Crochet colour and quick makes

16th June 

Having made a vase last week which took no time at all, very little thinking power and no money, see  here , I was keen to add to my quick make collection, add colour to our home and have something to do without taxing me as life is very busy at present.  Below is the result.  I have added a cushion to my crochet collection and made a matching tea light holder.  All made in the super quick granny stitch, see the vase post for how to  help.  I then added a scallop edge on the tea light for extra detail.  The weather has turned cold again here and so I could not photograph outside, which meant I played indoors with the cushion in various rooms and situations.  Indulge me, please!

For the cushion pattern on the right, see here

For the scallop edge, all you need to do is to slip stitch into first stitch of row below, then into each next consecutive stitch, sc, hdc, dc, trc, dc, hdc, sc, sl and repeat this until the end of your row.

 



The recent quick make collection!

 



BUT, this is what I should have been doing instead...

 



 

...off now to do paper work and admin!

 

♥Hope you all have a great week♥

Crocheted scrap busting and recycling!

10th June 


My new "free" vase

Crocheting has not been high on my list in the last few weeks, as often happens, other things have got rudely in the way and crochet is the first to be put on hold, let's not even talk about the mood blanket.  But quick makes are always at the forefront of my mind and I am often thinking how better to recycle and not make so much waste.  Our bins seem to over flow some weeks, it is embarrassing.  Plus it would be good not to spend any more money on wool, despite the urge to, so this latest idea solved many of my dilemmas in my mind. 1) it cost me nothing, but using up spare wool 2) I was able to recycle and not throw away 3) I was able to complete a very quick project and have something colourful to show for it.  So what did I make... a yogurt pot vase!


We munch our way through a lot of natural yogurt in our house, I like it mixed with crunchy muesli and fresh berries and the children enjoy it whizzed up with fruit to have a morning smoothie, with a sprinkling of flax seeds and a teaspoon of honey.  So I reckon we get through 1 or 2 large tubs a week.  That is an awful lot of plastic to throw away.  Friends of mine, watch out, this could be your next birthday present, I may just become a one woman band of creating a production line of these vases!

 So I needed said yogurt pot to measure the length needed, this time I was more accurate than last week when making my glasses case cum pencil case, see post here I chained 40 and realised when placing it around the pot, that I was way out and chained a further 30,
I used Stylecraft wool as often used by Lucy of Attic 24 and a 4mm hook. 
But this is stash busting, so you can use whatever you have.

 

I chose a quick stitch and used a granny stitch, whereby I chained an extra 3 at the end of my chain which counted as the first double crochet and into the fourth chain from the hook dc  and again dc into the same chain, thus meaning i had the chain 3 and 2 dc into the same chain stitch.  Next,  I chained one.  I continued along the chain making 3 dc into every fourth stitch and chaining one before moving onto the next 3 dc cluster.  On the next row I changed colour and made my 3 dc clusters in each of the chain spaces from the row before.  I continued in this manner, changing colour on every row until the crochet was the desired height of the yogurt pot. 

This works up super quick,  needs very little thinking about

and is a perfect project to complete in front of the TV!

 

 

 

I stitched the sides together as best as I could weaving in and out, it is easy to make this look  with a darning needle, great big eye for threading wool and it looked OK.  But on putting it on the yogurt pot I did not like the fact you could see the writing and pot design through the gaps of the crochet.  What do you think?

 

 

So out came my favourite paint, Autentico and a quick direct slap onto the pot, it was dry within 30 mins in this glorious weather and I was

able to have what I think is a great new vase! 
(I bought this paint from http://www.sarahughes.co.uk/ )

 

 

Now the identity of the pot is covered up by paint and crochet!

 



 

I enjoyed the flowers outside for the afternoon but in reality, this vase will sit in my utility room in my wool and painted furniture haven.  A colourful corner in our home.

 

I just love quick colourful makes, don't you!

Is it a crocheted glasses case? No!

June 2nd 

Well it is June already, phew the year is flowing along so fast and I think I am loosing my marbles... left my crocheted and well loved glasses case in Norway, see post here , so I decided before work this morning to hook up another one quickly.  There is a moral here, do not rush and measure accurately!  What did I make this morning...

 

... a pencil case!

