Stray skeins

...I might have a few.  And there's never quite enough for the project I have in mind, or they are not what I expected when I start to work them up.  This is what happened yesterday, after I went stash diving.  I found a skein of Artesano Hummingbird in dk, gorgeous soft yarn that just doesn't work well in crochet as the colour runs are too short and pool terribly.  I have 2 skeins but started with 'woodpecker', a mix of orange, lime green, a magenta-ey red and cream...  a challenge to say the least!

I started off trying hitchin a ride by Sharon Cheek which is a lovely simple (US) single crochet-based pattern that Did Not Work.  I will be revisiting the pattern with a slightly more sedate colour in due course!
I then moved onto string along scarf by Kathy North but the colours ended up too blocky again :(  Nevermind, I have a stray skein of Elvincraft's yarn that will look lovely in that pattern.

Then I had my lighbulb moment and dug out a 6.5mm tunisian hook and got on with it...  Success!! 
I started off with ch30 and stuck to tunisian simple stitch.  The colour runs are looking much more knitted  and I will post pictures when finished.
While in a tunisian mood I may also work up a sister cowl with a more openwork pattern, but more on that another time!

(As promised here is an in progress pic!)

Birch Bark cowl

A while ago I ordered a lucky dip package from Fyberspates.  This lovely yarn is one of the skeins that arrived.  Although it wasn't labelled I'm fairly certain it's 'squishy yarn', certainly it feels like alpaca!
I'm waiting for some handmade wooden buttons to arrive and will post finished pictures as soon as!
I used a 52g skein (!) which I can't be certain of the meterage of so I would recommend having spare yarn on hand just in case...

You will need an 8mm hook and two 2cm buttons/3cm toggle buttons ( I got these buttons from sew Annie sew on Folksy).

This pattern can be adjusted to any size, just change the length of the starting chain: as long as the number of chains is divisible by 2 it should all work out fine...

Ch 46
1. sc in bottom of 2nd ch from hook and bottom of each ch across, turn (45)
2. ch1, (sc, ch1 sk1) across, turn.
3. ch1, sc in 1st st, (sc in ch sp, ch1, sk sc)across, sc in last 2 st, turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for 9 more rows (or until cowl is size needed)

13. ch1, sc in each sc and ch sp across, 3sc in last st of row (do not break yarn!), turn to work across short edge, work 12 more sc evenly across (1 st in each row end), turn
14. ch2, LDC (linked double crochet) in each st across, turn
15-16: repeat row 14
17: ch2, hdc in each st across, fasten off.

Sew on buttons ready to go on the schoolrun!

April Showers hat

I've resolved that this will be the year that I do a craft fair.  Yes it will.  And now I've written it down here it surely will come true.
In honour of this forthcoming event, I had a bit of a stash diving session and dug out all the yarns I had left over from cloth nappying days that never got worked up into longies and suchlike.  I found some Pixie Knits yarn I acquired from a friend, it has no label but I think the colour is Aria.  This is the hat I came up with:

It's based on a lot of other childrens hats I've made and increases in multiples of six stitches so it's quite easy to adjust the sizing by adding extra increase rounds following the formula!

5mm hook, 100g aran weight yarn

Size small approx 16" around (12+ months)

Size medium approx 17.5" around (18+ months)

Size large approx 19" around (2 years +)

(larger sizes bracketed round numbers)

1. Ch2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook

Mark 1st st of each round with stitch marker, do not join rounds.  Work in back loop only (BLO)

2. (In BLO) 2sc in each st around (12)

3. (2sc, sc) around (18)

4. (2sc, sc in next 2 st) around (24)

5. (2sc, sc in next 3 st) around (30)

6. (2sc, sc in next 4 st) around (36)

7. (2sc, sc in next 5 st) around (42)

8. (2sc, sc in next 6 st) around (48)

9. (2sc, sc in next 7 st) around (54)

10. (2sc, sc in next 8 st) around (60) stop increase rounds here for the smallest size

11. (2sc, sc in next 9 st) around (66) stop increase rounds here for the medium size

12. (2sc, sc in next 10 st) around (72) stop increase rounds here for the largest size

11 (12,13) - 28 (30, 32) - sc around in BLO

In first st of next round sl st.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Flower:

I'm a bit lazy and always looking for ways to avoid sewing in ends.  For the flower I used a technique I discovered while working up some afghan squares where at a certain point you work in the front loops before going back to work in the back loops.  If you leave a long enough tail before the slip knot there's even less sewing :)

This was made using the 5mm hook again

1. Ch2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in 1st sc to join.

2. Ch1, 2sc in each st around, sl st to join (12)

3. Ch1, (2sc, sc) around, sl st in front loop to join (18)

4. Working in front loop only, ch1 (sc, hdc), (hdc, dc,hdc), (hdc, sc) around to form the 6 smaller petals.  Sl st in back loop behind start of first petal to join.

5. In BLO (2hdc, hdc in next 2 st) around, sl st in 1st to join (24)

6.  Ch3, 2dc in same st, sk 1, sl st in next, (sk1, 5dc in next st, sk1, sl st in next) around, work 2dc in 1st st worked to complete the first petal.  Sl st in top of ch3 to join.  Fasten off, weave in.  Use the long tail to attach the flower to the hat.

