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Friday 22 August 2014

A new pattern!! Jenny Scarf


Introducing the Jenny Scarf! This scarf is named after my grandmother (nanny) Jenny who is never seen without a scarf. She is also a massive fan of the colour red and anything flowery. The inspiration for this scarf initially came from the yarn- Rowan Wool Cotton. It is a 50:50 mix of wool and cotton, making it perfectly cool for the late summer months. Knowing that this is a top priority in scarf choice for my nanny the design developed from there, incorporating her favourite things into one item! I hope she likes the final design!

You can purchase this pattern from my Ravelry Store, or by clicking here-  buy now.

I hope you all have a great back holiday weekend!

SSxx


Friday 15 August 2014

Friday Favourites.........'other' blogs



...'other blogs' 

When I say 'other', I mean blogs I read that are not solely focused on yarn. You may remember my Friday Favourites post on my favourite yarny blogs, well these are my other favourites, encompassing other crafts, food and lifestyle.

Rock N Roll Bride- I just love Kat's blog, the stunning photography, the amazing unique weddings, Kat's witticisms and no nonsense approach to life and the blogging business. She really is an inspiration and can teach us all a valuable lesson that working your ass off whilst doing something you love can bring with it great success. 

A Beautiful Mess- no explanation needed. A fab blog encompassing food, fashion, photography and DIY (and more!). 

The Simple Veganista- this is a lovely blog full of inventive, quick and simple vegan recipes. Even if you are not vegan (which I am not either) you will be hankering to try out some of Julie's recipes. Her banana and oat bites are a favourite of mine and is a great recipe for using up those manky bananas that have been lingering in the fruit bowl. 

Frugally Peachy- sadly, but for good reason, Emma has recently ceased to contribute to her blog. However she shares fantastic tips for frugal living and shared her experiences of boycotting the high street for a year. An inspirational, superbly written blog- go check it out!

What are your favourite blogs??

Further to my post on Wednesday, I will be a bit slack on the blogging front over the next couple of weeks so may be missing some of my regular blog features, such as this. I am taking a week off, visiting family and then moving. Internet access may be limited but I will keep you all updated of my news and makes on Facebook and Instagram so give us a follow other there :-) 

Have an amazing weekend! 

SS xxx

P.S I'm hoping to do my first parkrun (in many years) tomorrow so wish me luck! 

Wednesday 13 August 2014

WIP Wednesday


In a departure from my normal WIP posts where I update you on my latest crochet projects I'm choosing this moment to fill you in on the progress of my crochet business and the direction in which my life will be leading shortly. 

If you jump back to a year ago I was crocheting at a crazy speed, trying to finish loads of projects before a family holiday, this resulted in a nasty bout of RSI which to be honest I have never 100% recovered from, and as soon as I was able to crochet again went mad again crocheting for Christmas markets. These markets didn't go massively well for numerous reasons (I don't think to do with my stock, more about the low footfall and lack of advertising). I sold well at better organised markets in the spring, and some of my items were really popular which gave me a bit of a boost. All of the work I sold was made from original designs, made by me. I really got a buzz out of designing something new, and after a couple of markets realized that it was the designing that I loved, and not making items in bulk for a market stall.

Please, don't get me wrong, I think doing markets has been the single best thing for my crochet work. I have met loads of great people, I have become more confident at talking with strangers, I have even (just about) got a bit better at selling myself and my work. I have also made great long-lasting connections with people in the craft world. I loved standing on a stall all day, playing market trader, but I got so bored with making the same pieces over and over. If I could be a trader selling someone else's handicrafts then I would, but that would defeat the object really....

For the past year and a half I have been trying to grow my crochet business whilst working in the evening at a restaurant. It has been hard work, I have had no money, and the long hours have been tiring but I think I will look back on it as a great time in my life....a time when I can manage my own time, work as hard or as little as I like, and enjoy the odd day sitting out in the Sun! 

However, as you may have gleaned from recent posts I have a job starting in 3 weeks where I can use all my years of scientific study, and could provide a great career path. Yep, you got it, I'm joining the world of the 9-5. So, what will happen with this blog and my crochet? It is a double-edged sword really. One the one hand I'm embarking on a career that can have real positive impacts on peoples' lives, where I can use my knowledge and expertise and learn something new everyday, on the other hand I will have to answer to others, work to someone else's time scale and I will have less time for crochet. But, if you have less time what do you do? Use it wisely! I will have my evenings free for crochet, and as I'm moving to an area where I know absolutely no-one, I will have plenty of time to knuckle down and get on with some designing.

Ah, yes, designing. That was where I was getting to. I have realised that designing is where my true passion lies. I'm not saying I'm a great designer, but I am practicing, and practicing and I am definitely improving. Luckily, being from a scientific, maths background I find the pattern writing side fairly painless, as number patterns come to me very naturally, not to mention the double and triple checking that I had to do as a research scientist! 

