Sweet Fabric:
crochet

This time with bamboo & as a neck piece.

I've got a mate who is a lover of green having a birthday this month. I wonder if maybe it's a little big though? Dunno...maybe I need to think about this one a bit more.

A bracelet.

It was far too fiddly really but I am chuffed with the result.

If you're a die hard you might remember I was trying to fashion myself a bracelet like this. It's been on the backburner for a good long time but certainly not forgotten.

OK so I may not have quite hit the mark but I am quite pleased with my crafty take on the theme.

I just crocheted chains of embroidery floss into chains & then attached all the separate chains to a very nifty bit of hardware I purchased at a beading supply shop.

As an aside...
If you are a die hard. Thanks a million...for putting up with the drivel & offering support & encouragement when I have a "win". You're tops.

I'm hooking up a stormy sea.

It's a big huge giant leap for me...I had to put three colours/shades together! You may or may not have noticed that I am generally a one colour girl (or one & white/cream & that really doesn't count). Some people are great with colour & pattern, they splash it about with gay abandon & ALWAYS get it just right. That ain't me...interesting isn't it?

Just a giant mess of chains & ends that I'm hoping will be a little something lovely.

Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

The kid will play netball (& she might enjoy it).

I figured I might as well help the cause & I've made Harriet a coaching aid mobile.

This is exactly the kind of thing you might find on Regretsy or What not to crochet but I'm semi-confident that the netballing freak mother of the child will like it.

birthday that is!

It's become a bit of a tradition to make her something & I really couldn't justify another bag.

So I've fashioned this little bracelet from some 4 ply bamboo.

It's just a double crochet corkscrew with a pretty silver closure stitched into place.

I hope she likes it.

feet
& fowler
& friend
(& for fraught too).

I had a LOT of issues with this little footstool. In the end I think I overcame them but not without fairly liberal use of that F word I can tell you.

The fabric was crocheted by me in 8ply on a 3mm hook and then cross stitched using organic cotton.

This started as an experiment in hyperbolic crochet & when I liked the beginnings I decided to keep on keeping on an make a ball for a freshly hatched little girl.

The sphere creation was incredibly slow going. There is absolutely no way you can get up any pace with the hook when everything is curling in on itself!

I used two balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino & then just doubled & doubled & doubled & doubled my doubles...you get the picture.

It's kind of weirdly fascinating & just the kind of thing that would have held my attention for hours as a kid. I reckon it's a bit like those linking rings - the "how" really becomes the focus.

Instead of working on the peacock or the other little something I have on the hook at the moment I'm teeny tiny chaining.

Still channelling my inner Picasso with the blue stuff ... & wondering what that's all about.

I'm also taking photos of roaches for fun (& for Tarn) but won't post that here for fear it might freak you out.

Have a great day.

I needed another "on the go" project.

Just a bit of meditative back & forth with a big hook & some lovely silky soft bamboo.

I'm calling it the peacock blanket.

Do pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

If you live in Melbourne, you know it well. It's a bit boring day after day after day isn't it?

Just like the Elm scarf...
Made using Rowan Tapestry, a 6.5mm hook a "v stitch" ...
Pale grey, dark grey, oh & a little bit of blue grey...

I wish I was escaping the grey too.

After months...nay years of admiring broomstick lace I think I've finally got it!

I've got an old McCalls magazine featuring a blanket of "broomsticked" mohair. It was hook/sticked in delightful candy colours & now I can do it too!

And because I don't like to waste anything my practice pieces have become cuffs.

Just so excited about the potential for this one.

Edit: I now have a how to posted here.

It's Leonie's wrap.

I hooked it like Michelle, Kate & Tania ... I'm way to slow on the sticks.

I followed Leonie's directions for the measuring but I left it a bit shy of where I want it to sit as I expect it to drop with wear over the next couple of days.

I'm calling it the Chameleon because it looks completely different in different light & depending what you're wearing underneath (or if you stand against a rust wall I've discovered).

