My first shoe crochet project ever has been a pair of ballet flats designed by New Zealand-based American designer Lisa of Holland Designs. I found her patterns on TradeMe, fell in love and promptly ordered four! Then I discovered she has the above-linked blog and also an Etsy (plus one for her Amigurumi).

This particular pattern is called Boho Ballet Flats and is incredibly easy to do. The only issue I had was proper sizing to fit my own foot and sizing the strap (I found I needed more chain stitches than was written into the pattern). Aside from those two things everything was a breeze and the pattern is super customisable for sizes, so long as you either follow her sizing chart or remember that the sole will stretch so don’t freak out if your heel hangs off the sole a good bit when you’re measuring. IT WILL BE OK, you don’t need to hastily add several more rows and finish the slipper only to discover it’s, oh, about an inch too baggy on your foot.

I’m gonna wear these to death in the cooler months!

Yes, I am preparing for winter by making winter accessories now, such as hats. The latest in my crochet accessory collection is a neck warmer/cowl, the idea of which came from Holly’s guest D.I.Y at A Beautiful Mess. I’m a scarf girl and would wear them all year round if it wasn’t so hot during summer, so I when I saw this idea I knew I’d love it!

It took me a little while to get the hang of making ‘granny squares’ and I ended up resorting to YouTube as I found most written instructions a bit confusing. I learn better by seeing someone do something anyway, and following along as necessary. Once I figured it out, they were a breeze to make. I will definitely being adding my cowl collection and crocheting some colourful ones!

Please excuse my tired looking self. I woke up before 5am this morning, naturally, so instead of going back to sleep and waking to my alarm at seven, I decided to get up and do some yoga instead. I love waking up early without an alarm because I always feel like I’ve had a much better sleep and so I feel fresh and ready to start the day. Alarms are evil! If only I could rely on my body to wake up naturally early.

Have a lovely Monday (or Sunday if it still is in your part of the world)!

While browsing random blogs a couple of weeks ago I discovered this crochet hat DIY and ever since then I’ve been addicted to crochet. So far I’ve only made one complete hat, but I have another to finish as soon as I get some more yarn. They’re a really cute style and very easy to make. I also think I might play around with tweaking the pattern at some point to see what else I can come up with.

I’m also working on two other projects which will have to remain secret until the weekend because they are for gifts! Much fun has been had though, despite having only decided yesterday afternoon I was going to make birthday gifts at all. I have until Thursday and Friday to finish them! Hehe.

Are you crafty? What projects are you working on at the moment?