Happy New Year! I hope that 2014 brings you all that you wish for and much, much more. Here’s to another year of crocheting, crafting, and creating. Thank you all for all the support you have given in 2013: I look forward to seeing you again soon…
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Let’s face it the weather isn’t exactly Christmassy at the moment, is it? In York, there isn’t even a hint of snow or that we might get a white Christmas. It does sometimes snow, in York, is then it looks even more beautiful than usual. I love snow, I love everything about it (well may be not the slushy stuff): what else can completely change the look, feel and sound of a place? I thought, I’d share with you a pattern for a snowflake, and then you can have your own snow garlands, for Christmas, no matter what the weather. You will need to white yarn, cotton is best, a suitable crochet hook, some water, rust-proof pins, pva glue, glitter and a board to block on. Ready? Good…
Start with 5ch, slst to join…
** 2dc, 3ch, 2dc ** six times, slst to join…
You should have six chsp...
Slst into 1st chsp. ** 2dc, 3ch, 2dc, slst into chsp **.,,
Repeat ** - ** in each chsp. Slst to join…
If you want to crochet a small snowflake, fasten off and weave in the ends. To crochet the larger snowflake…
** slst into 1st chsp. 1dc, 3ch, 1dc, 5ch, 1dc, 3ch, 1dc into chsp, 2ch **...
Repeat ** - ** into each chsp. slst to join…
Fasten off and weave in the ends. Your snowflake will probably need blocking.
Mix together pva glue and water (adding glitter for extra sparkle) and soak your snowflake for at least ten minutes. Squeeze out the excess liquid and block out on a board, covered with cling-film, using rust-proof pins...
You can use the snowflakes on your Christmas card, as tree decorations, as garlands, or how every you choose.
Happy crocheting…
xxx
Today is the most perfect day, for crochet. Here is York; it is cold, wet and very, veRY, VERY windy. The perfect day for lighting a fire, making tea and crocheting. How about crocheting from thing for Christmas? Are you beginning to feel Christmasy? I am, it is slowly brewing up: I can feel it coming. I thought I’d share my pattern for mistletoe. Hopefully you’ll find it easy to follow: quick to make and after a happy afternoon you’ll have a bunch of mistletoe to hang and smooch under ;)
You’ll need some green and white yarn and a crochet hook that suits the yarn. I used bamboo cotton and a 4mm hook: but it is really up to you.
Using green ** 13ch…
In 5th ch from hook trtr in next 2 ch…
1dtr in next 2ch, 1tr in next 2 ch, 1htr in next ch, 1 dc in next ch**…
Don’t fasten off.
Repeat ** - **. Join the two leaves together with a slss...
Don’t fasten off.
9ch...
slss in 2nd ch from hook then slss in each ch…
Slss to join leaves to the stem…
Fasten off!
To crochet the berries
Using white 2ch, in 2nd ch from hook 1dc and 1tr, fasten off…
Crochet two and sew them on the leaves. Block if needed. And ta-dah…
Make lots: hang and find someone wonderful to smooch!
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.
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…
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…
Way, way, way back in May, I started crocheting myself a jumper. I have actually crocheted myself four jumpers: three of which I don’t like, and will be recycled into something else. The fourth, I have to say, I am just-so, ever-so, a-teeeeennnnny bit proud of. I had to share it with you ready for the tah-dah moment? Here we go…
From the front…
Close-ups of the pattern detail…
Doesn’t look too bad on either…
I would love to share the pattern I followed, but in true
crochet tradition: I didn’t really follow a pattern. I started with good intentions, and I
followed a pattern for six-teen (yes six-teen) whole rows. The pattern I “followed” was in Simply Crochet, a few months ago: a very pretty pattern for a bolero, by the talented Ruth Maddock . The issue was that I was “following”
a pattern for a bolero, but wanted to crochet a jumper. Do you see what I mean? I had no choice, but to improvise! That said, the six-teen rows of the pattern which I did follow, where brilliantly written. They gave the jumper the shape: as you crocheted from the top down.
I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the jumper. I’ve crocheted something that I would actually wear: this is quite an achievement. More than that: I’ve crocheted myself something, which if I saw in a shop – I would buy. I love crochet :-)
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Ps – enjoy Yarndale, if you’re going…
Wow! The weather here in the UK has really turned to Autumn, it is cool, breezy, rainy and sunny all at once. I love our seasons! As the wheel of the year turns towards Autumn and Winter: I find myself wanting to curl up on the sofa, cup-of-tea at my side, and crochet. I am sure I am not the only crocheter (or crafter of any kind) who has more than one project on the go at once? If I was I would be very, very, VERY, shocked and surprised. I have started another project. I love the thrill of starting a new crochet project: the searching out of the pattern, the finding the perfect yarn and the anticipation of something lovely in a few weeks(?) time.
