Attic 24 inspired crochet cushion

11th March 

My attempt at the raindrop stitch from Attic 24

Any avid crocheter anywhere around the world will eventually stumble upon Lucy's blog, Attic 24. I discovered her in the summer of 2013.  Her blog with inspiring photographs of where she lives in north England are a treasure. Her pattern creations are inspiring and her tutorials are simple and extremely clear and easy to follow. Lucy has always maintained that her patterns will be free and she shares the crochet love willingly and openly. She occasionally has workshops and was a huge part of Yarndale last year, and no doubt will be this year too.  Simply Crochet magazine have snapped her up for a monthly column and it seems the world of yarn cannot get enough of the lovely Lucy. In the last week or two she has shared a new stitch she had come up with, cleverly called the raindrop stitch, so apt with all the rain the UK has suffered recently.  It is a stitch very similar to the spike stitch and I must admit I dropped all my other WIPs and began a test patch which in turn became quite large which in turn has also become a cushion.  Another unplanned project!

I decided that the colours I was using, also from the style craft Lucy pack, bought a few months ago from Wool warehouse, great service by them, by the way, would be ideal, but as my house is not overly colourful, a cushion in such vibrant colours might stick out. With the weather changing at the weekend, a plan began to firm up in my mind: outdoor patio cushions!  Mine were tired and needed replacing , so this would be a great opportunity.  Completing the raindrop stitch front I decided to not continue to the back side but to use oilcloth instead. It would be damp proof, we could use it on the grass, on the damp benches from the dew first thing in the morning as it wouldn't matter and for the same reason, we could use it straight after a rain shower.  In my stash of material I had just the right oilcloth piece, red with spots. Pulling out the sewing machine, within half an hour I had a completed outdoor cushion. Very chuffed with myself I was.  Of course now I have begun to make another cushion, in the same wool, the same colours but to mix things up a bit, in a different pattern. I am half way through already and feeling happy with myself.

I share with you here  a mini photo journal as I had not intended to necessarily blog about this and under the photographs you will find Lucy's great tutorial link for the raindrop stitch.  Hope you enjoy my colours and give Lucy a try!  You won't be disappointed!

I crochet whenever and wherever I can, it is very addictive.  This was me waiting for my son (in the car) to finish triathlon training early last Saturday morning!

The stitch is fast to work up, Lucy uses chunky yarn, but as I did not have any and wanted to try the stitch out straight away, I just doubled up my yarn and used a hook 2 sizes bigger than was recommeneded for the yarn I was using.



In no time at all the cushion front was completed.

I did add in a zip to the back in the middle of the oil cloth, so I can wash/wipe down as needed. 

I think the oil cloth and raindrop stich front in a mad sort of way complement each other.  I am pleased with how this has turned out!

Crocheting on the train earlier today, beginning my mini granny sqaures in the same colours as the raindrop cushion, this is the start of cushion number two!  Watch this space for updates...

Lucy at Attic 24, raindrop tutorial:  http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/raindrops-stitch.html%20

What are you working on?  Have you begun to think about spring and summer makes yet?