Charity Yarn Bombing 2015 – Part 1

 

Charity Yarn Bombing Poster

For those who followed the project last year you will know we are a small GP surgery on the beautiful coast of North Yorkshire. We have a group of patients and friends of the surgery who love crafting with yarn, following the sucess of the yarn bombing last year we ran the event for 2015 following a similar format for but with some new themes.

Dinosaur Park

Dinosaur Park3I had my doubts about including dinosaurs anticipating it would be limiting in terms of patterns, couldn’t have been more wrong as you can see.

Dinosaur Park2

We had quite a few knitted prehistoric deliveries both large and small.

Dinosaur Park 5

Lots of dino’s for our park in a variety of sizes from the miniature 4-6 inch creations above that patients brought in. To the rather large Stan the Stegosaurus who you may have seen in a previous post where I shared the working progress of creating this colouful prehistoric creaature.

Heidi Bears African Flower Stegosaurus 3

And Monty the Diplodocus.

Crochet Dinosaur Monty Diplodocus Side View

Teddy Bear’s Picnic

This was one of my favourite pieces, you can see from the size of the raffle ticket just how tiny these little teddies are, they sat on their little picnic blanket contemplating their miniature sandwiches and cakes throughout the weekend. As I am sure you can imagine they were one of the first items to receive a bid.

Mini Teddy Bears Picnic

There was an array of little woolly bears and teddy toys gathered in the picnic corner to share in the knitted and crochet cakes, biscuits and sanwiches including Mrs Baker Bear sat on the chair with piping bag in hand to finish off the last bun.

Teddy Bears Picnic3

Teddy Bears Picnic 4

Rollo the african flower bear settled down amongst the log pile for a snooze after devouring his fill of the picnic.

Rollo African Flower Bear

To sit alongside the picnicing bears we had a stand (ok and yarn bomed step ladder) laden with tea cosies.

Tea Cosies

These were a very popular contribution to the event, it must be in celebration of the great british brew!

Down on the Farm

One of our group particularly requested we include a Farm theme this year, she had a new book by Sarah Keen that she was dying to try and we were so pleased with results, you can almost hear those little piggies snorting.

Farm Animals 3

Our Parctice Nurse managed to aquire a hay bale for us to display our farmyard creatures, I was thrilled but my lovely hubby was less so as I used his car to collect it! Four weeks on and he has just about got the last of the straw removed from his car boot.

A patient kindly donated this gorgeous african flower horse, I believe it is from the Heidi Bears pattern but sadly the donator remains anonymous so I cannot be sure.

Heidi Bears Horse

We also had a gathering of owls nestling in the bushes casting their wise eyes over the weekend proceedings.

Owls and Bird

And in the hedgerow below gathered a collection of bunnies and other creatures.

In the Hedgerow

And birds simply sat on the fence watching the world go by.

Crochet Birds

 

I don’t want to bore you so will call this post part 1, I will continue working on compiling the other half of the images to post early next week. I am working tomorrow as we are open for our first Flu clinic, it is always a bit crazy at this time of the year when everyone wants to get their vaccination done early to protect against catching a flu bug!

 

 

Crochet Meercat Bride and Groom

One of our patients, an avid supporter of the Charity Yarn Bombing asked if we would make a merecat bride and groom for her grandaughters wedding.

Crochet Meercat Bride and Groom She dropped into the surgery a knitting pattern book and some yarn and left it with us. My colleague, who is a much better knitter than I, kindly took it all home to make them.

Crochet Meercat Bride 1Unfortunately my talented colleague wasn’t happy with the finished item, the fine yarn was not easy to work with and a strain on the eye at the end of a busy day! So I had a look for a crochet version and found this pattern from Planet June. it was much easier to execute that the knitted version so we made amendments to suit our patients request and came up with this Bride and Groom.

Crochet Meercat Bride

Crochet Meercat GroomWe send our congratulations to the happy couple, or should we say couples!

