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~ So many patterns, so much yarn, so little time: story of my hooky life.

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Category Archives: My crochet

Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium and two pink monsters

11 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by Natasja in Book reviews, My crochet

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

amigurumi, crochet

Amigurumi monsters! In pink! That’s what I’ve been making the past two weeks. Who would have thought?! I’m not a pink person and I don’t have children so why you ask would I venture down the pink children’s toy path? It’s because I’m one of the lucky bloggers in the blog tour for Kerry Lord’s new book Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium, published by Pavilion Books Books.

Monty Knits blogged her review yesterday, which you can read here and today it’s my turn to share my review.

If I can sum up my experience of using this book and making my amigurumi toys, it’s this: fun.

The book is fun, designing my monster toy was fun, the Gallery of monsters is fun, making the monster was fun. Fun, fun, fun.

Edward's Crochet Imaginarium book cover

Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium is very different to the average crochet pattern book. It has a clever flip-book section which allows you to play around with different head, arm and feet combinations. Add to that the six tails and eight colour change patterns, the book allows for your imagination to run wild.

The book is aimed at beginners and seasoned crocheters. All the basic stitches and techniques are clearly explained and photographed, and you can even watch tutorials on the TOFT YouTube channel to help you through all the steps of making monster.

Here are just six of the 40 monsters in the Gallery. Photos courtesy of Kristy Noble. The designs are so varied, and options so many, you can really spend your whole life crocheting and still not have made all the variations.

No. 25 Bella
No. 25 Bella
No. 27
No. 27
No. 30
No. 30
No. 28
No. 28
No. 29
No. 29
No. 5 Dylan
No. 5 Dylan

The two monsters I made are going to be gifts for 3 and 5 year old girls. Their mom said it had to be pink, and they couldn’t differ too much from each other lest one might be judged prettier than the other, but they also couldn’t be identical lest little madams confuse which toy is theirs. A tough brief to follow.

It took me three days to decide what I wanted to make! I was continually flipping between the Arm, Head and Feet pages. Just as I thought I knew what I was going to make, I flip a page and then everything changes. Such Fun!!!

In the end I decided on Arms and Feet no. 2, and Head no. 15 but in stead of only making hair spines around one ring on the head, I did four rings of spines and crocheted them in two shades of pink.

The colour shading of my bodies are that of Gallery Monster no. 20. To set the two monsters apart I made half of one arm & one leg in 1-row bands of pink and white, and for the second monster I used 3-row bands of pink and white. I also used slightly different shades of light pink yarn.

Something I found especially useful were the instructions for the order in which to sew on the arms and legs to the body, and placement of the legs so that your monster will not fall over when sitting down. Those instructions, and the flip book section for Arms, Feet and Heads, were the highlights of the book for me. Seriously clever and useful!

There was only thing I did differently to Kerry’s instructions: the eyes. I struggled to get my eyes to look friendly when I did it as Kerry suggested in her book, so I settled for < shaped eyes.  This is not a reflection on Kerry’s instructions – it’s totally down to user error/incompetence.

Fingers crossed the little madams like their Pink Monsters. If they like it half as much as I liked designing and making them, they’ll be a mammoth hit.

There are two more stops on the Edward’s Crochet Imaginarium book blog tour. Tomorrow you can read The Twisted Yarn‘s review and then the book tour ends on Tuesday with The Little Room of Rachell.

The book is available to purchase on Amazon or from Toft for £14.99. If you buy it directly on the Toft website, you will also receive a free and exclusive pdf that includes bonus patterns.

***GIVEAWAY***

Leave a comment below telling me about your experience of making amigurumi toys and I will pick a comment at random and send you a copy of Edwards’ Crochet Imaginarium! (UK residents only.) Entries close at 12 noon on Sunday 18 September 2016.

Review of How To Crochet book by Mollie Makes

30 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by Natasja in Book reviews, My crochet, My ramblings, Ta-daah!

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

crochet, crochet blanket, giveaway, granny square

The lovely people of Mollie Makes magazine sent me the book How To Crochet, published by Pavilion, to review here on my blog.

