Springtime and Easter

With it being that time of year I’ve been making a few little springtime gifts for friends and family.  


First up were these daffodil brooches, a really easy to follow pattern by the clever Lucy they turned out great.  A bit of spray starch, blocking and a bit of fussing on the back and they were good to go.

On the Spring/Easter theme again I rustled up a few tilda bunny hearts to send to a few of my friends.

These sweet little things were made following a pattern from the Tilda Springtime Gifts book.  I’m quite pleased with how they turned  out.

 

  Happy Easter Friends

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The Springtime Throw

The Springtime Throw - by Nikki Trench this has been in the making for many a year now.  

I started this way back in August 2011!! as a bit of a stash buster using up scraps of wool left over from other projects. 

 I had a splurge on it way back when and only picked it up now and again since then.  

I found it again back in January and realised I had spent many an hour making these little squares and if I didn't do something about it, it would have all been for nothing.

(powered by tea and biscuits)

 I dug deep and made this my main project instead of something to drop onto when I felt like it and I finally finished it this month.  There were mistakes along the way!

 I was supervised these last few weeks closely by my cat Oskar.

 He took a massive shine to this blanket.

In all it's glory. 

 The pattern called for a 4mm hook and I used a 3mm as I wanted dinky little squares.  The finished item was a good sized lap blanket but I added a lacy border to bring it all together.  I couldn't find a border I liked so I designed this one, its very simple but effective I think.  

It has been said that it looks a bit like a skeleton in a bobble hat and I must agree. 

Oskar has well and truly claimed it, wherever it is he gravitates to it.

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Lisa xx

Catch Up and Baby Bunting

Since the discovery of Instagram I have felt less need to document my makes on here which was the purpose of creating this little blog all those years ago.  

I want to remedy that and intend to do a few little catch up posts to have a record of recent makes that didn’t make it onto the blogosphere.  

Please bear with me while I indulge my online record keeping.

My most recent completed project was a commission for two sets of baby bunting for two new arrivals.  This is the result.  

I have made a few sets of these now and they always come out a treat.  

The pennant pattern can be found here from Lucy's blog and the crochet letters are from a pattern here.  Using Sublime Baby Cashmerino and a 3mm hook they are a nice size. 

They do take such a long time to make with the crochet time and all the washing, blocking and pinning of all the little letters but I think it’s worth it.
I usually add a little embellishment to the front and end of the name, either a flower or a butterfly (pattern here), but for a boy I must admit I came up blank, any suggestions for simple clear boy motifs I could add if I make any more in the future? 

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Lisa xx

Lest We Forget

It is that time of year again when we start to see poppies everywhere, in commemoration of Armistice Day. Armistice Day also known as Remembrance Day is on November 11th each year and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning – the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918.

Due to many different issues I have not been able to make poppies to sell this year as I have done in previous years, but I have made a small handful to give to friends and to wear myself, giving a donation to The Royal British Legion on their behalf.

There are many free patterns out there for poppies but I made this one up myself as I was sat with my wool basket at my side and a sleeping kitten on my lap and couldn’t reach the iPad for a tutorial.

If you would like to make your own, the pattern went something like this 

(UK Crochet Terms)

Poppy

1^st round: Ch2, In second chain from hook, dc 11, join last dc to first with a slip stitch (10 sts)

2^nd round: Ch1, *in 1st dc (dc, htr,tr), in 2nd dc 2 tr, in 3^rd dc 3tr, in 4^th dc (tr, htr, dc), ss into next dc* repeat from *to* (24 st)

3^rd round: Ch1, in 1^st st of previous round (dc,htr, tr), in next 10 stitches tr, 2tr, tr, 2tr, tr, 2tr, tr,    2tr, tr,2tr, in 12^th stitch of previous round (tr,htr,dc) ss into next dc.  

In 14^thst of previous round (dc,htr,tr) tr into next 9 st, into 23^rd st of previous round (tr, htr, dc) ss into last st of previous round.

Bind off and sew in ends.

Leaf

1^st row: Ch 6, In 2^nd chain from hook, work 1dc, 1htr, 2tr, 1ht,1dc, ch1 at end of row ss into back of second chain from hook to form picot, turn,

this is where you ss into the back of the stitch can you see where I've placed the needle for clarity?

2^nd row:, working along the other side of the chain, work 1dc, 1htr, 1tr, 1htr, 1dc.

Bind off and sew in ends, leaving a tail to attach leaf to flower.

Finishing:  I added a small circle of black felt with a small 6mm dolls eye as the centre, but you can simply sew a nice black button in the middle.  Using black cotton add the stamen and add a simple french knot at the end of each stamen.