Charity Yarn Bombing 2015

It’s coming round again, I can’t believe it is June already. Where does time go?

This years Charity Yarn Bombing at the surgery will be on 29 and 30 August 2015Charity Yarn Bombing Banner

Last year patients, friends and family and crafters from around the globe helped us create a woolly fantasy garden in the grounds of the small GP surgery where I work raising over £1000.00, the proceeds were shared between our local hospice and the hospital.

We have commenced our regular Saturday meetings to plan and share our ideas and creations for this years woolly display. We wanted to challenge ourselves so the themes are different as listed below, although we thought it was appropriate to keep a seaside theme again as we are on the coast.

  • Dinosaur park
  • Teddy Bears Picnic
  • Down on the Farm
  • Jungle Capers
  • Beside the Seaside

Read last years post here and see the three posts showing what was acheived for last years event in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

If you would like to join in everyone is welcome, any contributions will be most gratefully received and put to great use. Just leave a comment or drop me an email if you would like any further information. Alternatively please stay in touch and we will share our progress with you in the coming weeks.

You may have already guessed that Stan the Stegosaurus and the crochet cave kids Magnar and Sadiki are for the Dinosaur Park and I look forward to sharing further makes with you all.

 

Crochet Christmas Tree, Snowflakes and Christmas Bunting

Crochet Christmas TreeIt may be a bit late but wanted to share my Christmas creations with you while we are all in the  seasonal mood. I made this little tree back in June, I can’t remember why I did it then , I think I just had a bit of time between projects and wanted to make an effort to be prepared for the holiday season.

These lovely little snowflakes were made last year and it was such a delight to get them out again. A simple pattern and quick and easy to make. I sprayed on some starch to stiffen them up too which worked really well.

Crochet Snowflakes Christmas Decoration

Lastly, some festive bunting, looks quite good on the tree don’t you think?

Crochet Bunting

Charity Blanket Squares – Crafters Call to Arms

Flower Motif Blanket Squares 4

Found this great idea and wanted to share with you all as I know you too will want to join in and gift a few blanket squares to charitable causes.

It is very brave of our fellow crafter to volunteer to join all the donated squares as we all know this can be the most trying part of blanket making!

As soon as enough generous crafters pledge squares to make this a viable project the instructions will be published and we can all get going, I can just hear it now needles clacking and hooks a-hooking, it is after all the season of goodwill.

To pledge your interest click on the link below and leave a comment.

Christmas-Blanket-Project-by-Bestofcrochet.com-2

Help Needed to Crochet for Charity

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Pot Holders for Afternoon Tea

‘Why can’t I find pot holders any more?” This is what I was asked recently whilst on a short break in Ripon.

The hotel owner saw me crocheting in the lounge and asked me this question, so when I got home I had a look online and found that there are many around but made by, and advertised amongst craft enthusiasts. I could not find any nice ones for sale in high street stores. Always keen to take on a new challenge I scoured my computers pages for some patterns and set to work to produce…….

Trio of Pot Holders

I think that pot holders will really enhance that old fashioned english tradition of taking tea. At the The Old Deanery where we stayed in Ripon tea was wonderfully presented in silver tea pots with a pot of hot water and, yes really, sugar lumps, where do you see those today? We loved it. It was the perfect accompaniment to an hour of crafting (me) and reading (hubby) in the lounge before heading out to see the art exhibition in the Catherdral.

Morning Tea and Crochet

The hotel owner said she has lots more teapots but without the bakerlite handles so they get too hot to hold, hence the quest for pot holders. I added the loop so they could be hooked onto the lid of the teapot to be ready in place when the tea is suitably brewed and ready to pour.

Star Pot Holder on Teapot So here we have a close up of each one, starting with Daisy, this pattern is available free from many sites but I got it from Bobbles&Baubles.com we are told that the pattern originates from a dutch lady but I could not find her to give the credit deserved.

