Candy Scarf

Hello! Without further ado I hereby present to you the Candy Scarf. Plus the making details and pattern. Hope you like it!

Details
♦  I used three balls of MoYa yarn, one of each of the following colours: Bubblegum, Rose Quartz and Misty Rose.
♦  For the squares I used a 4.5 mm crochet hook (because it creates a nice, soft drape). But for the lacy joins I used a 3.5 mm hook to create slightly smaller chain stitches for an elegant touch. ;-)
♦  My scarf consists of 28 squares and measures 1.65 x 0.20 mtr.
♦  I blocked the individual squares pre-joining them and afterwards I blocked the entire scarf to stretch the lacy join.

And here is the chart! Please don't copy or share the chart elsewhere, but link to this page instead - thank you for linking with love! By the way: this pattern would work very well for a blanket. (Actually, I'd love to make a blanket like this some day.)

I loved working on this cute little project. And I'd love to see your pics if you make a #candyscarf yourself!

If you'd like to read more about the making of this scarf please click through to my previous post.

As always many thanks for your kind visit. Wishing you a most lovely week.
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Candy Scarf in the Making!

Recently Scaapi gifted me with three balls of the South African organic MoYa cotton. I had not worked with it before, but had seen pictures of it on the internet. Like this beautiful doily blanket in the making by the talented Maaike from Crejjtion.

I wanted to make something that would do justice to the look and feel of the yarn. MoYa has a sturdy rope-like look, but feels - surprisingly - soft. I wanted to create a fairly solid texture which would highlight both these qualities. I was in doubt whether to make placemats or a scarf, and in the end - after trying several patterns - decided on the latter.

Love the texture and colours! 

Blocking...

Tomorrow I'll publish the pictures of the finished scarf plus the pattern and other details. But - because it's such beautiful yarn - I thought I'd share some pictures of the work in progress here with you today.

Many thanks for your visit. I hope you are having a lovely week!

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Daisies in the Field Scarf *with pattern*

I have a confession to make. About a new love. Yes. I'm in love with my flower loom. It yields such lovely retro-esque results. And what's more, it combines very smoothly with my other love: The crochet hook. Match made in heaven.

I hope you feel the same way, because I have quite a few flower loom patterns lined up to share with you over the next months. ;-) I thought I'd start with this simple scarf. My Daisies in the Field Scarf! (Initially I wanted to call it Daisies in the Snow, but I figured that wouldn't make sense if I'd made a second one in another colour... ;-) Anyway!)

If you'd like to give it a try, here's what you'll need:
- flower loom with two diametres: of 9 cm and 5 cm / appr. 3.3 inch and 1.3 inch). I used Clover's Hana Ami flower loom
- 3 mm crochet hook
- fingering weight yarn,
- blunt needle.



Making the flowers
Of course you can make as many as you would like for your scarf. I made 45 flowers (three rows of 15 flowers)

- Make your first flower by wrapping the white (or any colour) yarn three times around twelve pins of the biggest loom. Cut the yarn, leave the flower on the loom.
- Make a smaller flower on top of the first one with the blue (or any colour) yarn, using the smallest loom. Wrap this yarn only once round every pin. Cut the yarn.
- Now use the blunt needle and the white yarn (about 15 cm / 5.3 inch) to secure the petals. Put the needle through the centre of the flower (from the back to the front) and then down between two petals, put it up again through the centre and put down between two other petals, continue like this until you've secured every petal. This will create a little white star in the middle of your flower. If you like, you can repeat this process to have a more prominent star shape in the middle.

- Leave the flower on the loom. Secure the ends of the blue and white yarn by pulling them through the centre of your flower to the backside with the needle.
- Now gently pull the flower off the loom.
- Personally I think this the best moment to crochet the square around the flower (rather then waiting till you've made all the flowers), because the petals will still be in shape and not tangled.

Creating a square
- Attach white yarn to any big (white) petal by making a slip stitch. (Remember, you've wrapped the white yarn thrice around every pin, which means that one big petal consists of three loops.)
- chain 4, slip stitch in the next petal, chain 4, sl st in the next petal. Continue around, then slip stitch in the first slip stitch.
- slip stitch in the ch4-space,
- make a standing dc or ch2 (this will count a as your first dc), 3dc in the same space, 1 dc in the sl st of the previous round, 4dc in next ch4-space, 1dc in sl st, 4dc in next ch4-space, ch2, 4dc in the same space (you've now made your first corner).
- continue like this until you've completed your square.
- close the round by a sl st in the first dc of the round of by using your darning needle for a seamless join.

