It worked! The public airing of my stalled cushion project was enough to make me pick up my hook and finish it:
Made in Uist 100% cheviot wool ‘Solas’ on a 4.5mm hook. The stitch patterns are Shells and pebbles and Fences, both learned at Kiki’s Craft Corner.
Contrary to all the available evidence on this blog I have been working on something other than baby blankets recently:
They are squares of Uist wool in two different textured stitches, and my intention is to make them up into a cushion to replace one of these:
This bit requires rather a lot of counting of stitches, which explains why I have paused for a while. I am posting them on the blog as a little jolt to my conscience to get on and finish them!
It seems a long time ago now, but some of you might remember my Candy Crush baby blanket (here). Well I had some ends of yarn left over and managed to make some teeny tiny squares from them:
And there was just enough to put them together to make a cushion. I am quite pleased with it actually.
You might remember my first Uist wool cushion cover here
Well a recent trip to Uist saw me returning with enough yarn for another cushion, so now there are two!
They are not quite identical (who knew there was more than one way of sewing a strip of ripple stitch up?) but they are entirely in keeping with each other, and I am pleased with them both.
And just in-case you can’t pop over to Uist yourself they are now selling their lovely wool on-line (here)
Well it has taken a while but I have finally made my ‘Wheels within wheels’ panel into a cushion.
I used some grey linen and made an envelope style cushion cover then hand sewed the panel onto the front. It has worked out quite well I think. The original post for the panel is here, and thanks once again to Little Woolie for the inspiration
Thanks to Orla Kiely For the colour inspiration for this cushion cover. See here
The yarn is Drops muskat in vanilla yellow, sky blue, light yellow, rust, khaki and medium grey, and the whole thing was made in crossed trebles on a 5mm hook. This time I did remember to incorporate an opening, and there are some cute red buttons to finish it off:
Apparently this phrase means “To improve or decorate something that is already perfect and therefore spoil it” So what’s the story? Well you might remember this cushion cover….
I had originally hidden a long end of yarn so that I could undo it and re-crochet if I wanted to wash the cover, but this did not seem to be a suitable method for general use, and I felt an alternative method was needed, without remaking the entire cover to produce a flap. A short trip to the local button shop, and an evening’s sewing has solved the problem:
Seventeen tiny buttons, small enough to fit through a single stitch, and the job is done. I think it is both decorative and useful. So not gilding the lily at all.
So this is it, that lovely moment when you have finished something, and know that it is really worthwhile.
Here, in all it’s glory, is my Uist wool cushion:
You might remember it’s humble beginnings just after Christmas here
Well now it is all grown up and I am delighted with it. The buttons follow the natural line of the ripples:
And even the side seams have a pleasing symmetry:
What a pleasure it is to work with such lovely yarn. Made in Uist wool dk fuaran, siaban and texel on a 4.5mm hook. Pattern available, if you would like a copy just leave a message.
I have found a lovely definition of an amateur as ‘an enthusiast who pursues their work in the spirit of love’. Apparently the word is related to the French ‘amateur’ (lover of) and the Latin ‘amator’ (lover). To extend the idea further I was given some delightful artisan wool for Christmas – from Uist wool (see their facebook page here) in blends of texel, cheviot and zwartbles yarns. The shades I have are called fuaran, siaban and texel and are undyed.
I have made a couple of swatches and put together a few ideas, and am looking forward to having a go at making a cushion cover from the yarn that I have.
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You might remember my first foray into multi-coloured moss stitch here, and wonder what that led to next. Well like all the best projects that one spawned another idea even before I had finished it. So today I present to you my first three coloured moss stitch:
Hugely simpler to make than the two coloured version, as it involves no sewing in of ends.
I really like the tweed effect too.
Made in Scheepjeswol XL Moonstone, Deep amethyst, and Lilac quartz on a 6mm hook.
I bought some Drops Muskat cotton over the summer with the aim of exploring new projects with it. You might remember that I started a baby blanket…
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This project has been on the back burner for a little while, but I feel I have some mental space for it now I have finished the ‘perseverance’ cardigan.
It is based in Little Woollie’s ‘Wheels within wheels’ blanket here, which itself was based on a Ravelry pattern by Frankie Brown here. I knew that Lucie from ‘Love Lucie’ had also made a cushion using the same pattern here. I admired this plainer look, which I felt used the pattern to show off the texture of the yarn, and I wanted to create something similar that might work as a cushion cover. After some considerable trial and error I came up with this:
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I mentioned a while ago that I was making dishcloths as a means of putting off doing bigger and better things. Well here is a glimpse of the bigger things that I was working on.
It is a set of three cushions for my daughter’s flat. With colours carefully chosen to match her decor, and stitches chosen to suit her taste. I am hoping that they will meet with her approval!
I made them in Bergere de France Recyclaine, which is a super-chunky yarn made from 30% recycled fibres. I used a 12mm hook and the colours were Lin (beige) and Opaline (grey).
