The 'Garden Vine Necklace'

I love a project I can have done and dusted in a weekend, don't you? That's the task I set myself this weekend. Armed with a few Swarovski crystals, a couple of silver charms and a small ball of Wensleydale yarn that I handspun (it was a practice piece but wasn't really enough to make anything significant with) I put together a plan.

I've loved those beautiful Sophie Digard necklaces for so long, but they are way out of my price range, especially for the amount of times I wear jewellery. And to be honest, as much as I like them, I prefer something a little more dainty and delicate. So, I got busy.

 

I threaded over 150 beads onto the yarn which was a fiddly job, then a silver charm on each end.

After an afternoon of crocheting I finally had my beautiful necklace finished. I quick soak in Eucalan and a block and it was complete (yes I even blocked this as it DOES make a difference, especially to those tiny crochet'd leaves and how the whole necklace drapes!)

Here it is on 'Lady May' (my model).

And a close up...

I'm very happy with the result! The beads and add a nice weight to the necklace which combined with the softness of the wool feels very luxurious. The charms at each end read 'inspire' and 'luck' and being silver they too add weight to keep the necklace firmly in place.

Bavarian Crochet

I've had Bavarian Crochet on my list of projects for a while, but I've been waiting for the right yarn to come along to use with it. 

Here is a link to some Pinterest Inspiration on Bavarian Crochet.

*Enter Scheepjes StoneWashed XL yarn*
The Star of this show!

Finally I had THE yarn to try out this stitch.

Although this yarn is 70% cotton, because of the unique way it is spun, it means that this chunky yarn is surprisingly light weight. 

Using colours (starting at the top and moving clockwise) Lemon Quartz, Crystal Quartz, Green Agate, Amazonite, Garnet and Moon Stone in the middle, I started making the first round of flowers.

 

There are lots of tutorials and helpful websites around that go into great details about how to create Bavarian crochet. You can find some here , here and here if you are interested in having a go. 

I'm usually a fine yarn kind of person, so using a 5.5mm hook meant my project literally grew in front of my eyes!

Joining the 2 round squares is pretty easy using a 'Join As You Go' method (here is a good tutorial of how to join)

I'm not completely finished yet, but I'm getting there (rather quickly!). Hopefully soon I can share my finished project with you.

The Market Shopper

 

Last week my Market Shopper pattern was featured in the latest issue of Mollie Makes Magazine (issue 42). It's a roomy summer bag, perfect not only for my morning visits to the farmer's market, but also doubles as a great beach bag.

It has a drawstring top (which you can't see very well in the magazine photos) that makes it a little more secure when holding any valuables. 

I'm posting a few pics I took myself which show it in a little more detail.

 

 I used my all time favourite crochet yarn, Cotton8 (amazingly soft, pure cotton that comes in an astonishing number of colours!) from Scheepjeswol. Scheepjeswol yarns are widely available in the Benelux and available exclusively through Deramores in the UK (also with worldwide shipping).

The Crofter Blanket

This update is well overdue as my Crofter blanket was actually completed a long time ago, I've just never got around to sharing. 

Remember my Crofter yarn purchase  (made by Sirdar) and inspiration which I blogged about  here ?

I loved working with this yarn and it opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities with variegated yarns. Hooking up each square had added excitement as the colours came together to make each square like a uniquely coloured piece of art.

The final project came together quite quickly. A very simple crochet'd square combined with variegated yarns seems to be a winning combination!

 

Stars Baby Cot Quilt

This was my first ever quilting project. It took a little time for the idea to come together but I got there in the end and learned a lot along the way. My next quilt will be so much better! You may remember in this post I made the initial fabric choice for this quilt. The idea of a double sided quilt was over complicated and was quickly dismissed. I decided to stick to just one colour theme. I wanted this quilt to be entirely machine made, and chose a simple star pattern. 

I enjoyed the process, putting together the pieces etc, seeing the design come together. Although I had done free motion embroidery on my sewing machine in the past, I've never quilted, so this was a learning curve for me. 

In the end, it came together much faster than I expected. here is a montage of a few photos I took along the way showing the entire process.

I hand finished the quilt around the border with the lyrics of the Louis Armstrong song;

 'Stars shinning bright above you, night breezes gently whisper - I love you'.  

The quilt has now been passed on as a gift and I already have the fabric ready for my next quilting adventure. 

I'm interested to see quilts made by others, do you have any good blog links for me to inspirational quilting blogs?

The Ombre Dahlia Throw

This throw took quite a while from initial idea to completion. I wanted something that I could bring out in the colder months to spread on my chaise lounge. Like most designers, I go through spells of minor obsessions. At this particular time it was all about the ombre ! I worked with a new yarn for me, Holst Coast yarns. They are a fine lace weight yarns made from a combination of wool and cotton which produce a finished throw that is warm yet beautifully soft. The yarn comes in an amazing array of colours which was perfect to create the depth of ombre that I was obsessively trying to create. 

Although quite 'woolly' the yarn shows a great stitch definition which adds to the texture of the throw. However, I won't lie..... this throw took a considerable amount of time to make (even though I do  consider myself quite a fast crochet'er!)

The ombre effect was created by working with two strands of yarn at  time and gradually changing one strand colour at a time....which probably played a major contribution in the fact that it took so long to make.

 I'm a 'details' kinda person, and I don't like to skimp on my details...however long they take!

The Babette Blanket

Its been a while since I last posted, life kind of took over ! But, it doesn't mean I didn't have time to be creative. 

A few months ago a friend who was pregnant asked me if I would make a baby blanket for her. After a little discussion about patterns etc, we decided on the Babette Blanket. I think the babette blanket is almost an iconic patterns that everyone who begins to crochet falls in love with. I bought the pattern a few years ago, but never got around to making it...so this was my chance!

The hooking up of the squares went quite quickly, but I didn't anticipate the enormous amount of time it would take to sew them together. But, seeing the colours come together as I stitched the squares together was an incentive to keep going. 

I'm so thrilled I finally got to make this blanket, and yes... i'll be a little sad to see it go. But I know it is going to a good home where it will be loved and appreciated. 

Crochet Pebbles

There's a beach I sometimes go to that has a very personal meaning for me. Each time I go, I pick up a hand sized pebble to bring home. For a while they just sat on a side table, I wasn't really sure what to do with them. But a while ago, I started to cover them with crochet. Each one is different and unique. I'm slowly building up a collection to sit along a 5 meter  shelf I have along my landing. The light there is lovely and they make me smile every time I reach the top of the stairs. 

Have you made any crochet pebbles? Please leave a link in the comments box if you have, I'd love to see!