Crochet Daisy Pot Holder

Next is the Flower Petals design, I did find another pattern for this but found that I preferred using the Blooming Flower cushion version from Attic 24. I just did less rounds of course.

Crochet Flower Pot Holder

Then lastly is the Star Flower, this pattern I found here at FreecraftUnlimited.com . I think this is my favourite but then I touch the others and they all feel so nice in the hand I keep changing my mind.

Crochet Star Flower Pot HolderThese are all free patterns so go on give it a whirl, they are really quick to work up however this last one took me a while to get all the twists into position.

The only thing I have not told you is that I used Debbie Bliss Bella, 85% cotton, 10% silk, 5% cashmere so they are rather luxurious. The cotton works well as it has a nice grip to it and where the pot holder pattern twists and folds you get a double thickness for heat protection. Not sure if I should look for some better value cotton yarn, any suggestions?

Apache Tears Cushion Completed

Apache Tears Cushion Front

Well, this was supposed to be one of my ‘finishing off’ projects but I have to be honest and say that I fell in love with the Apache Tears pattern and could not bring myself to resign it to the back of the flower cushion. So I ended up with yet another project to finish! But on a good note, I love it!

When it came to making a back for the cushion I was careful to keep it as simple as possible so decided to go for a simple stripe.

Stripy Cushion Back

But how to make the opening? That would take a bit of thinking about, I did not want to use buttons as the cushion is going to go onto the new wooden kitchen bench and if it is used to sit on I thought the buttons might dig in to ones bottom. Then I remembered a video I had stumbled upon recently that shows how to work a flower into a row of crochet. Mmmmmmmm if I do flowers like these they can become the buttons, could this work?

Flower Buttons

And to open.

Flower Button Opening

I think it worked really well and am so happy with my new cushion, My daughter won’t be able to complain about the bench being to hard now!

Apache Tears Cushion Back

The only problem I have now is which way round to use my new cushion?

Apache Tears Cushion Front

Me, well I am back to making another back to finish off the original cushion again!

Flower Motif Blanket Square Tutorial

Flower Motif Blanket Squares 4

To create your Flower Motif Blanket Square you will need:

You Will Need

  • 3 colours of yarn
  • Crochet hook
  • Scissors
  • Wool needle

I have used Debbie Bliss Rialto Double Knit and a size 5 mm hook. Size of the finished square using this yarn and hook size is 14 cm, 51/2 inches.
Choose the colour for the flower centre and start – chain 6

Chain 6Slip stitch into the first chain to form a ring.

Form A RingSlip stitch onto the centre of the ring.

ROUND 1

Chain 1
Work 15 double crochet into the centre of the ring.
Slip stitch into the first double crochet.
Cut yarn leaving approx. 5  cm and draw through the loop to fasten off.

Slip Stitch CentreRound 2

Join the flower colour.

There are many different ways to join yarn but this is how I do it.
Tie the new colour to the finishing tail of the last yarn colour.

Join New ColourSlide the knot down the tail and tighten so it sits snuggly against the last stitch.

Slide Knot

Pull the yarn through the top of the first double crochet of round 1.

Chain 3 (counts as 1 treble), 1 treble crochet into the same space. You can work in the tails as you crochet by holding them to the back of your work and enclosing them as you make each stitch.

3 Chain and 1 Treble

Work 2 trebles into each of the remaining 14 double crochet.

See how neatly the tails can be worked in as you go.

Contine Working 2 Trebles

You now have 30 stitches.

Slip stitch into the 3rd chain of the first 3 chain of this round.

Slip Stitch to Join

Front view.

Front ViewRear view.

Rear ViewYou will see there is only the starting tail showing as the tails from joining the new colour have been crocheted into the round.

Now to start making the petals, we are only going to work into the front loop of each stitch. The back loop will be used for round 4.

Round 3

Chain 1 (counts as 1 double crochet).

1 double crochet into the next stitch.

Petal Double Crochet1 half treble into the next stitch.

