Let's Knit Issue 63 ::

Last week, issue 63 of Let's Knit magazine hit the shelves, displaying my Jessica Sweater on the cover!

I'm crazy proud of this.  I do love this sweater and really enjoyed knitting it (I do love a bit of colourwork), but I never ever expected it to make the cover.  This is only my second ever knitting pattern and my first pattern published in Let's Knit.
This is now my third cover in my short designer life time, I cannot believe how far I've come in such a short space of time, it just goes to show that if you are really passionate about something and put you all in to it you can do anything you want!

Anyway enough beaming.

 

I love this issue, I realise I say that a lot about magazines, but I really really do.  The theme is vintage, and there are some really cute 50's inspired sweaters and a great piece on stranded colourwork, if you've never attempted it before.

Inside Crochet 37 ::

The day we set off on our Christmas adventures (we managed a total of four christmas's all in!) this lovely arrived on my doormat to accompany on the many train journey's that lay ahead.

Issue 37 of Inside Crochet.  I love this issue, with so many great patterns within and as always fabulous photography, styling and a most beautiful model indeed.

I have two patterns in this issue, both men's, both chunky.

This cable centred raglan sweater, worked in one piece bottom up.  This is a great project, because it's simple enough to be quick, chunky enough to be super quick, but with just enough detail to not be too boring.

And this scarf, again the chunky yarn makes this a super quick project.

Unfortunately I left my copy somewhere during the christmas rush around (we returned from our adventures with 9 bags of gifts, there are few occasions where I'd admit that not being able to drive is an inconvenience but carrying those bags on over crowded post christmas trains was certainly one of the few!).  But I'm hoping to be reunited with it soon, when I have no doubt there'll be a few projects jumping on my hooks.

Jesamine Necklaces ::

My Jesamine Necklaces, originally published in Inside Crochet Issue 33 and more recently seen on the cover of the Complete Guide to Crochet, are now available to download in my ravelry store for FREE!

Click on over to get the pattern written in both US and UK crochet terms and whip up some lovely statement pieces for you or a friend.



Notes from the pattern ::

A simple chain necklace can become a great statement piece when worked in a fun, chunky yarn on a big scale. A quick project, perfect for beginners.

One 100g ball is enough for one necklace, though you could use more for a longer necklace if you wanted to.

Any similar super chunky yarn would also work, or any yarn of any size could be used in this project, though the resulting size would obviously vary accordingly.

This pattern was originally published in Inside Crochet Magazine Issue 33 http://www.insidecrochet.co.uk/

Photography by Britt Spring http://www.brittspring.com

FO Friday :: Little Flowers ::

So I haven't quite finished the cardigan yet, there was little unknitting to do following a couple of silly mistakes, but I do have a finished object(s) to share today, hooray!

Namely a collection of little flowers, made for the lovely Bex of Stuffed Nonsense, who requested them to attach to a lampshade.

These are super fun and easy to make, such a satisfying little project.

I shall try and get the pattern written up in the next day or so and ready to download if anyone fancies hooking up a little extra springtime sunshine.

For more FO Fridays check out Tami Amis' blog.

Edited to say the pattern is now available for free download on ravelry here.

D ::

I did it!  I stitched together my first garment from a pattern and in Japanese at that.

I am so proud of myself, I mean the shirt itself is no where near perfect, but it is wearable, just about!

I decided that I should start with something reasonably simple looking and that wouldn't require too much fabric and I only used an old sheet.  That way if it did go terribly wrong I wouldn't have ruined some beautiful, expensive fabric.

I am so glad now that I decided to just get stuck in and have a go, because I learnt so so much by actually doing it and it wasn't until I started putting all those techniques in to practice that they started to make much more sense, some a little too late for this garment unfortunately, but that is of course what practice runs are for!

I really struggled a lot with the binding on the neck and the sleeves, it just didn't seem possible!  I actually ended up making some larger binding for the neck piece and handstitching the sleeves.  I'm not sure how to prevent this from being such a disaster next time, but I'm sure with a little more book reading and internet searching I'll get there.

