Flaming Beanie

Back in the summer I did a local craft fair and sold a one-off hat I'd made with some left over merino I'd got from Wharfedale Woolworks .  I'd meant to write down the pattern but hadn't got around to it but I had a vague idea how I'd gone about it...  Fast forward to December and I got a message from the person who'd bought the hat wanting me to make another one for her.  I asked the customer to send me a pic and set to work making this:

It took 3 attempts to remember what exactly I'd done, so I wrote it down this time in case I need to make it again!
You will need:  100g dk weight main colour (I used King Cole merino blend Heather),
50g contrast colour (CC) (King cole merino blend dusky pink),
4.5mm Hook
Stitch markers

This pattern is for a 20" circ hat, it fits quite snugly because it uses tapestry crochet.  To make a larger or smaller hat, add or take away increase rounds, 6 sc = 1 1/2 "

This pattern uses tapestry crochet where you carry the colour not being worked underneath and stitch it into your work as you go.  It is important to not carry the yarn too tightly so that your hat still has some give in it when you wear it.  If you need some info on the technique have a look on you tube, there are lots of great tutorials :)

1.  Ch2, in 2nd ch from hook work 6sc
2.  (You will be working in a continuous spiral, place marker in first stitch of this round and move marker up to the first stitch of each new round), 2sc in each sc around (12)
3. *2sc, sc* around (18)
4.  *2sc, sc in next 2 sts* around (24)
5.  *2sc, sc in next 3 sts* around (30)
6.  *2sc, sc in next 4 sts* around (36)
7.  *2sc, sc in next 5 sts* around (42)
8.  *2sc, sc in next 6 sts* around (48)
9.  *2sc, sc in next 7 sts* around (54)
10.  *2sc, sc in next 8 sts* around (60)
11.  Sc in each st around (60)
12.  *2sc, sc in next 9 sts* around (66)
13.  sc in each st around
14.  *2sc, sc in next 10 sts* around (72)
15.  sc in each st around
16.  *2sc, sc in next 11 sts* around (78)
17.  sc in each st around
18.  *2sc, sc in next 12 sts* around (84)
19.  sc in each st around
20.  *2sc, sc in next 13 sts* around (90)
21 - 37:  sc around
38:  In this round the pink is added.  Carry the CC yarn under the stitches and pick it up and swap it to work stitch in every six in pink.  It may be helpful to mark out every six stitches to keep track of where you are - I added a stitch marker in every 12 stitches.  What I did was to randomly put in a pink stitch in each group of 6.  Randomly work from these combinations: 
(sc in next 5 changing to CC in last st worked, sc CC in last st changing to MC)
(sc in next 4 changing to CC in last st worked, sc CC in 5th st changing to MC, sc in last)
(sc in next 3 changing to CC in last st worked, sc CC in 4th st changing to MC, sc in next 2)
(sc in next 2 changing to CC in last st worked, sc CC in 3rd st changing to MC, sc in next 3)
(sc in first st changing to CC in last st worked, sc CC in 2nd st changing to MC, sc in next 4)
(sc in first st changing to MC in last st worked, sc in next 5 st)
39:  Continuing in the same fashion, in this round you will need to fill in 2 sts in every 6 using the CC - some of these might be 2 sts next door to each other, some separated by one or more sts
40.  3 in every six sts to be filled in using CC
41.  4 in every six sts to be filled in using CC
42.  5 in every six sts to be filled in using CC
43 - 47: sc around.  Check sizing by trying hat on (my hat measured approx 8" crown to brim), if you need to make it a bit bigger, add a few more rounds in the CC.  Once you are happy, work round to the stitch marker marking the first st of the round, sl st in the next 2 sts and fasten off. 

Weave in ends and wear!  Don't forget to post project pics on ravelry, I'd love to see what colour combos you come up with.  You could also try thsi hat in 3 (or more) colours by following the same method to fade into another colour...

Orange

Such an underrated colour!  One of the lovely testers for my steampunk mitts pattern, Denvermama, made hers in a gorgeous orange, and I promised myself once I'd done my tax return (yawn...) I'd treat myself to a skein or two (or three!). 
And so it was that I ended up trawling the latest offerings from Fyberspates.  And this is what I got, ta-da!