 

 

As it happens, I love it and have been wondering where to hide my lovely new Sharpie pens away from the children, once in their grubby mitts, the tips would be ruined and I would never see them again, so for now at least, they are safe in my new pencil case and I need to crack on with making a crocheted glasses case.

 

It was quick and simple to hook up, see what you think...

 

 

Crocheted glasses case/pencil case  

 

 

 

You will need colours of choice.  As I wanted the glasses case for today at work, I opted for a quick two colour stripey effect, unlike the more colourful case made previously, see above link.

 



Look my new double ended crochet hook!

Chain required width for pencils or glasses, underestimate the width, unlike here in the below example, where it should have been obvious, that the case would be too long! Here I chained 45, in reality I think it should have been 30.

 



 

Again, for speed, I chose to hook stitches in double crochet. Chaining two at the end of the row and crocheting the first dc into the second stitch.

 



 

Within minutes the case grew rapidly.

 



I continued to check for the correct length required, for the crochet to cover the front and back of the glasses and to have a flap to overlap for fastening.

 



Once I was happy I was almost at the required length, I decided to add some crochet detail by using star stitch for the last row.  I thought this would look good on the flap.

 



 

To make the star stitch, it is VERY IMPORTANT to begin this stitch on the right side of your crochet as the back will look very different.   Chain three.

Into the middle chain, insert hook, yarn over and pull through.

 



 

Into the first chain (bottom chain), again insert hook, yarn over and pull through. 

You should now have three loops on the hook.

 



 

Into the first stitch of this row (last stitch of the previous row) insert hook, yarn over and pull trough.  Do this for the next two stitches.  You should now have six loops on the hook. It is important to keep the tension loose and not pull tight, otherwise the rows will creep inwards.  Don't do it, I've been there with my mood blanket and it is painful. See post here.

 



 

With all six loops on hook, chain one.

 



 

This closes the star stitch.



 

Insert hook into the 'eye' of the star stitch, yarn over and pull through.

 



 

Look carefully and insert hook into the last 'spoke' of the star stitch, yarn over, pull through.

 



 

Into the next stitch, insert hook, yarn over and pull through, do this to the next two stitches. Again you should have six loops on the hook, yarn over and pull through all six loops, this will have created the second star.  Continue like this until the end of the row, finishing with a hdc in the last stitch.

 



 

Front view of the star stitch so far.

 



Back view of the star stitch so far.

 



 

To complete the star stitch you need to crochet another row, chain two and turn.  Make a hdc in the 'eye' of the star stitch.  Then in all remaining 'eyes' make 2hdc.

 



 

Once you create the row of hdc into the eyes, the star stitch really

comes into it's own and looks lovely.

 



Now it was time to fold over the case.  At this point, I realised three things. 

1) If I didn't hurry up, I was going to be late for work and that was not an option

 2) I felt the the colours did not give the 'zing' I desired

3) The glasses case was looking suspiciously too wide and not fit for purpose

 



So, in haste I decided to add a sc row around in red,

 this would serve to join the sides and to add the 'zing'.

 



 

Once the red had been crocheted all round, I folded the case width ways in half and chained a single row of 8 chains, enough to fit around a small button.

 

Finally I located a matching red button sewed it on and confirmed my fears, that indeed the case was too large for my glasses and I would have to now dash out of the house with my glasses on the top of my head as I did not want to risk scratching them in my bag! 

 

But instead, on arriving home this evening, I came upon a brain wave so as not to waste the mornings effort and used the case, which I rather like with the red edging to house my newly acquired set of fine nibbed Sharpie pens.

 

...and guess what I started hooking up tonight

 





 

 

... a smaller version, hopefully for my glasses this time!

 

 

Have a great first week of June everyone ♥



London calling!

22nd May   

Seize the day.  This is what I am trying to do.  It is all too easy to become bogged down in day to day life and worry about the house, or is that my excuse so I can crochet?!?!   I keep seeing signs that say the children will not remember you for a clean house but for the time you spent playing with them.  We have had our fair share of illness this year and for the times when our household has been healthy, we are trying to make the most of it and have some fun.

So with a spare day and half, London called and off we trooped.  I just love the British museum and I have written about it before here, but to me the beauty of such places is that it is best to pop in and just see a small section, who can take  in so much in one day as a whole museum?  I find too that the children enjoy it more if you only see a section and then do not bore them stiff by spending all day there!