I have to apologise to the publishers that it has taken me this long to do the review, but I wanted to do the review justice by completing one of the 20 projects featured in the book.

I chose to make the Granny Square Blanket With Edging, designed by Anita Mundt. You guys know how I love granny squares! They are my all time favourite thing to crochet. For Crochet For Kidneys Part 4 I made two 2-colour 6-round squares in blue and in pink, and in 2013 I crocheted a traditional granny square blanket for a friend and even posted on my technique for choosing random colours.

I started the blanket on the 30th of June and finished it today. Precisely one month! This granny square blanket will also be my contribution to the charity crochet campaign, Crochet For Kidneys Part 5. I had two weeks in that month where I was on sick leave so I had bit more time than usual for crocheting. (I had an operation to my foot on the 18th of June. The cast is coming off on 13 August and a month or so later, it will be the turn of my left foot to go under the knife and stay in a non-weight bearing cast for 8 weeks – expect a few more blanket ta-daaaah blog posts over the next 3 months!)

I really enjoyed following the colour scheme suggestion in Anita’s pattern. I know how to make a granny square so I didn’t need the pattern for that, but I found that following the designer’s colour scheme took away all the worry that I may get my colours wrong.

In this pattern the colour combinations are partly fixed and party random. Rounds 1, 2 and 6 are fixed colours, round 3 is random and 4 & 5 are also random but you use the same colour for both rounds.  Once I had decided on the colour for rounds 1 (green), 2 (white) and 6 (Parma Violet), there wasn’t much ‘randomising’ left to do. Choosing my colours for each square was really quick and I think I will stick to this partly fixed, partly random, colour scheme for all my future granny square blankets!

The colours I used were: Stylecraft Special DK in White, Saffron, Wisteria, Spring Green, Citron, Cloud Blue, Parma Violet (for the last round of each square) and the bright green was James C Brett Supreme Baby DK in SNG7.  I really love that Parma Violet shade. It’s not grey, it’s not purple, it’s just a beatiful  tie-it-all-together shade.

Please excuse the wonky photo but it’s difficult to get a blanket to lie flat and take a perfectly straight taken-from-above photo when you have only one leg to balance on!

For this blanket I also didn’t have to go looking for border like I do with my other granny square blankets – Anita’s border was just so perfect – I just had to follow her pattern.

The team from Mollie Makes (the UK’s most successful lifestyle and craft magazine) hand-picked the projects for this book.  All the patterns were designed exclusively for this book by the team’s favourite crochet designers: Ilaria Chiaratti, Emma Lamb, Beata Basik, Cara Medus, Pip Lincolne and Anita Mundt.  Apart form the Granny Square Blanket With Edging which I made, there are more fun and beautiful projects like the adorable set of Russian dolls from the cover photo, Bouquet of Flowers, pocket placemats and Monster Gadget Covers called Chomper, Nibbles and Tryclops. How To Crochet contains all the techniques you need to get started with crochet, with step-by-step instructions and clear, beautiful illustrations. Each of the 20 patterns have a Crochet Story which I really enjoyed reading – even if I weren’t going to make the project. How To Crochet is available on Amazon for £9.99.

If however you don’t want to purchase one, why not enter my giveaway!

I’m giving away two copies of How To Crochet by Mollie Makes. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blogpost telling me what your favourite time of day and/or week is to crochet. There’s no special reason why I ask this question, I’m just interested to know when my readers sit down with their yarn and hooky stick. The winners will be drawn randomly and announced on my Instagram feed (natasjaking) and crochetime Facebook page on 7 August.  Good luck!

Buttercup knit and crochet cardigan

03 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by Natasja in My crochet, My knitting, Ta-daah!

≈ 3 Comments

John, my brother and I just got back from an European road trip of two weeks. We had the most amazing time driving through Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and back to Belgium.

12524432_10153329861926249_6616873504238449632_n

You can see more photos on my Instagram feed.