Just as I did with the slashed vest, the armholes are set a little higher to give more flexibility. It can be worn upside down, inside out & round about. You can check that out here.

Details...
Yarn - Cleckheaton Coutry Paintbox 8 ply Col: 31
Hook - 9mm (yep 9 - I was going for drape)
Stitch - I used double crochet (Aus/UK) or US single crochet

Edited to add: I used 6 balls & my wrap was 23 inches x 34 inches

Happy weekend all.

make me happy.

Totally should have been on the vac but made this instead.

Just completely ridiculous but certainly smile worthy.

Hoping that you had a cracker jack weekend. I finished off a couple of things & started a couple of new things & generally lazed about in very fine company.

& how quickly a "technique" employed out of necessity becomes a habit. It was tricky to find my chain stitches with the two strands of mohair & using the big hook. So I started marking. Now I'm marking my third chain either for back & forth or in the round. Regardless of hook & yarn size. It makes things easier for me & we all know I LOVE a rule.

I'm holidaying at the moment (& you could be too enter Mikes Crafty Getaway). I'm enjoying taking stuff in, spending time unplugged & stopping to check things out. Noticing.

Noticed elsewhere:
hand quilting - just lovely.

Have a fabulously creative day.

Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

for anyone...anytime.

It doesn't rely on tension, hook size, type of yarn blah de blah.

You just need to worry about making sure the rectangle of fabric measures...

circumference x head height = super cute 'x' stitch beanie

I was lucky enough to have recipients easily lassoed by the measuring tape but if you're making for a gift you might like to refer to this excellent size chart found via google this afternoon. Thanks Bev.

How to make a crochet & cross stitch beanieView more presentations from kootoyoo.

I knew the heart wasn't going to fly so The Big Girl & I went for something très sophistiqué. The kid hasn't taken the beanie off since it was gifted. Both The Little Guy & The Date think it's fabulous (& those fellas are a tough craft audience).

There's a pdf here if that helps you out.

It goes without saying that you don't have to be able to crochet to make this beanie. You could follow the same formula & use some lovely wool jersey & the machine. That'd make it super quick.

I totally got this idea from a really old book of crochet afghans around at Auntie Pat's. The afghan was made in classic Nanna style with roses cross stitched into black in feature blocks on the afghan.

I've never been a big fan of double (US single) crochet because of the Aida like appearance of the cloth. Now I've found a reason to love it.

Never one to do things by halves the x's are all over the place.

The hat was constructed using a formula(!) & some fancy folding too. Amazingly, it fits the cute as a button kid it was gifted to. I just have to make sure that it wasn't a fluke & make another to test the theory & then I'll share it with you.

I can't help it. The hook is superglued to my hand at the moment. The Date's getting heartily sick of taking pics of me so that'll be it for the grown up sized stuff for a while.

This colour can only be described as Pigeon blue because everytime I see it I think of Christie.

I'm still churning out the granny shrugs (not for me) but this deliciously warm, smokey, sleeves-only number is all mine.

Foundation chain to completion in one day (I was at a gym competition). More realistically it's two nights in front of the teev.

Made up as I went along but based on the circled creation of last week which was based on a knitted Sunspun creation.

If you'd like to hook yourself a speedie little number it's super easy...just a rectangle really. You could just dive in & have a crack but for those who like a "pattern" (& I use the term loosely), I have a pdf here.

I'm not aware of a link between my environment & stuff I make. I mean I notice stuff & appreciate it but I don't add drawings of nature to the moleskin. Once I finished the scarf (it turns out Sunspun did have one more ball), I thought it looked just like elm leaves I picked up last week on the run.

Our area is terrible for elm leaf beetle which is what has created the lace pattern on the leaf.

Rowan Tapestry is just a beautiful yarn & perfect for a project this size. I used a 6.5mm hook & used about 240 metres of yarn to make a 1.6 metre scarf.

