Hello Friends

Hey Guys


Sorry for the quiet period, I’ve been away on holiday in Scotland. It was wonderful to get away from everything for a while and of course I found an amazing yarn store in Stirling called McAree’s, it was the best, got some lovely angora yarn from there that I’m going to turn into some wrist warmers. I’m also very excited about the prospect of writing a few patterns for a UK crochet magazine. I’ve got lots of ideas and I just can’t wait to get started. SO I promise you now I will get off my butt and post a new pattern for you all, he’s all done just need to write it up, what do you think? :)

Thank you for all the lovely comments recently. I’ve been making lots more hooks since I invested in a new saw so I’ll post some pics of that soon.



Much Love

Hand Made Hook, yay!

Hello friends,


Check out what I’ve been up to. I made my own crochet hook!

Recently one of my lovely Brittany hooks snapped in my bag, sad times :(

I spent ages looking for a replacement and I have always been interested in making my own hooks and when I found a scabby old stick outside my house I thought it must be a sign. I found a few tutorials online from Craftster and eHow and thought I would give it a go. I started with scraping off all of the yucky bits like bark and bumps with a Stanley knife and shaped the tip into a rough point. I then drew with a pencil where I wanted to hook part to be cut and started working the shape with the Stanley knife. I used a nail file to make the groove deeper and then went to town with the sand paper and did a lot of the shaping of the tip with that.

 After going through 3 different grades of sand paper I then rubbed the hook with a candle to give it a nice shiny finish and used the heat from my hands to smooth it into the wood.

Then I tried it out and this is what I made for my friend Sam

I hope you like my new hook, I'm hoping to make more, I think a small saw and a sharper knife will help lots.

Meredith the Monster

This is Meredith. I’ve had the pattern done for a while now but hadn’t gotten round to taking the pictures and writing everything up. I love him but my friend Alun loves him more, (he took him out the pub with him)Meredith is a shy monster but very cuddly and cute in a weird way.

So here is the patter for you:

You will need:

Your DK or WW colour of choice
Fibre fill
10mm safety eyes
White felt
Small amount of black for mouth
Small amount of fluffy yarn for tail

Head and Body
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: Inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in first 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5: sc in first 3, inc in next, rep around (30sc)
R6: sc in first 4, inc in next, rep around (36sc)
R7: sc in first 5, inc in next, sc in next 12, inc, *sc in next 5, inc, rep from * to end (42sc)
R8: sc in first 6, inc in next, sc in next 13, inc, *sc in next 6, inc, rep from * to end (47sc)
R9: sc in first 7, 3sc in next st, sc in next 14, 3sc in next st, *sc in next 7, inc, rep form * to end (54sc)
R10: sc in first 8, inc in next, sc in next 17, *inc, sc in next 8, rep from * to end (59sc)
R11: sc in first 9, inc in next, sc in next 18, *inc, sc in next 9, rep from * to end (64sc)
R12-25 sc around
R26: sc in first 8, dec in next, rep around (58sc)
R27: sc around
R28: rep round 26, (53sc)
R29-30: sc around (add eyes and mouth)
R31: sc in first 6, dec in next, rep around (47sc)
R32: sc around
R33: sc in first 7, *dec, sc in next 2* rep from *4 times, dec, sc to end (42sc)
R34: rep R33 (37sc)
R35: sc in first 7, dec 5 times, sc to end (32sc)
R36-40 sc around
R41: sc 10, inc, sc 3, inc sc to end (34sc)
R42-45: sc around
R46: mark st at front in middle to place belly button, sc to marker, 4dc tog, sc to end
R47-48: sc around
R49: sc in next 3, dec, rep around (28sc)
R50: sc around
R51: sc in next 2, dec, rep around (21sc)
R52: sc in first st, dec in next, rep around (13sc)
R53: dec until closed


Arms (make 2)
R1: 4sc in ring
R2: inc around (8sc)
R3 sc around
R4: sc, dec, sc in next 2 dec, sc (6sc)
R5-7 sc around, FO leave tail to sew


Tail
Fluffy wool
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc around (12sc)
R3-4: sc around
R5: dec in every st around (6sc)
R6: sc around
Change to green
R7-30 sc around
R31: inc once, sc around (7sc)
R32: sc around
R33: inc once this round, sc around (8sc)
R34: sc around FO leave tail to sew


Legs (make 2)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in next 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5-12 sc around, FO leave tail to sew


Enjoy

Grr!

Hello,


So I have finally gotten round to writing up the pattern for this cute little guy thanks to being let home early from work due to losing my voice, which isn’t helpful when you work in a call centre, but never mind. I hope you like the pattern, I love him to bits, cute monsters are the best. I can’t decide if he is a monster or a dinosaur so I just called him Grr. Anyway enough of this nonsense, on with the pattern.