This pattern is for personal use only, thanks :)



Yoga socks # 1

Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll!  I made these yoga socks a while ago now and although I'm in the middle of making up yoga socks # 2, I think the first pattern is good enough to put up here!
This pattern is one size again, but can be tried on and adjusted as you go, feel free to adjust the number of rows in the cuff, the length of the chain at the start of the foot section, the number of rows...
I made these with about half a skein of jitterbug again, and with a 3.5mm hook.
(Make 2)
Cuff:
1: ch 19, sc in 2nd ch from hook and sc across, turn (18)
2-46: ch1, sc in back loop only across, turn.
Sl st together the back loop only and the bumps in the underside of the beginning ch.  Fasten off.
Foot:
1: Rejoin yarn in the end of the 15th row end, ch1 and sc in same st as join, work 1 sc in each row end for another 21 rows (22sc in total), ch27 (49)
2:sc in first sc of row one (the remainder of the sock is worked in the round), you might want to use a stitch marker here to mark the start of the round
3-22: sc around
continue to sc around until you are level with the first st again (usually 1 extra st for every 4 rows - I worked an extra 5 sc), sl st in next st, fasten off, weave in ends.

Springy socks

Having been promising since before Christmas, I finally got around to making up some new socks for my daughter.  She has quite small feet but this pattern can be adjusted quite easily, although be sure to end up with an even number of stitches at the start of the leg as if you work odd you will end up with granite stitch!  (This pattern is for shoe size UK 6).   Based on cuff down socks I've made previously, this is what I came up with:

I used about half a 110g skein of colinette jitterbug in raspberry and a 3.5mm hook (written in American terms).
(Make 2!)
Cuff:
1.Ch6, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across, turn (5sc)
2-30: Ch1, sc back loop only across, turn.
sl st together to form the cuff by working in the back loops and underside bumps of the starting ch. Do not break yarn!
Leg:
1: working along the edge of the cuff, work (sc in 2 row ends, 2sc in next) around (40sc)
2-16: Without joining rounds, work sc, ch1, sk 1, sc around for 15 rows.  Work (sc, ch1, sk1 sc) twic more to bring last st level with cuff seam.
Heel:
1: sc in next 20, turn leaving remaining st unworked
2-8: ch1, sc across (20 sc)
9: ch1, sc in 1st st, sc2tog, (sc in next 2 st, sc2tog) across, sc in lst st, turn (15)
10: ch1, sc in first 2 st, (sc2tog, sc) across, sc in lst 2 st, turn (11)
11: ch1, sc in first st, (sc2tog, sc) across, sc in last 2 st, turn (8)
12: ch1, sc2tog across (4)
Do not turn or break yarn!
13: ch1, work 11 sc up the side, work in pattern across pattern section (should be 10 repeats of sc, ch1, sk1) 11sc down other side of heel.  Leave remaining sts unworked, do not turn!
14: (no ch 1 as sock is worked in a round from here: you may want to put a stitch marker in first stitch of the round and move it up on each new round) sc across the 4 unworked sts, sc in 9 sts along side of heel, sc2tog in last 2 on side, work in pattern across, sc2tog at top of next side, sc in next 9
3: 2sc2tog, sc along side, work in pattern, sc along other side
4: sc2tog, work in sc/patt/sc around (40)
Foot:
5-24: work in established pattern around (40)
Fold sock to find central stitch on the sole, work round to this point and mark as first stitch of round
Toe:
1: sc in next 8 (inc. first marked st), sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in next 15, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in last 7 st (36)
2: sc around
3: sc in first 7 st, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in next 13, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in last 6 (32)
4: sc in first 6 st, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in next 11, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in last 5 (28)
5: sc in first 5 st, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in next 9, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in last 4 (24)
6-7: repeat pattern
8: sc in first 2 st, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in next 3, sc2tog, sc, sc2tog, sc in last 1, slst in first st of next round, fasten off with a long enough tail to sew toe.

School's back!

...At last!  Normal service has resumed.  The kids were getting really restless and this was made worse by their staggered start dates, the youngest goes back next week and is champing at the bit.
All this free time means I am planning to get on with writing up a couple of patterns to publish on the blog and make some time to navigate round the online craft sites and list a few items to sell...
Watch this space...

Socks!

After a long spell with little rain in the spring, things are finally ticking along at the allotment!  The sweetcorn are waist height, runner beans are catching up quickly and squashes are waiting for a hot spell before they kick into action (at least that's what I'm telling myself!).  We have a good strawberry crop at home off the few plants we have here, but they have been a bit of a washout at the allotment, probably a combination of the clay soil and no rain so it was a dustbowl for parts of April and May :-(
We're getting a few peas although not enough to bring home:  the kids and me tend to eat them straight off the plant - yum!
On the crochet front, I have been busy making socks!  Having run out of space for woolly purchases I thought some stash busting would be appropriate and I've made a few pairs of baby socks for new arrivals among friends as well as adapting a lovely pattern I found for baby socks to fit older children.  I will be putting some pics up on my new facebook page: Redclover crochet when I have finished sewing ends in and sifting through photos of our lovely holiday in Ceredigion.