Yarn guide

I have huge troubles holding the yarn as described in books and youtubers.  So, today I have been experimenting with a little gadget I came across.

My inclination is to grip the yarn between my first two fingers on my left hand and wind it around the hook (see below)

So the only tension I get is from between these two fingers; which hasn't been a problem but I haven't got any faster and so think I am still quite slow.





So off I went hunting and found this clever little gadget; it is called a Clover Yarn Guide and can be got from Amazon for just over £2 and probably from local craft shops.

As you can see, it fits around the finger and has spacings for the yarn to go through.  The top just unclips and you put the yarn in and clip it back together again.   It is lightweight and quite comfortable.





I had a little practice with it:



To try and keep an even tension, I trapped the yarn lightly between my fourth and fifth finger.







My first impressions are favourable.  I think this may well be the answer to my problem.  Just a little concerned that I may get cramp in the fingers trapping the yarn.  The gadget is great though as the yarn was forever slipping off that finger which is why I developed my own method.

Daisy Coaster

A friend loves blue and is a keen gardener, so for her birthday I thought I would try and give her something that combined both.

I came across a pattern for a Daisy Coaster by Doni Speigle that can be found on Craftsy.  It was very quick and easy to do.  I have never worked with cotton before and to my delight, it was rather nice to work with.

I have made just the one so far but will be making another 3 for her.

I think these would also look rather nice made into bunting for a little girl's bedroom.  In fact, I think I may do it for one of my daughter's.

All four coasters are done and they're all the same size....perfect!  I think they look great and will look lovely on Jess' coffee table.  Just hope she agrees!

Sampler Throw

When I first started to learn to crochet I was getting myself in a right tangle.  I wasn't really sure what I was doing or how it should look.  In fact, getting beyond the first row was an achievement.  When I did manage to get past that, it wasn't a pretty sight.

It was clear that if I was going to succeed in this hooking business, I needed extra help.  So I subscribed to the Art of Crochet magazine and a whole new world opened up to me.  It really is very easy.  The pictures were clear and I could see what I had to produce.

The first square was a textured square and it looked very complicated, to me.  However, it was just alternating double and treble crochets.  I was very pleased that mine looked like the picture  (see below).

Textured Square

I quickly moved onto square number 2.  I'm sent 4 weeks at a time so I didn't have to wait to do the next one.  Eeeeek.....scallop  lace square.  How was I meant to do that.  Well it turned out to be very simple as well.  Although, my first attempt was huge as my tension was too loose but the second attempt was much better (see below)

Scallop Lace Square

So onto week 3 I went, feeling super confident and enthusiastic.  It was time for the granny square.....that's okay I thought but then saw that I had to change colours.  Argghhh, not done that before!  But it was easily explained and worked out fine.  Although you can just see where I joined in the new colour between the pink and the turquoise (see below)

Granny Square

Week 4 - this was a simple treble crochet with a cross-stitch diamond on the front.  I do cross-stitch so thought that would be simple enough but it took me forever to get it right....not sure why!!  (oops it's on it's side)

Treble crochet Square with diamond motif

Week 5 - another treble crochet square but this time with a cross-stitch X

Treble crochet with X

Week 6 - was starting to get a bit bored with treble crochet and cross-stitch.  Well this week certainly taxed my brain; it was a ribbed pattern. On one row you did a relief treble front stitch and on the next row, a relief treble back stitch.  Such a nice effect.  I suppose it would do well on cuffs of jumpers or mittens.

Ribbed pattern square

Week 7 - Another new stitch - half treble crochets with a  star motif  (another one on the wrong angle - just turn your head sideways lol )

Half treble square with star motif

Week 8 - This is a mixture of trebles and bobbles.  Took me a couple of goes to be happyish with it.  I still don't think the dimensions are right - it has come out much larger than the others and the top and bottom spaces are different.  I'm tempted to remove one of the rows below the red bobbles (or to the right in this pic as it has come out sideways again).

Coloured bobbles square

That's it for the moment.  I have been doing the cushions in between these and a blanket which I'm about to tell you about in another post :-)

I have got a bit behind this project so have decided to catch up on it.

Week 9 - I quite enjoyed doing this one, even though it had the dreaded cross-stitch in it.  The background was a simple half treble crochet and then quite a nice Aztec design on the front.  I think this one turned out much better than my other attempts.

Half treble crochet with Aztec design

I have only just realised that my pattern is not correct - it looks as though that top 'wing' is floating and should be attached to the 'box' like it is at the bottom - I shall have to correct that!!!!

Week 10 - A completely new stitch to learn - the open mesh pattern.  This turned out much smaller than the others.  However, it was a nice one to do.  May have to come back and make it larger.  All the squares are supposed to measure 13cm x 13cm.  I've always thought that I crocheted tightly but it appears that for some stitches I do (double and half treble, mesh) but others maybe not (treble, scallop) as I seem to have less rows than in the pictures.

At the moment I am just making the squares up and will go through them when I have done them all and see which ones are the correct size or close enough not to matter and then redo the ones which are way too small or big and then block them all before assembling.

