Winter hats

It has started snowing quite heavily in my little corner of the UK, the garden is a blanket of white and I've been snuggled up on the sofa refusing to go back outside. So I'm officially announcing that winter has arrived and it is only fitting to show off a couple of new hats that I've made recently.

The first is another little frog hat (designed by Jane Bibby) from an old issue of Inside crochet which is quite quick and easy to make up. I adjusted the pattern for the eyes to give this hat larger pupils as the eyes in the original pattern scare me a little. I found doing the embroidery on the face easier this time too - perhaps practice really does make perfect?

For Sam's winter hat this year I decided to keep it simple and just make him a bear hat. I used the frog hat pattern for the basic hat shape and then just added two little ears on top to finish it off. Sam does quite like it, but would much prefer to wear his mum's cheapy free gift hat that has a monkey on the front of it - typical.

Even though Sam isn't as delighted as I had hoped he would be he does get quite a few admiring glances when he is out and about in it so at least adults appreciate my work!

Now I'm off to try and find an easy pattern for a basic men's hat - any suggestions?

The UK Hyperbolic coral reef is back!

Back in March 2008 myself and my sister went along to a workshop in London to teach people about the Hyperbolic coral reef and how to do hyperbolic crochet. Back then it was the first I had heard about the project so I went along not really knowing what to expect.

I discovered that the project had been set up to heighten awareness of the damage being done to coral reefs around the world that were being 'bleached' by the rise in water temperatures due to global warming. People all over the world had been contributing something called 'hyperbolic crochet' which were then made up into reefs which tour their country of origin to help raise awareness of this issue.

Well the UK reef is back and will be available to see at the Salisbury Arts Centre from 6 January - 26 February 2001 or if you too are keen to learn how to make these intriguing hyperbolic crochet pieces then you should try to get along to the centre for the workshop on Tuesday 7 December at 6pm. Send an email to info@salisburyartscentre.co.uk to find out more.

Friday magazine reviews

Sorry yet again for the delay in getting my Friday magazine reviews up - this time we have the latest two issues of Inside Crochet to have a read through...

"Inside Crochet" issue 11
November 2010
UK crochet terms

I'm not particularly taken with most of the patterns in this issue, especially the 'Nautical sweater' which is yet another shapeless looking pattern for men. I'm also not convinced about the baby leg warmers which go with a pattern in the previous issue for baby nappy soakers... and the Harlequin cardigan is also a bit too dated looking for my tastes.

The patterns that redeem the issue for me include the lovely looking chevron cushions which look like a lot of fun to make, I'm also quite taken with another hoodie pattern (which you can see on the cover image), but as I don't have the time for any large projects at the moment I'll just have to bookmark it for trying after Christmas.

The feature articles this week focus on colour theory and include a piece on choosing colours, working chevrons and also include an interview with Sarah London who does some of the most beautiful colourful crochet that I've ever seen.

"Inside Crochet" issue 12
December 2010
UK crochet terms

Lots of lovely patterns in this month's issue, the cover project 'Anastasia dress' is very pretty and the different stitch patterns used give a lovely individual touch. The 'Waterfall coat' for a little girl is also very lovely so I'll be bookmarking that for potentially making for one of my nieces, then there is the 'Winter mist jumper' that looks very cosy and with its rib effect it should be quite flattering when worn. As well as all this there are also a selection of smaller project designed to be quick makes for last minute Christmas presents - just what we need!

In the articles there was a piece about Pauline Turner (she has the impressive web address of http://www.crochet.co.uk/) who set up and runs the Distance Learning Crochet course as well as a feature on Irish crochet incleding a how to guide on how to work it.

Slowly turning purple

As the weather steadily gets colder I've been piling on the layers but even so my hands are still getting that purple tinge. So it's quite fitting that I've been making a good few projects in purple recently.

Firstly I've finished up two more toddler handbags (from my free pattern) which has used up some of the stash of purple and silver yarn that I bought years ago and then couldn't think of what to make with them. I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out, I even managed to find some sparkily purple buttons to match them. Any other ideas of what to make with some pretty scratchy purple and silver acrylic yarn?

Next up are these little newborn baby booties for a new arrival on our road. These booties are one of my favourite things to make for a new baby (as you can see from this old blog post). The pattern is very quick to make and the simple strap should help these stay on the feet of the most active little one.

