3 reasons why I can’t wait for the Fall issue of Interweave Crochet to arrive…

Winterberry Warmer

This is the 5th neckwarmer I’ve made recently and it’s my favourite by far. Of course I might be swayed by the fact that it’s green – my favourite colour – but it’s also down to the lovely Jamieson and Smith yarn I used this time which is softer than the Rowan Scottish Tweed I used previously. Oh, and then theres the berries……

….and the buttons……

I get the feeling it’s going to be hard to part with this one!

And the winners are….

Kate

and

Jennie

Congratulations! I’ll email the pdfs to you asap. Enjoy!

Thanks very much to everyone for their comments and advice. Plenty of food for thought. I appreciate it.

Falling Leaves

First off, a big thank you to everyone who left such helpful responses to my previous post. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Following on from your lovely words, I’ve taken the plunge and added a Folksy shop to my growing collection of online outlets….. It doesn’t cost much to list so I figured it was worth doing.

As well as the mittens, I’ve now finalized the neckwarmer pattern pdfs and have listed them in the etsy and folksy shops and it’ll also soon be on ravelry. Want to see some pics?

The design was inspired by my love of all things autumnal – especially the colours at that time of year. What do you think? It’s a bit more rustic looking than the mittens which, personally I like, but I realise it might not be everyone’s cup of tea…..

I’m in love with these buttons though – they fit in with the overall rusticity of the design and go nicely with the tweedy wool. I really must get hold of some more….

Thanks for looking. Hope you’re all having a fab bank holiday, even if the sun isn’t shining!

xxx

Why I’ve been so quiet…. (and a giveaway)

Poor blog – I’ve been neglecting you of late! In my defense, it’s hard to type when clutching a crochet hook and it’s rare to find myself without one in my hand these days! The reason is, I’ve been working on quite a few crochet designs – some of these have been commissions for Wernddu Alpacas which will be sold as part of a kit – pattern plus alpaca yarn – but I’ve also been working on my own patterns for sale and am pleased to present my first offering…..

These little wristwarmers are very cute, quick to make and use less than a 50g ball of yarn.  What more could you ask for? I’m a little in love with them…..

The pattern includes instructions for three different cuff styles – ribbed, ribboned or buttoned – so there should be something (I hope!) to suit all tastes.

The pattern is available for purchase in my etsy shop (price in dollars) or in GBP through Ravelry here.

I’m also finalizing a special autumn themed neckwarmer which I hope to have ready for sale in the next few days. In the meantime, here’s a sneaky peek…..

Now, onto the giveaway….This is a very new venture for me so I’d love to here what people think of the designs. Are they the sort of things you might be tempted to make? Do you prefer to buy pattern pdfs online or do you favour a hard-copy print out? Also, any tips for selling? I’m considering also setting up a shop on Folksy but I’m not sure how well known it is. As a little incentive for you to share your thoughts, each person who comments will be entered into a draw to win a free pattern pdf – for either the wristwarmers or the neckwarmer (when it’s complete) – so please state your preference in your comment.

Finally, I hope you don’t mind me mentioning the shop on here. I don’t plan to bang on about it all the time I assure you. I don’t view this blog as a platform for advertising – it’s a place where I can share my thoughts, hopes and dreams (oh, and plenty of recipes for jam). However, as crochet design is coming quite a significant part of my life, I can’t really ignore it now can I?

A lovely bunch…

I initially came up with these little flowers to use up scrap yarn and thread and since then, I’ve quite literally been hooked! They’re very quick and easy to make and are incredibly versatile. You can use whatever yarn you have to hand plus the flowers have many uses – as brooches, affixing to hairbands and hairslides, sticking on greetings cards or sewing on clothes. Different size yarns and hooks will give surprisingly different effects. I like to use embroidery thread with a 1.75mm hook as it gives pretty, delicate results and, as the thread comes in relatively small amounts, it means I can play around with colours.

Anyhow, enough waffle – here’s the pattern

U.K Pattern (U.S Pattern below)

Flower

Make a loop. 12 dc into loop. Slip stitch into first dc. If you want a different colour for the petals, fasten off and join in new yarn. In first dc (1 htr, 2 tr, 1 htr). Slip stitch into next dc. *In next dc (1 htr, 2 tr, 1htr). Slip stitch into next stitch. Repeat from * until end. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Leaf

Chain 11. Dc in 2nd chain from hook. Dc in next chain, 5 tr, 1 htr, dc to end. When you reach last chain, turn the leaf 90 degrees and dc into end chain, then turn by another 90 degrees and dc into back of same chain. Work into back of chains down the other side of the leaf as follows: dc in next chain, 1 htr, 5 tr, dc to end. Fasten off.

U.S Pattern

Flower

Make a loop. 12 sc into loop. Slip stitch into first sc If you want a different colour for the petals, fasten off and join in new yarn. In first sc (1 hdc, 2 dc, 1 hdc). Slip stitch into next sc. *In next sc (1 hdc, 2 dc, 1hdc). Slip stitch into next stitch. Repeat from * until end. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Leaf

Chain 11. Sc in 2nd chain from hook. Sc in next chain, 5 dc, 1 hdc, sc to end. When you reach last chain, turn the leaf 90 degrees and sc into end chain, then turn by another 90 degrees and sc into back of same chain. Work into back of chains down the other side of the leaf as follows: sc in next chain, 1 hdc, 5 dc, sc to end. Fasten off.

