Verb: pootle
poo-t(u)l To move in a leisurely unhurried way,
with no real purpose


Sunday 28 June 2015

A start, a middle, an end ... and two winners !

 
 
Oooh, so much going on this week -
and very helpfully the things I am working on all categorised themselves rather
 nicely in to a start, a middle and an end ... making a very neat and tidy blog post !
 
 
My start probably shouldn't really be happening -
 I really don't need any new distractions right now but I couldn't help myself
 - it just happened.
One evening in the week I thought I'd just give tapestry crochet a go
having had it on my to do list for quite a while.

 
Well ! No-one warned me how utterly addictive it is and before you know it,
yarn had been ordered and a new blanket was under construction.
 
My middle is the wedding garland that I am making for Meg's wedding.

 
It's coming together bit by bit,
and there are lots of giant safety pins piling up with leaves and petals and all sorts.
There's also an awful lot of ends - but I'll worry about that later !


And my end is a little baby blanket that I have just finished making for a friend.

 
Lots of lovely uncomplicated DC to soothe away the stresses of the day,
it's been such a lovely project to work on ...

 
... and now its all wrapped up and on its way to a baby shower.
 
 The other end this weekend is the end of my second bloggy birthday Giveaway.
Thank you so much to everyone who entered -
it's been an absolute pleasure hearing from you all
and having lots of you stopping by to say hello.
 
All the entries from my blog, Facebook and Instagram
have been written down, cut in to little strips
( yeah ... thanks Otto )
 

 
folded in half,
put into a giant teacup
and...

 
 
my two lovely winners are......


Tracey Wood and Jane from Flowerhouse !!
Woo Hoo - congratulations ladies.

 
   
 
If you drop me your details by email or PM
I'll get your little packages straight in the post to you.
 


                                Have a lovely week everyone.                                   



 

Monday 22 June 2015

Facecloth Fun ....

These little facecloths were the first things I made for Lovecrochet.com 
and it seems absolutely ages ago now !
I really loved making them and the tutorial wasn't too tricky to write up either, 
which was a blessing as it was the first time I had ever really done 
anything like that outside of my blog.
I've been dying to show them to you all ever since they were finished 
and now I can as they were featured in this weekends Tutorial over on the lovecrochet blog.


The cotton yarn that I used was utterly gorgeous -
 it was literally like crocheting with clouds !
It's unbelievably soft and although it's a DK it works up to a lovely chunky texture
that's perfect for these little facecloths.


The colour combination of bright pink and bright green
 is one of my all time favourites too.


The pattern really couldn't be simpler:

Using a 4mm hook make a chain of 40.
Work in rows of DC, remembering to Chain 1 at the beginning of each row.
Make the cloth to the required size and on your final row ( right side ) 
just continue on working in DC all the way around the cloth to create a neat edge.


I added a little border,


sewed on a ribbon tag in one corner


and that's it !


They make the perfect gift ......
or infact ... the perfect Giveaway !

Following on from my post last week .... 
these two little packages below are my way of thanking you all for all 
the support and encouragement you have given me as I head towards my second
 bloggy Birthday next week.

All you need to do to enter is just drop by and say Hello !
I often wonder who reads my blog and it has been so lovely that so many of you
 left comments last week and introduced yourselves.   



                         
So, if you haven't had a chance to say Hi yet -
either here on my Blog or on my Facebook page or over on Instagram -
you have one more week before two of you lovely ladies
have their name picked out a hat ...
a crochet hat of course !

Sunday 14 June 2015

Still Pootling ....


A post with a difference this week as
the balloons are out ....




we have a big fat 2 ....


and there is a one enormous Thank You to be said.


(Pinterest)

Because at the end of this month my little teeny corner of bloggy space
 will be exactly two years old !

I started this adventure simply as a way to keep in touch with my bestest friend 
as she left to go off on her travels in her narrowboat.
Little did I know then how big a part of my life it would become.

From my first very tentative post the adventure has just got bigger and bigger 
and become more and more fun as it has grown.


Without a shadow of a doubt my blog has made me stop and think
 and appreciate the little tiny things in life and spend a bit less time
 running around madly like a headless chicken, never stopping to draw breath.

My everyday life is very normally ordinary, 
with the mundane, the dull and the sometimes downright stressful
 taking its part as it does in all of our lives. 
And so to have this little corner to escape to where I can share the things 
I love with so many like minded friends has just been amazing. 

None of the dull stuff, 
just the fun stuff.
My therapy at the end of a long day.

BUT none of this would have been the same without all of you out there ... 
all you gorgeous ladies who encourage and praise and share, 
who join in and leave me lovely messages, 
who say the kindest things,
who quietly read my blog posts week by week,
who follow me on Facebook and Instagram,
who take the trouble to get in touch and tell me of their crochet journeys
and how they have enjoyed following my patterns.

You are the best
 - TRULY.


So on my part I will try and keep doing what I am doing 
- which, let's face it, isn't exactly arduous as it's what I absolutely love to do -
and as a way of saying thank you I have put together two, 
very little, packages of thanks which I will be putting up as a Giveaway.

