The Making of a Wolf

I just popped to the local supermarket to buy a bag of pasta, and left the shop having agreed to make a crochet wolf. But that's the beauty of Chatting isn't it?

So Wolfie was born, in my mind at least. He was going to be one of 26 wolves which would form the 'Wolf Trail' around the beautiful town of Bury St Edmunds, as a project to celebrate the life (and gruesome death) of King Edmund. In the 9th century, the Vikings objected to King Edmund refusing to give up his Christian beliefs so they shot him full of arrows and decapitated him for good measure. Legend has it... a WOLF guarded his head till his men found it. King Edmund became Saint Edmund. And the fabulous wolf legend goes on to this day.

SO, back to Wolfie, firstly, I got amazing local sculptor Jenny Goater to make a mesh wolf-shaped frame. He arrived one day, I went weak at the knees, he was so beautiful.

I made over 100 crochet hexagons to start building his coat.

Wolfie needed a black 'undergarment' to stop the crochet catching on his metal frame. My cat Hank Marvin Deluxe seemed extremely unsure of the lupine visitor...suspicious sniffing for days...

Underwear on, Wolfie reminded me of John Wayne in those Westerns when all the cowboys wear their babygro suits... 

I stitched and stitched and stitched those hexagons together... and on went paws and tail.

...then I started on the bit which was really scary- the face building, each piece having to be made individually to fit the exact shape. There was swearing. And un-doing (of work and my sanity...). But ultimately, there was LOVE. It grew and grew. As Wolfie's face took shape, we bonded.

Even Hank Marvin Deluxe started to feel the vibes, a real furry bromance was born.

Then one day, Wolfie got a mention on Lauren Laverne's ace show on BBC 6 Music. Lauren has said publicly that Wolfie does not have a wonky face. I cannot describe how happy this simple comment makes me. A non-wonky-faced wolf!! He inspired the People's Playlist feature, and even got a mention at Glastonbury festival. He has officially become a Star. I do not think it has gone to his head, though. Here he is pretending to be a Superstar DJ. So maybe it has gone to his head a little.

After 2 and a half months of hooking, stitching, cutting, shaping, weeping quietly, dancing round the table to mental loud music, Wolfie was finished. All 167 individual pieces of crochet. Oh Wolfie, I love you and am so proud of you. 

So we say farewell to Wolfie next Tuesday 7th July 2015, when he goes to his new home, the Town Council Offices on Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds. A fine spot indeed for a very handsome wolf. My children are so upset, even the Other Half (not known for his emotional outbursts) has insisted we have a goodbye party this weekend, involving cake and cava. I agree. We should. Wolfie has lived in our kitchen since April and we are going to have a large wolf-shaped hole there. Even Hank Marvin Deluxe looks mopey...

Jellyfish and Beyond

It's a long story...about jellyfish...and amazing swimming ladies...

I hope you like my little tale... it's not a finished tale, more like a wobbly jelly-like work in progress.

So, as conversations go, it was a good one. A lovely lady at Crochet Club just happened to mention she was swimming in the 'Ocean Walker Ladies Relay Swimming Team' from Ireland to Scotland this summer for charity. And could I make a little crocheted jellyfish pattern for her so she could offer all sponsors a gift of gratitude?

Well. I am always up for a random bit of crochet fun, especially if it involves helping fabulous people doing amazing feats of bravery for charity, so the crochet jellyfish was born.

Once word was out that this fearless lady was swimming In The Sea, The COLD COLD Sea, for hours and hours,to raise money for Parkinson's UK, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, well lots of the Crochet Clubbers offered to help make jellyfish. The pile started to wobble and grow... then other kindly crochet folk also offered to make some. The wobbling got wobblier...

And then came the idea for a 'charity crochet jellyfish kit' containing the pattern, hooks and yarn, everything needed to make the little wobbly floaty under-watery things... so I started to make kit upon kit upon kit. Hank Deluxe my super feline assistant helped, as did my 2 children. Who were infinitely more use than the cat with his head stuck in a bag...

1.5 km of yarn was wound onto cardboard spools.

... finally the day came when we had finished the kits. On sale in the lovely 'The Handmade Shop and Gallery' in beautiful Bury St Edmunds from Saturday 6th June for a modest £5, half the purchase price goes straight to the Ocean Walker Ladies Relay Swim Team to help them on their way to Ireland and beyond.

So, that's the story so far. What will happen next, I hear you cry from the very edge of your seats... well hang on to your hats, there will be a jellyfish installation to make you gasp in wonder in July!!  There will even be an UBER-JELLYFISH which I'm working on right now! How big will it be? Even I do not know the answer to that. I shall let the Crochet Gods decide...

 UPDATE! The amazing swimming ladies swam from Ireland to Scotland and raised lots of money for their charities. They are true heros! The crochet jellyfish raised £273 so I am well chuffed!

Hexie Love Forever!

Along with the granny square, I'd say my love for the crochet hexagon will never fade. I just love making these simple and beautiful shapes. They are astonishing in their funkiness with such a small effort involved! My kind of crochet!

So, I thought I'd share my simple little pattern. I tend to use a 5mm hook as it gives a decent size hexie.