I’ve started to crochet myself a shawl. The pattern is by the incredible Debbie Bliss, and was in Issue Four of Simply Crochet. The yarn is also by Debbie Bliss and is a wonderful inky blue colour, in Rialto 4ply. Blue is not normally a colour I would choose. In fact I don’t own any blue clothes, apart from jeans – but they don’t really count, do they?
I love the look of the shawl, made up of clusters of treble crochets…
…but I have to confess that the four row repeat, which makes
the pattern, is very slow to work. When
I first started; one repeat was taking me nearly an hour. One whole hour for just four rows of crochet!
I am now managing to crochet one repeat in about forty-minutes, which I am
still finding slow going. So, I’ve made
myself a promise: to do at least one repeat every, yes EVERY, day. So far it is working, and I am making
progress – I’ll let you know how I get on!
It’s September. I love September! I said it last year: I said it the year before, and yes – I will say it again next year. I love the last hazy days for Summer as the year turns towards Autumn. I love the thought of the colours changing, the early morning mists and dusky evenings. I love this time of year. I have spent the last week, thinking about my Autumn / Winter crochet project. Inevitably I will have more than one crochet on the go over the next few months: a girl needs variety! My main crochet project is going to be a biggy: a long term project that will grow slowly as-and-when the mood takes me. I am going to be crocheting a Lucy blanket: as in Lucy from Attic24. I ordered my yarn from Wool Warehouse, to my absolute delight a massive box arrived the very next day, full of yarn…
I have to confess I was a little unsure about the some of
the colours, they are not what I would normally choose, but I love how Lucy
puts her colours together: so I trust that the finished blanket will be
great. I decided that I needed to take a
super organised approach to crocheting the blanket and sort out my
colours. Putting the colours in order
took a lot of thinking about. At one
point, I have over thought the whole project and was very close to giving up before
I started. Then with one last attempt I
found a combination that I was happy with (I think)…
With my first colour (Stylecraft DK Special – Clematis) in
hand I started crocheting a chain, long enough to cover a double bed (I
hope). I would love to tell you how many
chains I crocheted: but the truth is I lost count. I crocheted somewhere between 250 and 300
chains…
The blanket is going to be a crochet granny-stripe blanket,
so I set about crocheting my first row of treble clusters…
I decided to crochet straight into the chains, rather than
crocheting a proper foundation chain.
Why? Well the thought of
crocheting a foundation row of 250 – 300 chains, really put me off. When the blanket is finished I am going to
edge it: any foundation row would be hidden, so no point in doing one! Right?
Over the bank holiday weekend, York was lovely and sunny, perfect weather for been outdoors in the garden. For me it was an indulgent weekend, I have been sooooooo busy lately that I needed to just chill and do not-a-lot, while Si got on with some chopping back the plants and building his rabbit-hutch (sorry woodshed, which looks remarkably like a rabbit-hutch – he has assured me that we are NOT getting a rabbit) I sat and crocheted. It was a good thing that I indulged in some serious hooky time, because when I looked up from finishing off my jumper: Si had given the Cotoneaster a rather server undercut. The undercut did leave the perfect hanging space for my crochet bunting…
It cheers the wall up, and adds some much needed colour to
the space. The butting was a really easy
crochet project, made up of seven granny-triangles...
They were really quick to crochet and then joined together
with a simple chain. The bunting was
both started and finished in a couple of hours. What could be better…
Hope you had a lovely l-o-n-g bank holiday weekend?
xxx
Coming back from holiday, I am getting back into the routine of everyday life; work, rest and play. To be honest getting back into it hasn’t been too bad: maybe it is because the sun is still shining, maybe it is the thought of the lovely friends I’ll be catching-up with in the coming weeks or may be it is because our next holiday doesn’t seem all that far away. I thought I’d get back into the routine of blogging crochet and share with you my pattern for lazy, daisy bunting. It is a pattern I have been working on for a long, long, long time: but I finally settled on it just in time for York’s last Yarnbomb.
I used some lovely yarn by Rico Design, called creative fliz! It is a merino yarn, really thick and chunky. Any chunky yarn will do: I was drawn to this practically yarn because of the colours…
The ball band recommends you use a 8mm hook: but I decided
to use a 4.5mm hook – so the bunting didn’t droop when it was hung out.
Here’s how to crochet the daisy…
2ch…
Working into the 2nd ch from hook…
Crochet 9tr…
ss to join…
Finish off and change colour (if you want to), *9ch…
ss into next tr*…
Repeat *-* until you have crocheted your petals…
Finish off and weave
in your ends. Crochet as many lazy daisies
as you like: then join together using a long crocheted chain, catching the
petals, with a double crochet, as you go along…
Hang, make a cup-of-tea and enjoy your lazy, daisy bunting....
Notes:
I love to create beautiful things out of yarn. I love textile crafts, especailly crochet.
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