Autumn Projects

Hello, I haven't been around much lately and even crochet has had to take a back seat a little. Last month, inspired by Anne at Crochet Between Worlds , I started a teddy for a refugee child before my break from blogland occurred so I thought you would like to see him finished.

 I called him Bertie. With a lot of dull days and rain lately I had to take the photo quickly during a brighter spell so he didn't have his red heart stitched on at this point. I hope he brings some comfort and a little happiness to a little person somewhere. If you want to join in check out Anne's pattern on the blog and the teddies she and Michelle have created for vulnerable children.


My second autumn project was a chunky cowl in a variegated yarn I bought earlier this year just because it made me think of autumn.

This is Patons Colour Works Aran in shade 106 India Colour. I already had a scarf pattern in mind from an old magazine which I wanted to use.

This yarn is so soft and squishy, with such happy colours I enjoyed doing a few rows each evening until it was finished and of course it worked up really quickly making it an ideal project for a busy time.

I'm really going to enjoy wearing this through the winter season.

Til next time,
Hx

Paisley and Diamond Crochet

Hello, I've had an unplanned break from both blogging and crochet recently so it's been a while since my last post, I'd like to say thank you for all the lovely comments you left for me while I wasn't around. I have only managed a few minutes here and there with my hook over the past weeks so I didn't get my second summer cushion finished before sliding gently into autumn, however I thought you might like to see what I have managed to do so far and I'll finish it to use next year. I had started with the pink Paisley motifs I showed you before.

These motifs are smaller than the ones I made for the previous cushion, measuring only 6.5 x 3.5 cm. We have had some lovely September days here so when I could I went outside to enjoy the warm sunshine before the temperature dropped in the evening. Though I haven't had a lot of time to crochet I have enjoyed seeing these bright colours in the sunshine as I hooked up motifs in spare moments.

I knew I wanted to use both the pink and green this time and I also wanted a completely different design. I played about with the pink and green picturing different designs before choosing diamonds to go with the Paisley motifs and edging them in yellow.

 I decided to have a deep border running along the bottom of the cushion this time with a narrow border along the top. I've been making it up as I go along which makes it all the more fun.

This design was inspired by a photograph of a sari which had a beautiful pattern along the bottom, though the actual motifs, colours and design I chose for the cushion are completely different.

Although my progress has been slow I've enjoyed putting these bright colours together, a last piece of summer before turning my thoughts to autumn. Have you noticed the different feel in the air recently? I'm lucky enough to live in a quiet location and often think this time of year sounds different too. The slide into autumn feels gentle this year, it will soon be time to cosy up indoors and I've already started thinking of making gifts for the end of the year, but not quite yet.

Til next time.

Hx

Crocheted Jam Jar Cover

Hello there,

Do you make gifts for people? Perhaps you crochet, knit, sew or bake?

I love how versatile crochet is and often crochet for others, whether it is a full garment, a small, quick project or trims to jazz up a gift. When I heard a friend was having a difficult time and couldn't get out much I knew it was time to turn my hand again to making for someone else.

I often give little gifts to friends from my garden in summer, gooseberries, rhubarb or blackcurrants in the summer and plums from my tree in September, but that would be no use as it would be too much work to make something right now. So I made a cup of tea, sat down, had a good think and came up with this.

Just the thing for a home made cream tea, complete with clotted cream.


First I made the jam pot cover, the jar is a pretty hexagonal one with a lid the same size as a standard 1lb jar lid so I dug a spare jar out of my cupboard for sizing and fetched some white size 10 crochet thread and a 2mm hook.

I had a flick through my books and magazines and found some lacy jar cover patterns. I didn't have any new jars and lids so would be sterilising the one I had, I didn't have any pretty fabric either to hide the plain black lid under the lacy cover so I thought a less lacy pattern might be better than the ones in my book. I did my usual playing about with thread and hook and came up with this, a solid top with granny type edging. Simple, quick to make and pretty too.

