By Helen

crochet flower for July…

Gosh it is hot!  Here in the UK we are officially having a heat-wave.  I have to confess I am being a bit British about the whole thing; keeping cool and not doing more than I need to.  Maybe I am being sensible rather than British (though I have moaned that I am toooooo hot).  I do prefer cooler weather, I prefer months that end with ber (September, October, November and December), I prefer months that have r’s in them, if I am very honest I prefer the snow.   I do love seasons; how the weather, the garden and moods change through the year.  The weather made last week’s Yarnbomb very hot but very well attended.  Did you stop my contribution?  No, never mind, here’s a close up of one of the flowers that I crocheted…

I am writing up the pattern, and I’ll share that with you very soon.  For now it is back to doing very little and keeping cool.

Enjoy the sunshine…

yarnbomb York…

Remember that I mentioned that there was a yarnbomb in York?  Well it was last Saturday, at Rowntree Park, and it was even better than the last yarnbomb.  I thought that I’d share with you some of the memories…

Hope you like them? 

Ps – did you spot my contribution? 

yarnbomb York: next Saturday…

A very quick post to let you know that there will be a yarnbomb in York, next Saturday – 13^th July.  The yarnbomb will take place in Rowntree Park: as part of the park’s birthday celebrations.  People have been working hard to knit, crochet and stitch for the event…

You can bring along work to yarnbomb on Saturday, or there will be chance to sit in the park and make something there and then.  See you Saturday…

For more information have a look at Hippy Stitch's blog

crochet rainbows…

Last weekend in the UK, the weather turned very showery.  One minute it was sunny: the next minute heavy showers.  The up-side of the showers, were the beautiful, beautiful, rainbows that filled up the sky.  There really is something very special about seeing a rainbow, and imagining the possibilities that you could find at it’s end.   The rainbows made me smile and made me remember the wonderfully optimistic sentiment: when it rains: look for rainbows.  Browsing on Folksy I came across this amazing piece of art by artist Sarah Francis…

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my purse) the artwork was out of stock: but it got me thinking about crochet.  At the bottom of my stash, I found some yarn by Louise Harding: the mottled grey colour reminded me of the moodiness of the sky, just before a storm…

Add a few crochet flowers in rainbow colours, pinned on the wreath using shimmery pins (to represent rain drops) and ta-dah…

A rainbow inspired crochet project, started and finished during one long rain shower.  So, next time it rains: remember to look for rainbows and you’ll never know what it at the end of the rainbow until you look. 

Happy crochet and happy searching…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

crochet forget-me-not bracelet…

For June’s crochet flower of the month, I was inspired by all the forget-me-nots that I saw when out walking in woodlands.  I hope you like it…

In case you do, here’s how I made it…

I gathered together all the bits and pieces I would need: forget-me-not blue yarn, a teeny-tiny crochet hook (for the DK yarn I used a 2mm hook), ribbon, hook and eye (for the fastenings), beads, needle, scissors and glue…

I love how the acid green ribbon looks against the forget-me-not yarn…

I started by tying the hook and eye to the end of the ribbon…

Decorating the ends of the ribbon with some beads…

I crocheted three forget-me-knots, using my blossom pattern; next I sewed little yellow beads to the centre, and then glued them to the ribbon…

Leave the glue to dry, then ta-dah…

Your very own crochet forget-me-not bracelet.  Let me know how you get on…

crochet inspired by yo-yo patchwork…

I love that inspiration is all around us.  Usually when I am stuck for something to crochet, I look to nature and find myself crocheting flowers.  My inspiration doesn’t always come from nature.  Sometimes it hits when I’m wondering around York, looking at the amazing architecture (more about that in another post).  Sometimes I get inspiration from looking at the work of other very talented people out there.  Sometimes I get inspiration from visiting museums and galleries.  My latest crochet combines that last two: other people work and a visit to a museum.   I often visit the Quilt Museum, in York, I’ve mentioned it before.  On my last visit I came across the cutest little yo-yo patchwork (also known as Suffolk Puff patchwork).  I had to know more.  Thanks to the wonder of the internet I came across an amazing blog Sew Recyled.  I knew that I had to have ago: crochet style.  While I was flicking through one of my favourite crochet books Crochet Throws and Wraps by the talented Melody Griffiths: I came across instructions for crochet yo-yo patchwork / Suffolk Puffs.  Perfect…

I crocheted lots…

Using a wonderful yarn, by King Cole…

I decided to attach my crochet to a cushion cover…

I love how the colour change of the yarn gives so much variety from one ball…

I really think that the possibilities are endless, changing the yarn and hook size, you could have some real fun!  Crochet meets patchwork: a very happy combination. 

crochet and cream tea…

We’ve been away; we’ve been to Cornwall to stay with Si’s parents.  Last time we visited, we had just started remodelling our home.  This time it was lovely to visit without the phone going every half hour with the builders telling us of the new problems he had found.  We were soooooo lucky with the weather, it was cold but dry – which suited me just fine.  I thought you might like to see a few of picis?  Ready?

