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?
A very quick post to let you know that there will be a yarnbomb in York, next Saturday – 13th 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
Really sorry that there hasn’t been a posting this week: I have had a very hectic week at work, parents moving home and on top of that a nasty cold. Other than doing what I have had to do, I haven’t felt like much else: that has included crafting. I know it’s not like me at all: normally when the going gets tough: I get crafting. I know that this is a temporary blip and that in a few more days, of rest; I will be back to feeling like myself and back crafting. I know this because my head is all-ready beginning to whirl with all the projects that I want/need to do; crochet, braiding, baking, fabric flowers and lots more beside. One thing I have managed to craft this week is a variation on a fabric flowers. Normally when I make fabric flowers I use ditsy print, oh how I love ditsy print. But when your head feels a bit ditsy, you don’t really want to be looking at it! I needed something a bit chunkier to work with. I had some felt left over from other projects, so I thought that I’d give that a go. I am quite pleased with the results, although they need to be made with a little more care (again that will come when I’m feeling better). I think that they’ll make great brooches or hair clips...
What do you think?
Wow! I can't quite believe it, but it is almost two years since I started my little blog. Two years! I thought I was doing well to get to one year: but here I am two years on. I have to say that I love, loVE, LOVE blogging to you all: and a MASSIVE thank you, to you, for calling by and reading what I have to say and looking at all the picis that I share with you (I know sometimes there is a lot), thank you! I love this world of creating and sharing, that I am part of: and it is only possible because of people like you. I thought that it would be a good time to look back over the last twelve months, and celebrate some of the highlights. Here goes...
1. Discovering Mollie Makes I am now a complete and utter convert. I love this magazine, if you haven't discovered it yet - you REALLY should!
2. Lots of brilliant things happened in May, especially seeing the blossom on the trees (I am witting that pattern up for you and will share it with you next month). I think my very favourite thing was seeing my friend's little girl I in her crochet festival hat...
3. Crochet hair clips, you would not believe how much wear I have had out of these...
4. Lots of great things happened in July: if I had to choose just one thing then it would be my crochet Sunflowers ( if you want to have a go at crocheting them the pattern for the Sunflower is HERE)...
5. Discovering the sudden revival of friendship bracelets which I hope will continue this summer: as I have something very exciting to share with you about friendship bracelets very, very soon!
6. September saw the chaos of the start of remodeling our home, this meant spending lots of time out of the house, so that the builders could get-on-with-it, this meant spending lots of time in my favourite shop Ramshambles. Tis a hard life!
7. The building work chaos continued into October, but I did find a little bit of crochet time ready for Halloween...
8. November saw Christmas come early as I crocheted samples for a course I was running in York. There will be more classes in , and near, York very soon. Look out for them!
9. December meant Christmas; where I tried to wish you all the best in all the different languages of people who I know are reading my blog. Sorry if I missed your language, let me know so I can include you ALL next time.
10. January was a brilliant start, to what is turning out to be a brilliant year! I loved sharing my crochet Hellebore with you...
11. By February our back room was finally finished after finding the most perfect table. Now I have somewhere to blog from, somewhere for my sewing machine, somewhere to craft, oh, and somewhere to eat!
12. March another brillaint month: despite of, or because of, the cold. I loved the way my fabric flower sampler tured out...
13. This brings us full-circle, back to today. My favourite thing in April? Well that has to be my wreath made up of crochet Daffodils which reminds us that Spring is REALLY here...
So, there it is, another year on. Once again a massive thank you to all of you for calling by, please do keep checking-in as I have lots of exciting thing happening this year and I can't wait to share them with you!
Love Helen
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be a very good thing to have ago at learning something new. I promised Si, no more new crafts (I think he despairs at the thought of more unfinished projects) so technically learning tunisian crochet, isn’t something new: just an extension of what I already know. Right? So I went to Ramshambles,York, where the wonderfully talented Katey showed me how to get started.
I started by learning how to crochet the plain or basic tunisian stitch….
Tunisian crochet is a cross between crochet and knitting,
you crochet one row and then (kind-off) knit the next…
Very quickly your crochet grows…
The crochet does curl: but that is nothing a little bit of gentle
blocking wont sort out. Once we were happy with the basic stitch, we
moved on to crocheting the treble stitch…
Again, you work one row crochet one row (sort off) knit…
Again, your work grows very
quickly…
We then moved on to something a little more difficult:
crochet mesh…
I found this a bit tricky as my tension went really tight: this is bad for tunisian crochet
and very unusual for me! Next we moved
on to colour work…
How pretty! I really
took to tunisian crochet and can’t wait to crochet some more. I just hope I can remember how…
Over the past few weeks I have been busy making bouquets of fabric flowers. Most have ended up with brooch backs on them. Then inspiration hit: inspired by samplers of the past, where women would show off their stitching skills. Why not make a sampler, with a contemporary twist: and show off some of my fabric flowers. I am quite pleased with how it turned out: are you ready for a bit of a ta-dah moment? Well here we go…
I really like the simplicity of my sampler: and the naivety of it. Here’s some of the detail…
The butterfly was made in the same way as the flowers: with
the petals becoming wings, beads making the body and wire making the spiky bits
(sorry I don’t know what that part of a butterfly is called – the part which
has the feelers? ears? eyes?) coming out of its head.
