18 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in My crochet, Video, Watch me crochet Wednesdays
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This is nothing fancy; just a short video of me crocheting whatever I’m working on at the moment. I hope you like it.
The video shows me crocheting:
This is my longest video yet. It had to be because I explain how to make the long single crochet stitches on either side of the “peaks” in the chevron.
17 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted in My crochet, Terrific Tuesdays
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On a Monday I can still remember the fun I had over the weekend, Wednesday is the middle of the work week, on Thursday I start getting hopeful and on a Friday I can taste the weekend. But what about a Tuesday? It’s so…. just there. Weekend memories are too far away and the upcoming weekend might as well be a year away.
What we need is a bit of colourful inspiration to get us going on a Tuesday, don’t you think? A pretty picture, beautiful scenery or colourful imagery. Yup, that’ll liven up Tuesdays and turn it into a terrific day!
From now on I will go through my photos and Pinterest likes every Tuesday and find us a pretty picture to add colour and joy to the day.
xxxxxx
My Sunset Shades chevron scarf in the making. Perfect for a burst of colour on a Tuesday isn’t it? There are four more colours in the scarf which I haven’t photographed yet. I’m using Vinnis Nikkim 100 % cotton DK yarn. The colours that you see here (from right to left) are Stone, Baby Yellow, Ballet Pink, Peach and Red Violet and Natural. All credit should go to my Mom who gave me a bag of Vinnis Nikkim when I went to visit her in Cape Town earlier this year. She chose the colours – I just had to put them together. You’ve got a great eye for colour Mom!
I’m writing up the pattern and colour sequence for this scarf so you’ll be able to make one for yourself too! Would you want to make your scarf in exactly these colours? I’d love to hear from you.
Wishing you all a Terrific Tuesday
Natasja
11 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in Crochet For Kidneys, My crochet
Caffe Nero tables are the perfect size to get an overview of my selection of purple and white squares. I was tempted to stand on a chair to take this photo, but the barista might not let me through the door again if I did. Restrain yourself Natasja! Not everyone gets excited about crocheted squares the way you do. (Pity. They really should. The world would be so much happier if everyone found joy in craft activities during lunch breaks.)
11 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in My crochet, Video, Watch me crochet Wednesdays
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This is nothing fancy; just a short video of me crocheting whatever I’m working on at the moment. I hope you like it.
This video shows me crocheting:
This video has voice over too! Me! I talk you through the basic technique for making a chevron.
I really wish I had more time to crochet because I can’t wait to see this scarf grow. Between work, organising the Crochet for Kidney Research UK day, making purple and white squares and just life in general my scarf is growing very slowly. I guess that’s just the way of the hooker with too many things on her To Hook List. I’m sure you know what I mean.
08 Sunday Sep 2013
Posted in My crochet, Ta-daah!
As if organising the Crochet for Kidney Research UK day isn’t enough, I’ve also been working of a very interesting custom order I received on Etsy. A lady emailed me the photo below mid August and asked whether I would be able to recreate the crocheted balloons hanging from the ceiling*. Say what?! Crocheted balloons for a nursery. No pattern. Only a photo to go by. Challenge accepted!
Once we had both done a bit of thinking, squinting closely at the picture, Googled a lot and did some number crunching, we came up with a plan.
I would use spherical polystyrene balls in three sizes (200 mm, 250 mm and 290 mm) as the top of the balloons. About three-quarters of the way down I will stop following the lines of the sphere and in stead crochet to a point which will form the bottom part of the balloon. In stead of ribbons, I’ll crochet three crochet chains for each balloon. We decided to make each balloon as textured and dense as possible so that the white polystyrene won’t show through. I was given creative licence with the design for each balloon.
I had a plan. Now all I needed was the pattern. There isn’t a pattern for “crochet balloons to hang from a ceiling in a nursery”. Imagine that. What I did find was Crochet Spot’s tutorial for how to crochet a sphere. This turned out to be all I needed. It was perfect. I obviously had to make adjustments and modify my balloons as I went.
If you hover over the photos in the above gallery, you will see more text that explains the designs. I used a mix of (US) SC, HDC, bobbles, shells and a fun stitch called Crunchy Stitch. I found Crunchy stitch in the Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopaedia (there’s a link to the book on the right of the blog). Crunchy stitch is just alternating HDC and slip stitches. It gives a lovely texture.
