Category: crochet

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Downunder….

Hello everyone,… it’s hard to believe that yet another year is coming to an end; I do hope it’s been a happy, healthy & creative one for you all &, that 2018 will be even better. A huge thank you to all the crochet class ladies, your participation, (rain, hail or shine), has been wonderful & greatly appreciated &, hopefully, will continue with the same zeal, friendship & creativity in 2018. A generous welcome to all the new ladies. I hope your crochet interests have been re-ignited &, I trust, the door has been opened for the very new beginners to this fabulous, fun craft.

I’d also like to thank the many people who have contacted me throughout the year. I really value your lovely compliments & feedback &, the requests for advise with those tricky stitches that we come across from time to time, I hope I’ve been of help…

Another gracious, Thank You must go to all my Etsy, Ravelry & Zibbet customers, most of which are international &, being so far away, I really appreciate your trust & taking the time to leave great feedback.

~ So…, 2017… it took a while to get my mojo back on track after a difficult 2016, but time has a way of moving forward & taking us along with it…

~ I wasn’t able to enter Alice Springs Beanie Festival comp but did manage to send a bundle of beanies to Beanie Central with only one coming back…Yay!

~ Maleny Knitfest was a great success with Robyn Baily at my side working the trade stall while I workshopped. I was honoured to win both best Beanie & best Scarf awards. And, while I’m at it, I must give a ‘shout out to Karen Lynch’ who won 2nd prize in the beanie comp…Well done!

~ The Landsborough Inaugural Tea Cosy/Beanie Challenge’ was also a success with People’s Choice Awards. I was delighted to win both best Beanie & best Tea Cosy…

~ I also had the great honour of being included in ‘Artistry in Fiber Vol 2 – Sculpture’, A coffee table book featuring an array of world-wide fibre artists.

Here’s hoping 2018 brings many fabulous inspirations & new interesting crochet challenges. I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas & all the very best for the New Year ahead… cheers, Renate

Vintage Earrings inspire Freeform Crochet Bag….

Earlier this year (Feb 2017) I was contacted, through Etsy, by a lovely lady who asked me if I’d be willing to create a freeform handbag, incorporating her collection of vintage earrings. As a rule, I don’t usually take on many custom orders for freeform pieces, mainly because I rarely know which direction a project may go &, even if the customer points to a particular item as an example, no 2 pieces are ever the same. So it’s often difficult pleasing people who already have pre-conceived ideas… Basically, I don’t want to disappoint…

Nevertheless, I was intrigued when she sent me a photo of the earrings &, after discussing preferred colours & forms (her preference for florals & Autumn tones), handles style, basic bag shape & her assurances that I had free range to create whatever I thought best… I decided to give it a go…. & so it began….

The finished handbag turned out great. My customer was super happy with the result. I too, was very pleased & don’t know why, in the beginning, I was so hesitant.  Well, there you go, that’s the creative process.  Perhaps this little exercise will persuade you to have a search through your own collectables & see what inspirations you can find….

 

 

Maleny Knitfest 2017… a great success…

How lucky were we to have had the best 2 Queensland winter days for the Knitfest… you couldn’t have asked for better. So many fibre enthusiasts came to enjoy all that Knitfest had to offer: presenters had wonderful, interesting trade stalls… the many, varied workshops were all well attended with participators leaving happy & inspired… the yarn-bombing was a hoot & greatly appreciated by all the photo clickers…

A huge thank you to my friend Robyn, who kept my trade stall humming while I was workshopping… I couldn’t have done it without you….

The competitions had lots more entries this year & I’m so honoured to have won both the best beanie & scarf.

All in all, a great weekend… Hope to see you all again in 2018

The following pics are my competition entries:

3 Crochet Ponchos & a Circular vest – using up large amounts of left-over yarn…

yarn left oversI simply love yarn; the rush you get when you find a new one. How colour and/or texture floods the mind & inspirations just flows in.

As a rule, when I’m in the process of purchasing yarn, in the back of my mind I’m always afraid that I won’t have enough for a single project, either a project in mind or a potential one that hasn’t been thought of yet. And so, inevitably I, more often than not, purchase far more than I eventually use &, as most yarnies will agree, yarn stashes can grow at an alarming rate.

To gain some semblance of control, quick & easy projects can, to some extent, if not completely, reduce that overwhelming feeling of becoming a yarn hoarder…

These 4 projects are a great examples for using up those larger amounts of yarn sitting idle for far too long.

For the ponchos I used variations of my own pattern which can be found here

dscf2060For the hooded poncho I knotted together (leaving the knots as a feature) a combination of complimentary, natural & acrylic, green & brown yarns & using a large hook (UK:10mm / US: N), crocheted in trebles (US: dc) & worked in stripes, adding extra rows around the neck-line to produce the cowl / hood.

 

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The yarn for the red, purple & black poncho is a 12 ply acrylic that I never found again, but luckily I had just enough. Again, I used a largish hook (UK: 8mm / US: L) & crocheted in trebles (US: dc)

 

 

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The pink / purple poncho in made up of a beautiful 30% wool / 70% acrylic 8 ply yarn that, if your lucky, can still be purchased but I’ve never found it in this colour combo again… I used hook size (UK: 6mm / US: H) & also crocheted in trebles (US: dc)

 

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I didn’t have a pattern for the Circular vest. Working in trebles (US: dc) & a hook size (UK: 4.5 mm / US: G), I began in the centre as you would for any circle & spiralled around & around, always marking the first stitch of each round & increasing as you would for a circle. I used my mannequin to determine arm-holes & basically freestyled it to the end. This is a gorgeous 8 ply, 60% super wash wool / 40% polyamide, yarn & a delight to work with.

So, to end this long post, I’d just like to say… don’t be daunted by your growing yarn stash… find patterns & projects that use limited amounts of yarn. Take a chance & use combinations of different yarns, knot them together or just join in new yarn as one runs out. Try out different size hooks… it’s fun, it’s creative, you’re never quite sure how it will turn out but, best of all, it’s a mighty, practical way of losing that hoarder reputation…

Little Dots Rug (Afghan) Crochet Pattern….

little dots rugIt’s been a long while since I’ve posted anything new, 2016 being such a stressful year but I’m determined that 2017 will be a happy, productive & creative time again. This little pattern has been in the pipe-line for ages & I’ve finally put it all together… I hope it’s a pattern that is both interesting to work & practical to boot…

Little Dots Rug (Afghan) Crochet Pattern:little dots stash

Little Dots Rug (Afghan) Crochet Pattern is a great, fun pattern for using up all those bits & pieces sitting idle in your yarn stash; those small yarn left-overs that are not enough for large projects but too good to just discard or throw away…

Little Dots Rug (Afghan) Crochet Pattern is suitable for beginners but still interesting enough for the more experienced.

little dots motifYour choice of yarn, back ground colour, & appropriate hook that you favour, will give your project its own unique result. I’m a big fan of rainbows but there’s no reason why you can’t work your rug in mono tones…

The pattern includes:
~ both UK & US terminology
~ pattern diagram (chart)
~ stitch drawings
~ assembly.

Enjoy this fun pattern using up all those neglected yarn bits & pieces in your stash… waste not, want not… is my motto for this project….

Available now in my Etsy Shop

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