I imagine this scarf would look glorious crocheted in yarn by Leah or Kate. I think that I shall try that next.

It's going to be gifted to my mother in law for her birthday. She is, by her own admission, the Imelda Marcos of the scarf world.

I'm just all about the hook at the moment. I'm mucking around with this gorgeous blue trying to get the right hook to yarn ratio. BUT I have been seriously side tracked by some lovely brown Rowan Tapestry which I started a sample square with & it's now grown to almost scarf proportions. I hope they've got some more at Sunspun (if they don't it was always meant to be a scarflet).

For those of you who know about the brown granny disaster of '09 please pick yourselves up off the floor. I'm loving the brown again. x

As for the poor granny shrug that's also on the hook - it's been temporarily sidelined.

Don't forget to pop in and add your link if you're playing along this week.

You can do it too!
Today is your day!

How
It seems that the mulberry granny shrug has inspired a few of you to have a crack yourself. That's super exciting & exactly why this patch of web space exists. Over the weekend Lara & I have worked together to present to you the whole box & dice for the granny shrug enthusiast.

There's something for everyone. This is the master class...for lovely folk who like to follow a pattern, or maybe you need the visual (like me) or perhaps you'd like to watch a dinky video.

If you know how to make a granny square then you know how to make this shrug. Just crochet yourself a couple of lovely granny hexagons.

You can just skip over the "instructions" & make the granny exactly as you always do. Maybe you slip across to the next chain space...ripper knock yourself out. There is no "right" way to make it.

You'll just end up with a lovely curly hexagon...good, that's great...exactly what we want. Just keep checking your sizing after each round to decide when you're done.

Mine have been 9 rounds (in the Wilderness) but depending on your tension & hook size yours might be 8 or 10 or more. Keep folding the curly hex in on itself until you're confident that the fit will be right for you.

the pattern
My very favourite crocheter is Lara. She's one of the reasons I picked up the hook in the first place. She likes to be good at stuff & works hard to make sure she gets things right. Well, guess what? She's written a fabulous, fabulous pattern (it might not have posted yet...be patient) for you to print & keep. And spared you all from my effort at a written explanation. Thank you Lara, you're the very best & it was lovely to share the making of the how to with you.

& the video
Just so you know it was really hard to crochet standing up stradling a tripod & keeping (or trying) the crochet in the frame.

Australian/UK terminology

Yarn
You've got a HUGE amount of flexibility here. You want to achieve a good deal of chunkiness & you'll just adjust your number of rounds accordingly so pick something that suits your style. I did make the suggestion the other day to use stash yarns crocheted together to make up the chunky style yourself.

I used Patons "Wilderness" 14ply. I like it...A LOT. It's a blend so purists might like to check out other options but I think it's just the perfect yarn for the job. Here's why... (& where to buy too).

OR you can have a go with 2 balls of 8 ply held together or whatever else takes your fancy. You'll just adjust your number of rounds according to tension & fit. Go nuts. Lara's using two strands of 12ply & is very happy with the result.

Hook
I'd say 15mm. I'm really happy with the result I'm getting with the 15mm hook. You need it to be loose so that you get a nice drape with the finished "fabric". We're not going for sturdy here folks...we want the pretty drape.

Making Up
I switched to a 2.65mm hook & just used double crochet up the centre back seam.

Then I doubled along the top sleeve seams & single crocheted along the back of the neck opening to give extra strength.

Again if you know how to do it your own way...do that. It will be great.

What, haven't had enough? Here's the steak knife! A round by round for the visual learner.
How to make a granny shrugView more presentations from kootoyoo.

Other Stuff
There's a flickr group. If you make a shrug we'd love to have it added to the group.

HAC class? There have been a couple of requests for a HAC class for the shrug. If you still think you need it or would like to make it up with a bunch of other girls over tea & biscuits, I'd be happy to run it over two evenings. If you're keen please email me kootoyooATgmailDOTcom & if we get enough interest we'll go ahead.