While in Germany we drove over the border to Austria to visit Innsbruck for the day (amazing that you can do that!) On our way there we stopped at the side of the road where John took these photos to show you my Buttercup cardigan.

Buttercup cardigan 01

The navy cardigan over white t-shirt looks just like the snow covered mountains, don’t you think?

Buttercup cardigan 02

I was knitting like a lunatic the three days before we left on holiday – I just had to finish before the road trip!

Buttercup cardigan 03

The pattern for this beautiful cardigan is  Buttercup pattern from Marie Wallin’s book Filigree. This is my second project from Filigree, the first being the crochet top Rose which I absolutely adore.

Buttercup cardigan 04

The nitty gritty of my Buttercup cardigan:

Pattern: Buttercup from Filigree: Collection Three by Marie Wallin. The pattern for Right Front is missing from the book but you can download it from the errata page on Marie’s website here.
Yarn:  7 balls of Rowan Summerlite in Navy Ink shade 492
Size: Medium
Knitting needle size:  3 mm
Modification: I lengthen the cardigan by adding a 6th crochet square motif. That meant I also had to lengthen the back to 37 cm in stead of 29 cm, before doing the arm shaping.

Buttercup cardigan front detail

I’m really in love with the crochet and knit combination. I combined the two in my Kimono Cardigan, but  I definitely think Buttercup combines crochet and knitting better.

Buttercup cardigan side detail

I think I have a pattern crush on Marie Wallin. As soon as put down the knitting needles on Buttercup, I picked up the crochet hook to make my second Belle top from  Rowan Holiday Crochet. The second top with the same pattern! That’s how good her designs are!  I’ve been wearing my Belle since May 2015 about once every two weeks. No wonder I need a second one.

If Belle is anything to go by, I’m going to need a second Buttercup cardigan again in a few years.

Thank you Marie Wallin for designing the most amazing knitting and crochet patterns.

Kimono Cardigan

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Natasja in My crochet, My knitting, Pattern, Ta-daah!

≈ 3 Comments

Do you have a yarn that you love so much that you will search months and months on end for a pattern just so that you can use this yarn? A yarn so soft and light, yet warm in the cold and cool in the heat? A yarn in the perfect shade of grey that will match almost everything in your wardrobe? I have.  It’s Gardnstudio Drops BabyAlpaca Silk in 8465 Medium Grey.

I bought 12 balls back in August 2015 without knowing what I wanted to make with it. That’s unusual for me because I always find the pattern first and then look for the yarn. I thought I found the perfect crochet pattern in the Samira sweater, and I got halfway through the back when I realised this wasn’t working. The back loop only SC was creating a fabric with so little stretch, I would have had to modify the pattern so much and buy more yarn, that I just frogged it. You can see the frogged project in my Ravelry Projects here.

The fantastic Drops pattern database also didn’t have anything suitable for Babyalpaca Silk that I particularly liked.

What to do now?

I just made up my own pattern. And it’s mostly a knitted pattern.

I used Babyalpaca Silk for my Whispers cardigan which is crocheted, so this time I wanted to see and feel how the yarn looks knitted. I’m so happy I did it this way – this yarn looks better knitted than crocheted I think.

As for a pattern, well it needed to be super easy because I’m no good at shaping for knitting and especially not if I have to dream up the pattern myself!  Straight sides were what I needed. That made me think of a kimono because isn’t that really just a bunch of squares and rectangles? Surely I could manage that.

Turns out a kimono is exactly that: squares and rectangles. I used the plus size DIY Kimono pattern of Nina Scott-Stoddard, as my guide for the pattern pieces.

But, me being me, I couldn’t just knit a cardigan. No I needed something crocheted for a bit of flair. That’s were the the “Zen lattice” pattern from Robyn Chachua’s book Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia came in. It was the perfect type of lace stitch and also perfectly name – Zen. Zen crochet border for a knitted kimono cardigan. I mean really! Match made in Japan.

I also added two rows of SC in a contrasting colour before I started the knitted section. Just because I can.

