By Helen: Crochet

Crochet

09/04/2014

free crochet patterns…

At the moment I’m working on my next crochet patterns, which I hope to share with you very soon. There will be a crochet pattern for an acorn and one for a poppy. There will also be some very lovely Christmassy crochet things, which I am writing up: but the sharing will have to wait! For today, I thought I share with you, and remind you, and me, of some of my favourite crochet patterns, which I hope that you will love. There are sooooo many opportunities for using the flowers, that you crochet; they can adorn a bag, jumper or cardigan, be turned into brooches, hair-clips, hair-bands or fascinators, or just planted in a pot or vase for you to enjoy.

Crochet a Hellebore...

Crochet a Sun Flower...

Crochet a Primula / Primrose...

Crochet a Daffodil... (don't forget the trumpet!)...

Crochet a Snowflake...

Crochet Blossom...

Crochet Mistletoe...

Crochet Forget-Me-Knots...

Crochet Lazy Daisy...

Which will you crochet first? What will you do with yours?

You can also find all of my patterns on Ravelry, where you can share them with each other. I’d love to see what you crochet?

4 Sep 2014 13:59:29 | Crochet, Flower of the month, How to...

08/21/2014

quick cute crochet project…

Regular readers of this blog will know: I absolutely love crochet! Crochet comes to the rescue on so many occasions; hair-clips (the pattern for these is HERE), a quick cushion cover, a phone sock, I could go on. Crochet came to the rescue just last week! We have a needle-fairy in our home: s/he visits regularly (along with a pen fairy) and moves and removes all of the needles (or pens), making it impossible to find them. For weeks, possibly months, I’ve been saying that I needed a needle case. So last week I made myself a very quick, very cute, needle case. Want to see?

Hope that you find lots of time for crocheting this weekend: I know I will…

Happy crocheting!

21 Aug 2014 15:43:33 | Crochet

07/31/2014

crochet Yorkshire Rose….

Tomorrow, 1^st August, is a very great day. It is a day to don-on your flat-cap, bake Yorkshire Puddings, sing On Ilkla Moor bar tat and celebrate all things Yorkshire. Tomorrow is Yorkshire Day. I honour of this great day: and this very great county, I’ve crocheted myself a Yorkshire Rose…

I want to share the pattern with you: so you can crochet yourself a Yorkshire Rose and wear it with pride.

You’ll need some white and yellow yarn (I’m using DK), two crochet hooks of different sizes (I’m using a 4mm and 3mm), a darning needle, scissors, scrap of felt and a brooch back. Ready?

Into a slip-ring, 1ch (to secure), 6dc, ss to join…

1ch, 1dc in same place as ss, *2dc in next dc,* repeat *-*, ss to join…

**4ch, 1dtr in same place as ss, 1dtr in next dc, 1tr in next dc, 1dtr in next dc, 1dtr in next dc, 4ch, ss into base of dtr, ss into next dc**…

Repeat **-** until you have five rose petals, finish off and weave in the ends…

Crochet a second rose, using the same pattern, but with smaller hook…

Layer the two roses on top of each other, securing together using the yellow yarn and small French knots…

Stitch a brooch back onto a small circle of felt, then glue this to the back of the rose…

Wear with pride (even if you’re not from Yorkshire)...

Happy, Happy, Happy, Yorkshire Day!!!

xxx

31 Jul 2014 13:29:27 | celebrations, Crochet, Flower of the month, How to...

07/17/2014

Summer’s crochet flower…

I’m not sure what type of flower I have growing in my garden: but I just love it…

I love the little yellow stamens that look like tiny little stars. I love the yellow, purple and orange colours together. I love that each evening as the temperature cools the orange petals curl up against the night chill. I love that as soon as I saw the flowers: my first thought was crochet.

Gather together some yarn, in the colours of your choice. I choose the similar to the flower: as burnt orange and purple as two of my very favourite colours. You’ll need a crochet hook that works with your yarn, or one which is slightly smaller, for a tighter look. Some scissors, needles and a small amount of felt and a brooch back, if you’re going to turn your flower into a brooch like I did. Ready?

Using your first colour, make a slip-ring, secure with 2ch (don’t count), 9dc into the ring, ss into first dc to secure…

Pull the slip-ring tight and weave in the ends…

Using your second colour, join the yarn in any dc…

*2dc,1ch, miss next dc, 2dc in next dc * …

Repeat *-* so that you have 5ch ch sp, ss into first dc to join…

Using your third colour, join the yarn in any ch sp…

**Into the ch sp, htr, tr, dtr, htr, dtr, tr, htr**…

Repeat **-** into each ch sp, ss into first htr to join, weave in ends and ta-dah…

I’m soooo very pleased with how my little Summer flower turned out…

I’m going to stitch a brooch back on to a small felt circle and glue it to the back of the flower and wear it with pride!

I hope that you are as happy with your flower, as I am with mine? Let me know.

Happy crocheting…

xxxxxxxxxxx

17 Jul 2014 16:28:31 | Crochet, Flower of the month, How to...

06/27/2014

even more crochet roses…

I’m well and truly back loving crochet. Yay! In the past couple of weeks twenty-three roses and eighteen leaves have been crocheted. And I’ve picked up one of my many ongoing crochet projects. The crochet roses are to make my Summer wreath. I decided to up-cycle my Easter / Spring wreath and reuse the green crochet background…

After finishing crocheting the last rose and leaf, and sewing all those ends, the fun started of placing and pinning the roses and leaves to the wreath…

The wreath began to take shape and fill-up, until it was completely full…

I love how the small and large roses work together…

I love how the leaves fill in the gaps…

I love how it looks hung on my living-room door…

Most of all I am back in love with crochet!