It needed some colourful ribbon to finish it off so I popped down to the craft shop and got this lovely coppery ribbon to thread through the jar cover. I had been going to buy red ribbon but when I saw this coppery colour I thought it would look lovely with the blackcurrant colour instead and make a nice change from red.

I make my own jam and scones as I like to bake and cook but it would be easy to jazz up bought ones by making the crocheted pot cover and adding colourful ribbon and napkins. I'm going to put this in a little basket with some freshly baked scones, clotted cream and a small box of Twinings tea selection, wrap it in cellophane and take it round in time for afternoon tea. I know my friend will love this and hope a sit down with tea and scones brightens the day.

The crocheted pot cover was very easy, I'll probably make more nearer Christmas as I often make hampers. If you would like me to write up the pattern let me know.

I'd like to thank you all for reading despite my erratic posting and also for the lovely comments you left on my summer shawl, they make my day. We are approaching the last few weeks of the summer holidays here after which life will change gear again and I should be able to catch up properly on all your blogs again.

Til next time.

Hx

Shawl, Stole or Wrap?

Hello folks,

What do you call them? I usually go with shawl or wrap, rarely using the name stole. Last week I wrote about making a wrap with the summery merino lace yarn I had. Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you left, I loved reading them and was delighted that you all liked this yarn too. I'm pleased to announce the wrap is now finished!

This worked up really quickly and I finished it a few days ago, it then languished the next few days waiting to be blocked while I took advantage of the better weather to get back on top of the garden. I finally got around to blocking it and here it is.
  

I kept the edge very plain in the end, just a single row of double crochet all the way around and then a row of picots at either end. My picots were made by working 3 ch, sl st in 1st ch and then sl st to where I wanted the next picot. I loved these colours the moment I saw them and I'm really pleased with the way this shawl has turned out, simple definitely was the way to go as it really shows off the colours. It looks green shown on some lime broderie anglaise,

and the turquoise is brought out by this dress.

When I wrote about making this last week I had been thinking how lovely it would look over a summery white top or dress, I'd completely forgotten I had this simple long turquoise shift dress for which it is also a perfect match.

Isn't it lovely how a single layer of the wrap looks turquoise but where it is hangs in folds it becomes green? Would you like a closer look?

I'm going to really enjoy using this shawl, matched with this dress it would even look good for a summer wedding reception.

Are you enjoying the summer so far? It's been somewhat wet here this year which hasn't been good for getting out in the garden but has been good for cracking on with my crochet projects. Yes, it's plural again, I don't seem to be able to limit myself to just one, my mind races off with too many ideas. Do you find that too? I want to make another Paisley cushion but with a slightly different design, I have some small, items to make in thread crochet and last but not least, I want to try some broomstick lace. I think that should keep me busy for a little while.

Til next time,

Hx

Summer Colours

Hello there, first of all I'd like to say a big thank you for all the lovely comments on my cushion, I'm really chuffed you all liked it and took the time to let me know.

I wasn't able to post last week, life has been both busy and sad here as I was helping N sort out his late mother's home. It was also the hottest week of the year so far so it was exhausting. Arriving home late in the evening I didn't feel up to doing anything too complicated but I did manage to squeeze in a little crochet to relax before bed time. Do you remember this?

It's the lace weight merino yarn I wrote about buying here. I fell in love with these summery colours and have, from the day I bought it, pictured a summer wrap to throw over light summer dresses or white tops in the evenings. I've enjoyed browsing through different lace stitches, picturing the end result before trying a few out and finding that actually, it looks far nicer if I keep it simple.

I loved the effect of the different colours in a simple chain made with a large hook, the bright green fading to yellow, turquoise and lilac so I decided to keep it simple and make the wrap in an easy diamond mesh pattern. This is just the thing for working in a nice easy rhythm when I'm too tired to concentrate on a pattern. It also has the benefit of showing off the yummy summer colours of this yarn much better than the more complicated lace patterns. Isn't this gorgeous?

