Sweet Fabric:
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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.

It was so nice to have a bit of time to myself yesterday.

I've had a few emails asking for pointers on stem stitch & again I think that this is the kind of thing best learned by watching & listening rather than still shots or sketches.

I stitched a bit of lettering & thought that I'd share the video. I've kind of adapted my traditionally taught stem stitch over the years. Vick...if you're reading this - click away now. This is my "go to" stitch. I use it for lettering, for outlining & for anything with a curve. I love the flexible nature of this stitch. You can very easily rocket ahead on straight sections & then slow right down & do teeny tiny stitches around sharp turns. It's a forgiver...I like that.

Hoping that this helps you out & you become a (sort of) stem stitcher too.

Now that I watch this video...is it any wonder my stitches are so tight. Just look at how I "correct" each stitch.

I do love French Knots & I trot them out at every opportunity. Time consuming if you cluster them - yes. This lot represents about 4 hours of knotting!

But I remember they were mystifying for such a long time. Maybe it was the quick movement of Vicky's hands...they always seemed beyond my reach. I always ended up in a French mess!

I've had a few people ask about French Knots so I've prepared a little video of how I French Knot. For me the key/secret is the "correction" which you'll here about & see if you watch the video. I hope you find it useful. It's a great stitch to have in your "kit".

I'm working on my video skills. Obviously I was holding the piece too close to the camera...ah well...practice, practice, practice.

Video made using The Flip.
Thanks to Flip Video, I love this piece of equipment.

This is my nearly finished house!

I've made a video to show you all how it's looking at the moment.

My house tour...

Square by Jess

Did you know that Flip is coming to Australia? It's going to be available in time for Christmas.

I'm one of the lucky folk who gets to trial the new Mino HD Flips. The camera arrived yesterday & so I decided to make a little Quilt Project video for you.

I have a gadget geek brother who owns an earlier model of the Flip which I've used a bit...you can see those efforts here.

Obviously the quality is far superior using the new flip & the addition of a tripod jack is fabulous as is the mobile phone size. It's smaller than an iPhone & just as easy to use.

The most appealing thing for me is the fact that our videos can easily be stored (if I can do it anyone can) in the same place as our images rather than hanging around on teeny tiny digital tapes which neither myself or The Date know how to manage on the computer.

I guess the main questions are...
Would you buy it? Yes...built in USB (for quick & easy camera to pc transfer), built in battery, super easy to use. Tick, tick, tick.
How much is it? Look here.

So you'll probably see a bit more video around this space in the next little while if I can get over the fingernails-on-blackboard-cringe when I have to listen to my own voice.

The most exciting video news in ages is that Handmade Nation will be released on DVD November 3. This movie made me proud to be a maker of things. If you haven't seen it (or even if you have) signup to receive an email alert to let you know it's available.

You might remember I purchased this quilt from the antique shop a couple of weeks ago.

I had a really good look at the construction & now I'm making my own squares. I won't say for sure they going to turn into a quilt because the big granny project is driving me nuts!

Anyway, I thought you might like to make your own. It's really easy, quick & fun.

I've made a really naff video as a how to. I warn you it's pretty bad - I won't get a gig on TV but I thought some of you might enjoy the "accent". You probably only need to watch the first 5 seconds & you'll get the idea.

The square I'm making in the video uses the scraps from the Rummage Obi & Skirt I made. The project & 25 others in Meet Me at Mikes book by Pip.

Happy weekend.

Yesterday while I was waiting for all the muffins to cook I spent some more time in the pool room trying to sort everything out.

I love to fold. The pillowcase collection looks magnificent but the other set of shelves is looking a bit sad.

I've seen a bit of sorting & folding going on around the place & this morning I popped in here. It made me want to rush out & buy lots & lots of lovely new fabric. (contradiction?) Then I remembered...I don't do that.

So, I got to work with the vintage sheeting. This little exercise required the use of my maths brain as well as my very rusty dramatic skills...OK so I totally got stage fright & the video is pretty awful but I had fun with the logistics. I set myself up a ghetto rig for the flip & away I went.

How to fold a fat quarter...the video.

This may or may not be an original way to fold squares of fabric. I was trying to hunt down a folding technique last year as I seemed to remember this sort of thing from Patchwork House when I learnt to quilt (about a million years ago). But Mr Google turned up nothing. I combined my memory of nappy folding (which I also loved) with my idea of how I remembered the fat quarters at Patchwork House.

Formula: width of shelf (w) x 4 is the size to cut your squares.

So...if you're a collector of fabric & your shelves are six inches wide you need to be buying 24 inches of fabric to make them fit snuggly on your shelf.

Amy likes to fold too...check her tute out here.