This time I decided to re visit the Greeks and Assyrians and I learnt a thing or two, that I am going to implement in my own home.

A winged spirit carrying a magical cone
and bucket by the side of an entrance 900BC

About 900BC, wow, I cannot even begin to imagine how far back that is (!), the Assyrians thought of doors and gateways as key locations which good or evil influences could enter a house.  So the actual building of entrances to buildings were always accompanied by a ceremony, loving this idea, any excuse for a party.  We are toying with adding a patio in the back garden and I am definitely going to have a good spirit party to begin the proceedings, it may not be an entrance, but hey, we spend a lot of time in the garden, I would like it to be filled with good spirit and feeling. But onto what I really wanted to share with you...  they also made sure that by the side of entrances there were colossal figures of stone which by their appearance would ward off evil and guard those entering the abode.  I love this idea so much.  A cousin of mine has a beautiful log cabin in the mountains and on a beam inside he has carved the magical sentence, "In this house we are friends and live and laugh together."  Realistically I think the neighbours would have a fit if I added two huge winged magical spirits to each side of my front door, not least because it would be pretentious, but would be so very out of place in our village.  But it got me thinking that I dress up the front door for Christmas and tentatively a little at Easter, but why not make it more welcoming the rest of the year.  So my mission over the coming weeks will be to have the customary hanging basket, which is at present looking very sorry for itself and spruce up the front of the house, I want to welcome in good feeling and happiness to all who choose to share their time with us in our home.  Thank you Assyrians for reminding me to do just that.

Lord Elgin...  I am of very mixed opinions when it comes to what he did.  For those of you who do not know, he removed many items from the Parthenon, Greece in 1806 and shipped them back to the UK where they are now displayed at the British museum, they are priceless and an important part of Greek history, yet they are here in the UK.  It was only round 1975 that Greece decided to try and begin to preserve the Parthenon itself and with air pollution, many of the facades, columns and sculptures have been irrevocably damaged and so Elgin in taking these precious pieces has actually preserved Greek history for all to see.  Interestingly he had no initial intention for removing anything, but wanted only to document what was there, but on discovering several sections and pieces missing and learning that those marbles that had fallen had been taken by the Turkish and melted for the lime they contained he felt he needed to remove and preserve, always with the intention of them going to the British museum.  He sold them to the British government for far less then it cost him to ship them over.  He even refused Napoleon's very generous and high offer to acquire them!     If you are interested futher wiki has a great write up on it all:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles



This monument is the largest of its kind, named Nereid, after the daughters of the sea god, Nereus. 
Imagine being buried in such a tomb, I myself am all for a cardboard box, wonder
what the nobles would have thought of that!

One of four female columns from the Erechtheum at the Parthenon, all the
other three are beyond recognition and have now been removed by the Greeks
and replaced with good quality replicas.

The four great Greek philosophers, Sokrates, Antishenes, Chrysippos and Epikouros

Aphrodite or Venus?  Greek or Roman?

From the British museum it is a pleasant stroll to Covent Garden and should you like a curry, we can strongly recommend the Punjab at the corner of Neal Street and Shaftesbury Avenue.  It is

reputed to be the oldest Indian restaurant in London. We have been visiting here

for some years and are never disappointed.

Wondering around London and you see all sorts of sights and sounds,

I didn't dare enter this shop, but what fun!



Strolling back for a lunch time stop I walked through Russell Square park and stumbled upon an an historical bike and dress conventions.  Both men and women were turned out in historically correct dress and the number of penny farthings seen was unbelievable.  This is what I love about London, there is such an eclectic mix of things to see and do, never a dull moment!

We had a spot of picnic lunch on the roof top and dozed in the dappled

shade from the sun.  A lazy afternoon.



As dusk hit, we took a river boat along the Thames to visit some friends and with the heat of the day cooling and the colours in the sky, it felt heavenly.



The following day was warmer still and even Canary Wharf and

the docklands looked amazing in the sunshine.



Wherever there is a subway, there is some graffiti, this one better than most.



Making the way back home, was arduous and a two hour journey turned into over four hours, but I enjoyed the people watching along the way and at nearly 6 in the evening Clapham common was still full of happy people soaking up the last of the days rays.



But there is nothing like home is there, despite the fact that there were chores to do,

it was made all the more easier with a bit of evening sunshine.



Hope you all have a fantastic week x