Paris in Winter

Under the sky of Paris

A song takes flight
It was born today
In the heart of a boy
Under the sky of Paris
Lovers walk
Their happiness built
On an atmosphere made for them

I love this song about Paris -  Sous le ciel de Paris

Why am I talking of Paris?  because my new crochet pattern is named PARIS, and whenever I think of Paris I just want to get on the Eurostar and go, go, go, all the way to Paris.  

I just love the city, no matter what time of year it is.  Winter, Summer, Spring or Autumn, they are all beautiful in Paris.

I took these photos in 2008, it was January and we went there for my husband's birthday before we left England to return home to Australia. It was magical!  Winter in Paris!  Fabulous!

We have been back a few times since then and we always have the best time.  I have been to Paris in every season and I always love it!

Must be the time of year, but I am getting itchy feet again, maybe Paris is calling?

MAYBE NOT! OK stop daydreaming and let's get back to reality, for now, the reason for this post is my new pattern for crochet mittens, named PARIS.

I love this stitch, so simple and delicate, yet sturdy and warm.  And I love the yarn, so soft and silky.  With a beautiful weight and drape.  Maybe a cowl or scarf will be next on the "to do list" to match the mittens?

Anyway, I am very pleased with these mittens, and can't wait to wear them when I'm dressed to go out to lunch or dinner, and when I'm wearing my "going out" clothes, NOT when I'm out in the countryside and hiking for miles and dressed in hiking gear!

Unfortunately, I have made these mittens with a yarn which for some reason has now been discontinued. 

I am always amazed how quickly some yarns get replaced with newer yarns?  Especially, when the yarn is absolutely beautiful.  I love it.  

I know for a fact there is still quite a bit of the yarn available online from various stockists and yarn stores (I ordered some extra skeins from Pavi Yarns).  So if you really want your own silky alpaca mittens, get online and go hunting for those Debbie Bliss Andes skeins.  All worth the effort.

PATTERN DETAILS:

A lovely lace-look pattern for ladies fingerless mittens. Made with a lovely soft, alpaca and silk yarn, which makes these mittens extra special. Choose subdued or vibrant contrasting colours.

DIFFICULTY:  Intermediate

SIZES:  Two sizes - Small to Medium, Medium to Large

YARN USED:  Debbie Bliss Andes  ● Baby Alpaca 65% and Mulberry Silk 35% 

Substitute Yarn Suggestion:  Rowan Alpaca Colour  ● Baby Alpaca 100% OR any other similar DK yarn

Crochet in the round. No seams to sew. Wear the mittens on either hand. The pattern is the same for both left and right mittens.

This pattern is written in USA - AMERICAN and UK - BRITISH crochet terms.

You will need to  SELECT the CORRECT PATTERN TERMINOLOGY prior to purchase.

PATTERN AVAILABLE NOW 

from my online shops

CRAFTSY       RAVELRY      LOVECROCHET

  

enjoy

ciao, ciao!

BARBARA SUMMERS HAND KNIT AND CROCHET

Crochet Baby Mittens RAINBOW

Baby Mittens Crochet Pattern

At long last, I have finally had the time to sit down and write out the mittens pattern and everyone who has been patiently waiting for the instructions for these baby mittens can now enjoy making them.

RAINBOW Crochet Mittens 

PATTERN DETAILS:

DIFFICULTY:  Easy

YARN USED:  BWM Cotton 8ply ● 6 colours

NOTIONS:  G-6 hook, Yarn needle

This pattern is written in USA American crochet terms.

Perfect Newborn Baby Gifts

These baby crochet mittens are ever so cute and they are perfect for that newborn gift for a baby boy or a baby girl. They are made with a lovely soft, cotton yarn, ever so comfortable for delicate baby hands and also very easy to wash and they look fabulous in bright rainbow colours.   

You can match them up with the colourful baby hat crochet pattern called TROPO, (pictured in the photo above), it has been one of my most popular crochet hat patterns for newborns.  

You could also stretch your crochet skills and make mittens, hats and scarf with the ebook RAINBOW TREASURES.

All these patterns, hats, scarf and mittens were inspired by the RAINBOW Baby Blanket I made in 2012 for my grandchild. 

If you would like to read more about the RAINBOW blanket see my previous blog here.

RAINBOW BABY MITTENS

PATTERN AVAILABLE  

from my online shops

CRAFTSY         RAVELRY

enjoy

ciao, ciao!

BARBARA SUMMERS HAND KNIT AND CROCHET

QUICK EASY CROCHET GIFTS HATS MITTENS SCARF/MOBIUS SLIPPERS

GIVE the gift of HAND MADE...

you can make these super quick and easy crochet gifts

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*  Crochet Mittens COUNTRY  *

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SPECIAL OFFER available ALL YEAR

A total of EIGHT (8) simply perfect crochet patterns

available in one (1) download

HOTCHPOTCH Crochet eBook PDF 

8 Easy Crochet Gifts  

available from my online shops

CRAFTSY       RAVELRY 

MIDNIGHT in the HIGHLANDS

Late last year, whilst on holiday, I was inspired by the autumnal colours of the west highlands of Scotland.   Simply they were MAGIC.  I know I have shared these photos before but the highlands are just so amazing I am sharing again.

How can you NOT be INSPIRED to CREATE with colours like these?  So, finally this week I managed to get some work done on my first highland inspired pattern.  Here is my highland project a delightful, winter warm HAT and MITTENS set.

I crochet with two different yarns - first yarn is one of my favourite Donegal Tweed Aran  

and the second yarn Rowan Alpaca Cotton  

Aren't the colours simply divine? deep, rich shades of purple, reminiscent of blackberries and blueberries.