I have two patterns to release very shortly, a third is getting there, and another a secret project in collaboration with a great yarn company will be released in the Autumn which I am oh so very excited about!

That's it from me today, and I hope you get where I'm coming from (my writing is a bit more mad scientist than literary genius too!).

Have a great one,

SS xx

Linking up with Ginny today :-)


Tuesday 12 August 2014

Beginners Learn to Crochet: The Treble



Welcome back to my next installment in my beginners 'Learn to Crochet Series'. If you have not seen my previous posts in this series do check them out (for one they may answer some of the questions you may have). 


The kit- here
The Slip Stitch- here
The Chain Stitch- here
Double Crochet- here
Half Treble -here

This is the final installment of a 3-part post into the three most common crochet stitches, the double crochet (US single crochet), the half-treble (US half-double crochet) and the treble (US double crochet). This post is focused on the UK treble crochet stitch, abbreviated to 'tr' (which in the US is called a  double crochet, abbreviated to 'dc'). As you will see in the last picture in this post, rows of double crochet give a fairly loose fabric, with quite a bit of stretch. Treble crochet is suitable larger projects as crochet using this stitch grows very quickly, but where you are looking for a stretchier, more gappy stitch. I wouldn't use the treble for hats as I think it stretches too much, nor would I use treble stitches if I wanted to create a solid piece of fabric. The most common use for treble crochet stitches is for granny squares, the tutorial for which is set for release next week. 


To start a row of treble crochet you need to crochet a length of chain stitch. If you don't know how to do this, see this post. Here I have crocheted 12 chain stitches. You will then crochet into these chain stitches to form your half-treble crochet stitches. 

Right, let's go!

When working half-treble crochet, you always start by crocheting into the fourth
chain from the hook, as shown by the needle in the image below. 



These 3 chains at the beginning of your row do NOT count as a stitch. 





1. Wrap your yarn over your hook ('yarn over' in crochet speak) and insert your hook into the third chain stitch (either under one or both 'V's of the chain stitch- see the double crochet tutorial for more guidance on this), wrap your yarn over the hook again and pull through the chain stitches. 

2. You will now have 3 loops on your hook (exactly the same as for half-treble crochet)



3. Yarn over hook again and pull through the first 2 loops on your hook, leaving 2 remaining loops on your hook. 

4. Yarn over hook again and pull through the remaining 2 loops on your hook. You have made one treble crochet stitch! 



Repeat steps 1-4 until you get to the end of the chain. You will have made 9 treble stitches.


Now all you need to do is crochet a few more rows! First you must remember the turning chain. This ensures your piece of crochet will be straight at the ends. 

For treble crochet you need make THREE turning stitches at the beginning or end of each row as shown in the image below:



To crochet the next row flip your work around (either way is fine, as long as you are consistent). The first stitch of the next row is make into the very first stitch as indicated by the arrow and crochet hook in the two pictures below:



Follow steps 1-4, to complete your next row. Crochet, chain, turn, repeat.


This is how your work will look like after 4 rows of treble crochet:


To finish off, snip the yarn....


....... and hook the  yarn through the stitch on the hook to secure....


Viola! Treble Crochet :-)

SSxx

Monday 11 August 2014

Weekend- In pictures

We spent a lovely weekend in the Northumberland countryside. Here are a few of my favourite snaps from the weekend. 












What were you up to this weekend?

SSxx

Friday 8 August 2014

Friday Favourites................yarn


.......yarn

My top 4 yarns of the moment:

1. Debbie Bliss Blue Faced Leicester


2. Libby Summers Fine Aran


3. Drops Karisma


4. Fyberspates Scrumptious


Which yarns do you love to use?

SSxx


Wednesday 6 August 2014

WIP Wednesday



Compared to the last couple of weeks I actually have something to show you! I'm still busy pattern writing (I'm soooo close to the finish line I tell you....soooooo close!). I have indulged in a bit of crochet from a pattern. I can't remember the last time I crocheted something from a book or magazine.....perhaps this scarf at Christmas.  It was such as relief not to have to use my brain too much, and so relaxing too. It really made me remember why I fell in love with crochet in the first place.  So much so I actually started one project and completed another. 

The photo above shows the beginning of the Milk and Honey cushion in this month's Simply Crochet. Despite having a subscription for over a year this is only the second thing I have made from it (the scarf at Christmas being the first!). It really grabbed my attention....the design....the colours.....just gorgeous! The yarn is Drops Karisma, a 100% double knit. It is beautifully soft and I'm loving every minute of this yarn and this project so far.