Petal Half Treble5 trebles into the next stitch

Petal 5 Trebles

1 half treble.

Round 5 Half Treble 2

1 double crochet to complete the first petal.

Petal 1 Complete

Continue working into the front loops only to make 4 more petals.

Petal 2

Each petal is worked into 5 stitches, the pattern for each petal is:

1 double crochet, 1 half treble, 5 trebles into the same stitch, 1 half treble, 1 double crochet.

For the last petal work:

1 double crochet, 1 half treble, 5 trebles into the same stitch, 1 half treble, 1 double crochet, slip stitch into the chain made at the start of the round.

Slip Stitch to Complete Round 3

Front view.Petal Round 1 Complete

Rear view

Petal Round 1 Rear View

Round 4

Now we will work into the back of the loop that you can see above on the back of the flower.

Start with the flower facing you and slip stitch into the loop immediately below.

Round 5 Slip Tail Through Loop

Chain 3 (counts as 1 treble).

Round 4 Chain 31 treble into the same loop.

Round 4 I Treble Into Same Space1 treble into the next loop.

Round 4 1 Treble Into Next LoopContinue the round alternately working 2 trebles then 1 treble into each loop.

You will have 45 stitches, have a quick count to check as you will not be able to complete the next round of petals without the correct number of stitches.

Slip stitch into the 3rd chain of the 3 chain worked at the start of the round.

Round 4 Slip Stich To Join

Round 5

Again we are only going to work into the front loop of each stitch for this second round of petals. The back loop will be used for round 6.

Chain 1 (counts as 1 double crochet).

Round 5 Chain 1

1 double crochet into the next stitch.

Round 5 Double Crochet1 half treble into the next stitch.

Round 5 Half Treble5 trebles into the next stitch.

Round 5 5 Trebles1 half treble

Round 5 Half Treble 21 double crochet to complete the first petal.

Round 5 Double Crochet 2Continue the round following the pattern set for each petal:

1 double crochet, 1 half treble, 5 trebles into the same stitch, 1 half treble, 1 double crochet.

For the last petal work:

1 double crochet, 1 half treble, 5 trebles into the same stitch, 1 half treble, slip stitch into the chain made at the start of the round. 9 petals.

Slip Stich to Join PetalsCut yarn leaving approx. 5  cm and draw through the loop to fasten off.

Front view

Round 5 Complete

Rear view

Round 5 Complete Rear ViewWith the flower facing you and slip stitch into the loop immediately below.

Round 5 Slip Tail Through LoopRound 6

Join the next colour by tying a knot around the tail threaded through the loop.

Round 6 Join New ColourTurn the flower around to face you, hold the top petals down and draw the yarn through the loop.

Round 6 Slip Stitch into the First LoopChain 3.

Round 6 Chain 3Treble 2 into the same loop.

Round 6 Work 2 Trebles into Same SpaceChain 3.

Round 6 Cain 33 trebles into the next loop.

Round 6 3 Trebles into Next LoopChain 3.

Count along to the 5th loop from the last loop worked. Work 1 double crochet into the 5th loop.

Round 6 Chain 3 2Chain 3.

Round 6 Chain 3 3Count along to the 5th loop from the double crochet loop worked. Work 3 trebles into the 5th loop.

Round 6 3 Trebles 3Chain 3.

Work 3 trebles into the next loop to form the second corner.

Round 6 3 Trebles 4

Continue the round as follows.

Chain 3.

Count along to the 5th loop from last three treble worked. Work 1 double crochet into the 5th loop.

Chain 3.

Count along to the 5th loop from the double crochet. Work 3 trebles into the 5th loop.

Chain 3.

3 trebles into the next loop.

3 Chain

Count along to the 5th loop from the last 3 trebles worked. Work 1 double crochet into the 5th loop.

Chain 3.

Count along to the 5th loop from the double crochet. Work 3 trebles into the 5th loop.

Chain 3.