Week 11 - This was another chance to try colour changing.  It was double crochet with 6 boxes with different colours.  The thing that bothered me most was that the 'boxes' looked  frayed as you can't get sharp lines with crochet but it was nice to do something different and certainly made me think about it. As you can see, some turned out better than others.

Double crochet with colour blocks

Week 12 - another granny square - I do like doing these though, so it wasn't a problem. This one was treble crochet in the centre and then the rest were half treble crochets.

Turquoise granny square

Week 13 - I am really not happy with the way this one has turned out and will have another go at some time.  It was a treble crochet background with a cross-stitch diamond on the front.  The diamond is awful and because I have an uneven number of rows it looks off-centre again.  Still, here is the first attempt......

Week 14 - oohhh a bicolour diagonal square - this was in treble crochet.  Looks rather good.

Bicolour diagonal trebles square

Week 15 - I was a bit worried by this one as it had more cross-stitch on it and so far they have been my downfall, so I had a big think about it before doing it.  The square is treble crochet again.  This time I think the cross-stitching looks okay......well, I'm happy with it anyway.

Trebles square with man motif

Week 16 - This was a square of half trebles with a star motif.  Nothing new but it was made faster by experimenting with my Clover yarn guide.....the downside is it strains a tendon in my wrist.  I'm hoping that it will get better with time.

Half treble square with star motif

Yarn clouds cushion

We had a lovely sunset the other evening which made the clouds look alive.

 I love clouds; there are so many types and with a different light level they can look quite different.  On a sunny day they can look light and fluffy but with a lower light level, threatening and ominous.

So I was rather pleased to find the Yarn Clouds Square pattern.  By crocheting around the back post it gives  a 3D appearance.

I made 2 squares the same and stitched them together with the same edging that I used for the Daffodowndillies cushion.

The squares measured 8.5 inches and I filled it with a 10 inch cushion.









Audrey thought it looked rather comfy and gave it a test run.......when asked if it was, she gave a wag of the tail.  I think that means it passed the test.

This is a quick pattern and this cushion is able to be made in a day and is also a good way of using up some scraps of yarn.

Daffodowndillies Square

The weather was still a bit dull and dreary a couple of weeks ago and so I decided to make a cushion for my friend who was turning 95.  She had not long had to go into a home and I thought I would make something that would brighten  her new room and hopfully cheer her up.

I found this pattern for the Daffodowndillies square which can be found on Ravelry.   I never knew that daffodils were once called daffodowndillies.  At the beginning of the pattern, Linda Nelson, who wrote the pattern, explains that this is the old fashioned word for them.

I rummaged through my Nan's stash of wool that I was given and came across a nice bright yellow, pale green and off white.

I made 4 x 11 inch daffodil squares and double crocheted them together. For the back I made a 11 inch square in treble crochet and filled it with a 12 inch cushion.  To edge the the cushion I experimented by chaining 3, then doing a treble crochet into the next stitch, slip stitch into the next stitch and chaining 3 into the same stitch as the slip stitch which created a lovely little frill.

I'm pleased to say that she was thrilled with it and also the shortbread biscuits I made her.  This would make a lovely Mother's Day present as well .

Weekend basket

I hope you have all had a good weekend!

My project for this weekend was to crochet this lovely Moss basket.  I had lots of aran wool from my Nan's stash and so found some that I had 2 balls of, as it was double stranded.

It was really quick and easy and made up quickly.  I made a 14" one in diameter and approximately 10" high.  It is in American so I had to get my head organised for that.  I would say that a beginner is more than capable of producing this.  You only need to know how to do single crochet, half double crochet and reverse single crochet (also known as the crab stitch - this was for the last row.  This last stitch was new to me and took me a few attempts but I think it really finishes it off well.

Although it looks a little lopsided, it isn't.  You can see the reverse single crochet along the handle in the top right photo.

Betty, the dog, thought it looked rather good and might make a good bed if only it were bigger.

Inside the basket is some of my new yarn for my next project, which is a throw for my youngest daughter's bed.

Next time you are at a loss as to what to make and you only have a couple of free days, have a go at this.  You can make it any size and it would make a lovely present to fellow crafters for storing little bits and pieces. A small one would look nice to store cosmetics or cotton wool balls.....give it a go!!

Nan's stash

A few months ago I was given a huge stash of yarn that was found at my Nan's house.  She is now 91 and can no longer knit or crochet, so my parents decided to remove it and give it to me.  They didn't bank on the amount of wool that was there though.......it filled the entire car up!!

Here is part of the stash:

So today, having given myself a day off study for being a good girl, I thought I would use some of it.  I had seen a rather nice square pattern that I thought I would give a go.  I saw it on Ravelry; the 'yarn clouds square'.  

It is my Nan's 92nd birthday in a couple of months time, so I chose colours that she likes and set to work.  It was very quick and easy once I got into the swing of it.  I used DK yarn and a size 4mm hook; in fact I used my favourite wooden hook.  Because I used DK and a smaller hook, the square measured only 8.5 " rather than the 12". 

Here is the finished square:

I'm thinking that I will make another one and buy a cushion pad and some lavender essential oil and make a lavender scented cushion for her to put on her bed.

It has been lovely being able to have a quick project after a long one with all my lounge cushions.