Supersize Crochet - Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am very pleased to be taking part in this Blog Hop celebrating Sarah Shrimpton's new book, Supersize Crochet!  You may know Sarah from her blog, Annaboo's House, which I have been following for many years.  You can also find Sarah on Instagram here - and while you're there, you can find me too!

I received a free PDF version of Supersize Crochet for the benefit of this post, and will be giving away a PDF copy to one lucky reader too!  Read on to find out more...

Firstly, let me tell you more about the book.  As the name suggests, it's a book full of great crochet patterns using thick and chunky yarn - and you know what that means?  The projects make up so quickly - just what I like!  Here are some of the gorgeous projects you can make (image stolen from Sarah's blog)...

There are loads of fun projects, but one caught my eye straight away - the hanging pouch!  So that is what I made...

It was perfect, as I had bought myself some t-shirt yarn last year.  There had been just one tube/cone/ball (?!) left in Hobbycraft, and it was reduced to £2.50!  I'd been wanting to try t-shirt yarn, so thought it was the ideal opportunity at that price, so I snapped it up.

However, I didn't know what to do with it, so it languished in my messy craft room until I saw the hanging pouch pattern in Sarah's book!  It actually calls for a cotton cord and 7mm hook.  However, I just knew it was the pattern my zingy lime green t-shirt yarn had been waiting for!

I used a 10mm hook to make this, and I did skip a round as I think I would have run out of yarn otherwise (seeing as I'd gone for a thicker yarn and hook than the pattern suggested, and actually have no idea how many grams or yards I had, as there was no indication on the label!).  I left out round 6, and adjusted the following rounds accordingly, to keep the same proportions as the pattern.

I am so happy with this - I love it!  It's so zingy and bright and such a great shape - perfect for holding balls of yarn in my craft room!

Thanks to Sarah for a great book full of inspiration and very clearly written patterns.  It was so easy to follow!

Win a copy of the book!

Now would you like a PDF copy of Supersize Crochet too?  Why wouldn't you?!  Just leave a message on this post by the end of Saturday 20th May and I will announce the winner the next day!

Make sure you check out all the other people taking part in the blog hop:

Monday 1st May - Sarah taking over the Sew and So Instagram Account
Tuesday 2nd May - Sarah's guest post over at Sew and So
Wednesday 3rd May - Maria from Dinki Dots (me!)
Thursday 4th May - Shelley from Spincushions
Friday 5th May - Lazy Daisy Jones
Monday 8th May - Tamara from Moogly
Tuesday 9th May - Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch
Wednesday 10th May - Sara from Crochet Me
Friday 12th May - Marianne from MaRRose
Sunday 14th May - Ruby and Kim from Frank & Olive
Monday 15th May - Kathryn from Crochet Concupiscence
Tuesday 16th May - Twinkie from Twinkie Chan
Wednesday 17th May - Andrea from Woolly Mahoosive
Thursday 18th May - Kerry at Interweave
Friday 19th May - Blog Hop Round Up

Check out my other completed crochet items here.

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Supersize Crochet

Hello!  I'm safely back from a lovely 12 day holiday in Orlando, Florida!  It was great fun - it was a big family holiday to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.  Everyone had a lovely time and it was so hot and sunny!  We all got back home yesterday, so I'm glad we've got this bank holiday weekend to recover and relax before going back to work.  (Eurgh, I don't even want to think about that yet!)

I'm just popping in quickly now to tell you about a blog hop I'm taking part in, which starts tomorrow...

(picture stolen from Sarah's blog!)

It is to celebrate the release of Sarah Shrimpton's new book - Supersize Crochet.  I've been reading Sarah's blog Annaboo's House for years and am so pleased to celebrate her success and take part.  Read more about the blog hop in her post here.

My post will be published on Wednesday 3rd May, so be sure to come back then to see the gorgeous item I crocheted using a pattern from the book.  You will also have the chance to win a PDF copy of Supersize Crochet!

