By Helen

crochet shawl: finished…

It has turned really, really, chilly here in the UK.  Autumn is most definitely here; and on a morning there is the first hint of Winter in the air.  This weather makes it the perfect time of year for getting on with some serious crochet.  I decided that I needed to spend some time finishing off (some of) my unfinished projects.  The Knitting and Stitching show, which is only a few weeks away, has also spurred me on: if I have finished my projects I have the perfect excuse for shopping!  Right?  I thought that the first project I’d finish was my shawl.  I started this a while ago: now it is finished, just in time to keep me warm.  I am pleased with how it turned out…

The pattern, written by the immensely talented Debbie Bliss, was brilliant to follow. It featured in Simply crochet issue 4 . The only tricky bit was knowing when to stop crocheting the length, so you had enough yarn left to crochet the edges.   I love the results: a light shawl to keep the chilly evenings away while I snuggle down with my other crochet projects. 

fabric flower Christmas wreath…

I know, I know, I know: it is only October!  But I have been making a Christmas wreath:  that I just had to share with you.  It is made from fabric flowers: using the loveliest Christmas fabric, from amazing fabric shop and workshop, The Silver Thimble…

Cut into lots and lots and lots of circles…

Which are wired onto a gorgeous, dark, wicker wreath…

I just love the results…

I really hope that this inspires you to start thinking about your Christmas making: it really isn’t that far away - only sixty-one days to go! 

Happy Crafting!

 

Ps – my Christmas cakes (all three of them) have been made and are ready for feeding! 

Pps – sorry about some of the photos, they are quite blurry: I think that my camera battery must have been getting low and I hadn’t noticed.  Oh and the flowers which look black are actually green!

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crochet fall leaves…autumn leaves…

Although Si and I were a few weeks too early for the true Autumnal colours in the Lake District, a few of the trees had begun to drop subtle hints of what was to come…

Inspired by this promise, I decided to crochet some Autumnal leaves, to make into bunting ready for Halloween.  I thought that you might like to crochet yourself some.  You will need to gather together so scraps of suitably coloured yarn (you really don’t need very much).  I used some pure wool, which I bought at Yarndale for the bargain price of £2 per ball…

I just love, loVE, LOVE the colours: Autumn in yarn.  I am not sure what weight the yarn is, so I opted to use my trustee 4mm hook.

Start off by crochet with 10ch…

 dc in second ch from hook, dc, htr, tr, tr, tr, htr, dc, dc…

Working down the other size of the ch, 1ch, dc, dc, htr, tr, tr, tr, htr, dc, dc…

Change to a different colour and sl st into each stitch…

Have fun playing around with lots of Autumnal colours…

There you have your very own crocheted Autumnal leave.  All you have to do is decide how you are going to use it.  I crocheted lots, and strung them up to make Autumnal butting, over the fireplace…

I didn’t hang them up very well, because later that evening they fell down…

This did give me another idea for a future crochet project.  Watch this space…

lovely, lovely Lake District….

Si and I decided to go away for a few days and visit the Lake District.  It was lovely: just lovely.  To be outdoors in amazing country-side: at a time when the trees were beginning to turn crisp and Autumnal.  I know the Lake District very well, having lived there for four years, while I studied at university in Ambleside.  We decided not to stay in Ambleside, but the small village of Coniston, where I spent childhood holidays…

Coniston was the perfect base for exploring.  We visited Tarn Hows…

John Ruskin’s home Brantwood…

Beatrix Potter’s home Hill Top…

Saw the watering-can, that Peter Rabbit fell into…

We walked, and walked and walked though beautiful woodlands…

Seeing amazing waterfalls…

Not to mention the visits to tea-rooms and pubs: if you find yourself in Coniston, make sure you try the beer from the local brewery -  it's fantastic!  The perfect Autumnal break…        

Yarndale…

Last Saturday I went to Yarndale…

Yarndale was the very first festival of, er yarn, all things yarn related to be held in Skipton.  Skipton is a lovely little market town in the Yorkshire Dales, it is where Si indulged in some re-enactment, a few years ago.  Yarndale was very, very, ve-ry, ve-RY, VERY, popular to say the least.  There were people everywhere; all looking at the wonderful things on sale.  There was also amazing craft from some very talented artists, who had things on sale and had well-and-truly yarnbombed the whole entire place…   

You could tell that everyone had a wonderful time…

Here’s hoping for a second Yarndale: it would be a shame not to..