I also completed a granny cowl from a book of my sister's 'Granny Square Crochet' by Catherine Hirst. Its a great looking book, but many are quite big and involved (blankets, cushion covers etc). The chunky pointed cowl jumped out at me though. Chunky yarn + big hook = quick project! Just my kind of thing. So armed with a 10mm hook (yes, I think armed is the appropriate description here) and some Sirdar Big Softie this bad boy was crocheted up in about an hour.




Oooh, just look at those chunky stripes! I think this will become a firm favourite come winter.

Have you got any new projects on the go? 

Joining up with Ginny for her Yarn Along today

SSxx



Tuesday 5 August 2014

Beginners learn to crochet: Half-treble crochet



Welcome back to my next installment in my beginners 'Learn to Crochet Series'. If you have not seen my previous posts in this series do check them out (for one they may answer some of the questions you may have). 


The kit- here
The Slip Stitch- here
The Chain Stitch- here
Double Crochet- here

This post is the second installment of a 3-part post into the three most common crochet stitches, the double crochet (US single crochet), the half-treble (US half-double crochet) and the treble (US double crochet). This post is focused on the UK half-treble crochet stitch, abbreviated to 'htr' (which in the US is called a half double crochet, abbreviated to 'hdc'). As you will see in the last picture in this post, rows of double crochet give a looser fabric, with some stretch. Half-treble crochet is suitable for hats (it is the main stitch I use when crocheting hats), or anything where you want a bit of structure but want your work to grow quickly. It is a great stitch for stripey blankets!



To start a row of half-treble crochet you need to crochet a length of chain stitch. If you don't know how to do this, see this post. Here I have crocheted 11 chain stitches. You will then crochet into these chain stitches to form your half-treble crochet stitches. 

Right, let's go!

When working half-treble crochet, you always start by crocheting into the third chain from the hook, as shown by the needle in the image below. 


1. Wrap your yarn over your hook ('yarn over' in crochet speak)


2. Insert your hook into the third chain stitch (either under one or both 'V's of the chain stitch- see the double crochet tutorial for more guidance on this), wrap your yarn over the hook again and pull the loop through. 

3. You will now have 3 loops on your hook. 


4. Yarn over hook again and pull through all 3 loops on your hook.

5. You have made one half-treble stitch!


Repeat steps 1-5 until you get to the end of the chain. You will have made 9 half-treble stitches.


Now all you need to do is crochet a few more rows! First you must remember the turning chain. This ensures your piece of crochet will be straight at the ends. 

For half-treble crochet you need make TWO turning stitches at the beginning or end of each row as shown in the image below:


To crochet the next row flip your work around (either way is fine, as long as you are consistent). The first stitch of the next row is make into the very first stitch as indicated by my needle in the picture below:


Follow steps 1-5, to complete your next row. Crochet, chain, turn, repeat.

This is how your work will look like after 4 rows of half-treble crochet:


Please please please don't worry if your work isn't as neat as you would like when you first start crocheting. These things take practice so keep trying and you will get there! 

As always, please get in touch if you have any questions etc! 

Happy crocheting,

SSxx

Friday 1 August 2014

Friday Favourites........knitting and crochet books


...knitting and crochet books

As you can imagine I have a rather large stash of knitting and crochet books so here I have selected my top 5.

1. Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen


This is the first knitting book I really used when I started to get into knitting and I have made at least 3 or 4 animals from it. It is pretty simple to follow, although I had trouble understanding the increases at first. However, I can credit most of what I know about knitting to this book! 

2. Knitted and Felted Toys by Zoe Halstead


There are some really fun patterns in this book, and I hope I get the time soon to have a go at a couple more!

3. Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies by Twinkie Chan


The patterns in this book are AMAZING! I have made the cupcake bunting and hat multiple times, and they make fantastic gifts. This is probably not for the total beginner crocheter, as some of the construction takes a minute or so to get your head around, but I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves fun, bright and cheery crochet.

4. Mollie Makes Crochet


I was a bit unsure of this book at first but it is fantastic! It has a great 'how to' section at the back with really clear pictures. Whilst being quite simple, the projects allow you to try out different stitches, different edgings and different crochet techniques. I have found this book really helpful when teaching crochet due to the clear pictures and instruction. A must-have for beginners. 

5. Woodland Knits by Stephanie Dosen


I will admit, I haven't actually made anything from this book yet but I want to have a go at it all! The photography is stunning and the projects are really original. The projects range from simple to pretty complex so will appeal to all knitters. There's a pattern for the cutest wrist-warmers in here that I really want to have a go at so fingers crossed I'll get round to it!

So, here you are, my top 5 and most used (well apart from number 5) knitting and crochet books. Do you have any books you would recommend??

SSxx

P.s. this is in no way a sponsored post. This is just a selection of my favourite books, most of which were received as Birthday and Christmas presents over the years.