Below is the “pattern” for my Knitted and Crocheted Kimono Cardigan. I’m saying “pattern” because it’s really just a loose record of what I did. Not technical at all. I’m sure many knitters out there would be able to do a much better job of this than me, but I’m giving you the “pattern” so you can use it as a starting point.

I’m using US crochet terms.

Back

Working from the bottom up you start with the crochet border. Chain 114  (14 x 8 + 2)  with 3 mm crochet hook.

Row 1: SC.

Now follow rows 1 – 12 of Zen lattice from Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia. In the last row, make 3-chain in stead of 5-chain.

Row 14 and 15: change to new colour and make 2 rows SC 2. Cast off.

Start of knitted section:

Use 3 mm knitting needles to pick up stitches through front loop of crochet. (This was the only way I could work out to switch from crochet to knitting. I picked up the stitches with the same size knitting needle as my crochet, and then used a bigger size knitting needles to knit the first row.)

With 4.5 mm knitting needles, start the stockinette stich by knitting the first row, then purl the second row. Continue in in stockinette stitch until desired length.

Front panels

Follow the same instructions as for Back, but cast on 58 stitches (7 x 8 + 3).

Sleeves

Follow the same instructions as for Back, but chain 92 (11 x 8 + 3).

It’s crucial that you block the pieces before sewing them together. In the photo above you see how the Zen lattice looks before blocking. You can’t even make out that it’s crochet! Below you see the lattice stretched out to it’s full potential. The KnitPro t-pins were real life savers for the blocking.

I have to warn you though that when I started wearing the kimono cardigan those crochet borders lost their “openness”, so don’t rely on the crochet to add length to the cardigan – it will jump back to almost pre-blocking width. If I knew this, I would have made my knitting much longer.

As for sewing up the knitting, I can’t get over how amazing the mattress stitch is for this. It really creates an invisible seam. This video is what I used to see how to make the mattress stitch and how to sew in the knitted sleeves.

I love wearing my super soft kimono cardigan, but I do know I could have made a better job of it by 1) creating shaping for the neck and shoulders in the back and 2) by making the body longer. Because of the short boxy shape I also have to think a bit about what I wear it with because it can look very unflattering if you don’t have the right layers underneath.

The yarn is this kimono cardigan’s saving grace – it’s so perfect that I don’t even mind having to think a bit harder about what I wear with the cardigan. I’ll even go clothes shopping to find the perfect thing to make this kimono cardigan look its best. I want to wear my kimono cardigan every day!

Kimono cardigan 02
Kimono cardigan 05
Kimono cardigan 01

 

 

 

 

Complete Guide To Crochet Volume 5

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Natasja in In the press, My crochet, My ramblings

≈ Leave a comment

Did any of my lovely readers receive the Inside Crochet magazine newsletter today? Did you spot the Complete Guide To Crochet Volume 5 bookazine? I did…. because I recognised my Iznik Cushion on the front cover! Yeah baby!

The pattern was initially published in issue 68 (read all about it here), but now it has also been republished as one of the 50 patterns in the bookazine (bigger than a magazine but not quite a book) Complete Guide To Crochet Volume 5. So chuffed!

Complete Guide To Crochet volume 5

The Complete Guide to Crochet: Volume 5  is now available for pre-order for £9.99. It is the perfect Christmas gift for crafters and features a wide range of projects, from childrenswear to homewares, fashion garments and smaller accessories.
Order by 30 November 2015 with voucher code VOLUME5 and save £1 (plus free P+P for UK residents)!

Rose ta-daaah!

09 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by Natasja in My crochet, My ramblings, Ta-daah!

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

crochet, Marie Wallin, motif crochet, wearable crochet

The Rose top is finished!

I love it! Despite a rocky start where I got a bit bored but then eventually turned the corner into sheer joy, this top is destined to become a firm favourite.

The King Cole Bamboo 4 ply was the perfect choice. It drapes beautifully, it’s soft, it’s cheap and I only needed 3 balls of yarn. I will definitely use this yarn again.