Totally gorgeous, especially against the silver :)  FYI (and because I like to be an enabler on occasion) these are both Twizzle 4 ply, in silver and burnt orange.
Now, these yarns were supposed to be earmarked for some more steampunk mitts for a craft fair I'm doing in December.  Instead I have seconded them to the shawl department and I'm planning on a stripy version of my Urban Shawl pattern.  If there's any left over after that I shall make some mitts!

steampunk mitts/cuffs

I've now released the pattern - it's available for free for a short time only in my ravelry store after which the pattern will be on sale for the very reasonable price of £1.  They come in 2 sizes and can be finished as either mitts or cuffs.  They are also super-quick to make - great for stash busting as well as last minute gifts - I'm planning to make up a few pairs for Christmas gifts this year.  I'm also going to experiment with some hand dyed yarn and see what happens...!

My testers are putting their projects up on ravelry for this pattern - they've all enjoyed making this pattern too - check out their projects on this here page!

How could I forget?!

I've also released Marcus' snood pattern on ravelry here - what a handsome pup! It's a free pattern but I'm asking people to make a small donation to GRWE if they like the pattern.

I will be revisiting the pattern over the coming months and adding some other sizes hopefully, I'm not sure whether to fiddle around with the pattern itself or sub in and out with different yarn weights and hooks...

MrJoeyGrey - I am unable to reply to your question in comments, I have been trying all weekend but no luck!  In answer to your question, after you have worked into the last stitch of the short row, the next stitch along will need you to drop down to the longer row.  If you don't pick up an extra loop you will end up with a small hole in the fabric. 
To pick up a loop and close the gap, push your hook through one of the strands in the side of the short rows and pull up a loop, keep this loop on the hook and drop down and pick up a loop (sc) as you normally would, from the next stitch.  Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on the hook.  Essentially what you are doing is working a sc2tog, so you are not increasing the stitch count, just closing the gap.
I hope this makes sense and I look forward to seeing your project!  If you need any more help please feel free to comment on my post, or pm me on ravelry (redclover) so I can reply directly!

after the summer

Well, the kids are definitely back at school.  Just me, the dog and the cat now.  And while two of our number snore away the day, one of us can usually be found with a hook and a ball of yarn.
I currently have... (counts in head)... 8 wips on the go.  As is always the way, I am going through a period where I can't settle on any one thing.  I have loads of ideas pinging through my head and not enough hours in the week to get them all done.  So I will work on each project a little at a time until I make  a decision.
Part of the problem is that I'm all shawled out.  I completed the 12 shawls challenge months ago but I still have 4 shawls in progress!  One of them is languishing at the bottom of the pile because it requires more concentration than I can give it right now, one is a prototype for a new pattern I am thinking about, one of them is being worked in a pure silk yarn that is forever knotting itself up.  The last one is a rework of my p-hop pattern, October Leaves.  I am using some left over Fyberspates yarn from 2 other projects - a gorgeous green called Chartreuse that I used in my first Jacob's Ladder Shawlette, and a vibrant purple from Betty's shawl.  I like the possibilities of October Leaves - one of my testers did a striped version that I ended up using as the first picture on the pattern.  My project will be mainly green with 3 purple stripes (I don't have enough purple left to do any more than that!).

I've been getting a few patterns tested (and re-tested) recently.  Firstly, hopscotch cowl:

I've updated the original pattern a little and also written it up using US terms as well as UK.  The testers have all added their projects to Ravelry, you can have a look at them all here  The pattern is available for £1 for a short time only - available here (discount at checkout!)

Secondly, and still currently being tested are my steampunk mitts.  I've borrowed the stitch pattern from springy socks and turned it sideways and hooked it up with the stitch pattern from my yoga socks pattern.  I'm thinking that I will probably offer the pattern for free for a few weeks once it is released...

 

 

Finally, I have bitten the bullet and put Betty's shawl up for testing as of yesterday.  I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone gets on with the pattern :)

 

At this rate I will definitely hit my target of having 20 patterns on the ravelry database by the end of the year!



Rouge Hat

Our family holiday this year was at Wareham, Dorset.  It was a couple of hours journey in the car - plenty of time for crocheting so I took a couple of skeins of aran weight with me.  After picking out a gorgeous Elvincraft yarn, 'Winter Berries' Wensleydale, I came up with this hat.  The pattern is based on my first hat patten, April Showers but this is sized for a grown up!