By Thursday we were shattered and ready for a break so worked really late to finish up and stay home on Friday. We had a quiet day relaxing and pottering about and inspired by Elizabeth's post at Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse I was pleased to see the elder flowers finally out in our garden so I could make a batch of cordial. This Elder is called Black Lace, the cordial it makes is pink and the newly opened flowers have a delicious citrussy elderflower aroma. It also looks absolutely gorgeous in the garden.

So that was the first week of our summer holiday - clearing, cleaning, pottering in the kitchen and garden and of course a little crochet.

The light is much brighter today when I took this last photo and the yarn looks more blue, mostly it looks green though. If you would like to make a wrap like this, I'm using a 5.5mm hook with a 3 ply laceweight merino yarn with 400 metres in a 100g skein. This is a bigger hook than would usually be used for this yarn weight but I chose it as I liked the effect of the bigger hook and wanted the wrap to work up quickly. It only uses chain and double crochet stitches (single crochet in US) so is ideal if you are new to crochet and want to move on to making something a little bigger than squares. I made 242 stitches then working in UK terms:

1st row - miss 1 ch, 1 dc in next ch, *5 ch, miss 3 ch, 1 dc in next ch* repeat to last st, 1 dc, 5ch, turn

2nd row - *1 dc in ch space, 5 ch* repeat to end

Repeat the second row until the wrap is the size you want and that's it, nice and simple. I don't know yet how wide mine will be or how I will edge it, I'll just stop when it looks right.

Til next time,

Hx

Simple Paisley Granny Cushion

Hello there,

It's taken me a bit longer than I expected to reach the next stage of my Paisley cushion. It would have been easier to go looking on the Internet for a pattern but I really wanted to do this myself so I beavered away in spare moments turning my Paisley motifs into granny squares. There has been ripping out, a lot of ripping out, then more working up again until it looked passable.

First I had to make my mind up which colour to choose for my first cushion, despite thinking I would choose yellow and pink, in the end I plumped for orange and pink.

I've mentioned before that I am rather too good at procrastination, I'm also not very good at making up projects right away but this time I decided to weave in the ends and make up as I go, otherwise I'll never get the cushions made in time to use this summer. There were quite a few ends.

Next decision was what colour to use for the background and I went for the turquoise. This is the bit which has taken me a while to work out as I'm not one of those talented people who can sit down and put it on paper, I just play with the yarn until it looks right to me. So I played and played, it still didn't look right, so I played a bit more and finally got a rectangle.

A few more rectangles and I had enough to play about to see how they looked. I haven't decided yet whether to make all the blocks the same or not.

I'm joining the sections one at a time as I finish them so I can see the cushion cover grow. This is the bottom section already made up.

 I'm looking forward to finishing this and being able to use it in the garden, when summer eventually arrives. This week has been cold and miserable here and very un-summer like, the perfect excuse to snuggle indoors with some crochet and the colours have helped keep me happy. On the down-side, it has made taking photos difficult as the light has been so poor, thankfully the weather has brightened up this afternoon so I can finally share my latest make with you.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Til next time,
Hx

Inspired by India

Hello folks, have you had a good weekend? Here in the UK we have just had our second May holiday weekend, for us a quiet time of pottering about, enjoying the garden and of course crochet for me.

As the weeks pass and summer comes closer I find myself thinking of days out, tea in the garden and picnics, especially picnics. I'd been thinking for a while that I'd like to make a summer blanket, perhaps in ice-cream shades or bright summery colours however I didn't get around to it early enough for this year. I still feel the need for something bright, colourful and new though so I had a think about it and came up with the idea of making bright crocheted cushions which would be much quicker to make for use in the garden and for picnicking.

I haven't ever been to India (yet, maybe one day) but I love the vibrancy of the colours I see in photos, magazines and film. What colours do you think of when you think of India? I think of vibrant colours such as cerise pink, turquoise, orange, lime green, yellow, purple, jewel colours, all these colours suggest to me brilliant hued saris, wending their way through the streets and markets of India on the backs of the women. This train of thought reminded me of the beautiful cushions I have seen made from pieces of sari fabric, those cushions are stunning so why not try a crochet version? What would the pattern be? For me it has to be the instantly recognisable kidney shape of the Paisley pattern. With this idea firmly in my head I set off.