Finish
- Weave in all ends.
- Block the squares. (I'd definitely recommend blocking because it will enhance the contrast between the square and the more fluffy flower.)

Joining the squares
Naturally you can use your preferred way of joining. I sewed the squared together by whipstitching through the front and back loops of the squares (front sides held together). I know some detest the idea of sewing squares together but I find it a quite meditative occupation ;-) plus I think it gives a rather neat finish. But any joining method will do just fine!

If I would have had more of the white yarn (which I had not - planning is my middle name) I would have crocheted a small edge using the crab stitch (reverse single crochet).

I will definitely make a second Daisies in the Field Scarf, using other (read: nicer + more) yarn. I think this pattern would work very well using a gold or silver coloured yarn for the inner (small) petals for a more festive look. And I'd love to make a retro style blanket with this pattern one day...

Okay! Please don't hesitate to leave a comment if you have a question about this pattern.

Also, I'd love to hear if you have worked with a flower loom, what your experiences are or if you are planning to use it some day. Thanks!

Last but not least: Thanks for participating in the little giveaway from my previous post. Frances is the lucky one to receive the crochet magazine. Could you please send your address to haafner at hotmail dot com? Thanks! There is another giveway coming up within a couple of weeks, so stay tuned. ;-) Meanwhile I'll be working on the pattern for the pink popcorn blanket from that same post...

As always it was really lovely to have you here. I wish you a most pleasant week!

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Now available on Amazon: My book Mandalas to Crochet!

American edition (with US crochet terminology and published by St. Martin's Griffin):

English edition (with UK crochet terminology and published by Search Press):

My New Fifties Cowl

The woven (or moss) crochet stitch is a one I'm completely smitten with - I guess from the first time I saw it. I love how sturdy and squishy a piece of crochet turns out when you use this stitch and I adore the woven look of it.

I prefer this stitch in two colours because this way you get both horizontal and vertical rows. For one of the hangers I designed for Mollie Makes (issue 41) I used the woven stitch: the pink Style Me Fifties hanger.

I've always wanted to make a bigger project with this stitch, and since I lack time for another blanket (although I would love to make a blanket in this style at some point) I decided on a cowl for now. Again I used pastels to obtain a similar fifties look. Which matches my vintage outfits. ;-)

Since I rather not mess up my bun when putting a cowl over my head ;-) I planned to use buttons to close the cowl. (This way I could also wear it as a scarf.) I happened to have some lovely vintage style buttons in my stack that were just great for the job. (Originally I planned the buttons to be on the back of the cowl, but I like these so much I actually prefer to wear them on the front.)

It's a fairly simple pattern, if you like me to write it down I will try to do so soon. For now some basics:
- Yarn: Scheepjes StoneWashed XL, colours MoonStone and Amazonite (two balls of each)

- Crochet hook: 6 mm
- I scored the buttons on a market a couple of years ago.

As I shared here a while ago I have so many ideas for this blog and for new crochet designs. But time is still an issue unfortunately. Hence the sporadic posts on this spot... Hopefully next year will bring more time for both!

Thanks for your visit. Lovely to have you here!
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Crocheting out of a suitcase

Sawadee Ka from Thailand!
How are you?

I'm quite well, as I have the luxury of travelling for quite a while through South East Asia. Having arrived two days ago in Thailand, via Laos (beautiful!), I still have many, many weeks ahead of me. Hooray hooray! Being away from home for a relative long time, left me with a big (and when I say big, I mean Big) decision to make. Made even more difficult by the fact that I like to travel light (and when I say light, I mean Light: one small suitcase, plus one carry on bag). Which (and how much!) yarn to bring with me?

So what is in that (really small) suitcase? Well ehm... See for yourself...



Oh dear, this is rather embarassing, isn't it? And this is even without the balls of yarn pictured below... Beforehand I couldn't decide which project to make. It had to be practical, but satisfying at the same time, if you know what I mean. So in the end I quite randomly took quite some cotton pastels with me (the ones I usually use for doilies) and silver grey and natural white acrylic (because the acrylic is light weight).