The two yarns compliment each other very well and create the perfect gaps of colour between the different stitch rows. 

Of course, you can choose other yarns, the pattern can be adapted to other similar yarns, just match the yarn weight and gauge/tension. 

How much yarn?

  

Hat - whole of one 50g ball of Rowan Alpaca Cotton = 135m

Mittens - 3/4 of one 50g ball of Rowan Alpaca Cotton

My estimate for the Donegal Tweed Aran is approximate 80-100gr for both hat and mittens, because I was using my leftovers from a 200g hank.

Naturally, I have made this set for moi.... I am in desperate need of a new hat and mittens... I seem to be always making stuff for everyone else... and I end up wearing something I made 5 years ago.... doh!  

Here are the PATTERN DETAILS:  
Skill Level:  Intermediate
Yarn:  Donegal Tweed Aran and Rowan Alpaca Cotton
Hook:  5mm
Gauge/Tension:  16sts to 4in (10cm)
Size:  Adult - Ladies - Medium/Large

the pattern is now available 

from these on-line shops

Ravelry       Craftsy

Enjoy every moment,

focus on every stitch,

create a masterpiece....

ciao, ciao...

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Merino Wool all the way!

I love merino wool and my latest favourite has to be James C. Brett

Pure Merino DK (update: which now goes by the name JW Pure Merino, the JW stands for Jenny Watson).  Check out the website here.

Luxuriously delicate to the touch and incredibly soft yarn made from 100% Merino Wool and available in a range of colours (18 approx). 

I've used this JW pure merino wool to make baby hats and mittens, adult hats, headbands, neck warmers and mittens, and I love how super soft it feels, without the scratchy feeling usually associated with natural wool yarns. simply I love, love, love it!

AND I have yet to find any other yarn similar, so if any one out there knows of a beautifully super soft pure merino, please let me know I would love to compare them.

JW Pure Merino Crochet Projects

I decided to make a silly pair of mittens which I have called "LOOPY" because of the loops within the pattern and of course a matching headband/neckwarmer.

I first designed the mittens in late 2011, all in one colour, as you can see in photo below.

and then left the pattern sitting on the back burner because I just wasn't sure about them. Luckily last year I was playing around with my stash of odd balls of yarn and decided to make the mittens again but this time using two colours. 

and what a surprise, they looked so much better with the two colour combination than with one, I much prefer the two colour combination and now I have ideas for all kinds of other stuff using this LOOPY design, just need to have the time to crochet them up. 

LOOPY Crochet Mittens AND Headband/Neckwarmer 

pattern is available from my online shops

Ravelry          Craftsy  

Enjoy every moment,

focus on every stitch,

create a masterpiece....

---ooOoo---

Enjoy!

ciao, ciao!

Barbara Summers Hand Knit and Crochet   www.crocknit.com
(C) Copyright - All rights reserved.

Crochet Edwardian

Crochet Adventures

You just never know were crochet will take you, it is always surprising. I sometimes find myself crocheting the odd garment or accessory I never ever imagined OR if I had imagined it, I dismissed the idea totally for such simple reasons as:  have no time; will take too long; OR simply can't be bothered; not interested in going down that path.

AND yet every now and then, the time comes when circumstances take me down this road, a road where I am given the opportunity to stretch myself and explore those areas of crochet I never had time for before.

This is one of those times, where among other numerous projects, of knitting and crochet, I have also managed to crochet these..... 

a choker and fingerless mittens, with a focus on Edwardian fashion.

WHY?  The reason is simple, I had a need for some accessories for an outfit to be worn to a special "dress-up evening".

The choker is edged with a beautiful fringe from Nicky Epstein's book Crochet on the Edge. 

I am using a fringe pattern called "fancy lanterns" just super perfect for my choker, of course I adjusted the stitch, to allow for widening at the lower end, and I designed a complimentary pattern at the other end, the top end.  

The beads and black border were added as an after thought, however I think they turned out fine, even though I have never used bead work in my crochet before.  So another first... and the black thread around the edge compliments the piece perfectly.  I also chose to use chiffon ribbon to tie the choker in the back, this too was an after thought.  Talk about ploughing into this project without giving it much thought beforehand... LOL

Of course during the making of the choker, I decided I ALSO needed some mittens, and to speed things up I chose a simple stitch for the mittens, gave them a smaller version of my choker edging at the cuff edge, with even smaller edging versions at the fingers and thumb edge.  

I also edged with black at the cuff and placed one single bead at the side, to bring the two pieces together.

EDWARDIAN Mittens Crochet Pattern

You will be happy to hear....  I have now written up the pattern for the mittens (without the bead and black edging at the cuff).

A simple mitten which you can embellish with your own ribbons, bows, buttons, etc.  be creative and add a personalised look.

Pattern Details:

"Simply perfect" EVENING fingerless mittens, Edwardian-style mittens.  

Easy design with a delicate simple lace pattern at cuff, finger and thumb edge.  

Make them with or without thumb.

Crochet in the round, no seams to sew.  

Wear the mittens on either hand.  

Pattern is the same for both left and right mittens.

• Size:  Ladies S/M = Small to Medium (Hints on adjusting size available with pattern)
• Basic Stitches:  single, double crochet
• Yarn: DMC Petra 5 OR any other similar yarn
• Hook:  1.5mm 
• Terminology:  US crochet terms; metric hook sizes.

This pattern can be adapted to other yarns.

CROCHET MITTENS "EDWARDIAN" pattern is available

from my online stores

Ravelry      Craftsy

Enjoy every moment,

focus on every stitch,

create a masterpiece....

Enjoy!
Ciao, ciao!

Copyright © 2008

Barbara Summers Hand Knit and Crochet.

All rights reserved.

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