 I really hope you will all take part , 
as each and every one of you have added to this journey of mine and helped
 to make Just Pootling what it is today with just over 155,000 views,
 coming up to nearly 600 followers on Facebook
 and just over 300 followers on Instagram.
And from this too has come my Crochet with Kate corner 
on the Lovecrochet.com blog that I am so ridiculously excited about I have
 probably bored you all to tears with my constant banging on about it.

Right, so here they are .....


In each parcel there are a couple of beautifully soft cotton crochet facecloths,
the most delicious of hand creams to keep those pinkies in perfect crochet-working order,
a hanging wooden shaker heart 
and a little spotty heart keyring.


And all you need to do is just say 'hello'
whether its here in the comments, on Facebook or Instagram.
You don't need to share or pass on or repost or like .... just say hi !
If I haven't met you already I'd love to meet you now.

Two names will be picked out of a hat on Sunday 28th June.







                                       In the meantime maybe I should think about changing 
                                                 the name of my blog to Still Pootling !

                                                                                  

Monday 8 June 2015

Daisies galore ♥


Of all the flowers I think Daisies are probably my absolute favourite.
I love their simplicity. 
Nothing grand or pretentious, just straight forward and perfect.


Needless to say there are a few of them about our house.



They just make me smile.

And of all the blankets I have made so far my green daisy 
one is up there with my favourites.


We used it in our caravan for those chillier nights
 and it just looked right at home in there.


So when Merion at Lovecrochet asked me if I would put a Daisy blanket tutorial
 together for them I absolutely jumped at the chance.

I decided to go with a different colourway this time and as it was going to be made
 to fit a cot there was nothing for it but to go for all out girly pink.


In no time at all a pile of little white daisies grew


and with pink squares added and a bright pink french knot worked
 in to the centre of the flower the blanket was well underway.



I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed making these little squares.
The surrounding stitch is HTR's and they just seem to work up so quickly.


I was also using Drops Merino, extra fine, a yarn I hadn't ever tried before
 - and oh, what an absolute dream it was to crochet with !


A little ruffle around the edge finished it off
and then it was time to put the tutorial together and take lots of photo's.


If you fancy giving it a go the full write up and pattern
 is over on the Lovecrochet.com blog or you can just click on this link
http://blog.lovecrochet.com/crochet-with-kate-darling-daisy-blanket/

And as for this last Saturdays Crochet with Kate ......


..... bunting to match of course !
http://blog.lovecrochet.com/crochet-with-kate-pompom-bunting-bath-pompom/



Monday 1 June 2015

The beans can now be spilled !



I have lots of exciting news to tell you all today 
but before even one single bean is spilled I have to start by wishing you all
 a very Happy June !

Let's hope it's going to be sun filled and warm
and that we can all finally get out those flip flops -
 several times now I have vowed that this will be the last wearing of the Uggs
 but I think they are now on their third sneaky reappearance
 because I just can't be doing with cold feet.

(Pinterest)

As is always the way the year seems to be speeding by but I cannot believe
 that I have been keeping my little secret since February. 
I have been wanting to spill the beans for ages and share my excitement with you all
 but the time had to be right .....
and now it is !

I'm sure many of you will have ordered yarn supplies from the brilliant Loveknitting.com


 and eagerly awaited for the postman to deliver your parcel
 that not only arrives incredibly quickly
 but also comes beautifully packaged with all your yarn
 lovingly tucked in to little drawstring bags. 


Well ...... Happy Days ..... now there is a


as well ! 

If you haven't visited the site already I highly recommend that you hot foot
 it there straight away as not only is it packed full of all the yarn you could
 ever wish for but it is also an absolute treasure trove of 
goodies for any crochet lover. 

There is so much crochet inspiration to be had you will find that before you
 know it several hours have passed as you click from idea to idea, 
to free patterns, to crochet features galore in their Blog.

And that is where my little secret comes in ......
  Way back in February the lovely Merion from Lovecrochet sent me an email
 saying that she had been admiring my blog and the things I had been making
 and would I be interested in getting involved with a new blog they were putting together ?

Well, once I'd picked myself up from the floor, composed myself a little
and had a bit of a think I said yes ! 

And here we are 4 months later and I have designed and written 8 patterns
 and tutorials which are all being published on the blog, 
with two already having gone live.

I even have my own little space called 'Crochet with Kate.'
It's all been hugely exciting, more than a little nerve wracking and has absolutely 
pushed my pattern writing and IT skills to their very limit 
- but it has been such fun too !

The first one was released a couple of Saturday's ago and was for my Bobbly Cushion.



You can now find the full pattern and photo tutorial for this over in

I had a practice run first with the grey and cream cushion

 

 and then made it again in some gorgeous Debbie Bliss Cashmerino -



now officially my new favourite wool !

I'm so happy to have been able to tell you all now as it's really been very strange to be
 beavering away on lots of projects but not being able to include you all.
But now I can !
And I hope you'll be able to try out some of the patterns too.


                                     


I'll make sure I tell you whenever a new one is posted and
 at some point I hope to get all the patterns up on my sidebar too.

This last Saturdays post was for my Daisy Blanket but as this post is fast turning into a book


 I'll come back to that next time !