This time when making them I used the invisible decrease method that I recently learnt while making Mr. Bubbles, this has left the front of the bootie looking much neater and gives a lovely finish.

Next up we have a little purple butterfly that was needed to add a homemade touch to a baby jumper that I bought as a first Birthday present.

The pattern for this butterfly is very quick and easy and well worth having a play with to make embellishments for any of your own projects. It is made as one piece and if you then fasten it on to something you can just hide the ends at the back if you want to be extra lazy!

Be sure to also check out Nichole Romano's blog as there is lots of great crochet going on over there.

Last up I have another simple beaded bracelet from the free pattern on Futuregirl's blog. After struggling with crocheting wire I decided to have a go with some black crochet thread and see how it turned out. I love how even and consistent this bracelet was after the slightly crazy uneven look of the wire, and it feels so nice to wear.

Oh - and you can see how purple my hands are turning in this photo too!

Posting delays

I'm sorry - this post is supposed to be a double magazine review for Inside Crochet, but due to illness at Tea Towers I've not had enough time to sit down and write it.

So instead I'll leave you with a photo of my 'Simples' scarf modelled by my son's favourite meerkat. It really was 'simples' using a long foundation sc row to start and then just working stripes across the length of the scarf.

Lovely and snuggly!

Will be back soon, hopefully all better and with lots of things to share :-)

Halloween candy

Some friends of mine have just returned from a holiday in New York (lucky devils!) and as they where there for Halloween they thoughtfully brought me back some candy.

If you don't live in America you may also have wondered what their famous Candy Corn actually tastes like... well strangely enough it tastes a bit like fudge.

Not really what I was expecting but quite nice anyway, just thought you might like to know  :-)

Woooo woo woo!

I'm still working hard on getting all my Christmas presents made at Tea Towers, I've been going a bit into crochet overdrive recently so there are a good few completed projects that I have to show you.

Surely no one needs an explanation about what this blue crocheted Police box is? Well just in case there is someone out there who does then in brief this is a crocheted version of "The Tardis", an alien space ship used by "The Doctor" (a time lord) to travel through time and space. Go now and search through YouTube for "Dr. Who" if you really have no idea of what I'm talking about.

This Tardis is loosely based on the free pattern by Army of Owls (which I think is a fantastic blog name) though I've made a few changes of my own, namely mine is taller and has a different roof and light. I also went for broke on the embroidered detail, using a darker blue to work all the panels on the doors, using white felt for the windows and embroidering on the sign and writing of 'Police box' on the front. I'm really pleased with how good it looks and I'm very glad I went to the extra effort to get it looking that way.

Mr. Bubbles!

Let me introduce you to Mr. Bubbles...

Though he looks pretty scary in his deep sea suit and with that strange gun type thing on his back (not to mention the ominous drill coming out of his right arm) he is in fact quite a pussy cat really and is definitely quite a cuddly monster.

For those of you who don't enjoy violent video games then you may be a little confused as to what Mr. Bubbles is - well he is the iconic baddy from the first BioShock game and then in BioShock 2 you actually get to play as him. My husband has played through the first 2 games and enjoyed them both immensely so after seeing that there was a free pattern for him I thought I would have a go at making one.

Well after about 60 hours of work I managed to make Mr. Bubbles just in time for my husband's Birthday and though he is the most challenging thing I've ever crocheted he is most definitely the most worth the effort. The detail in this pattern is incredible - there are at least 30 different crocheted parts that have been joined together and apart from the the button port holes he is all yarn and fibre fill. Even though this pattern is so challenging and involves so much assembly the end result is perfect. Especially considering my son managed to tip a cup of tea over him half way through his creation he survived being thoroughly rinsed out a few times to remove all the stains (though my son did have a very distressed mum there for a couple of hours...).

So a huge thank you goes out to Emjay Bailey who designed the Big Daddy pattern and was so generous to publish it on her blog for free. Thanks Emjay - your pattern is the greatest and I've loved every minute I've spent working on Mr. Bubbles (even doing the piping round the head).

Delighted!

On a Saturday morning I have a lie in - for as long as possible, sometimes even until midday, I look forward to it all week. Not this morning though, the postman woke me at 10.20 with a parcel. Still in my dressing gown I trudge up to my bed and try to get back to sleep and then realise that I'm not expecting a parcel so I decide to find out what it is.