Work 3 trebles into the next loop to form the fourth corner.

Chain 3.

Count along to the 5th loop from last three treble worked. Work 1 double crochet into the 5th loop.

Chain 3.

Slip stitch into the third chain of the first 3 chain worked at the start of round 6.

Round 6 Complete Front View

Round 7

Work 3 chain (counts as first treble).

Round 7 Chain 3

Work 1 treble into each of the next 2 trebles.

Round 7 2 Trebles 1

2 trebles 2 chain 2 trebles into the corner space.

Round 7 First Corner

Work 1 treble into each of the next 3 trebles.

Round 7 3 Trebles into 3 Trebles 1

3 trebles into the next chain space.

1 treble into the double crochet.

Round 7 3 Trebles into Chain Space 1

3 trebles into the next 3 chain space.

Round 7 3 Trebles into next Chain Space 2

1 treble into each of the next three trebles.

Round 7 3 trebles into Next 3 TreblesWork 2 trebles, 2 chain, 2 trebles into the corner space.

Round 7 Chain 2 Treble 2Continue working

*1 treble into each of the next three trebles.

3 trebles into the next chain space.

1 treble into the double crochet.

3 trebles into the next chain space.

1 treble into each of the next three trebles.

2 trebles, 2 chain, 2 trebles into the corner space.*

Repeat from * to * 1 more time.

3 trebles into the next three trebles.

3 trebles into the next chain space.

1 treble into the double crochet.

3 trebles into the next chain space.

Slip stitch into the 3rd chain of the first 3 chain worked at the start of this round.

Round 8

Chain 3.

Round 8 3 Chain

*1 treble into each of the next 4 trebles.

Round 8 4 Trebles

2 trebles, 2 chain, 2 trebles into the corner space.

Round 8 2 Trebles 2 Chain 2 TreblesContinue along to the next corner working 1 treble into each treble. 17 trebles.

Rounf 8 Trebles Up to Corner

2 trebles, 2 chain, 2 trebles into the corner space.

Round 8 2 Trebles 2 Chain 2 Trebles 2Continue round 8 working *17 trebles, 1 into each treble, and 2 trebles 2 chain 2 trebles into the corner space* twice.

Work 12 trebles ending with a slip stitch into the 3rd chain of the 3 chain at the start of the round.

Round 8 Complete

Round 9

Chain 1.

Round 9 Chain 1

Continue round 9 working 1 double crochet into each of the next 6 trebles, 4 double crochet into corner space.

*Work 1 double crochet into the next 21 trebles. 4 double crochet into corner space.* three times.

double crochet into the next 14 trebles.

Round 9 Work Double Crochet into Each Treble

End with a slip stitch into the chain made at the start of the round.

Cut your yarn leaving a 3 inch tail, pull the tail through the last loop and pull to tighten the knot.

Next you need to sew in any of the ends that you have not managed to crochet into your square.

Round 9 CompleteIt looks a bit out of alignment for a square at the moment but I always like to pin out each square on the ironing board or other flat surface and either lightly steam and leave to dry or lightly spray with a water mist and leave to dry naturally. This sets your square so make sure you pin out the corners neatly.

Flower Motif Afghan SquaresNow you can make other colour combinations and make into a cushion or blanket. If you have an questions please do not hesitate to let me know and I will be happy to help if I can.

I would also love to see any photos of your squares.

Happy crocheting!

The idea for the flower pattern blanket square came from making this lovely blooming flower cushion which I have made a couple of times now for my wonderful girls. I absolutely love it and wanted to incorporate the flower pattern into their blankets that I have made.

Pattern by Attic 24  blooming flower cushion.

Colourful Crochet Blanket – No 3 of 4

I have to confess that I haven’t got these posts in very good order as I made this blanket first, before doing the boy’s wave pattern blankets but this post is a bit more detailed so has taken a bit more time to put together. For the benefit of anyone who has not read the other posts on this subject we have 4 children who are now fully grown and independent and I wanted to make a blanket for each of them.