You can see a short video of me crocheting the white balloon around the polystyrene ball here.
The white balloon was definitely the most difficult to make. I started off by using a DK yarn and spent a whole weekend trying to shape the top part, only to realise that I needed chunky yarn (to make it grow quicker, and to give me the texture I needed). As soon as I switched to the chunky yarn (which by the way has a lovely sheen that adds to the texture and looks great when the light falls on it) it was much easier. Getting the shaping right for the two smaller balloons also became easier. By the time I had reached the beige balloon I had this crochet balloon thing down!
The nitty-gritty of the crocheted balloons:
Up up and away!
*The photo is from the Pottery Barn website. They couldn’t tell my client where to buy the crocheted balloons used in their catalogue photo, because it belongs to the person whose home the photo was taken in.
05 Thursday Sep 2013
Posted in As seen on TV
In August 2013 Kyli Rhynalds contacted me with a plea for help. She had seen a crocheted blanket on Episode 12 of Orange Is The New Black. She emailed to say “I HAVE to recreate! I’m sure you understand that need. 🙂 Do you think you can help?” Of course I understand. The blanket is absolutely beautiful! I seriously had gooseflesh when I saw it. It looks so femine, lacy and soft. I can imagine that prison inmates would fight about this blanket. Hey, I’m a free womand and I’ll fight for it!
I don’t have a lot of photos to go by, but between Kyli and me we figured out that two motifs from Pierrot Yarns can be combined to make a very similar blanket.
For the yarn, stick to light grey and two shades of a peachy-pink in Chunky or Aran with an appropriate size crochet hook.
For the grey octagons, I found Colour the Season Coasters, which is a charted Japanese pattern from Pierrot Yarns. Click on the “direct link to pattern PDF” hyperlink in the Ravelry description to open a pdf file for the crochet chart. For the flowers I think this is the closest flower motif. It’s also a charted Japanese octagon pattern from Pierrot Yarns so it should fit it with the grey octagons. If you look at the first photo, you’ll see that the spaces between two motifs are filled with 5-chain links. These 5-chain links are used in the grey octagon motif, so just keep adding those 5-chain links around the edges of your motifs to make up the empty spaces and join the motifs together.
In the second photo you will see how the blanket is edged. You basically have to fill in the spaces between the motifs around the edges, with more 5-chain links, and use (US) double crochet / (UK) treble crochet stitches to make the sides square. I think you would have to do like they did by making wide borders, otherwise your blanket may be too floppy. The wide border is what makes it keep its shape.
This blog post is certainly not a pattern for the Orange Is The New Black blanket – you’ll have to play around a bit and figure it out as you go, but hopefully the two motifs I found can point you in the right direction.
*If you need help with reading Japanese crochet charts, I list handy websites in the last paragraph of this post.
04 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in My crochet, Video, Watch me crochet Wednesdays
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This is nothing fancy; just a short video of me crocheting whatever I’m working on at the moment. I hope you like it.
This video shows me crocheting:
The video was taken on Saturday, late afternoon in my living room. I cut my finger, hence the green (embracing my inner child) band-aid. Not even a band-aid can stop me crocheting, I just adjust and adapt. That’s the way of the hooker.
02 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Crochet For Kidneys, My ramblings, Part 1
Do you have any plans for Saturday 9 November 2013? Fancy getting together with a few other crocheters to crochet squares for a charity and/or make up finished squares into blankets? You can also join in a crochet quiz and try your luck with raffle prizes. How do you feel about baking and trying out other’s home bakes? Does this sound like your idea of a Saturday morning? If so, you’re reading the right blog. I’m arranging all of this, and it’s in aid of Kidney Research UK.
When: 9 November 2013 from 10:30 to 13:30
Where: The Vera Fletcher Hall 4, Embercourt Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey KT70LQ. More information on the location here. The hall is 50 yards from Thames Ditton station, which is on the South West Trains line between London Waterloo and Hampton Court. Parking is also available in the area around the hall.