In the meantime, if you need a crochet fix, you can check out my crochet tab to see other items I've made...

See you on Wednesday!


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Crochet Colour Blocks

This is a scheduled post.  By the time you read this, I should be on holiday!  (Unless anything has gone horribly wrong, that is.  I do have a fear when I schedule posts, that I might die before it goes live and it'll be horribly tragic when this post pops up merrily on the internet as though everything is fine and dandy!  Well, let's hope I'm not speaking to you from beyond the grave... and let's not go into what these thoughts say about my twisted mind...)

Moving swiftly on!  I thought I would share with you the first two blocks of the colour-block crochet blanket I'm working on (first mentioned here).

It's going to be a very bold and bright blanket!  The two squares look quite unrelated to each other really, apart from the purple.  However, I'm hoping that as I make more blocks, using more of the colours in different combinations, they will start to work together better.

Also, you can see that the squares are doing the typical granny-square-twist!  This is a standard occurrence with granny squares unfortunately.  I might try blocking them.  Or maybe when they're all sewn/crocheted together they might pull into a straighter shape??  I'll decide what to do later!

However, I am pleased so far.  And looking forward to seeing the blocks in more colour combinations - it's quite motivating!

Which one do you like best?  I prefer the pink one.

Check out my completed crochet items here.

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Felt Easter Eggs

Happy Easter Weekend!  Here is a little bit of Easter crafty inspiration for you...

Full disclosure... these eggs have appeared on my blog before, right in the very first months of starting it - six years ago!  You can find the post about the six matching eggs here and the other two eggs here and here.

But my photos left a lot to be desired back then!  To be honest, they're not amazing now - but they're bigger on the page at least!

These are made by cutting out two egg shapes from coloured felt and embellishing them by sewing on ribbons and buttons, before sewing the two halves together, stuffing as you go.  Sew a ribbon into the top as you sew together, so that they can be hung from branches to decorate a pretty Easter tree.

I made a couple of extra variations using bondaweb to add a bit of fabric to the felt, which added a nice touch (the lilac and paler blue eggs above).

I'm getting quite a collection of decorative eggs... these felt eggs, my multi-coloured crochet eggs, my daisy crochet eggs, and my cute and easy crochet eggs.  Slightly excessive one might say?!  Nah!

Check out my other sewing projects here.

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New Blanket Plans - Bright and Bold

Work has been crazily busy and very stressful lately.  But this weekend I've managed to relax a bit and make a start on a new blanket.  A funny thing to start when we've had the most beautiful warm sunny weather this weekend!

I know I should be carrying on with my blue stripy blanket but I wanted to try this out!  I was given the yarn for my birthday and Christmas in December and I have plans for a bright and bold colour-block blanket.

I've been trying out a couple of things to work out the sizing, and I'll be starting again with the red and blue to make the middle square bigger, but I've got a good feeling about it so far!

The picture gives a good idea of how it will look, the general feel of it, I think - I'm already excited to see it progress.

The yarn is King Cole Bamboo Cotton which I absolutely love working with.  It gives a lovely smooth finish, so I use it a lot for amigurumi.  It's also what I made my Japanese Flower Coasters out of - and I'm using those colours again here, with a few additions.

I hope to show you more soon(ish)!

Check out my completed crochet items here.

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Defining My Style

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find myself so overwhelmed with all the inspiration out there that I find it hard to work out what my own style is.  I know that sounds strange - surely I'd know what I like?!

These days we are constantly being bombarded with beautiful images and inspiration - on Instagram, Pinterest, blogs, and all manner of other social media platforms that I can't keep up with!  There is so much that I really like - I have an appreciation for most styles if they are executed well.  But, I still found myself wondering what MY style actually is.  I may admire a lot, but what makes me most happy?  What do I want to surround myself with?  What are the elements that I am going to keep loving, not just current trends that I'm swayed by as they are all around me online and in the shops.

Well, these images below definitely make me happy!

