I’m very excited about a fabric project which I am working on at the moment. But I can’t really tell you too much about it. It needs approval. I know this makes it sound very serious and secretive: but really it’s not. I am hoping that this fabric project, will be what I use for my Christmas (yes Christmas: I know it is only May) workshop at The Silver Thimble. I’ve run workshops there before: oh I loved the smell of burning organza as the lovely ladies burnt their flowers during my last workshop! I haven’t shown The Silver Thimble this project yet, this is why I’m only giving you a sneaky peak today.
I love the fabric that is involved. I honestly think that if I ever get to choose the flag of my own country, it will look something like this…
There are fabric circles: large and small…
There are strips of fabric…
There’s top stitching: on the machine and by hand…
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!
Happy Easter to you all! I really hope that you have a lovely long weekend, enjoy the sunshine and see the opportunities for new beginnings. Do you remember a few weeks ago, when I was preparing my Easter crochet project, and I didn’t quite know what to do? Well, inspiration hit: and I ended up combining two of my favourite crafts – crochet and embroidery. I am very new to embroidery; I have dabbled in it a little and been to a couple of classes, but as yet I haven’t really found my way of doing it. I think that this may be about to change. I know myself and know there is little point in aiming for fine embroidery, maybe one day…but not yet. For me it needs to be slightly more instant, that’s way I love crochet – that instant hit. Somehow combining crochet and embroidery, seemed less daunting and more natural, and I can’t tell you how happy I am with the result. I hope you know that very special feeling that you get (occasionally) when you are soooo pleased with what you have made – it actually makes you glow? Glow: without being smug, because you know the amount of projects you are less pleased with greatly out-numbers the ones you love. That is how I feel about my Easter crochet. Are you ready? Ta-dah…
They were inspired by the AMAZING chocolate eggs, which Bettys (the famous Bett’s tea-room in York) has in their window each Easter…
I was also inspired by these which I came across on Ravelry. On each of my crochet egg, I embroidered a different stitch. I wonder if that makes them contemporary embroidery samplers?
There is whipped wheel stitch (sometimes known as spider’s wheel stitch)…
Detached chain stitch (also known as lazy daisy stitch)…
French knots…
Running stitch…
And pistil stitch…
I hope that you all have a wonderful Easter…
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Ps – if you feel like crocheting the daffodil (in the foreground of the pictures) the pattern can be found HERE andHERE.
I love crochet. I know that I have told you that over and over and over again. But I really do, love, love, l-o-v-e, it. I love the simplicity of the stitches, the soothing rhythm of treble crochet blanket, the speed at which a crochet flower appears, the endless possibility and versatility that crochet can give you. I love the sharing, recycling and passing-on of the love of crochet. Recently I came across the most amazing crocheted covered chair…
Isn’t it brilliant? I love the idea of taking something un-loved and ugly and up-cycling it into something fabulous. Right there and then I wanted it: I wanted to crochet me one. I just had to convince Si, that we needed to give a crochet chair house-space. Si, was less convinced. I think, he thinks that our home is already been overtaken by crochet and a crochet chair might be a step too far. But something smaller, something I could sneak in, something that would get passed his crochet-radar! Then few weeks ago, I had a lovely day out with my friend C and her gorgeous daughter I (who could forget I and those crochet hats), we spent a happy few hours mooching around charity shops near where we live. In one of the shops I found this…
Isn’t it awful? I wish I had taken a photo of Si’s face when he saw what I had brought home! I had an idea in mind. If a whole crochet chair was too much: then why not start small - with a foot-stool? I could up-cycle the stool. Pass on something unloved and unwanted and make it lovely. I got to work, removing the (very synthetic) velvet and fringe…
Painted the legs and re-covered the foam with a plain white cotton…
Then the real fun began: crocheting granny-squares! I love a granny-square and really need to crochet more of them. A granny square really does sum-up crochet brilliantly, in one (well) square. One little (or large) square: so many possibilities. Slippers, cushions, blankets, the list could go on…Back to the stool. Using some lovely style-craft yarn, which you can get from Deramores, in my favourite colours of purple, teal, burnt orange and a neutral called oat-meal, I got to work. Very soon I had my granny squares, ready to be double crocheted together…
All that was left was to sure the granny-squares to the stool...
And ta-dah…
My very own up-cycled crochet foot-stool. Not quite to OTT (Si’s words not mine) as the chair: but definitely in the style of! I’ve started small, but you know what they say out of small acorns n’all-that…one day I might have the chair.
So, go on have ago at up-cycling, start small: re-love and make pretty something un-loved and ugly. Pass on the love of crochet…
Happy hooking!
xxx
This blog entry is my submission to the Deramores Blog Awards 2014. Deramores is the UK’s number one online retailer of knitting and crochet supplies.