I also didn't even consider raw edges until I'd finished!  For this garment it's not the end of the world, but next time I will definitely consider how to finish the edges.

I used Built by Wendy's sew u book for a lot of the technical stuff, I've had this book for ages and ages, but I've hardly even flicked through it before (I think I may have read a bad review of it just after purchase and it just got neglected after that) however it was actually really really helpful and I had it next to my sewing machine for constant reference throughout.

So next up....a dress!  Well maybe anyway.  I really want to make a dress to wear for my cousins wedding in April, but I'm not entirely sure I'm brave enough to make that big step of cutting up beautiful, carefully purchased fabric just yet!  Maybe another practice run first would be best.

• pattern D from stylish dress book 1 available here


• burdastyle notes here

japanese pattern book sew along ::

I received an email from Kate at M is for make this morning, inviting me to take part in this...

As I am a complete novice, I'm thinking this will probably be a fantastic opportunity to get a bit of help from some more experienced sewers along the way!  Plus it may give the boost I need to get that sewing machine off for the service it so desperately needs before any dress sewing takes place!

Now to decide which dress to make and the task I'm most looking forward to, choosing some fabric!

stylish dress book ::

this arrived in the post for me yesterday.  I'm hoping to make myself a dress to wear to my cousins wedding in April.  Inspired by this lady's beautiful creations, I feel in love with this book.

It's truly beautiful and I can't wait to get started, however I can't help but feel I was perhaps a little too ambitious, seeing as I have never made a dress before and can't read japanese!

Before I even start to think about fabrics I really really must get my sewing machine serviced, but I have been adding some inspiration for the dress to a pinterest board here.

crochet jar cover ::

A couple of weeks ago I had my first attempt at making marmalade, for a first attempt it came out pretty well, but I made a huge quantity and well as my mr hates the stuff, and try as we might it seemed unlikely that Milo and I would manage the whole 7 jars we have, I figured most of them would become gifts. Of course in order for this to happen those assorted, recycled, jars would need a little bit of prettifying.

I considered making some hapa-zome tops for them like I made for my jam last summer, or maybe embroidering some covers for them. But then I remembered all the lovely orange milk cotton I had stashed away and decided crochet jar covers was the only way to go.

These are also a great idea because the crochet circles can become coasters of washcloths once the marmalade is in use.

If you fancy having a go at making some little hats for you own marmalade/jam jars then you are in luck because I have written out my pattern for you here!

I also made up one up in browns for a jar of chocolates I made for my Mum's birthday.

crochet jar cover :: a pattern ::

Please note this pattern is written here in english crochet terms,  which differ from american crochet terms, there is a fabulous table here which gives translations of all the stitches I've used.



ingredients ::

1 x ball of double knit weight yarn

(I used rowan milk cotton in fruit salad, simply because I have lots in my stash!)

small quantity of contrasting yarn for tie

(I used rowan milk cotton  in snow)

4mm crochet hook

Abbreviations ::

ch        -    chain

ss        -    slip stitch

tr         -    treble

method ::

chain 5 join with ss



round 1 ::

ch3 (counts as first treble) work 12 tr in to ring, join to top of first treble with ss



round 2 ::

ch3 (counts as first treble) 1 tr into same space as first treble, 2 tr in to top of each treble from previous round (26 stitches), join to top of first treble with ss

round 3 ::



ch 3 (counts as first treble) 1 tr in to top of each treble from previous round (26 stitches), join to top of first treble with ss



round 4 ::

ch3 (counts as first treble) 1 tr into same space as first treble, 2 tr in to top of each treble from previous round (52 stitches), join to top of first treble with ss



round 5 ::

ch 3 (counts as first treble) 1 tr in to top of each treble from previous round (52 stitches), join to top of first treble with ss



round 6 ::

ch3 (counts as first treble) 1 tr into same space as first treble, 2 tr in to top of each treble from previous round (104 stitches), join to top of first treble with ss



fasten off

weave in loose ends.

for the tie ::

with contrasting yarn, chain 100, fasten off.



weave tie through the spaces on round 5 of the cover.



