Tag-Archive for » the art of crochet «

Aug

I’m feeling a little bit under the weather today as I’m coming down with a cold sick so don’t get too close to your screens peeps. So rather than updating my blog from my desk, I’ve dug out the old laptop, and folks, it is old. I’m currently lounging on the settee in my jim jams, medication on the table next to me, feeling very bleugh.

Mind you, it’s not all bad as my lovely postie brought me some goodies to cheer me up. Firstly, I received my copy of Jan Eaton’s 200 crochet blocks

Image of 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix-and-Match

I’ve had a quick flick through and it is a wonderful collection of different crochet squares to mix and match for throws and blankets. I’m going to have sooooo much fun going through them, perfect for using up all those small balls of wall in my stash. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few charity organisations that ask for knitted or crochet blocks so that they can make up blankets to send off to those in need. What a brilliant idea and I shall definitely be participating, especially as I will be buying lots of yarn for future projects for my home and family.

I got another 4 issues of The Art of Crochet. That takes me up to issue 21. I have to say that I’m falling behind in making up the squares for the Vintage Style Throw. I seem to be a tad busy working on other projects at the moment. I’ve almost finished working on my Lucy Bag as seen on Attic24‘s blog.

As you can see I have completed the main body of the bag. I’m currently working on the handles. Here’s one almost done.

I’ve got another 2 rows to do to achieve the right width. Then, of course I need to do a second one.

My final package was of my yarn I bought off eBay. If you remember in a previous post, I mentioned that I was short some 20 odd pom poms to finish DD rug. I had a quick shuftie on eBay and found a seller in the US selling 3 balls for a mere $11.99 (£7.70). This was much cheaper than I originally paid. She also was selling some Red Heart Super Saver in Windsor Blue. 3 big 7oz balls for $9.99 (£6.41) which will be more than enough to make one of the 2 cushions that LJ wants to accompany her rug.

So for a total of $26.93 (£17.28) including postage I got myself what I feel is a bargain. Plus I’ll have lots of yarn left over for more projects.

Now all that’s left to wait on are LJ’s A Level results. Like thousands of anxious parents up and down the country, this time tomorrow we’ll find out the final outcome. Needless to say as the day has drawn nearer, she is starting to get panicky. Although she’s fairly confident she’ll get the grades she needs for Lincoln, there’s always that niggling fear of doubt playing in the back of her mind.

So tune in tomorrow when hopefully, I’ll be feeling a little bit better but more importantly, we can all celebrate Laura-Jayne’s success.

Category: Crochet Tags: 200 crochet blocks, attic24, crochet, jan eaton, lucy bag, red heart pomp-a-doodle, red heart super saver, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Aug

Fringed Shawl – Little Tip

Ruby

Yesterday I received a lovely comment from Tracey about the fringed shawl that I recently made and also a query about the pattern. So it struck me that maybe other people are also having the same problem.

The pattern is from Issue 4 of The Art of Crochet partworks. Now the pattern itself is easy but the really hard part is keeping the diamonds evenly matched and spaced out as you increase. I must admit I found it very difficult at first, just couldn’t get my head round it. I reckon I must’ve ripped back at least a dozen times before it finally clicked. It took an awful lot of staring at the photo illustrations in the pattern and lots of counting and scribbling but this is what I did.

Have another look at the close up picture of the pattern detail below and see if you can follow where I’m going

There are 3 rows to the diamond. Notice that when you complete the row that ends the top of the diamond, the following row will commence the bottom of the next set of diamonds. With me so far? Cool cool

Now, the open weave pattern of 5ch, 1 dc in next 5ch arch is what separates the diamonds. If you notice, when you place the bottom of the diamond it is exactly 2 sets of open weave from the top of the diamond on the previous row. Using this you should be able to work out where to start placing the bottom of the diamonds as you increase at the sides.

So, going back to the original pattern instructions in the part work. The 8th row and 9th row would finish the diamonds following the pattern as set. The next set of diamonds would start on the 10th row and the open weave would be repeated as follows. 5ch, 1dc in 2 ch sp, (5ch, 1 dc in next 5ch arch) 5 times. I then placed the diamonds as set in the pattern.

The next set would start on row 13. This time I would start the row as above but work the open weave 4 times. The set after would start in row 16, repeat open weave 3 times. Row 19 twice, then row 22, once. Then start again at 5 times.

I found that this worked for me and all the diamonds matched up perfectly.

I hope I’ve explained that properly as I’m pretty lousy at written instructions.

Hope that helps anybody who’s stuck with this out there. If not you can always leave me a message on the blog and I’ll try to explain myself better directly in a personal email.

Category: Crochet, The Art of Crochet Tags: crochet, fringed shawl, the art of crochet Leave a Comment

Aug

Pom Pom Rug Part 2

Ruby

Hi there and welcome to part 2 of my Pom Pom Rug post. Last time I spoke about the base, today it’s all about the pom-poms

For the top layer, I’m using Red Heart Pomp-a-Doodle that I got from the States. It comes in a variety of colours, but for this project I went with the original colours in the pattern as these are what DD wanted.

So, starting from left to right the colours are Faded Jeans, Plush Plum, Shoreline and Berries & Cream. It’s a novelty type yarn which looks great for this sort of project. You could also use it for cushions, pouffes, scarves and toys. I bought 10 balls in total, 2 in Faded Jeans and Berries & Cream, 3 in Plush Plum and Shoreline.

The yarn looks like this

Basically, you stitch with the “stringy” bit. When you get to the pom pom bit, just ensure you don’t bring it through the loop of your crocheting or knitting.

It took me a couple of rounds to get used to the feel of the yarn but once you’ve got yourself in a rhythm it’s very easy. Obviously, every round will take longer to do as you’re working from the inside outwards. But put on your favourite film or plug your iPod in and you’ll be surprised how quickly the time goes.

Round 5 – 2 rounds in Berries & Cream, 3 rounds in Plush Plum.

You can see the top loop exposed in the above picture. This is where the pom pom yarn is crocheted through.

Round 9

Additional rounds in Shoreline, Faded Jeans and Berries & Cream.

Round 20

Well, almost round 20 . I spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening working on it. I was feeling a bit under the weather so once DH had left to the footie I got my self comfy on the settee, put the TV on and just sat working away on it. There’s only 8 rounds left to do, so I’m hoping to have it finished by the end of the week.

Got the in-laws popping over later on this afternoon so I’ll be showing it off to MIL. She is a wonderful crocheter and has made over the years some beautiful doily work. I hope it’ll get her seal of approval but if not, I’m not bothered as I’m just really proud of it and DD can’t wait for it to be finished. Once it’s finished I’ll definitely be posting lots of photos, and LJ has said that once she get to Uni she’ll send me some so I can see how well it brightens up her dorm.

Don’t forget to leave some comments if you feel compelled to. I’ve had some lovely feedback from the ladies on Phoenix Forum.

Thank you so much kiss