First, chain 5 and join to make a ring. Chain 3 (to count as your first tr) and make one tr into ring. Ch 2. *2 tr into ring. Ch 2.* Repeat * 4 more times. You should have 6 '2 tr' spokes and 6 'ch 2' spaces. Join with sl st into top of ch 3 from beginning of round. 

Ok, now round 2. Ch 3 to count as your first tr. Into top of next tr, make a tr. *You will now be at a 'ch 2' gap. Into this gap, make the following: (1 tr, ch 2, 1 tr). Make 1 tr into the top of each of the next 2 tr*.  Repeat * around, finishing with the (1 tr, ch 2, 1 tr) into the final 'ch 2' gap. Join with sl st into top of ch 3 from beginning of round.

Ok? How we doing? Almost there now! Round 3 is the final round yay!! So, this round is made up of htrs, not trs. Ch 2 to make your first 'htr'. Make 1 htr into top of next 2 trs from prev round. *Into the 'ch 2' gap make the following: (1 htr, ch 2, 1 htr). Make 1 htr into top of next 4 trs *. Repeat * around, making your final (1 htr, ch 2, 1 htr) into final 'ch 2' gap, then make sure you remember to make 1 htr into top of  final tr before you join with sl st into top of ch 2 from the beginning of the round. 

There, you should now have a lovely hexagon. Make a few, stitch them together, have fun creating beautiful hexie blankets, placemats, scarves, anything goes!

Pompom love...

Greetings! Thanks for checking out my new(ish) blog! Today is a little glimpse into one of my woolly obsessions.

Is it possible to change your life for the better on £7.95? Yes, it is! It so is! I splashed out on a Pompom Maker, and oh my goodness it transformed my life! Remember the days of cutting out 2 rings of card, wrapping wool through the middle, getting bored, losing the will to Pompom... well NO MORE!! Pompom Machine saved me!

From the nice-but-uninspiring hat becoming a beautiful bobble hat...

...to the teapot extravaganza to raise money for Suffolk Breakthrough Breast Cancer Charity...

From ridiculously perky winter scarves (here we have L-R 'Fox in the Woods', 'Dragonfly Wings' and 'Bumble Bee')...

....to what actually was my favourite Pompom moment of 2014- this Christmas Wreath to adorn the beautiful front door of The Handmade Shop and Gallery in the equally beautiful Bury St Edmunds.

So there you have it, a brief flick through my Pompom fetish, and I am delighted to announce Pompom Mania is alive and well for me in 2015. See you soon for more browsing through woolly loveliness! 

Esme xxx

It's odd, isn't it? An idea can rattle around in your brain for so long it actually becomes hard to put it into practice- it's been over-thought you know? I've been a qualified teacher since 1996 (cough cough splutter REALLY?? Good grief...), and have been teaching crochet to friends and children for a few years. SO, putting it all together to become a Proper Crochet Teacher... well, that should be EASY. However, it has just taken me 2 years of thinking about it... 

But now, well, hey! I am a Proper Crochet Teacher! My courses are going well, lots of happy students, amazing really! Here's my teaching room:

My next 2 courses are a beginner's class on Monday 16th March 10am to 12pm, £15 per person. Learn the basics and get going! Hooks, yarn, tea, coffee and biccies all included!

...the other course is a 'Kerchief Scarf Workshop' on Tuesday 24th March, 10.30 to 12.30pm. Basic crochet skills are required. All yarn provided in colours of your choice to make a 2-tone scarf. (...and coffee, tea, biccies etc) **ONLY 2 PLACES REMAINING**

 

So, do you fancy a play with yarn? All queries/bookings, you can comment or contact me via facebook. It would be fabulous to see you! Esme xx

A morning devoted to teaching bobble stitch to make bobbly tea cosies... Could my job be any better I wonder?? Such fun, talking colour concepts and letting my lovely student play around with fab combinations. She chose teal, golden yellow and stone-white to make her stripes. Her tea cosy is going to be amazing!

...and here's the table afterwards, looks like a very hard morning's work has taken place. Shhhh let's not tell it was too much like fun to be called 'work'. That would be foolish! What's that? Oh yes, teaching crochet is so hard, phew, exhausting even... does that sound convincing enough? xxx

Hooks, Yarn, Cheeky Tuesday evening beverage... all this at Crochet Club! My beloved Crochet Club has been running for a whole year now. I set it up as a free drop-in evening so that any crochet fans, young or old, beginner or expert, could all meet and have a special evening dedicated to this amazingly versatile craft. It's a really great evening for me, as I get to meet lots of local makers, we swap pattern ideas, oh goodness it's just fun to have a night out! In a pub! At my age!!

Anyway, tomorrow night just happens to be Crochet Club Night, so I imagine there'll be a lot of 'Crochet Widowers' at home tomorrow... We meet at Oakes Barn in Bury St Edmunds at 7,30pm. Is it hedonistic? Yes it is, if you think about the fact everyone there is utterly in love and indulgent of their chosen craft! Crochet Club? Well go on then. All welcome, xxx 

My first blog! I love crochet SO MUCH... and enjoy teaching it, talking about it (at length...), sharing patterns and ideas, generally being slightly obsessed about all things hooky and woolly.

Hope you enjoy reading about my hooky love, see you soon...