Why Kidney Research UK: My husband, John, met someone who suffered from full kidney failure a year ago. Pieter had been on dialysis for 4 years and on the Organ Donor’s List. John was so moved by his suffering and story, that he decided he would donate one of his kidneys to him. Over the months of compatibility tests they became the best of friends, during which time we learnt that they were a very good match. The transplant operation was on 27 November 2012 and went extremely well. John’s donation also made history by being the first directed altruistic organ donation in the UK. It’s now 9 months later and they are both in very good health. Pieter wants to pay it forward and recently became a Board Member of the Kidney Research UK “Making EVERY Kidney Count” appeal, . Pieter has committed to raise £150,000 over three years. I want to help him in the only way I know how: crochet.
How will we help Kidney Research UK?:
1. By crocheting squares to be made into blankets for dialysis patients. Around 20,000 people receive dialysis every year. It’s an extremely unpleasant thing to go through. I’m hoping that lovingly made crochet blankets will help make the dialysis session just a little bit better.
You can start crocheting squares now. Any design of square, as long as it’s close to 15cm squared and you stick to shades of purple and white (as these are the official colours of Kidney Research UK). Please do not use wool as it may shrink or felt when the recipients wash their blankets on a too warm wash. Acrylics and cottons are best. I have purple and white 100% cotton yarn for sale in my Etsy shop that will be excellent for these squares. 25p From each ball sold also goes to Kidney Research UK. You can find the cotton yarn here.
You can make a traditional granny square, or my Granny Square in Bloom square, until it reaches 15cm squared. Step by step photo tutorials for these two patterns can be found here. The pattern has been translated into UK / Australian crochet terms on Spincushions blog here.
If you need more inspiration, Jan Eaton’s book 200 Crochet Blocks (there is a link to the book under the Books I Recommend section on the right) are filled with patterns for squares designed to be 15 cm squared.
Just remember that all squares have to be shades of purple and/or white and no wool.
On the 9th of November we will start crocheting the squares together into blankets, and crochet more squares. If you can’t attend the get together, please post your squares to me. Squares from all over the world are welcome – the more the merrier.
2. Sales of raffle tickets. On the day we will sell raffle tickets for fun prizes. This blog post gives an idea of what will be raffled and also a sneak peek at the crochet quizz prizes.
3. Sales of coffee & tea. The cake to go with the coffee & tea is up to you….
4. Sales and donation of baked goods. Think of your entry fee to the crochet along, as something baked. Anything along the lines of a cake, cupcakes, muffins or tarts. Everyone’s baked goods will be sold with the tea & coffee and all proceeds go to Kidney Research UK. You can price your slices / goods whatever you think it’s worth. If baking isn’t your thing store bought goodies are absolutely fine.
3. Raising awareness of the work that Kidney Research UK does: Kidney Research UK will show a short video and Pieter and John will talk about their experiences in receiving and donating a kidney.
Things for you to do:
28 Wednesday Aug 2013
Posted in My crochet, Video, Watch me crochet Wednesdays
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Today is the first post in my new weekly series: Watch Me Crochet Wednesdays.
I’m not doing a fancy instructional crochet video; just a short video of me crocheting whatever I’m working on at the moment. I hope you like it.
This video shows me crocheting:
The video was taken on the Bank Holiday Monday. We had amazing weather so I’m seated outside at the patio table, crocheting al fresco. On a sunny weekend it feels wrong to sit on the livingroom couch with my crochet. A slight breeze, warmth and the shade of our patio umbrella really gets my hooky vibes going. Do you like to crochet outside?
*The balloon one of three I have to make for a custom order I received on Etsy two weeks ago. I will share more about this interesting project later.
13 Tuesday Aug 2013
Posted in My ramblings, Terrific Tuesdays
Tags
On a Monday I can still remember the fun I had over the weekend, Wednesday is the middle of the work week, on Thursday I start getting hopeful and on a Friday I can taste the weekend. But what about a Tuesday? It’s so…. just there. Weekend memories are too far away and the upcoming weekend might as well be a year away.
What we need is a bit of colourful inspiration to get us going on a Tuesday, don’t you think? A pretty picture, beautiful scenery or colourful imagery. Yup, that’ll liven up Tuesdays and turn it into a terrific day!
From now on I will go through my photos and Pinterest likes every Tuesday and find us a pretty picture to add colour and joy to the day.
xxxxxx
I’m a crochet nerd.
Wishing you all a Terrific Tuesday.
Natasja
crochetime 