers have put together especially for this CAL here

Spring Fling Triangle Scarf

The first pattern that I’ll be casting on tomorrow is the Spring Fling Triangle Scarf by Heather J Anderson. For this pattern I will be using my #fridayisdyeday hand dyed sock yarn and a 5.5mm hook. I’m hoping that this will work up quickly and show off all the colours I put into the yarn when dying. It is a free pattern on Ravelry. Click here.

 

Fantail Stitch Fingerless Gloves

The second pattern is the Fantail Stitch fingerless gloves by Hooked by Robin; and is a free pattern on Ravelry. Click Here. I’ve seen this pattern on Ravelry for a while and recently I’ve been suffering with cold hands when crocheting and typing and thought some mitts may help the cause. I’m thinking I may even be able to make two pairs from this Manos Del Uruguay skein.

 

Triangle Infinity Scarf

With my EasyKnits Fidget in Peach Melba, I am going to make a triangle infinity scarf by the Friendly Nettle. Click here. Zeens & Roger inspired this make as she has made a few and wore them on her podcast. She has also written a blog post about her love for this pattern. Click here to read. I picked up this Skein at Yarndale with this pattern in mind, and I think perhaps this was the only skein I bought at Yarndale where I knew 100% what I was going to make with it. This yarn is very tactile, and soft, and I thought the flecks of colour and geometric pattern would suit it well.

 

Simple Shawl

This pattern is the only knitting pattern I have chose and I am almost certain that I won’t finish this shawl by the end of the CAL. But the CAL is a challenge at the end of the day… and knitting for me is a challenge. This is also the most last minute choice of pattern (and yarn) for the CAL. I bought the yarn recently and is is so pretty that I can’t bare to put it away in the stash – but because it’s so beautiful; it took me so long to pick a pattern. I wanted to chose a pattern that would do the yarn justice and I wanted it to be perfect. A lady at Woolgathering Sandbach made this shawl recently and I thought it may have been a good pattern then. This Thursday, I was asking people what they would make with it and she suggested this pattern to me. I’m hoping I can pull it off! The pattern is free on Ravelry and is called the Simple Shawl by Jane Hunter. Click here.

Use the hashtag #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL to share your pictures on Instagram

I know I’m not going to get all four finished by the end of January; especially the knitting one, but I want to continue to develop my knitting skills and I do like a challenge!

#OneSkeinWonderlandCAL

I can’t wait to start tomorrow. I hope you’re all as excited as I am. Two of my skeins haven’t been caked up yet as I don’t have a swift. But I have asked for one for Christmas so fingers crossed! 🙂

I hope you all have a lovely Holiday. Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy time with your loved ones and get some good craft time 🙂

Love Charlie, Xx

#OneskeinwonderlandCAL Blogmas No.3

The third Blogmas post is all about the #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL which is the Christmas Eve cast on that Fay of The Crochet Circle Podcast and myself are co-hosting. The challenge is running from the 24th December to the 31st January and there will be 3 giveaways chosen at random from the FO thread on my Ravelry group ‘Love Charlie Crochet‘. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and whether it’s winter or summer in your country, you’re all invited to take part, and that is why we have named our CAL #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL and not ‘Christmas-Eve Cast On’ despite the start date. Whatever your religion or beliefs, get involved with some yarny fun this Holiday season.

Whether you’re a knitter, crocheter, weaver, or any type of yarn enthusiast – this is the challenge for you. We are asking ‘What can you make with 100g of yarn?’

Use the hashtag #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL on Instagram

Christmas Eve Cast on’s are quite common nowadays, but we wanted to make it extra special and challenge you to use a 100g skein of yarn that you have had in your stash for quite a while, or a special skein that has been gifted to you for Christmas. If you’re lucky you’ll get to open one early so you can start on Christmas Eve. Often I get gifted a ball of wool at Birthdays and Christmas’ but it gets left in the stash because I don’t know what I can make with just 100g of yarn. And when I do buy yarn for myself, I tend to over-buy because I worry that I’ll run out. Is this a common worry? Sometimes I even see one skein that catches my eye at the wool shop and buy it impulsively but don’t have any clue what I’m going to make with it.

We are asking ‘What can you make with 100g of yarn?’

With the #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL, we want to see how many different projects you can come up with that use only one skein of yarn… so next time you have that special skein… or an impulse buy (come on, you know we all do it) you can start a project straight away without hesitation and avoid condemning that beautiful skein of yarn to the stash for who knows how long!

Check out Alice’s Instagram @alicecloseknit

As part of the CAL, Fay has held a giveaway of a gorgeous hank of Norwegian sock yarn hand dyed by the very talented Gilly of Fjord Fibres. The winner was chose randomly on Instagram and the lucky @alicecloseknits has won! Well done Alice. You now have a fantastic skein to get you started with the CAL. Fjord Fibres have some gorgeous colours, check out Gilly’s Etsy store here. Fay has a beautiful hank all wound up into a perfect yarn cake in the colourway Ice flow – it is stunning, and perfectly captivates the colour of Glaciers.

@crochet_circle_podcast – Ice Flow

I have also bought a hank in the colourway Petal power and it’s soft, pretty colours are making it hard to not wind up and start now. Gilly has been holding a special advent on her Instagram, so if you like the look of her yarn head over to @fjordfibres to check for today’s discount offer; and get a hank (or two) for your #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL challenge.

At the end of January, three winners will be chosen randomly from the FO thread. Make sure to upload your pictures to the thread to be in with a chance of winning.

Head over here to view the chatter thread; the more voices the better.

Head here to view the FO (Finished Object) Thread.

We would also love to see your pictures on Instagram using the hashtag #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL, but make sure to enter your FOs onto the FO thread on Ravelry to be in with the chance of winning a prize!

I will be publishing another blog post before the 24th sharing my #OneSkeinWonderlandCAL preparations and patterns to give you some ideas. There is only one week left! So start picking your yarn and patterns, get winding and try not to start before the 24th. (I know it’s tempting)

Love Charlie, Xx