A visit to my local wool shop allowed me to gaze at all the beautiful yarns and find inspiration before buying the yarn I showed this peek of a few weeks ago.

It's Robin DK acrylic in shades Bright Turquoise, Cordial, Fiesta, Sunflower and Marigold. I love these bright colours and using acrylic yarn means I won't be precious about it being used outside, I could never be that relaxed about a silk yarn. I brought it home and started playing around with it to develop a Paisley type shape. I worked out the pattern then tried it with both 4mm and 3.5mm hooks. In the end I decided to go with the 3.5mm hook as I tend to crochet fairly loosely and it just looked a better shape. The 4mm hook gave an elongated Paisley shape, however I preferred the curvier motif made using the 3.5mm hook. I have made this using double crochet and half treble stitches to keep it simple, do you like it?

I worked up motifs in different colour combinations to see how they looked,

 and laid them out to choose which ones I like best.

 I definitely like the yellow (Sunflower) and pink (Fiesta) and the turquoise and orange (Marigold) but haven't decided about the other colour combinations yet. What do you think of them? Is there one you are drawn to or a combination I haven't tried?

Once I have decided which colours to use I will make a smaller motif to go with these and work out how to join them. I'm using a 50x50cm cushion and I'm still deciding whether to do an all-over design, just a border, or a mix of designs for each cushion, I'll see how I get on with the first one. What would you do? I'd love to hear your ideas too.

Hx

Crocheted Lace, Sea Horses and a Book Review

Hi folks, did you know that seahorses are sometimes red?
 
What have seahorses got to do with crochet I hear you ask? Well, it's all down to this book, 75 Lace Crochet Motifs.

I was browsing on Amazon earlier this year when I came across this book by Caitlin Sanio and fell in love with the little seahorse on the front cover. I'm not known for impulse buys so I went away and thought and thought about it but I kept being drawn back to it every time I went online. This book looked too good to stay on my wish list, I just had to make that seahorse. I duly ordered it and then spent a couple of excited days waiting for the postman to call. Eventually the knock on the door came, I was so excited, I love books so with anticipation I tore off the packaging and...it looked wonderful, even better than I thought it would be. Oh, the joy, a brand new book full of ridiculously beautiful little lace motifs to crochet and pepper projects with.

There are 75, a whole 75, beautiful lace motifs all done in size 10 crochet cotton with a 2mm hook. I didn't like the colour used for the seahorse in the book, that seahorse is just asking to be turquoise, right? I didn't have any turquoise crochet cotton though and I was much too eager to make this little fellow to order online and wait for crochet cottons to arrive, so I turned to the internet to find images of seahorses. A quick internet search of seahorses found  The Seahorse Trust  and  brought the information that seahorses can change colour to blend in with their surroundings and have even been known to turn red to match floating debris. They pair for life and also change colour during their daily courtship display which can last up to an hour each morning. It's amazing what information I come across when I get an idea in my head, whatever did we do before the internet?

 Hmm, red seahorses? I have red cotton, I used it to edge the baby shoes, so why not make the seahorse in red?
 

 

For each pattern in the book the author has given the length of cotton needed, it reminded me of tatting patterns where the required length has to be wound on to the shuttle before you start. It just so happened I still had a shuttle left from last year already wound with enough red cotton to make the seahorse. Out it came, along with a 2mm crochet hook.


 A short while later I'd made this.

 It looks a bit messy and twisty as it needs to be blocked and have the ends woven in.

 Aah, that's better, it's amazing the difference blocking makes to a piece of work, I'm a real fan of blocking. I adore this little red seahorse, I think he is going to become a bag charm and will live attached to my project bag where I can see him every day.


 I'm really looking forward to making more motifs from this book, perhaps experimenting with embroidery floss and different hooks as well as cotton. It is very well laid out and easy to use with pattern pictures and corresponding page numbers grouped by themes at the front of the book.


