A bit of a pick and mix

Love this embroidery Flying Geese  from Morna Crites-Moore

enjoy your Sunday x

A birthday treat...

As a Birthday treat for my friend Alison, l took her for a manicure and pedicure..sorry l forgot my camera so can only show you what l had done...

A little bit of colour Fun on a cold Winter day

Happy 60th Birthday for Monday Alison hope you have a wonderful day

As we are both 60 this year we are having a Birthday holiday some where warm, between birthdays

Really is an exciting year

HAVE FUN X

Hi to those wondering where l am...

HELLO...remember me?

Sorry for neglecting you all for the last couple of weeks, especially after l started a new blog with the promise of lots of lovely new ideas

But I am back in blogland and with lots of tit bits to share again 

The reason l went quite for a while is that l was approached by a publisher to write a crochet book...I was just so excited but terrified at the same time

We all had a meeting yesterday just outside Brighton, I met the team I will be working with and it all went really well. We drove down yesterday had the meeting and stayed in one of their flats over night drove back today after having a peek at Brighton

The flat was wonderful and the team were really lovely and made me feel very welcome and at ease,

so it looks like I have a new crochet book to write....

Now l know the brief I can share some of what I have been working on through January

Hope you will all be as pleased as l am, it is a dream come true for me, something l have always said l would do one day...seems like that day has arrived

Wish me luck, I'll need it....a huge challenge for me

For now how about a few stripes..2 rows of sc in a variety of colours

rainbow of wavy stripes 

lots of blue stripes

pastels

greens and reds

 and some tweedy ones too..

Don't you just love stripes?

plus a few triangles

and the mesh stitch scarf it coming along great too and a hat appeared 

to go with the collar both patterns on their way soon

Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.

Foka Gomez

NORMAL SERVICE WILL RESUME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE..

Not around much last few days

After starting the  new blog The 8th Gem and with lots of new ideas to share a fabulous opportunity has dropped in my lap, can't say too much just yet, don't want to mess it all up until it is all in the bag, but promise to be back with an update asap

sorry to be so mysterious 

Hugs to all and hope your New Year has got off to as wonderful a start as mine has

xx

What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be.

Mark Victor Hansen

3 simple scarves.....

MONDAY, JANUARY 2

MIXING YOUR OWN TWEED YARNS....

Do you, like me, love all the tweedy and blended yarns?

But find the cost puts you off?

Most of us have an odd ball of random dyed sock yarn in the stash some where and l'm sure we all have just a few ball ends of plain acrylic or wool colours?

For this collar l mixed a fine sock yarn together with random stripes of Stylecraft acrylic in several colours and a 4.5mm hook 

I started with 70 chain as a base and decreased when l thought it needed it to make a collar shape

then added a shell stitch to the curved edge and added a couple of DC rows to give the wavy edge

added a soft crochet button and a loop 

But decided it looked better as a tight collar so l will add a button to fasten it when l find the right one

UPDATE: few more pattern notes...4.5mm hook, chain 70 to start

All made in SC and l use US terms

Decrease one stitch at the beginning of every row until you have about 45 stitches left, changing your plain coloured yarns in a random combination

I did 4 orange red, 2 orange, 4 pink red, 2 red pink, 2 plum, 2 red pink, 2 plum, 2 pink red, 2 orange,3 pink red...25 rows

and think it give a very good but low cost version of the more expensive tweedy yarns available

My new Freeform circle cowl

Using the same tweedy blend of sock yarn and a deep pinky red l made several different shaped circles in a variety of combinations
 Joining them together as l made a few but trying it on all the time
Adding the right size circle into the right space as l went,
Edging it with a blend of plum and sock yarn and a single row of SC

It is quite shaped and sits perfectly on my shoulders with a slight dip at the front all joined together with SC all made with a 4mm hook

Red is really hard to photograph l find so i hope you can see the detail ok?