I won something!

Last month I entered in an Etsy competition featured in Sew Hip magazine and one lucky winner would receive some beautiful screen printed organic fabric from Showpony (blog), 2 lovely hand-printed fabric rolls in pretty containers from Summersville and 3 fantastic make your own felt kits from paperandstring (blog). I just can't believe that I was so very lucky to win all these beautiful things - I'm going to have to do some serious thinking about how I use these beautiful fabrics and I can't wait to get started on these beautiful felt kits.

Completed squares

Some of you may remember that back in June I did some work on some squares for the wonderful Sunshine International Blanket of Love project (SIBOL). Well shamefully I never got around to finishing those squares off as I had wanted to make a few more squares to go with them.

However, after reading that Sue needed one more square for her first Jan Eaton blanket I decided that this was what I needed inspire me to finish off those other squares and make me feel a little less guilty about not sending them sooner. Sue was very understanding about just how long it has taken me to send her the original squares that I had promised and said that she would be happy for me to have a go at block 21 "Blue shades".

So this weekend I tackled "Blue shades" and though it was a quick and easy block to make up I wouldn't recommend it as one to base a blanket on - it would be very tricky to join up with other squares and even after having a go at blocking it this weekend it still looks crocked to me.

I'm very happy to be done though and so very proud to be included in the first of the Jan Eaton blankets - I can't wait to see how Sue puts them all together.

Disappointing...

When I noticed another Ros Badger & Elspeth Thompson book being released this month I got very, very excited as I had enjoyed their "Homemade: Gorgeous things to make with love" so much. This new title "Homemade: 101 beautiful and useful craft projects you can make at home" is in fact the same book. It has just been republished with a different cover and a slightly different title.

I'm really gutted.

Oh well, I'll just have to return it to Amazon and see what else I can get off my wishlist instead.

Friday book review

"Love.. Crochet: 25 simple projects to crochet" by Carol Meldrum
ISBN: 978-1-84773-595-9

UK crochet terms

My latest visit to the local library gave me the opportunity to borrow a copy of this new UK crochet title - it had only just come in before I snapped it up! Ah - I do so love libraries!

This book is aimed at beginners and so has a beautifully photographed how-to section which includes information on hooks, yarns and how to hold the hook as well as step by step photographs for the different stitches. Strangely though the photographs for working the stitches are taken from the opposite angle to how they usually are so you are looking at the stitches as if you are watching someone else crocheting which I would find a little confusing.

All the projects in this book are very simple and would be a good place to start for a new crocheter. Most of the patterns didn't appeal much to me, finding good clothing crochet patterns is tricky normally and I didn't think much of the look of the ones shown in here. Out of the other patterns there were a couple of things that I thought worth having a go at including the cute little cupcakes at the back of the book.

The pattern for these little cakes turned out to be wrong. If I had followed the instructions as written I would have ended up with some very tall and thin cakes. To remedy this with my cakes I added a couple of extra increase rows to both the base of the cakes and the icing. I did enjoy working the sides of the cake though as they used something called 'linked stitch' which I haven't come across before and produces a lovely dense looking fabric that I really like.

As I wasn't very impressed with the first pattern I tried I thought I would give this book one more chance and try a second pattern. For this I chose the very simple looking crochet hook case that seemed such a nice simple solution for all your hook carrying needs. The pattern was as basic as it gets, you just need to work a long strip of crochet with a few colour changes to create a piece of crochet fabric that you can fold in half for the outside of the case. To the inside of this you sew a felt pouch to contain the hooks and after you've added some buttons and bits of elastic you're done.

I'm really pleased with how my case turned out but again the pattern was a bit confusing - this time with the hook sizes. The materials list a 4mm hook and the gauge also says to use a 4mm hook, but when you turn over the page the pattern specifies a 3mm hook. I stuck with the 4mm hook and also had to make my case a bit longer to fit my hooks, but after that it was a very easy make.

In summary I wouldn't recommend anyone to go out and buy this book - it is well presented and has lovely photographs of the projects but the patterns don't seem to be very well tested and the project ideas are nothing really special.