You will need:
Green and yellow ww or dk yarn
A small amount of black for the mouth
Fiber fill
10mm eyes
White felt
Sewing needle and stitch marker


Body:
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in first 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5: sc in first 3, inc in next, rep around (30sc)
R6: sc in first 4, inc in next, rep around (36sc)
R7: sc in first 5, inc in next, rep around (42sc)
R8-24 sc around (add eyes between r12-13 about an inch and a half apart and embroider mouth)
R25: (back loops only) sc in first 4, dec in next, rep around (36sc)
R26: sc in first 3, dec in next, rep around (30sc)
R27: sc in first 2, dec in next, rep around (24sc)
R28 sc in first, dec in next, rep around (18sc)
STUFF
R29: dec untill closed FO
Feet (make 2)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3-5: sc around
FO leave tail to sew
Sew flat to the front loops of R25
Hands (make 2)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: sc around, inc 2 times randomly (8sc)
R3-4: sc around
FO leave tail to sew
Tail
R1: 4sc in ring
R2: inc in first, sc around (5sc)
R3-4: Sc around
R5: inc in first, sc around (6sc)
R6: sc around
R7-11: inc in first, sc around (11sc)
R12: sc around
R13-18: inc in first, sc around (17sc)
R19-20: sc around
FO, Stuff, Leave tail to sew.
Belly Patch
Ch6
R1: 5sc across chain, ch1 turn
R2-3: 5sc, ch1, turn
R4: Skip first 2, 6dc in 3rd st, skip 2, ss
R5: sc around shape, FO leave tail to sew
Spikes
Ch4, *sc in first chain from hook, dc in next, trc in next, ch4, rep from * untill you have 4 spikes
Ch3, *sc in first, dc in next, rep from * untill you have 6 small spikes, FO, leave tail to sew,
Sew from tip of tail to top of head.



All done!

Craft in the City (a more purdish version of the tv show)

Well I am totally gutted that I couldn’t make it to the knitting expo in Exeter, being poor sucks, but I hope there will be another one soon, and the one I will go to will be bigger and better just to make up for my absence, yeah!


Me and the boyfriend went for a walk around the Barbican and Hoe in Plymouth today and I discovered a tea room with the cutest knitted and crocheted cakes in the window, (PS there is a place on the barbican that will mix any flavour of your choice into frozen yoghurt, I had cherry and blueberry, yum, yet to ask for peanut butter and Lego)

I can’t help it, I love kitsch. Poor Shaun and the people in the tea room thought I was a bit crazy taking a picture through the window.

I also saw this a few months ago and forgot to post it,

It’s a 1000ft scarf knitted for sports relief. I don’t know what is sporty about knitting but the effort is amazing and it really stopped me in my tacks when I saw it.

And here is a sneaky peak at the next free pattern, I hope you like him....

Shaun went crazy for him and we are planning to take lots of silly pictures of him devastating the country side

Shelly the Snail Pattern

Aww Shelly!

I made this cute little one for a swap a while ago and I had to make it again because it's so cute and the flowers make it really feel like summer

You will need:
Fibre Fill
Stitch Markers
5mm Safety eyes
Sewing needle
Small amounts of ww yarn in whatever colour you want your snail to be

Grass (e hook and fuzzy green yarn)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc in first 2, inc in next, rep around (24sc)
R5: sc in first 3, inc in next, rep around (30sc)
R6: sc in first 4, inc in next, rep around (36sc)
R7: sc in first 5, inc in next, rep around (42sc)
R8: sc in first 6, inc in next, rep around (48sc)
R9: sc in first 7, inc in next, rep around (54sc)
R10: sc in first8, inc in next, rep around (60sc)
Ss in next st and FO

Snail Body (e hook, stuff as you work)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc in every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: (antenna round) sc in first 3. Ch5, ss in next 4 chain, sc in next 4, ch5, ss in next 4 chain, sc to end.
R5-9: sc around
R10: sc in first 5, dec 5 times, sc to end
(place eyes between R8 and 9)
R11: sc in next 5, dec 3 times, sc to end
R12-30: sc around
R31: dec 3 times randomly around
R32-33: sc around
R34: dec 1, sc around
Rep R34, 4 times then dec until closed, FO

Shell (e hook)
R1: 6sc in ring
R2: inc every st around (12sc)
R3: sc in first, inc in next, rep around (18sc)
R4: sc around in back loops only
R5-9: sc around
R10: sc around, dec randomly 3 times (15sc)
R11-12: sc around
R13: sc around, dec randomly 2 times (13sc)
R14-17: sc around
R18: sc around, dec randomly 2 times (11sc)
R19-21: sc around
R22: sc around, dec randomly 2 times (9sc)
R23-25: sc around
R26: sc around, dec randomly 2 times (7sc)
R27-34: sc around
R35: dec 1, sc around (6sc)
R36-37: sc around
R38: dec 1, sc around (5sc)
R39-40: sc around
R41: dec 1 sc around (4sc)
Sc in next two then dec until closed, FO, leaving tail to sew, sew shell into a spiral and sew shell to body then body to grass.

Flowers
Ch3, ss in first chain to make ring
Ch 5, ss in ring (first petal done) rep until you have 5 petals, ss and FO
Leave tail to sew to grass

Another Shawl Done

After making the shawl for my friends’ birthday I just had to have one for myself so I popped over to the crafty shop and got me some lovely wool, featured in the previous post and here it is.

I’ve worn it constantly since it was done, so proud of it, I’m thinking of making another soon and selling that one.

I’m very excited about a knitting expo coming up on the 17th of April; I was absolutely thrilled when I discovered I had the day off so I could go. I’m hoping to get lots of ideas for new projects, new yarn and advice on becoming a crochet super star. My next plan for crochet superstardom is to bombard the crochet magazines with letters until they publish my work and I can get paid for doing this. I’ve thought about selling patterns on Etsy or Misi but a part of me is just not sure about it. If anybody reading sells on etsy make yourself know and maybe you could turn me around to the idea.

Well my lovelies, I’ll have a new pattern available in a few days, just need to take some pictures and write up the pattern. It’s so cute; I can’t wait to share it with you all.

Anyway, keep reading and be happy xxx