Attach your leaf to the back and tack in place, add a brooch back (or a safety pin) to the back and you are done.

I covered my button and gave it a spritz of spray starch to set it.

As I said I made this up as I went with a paper poppy as a guide but as it is a standard poppy shape it is likely that there are very similar patterns out there, this is my own.

 Please feel free to use this pattern to make poppies for your own use or to sell for charity. Please do not make poppies to sell for personal profit from this pattern.

If you are planning to make yourself a poppy instead of buying one you can make a donation to the Royal British Legion directly here.

The Exhortation

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, not the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

When you go home tell them of us and say,

For your tomorrow we gave our today

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n.b. thanks for the feedback I have made an amendment to pattern 06.11.14 Kandi x

Pins and Needles 2013

This year Pins and Needles (an Initial J Event) was held the weekend before last at Newcastle Race Course.

This is an event that I always attend and tend to stock up on good local produce. This year there were lots and lots of papercraft exhibitors and the sewing and knitting folks were in the minority.  With the event being called Pins and Needles and having a quilting exhibition, and needlework exhibition on show I was a little disappointed not to have more relevant stalls.  I did however come across a new exhibitor who was selling some delicious local wool Natural Knits, The Knitting Gift Shop. 

They have an online shop and you can find them here.

I did snaffle up a few bits from Woolaballoo, a lovely wool supplier from Hexham and I have made myself a very quick neck warmer (crap photos but it's more mustard than green in real life).   I am not the fastest knitter and I managed to knit this up one evening after work (part of the cost went to children in need too).

How cool is the huge button, I swapped the button from the kit with this one which I bought from The Knitting Gift Shop, the lady tells me her husband made these from the leg of an old chair.

This year one of the workshops was Tunisian Crochet, this is something I was really interested in.  I can knit and crochet but this is a technique I have never tried before, so I signed up.

Its a bit odd if you are used to crochet.  In traditional crochet, you work a row of stitches, and the row is then complete. At that point, you turn the work and move on to the next row.  Tunisian crochet is different, each row is a two-step process, and you never have a need to turn the work.  I got myself a bit confused at the end of each row but with a bit of practice and a lovely helpful teacher, I nailed it (I did frog it and start again when I got home and got it right).

If you are interested there are loads of good YouTube tutorials showing how it is done the tool is a cross between a knitting needle and a crochet hook. The finished article is very thick it is like double thickness crochet, if you need this dense finish Tunisian may be the way forward.  As a result of this thickness, the Tunisian uses up lots of wool, I can’t imagine making a full size blanket in this way if for no other reason than the excessive cost of the wool but I hope to make a cushion cover sized piece from patchwork Tunisian squares in the future.  I will add that to my ever growing list of things I want to make.

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Kandi (Penny) Blossom Crochet Flower Tutorial

Get me; two turorials in the same week!

A few of you kindly contacted me and asked for a tutorial so I thought I would oblige.

I have written it as simply as I can, it's not intended for people who have never seen a crochet hook, but if you know the basics you can do this. I used a size 4mm hook and DK yarn but you can use whatever you like.  I must also add that I made this up as I went along but as it is so basic I imagine there are similar patterns out there.

I use UK crochet terms and the stitches I use are abbreviated as such:

CH ~ Chain

SS ~ Slip Stitch

DC ~ Double Crochet

TR ~ Treble Crochet

DTR ~ Double Treble Crochet (same as treble except yarn round twice instead of once)

Kandi Blossoms Tutorial

Centre Ring

• With your green yarn, CH 4, join with SS to form circle
• CH1, DC x 10 into middle of circle
• Change yarn to flower colour and SS into first DC

First Round of Petals

 

 

 

• All into the first stitch: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Miss next stitch then into the next stitch repeat from * to * four more times to form your petals
• SS into first stitch of your first petal

Foundation Chains for Second Round of Petals

• CH 3, SS to join in the stitch between the petals on the reverse
• Repeat four more times to give 5 foundation chains

Second Row of Petals

• All into the first 3CH space: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR x 3, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Then in each of the remaining four chain spaces repeat from * to * four more times to form your second round of petals

Foundation Chains for Third Round of Petals

• CH 5, SS to join in the stitch between the petals on the reverse
• Repeat four more times to give 5 foundation chains

Third Row of Petals

• All into the first 3CH space: *SS, DC, TR x 2, DTR x 5, TR x 2, DC, SS*
• Then in each of the remaining four chain spaces repeat from * to * four more times to form your third round of petals

 To Finish Off

• SS into the first stitch of the first petal and cast off.  
• Sew in ends and then just sit back and adore it!

I added a brooch back and a button to the middle.  Hope this made some sense, it did in my basic crochet head.

~ ♥ Back Soon ♥ ~