Woodlands full of Bluebells…

Woodlands full of Wild Garlic…

Wondering around one of the woodlands, I came across this yarn bombed tree…

Beaches full of pebbles…

Lots of time for cream teas…

My father-in-law tells me that I made my cream tea, wrong.  Sorry P!  Apparently putting the cream on first is the Devon way of doing things.  Who knew that the placement of jam and cream could be so controversial?  I hope I haven’t offended anyone?  It's just the way I like it!

Lots of time in the evening for crochet…

A lovely, lovely short break in Cornwall! 

crochet blossom…

I thought that I’d share with you my crochet blossom pattern.  It is perfect for May and was May’s crochet flower last year.  The pattern is one of my very favourite.  I use it, quite literally, all the time.  I use it to embellish hats (the green one), wreaths and phone socks.  One of my favourite uses was when I needed hair clips in an emergency…

To crochet the blossom, so that it looks like blossom, I used Debbie Bliss’ Angel, but any fluffy yarn would be prefect.  For easy of seeing the stitches in the pattern I have crocheted it using some DK which I had.  Hopefully you can see the difference…

Gather your yarn, you don’t need much, and a hook which suits the yarn you are going to use.

Working into a magic circle, **3ch…

1tr, into the magic circle…

3ch…

ss ** into the magic circle…

Repeat ** - ** four more times, so you have five petals…

Don’t worry if your magic circle gets bigger and bigger!  After your last ss, finish off and pull the ends of the magic circle…

Weave in the ends and decide what to embellish!  Or secure to branches, to make your blossom bloom…

NB - To turn your blossom into a hair clip, stitch a bead into the centre of your flower, attach a kirby-grip and wear with pride!

 

cute crochet collar…

How that Spring is definitely here, I decide to bravely go outside without a coat:  relying on just my cardi to keep me warm.  I found a lovely bright red cardigan, in a really soft yarn, in a local charity shop for just £2.50.  It was love at first sight: it had to be bought.  The cardi looked great: but I thought that it could do with a little-something, just to make it something really special.  It needs a cute crochet collar.  A friend gave me a pattern written by the very talented Nicky Hale, for Arabella, the cutest little crochet collar I had ever seen.  The pattern is bri-lli-ant!  So well written and with a clear chart.  After a couple of hours crochet, I was ready to attach the collar to the cardi.  I was sooooo pleased with the result.  Are you ready for a ta-dah moment?  Here goes…

Not bad for £2.50, the end of a ball of King Cole Bamboo Cotton and a couple of hours!

crochet flower for April: Primula / Primrose…

Now that Spring is here: I decided it was time to cheer up the front of my home, with a hanging basket.  After spending a happy hour browsing York’s Newgate Market, I came home with some Primulas. Or are they Primroses?  I’m not sure, I think Primroses are pale yellow and Primulas are stronger coloured (if you know let me know).  Anyway, I came home with five, in fact, for the bargain prices of three pounds (perfect just in case Spring isn’t here and the late frosts attack them).  Don’t they look cheerful…

So colourful and zingy…

They got me thinking, Primulas (or Primroses) would be the perfect flower to crochet for April.  So, get your crochet hook ready, here’s how to crochet yourself a Primula (or Primrose) posy or table centre.  Like with many of my crochet flower patterns, I suggest you use any yarn that you have to hand and a crochet hook which works with the yarn.  I used two contrasting colours, so the cute little centre really shows up.

With yarn A make a magic loop (sometimes called a slip ring or magic ring)...

2ch, 9dc into the magic ring…

Slip stitch into the top ch, to join together…

Finish off, pull the ring tightly to close the ring and secure the ends, so that they don’t get in the way.  Change to your second colour.

Join B into any stitch, secure with 1ch…

*work htr, tr, dtr, htr, dtr, tr, htr, into next dc, ss into next dc* …

Repeat the above instructions until you have five petals, finish off and secure your ends…

Crochet a few more Primulas and pot…

Perfect for little table centres, and Primulas (or Primroses) that don’t have to worry about the frost getting!

Happy crocheting!

NB - All crochet terms are UK terms.