27 Jun 2014 11:28:45 | Crochet

06/20/2014

crochet roses…

Slowly, slowly, I’m coming back to crochet: coming out of my crochet rut. Yay! I can’t tell you how happy this makes me, to have my hook back in my hands and crocheting something lovely. I’m working on crocheting a rose wreath, similar to the one I made a while ago – only with roses instead of daffodils. The roes that I am crocheting, loosely, follow the pattern by the very talented Lara Messer that appeared in the Mollie Makes Summer Homestyle magazine. I say that I am loosely following the pattern: I have adapted it a little and am crocheting roses of different sizes. Want to see how I’m getting along? Ok…

I still have a long way to go; I think that I will need to crochet twenty-plus roses to fill the wreath and lots of leaves to fill in the gaps. I’m hoping to share the finished wreath in my next post…

20 Jun 2014 11:20:13 | Crochet, inspiration

06/12/2014

getting back into crochet: Tunisian style…

I know, I know, I know, I said that I was going to theme this month’s crochet and blog about roses: to help me over my crochet rut. Don’t worry crochet roses have not gone away; I’m working on something quite lovely and will share it with you very soon. A few months ago, I got a new phone. I really needed one by old one didn’t work anymore. I crocheted myself a phone sock for my old phone; and I decided that my new one decided the same. I decided, rather than just crochet my new phone sock: I’d Tunisian crochet my new phone sock. First of all I had to remind myself how to Tunisian crochet. I went to a Tunisian crochet workshop, run by the lovely Katy at Ramshambles, but have to confess I haven’t picked up my Tunisian crochet hook since. After a few none-starts, I remembered how to do it, and very soon I had a dense crochet texture, perfect for protecting my new phone...

There was a good chance that the crochet stitch would leave an annoying dimpled pattern across the phone screen, so I decided that it needed lining with some ditsy-print fabric…

Very soon, the phone sock was finished and my phone fitted snugly into it…

I’m happy that my new phone has a new sock. I’m happy that I remembered how to do Tunisian crochet. Most of all I’m happy because I can see me coming out of my crochet rut.

xxx

12 Jun 2014 12:35:50 | Crochet

06/05/2014

crochet rut and roses…

For the last few weeks I have been in a bit of a crochet rut. I haven’t blogged about crochet for a little while, it seems like longer. I don’t really know what the problem is. I keep picking-up my crochet hook and getting out yarn, and then putting it all away again. I am guessing that this must be how a writer feels staring at a blank piece of paper. By complete coincidence, in the month’s Simply Crochet magazine, there is an article on crochet ruts. I’m glad to know that it’s not just me! I’ve read the article a couple of times and there is some really great advice in it. I particularly like the advice to get out and try something new. I like the sound of something new, something creative – I’ll let you know how I get along.

To try and get me out of my crochet rut, and I will get out of my rut (I LOVE crochet too much not to), I have decided to give my crochet a theme for the month. Roses. This month, I’m going to focus all my crochet energy on roses. Let’s start with the inspiration…

Ahhh – how can you not be inspired by the beautiful nature and diversity of a rose!

5 Jun 2014 13:26:33 | 1st post of the month, Crochet, inspiration

05/08/2014

crochet clematis…

Every morning, on my way to work, I walk passed this…

Every morning it makes me smile. I love the colours; can you see the flecks of pale blue Wisteria beginning to appear? It really makes my heart sing. Naturally my mind turned to crochet. Could I crochet a clematis flower? I’ve tried and failed growing them, so crocheting must be the way forward. So I sat in the warm Spring sunshine, hook in hand, and set to work. Here’s what I came up with…

Want to have ago? Gather together everything you’ll need…

I used some DK yarn, that I had to hand and my trusty 4mm hook, but use what ever you have in you stash!

Using your centre colour, ch3, ss into fist ch to join…

1ch, 7dc into the ring, ss to join, finish off, (8 stitches)…

Change colour and join in any dc, 1ch to secure…

*1dc in joining dc, 2dc in next dc,* repeat *-*, ss to join, (12 stitches)…

*8ch…

dc in 2^nd ch from hook, htr, tr, dtr, tr, htr…

miss 2dc, ss into next dc*…

repeat *-* three more times, finish off, weave in ends and block…

Ta-dah…

Happy crocheting!

8 May 2014 11:47:37 | Crochet, Flower of the month, How to..., making

04/25/2014

three years on…

Wow! I can hardly believe it, my little blog is three years old! Three years: that is 229 (yes two hundred and twenty-nine) posts. All I can say is thank you so much to sharing this journey of crafting highs and lows with me. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I really do appreciate it. It was touch and go, as to whether I’d get to three years. For about five days Typepad has endured to cyber-nasties: taking down all their blogs. Sorry, if any of you called by over the last few days and got an error message. The lovely people at Typepad have been working very hard and fingers (and everything else) crossed – all is well! Back to happier things: I thought (in true blog style) I’d share with you my highlights from the last twelve months. Enjoy!

Crocheted blossom...