I used a 5mm hook and under 100g of Aran weight wensleydale.  Here's what I did:
1. Ch3, in 3rd ch from hook work 11dc (counts as 12dc), sl st in back loop at top of ch2.
2. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, 2dc in BLO in each st around, sl st in BLO turning ch (24)
3. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, *dc in BLO, 2dc in BLO* around,  sl st in BLO turning ch  (36)
4. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, *dc in BLO in next 2 sts, 2dc in BLO* around, dc in BLO in last 2 sts, sl st in BLO turning ch (48)
5. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, *dc in BLO in next 3 sts, 2dc in BLO* around, dc in BLO in last 3 sts, sl st in BLO turning ch (60)
6. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, *dc in BLO in next 4 sts, 2dc in BLO* around, dc in BLO in last 4 sts, sl st in BLO turning ch (72)
7. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of first st, *dc in BLO in next 5 sts, 2dc in BLO* around, dc in BLO in last 5 sts, sl st in BLO turning ch (84)
8. Ch2, dc in back loop only (BLO) of in each st around, sl st in BLO turning ch (84)
9- 18: Repeat row 8
19: Ch1, sc in same st, sc, *ch2, sc in next 3 sts* around, ch2, sc in last, sl st in first sc, bind off and weave in ends.

October Leaves now on P/HOP!

I'm pleased to be able to announce that my October Leaves shawl is now available for your crocheting consumption via the P/HOP site!  I'm hoping it'll raise lots of money for the vital work MSF do :)  Please drop by my Ravelry pattern page or go direct to the P/HOP page and pick up your copy today - I'm looking forward to seeing the finished projects too, if you have a ravelry account I promise to do a little leap of joy for every project posted :) 

Please spread the word to your crocheting (and knitting) buddies, P/HOP is a fantastic concept and of course MSF is an amazing organisation.

autumnal cowl

My eldest son starts his new school in September - he's growing up so fast!  He also needs some more grown-up winter woolies and as I spend Autumn and Winter making hats for a local company I have to get in early with projects for the family or I inevitably run out of time to get everything finished in time.  Which is how I ended up writing up this pattern in the middle of a heatwave!

I used a 4.5mm hook and Manos del Uruguay silk blend yarn (or a dk alternative).  This project used 33g left over from another project but it could be made bigger or smaller, just make sure your starting chain is an even number!  This version incidentally also works as an ear warmer although I'm not sure my son will wear it that way!

1. Ch 100, sc in bottom bump of 2nd ch from hook and in each st across (99)

(this could be worked in the round by joining the foundation ch with a sl. st and working in a continuous spiral, but as I like to work into the bottom bump for the sake of neatness I always end up with a twisted ch that I can never rectify no matter how many times I rip out my work and re-try!)

2. Ch1, and without turning, check your work is not twisted and join to form a circle by working a sc in 2nd sc of row one (skip the first).  You may want to mark the first ch sp...  *ch1, sk1, sc* around, moving st marker up each row.

Continue *ch1, sk1, sc* for as many rows as you'd like, I worked 22 rows.

Final Row: sc in each sc and ch sp around, when you reach marked st, sl st in marked st and next 2, break yarn and fasten off.

Weave in ends and wear :)

Jacob's Ladder

When I was at school, I was a committed doodler.  I was forever drawing little pictures on the back of my exercise books instead of concentrating.  This was especially true in Maths, but instead I used to doodle patterns by colouring in the squares of my exercise book.

A few weeks ago, I bought a pad of squared paper with the intention of working on some filet crochet shawls, and the first one I came up with is Jacob's Ladder.  I named it after a quilt block I used for a quilt I made for my eldest son when he was a baby and it's also a song by one of my favourite bands.  It's currently being tested on ravelry and I'm planning on having it ready and available on 1st July.

I'm on twitter and etsy!

Today I signed up for Twitter.  I have pretty much no clue what goes on there but please follow me while I figure it all out!  My twitter ID thing is CrochetMills and I'm trying to add a widget to the blog... wish me luck!

The other big news is that I've opened an etsy store!  I've already listed a couple of shawls, some longies and some flower pins and I'm hoping to add patterns for sale in the not too distant future.  My shop can be found here: redclover crochet please drop by and have a look around!