It is ‘Crafty Saturday’ today – the last Saturday of the month from 2-4.30 at Kiki’s Craft Corner. It is a time for like-minded people to meet over a cup of coffee and a super-large work-table; with needles, threads, yarns, fabrics, spinning wheels and sewing machines. I shall be taking my finished cushions along for the adult equivalent of ‘show and tell’
I must also remember to write down exactly how we did the extremely neat joining of the squares:
Now I feel myself being called to do something more colourful! But what?? I have boxes full of wool, a Pinterst board full of ideas but nothing concrete to actually get going on. I only have until 2.00 to decide – Help!
And now the second side of cushion number two:
The patterns on this side are ‘Fishing net’
and my own version of ‘Fences’ (sort of brickwork, or staggered fences depending on how you look at it)
The panels are crocheted in Robin FX DK ‘Moorland’. on a 4.5mm hook. The cushion pads have been covered in a grey/beige coloured linen fabric which I think sets off the textured stitch patterns well.
Both patterns learned at our lovely local craft shop ‘Kiki’s craft corner’
If you are interested in classes, you can contact Keira through her website: http://kikiscraftcorner.co.uk/
No I haven’t literally made a three sided cushion, this is the first side of cushion number two, but you understand my meaning.
the patterns on this side are ‘Shells and pebbles’
and ‘Fences’
The panels are crocheted in Robin FX DK ‘Moorland’. on a 4.5mm hook. The cushion pads have been covered in a grey/beige coloured linen fabric which I think sets off the textured stitch patterns well.
Both patterns learned at our lovely local craft shop ‘Kiki’s craft corner’
If you are interested in classes, you can contact Keira through her website: http://kikiscraftcorner.co.uk/
I am not sure how well this will work photographically, but I wanted to show you the stitches on the reverse side of the cushion.
the patterns on this side are ‘Noughts and crosses’
and ‘Honeycomb’
The panels are crocheted in Robin FX DK ‘Moorland’. If you look closely you will see that I had to change dye lots between these two squares (lesson to self – buy more yarn than you think you will need!)
Both patterns learned at our lovely local craft shop ‘Kiki’s craft corner’
If you are interested in classes, you can contact Keira through her website: http://kikiscraftcorner.co.uk/
I have been learning new things!
Our lovely local craft shop has been running ‘intermediate’ crochet classes and we have been learning how to produce textured stitches in crochet.
The idea was to learn 12 new patterns, make (roughly) 20cm squares of each, then join them to make a throw.
Well as you can see I didn’t quite mange the throw bit. However I made 16 squares in 8 patterns and joined them together to make some beautiful cushions, which will sit proudly on our sofa for all to see.
This patterns on this side are ‘Moss stitch’
and ‘Diamonds’
The panels are crocheted in Robin FX DK ‘Moorland’ on a 4.5mm hook (I found my tension was too tight on a 4mm hook) and finished off with 2-3 rounds of double crochet ‘sashing’ to make all the squares the same size. Even the way the squares were joined together was new to me, and gave such a lovely smooth seam that I shall certainly use it again.
I really cannot thank Keira enough for taking the time to teach us these lovey stitches, remembered from her childhood in Ireland, and painstakingly written out and charted for us to follow. We are trying to persuade her to publish them in a book so other people can benefit from her amazing knowledge and expertise. It would be lovely to think that these heirloom patterns could be passed on to another generation.
If you are interested in classes, or in purchasing the book when it is published, you can contact Keira through her website: http://kikiscraftcorner.co.uk/
The lovely Harris tweed patchwork cushions in the background are from our friends at Calicvol quilts on the Isle of Lewis. http://www.callicvolquilts.com/home/index.aspx
Finally got round to making my ‘circles into squares’ panel into a rather lovely little cushion.
The idea for the circles came from Three Beans in a Pod’s lovely retro blanket
(http://www.threebeansinapod.com/2012/08/retro-circles-tutorial.html)
and the tutorial for turning the circles into squares is on Little Tin Bird’s blog
(http://www.littletinbird.co.uk/free-crochet-tutorials/bullseye-squares-pattern/)
Mine is in Rowan wool cotton dk on a 4mm hook, and the colours are Tender, Celadon, Clear, Paper and Antique.
The back is in cream coloured calico from our lovely local craft emporium – Kiki’s craft corner
(http://kikiscraftcorner.co.uk/)
A bit of nonsense really but the colours appealed to me, and I like the circles into squares idea.
The idea for the circles came from Three Beans in a Pod’s lovely retro blanket
(http://www.threebeansinapod.com/2012/08/retro-circles-tutorial.html)
and the tutorial for turning the circles into squares is on Little Tin Bird’s blog
(http://www.littletinbird.co.uk/free-crochet-tutorials/bullseye-squares-pattern/)
Mine is in Rowan wool cotton dk on a 4mm hook, and the colours are tender, celadon, clear, paper and antique.
Now is it to be a cushion? A stool cover?
Simply hooked 