This pattern will make a circle around 5 inches in diameter, which fit all of my jar lids.  However you can of course make yours bigger, just keep repeating the last two rounds until you reach your desired size.

heart granny square ::

 With valentines on my mind the last few weeks, I have been working on lots of hearts.  After searching about a bit, I couldn't see any granny squares which incorporated a heart that I liked.  After a few failed attempts and a bit of patience, I came up with my own.



I have been working lots of these lovey squares in order to make a cushion, which I hope to share with you soon, but whilst I continue to work away on that, I thought I would share with you the pattern for the granny square alone.



This is only the second pattern/tutorial for crochet (the other being my granny bunting) that I have ever shared, so if you do have a go at making some for yourself, I would love to hear any feedback you may have.



The pattern in all it's glory is here, have fun! xx

heart granny square :: a pattern ::

Please note this pattern is written here in english crochet terms,  which differ from american crochet terms, there is a fabulous table here which gives translations of all the stitches I've use here.

ingredients ::

3 x contrasting balls of double knit weight yarn.

    I used stylecraft special double knit 100% acrylic in cream (A) pale rose (B) and raspberry (C)

4 mm crochet hook

Abbreviations ::

ch        -    chain

ss        -    slip stitch

dc        -    double crochet

htr      -    half treble

tr         -    treble

dtr      -    double treble  

method ::

using yarn A chain 4 join with ss

 

round 1 :: 

chain 3 (counts as first treble) 2 tr in to middle of ring, *2ch 3 tr, repeat from * 3 times, 2 chain, join to top of first chain with a ss.


round 2 ::

ss across 2 trebles and ss in to next 2 chain space, chain 3, counts as first treble, 4 tr in to 2 chain space, 1 ch, 3 tr 2ch 3tr in to next 2 chain space (this will be the bottom tip of the heart), 1 ch, 5 tr in to next 2 chain space, 4 ch, 5 tr in to next 3 chain space, 4 chain, join to top of first treble with ss.


 round 3 ::

chain 1, dc in top of next 4 trebles, dc in to 1 chain space, dc in top of next 3 trebles, 3dc 2ch 3dc in to 2 chain space (this is the bottom tip of the heart) dc in top of next 3 trebles, dc in 1 chain space, dc in top of next 5 trebles, 2 htr 2 tr 2 dtr 2 tr 2 htr in next 4 chain space, ss in top of third treble, 2 htr 2 tr 2 dtr 2 tr 2 htr in next 4 chain space, join to first double with ss.

Fasten off.


round 4 ::


join yarn B between the 2 double trebles at top right of heart, chain 3 (counts as first treble) 2tr 2ch 3tr in to space between 2 double trebles, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3dtr in to third space along, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3tr 2ch 3tr in to space between 2dtr from previous round, 1ch, 3dc in to third space along, 1ch, 3htr in to third space along, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3dtr 2ch 3dtr in to third space along, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3dc in to 2 chain space at bottom of heart, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3dtr 2ch 3dtr in to third space along, 1ch, 3tr in to third space along, 1ch, 3htr in to third space along, 1ch, 3dc in to third chain along, 1ch, join with ss to first treble.


round 5 ::

 4 ch (counts as first treble and 1 chain space), *3tr 2ch 3tr in to 2 chain space, 1ch, 3tr 1ch in to each of next 1 chain spaces, of which there should be 4, repeat from * twice more, 3tr 2ch 3tr in to 2 chain space, 1ch 3tr in to next three 1 chain spaces, 1ch, 2tr in to next 1 chain space join to third chain of original 4 chain.


Fasten off.

round 6 ::


Join yarn C in to 2 chain corner space, 3ch (counts as first treble) 2tr 2ch 3tr in to 2 chain corner space, 1ch 3tr in to each of next 1 chain spaces, of which there should be 5, * 1ch 3tr 2ch 3tr in to 2 chain space, 1ch 3tr in to each of next 1 chain spaces, of which there should be 5, repeat from *  twice more, 1ch, join to top of first treble with a ss.

Fasten off.


Weave in any loose ends and admire your handy work!