Sore hands, could it be Too Much Crochet syndrome?

Well, there has been far too much crochet going on over the past couple of weeks. I can tell because my hands ache. And, as I simply refuse to stop taking on fabulous commissions from various lovely places such as crochet mags and fabulous yarn makers, something has to be done to save my poor aching fingers!

The answer, I discovered, is simple. Gardening is not only good for the soul, but good for the hands too, as I think I must be using different movements for planting and weeding to dc-ing and trebling! My recent purchase of this beautiful selection of herbs for my herb bed is now planted in the ground, waiting for some sun. There's yarrow, borage, cotton lavender, hyssop, chamomile, thyme, nepeta, angelica and lavenders. A bee's delight in a few weeks I hope. My hands feel better for the break too.

  
In all seriousness, though, us crafters do have to watch out for RSI and muscle strain by taking regular breaks from our beloved projects, even if it is almost impossible to put down the work and move away. 'Just one more row' I know- I can almost hear you saying it! xxxx

Mosaic love...

Hi there, not much time to chat on in my usual waffling way today! Too busy!! Found a new favourite obsession!!!! Oh my, mosaic crochet is both fun AND highly addictive. I'm just writing a new pattern for my new design and cannot stop. What do you think: a cushion cover? A baby blanket? A big throw? A bag?? Right, back to it. Some of us have got work to do, you know.

Spring is coming... Daffodils too!

Spring is in the air... even though it's freezing! Late Feb means daffodils are popping their brave beautiful blooms out of the ground. And on that note, I'm crocheting daffodils... The reason for this daffy make is to help raise money for the Marie Curie charity, which offers end of life care and support. A charity close to many of our hearts I'm sure.

You can find my free pattern on my Patterns Page; if you'd like to get involved and make daffodils to raise money for your local Marie Curie charity, please do.

UPDATE!  2 April 2018

So far, our crocheted daffodils have raised £120 for Marie Curie. I am very proud and very very grateful to everyone at Crochet Club (and beyond) who helped. You are all stars, thank you! xxx

Autumnal chills... and crochet thrills...

Well now, autumn is here. I know this because my hands are cold all the time. The only remedy for cold hands is constant crocheting. Oh, and the odd reviving warming tipple of an evening. Purely medicinal of course. 

But there are reasons aplenty to be cheerful. One is that I can dig out my crochet pumpkin pattern and make some of these gorgeous delights. 

 I love them, I do not know why, but they always get snapped up by fellow squash-family fans! One of life's little mysteries I guess... xxx

PS If you'd like the pattern for these, well,  here it is!

For the pumpkin you need: 

2 strands of orange DK worked together on a 6mm hook.
Ch13.
Row 1: 1dc in 2nd ch from hook, 1dc in each further ch to end. (12dc). Turn.
Row 2: Ch1 (does not count as st). 1htr in BACK loop only of each st to end (12 htr). Turn.
Row 3: Ch1 (does not count as st). 1dc in FRONT loop only of each st to end (12dc). Turn.
Now repeat Row 2 then Row 3 until you have 20 rows in total.
Fold piece in half and slip stitch (or sew if you prefer) the 2 open edges together to make a 'tube'.

With a darning needle, sew around the open top section with little stitches which you can then gather in and pull tight to close to hole. Turn work inside out and stuff with old bits of yarn, wadding, cat fur(!) whatever you have. Sew up the bottom as you did the top, pulling and gathering tightly to close up the pumpkin. To make a slightly 'squashed' shape (pardon the rubbish pun), sew through the pumpkin from top to bottom several times and pull as tight as you want your pumpkin to be flat. Fasten off.

Leafy stuff:
Green DK and a 3.5/4mm hook.
Ch4.
Round 1:Into the 4th ch from the hook, make: 2dtr, 3tr, 1ch, 1tr, 1ch, 3tr, 2dtr. Ch3 and slip stitch into same hole as all stitches.
Round 2: make 3dc around the ch3 'post'. 2dc in top of each dtr. 1dc into next 3 tr. 1dc into ch1 space. Ch1. 1tr into tr. Ch1. 1dc into ch1 space. 1dc in next 3 tr. 2dc in next 2 dtr. 3dc around the ch3 'post'. Sl st into 1st dc.
Keep yarn attached for stalk: ch15. 1dc tightly into 2nd ch and every ch back down to start to make curly bit. Fasten off.

Stalky bit:
Same green DK and hook:
Ch2. 5dc into 2nd ch from hook. Now working in a spiral (this is fiddly) work 1dc into every dc made round and round x 4 times. 3htr into every dc to make a flat 'base' for the stalk. Sl st into first htr to finish. Fasten off.

Construction:
Simply sew the stalk onto the centre of the pumpkin with running stitch, attaching the leafy bit onto the edge of the stalk.

Et voila! One little pumpkin!

Geese... flying overhead...

Suffolk is a beautiful county. Near enough to the bright lights of cities such as London, Norwich and Cambridge to get your urban fix (and I do need a fix now and then), but actually it's a rural idyll. The summers are golden with wheat in the fields. 

Some mornings I see geese flying over my house in their beautiful V formation. They have inspired my new throw design 'Wild Goose Chase' . Once you have got the hang of the 2-tone crochet square it's easy to create beautiful shapes. This pattern is published in this month's Crochet Now magazine if you would like to give it a try xx

Yarn Shop Day 2017

Saturday 6 May is Yarn Shop Day! How fabulous to have a day dedicated to the many independent yarn shops around the UK. We should fly the flag of creativity as often as we can, it makes for a happier healthier life for sure.

I'll be at the gorgeous gem of a shop 'Sew Much To Do' on Hatter St in Bury St Edmunds, talking about yarn yarn yarn! In particular, I'll be focusing on 2 of my most recent designs, both crocheted with Stylecraft's beautiful soft Special DK...


Humbug Throw, a total riot of vibrant colours which just seem to work together!

...And my newest creation, Starflower Throw. This has a real vintage feel, pretty colours in a Duck Egg blue surround.

So hope to see you there, what fun it will be ! Saturday 6 May 2017, Sew Much To Do, Hatter St, Bury St Edmunds

Happy Days...

So, do I tackle the 'Boring Things I Must Do' list, which seems to get longer, no matter how hard I try to shorten it, or...hmmmm... do I crochet myself a blanket so HUGE I can hide underneath it and make the aforementioned list simply disappear?! Yes, that sounds perfect! Have a lovely day, avoiding the boring lists too if you possibly can ! xxx
PS my Sedge Stitch Pattern is available as a freebie on my Patterns Page here if you'd like to try it.

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!