Toddler handbag

As part of my quest to make all my friends and family handmade gifts this year I needed to come up with a suitable present for a few little toddlers that I know. One of the them loves bags and will unpack any bag she can get her hands on, especially her mum's handbag. So I thought it would be nice to try and make her a handbag that was toddler sized and this is what I came up with.

The idea is simple enough, I just made a front piece, back piece that was longer so that it would fold over to make the front flap and one long strip of crochet that became the sides and handles. Joining up the finished pieces was a bit tricker as trying to get it all to line up was not very easy so I strongly recommend that you pin the pieces together before you try joining them. I'm very pleased with how it has finished up and thought I would share my pattern with you here in case you also know some little toddlers that would like one.


Toddler handbag

Materials:

50g DK yarn in any colour you choose
1 large button to match yarn
4.5 crochet hook
yarn needle for working in loose ends

Finished size:

This will vary depending on how tight you crochet, my finished bag measured 14cm wide by 12 cm high (excluding straps)

Terminology:

This pattern uses American crochet terms. The following abbreviations used are

ch - chain
st - stitch
dc - double crochet
sl st - slip stitch
dec - decrease (working 2 dc stitches together)

Front:

chain 20
Row 1: dc in 3rd ch from hook and dc in each ch across (18 dc)
Row 2: ch 2, 2 dc in first dc, dc in each st across until working 2 dc in last st (20 dc)
Row 3: ch 2, 2 dc in first dc, dc in each st across until working 2 dc in last st (22 dc)
Rows 4-13: ch 2, work dc in each stitch across (22 dc)

finish off

Back: 

chain 20
Row 1: dc in 3rd ch from hook and dc in each ch across (18 dc)
Row 2: ch 2, 2 dc in first dc, dc in each st across until working 2 dc in last st (20 dc)
Row 3: ch 2, 2 dc in first dc, dc in each st across until working 2 dc in last st (22 dc)
Rows 4-18: ch 2, work dc in each stitch across (22 dc)
Row 19: ch 2 dec over first 2 sts, dc in each st across until working dec over last 2 sts (20 dc)
Row 20: ch 2 dec over first 2 sts, dc in each st across until working dec over last 2 sts (18 dc)
Row 21: ch 2 dec over first 2 sts, dc in each st across until working dec over last 2 sts (16 dc)
Row 22: ch 2 dec over first 2 sts, dc in each st across until working dec over last 2 sts (14 dc)

finish off

Sides and handles:

ch 9
Row 1: dc in 3rd chain and dc in each ch across (7 dc)
Row 2: ch 2, work dc in each stitch across (7 dc)

continue working rows of 7 dc until you have a strip that is 80cm long. Join ends of strip by sl st together.

finish off

Finishing:

Find the middle point of the bottom of the front piece (the end that you started working from) and with the join on the strap positioned to the bottom rejoin your yarn and sl st up round the side to join the two pieces together. Break the yarn off and rejoin again at the bottom this time sl st up the other side of the bag front. Do the same for the back of the bag but only sl st up as far as the front side goes so that you leave the top of the back loose as this becomes the flap. Sl st around the front of the flap and when you get to the middle point ch 10 (to make the button hole loop) and continue sl st across the rest of the flap. Weave in all loose ends and you're done!

Ponyo amigurumi

My little niece became a Studio Ghibli fan two years ago when I gave her a DVD of My Neighbour Totoro (as well as a crocheted Totoro to go with it) - according to her mum she would wander round the house sing the theme song to herself and would keep asking to watch it again and again. So when the new Ghibli film Ponyo came out I knew I had to get it for her. I also wanted to have a go at making her a little crocheted Ponyo to go with it and this is what I've ended up with. 

I had hoped that my Ponyo would turn out a lot cuter than this but to try and do a better job would involve starting back from scratch again which I sadly don't have enough time to do at the moment. For any of you Ponyo fans out there I've included my pattern - beware though the bottom of the skirt is very fiddly to make.



Ponyo

Materials:

DK yarn in pink, red, white, orange/brown, black
pair of safety eyes
3.5 crochet hook
fibrefill
yarn needle for working in loose ends

Finished size:

This will vary depending on how tight you crochet, my finished doll measured 10.5cm high.

