Granny stripe blanket growing..

Summer is here (sort of, not really, today it has rained all day, yesterday it rained all day etc)
I have been spending my spare time outside not sitting in front of the TV with my hooks and yarn. However, I have been 'casually' making some progress on my granny stripe blanket. It is getting quite big now!

Be warned, it does get boring so I might move on to something else at any time. Still on target for completion by the end of forever though.

Oh and just a quick photo of my helper:

I am fairly concerned that she thinks it is hers!

Mandala Madness

I've been taking advantage of the bank holiday weekend to get some crochet time in! As I have mentioned before I follow blog Attic24 which i love love love because of all the inspiration and easy to understand instructions. It is so clear that Lucy loves what she does so much and wants everyone else to love it too!
Anyway I am taking part in making mandalas - mandalas for yarndale and this is my creation!

It is so colourful and happy and it makes me smile! I would love to cover a little wall with them.

They are really quite simple to make if you aren't too worried about doing colour changes and they are so effective. There are a few different types of stitch here and as I was making this I was thinking it would make a nice showcase for a beginner to do as you could say "look I can do single crochet, double crochet, some chaining and a bit of treble crochet!"  Or is that a bit much for a beginner?  Either way it was fun and a much welcome break from the monotony of blanket production!