All credit should go to Marie Wallin for designing such a beautiful piece of wearable crochet. The neckline really sets it apart from other motif-based crochet tops.

I just couldn’t resist making the bottom rows of the body and the sleeves in a second colour. I’m really glad I did – I love the contrast and extra bit of detail. The greenish grey Glazier shade is so pretty!

The nitty gritty of my Rose Top:

  • Pattern: Rose from Filigree: Collection Three by Marie Wallin
  • Yarn: King Cole Bamboo 4 ply in Denim and Glazier
  • Amount of yarn used: 2.5 balls of Denim and 0.5 of Glazier
  • Size made: M for the body, L for the sleeves
  • Crochet hook: 2.5 mm
  • Modification: It isn’t really a modification, but I did mix two sizes for this top. The body is size Medium, but the armholes for size Medium were to tight for me. In size Medium the sleeves, and therefor the armholes as well, are 4 motifs. I increased this to 5 motifs as for size Large. This worked out beautifully because now I have a roomy sleeve, but a fitted body.

I can highly recommend Rose and also the King Cole Bamboo 4 ply.

Now that Rose is finished I’m on to my next crochet top. At the moment I’m still busy with the gauge swatch. Unlike other gauge swatches, the stitch count isn’t as important as the row count with this one, because you crochet the pieces from from side seam to side seam. The crochet rows therefore lie vertically in stead of horizontally. I’m hoping it’s going to be a very slimming top.

Wanna see what I’m making? Have a look at the Ravelry page here. I know you’re just going to love it!!!

Iznik crochet cushion with beads

30 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Natasja in In the press, My crochet, My ramblings, Pattern

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

beaded crochet, crochet cushion, Inside crochet

Other people have goals like climbing Mount Everest, seeing the world or being CEO of a big company. Me? I wanted to have a pattern published in a UK crochet magazine and today I can tell you that I achieved my goal. Consider Everest climbed, the world seen and business cards printed – issue 68 of Inside Crochet magazine holds a pattern which I designed: the Iznik crochet cushion.

iznik crochet cushion

It was during a visit in June 2014 to the V&A Museum that I first saw the pottery made in the Turkish town, Iznik, and the geometric & floral designs of the tiles in the Turkish and other Islamic mosques. I fell in love with the dark blue, turquoise, sage green and highlights of red used by the craftsmen more then 500 years ago. Ever since that visit to the V&A Museum I wanted to make something that would at least incorporate the four main colours of Iznik pottery, but ideally also be geometric and/or floral.

Iznik tiles
Iznik tiles
Tile detail. Turkey 1580. Exhibited at the V&A Museum, London
Tile detail. Turkey 1580. Exhibited at the V&A Museum, London
Mihrab in Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo credit: DSC04142 Istanbul - R stem Pasha camii - Foto G. Dall'Orto 26-5-2006.
Mihrab in Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo credit: DSC04142 Istanbul – R stem Pasha camii – Foto G. Dall’Orto 26-5-2006.

When I received the Inside Crochet email for pattern submissions and saw that issue 68 was themed around adventure and travel I knew this was the perfect opportunity to crochet that Iznik inspired piece – and achieve my goal of having a pattern published in an UK magazine.

Iznik Cushion Flying colours page

I designed the cushion so that the white joins between the squares could represent the tile grout and by crocheting squares, but dividing them into two coloured triangles, I reference the tile inspiration and create an intricate geometric design all one. In Iznik pottery the main colours are turquoise and dark blue. Sage green was introduced later and red even later still so my colour scheme reflects this.

I imagined that my red beads are like tiny flowers which sparkle when the sun rays catch them. The red glass beads are my favourite part of the cushion. I liked them so much I even used them for the back.

In the pattern I describe how to make the BDC (beaded double crochet) stitch and how to thread your seed beads onto the yarn before you start crocheting. In fact, Nicky Hale also designed a cushion for this issue using beads (it’s the beautifully bright zig zag bolster next to my cushion in the photo above) and the editors thought it a good idea for her pattern to have a reference to my pattern for the instructions on how to thread seed beads onto yarn.