I still can't decide what to make of the pastels... I have been trying different things. Like the lacy circles from the first picture. I thought they would make a nice blanket. But the pattern (inspired by a Japanese pattern) is too fiddly and fuzzy when travelling. A lot of short rounds means a lot of ends to sew in, and that is just not the thing to do when travelling in a bumpy bus for hours. ('Where's my needle? Sir, excuse me, my needle is under your seat. It's my favourite needle you see. Oh dear, I think I might have fallen between those bags of rice. Would you mind removing them?') Also I think this pattern would work better with a softer cotton, like Drops or Vinnis. So this sample will end up as a doily or hotpad. (I haven't blocked it yet, so it is a bit wonky still.)

So after the blanket-ending-up-as-doily, I tried these solid squares. I think this might work out. The idea now is to make a big bag of them. What do you think? And should I throw the bright pink in too? (Pictured on the right.) Probably.

Because it needs to be a travel friendly project I'll have to compromise on my principle that even within one-colour-squares I cut the thread after each round in order to start the new round on another side of the square. Is that a weird thing to do...? It's just that in that way the first stitches are less visible as such.

Meanwhile I'm working with the grey yarn. It's going to be a huge scarf. I'm using the same shell stitch as for the pink scarf that is still waiting for me at home. Couldn't finish it in time.  Anyway, I like the stitch, and it's a perfectly travel friendly project. Especially in this very light acrylic meant for a 3 mm hook - but I'm using a 4,5 mm hook, which makes it very soft).

Anyways, quite enough of my ramblings for today, I think... I'll try to post some travel posts soon - with a yarny angle. Thanks for visiting. Have a lovely day!
(And of course I would love to hear your yarny - or other - travel adventures...)
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Winter Colours for Winter Crochet

Hello there,

Time for an update on the bobble cowl and a scarf in the making I showed here ages ago...
Well, the cowl has been ready for quite a while now. Somehow it looks a bit spiky on the pictures, haha, but in reality it is rather soft.

The granny square scarf is extremely soft and huggable - and very long.
I can wrap myself up in it. But, since I still have some yarn left, I might make it even longer. Still considering that option. I did not finish the matching hat and mittens yet though.

Anyways, where I am now, I won't need any mittens or winter scarf...
But more on that in another post. [cliffhanger alert]  ;-)

Hopefully till soon, have a lovely weekend!
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ZigZag

Finally I made something chevron, or ripple stitch!
Not a throw (two others to finish first) - but a scarf.
As many before me pointed out, it is a quite addictive pattern.

For this scarf I used a fine yarn, meant for hooksize 2.5 or 3 mm,
but I used a 4 mm hook instead,
Which makes the result more lacy and light.
This is a very basic chevron pattern (there are so many variations out there, don't you think?)

Have you often used a ripple stitch pattern? Or is there another classic pattern which you really want to make? There is so much I'd like to make - and so little time...

Thanks for your visit - it's nice to have you here!
Have a lovely day.
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Haberdashery & a New (Another) Work in Progress

 Happy New Year!

To start this new year with a tidy (erh...) workspace,
I have been trying to organise my haberdashery and whatnot.
So what you see when you open those boxes is the following...

It might not be the most practical storage, but hey, we're talking esthetics here, right?

While tidying up my craftroom I came across the first doily I ever made (I think). It's the one I have in the header of this blog, see? I can confess now that it wasn't meant to become a doily, but a potholder. However. As a novice to crochet I found out that size matters when it comes to yarns + patterns. *blushes*

Anyway! I now appears to have the perfect size for this little thrifted stool.

And of course: a new year, a new (unplanned) work in progress.
I love how this scarf is turning out.
Very soft. Very powdery pink.
The simple shell stitch pattern makes for an interesting texture, I think.

I have more posts about (finished) scarfs coming up in the next week.
Over the last week is has become rather cold in this part of the world,
so it seems sort of a good timing. ;-)

Thanks for popping by!
Have a lovely day.
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This Year in Stitches

Almost 2014...
At the last minute I'd like to share a few of my favourite projects from the almost past year with you.

Blankets and a pillow...

Doilies...


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Potholders and hotpads...

Wearable stuff...






Happy New Year!
Thanks for your visits, your support, kind words & for your inspiration!
It's appreciated...
I wish you a happy & crafty 2014!


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