 

 I don't usually use charted patterns but even following the written pattern they do still help with these small motifs as they are very clear and you can see instantly where you have gone wrong if you make a mistake.

I think the shell and starfish will have to be next, then I'll need to find something to embellish with them. All the motifs in this book are beautiful but these three are my favourite, or perhaps it's the songbird and hummingbird? Decisions, decisions, however the seahorse is definitely my favourite.

I hope to get back soon to the bright yarn I showed you a peek of last week, unfortunately we had a bump in the car last week and I've been a bit too uncomfortable to crochet for long so I thought I'd share this with you instead. I hope you have enjoyed the book review and the little seahorse. Have you done any thread crochet? I'd love to know what you've made.

Til next time,
Hx

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Can a girl ever have too many shoes? Even if she is only a few weeks old?

In my last post I mentioned shoes, specifically a pair of baby Mary Janes. When I heard my friend had a new grand-daughter I wanted to make a little something for her but didn't want to do yet another car seat blanket. I couldn't think of anything more different than shoes. If I'm honest I love the baby Mary Jane patterns I've seen, they are pretty, they are cute and oh so girly but I haven't had a little girl to make any for until now. The only other baby girl doesn't live in the UK and would have outgrown them before they reached her so I was really quite excited at finally getting a chance to make a pair.

Off upstairs to the bookcase I went and pulled out all my crochet books. I had three different patterns to try -  ballet shoes, lacy slippers and Mary Janes from the books Cute and Easy Crochet, Crocheted Gifts in a Weekend and Easy Crochet.

 I tried them all however in the end I decided to use the pattern I found in the January issue of Love Crochet magazine, it's the one with  Liz Ward's incredibly cute and colourful monkey on the front.

The Mary Jane pattern is by Nicki Trench, aren't these tiny shoes adorable?

 They are worked all in one piece too, hardly any sewing, need I say more?

I had originally planned to use Sirdar Snuggly 4 ply yarn in a very soft, pale lilac however the pattern in the magazine used 3 ply mercerised cotton in white which I just happened to have in three colours - white, lemon and red. Instead of pink and green embroidery floss for the leaves and flowers I planned to substitute lilac and purple for the pink. Not quite white and lilac are they?

Somewhere between the sole and upper of the first shoe I changed my mind, perhaps influenced by the summery weather we had been having and started again using lemon for the main colour of the shoe. Once both shoes had been completed in lemon it was time to crochet the contrasting trim around the edges. The white yarn I had planned to use didn't look quite right, I felt it was a little wishy-washy so I tried the red. Now I'll be honest, red and yellow on a baby shoe? I wasn't too sure about that at all. I edged the first shoe with trepidation, fully expecting to find it too harsh and rip it out again...but... it looked good. It was cheerful. It was summery. It worked!

Next up were the flowers to decorate the front of the Mary Jane, with the new colours I favoured daisies. I like daisies but...they didn't go, just didn't look right so it was back to the drawing board. I tried a few different colours of embroidery floss, they weren't right either. Having run out of options I had the red cotton left but I thought would that be too much red? Overpowering? As the local wool shop is in the next town popping over there wasn't a quick option so I tried the red, making a small flower for each shoe. It worked, it actually looked okay, so I carried on and made the leaves using green embroidery floss and stitched them on to the shoes.

The pattern in the magazine used velcro to fasten the straps on the shoes and two little buttons to decorate so I added some velcro then spent a happy hour going through the button box at my Mum's house, coming home with two tiny red buttons to try and two little white buttons. When I tried the buttons on the shoes though, it didn't look good, it was too much, too fussy, so I left them off.

Finally, they were ready to block and go to their little owner, but first I just had to admire them for a little longer.

The shoes I've made are a little smaller than the ones in the pattern as those are to fit a baby 6-9 months old and the baby I've made these shoes for will only be a couple of months old by summer. I lined a pretty gift bag with white tissue, nestled the bright, summery little shoes inside and delivered them to Grandma's house.


Have you made Mary Janes or other styles of baby shoes? What pattern and colours did you use? I'd love to know.

Hx