Still not sure how to thread seed beads onto yarn? Fear not. As part of the iBook I wrote, Crochet Pretty, I made a video to show my readers exactly how to thread those seed beads which I will share with you now.

Here is the video that shows you exactly how to thread seed beads onto yarn:

See, it’s very easy. Once you’ve crocheted with beads you’re not going to want to stop. It’s such a fun and effective way of adding a little something special to your work.

Inside Crochet issue 68 will be available in stores from 30 July and as a digital download here.

If you decide to make the Iznik cushion, I would love to hear from you! Inside Crochet has listed the pattern on Ravelry so you can link your project. Just follow this link to the Ravelry project page.

Can you ever have enough crochet tops?

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by Natasja in My crochet

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

crochet, wearable crochet

When I started to crochet back in 2009, I remember thinking that one day I’d like to be good enough at crocheting that I would be able to wear something I crocheted every day for a week. Not a scarf or a beanie, but a crocheted top. (When you’re learning to crochet by making a simple granny square, imagining that you would be able to one day make something that requires shaping and reading of complex patterns seems an impossible dream.)

I imagined I would feel very special wearing something I crocheted myself. Going to work wearing something that no-one else has, would be thrilling. And seeing admiring glances as I walk through the streets of London, I would always assume that people were not looking at me, but rather at the beautiful and unique top I was wearing. And they’d wonder where I got it from and one day someone would stop me to ask and I could say: “Oh this. I crocheted it myself”. Okay, I may have taken the imagining a tad too far (no-one stops anyone in London to give them a compliment!) but the basic idea is that I would enjoy wearing my crochet tops. And I was right.  It’s the best!

There’s a process involved in making a crochet top. It starts by searching for patterns on Ravelry, the Garnstudio website and my library of crochet books. I enjoying looking for the perfect top because you have to imagine yourself in it, with the trouser/skirt you want to match it with and you may have to look past a corny posed photo (like in many of the Japanese pattern books). A lot of the time I start off looking for, for instance, a sleeveless V-neck but I fall in love with a long-sleeved tunic which I end up making as a 3/4 sleeve hip length top! Then I have to look for yarn that would exactly match my favourite trouser or multicoloured skirt. Picking the yarn also has to take into account the suggested gauge from my chosen pattern and the cost per ball. I think I spend the most time finding the right colour. Colour is so important! When I have the perfect pattern and most beautiful yarn I can start to make my top. I love the process of getting to know the pattern repeats or the motif, ticking off the rows and bracing myself for the neck shaping. From start to finish, I adore crocheting tops!

At last count, I have made seven crochet tops – that’s my dream of having one for each day of the week, fulfilled! I’m currently busy with one (Rose, which I blogged about here) and I have two more tops to follow. That’s a grand total of nine!

Each of these crocheted tops has a history and a special place in my heart and my wardrobe. I have my favourite to wear, favourite to make, didn’t-turn-out-quite-as-expected and taking-this-one-to-the-grave top.

In random order, here are all my crocheted tops:

1. Nicest to wear, fits the best, taking-this-one-to-the-grave: Serina

Drops Design crochet top

Serina is the nicest to wear because of the  Vinnis Serina 100% bamboo yarn. Man oh man that stuff is soft! And it drapes so, so, so, beautifully. The only tiny issue is that the bamboo soaks up water like a sponge so it takes a good few days to dry.  I consider this my taking-it-to-the-grave top because it also fits me beautifully and was fun to make. It’s my number one top. You can find the ta-daaaah post for Serina here.

2. Most proud of: Japanese V-neck

japanese v-neck crochet top

This was my first attempt at reading Japanese crochet patterns. I had a, let’s call it, “challenging time” doing the first four rounds – the patterns calls for the longest starting chain in history of crochet tops and the stupid thing would twist and I’d loose count – but I stuck it out because the end result would be so spectacular. This top used the most brainpower to make, but now it’s a no-brainer that this is the top I’m proudest of. You can find the ta-daaah post for the Japanese V-neck top here.