Sources clockwise from top left 1 / 2 / 3 /4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

But I'm jumping ahead!  (I just wanted to show you the pretty pictures!)  Let me back up a bit and explain how I arrived at this and how it helps...

My friend Kimberly from Swoon Worthy published an amazingly useful post on How to Use Pinterest to Define Your Personal Style, which helps you identify three buzz words that encapsulate your own personal style.  I recommend you read it and give it a go if you are feeling the same way I have been.  I couldn't wait to find my three words!

Create a Special Pinterest Board

Kimberly recommends creating a Pinterest board to which you only save pictures you really truly love - those that really speak to you.  You can make it secret if you prefer, but I didn't - you can find mine here.  Kimberly's post also gives some great tips on how to find those images when you don't really know what you're looking for.

The collection of pictures above narrows down a few of my pins from that board of favourites.  I just love how they look, especially all together like this!  Looking at that made me realise I've got it right - it really does make me feel happy.

Identify Your Three Key Words

Once you have enough pins on your board, you are ready for the exciting bit - identifying the patterns in your pins and finally arriving at your three buzz words!  So what are mine...?!  With a little help from Kimberly, we arrived on:

* BRIGHT * MODERN * PLAYFUL *

What do you think?  Would you agree?  I think it works for me!

But How do Your Three Words Help?

The main purpose of identifying your three key words is that it is something to keep in mind and allow to shape your purchases and focus your thoughts.  How often have you bought something on a whim because it catches your eye in a shop, but when you get it home you realise that it doesn't really go with anything.  Once you're out of that shopping-spree haze, you find yourself soon going off it.  If you take a moment to consider whether the item fits with any or all of your three words, this will help you identify whether it will fit in with your style and be something that you will continue to enjoy.

It's Not Just Interiors!

Now, I started this with interiors in mind, but I have realised that it applies to other areas too.  Take the crafting I do - I think it fits into these words as well...

Above is a selection of my creations and I would say they are bright, modern and playful, wouldn't you?!  It really does sum up my style.  I've realised (with hindsight!) that when I make anything which doesn't fit into these words, I don't tend to like it that much.  Now that I've identified my style, I hopefully won't waste time making things that don't fit with it, that I'll ultimately be disappointed in.

This can be applied to clothes too.  I have always favoured colour in my clothes, but the other day I caught a glimpse of my reflection and realised how drab I looked!  Somehow, I'd lost my colourful tendencies and had been settling for duller clothes.  It doesn't help that over winter it's hard to find any clothes which aren't dark and dreary!  They look great on some people, but don't suit my colouring at all.  (Or my style, as we have just discovered!)

It's strange, as soon as we arrived on those three words, I knew we'd cracked it - they were right!  They define ME!  In fact, they seem so obvious, I don't know how I didn't already know this!  I now feel so much more focused when it comes to buying things for the home, clothes to wear, the craft things I will make.  Life is too short to surround ourselves with things which don't bring us joy, right?

These days we are constantly being advertised to, influenced, overwhelmed with possibilities... it's just nice to know that if it's not bright, modern or playful, I'll probably go off it in a week!

If you want to do the exercise yourself, check out Kimberly's post and let me know what your three words are, I'm interested to hear!

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Cute and Easy Crochet Eggs

Yes, more crochet eggs!  There have been a lot around these parts lately, with the bright colourful Easter eggs I made for Hobbycraft - see them here.

Now, here are some in a different - more subtle - style!

They are made with very thin embroidery cotton held alongside some white Rico Creative Cotton Aran yarn, which was left over from my other Easter eggs.  The thin embroidery cotton was given to me last year by a friend of my Mum - I have a mixture of Coats and Twilleys in size 20 - it's so thin!  (You might have seen it before when I showed the delicate snowflakes I made last year.)  So this was a completely stash-busting project!

