Welcome to my blog.
A place to record and share my musings and my work.
'Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?'

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Crochet Hexagons and Other Things.

Last week, found me preparing,
for my first crochet workshop.
I looked through my wool stash and
it all seemed so lacklustre and uninspiring.
After a trawl through the Internet I discovered,
this Stylecraft D.K. wool, on the Deramores website.


Lots of lovely and exciting colours at an inexpensive price. 
They arrived in, no time at all.
Ordered on Saturday lunchtime....
arrived on Monday.
I wound them into lots of little balls of colour.


If this doesn't inspire my newbies, nothing will.
My lovely ladies are beginners, needing lots of
help, reassurance and lovely colour.   
I spent the rest of the week, preparing handouts and
crocheting sample granny squares.



My object was, that by the end of the workshop, 
the ladies would be able to crochet one of these.
I did think it might be a big ask and so did they
at the beginning of the day but they didn't disappoint.
Look what they produced!




Well done girls!

To finish, thought I might share with you a ....
"How to "                    
Hexagon                     These little shapes are a bit more challenging than
                                  a granny square but are fun to make. When a few
are sewn together they look like a patchwork quilt.


I used a 4mm (Size 8) hook and double knitting weight
yarn ( in this case cotton), in three colours.
Cotton yarn always comes out slightly larger but
I thought it would make it easier to see.
All instructions are using UK terms.

 Things you need to Know: 
    ch (chain)          Make a slip knot, insert hook into loop, yarn over hook,
                             pull through loop on hook to make a new loop.                
sl st (slip stitch)      Insert hook into chain, yarn over, pull yarn through 
                             chain and loop on hook.
   tr (treble)           Yarn over hook, insert hook into stitch, pull yarn 
                            through stitch  (3 loops on hook), yarn over,
                            pull through next 2 loops (2 loops on hook),
                            yarn over pull through remaining 2 loops           
dtr (double tr)      Yarn over hook twice, insert hook into stitch, pull yarn
                            through stitch, 4 loops on hook), yarn over pull
                            through 2 loops (3 loops on hook), yarn over 
                           pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), 
                           yarn over pull through remaining 2 loops.                                               
  *                       Repeat instructions between * *
Joining a new colour:
              

Make a slip knot in the new colour. Insert hook through
    stitch and then through slip knot loop.Tighten the slip knot.
 Pull loop through stitch , hook under yarn and pull yarn 
through slip knot loop ((forms 1st ch).
(see pic above)

              Method:      Make 6 ch. Join  last ch to the first ch with a sl st,
                                to form a ring. 
                                You will be working out of this ring for the first round.
                                   
             Round 1:       3 ch (counts as 1st tr), 2tr, 3ch,into ring, 
                                 *3tr, 3ch into ring, (rep from* 5 times).
                                  Make sl st to 3rd of initial 3ch, to complete round.
                                  Fasten off.

                 Round 2.    Join new colour into one of the spaces formed by 
                                   3 ch. Ch 4 (counts as 1st dtr), 2dtr 2ch, 3dtr into
                                   space, 3dtr, 2ch, 3dtr, into each of the other 
                                   3ch spaces. 
                                   

                               Make sl st, into 4th ch of initial 4ch, to complete
                               round. Fasten off.




                Round 3: Join new colour into one of the dtr from previous 
                               round. 3ch (counts as 1st tr), 
                               *1tr into each dtr, (2tr, 2ch, 2tr) into each 2 ch space*
                               Make sl st into 3rd ch of initial 3ch, to complete round. 
                               Fasten off.
                                   

Sew in the ends and there you have it!
 You can add more rows of tr's to make the
hexagon larger and more colourful.
Just remember to crochet 2tr, 2ch, 2tr into 
each 2ch space for the corners.
When you've made a pile, they can be sewn or
crocheted together to make a blanket.
                                             Happy hooking!
                                     Have a creative week, everyone.

This blog entry is my submission to the Deramores Blog Awards 2014.                                
Deramores is the UK’s number one online retailer of knitting and crochet supplies.







Friday 21 March 2014

He's arrived!



Ronnie Racoon has arrived.
Along with a little package, containing
Emergency Rations.... to help him feel at home.


It contained an odd sock from his maker and
a packet of his favourite pineapple sweeties.
As you can see he is making himself right at home
and getting to know the 'pencil top gang'.
Thanks again Jane x

Tuesday 18 March 2014

I've won!

Imagine my suprise, when I was playing
catch up, with the latest posts from 
my favourite blogger's, to find I was the
winner of Plain Jane's Giveaway.
I am now the proud owner of
Ronnie Racoon.


Ethel is absolutely delighted to have a new friend to play with
and so am I!!




Thank you Jane x

Friday 14 March 2014

A Gift From A Friend

It's been another busy week. Can't believe it's the
weekend already!
The highlight of my week was
a gift that I received from a new friend.


An exquisite brooch!

She sells her lovely beadwork on Etsy
and blog's about it too.
Thank you Agnes, it means a lot.
Have a creative time everyone and enjoy the 
fabulous Spring sunshine we're having!


Saturday 8 March 2014

Hard Graft!

Thursday this week found me in Harrogate.
Spring has definitely sprung on The Stray, which is famous
for it's crocus display. As always, I didn't have my camera
with me to record this splendorous array of floral magnificence.
Trawling the net, I found this image to show you.
The internet is a marvellous place!


Difficult to find a subject to blog about this week,
as I have been knitting to the exclusivity of everything else.
The body of the sweater is now complete and I had to 
join the shoulder seams. I thought I might try 'grafting' again.
I have tried it several times before without success.
It's always ending up looking like a 'dogs dinner'.
Thought you might be interested in the process as it looks
so much better than sewing, if it works!


This is the book I am working from.


It has lots of traditional and lovely patterns to make and a very useful
section on techniques, at the back.... one of which was, grafting.


Lay two edges, right side up, side by side.
 Use remeaining thread from last stitch ( need 3x length of seam).
I didn't do that, as I've only just read that bit. 
Just used same coloured wool.
Bring needle back through the loop of the first stitch
and then through the loop on the other side.


Take the needle down through the first loop on the first
side and the through the second loop, on the same side.


Take needle through first and second loops on the other side.


Repeat across the row, keeping the tension as close to 
the tension of the knitting you are joining.
I hope this makes sense!
To be honest, I just followed the diagrams.
For some inexplicable reason, the technique
 just clicked with me, this time.
I was absolutely chuffed with the result.
A virtually invisible join, although the pattern doesn't 
quite gel in one place.
Can you spot it?


Try it, you won't be sorry.
This will give me an entirely seamless sweater as the sleeve
stitches are picked up around the armhole and knitted down to the cuff.
That's the next challenge!
Have a great weekend everyone.