3. Didn’t turn out quite as expected: Blue Japanese top

blue and grey japanese crochet top

The Drops Delight yarn that I used for this Japanese pattern, wasn’t all that nice. The wool content makes it scratchy so I don’t like it against my skin and always have to wear something long-sleeved underneath. I thought it would be a good idea to do something in self striping yarn, but the longer I look at it, the less I like it. The top also has no waist shaping and combined with the mishmash of colours it’s not very figure flattering. Somehow, all I see when I look at it are the lighter horizontal stripes (which accentuates my hips) and that odd light square at the bottom. I do wear it in the winter over a long sleeved top, but only around the house. I think the mistake with this one was 100% due to the choice of yarn. The Japanese pattern was a lot of fun though. You can find the ta-daaah post for the Blue Japanese top here.

4. Most fun to make: Corfu

Dusky crohcet top

I started, and finished, Corfu whilst on holiday in, you guessed it, Corfu. The pattern uses Aran weight cotton and it’s very easy to follow so Corfu worked up really quickly. The perfect project for a week long holiday. This top always reminds me of the beach, sunshine and temporary tattoos. You can find the ta-daaah post for Corfu here.

5. Too small: Country Dreams

country dreams crochet top

Country Dreams is a beautiful pattern – I love the detailing around the top and the cuffs – but the cotton Drops Safran yarn is very stiff and the sleeves are too tight. If I had known how little the Drops Safran would stretch and drape, I would have gone up a size.  If it was only for the sleeves being tight I could still wear Country Dreams, but the neckline is a bit iffy. It doesn’t stay down and in a V-shape – it wants to even itself out and go straight. I think the problem really is that I made it one size too small. And maybe I should have used a softer yarn with more give. You can find the ta-daaah post for Country Dreams here.

6. Most wearable and I will one day make another: Belle

Belle crochet top

I wore Belle just yesterday. I wear a lot of grey, black and brightly coloured patterned skirts, so a textured light grey top makes for a lot of outfits. I still think that Bell’s construction is genius and I would really love to make another one. The only change I’ll make would be to make the body and sleeves a tiny bit longer. You can find the ta-daah post for Belle here.

7. My very first and I will one day use the yarn again: Whispers cardigan

whispers crochet cardigan

Even if I hated everything about this cardigan, it would always had made it to this list. It was my very first piece of wearable crochet that I didn’t have to wrap around my neck! Looking back on it, I don’t know why I didn’t start with something simpler (like Belle), but it was a huge success. I felt so proud of myself, and still feel that way every time I wear it. I also feel very snug because the Drops Baby Alpaca Silk yarn is absolutely amazing. It’s soft and light yet just warm enough. Even in a cardigan with lots of holes (the common way of saying “made up of openwork lace”) I don’t feel cold, but I also don’t feel hot and sticky if the temperature rises. I absolutely adore the Drops Baby Alpaca Silk and would use it again in a heartbeat. You can find the ta-daah post for the Whispers Cardigan here.

So there you have my list of seven crochet tops, each one very special to me  – even the two that I don’t like wearing very much. They’re the result of hours of crocheting, challenging myself, learning new things and building on mistakes made. I love them all.

Looking at this list, I think I have to aim to make 10 crochet tops. What do you think? When Rose and the other two from my Japanese pattern book are finished I’ll have nine, but that doesn’t sound right. I have to make at least one more. Right? I can’t end on nine. I need enough crochet tops for two weeks of work. Maybe top no. 10 should be a revisit of Belle, made in Drops Baby Alpaca Silk?! Or a crochet-knit combination from Marie Wallin’s Filigree book. Oooh yes!  Mmmm…. looks like I’m going to end up with 11. But that’s not right either. I’ll have to up that to 15 so that it’s 3 weeks worth of crochet tops for work. Yes. 15 Crochet tops sounds good.