What makes these so effective is that the thin coloured crochet cotton is variegated, so the colour darkening and lightening throughout the egg gives a lovely natural effect.  Ok, maybe not completely natural with some of the colours I've used!

The three one-coloured eggs use the orangey, the blue and the mint variegated cottons.  The multi-coloured egg was made by holding the blue, orangey and purple (non-variegated) together with the white aran cotton.

'Where can I find the pattern?', I hear you cry!  I can take no credit for the lovely idea or the pattern... it is from my friend Anna - find it free here!

DETAILS

Yarn

Rico Creative Cotton Aran - White

Mixture of size 20 crochet cottons - Coats/Twilleys

Hook

4mm

Pattern

Magical Eggs - by Anna at Nummer Elva

Check out my other completed crochet items here.

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V-Stitch Crochet Baby Blanket

It's time to show you the completed baby blanket I was working on a few weeks back.  I made the whole blanket, from start to finish, in a week (including working full-time).  This is by far the quickest I've ever finished a blanket - I didn't think I had it in me!  (I think aran yarn, a 6mm hook, and v-stitch are a speedy combo!)

The inspiration for the colour scheme is explained in this post.

It is made with v-stitch, which is a great stitch.  This is my method, although the v-stitch pattern isn't mine.  I just want to have a reference in case I'd like to remember what I did in future!

(Note - I've used American crochet terms.)

V-Stitch = [dc, ch, dc] into same space/stitch

• sc chainless foundation of 113, plus 3 ch.
• V-stitch into top of last chainless foundation st you made, *skip 2 st, v-stitch* until there is one st remaining, dc into last st, ch 3 and turn.
• v-stitch into each ch space of previous row (into the middle of the v-stitch), dc into top of ch 3, ch 3 and turn.

Order:  2 rows white, 6 rows colour, ending on 2 rows white and a row of sc to mirror the sc row which is automatically part of the chainless foundation row to start.

Edges:

• sc in white along both edges - 2 sc over each final/starting dc/ch 3 of the rows.  This gave a neat straight finish.  Because the v-stitch is a holey design, you can sc over the side stitches, rather than try to sc into them, as there are gaps there anyway, so you are not creating unsightly gaps.
• 2 rows of v-stitch in white.
• 1 row of sc in white.

Border:

• 1 round of sc in green.
• 1 round of crab stitch in green.

This is the first time I've tried crab stitch, and I love it!  It is basically sc working backwards, instead of working into the stitch to your left, you work into the stitch to your right.  It feels a bit awkward to do, but the effect is great.  It's got a bit of substance and really finishes the blanket off nicely - it seems like a real edge.

The reason I picked green, was that the green bands of colour were the only ones which were equidistant from each end of the blanket.  I considered going for blue, as I love blue, but I thought it might look odd on the edge of the blanket which starts with a blue stripe.  The colour looks more evenly distributed with the green.

DETAILS

Yarn
Paintbox Simply Aran: - I bought this from Love Crafts*.
   Sky Blue (238)
   Daffodil Yellow (221)
   Spearmint Green (225)
   Mandarin Orange (217)
   Paper White (200) - x 2
Stylecraft Special Aran: - I bought this from Love Crafts*.
   Pomegranate (1083)

Hook
6mm

Dimensions
approx: 26.5 inches x 37.5 inches
approx: 67cm x 95cm 

What I'd do differently:
I'd start and end with colour, instead of the white.  This way I could work the white v-stitch edging all the way round the blanket, rather than adding just the two side edges afterwards.
I'd also make it a bit wider, as it may look a little too thin for the length.

*affiliate link

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Daisy Crochet Easter Eggs Pattern - Hobbycraft

UPDATED JAN 2021 - Hobbycraft seem to have taken the patterns off their blog, so please find the patterns at the below links:

MULTI-COLOURED CROCHET EASTER EGGS

DAISY CROCHET EASTER EGGS

Following on from my last post about the multi-coloured crochet Easter eggs I designed for Hobbycraft, here is my next Easter design for them... daisies!