Terminology:

This pattern uses American crochet terms. The following abbreviations used are

ch - chain
sc - single crochet
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet
tr - treble crochet
sl st - slip stitch
inv dec - invisible decrease
rep - repeat

This pattern is worked in the round so use a stitch marker to show the first stitch of each row.

Eyes - make 2

- Using white yarn -

make a magic ring and ch 1
8 sc into ring, pull end to close (but not too tightly) sl st to first sc and finish off

Head

- Using pink yarn -

make a magic ring and ch 1

Row 1:  6 sc into ring, pull end to close (6 sc)
Row 2: 2 sc into each sc (12 sc)
Row 3: *2 sc into next sc, sc* rep around (18 sc)
Row 4: *2 sc into next sc, 2 sc* rep around (24 sc)
Row 5: *2 sc into next sc, 3 sc* rep around (30 sc)
Rows 6-11: sc around (30 sc)
Row 12: *inv dec, 3 sc* rep around (24 sc)

Row 13: *inv dec, 2 sc* rep around (18 sc)

attach eyes roughly halfway down the face


Row 14: *inv dec, 1 sc* rep around (12 sc)

stuff head firmly

Body

- Change to red yarn -

Row 15: work in front loops only *2 sc in sc, sc* rep around (18 sc)
Row 16: *2 sc into next sc, 2 sc* rep around (24 sc)
Row 17: *2 sc into next sc, 3 sc* rep around (30 sc)
Row 18: *2 sc into next sc, 4 sc* rep around (36 sc)
Rows 19-24: sc around (36 sc)
Row 25: *inv dec, 4 sc* rep around (30 sc)
Row 26: work into the front loops only *sl st in next sc, 2 hdc and 1 dc in next dc, 1 dc and 2 hdc in next dc* rep around

- Finish off red and change to white yarn -

Row 27: working into the back loops behind the red frill *inv dec, 3 sc* around (24 sc)
Row 28: work into the front loops only *sl st in next sc, 2 hdc and 1 dc in next dc, 1 dc and 2 hdc in next dc* rep around
Row 29: work into the back loops *inv dec, 2 sc* rep around (18 sc)
Row 30: *inv dec, sc* rep around (12 sc)

stuff body firmly

Row 31: inv dec around (6 sc) sl st to first sc and finish off with a long tail to sew close with

Flippers - make 2

- Using red yarn -

make a magic ring and ch 1

Row 1:  4 sc into ring, pull end to close (4 sc)
Row 2: *2 sc into next sc, sc* rep around (6 sc)
Row 3: *2 sc into next sc, 2 sc* rep around (8 sc) 
Rows 4-5: sc around (8 sc)
Row 6: *2 sc into next sc, 3 sc* rep around (10 sc)
Row 7: sc around (10 sc) finish off with a long tail

Hair

You may need to adjust where you put your hair spikes depending on where you've placed your eyes on Ponyo

- Using brown/orange yarn -

 make a magic ring and ch 1

Row 1:  6 sc into ring, pull end to close (6 sc)

Row 2: 2 sc into each sc (12 sc)
Row 3: *2 sc into next sc, sc* rep around (18 sc)
Row 4: *2 sc into next sc, 2 sc* rep around (24 sc)
Row 5: *2 sc into next sc, 3 sc* rep around (30 sc)

hair spikes: work 1 hdc, 1 dc, 1 tr, ch 2, sl st  all into one sc

Row 6: work 1 hair spike, sl st into next 2 scsl st into next 4 sc then work 1 hair spike, work sc in remaining stitches with a hdc in the last st before the first hair spike
Rows 7-10: ch 1, turn, 1 hadc then sc across working 1 hdc into last st
Row 11: work a few more hair spikes in this last row and finish off leaving a long tail for sewing hair to head.

Tummy

- Using white yarn -


make a magic ring and ch 1

Row 1:  6 sc into ring, pull end to close (6 sc)
Row 2: 2 sc into each sc (12 sc)
Row 3: *2 sc into next sc, sc* rep around (18 sc)
Row 4: *2 sc into next sc, 2 sc* rep around (24 sc)
finish off with a long tail for sewing onto the front of the body.

Finishing

Use the photo at the top to help and carefully position hair on head and sew it in place. Embroider a mouth - either a nice big smiley one or a little surprised red 'o'. Sew flippers on at the sides and sew the white tummy circle on to the front. Sew in any loose ends and your done.