SIMPLE CHUNKY MESS STITCH

Again using a beige random dyed sock yarn and plain Stylecraft Acrylic in cream,beige, tan and brown, work the 2 yarns together as one.
5mm hook
US TERMS

Row 1:chainless foundation or ch40 plus 2

ROW 2: 2dc, ch2, miss 2 sts,  2dc, ch2 mis 2 sts repeat to end, 2 chain turn

ROW 3: sc in every stitch turn.

ROW 4: repeat row 2 making sure the 2dc is exactly above the 2dc on previous row, and making a square mess pattern

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.
Steve Jobs

Have Fun

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3

CROCHET BEENIE...for James

My lovely son came for dinner again yesterday and saw my new tweed mixes...and placed his order...

SIMPLE BEENIE

Mixing a plain DK with a 3ply sock yarn, all in SC work back and forth using  4mm hook

Chain 70 join into a circle (Be careful not to twist the chain)

ROW 1: SC in every st

repeat row one working it back and forth not just on one side, until it is long enough for the head it's made for, for this one i worked 19 ROWS

Divided it into 4 equal sections and decreased 4 stitches every round until only 4 stitches remaining 

sew hole together

Add pompom....leaving the choice to James
If it needs to be bigger you can just go up a hook size or two or just add stitches either will work

Having made this one l would try working the next from the top down

PROMISE 1: Progress

 only half done because l made James' hat last night

Adding a 2" band of stripes 2 rows of SC for each stripe in pairs of colours 

Decided to make this blanket in bands of pattern so l don't get bored with it and can do something new for each band, just keeping the same colour palete

A SHARING MOMENT

My wonderful OH bought me a very unexpected present for Christmas...so pleased with it l cried a little

I couldn't wait to add a book or two and the first one l bought was an 

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CROCHET STITCHES

Still working out what l can and can't do with it. Aren't l a lucky girl?

Love, love ,love it..Thank you Phil you're a darling xx

Any one got one? Any tips?..please let me know 

Vision without action is merely a dream. 

Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world!

Joel Arthur Baker

Have Fun

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4

RE-MODELLED BEANIE... WITH CROCHET SWIRL DECORATION

TIP: Take a measurement and do a sample before you start the project

It didn't fit James, so l got myself a new hat

 complete with swirl decoration and a rolled bottom

NEW OPEN MESH SCARF

A variation on yesterdays mesh......Chain multiples of 4 sts plus 2sts extra

This scarf was 40 chain, 

A 5.5mm hook and made with a mix of 3ply random dyed sock yarn and pale shades of a number of DK ends of balls crocheted in stripes

OPEN MESH SCARF PATTERN

Chain 40

ROW 1: SC in every stitch

ROW2: turn then 2 Trebles 2 chain 2 trebles 2 chain until the row is complete 

ROW3: turn then SC in every stitch

repeat ROWS 2 and 3 until your scarf is as long as you want it

finish with a SC row 

I'm going to decorate it with something but not sure what yet

watch this space

If you can dream it, you can do it.

Walt Disney

Have Fun

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

As you may or may not know l fiddled with settings and lost all the easy links to my old crochet Blog

Suz Place

..it is still there but all links have been broken...

sorry for that but as my cup is always half or even three quarters full i will use the opportunity to begin with a fresh new blog.....you blog and learn as a fellow blogger said the other day lol..worth a read if you have a minute

From today 1st January 2012 I will be posting all my new crochet on

THE 8TH GEM

I hope you will join me on my new crochet adventure and that l can inspire you to experiment a little 

and be as creative as you can with the hook

There will be lots more creative experimenting going on still once an experimenter always an experimenter

I have also made...

A WOOLLY PROMISE 

to myself to complete one abandoned crochet project per month

This will be WOOLLY PROMISE No.1

Wishing all my fellow bloggers, friends and followers who just peek and run lol

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 

hugs to all xxx

and thanks for following my crochet fun over the last couple of years