These definitely have that spring feeling!

Along with the other design, they are perfect for hanging off a few branches, to decorate your home for Easter...

Now that looks cheery doesn't it?!  (Even if my boyfriend questioned why eggs would be hanging from a tree...!  It just looks pretty, alright?!)

You can find the patterns on the Hobbycraft blog at the links below:

Multi-Coloured Crochet Easter Eggs
Daisy Crochet Easter Eggs

Which is your favourite design?  I like them both, and I especially love how they look all together, but I think the multi-coloured design wins for me.  What do you think?

If you have a go at making these, please let me know, as I'd love to see them!

Check out my other completed crochet items here and my patterns/tutorials here.

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Multi-Coloured Crochet Easter Eggs Pattern - Hobbycraft

UPDATED JAN 2021 - Hobbycraft seem to have taken the patterns off their blog, so please find the patterns at the below links:

MULTI-COLOURED CROCHET EASTER EGGS

DAISY CROCHET EASTER EGGS

Well, it's finally time for me to let you know about a little project I've been working on for Hobbycraft!  I was so excited when they approached me in November to create a spring or Easter pattern for their blog.  Hobbycraft is the most well known craft shop in the UK, so I was very pleased to get involved.

Firstly, they published a 'Meet the Maker' post on their blog, all about little old me!  You can check it out here.  (Does that make me famous?!)  :)

I created a cute and colourful crochet Easter egg pattern too...

I really enjoyed making these, I just love the bright colours!

There are two variations of pattern at the sides, for the penultimate round.  A filled in look shown in the yellow on the right, or a more open patterned look shown in the blue on the left.

If you'd like to make these, you can find the pattern over on the Hobbycraft blog here.

Please let me know if you make any, as I'd love to see them!

Check out my other completed crochet items here.

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Stash-Busting WIP-Finishing 2017 - Jan/Feb

I mentioned in a previous post that a bit of a goal I have for 2017 is to try to use crafty items from my stash, and to finish projects I've had hanging around a while.  Meanwhile, attempting not to buy more supplies unless they have an imminent purpose.

So... how did I do in January and February?

Not too badly!

STASH-BUSTING

There was the stabby granny made with very old stash.  I actually made a couple more, so I need to continue and try to turn them into a useful object!

I made a finger sloth using a pattern I bought last year and materials from my stash, with no extra purchases required.

I also made a zipped pouch using materials from my stash, again with no extra purchases required.

WIP-FINISHING

I blogged about my very long-standing WIP - the stripy blanket.  It was two-thirds through when I posted that, but I've made a bit more progress since.  I've done 4 colour stripes, of the 15 I had left to go.  Which equated to 14 rows of 60.  46 rows to go!  This is the most progress I've made on it in a long while, so - although it's not a finished WIP - I'm pleased that I've progressed with it.

PURCHASES

Did I buy anything, though?  Yes, I'm afraid I did!  However... it was for a purpose - the baby blanket for a friend's new baby.  I did not have the yarn required in my stash, so had to buy what I needed.  The blanket has been finished (in record time for the Slowy McSlow-Slow I am!) and I will show you more soon.

What I bought:

• 7 balls of aran yarn (5 colours, 2 white).  (All used for the blanket: PASS)

• Knitters/tapestry needles (pack of 2) - I needed some larger ones than the ones I had.  (Useful tools, rather than usable craft stash: PASS)

• Daisy button - I was trying to break into the next postal bracket to get cheaper postage!  (Not required: FAIL - cost 26p)

Here is that naughty button - an unnecessary craft purchase!

I just better make sure I use it, eh?!

And... despite my baby blanket yarn being a "necessary" purchase, with a purpose in mind that has been fulfilled... the leftovers still add to the stash!

I am now left with the above, which I did not have before, adding to my craftroom stock.  So, now I need to try to use this up too - it's a tricky business, this stash-busting!

Check back soon to see the finished baby blanket!

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