Welcome to my first ever post in my first ever blog! Please bear with me as I am very new to this.....and coupled with being terrible with technology it is all a bit scary!
I learned to knit as a child but only really picked it up in my early twenties during a PhD in cancer research, both as a stress reliever and for relaxation. The crochet came about a year later after my Mum learnt and then taught me the basics. I taught myself from there and have never looked back. I love how quickly crochet pieces grow and how it is possible to crochet a small piece or a set of granny squares in an afternoon or an evening.
More recently having completed my PhD I am trying to get a job in science research but has been much more of a challenge than I anticipated! However, whilst I am only doing part-time work at the moment (working in a local cafe making yummy cakes!) have been doing LOADS of craft-both knitting and crochet and thought I would share with you some of the things I have been doing. I am also starting to design my own patterns (which I will share of course) and would love some feedback on any of these.
For the time being I will leave you with a couple of pictures of a project I completed very recently. The pattern for these crochet mandalas which I will use as placemats and coasters can be found on the fabulous Made in K-Town blog-one of the many blogs that have inspired me to start this one!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CiQKXCOFsLQ9YLbKkIyN_iZdXBldsWYBJCUSRh-EKmLEtoU-9zFahUTRHPlsvS5V8WOe-n0ILXCGc6SXLQF8l_9O79c584JXdVTvmcHl4iJXTmCv82Ca44j1hdmVbYUsgEkpPFpk66Et/s320/CIMG4438.JPG) |
Crochet Mandala Placemat and Coaster Set |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_B-hKK0TS4PcJ6Ksd7md-fZx_qWklLz3eFZpotFtV1G0pezSEb5UAtPq8IK2vb0hKcGrd4qJ0OnwbpXKS1X49S2rBDBI_UTfPgeSAYZr_EzQCSfrJLXG2zV-Zesb5G1LnP67pEkEUc6f/s320/CIMG4406.JPG) |
I crocheted 4 of these mandala to use as placemats |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAammuajDUPRcduGMzs7_JPwvb3_uzCkxAsxVz00jft49iCut01gEJ15T2-DuZMPYoKAlOHJMxIJ84b6C4epU0QxXXjT4pCzd1l0NarABR6uINedUYSGE_j62KiglDyP3_DcvnHIFaumZD/s320/CIMG4407.JPG) |
....and 4 of these to use as coasters |
These all used aran wool (well actually acrylic as is all I can get at the local craft shop!) and a 4mm crochet hook. The placemats were made using the spring mandala pattern by Made in K-Town and the small mandala coasters are a modified pattern of a granny circle combined with the original mandala pattern.
The pattern for the mandala coasters is as follows:
Round 1: 12 trebles into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 trebles into each treble space with 1ch in between
Round 3: 3 trebles into each 1ch space with 1ch in between each group of 3
The surface stitch and final 2 rounds are the same as the 5th, 8th and 9th rounds of the original mandala pattern (Made in K-Town), placing the double crochet (or single as the pattern uses American crochet terminology!) in the 1ch space between the sets of 3 treble crochet.
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about the coaster pattern (tis my first time putting a pattern together for others to interpret so could be confusing....?) then please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Enjoy the Sun! xxx