The progress of Rose

03 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Natasja in My crochet, My ramblings

≈ 7 Comments

I’m making progress on Rose! I actually turned the corner right after I wrote last week’s post. Funny that. As soon as I put down in words what was bothering me, it stopped bothering me.

The sudden burst of enthusiasm may also be because I’m seeing the top take shape. I now have a neck and armholes. Whoohoo! I had to keep my wits about me when I joined the shapes for the armholes and neck. I made a mistake once (okay, it was twice) and had to undo a few motifs (not easy when they are join-as-you-go!) but I enjoyed the problem solving.  Oh, I also realised that I had to go up a size for the armholes, so that caused a few problem solving situations as well.


Rose crochet top

And what do we have here? A single greenish motif?!

Detail of Rose crochet top

It had always been the plan to make the last row of the body and the sleeves in this colour, but of course I had to reach the second-to-last row before I could add the green. I just HAD TO hook up the green motif as soon as I was able to join it to something just to see what it would look like: me like-y!

I’m excited about this crochet top and can’t wait for Sunday when I plan to do a lot of hooky on Rose.

The problem with Rose

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Natasja in My crochet, My ramblings

≈ 9 Comments

Have you ever felt excited about a crochet pattern, bought the perfect yarn, started crocheting and one week in you just feel kind of bleh about it?

I’m sure other people must loose interest in their crochet projects because something new comes along, but I’m not one to leave a project halfway for something else unless it’s something with a deadline (like a pattern for a magazine). That means that if I’m bored/frustrated/uninterested with a project it bugs me soooo much because I just can’t pack it up and get on with something else – I HAVE TO finish is.  But if I do decide to start a more interesting project I can’t fully enjoy it, no matter how much more interesting it is, because the boring one haunts me.

The piece of crochet that has me feeling so uninspired, is the beautiful Rose top from Marie Wallin’s book Filigree.Rose crochet top Natasja King Instagram feed

I’m using a lovely blue King Cole Bamboo Cotton 4 ply yarn which is a joy to work with. I have the motif memorised and I know the Rose top will be very wearable. I really want to finish it so that I can wear it, but I just can’t “get stuck in”.  Do you know what I mean? I crochet a motif, I join it to the others and then I put it down and stare out the window. Or I make a cup of tea. I return to my spot on the couch and with a big sigh start the next motif. Two rounds in, I put it down and stare out the window. Or rearrange the flowers in the vase. Then I check my Instagram feed and think to myself “Should I take a photo of Rose? Nah. Can’t be bothered”. I pick up the half finished motif and do two more rounds, join it to the rest and…. stare out the window. This goes on for about 30 minutes and then I give it up until tomorrow. Or not. Sometimes I give it up until next week.

Can you see where I’m going with this? (At least something is going somewhere – unlike the progress on Rose!)

When I was making the CFK4 blanket (I gladly interrupted Rose for this very worthwhile cause) I was flying through the granny squares. Granny squares are a million times easier to make than the motif for Rose, so you would think I would have been bored. But I wasn’t. I was excited and driven. I had to decide which shade of blue to use and think really hard about it, because I was doing join-as-you-go, so if I didn’t like my colour choices, I was stuck with them. There was a lot to think about, but I loved making that blanket and finished it in three weeks!

Last week I bought a new Japanese crochet pattern book which arrived yesterday. Having paged through the book all I want to do now is figure out those diagrams and get started with a beautifully intricate crochet top. The challenges of reading a Japanese crochet diagram is super enjoyable for me. Even if I only use one colour (like I did for this one) I just can’t stop crocheting because the pattern is so interesting.

Now that I’ve written down my thoughts here I think I know now what the problem is with Rose: it’s not challenging enough. I need to play with colour, solve colour problems or figure out a tricky diagram to get me excited about crochet.

Knowing why I’m bored with Rose, still doesn’t solve my problem though. I desperately want to finish it so that I can wear it and get on to other Japanese-y crochet patterns, but I’m just not motivated.

I guess I’ll just have to suck it up, buckle down and get on with The Business Of Rose.

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