A little something for Father’s Day….

My butter-fingered husband has managed to drop and smash his iPhone twice in the past few months (the most recent time resulting in a hefty repair bill), so when I spotted this pattern on Kat’s lovely blog I thought it sounded like the perfect thing for the Little One and me to make him for Father’s Day.

It worked up very quickly  - which is good as, despite being fascinated by wool, the Little One’s attention soon started to wander once I stopped her wrapping it around her neck and trying to tie up the cat…. Anyhow, it’s great for using up scraps and is easily adaptable to whatever yarn you have handy. I used some scraps of aran wool along with some handspun alpaca.

mellow yellow

I’ve finally managed to make something with some of my handspun – yay! Remember my onion dyed wool? Well it’s been transformed into this:

For the main panel of the headscarf, I used the stitch pattern from Amy O’Neill Houck’s Alpine Frost Scarf (ravelry link) which was published in the Winter 2008 issue of Interweave Crochet. I worked up the panel until it was the right length to go from ear to ear on my then blocked it to open open the stitch pattern. After that, I rejoined the yarn and worked a row of double crochet followed by 8 rows of double crochet (US sc) reducing by 2 stitches per row (one at either end). I then switched to treble crochet for the narrow part of the scarf (purely because I find double crochet mind-numbingly slow) and continued until the scarf was almost long enough to go around my head. I then switched back to double crochet and started increasing by 2 stitches per row until the scarf matched the width of the panel again. I then joined the two ends with a row of double crochet.

I really like the stitch I used. It’s beautiful and simple and I’ll definitely be making the scarf at some point – perhaps as a christmas present for someone… I’ve learnt that it’s never too early to start making christmas presents!

Spring Shawl(ette)

Now, I’m not really a shawl sort of person but when I spotted this pattern, I knew I had to make it. I immediately pictured it in a lighter weight yarn – something delicate and floaty, perfect for all the weddings and garden parties I’m likely to be invited to this spring and summer – yeah right, I can dream though…. 

Anyhow, on with the nitty-gritty…

Pattern: Armorique by Eclat Du Soleil (available for purchase here) 

Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze (25g) x 2

Colourway: Meadow

Hook: 3mm

About the pattern

This is a lovely pattern – impressively well written, easy to follow and with photographs detailing each step. I wholeheartedly recommend it. My one bugbear is that there’s no gauge given so I was unable to crochet up a swatch beforehand to see how my yarn substitution would work up size-wise. As a result, I think my shawl is a bit on the small side – I could have done with going up a couple of hook sizes. I guess I could have solved this by adding in a couple of extra rows to the main body of the shawl but I was running out of yarn at the time and didn’t want to have to splash out on another ball…so I’ll content myself with a shawlette, rather than the originally intended shawl…

About the yarn

As mentioned above, I needed to find a substitute yarn as the specified yarns are not readily available in the UK. I settled on Rowan Kidsilk Haze as I wanted something soft and non-prickly that could be worn next to the skin and I also love the colours it comes in. I thought this green was just right for spring. However, if I make this again, I think I’ll go for a less ‘hairy’ yarn so that there’s greater stitch definition – it’s such a gorgeous stitch pattern that it deserves to be highlighted. Something silky would look spectacular and would, in my opinion, transform the shawl from “garden party’ to evening wear. Imagine it in red silk over a little black dress… it would certainly have va va voom!

Right, now I just need to find a garden party to wear this to….

any offers?

xxx

Spring Greens Part 2: A giveaway!

Edit: The giveaway is now closed. Thank you for all your entries. The winner will be announced soon…

To celebrate both the arrival of Spring and reaching something of a milestone with my blog hits, I wanted to have a little giveaway – something to say thank you to all you lovely people who stop by from time to time and say hello! So, I’ve been busy crocheting, stamping and creating and, in keeping with my green theme, the items that are up for grabs are all, well, green! 

Let’s take a closer look! First off we have a filigree lace bookmark crocheted in a lovely vibrant green….

next there is a pair of handmade earrings, nothing fancy but they do look pretty……

then there is a card which I made by carving a piece of rubber with the daffodil design and stamping onto some handmade paper…..

and finally there is a little lacy coaster which is ‘green’ on two levels, having been crocheted from some organic and naturally dyed cotton….

So, for a chance to win this little bundle of greenness, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you love most about Spring. The giveaway is open until Wednesday morning (8th April) after which I’ll draw a name from the hat and try to get the parcel sent off to the winner before everything closes for Easter! Everyone is welcome to enter – it doesn’t matter if you haven’t commented before – and, if you’re a blogger, feel free to spread the word!

Good luck! 

xxx

P.S – If you haven’t already done so, please check out the post below and let me know what green means to you!