About Me

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United Kingdom
Hi there & welcome to Annie's Place. A place inspired by and named after my late Grandmother Annie. Somewhere I can be creative, and share my love for all things handmade. I like nothing better than sitting with hook & yarn, crafting something home spun & completely unique, or rustling up some yummy baked goodies. I live in a town with a beautiful embankment, situated on the River Great Ouse. You may know me as CosyKitty on Ravelry. Why not stop a while.....?!!

Monday 21 March 2016

Crochet Granny Squares Bag Reveal : Camden Lock : Jef Kearns

We are speeding through March, heading towards the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend. It's still very nippy here in my corner of Bedfordshire, and the forecast for the Easter break is far from favourable. Ah well, you never know what might happen.....






































At the end of my last entry here I did hint at what I've been working on. A crochet bag no less. My very first attempt at something like this. Heavily inspired by a couple of crafters who offer fantastic free tutorials. 

The first being the late Marinke (Wink) of A Creative Being. Very much missed in our community. Her squares bag pattern is awesome, and definitely a fantastic resource for any would-be bag maker. The other source of inspiration came from Brittany at B.Hooked Crochet, who offers some step-by-step video tutorials.






































Now I know some of you like to know the particulars, so I'm just going to mention the materials I used. I'm not sponsored and gain no incentive for mentioning them here, but like to give you a bit more info should you wish to replicate this for yourself. 

The yarn is Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK in Shrimp (3674). 3 balls was sufficient for me to make this size bag which consists of 24 squares (pattern from B.hooked link above), worked up on a 4mm hook. The lining material is Bhandari Chennai in the Reena Colourway, that I sourced from a local independent department store. I bought a metre and that would easily line 2 bags, so I have some left over for another project. 






































I hand-lined the bag as I do not have a sewing machine, nor have any experience of using one. I'm pleased with the overall finish considering I didn't have a clue. I very nearly didn't bother, as I thought I'd make a hash of it. With a little thought, and a bit of trial and error I sussed it out. So glad I didn't just give up. 

The handles I purchased from Hollie Craft on Ebay. I plumped for 2 pairs as it worked out slightly cheaper than buying a single pair. I'm sure I'll be making another bag sometime in the near future so made perfect sense. The big button is from Hobbycraft, the brand is Vogue Star and colour reference 123.

So there you have it, my first handmade bag! 
I look forward to using it........






































Before I go, I thought I'd share a couple of collages from a recent trip to Camden Lock Market in London. I drove down, parked opposite Regent's Park and sauntered through Primrose Hill, along the canal tow path to the market.

It's been some years since I've been there, and let me tell you it's VAST. Goodness me, the sights and smells were a feast for the senses. I enjoyed having a good browse amongst the hundreds of stalls. Just wish I had endless pots of cash to spend! Suffice to say I had to be very disciplined. 






































Did I mention the food? OMG, the food stalls/outlets/restaurants are on another level. There is something for every palate. The only thing that puts me off is how busy it gets. This was a quiet Friday afternoon in Winter and it was still bustling. The Summer must be a nightmare! 

Don't get me wrong I like the vibe of the place, but it's never pleasant when there's hundreds of bodies trying to occupy the same square metre of space. 

Just one last thing before I do disappear, and btw thanks for staying with me till the end. I know I've waffled on a bit. But I wanted to share with you this amazing flautist who I've just been introduced to. His name is Jef Kearns, and I love this instrumental track in particular entitled 'Lavender'. 


This will be the soundtrack to my Summer this year.......

Till next time
x x x x

Friday 4 March 2016

Lunchtime hooky : All for a good cause

I'm welcoming in March with a little bit of hooky for a wonderful cause. I received a very sweet message last month from a lady who had come by my pattern for the 'Happy Flower Block'.

Sally very generously said she had 'fell in love' with it and wondered if I minded her using this motif in a community fundraising blanket project for 'Friends of the Elderly'. A fantastic charity supporting older people in our community. Very apt as my blog is dedicated to the memory of my late Grandmother Annie (pictured in my side bar), who would be just over 100 years old were she still with us today. 

Well of course I was more than happy for Sally to go ahead and use the pattern, and as my little contribution I've hooked up a few squares to add to the collection she is steadily accumulating through her Facebook Page

As Sally plans on using the 7th round of my pattern as the joining round she only requires squares made up to round 6, so I set to the task of doing just that this lunchtime whilst supping on some hot tea and chomping on a Turkey Mayo sandwich. Can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours tbh. 'Twas lovely.......

As Sally has favoured Stylecraft's Special DK as the preferred yarn for the project (although she welcomes any similar Acrylic being utilised too) I used it as a justifiable excuse *cough cough* to do a little online shopping to purchase more supplies. 

If any of you lovely readers are interested in supporting Sally on this journey, I do hope you will pop by her FB page HERE for all the details. 

In other news, I'm attempting my first crochet bag project. 
Wish me luck...........xx
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