Chocolate...I need chocolate lol

I was just thinking what have I agreed too....writting a new book in 4/5 months???

 and the door bell went, a delivery from Stylecraft, yarn for me to do the Autumn designs.

And I promised my Son a 7' square blanket for his gf too.

 

aaahhhhhh!!! when will I sleep, eat or even have a bath?

so I needed some chocolate to calm me....nuttela on ryvita.

 

Of course I can do it all!

The Start of a New BOOK......

Sitting Knitting workshop tomorrow

Sorry all the places went quite quickly but I will be here tomorrow doing a workshop with Rachel in her new wool shop.

Can't wait to meet you all.

A New book...SO EXCITED

 

Some fantastic news GMC have asked me to do a follow up book to Granny squares because it has done so well.

So I have been up since 2.30.....started to write the new book

Interlocking Crochet....wow!

A great stitch but not for the beginner....

 

Back in August 2012 I made a little bag from a magazine using interlocking block st.

I didn't understand the stitch properly and did what I thought was interlocking block st.

 

I posted these pictures of the incorrect st....two seperate mesh sections that then interlocked

 only to be told it wasn't how to do the st.

So i removed the pictures and added the correct way to do the st.

 

But it seems I had, purely by chance stumbled upon a stitch/crochet called

INTERLOCKING CROCHET....it was a stitch after all.

......well the beginnings of a stitch, actually many intricate and fabulous stitches

and it seems that its been around for years.

 

Taught to Tanis some 20 years ago, who has developed the stitch and written a book called INTERLOCKING CROCHET you can find it here.

 

I haven't seen the book but it is supposed to be all about her work with 80 Interlocking crochet patterns to try out..

Tanis Galik...her site all about Interlocking crochet here

 

It's definitely not a stitch for a beginner, you really do need to remember what you are doing at every moment.....are you stitching through a hole behind a stitch or infront of a stitch...it took me a couple of goes to get it right but worth the effort.

 Love this version of interlocking crochet..a tiny square inside another square

I can see lots of colourful experiments to come using just this one version of interlocking crochet coming on.

 

Thanks Tanis

 

Thanks to the Stylecraft Team at the NEC and my Dangerous iPad.....lol

Thanks to the Stylecraft Team and some lovely customers I had a wonderful day at the NEC....hope you have had a good show too.

They built me a wonderful crochet corner for the show.

 

Thanks to everyone who came to say hello and talk about my book, the blogs and the crochet.

some lovely new yarns, great new colours and my crochet patterns all launched at the show

anyone who works with lots of colours will be pleased to learn Stylecraft have added a gorgeous new orange called Spice (shade 1711) to the Special DK range.

Sorry I forgot to take a close up of it but it is a lovely orange, a lot more subtle than the Jaffa and will be a great addition along with the other new shades of Stone (shade 1710) Gold (shade 1709) and Petrol (shade 1708).

 

Can't wait to play with the New Nordic super chunky...ready for the Autumn designs.

more Nordic YARN HERE 

It's a mix of two shade that look quite a big contrast, but become very subtle when you knit or crochet

 

Well done Stylecraft for a lovely stand.

 

 

STYLECRAFT ALPACA COLOURS HERE

Had a play with the Alpaca, in Lime (shade 6015), a gorgeous yarn...thinking of making myself a new cardy/coat for me in this yarn.

Sample: Mock rib with a popcorn edge.

 

iPAD DISASTER....

Love my iPad but it bit me!

Can't believe it, all I did was to pick it up and I ended up with a really sharp pain in my wrist that wouldn't go away all day, even the pain kilers didn't work....made for a very miserable day, I couldn't type or crochet.

 

This morning it seems to be back to normal and no pain at all.

No idea other than a trapped nerve, what could have happened.

 

Back to posts and hooky time again today

 

 

Granny Heart Bunting Pattern

HAPPY VALENTINE

 Granny heart bunting.....these little granny shell hearts are very addictive but quick to make

 I made three sets in a few hours

 in 2 strands of DK to make lots of blended colours and a 5mm hook.

PATTERN

 one finger wrap of 4 wraps

ROUND 1: a simple granny square but don't join the round, you turn.

3dc, ch3,3dc,ch3, 3dc,ch3 3dc, ch3 and turn

 ROUND 2: 3dc, ch2, 3dc, into first ch sp,

 3dc,ch3,3dc into botttom point,

 3dc, ch2, 3dc in third ch s, ch 3 and sl st into the first st. turn

 ROUND 3: ch1, 3sc into first ch sp,

1sc in the next 3 sts, 2sc, in the next ch sp, sc in the next 6 sts

2sc, ch3, 2sc in the bottom ch sp, point of heart,

sc in next 6 sts, 2sc in the next ch sp,

sc in next 3 sts, 3sc in last ch sp, sl st to complete round.

Cut off, weave in ends in the back of the heart

make as many as required and ch st into bunting

use 6 ch sts between the heart tops and 9 ch sts, between each heart. 

HAPPY VALENTINE HOOKING

Vintage crochet as inspiration...and a design Dilemma?

Not everyone can look at a picture of a crochet motif and crochet it from the picture without a pattern...Vintage patterns have no copyright and I do use old patterns myself as inspiration.

The one below is from the 1970's......All I had was a picture, no pattern so this is my version of the design in my yarn choice and colour....

Love the secondary pattern that just happens when they are all joined together....

 

HARD TO DECIDE WHO DESIGNED A MOTIF ORIGINALLY

A couple of days back someone sent me a picture of a throw, a beautiful throw. She had tried to buy the pattern with no luck.

 

I tried to be fair and help but said I couldn't pass on the pattern as this person was selling the made up motif as a throw and trying to make a living at crochet...fair I thought?

 

A LITTLE MORE RESEARCH LATER...

I found the same motif was out there with some well know crochet artists as their own design, I found it as a motif for sale, for free, in a WELL KNOWN magazine and in a

WELL SOLD book as a hexagon version....wow!

 

Who owned this design or was it an old motif that had been copied and tweaked, or was it the yarn, colour and how it was put together, that had made it theirs?

 

To me it was a very recognisable design and they all looked similar but slightly different, 

I did my own version,  making the second round longer and much more open and the third round chunkier, I used my colour choice and my yarn choice.......so does that make it mine or a design dilemma ?

a few of the versions I found.........on the net, in a magazine, for free and in a book...

my version is bottom right

 

 

Do you know where the ORIGINAL comes from please?

 Let me know if you do, I would be very interested to find out as it is all over the net and publishing world all being claimed as their own design?

 

Interesting don't you think?