I am so pleased with my sampler: that it is hung on the back of my door…
Ps – I’ve decided March is here like a lion. Roll on Spring…
Remember I said that I had been too busy to offer any of my crochet for York’s Yarn Bomb? It is all because for the last few days, weeks, I have been busy making gorgeous little fabric flowers…
Aren’t they cute? I
love them so much; that I am starting a new blog category just for fabric. I love
the ditsy-print fabric, which I bought at Harrogate back in November. I think that they’ll be perfect for Spring,
when it arrives…
Have a very happy crafting weekend...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As 2012 comes to an end, I thought that I would share with you, and celebrate, some of my highlights form 2012, what a busy year it has been…
In January I started my New Year’s resolution, to crochet a
different flower each month – something I hope to continue in 2013.
In February the weather turned cold: and it snowed and snowed and snowed. I love snow; nothing else can change the appearance, sound, smell and feel of your surroundings quite so well as snow.
With March came the promise of Spring, with golden Daffodils cheering-up much of York. I just had to crochet a Daffodil…
In April I celebrated my first Blogversary. A whole year of sharing all of my crocheting and crafting with you. Thank-you for sticking with me!
May was a busy crochet month. Crocheting May blossom and festival hats for my little friend I.
June saw crochet to the rescue with a quick fix for my hair…
I was sooooo very proud of July’s crochet flower of the month; I had to share it with you again. It still makes me smile of dull rainy days! The crochet pattern for it is here!
In August I was in for a real treat, making beautiful faabric flowers. I hope to make bunches of these next year…
September saw Si and I start to get the house ready for re-modelling. It also saw me fall in love with the most perfect yarn for crocheting flower brooches. And I introduced you all to my favourite yarn shop.
Crochet in October was given over to going out, to let the builders get on with finishing our home. I did manage to sneak in a bit of Halloween hooky time…
Christmas started really early, in November, as I crocheted lots and lots of samples for my Crochet for Christmas course.
In December I found the cutest Christmas trees to crochet, and hung them proudly in by nearly finished home…
Yep, it has been quite a year, all good! See you in the New Year for lots more crocheting and crafting!
I’ve take a little break from crochet. Don’t worry it is not a long break: it’s just my little finger really hurts from crocheting too much over the last few weeks. This break has given me the perfect excuse for indulging in fabric crafting. I thought that I would make the holly wreath, which I bought at Harrogate, to get ready for Christmas. After reading, re-reading and re-reading, the instructions I finally got started. Please bear-in-mind that this is the first time I have ever crafted anything like this. I managed to workout, with a little practice and advice from I, how to machine-stitch curves. This really wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. I was ready to go. This is where I ‘ve got to…
I need to spend a happy few (lots) of hours hand stitching
the detail onto the leaves, then join them together to make a
wreath/garland. I really think that they
might be ready for Christmas.
While I had the fabric and sewing stuff out, I thought that I’d make the cute festive robin badge, which featured in Mollie Makes, issue twenty-one…
The fabulously talented Debbie Greenway, gave really great instructions
and templates to make your life easier when making these. I am quite chuffed with how mine turned out…
Though I do think I need to practice covering buttons, so
that I get a smoother finish. Tis a hard life!
Happy crafting! x
When I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show, at Harrogate, not only was there lots to be inspired by, there were also lots and lots and lots of lovely things to buy. And buy is what I did. I thought that I would share some of my purchases with you; you never know they might inspire you for Christmas presents, or for treating yourself…
Of course I bought yarn, but I also bought lots of fat-quarters, to make into fabric flower…
I love these Japanese prints, from Japan Crafts…
I loved how you use yarn and hooks to make amazing fabric
pictures by Hooked by Design…
…I just hope I can remember the technique, when I start this
project! My guilty purchase was an embroidery
kit from Rowandean…
…guilty because I
haven’t finished (or even started) the kit that I bought from them last year! Ssshhhhhh! Don’t tell Si!
A little something to make for Christmas (this Christmas)...
I finally found some flower yarn, which I had been looking
for, for ages. I can’t wait to crochet
it, I think it will be turned into a scarf…
The rest of the yarn I bought will be crocheted into jumpers…
…I think that I will have enough yarn! I think that I will have enough projects to keep me going until next year...
I love to create beautiful things out of yarn. I love textile crafts, especailly crochet.
Recent Comments