Hello Spring: it is very lovely to see you! Gosh the weather here in York seems to have really warmed up over the last few days. Yes, evenings are still very chilly and the morning fog, makes the city look like scenes from a Gothic-horror movie: I keep expecting to see a headless horseman riding towards me as I walk to work. But with the warm days, which are getting longer and longer with every day that passes, flowers and leafs seem to be beginning to bud. The world is beginning to wake-up after its l-o-n-g Winter sleep…
Usually my inspiration comes from nature (cliché I know), but I’m guessing you might have worked that one out my now. But it also comes from visiting museums and galleries; York has a really great selection of these. Inspiration also comes from visiting some of England’s great houses. I have to confess I have a real thing for wall-paper. The proper, old, good stuff: I’m not talking Anaglyptic here! Occasionally I find inspiration in books. I love to rummage through boxes of books in charity shops, I love the promise of what you might find. The other day: during one of my rummages I came across this…
I love Orla Kiely's use of colour and how she uses shape. I find her style so inspirational. Not in a way I want to copy, but flicking through her book really made my mind think of all the crochet possibilities. Using shape as a starting point…
…and letting my hook lead the way. Over the next few months there are going to be quite a few crochet projects that have been inspired by this book. I can’t wait to share them with you…
The Vikings are coming! Every February half-term, York sees its annual invasion of Vikings, who come to the city to help celebrate its Viking heritage: during the Viking Festival. It is a brilliant week, full of activities, talks, traders and demonstrations all based around, well, Vikings. The week ends with a re-enactment of a Viking battle and massive firework-display (that’s on Saturday if any of you can get here for that). None of that pillaging, or the likes here! I have a really soft-spot for the Vikings, as a period of English history, as I spent several years (three to be exact) dressing up as one (and getting paid for it) working at a local outdoor classroom, Murton Park. Just in case you don’t believe me…
That’s me: with TG! It was during my time at Murton Park that I got really interested in textiles, historical textiles. It’s an interest that has never really left. No crocheting back then though: it didn’t come to England until the sixteenth(ish) century. I did learn to tablet weave and use the lucet: then finger braid when I moved to the fifteenth century. If you look closely at my Viking apron, you can see some of my tablet weaving: I made that! While I was working as a Viking I did dabble in nålebinding (Viking knitting). I wasn’t very good. To be a good Viking wife you should know at least twelve different nålebinding stitches: I mastered two! I’ll let you work that out, as to where it would have left me on the marriage front – off with a random Anglo-Saxon no doubt! Fast-forward to 2014. I’m no longer a Viking, but still fascinated by the period and historical textiles. So, imagine my joy when I saw a nålebinding course advertised as part of the Viking Festival.
The course was brilliant. Fantastic. Excellent. We had the most amazing tutor Mari Wickets from Gothenburg Museum. What Mari doesn’t know about nålebinding: we probably don’t need to know. She made it look so easy. After a couple of false-starts my fingers seemed to remember what to do, and I was away…
Mari even taught me to do an advance (yes advance stitch) where you use your thumb and seem to create two rows at once. For someone like me, who likes things done quickly, this was genius…
I now know that there are literally hundreds of different stitches: so I have a very long way to go. Not just twelve stitches like I thought. I think the very best thing about nålebinding is the freedom you have with it: as Mari kept saying you’re the pattern creator. This appealed to me: you know I’m not one for following patterns. There is an advanced class tomorrow, but I already have plans: a lovely day out with my friend, mooching around charity shops and lunching. So I guess I’ll spend the next year practicing and hoping that Mari comes back to York next year. What was brilltinat was that by looking at how the nålebinding stitches are formed, you can really see how knitting and crochet developed.
The morning was truly special: it brought back some happy memories from my previous job and with Mari’s infectious enthusiasm inspired me back to early Medieval textiles.
Thank you Mari, Thank you Mari’s friend (I’m soooo sorry I’ve forgotten your name), thank you Zoe and thank you Vikings!
Ps – I didn’t make the above, I just included these so you can see what the stitches look like and what can be made!
It has been a long time since I have treated myself to a new book about crochet. This isn’t because I haven’t wanted one: oh, no – quite the opposite. There are soooo many excellent crochet books out there; it is difficult to choose just one. One of my very lovely friends gave me a book voucher for Christmas, so I decided to indulge and purchase a shiny new crochet book. I love buying new books. I love the whole process, the browsing, the flicking through pages, the never knowing what delights are to be found between the pages. Decisions, decisions…I’ve looked at Crochet Garden by Suzann Thompson a few times, but always put the book back on the self, thinking do I need another crochet flower book? Well, yes I do! Don’t we all?
The book is full of hints and tips, even for experienced crochets. Who knew about needle-joining, for the perfect finishing off? Genius! The book is brim full of truly beautiful illustrations…
The patterns are clear and easy to follow. Though there are no charts. What I really love is that the book, really does offer something a little-bit different, from other crochet books. The variety of flowers to be crocheted and the use of suggested colours and yarns are just brilliant. I can’t wait to get crocheting…
Ps – I don’t think it makes any difference (but just so you know) the patterns are written using American crochet terms, so you will need to do a little bit of translation!
Last week my friends and I went on our annual trip to the Knitting and Stitching show, at Harrogate. We go every year. The show is massive: full of stalls selling you things that you need and things that you didn’t know you needed. The show is also a brilliant source of inspiration: with areas given over to displays of works by some very talent artists. I had my camera with me, so I took some picis to share with you. Hope that you are ready to be inspired…
Amazing textile art…
Brilliant finger loop braiding: just like I make – only better…
Knitted pictures…
Crocheted covered furniture…
And perhaps my favourite, a life-sized (yes life-sized) knitted Nativity…
The knitted Nativity, or Knitivity, was knitted to raise money for St. Peter’s Hospice, Bristol. If you would like to donate to this brilliant cause, you can HERE or find out more about the project HERE. What could be better crafting for charity…
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