This one is for our youngest daughter Miss A.

First step was to confirm the colours, I had a head start with this blanket as the basis was to follow the colours used in the Blooming Flower cushion I had already made for her last year.

Rico Essentials Soft Merino AranNext was the planning stage. This was the first blanket I was to attempt using squares rather than one continuous pattern so there was going to be a learning curve here.

My Mum bought me Jan Eaton’s 200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws and afghans for my birthday. This is a wonderful book and flicking through all the gorgeous squares set my creative juices flowing. It is amazing how using different colours can change to look of a design completely.

Also on page 16 titled Mixing and Matching Blocks there was a fantastic tip to help with setting out your design, it suggests you make 1 of each of your selection of squares then photocopy several of each of them, then you can play with them to your heart’s content, laying them out this way and that until you are happy with how they look. If you do enough you can lay out your whole blanket.Crochet Blanket - Planning the design.However, be warned you can spend ages setting out your squares in a whole variety of patterns. I spent the whole of one Sunday afternoon crawling around the lounge floor trying combination after combination, all the family got involved and of course, everyone had an alternative view on the preferred pattern. Above is just one example but as you will see from the finished images it is not the one I went with in the end.

As I was too indecisive about the layout and began to question the viability of some of the samples I had done. After so much experimentation and deliberation I thought it better to move into action and just start making some squares. The first pattern I confirmed I wanted to include was Pattern 98 Old Vienna

Crochet Square - Old ViennaThe next square was a bit more tricky as I designed it myself, I wanted this blanket to compliment the Blooming Flower cushion so using the style of this pattern I made a small 3 layer version of the flower. Then I worked out a way of picking up behind the flower to form a square around it, all the squares need to be of the same proportion so there was a bit of trial and error to get it to the required size but I was happy with my final effort.Flower Square for BlanketThe third and final pattern was again based on a pattern from Jan Eaton’s book, pattern number 37 Pin Stripes. I used many more colours than the pattern suggests but I liked the broad and narrow stripes created by the use of single and double crochet.Crochet Square stripy designI settled on using just the 3 patterns with the placement of the squares in a diagonal fashion alternating thus: flower, old vienna, pin stripe, old vienna but each row in a different colour combination. This was a rather self-indulgent method as playing with colours is my favourite part of a project.

I was pleased with how the pattern and the colours worked with the Blooming Flower Cushion.

BloomingFlowerCushionandColourfulBlanket

I must admit that joining all the squares did take sone patience. Firstly I tried sewing them but was not very happy with the finish so I crocheted then together by placing right sides together and joining the back of each loop.

To frame the squares I wanted something that would maintain the colour element but nothing to frilly or lacy so after trying a few different looks I decided on a simple stripe in double crochet.

ColourfulBlanketSideEdge

This worked easily around the corners too.

ColourfulBlanketEdgingCorner

And finally it was finished and thrown onto the bed in the bedroom of the lovely Miss A.

ColourfulBlanket-BedspreadNext project is the final blanket for Miss L…………

Lois Daykin Stripy Crocheted Cat Pattern

Here it is, my lovely Stripy Cat, another project from Lois Daykin’s Baby Crochet book. I did not quite follow the guidance for the features but think he worked out rather cute in the end. Although I have to admit I cannot make up my mind about the whiskers.

  • Should they stay?
  • Should they go?
  • Should they be sewn flat onto his face?

I have used some of the yarn left over from the Blooming Flower Cushion as I had lots of colours and plenty of bits and pieces that could be put to great use on this project as it doesn’t take too much of any of the individual colours.

I really love this colourful crochet Stripy Cat, I cannot decide whether to make another one in different colours.

He sits so nicely.

And can be rather playful and cheeky too!

Please find a link to this fabulous book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Crochet-Designs-Babies-Months/dp/1904485871 . Hope you enjoy it as much as I have. And let me know what you think about the whiskers?