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 BABY BLANKET "SUN & STARS"

CREATIVE MOTIFS - OCTAGONS and SQUARES

OCTAGON - the eight-sided motif is a striking alternative to the SQUARE granny motif.

To make a solid afghan blanket with octagons you need small squares to fit in between the octagons.

The pieces fit together like a puzzle - four octagons surrounding a square.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

My focus for the design of this octagon blanket was to keep it as simple as possible.  By using only two colours for the motifs and by repeating the same colour sequence for each motif, I found the whole process of creating each octagon and square very relaxing and satisfying.

It was so easy to keep track of my progress, I was able to lay out the octagons and visually gauge the size of the blanket I wanted to make.  

This pattern was also published in the INSIDE CROCHET magazine, Issue 37, January 2013. 

When I finished making all the octagon motifs, I then proceeded to design the square motif to fit into the gaps.  Again, I kept the square filler motif very simple, just enough definition to highlight the octagon motif.

 Joining Motifs

The next task at hand, sewing the motifs together, and as you all know, sewing is not my favourite handcraft. But this was a very special project, for a very special person, my first grandchild, so I was prepared to do what it takes to get it done and get it done well.

Octagon motifs were joined side-by-side into long rows, and then each row was joined to next row, and finally, the square motifs were added into the gaps.  

Finishing Border

After all the motifs were joined and the gaps filled, the blanket took on a whole new look, and the result was very pleasing indeed.

Only at this point, after all the joining was complete, did the blanket present the SUN and STARS mosaic, therefore the name.

So, to finish off the motif blanket, I proceeded with a contrast row of cilantro around the edge of the motifs and finished with a simple row of reverse crochet in slate.

Simply perfect! I presented the blanket to my daughter in Australia, two weeks before the baby was born (CC was born June 30).

(You may have noticed my blanket for my grandchild, was made with Cilantro and Slate, whereas for the magazine, I used Cilantro and Aubergine.)

Both blankets were made using

ROWAN Belle Organic ARAN and 5mm hook.

SUN and STARS Baby Blanket PATTERN 

is AVAILABLE

from my online shop

CRAFTSY 

Enjoy every moment,

focus on every stitch,

create a masterpiece!

ciao, ciao...

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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MAY YOU ALWAYS BE HAPPY...

Crochet for Men - the MAN hat

The latest MAN HAT...

with "echoes" of 

art deco in the design

PHOTOGRAPHY:  (C) Britt Spring

Simply perfect for your man

WHOEVER he may be

whether the DARLING in your life

OR your DEAR old dad  

Pattern Details:
Yarn:  Jarol British Wool Aran
Hook:  5mm
Sizes:  S/M/L
Description:  The chunky texture stitch in this hat adds extra warmth and elasticity to the fabric.  It's perfect for winter walks in the woods or along a bracing seafront.

The design for this crochet hat was inspired by the beautiful art deco lighting in the now refurbished Whitstable cinema. 

Alas no longer a cinema but a Wetherspoon pub and beautifully decked out with an amazing art deco interior. I just love it. Now let's get on with the crochet man hat.

ECHO Man Hat pattern was published 
in the

INSIDE CROCHET magazine 

Issue 35, 

November 2012.    

YOU CAN now PURCHASE 

ECHO Man HAT Pattern

from 

my online stores

Ravelry        Craftsy   

AVAILABLE IN 

USA or UK Crochet Terms

Enjoy every moment,

focus on every stitch,

create a masterpiece.

ciao, ciao...

TIME TO KNIT...

A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A HOLIDAY  

Every now and then, I need a break from crochet, it is in these moments I turn to my knitting and this time I wanted to knit something fast and super easy. 

The best way to achieve this was with a CHUNKY YARN and an UNCOMPLICATED PATTERN. This is what I came up with, a knit hat with a chunky concertina style rib.

I made this hat for my darling (naturally he always needs more hats) and because he is blessed with a bald head and has a sensitivity to natural yarns, I choose a 10% Wool 20% Alpaca 70% Acrylic yarn, which he can manage to wear without needing a cotton lining to protect his scalp.

NEEDLE SIZE

This yarn is super chunky and I did not use the needle size recommended on the yarn label, I dropped down a few sizes, quite a few actually. The label recommends a NEEDLE size of 10mm (US 15), however, I went ahead with a 6mm (US 10), which gave me a nice chunky warm hat (without big holes between stitches).

YARN WEIGHT

The yarn is Wendy "Serenity" Super Chunky 100g, 80m (87yd) and they have a nice selection of thirteen (13) colours - from cream to black, pink to purple, and teal to blue, basically enough colours to satisfy everyone.

I liked the look and feel of my husband's knit hat so much, I made myself one as well in purple, my favourite colour. Check it out below.

The best thing about this knit hat pattern it is knit flat on straight needles, you don't need to use double-pointed needles, or circular needles, simply knit each row and then whip stitch the seam. AND it takes no time at all to complete. So, so easy, you have to give it a try.

SCARF YARN

I loved knitting this chunky concertina rib, I decided to use it in a scarf (cowl) pattern as well. However, this time I turned to my favourite circular needles and knit in the round and wow what a great scarf. The yarn is James C. Brett "Passion" Chunky, 100g, 146m (160yd), 70% Acrylic 30% Wool, the colours are fantastic and create a beautiful striped effect. I used two balls (200g) to make a scarf long enough to go around the neck twice. See photo below.

I loved the subtle colour change, combined with the chunky rib so much, I made three (3) scarves. LOL!  Each scarf is a different colour, and I think they will end up under the Christmas tree for some lucky people. 

And for everyone else, I have written up the pattern, yes it is a KNIT pattern, NOT crochet, and yes it is my first KNIT pattern made public.

I hope you enjoy knitting these as much as I did.

PATTERN DETAILS:

KNIT HAT

• Size:  Adult - Medium and Large
• Yarn:  Wendy "Serenity" Super Chunky (1 ball) 
• Needles:  6mm

KNIT SCARF

• Measurement: approx. 
• Yarn:  James C. Brett "Passion" Chunky (2 balls)
• Needles:  6mm

RIBS Knit Cowl and Hat PATTERN 

is available from my online stops: 

RAVELRY             CRAFTSY          LOVECROCHET

Enjoy every moment, 

focus on every stitch, 

create a masterpiece.

ciao, ciao.

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