Urban Shawl & New Forest Shawl

So I have been busy with the children's birthdays (all three are in April!), but I've still found the time to write up and test 2 new shawl patterns!  The first is Urban Shawl:

which will go on sale as a Ravelry download at the beginning of May for the princely sum of £1 :)  It's a nice simple pattern using a single skein of sock weight yarn and is the first of a pair following a challenge I set myself:  to create a shawl out of one skein of hand painted sock yarn.  I have a lot of sock yarn.  In single skeins.  And as much as I love making socks it is always a huge disappointment to discover a hole in your hard work :(  So the single skein shawl challenge commenced and was completed in a matter of days!  Both of the shawls could be worked up in a weekend each and are good to go without blocking, although you could always block if you wished!
The second shawl is New Forest Shawl:

which was supposed to be semi circular but by a huge miscalculation ended up more of a square.  To compensate I added a loopy border.  I considered naming it Spongebob for a while but ended up with the name New Forest after a long trip out for treatment for my son's Aspergers on the forest.  This shawl will go on sale on Ravelry on 1st May for £1.50 and is already in a lot of people's queues!

Lunasadh Fires shawl

I've been working on a number of shawl patterns and this one is the first to be finished.  I've had this Elvincraft yarn in my stash for a loooong time and it has been started off as a number of projects but I've never been happy with how the colours worked with the pattern so it was high time I came up with my own pattern.
Lunasadh Fires shawl is made using a 4mm hook and 800m of laceweight yarn.  It's a nice simple pattern, perfect for working on when you need a mindless project that can easily be picked up and put down at a moment's notice. (US terms in pattern)
1. Ch3, 3 hdc in 3rd ch from hook, ch1, 4hdc in same space, turn
2. Ch2, 2 hdc in first, hdc in next 3, in centre ch sp work *hdc, ch1, hdc*, hdc in next 3, 2hdc in top of ch2, turn
3-9: Ch2, 2hdc in first, hdc across to centre ch sp, *hdc, ch1, hdc* in ch sp, hdc across to last st, work 2hdc in last st, turn
10: Ch3 (counts as hdc, ch1), hdc in first (beginning v st made), *ch1, sk1, hdc* across to centre ch sp, work *hdc, ch1, hdc, ch1, hdc* in ch sp, *ch1, sk1, hdc across, in last st work *hdc, ch1, hdc* (v st), turn.
11-24: Work as rows 3-9
25: Repeat row 10

Continue with 14 rows of solid hdc and every 15th row as an eyelet row.  My shawl had 5 eyelet rows and 6 solid hdc sections.  Block as needed.

This pattern would be good to experiment with adding a lace border but I didn't feel that would work with this yarn as it is too busy.

This pattern is for personal use only.  Enjoy :)

busy busy busy!

From late Autumn until the end of Winter I can usually be found making hats for a local company, this year I have made nearly 200 hence my lack of blog posts!  However, hat making season is nearly at an end and I have managed to steal some time to update my blog.
I have now submitted my  shawl pattern to p-hop and I'm waiting to hear when it will go up on their site for download.  I ended up renaming the shawl as October Leaves shawl after discovering a multitude of patterns using the original name!

My testers creatingincanyon, knotanother1 and hookedonhook all tested in solid/semi solid colours and I have to say I think it looks very striking in a single colour yarn!

Back in the Summer we welcomed a new addition to the family, a young rescue greyhound called Marcus.  He made himself at home very quickly an unfortunately got hold of one of my shawls and chewed it so I ended up having to frog it back more than halfway!  I quickly forgave him though - one look at that pointy face and I knew he was sorry!  As Summer came to an end I turned my attention to making him a snood that would actually stay put after having to retrieve a knitted acrylic cowl out of a muddy puddle - not nice!  I decided that a pure wool snood would be perfect, it would stay dry and not soak up water like the acrylic version and if I made it in a ribbed stitch it should stay put as he raced around the park.  I'm pleased to say after months of wear it is still staying on although it has gone a little baggy now but I'm still pleased as it has been worn almost daily!  The pattern will go up on Ravelry for sale soon with £1 from each sale going to GRWE where we were lucky enough to find Marcus.