Maleny Knitfest 2016… June 10th & 12th… Hope to see you there…

KnitfestHi everyone… by now many of you will have heard about the Maleny Knitfest to be held 10th to 12th June 2016  so, just letting you all know that I will be there conducting a couple of workshops…

(1) Saturday 11th (10am to 1pm) ~ Freeform Scrumples ~ this is a shared workshop where I’ll be covering the crochet elements & the lovely Lynn Hall with be covering the knitting bits… should be a lot of fun!

(2) Sunday 12th (10am to 1pm) The ever popular 10 Stitch Sampler – which covers many of those tricky stitches I use in my freeform work… you’re sure to learn something new here.

There will be 16 workshops overall, so have a look, I’m sure you’ll find one to interest you & don’t forget to book as workshops are filling fast.

For those of you with  competitive spirits why not have a go in one of the competitions, check out the categories here ~  only $5 per entry & you can enter as many time as you like…

The Maleny Knitfest promises to be a fabulous weekend of gorgeous fibre fun, with workshops, exhibits, stalls, competitions & much more… so there’ll be something for everyone…

Check out the Maleny Knitfest Facebook page & for more information go to the Maleny Knitfest website

Hope to see you there!

Horizontal Crochet Sampler Rug (Afghan) pattern…

DSCF1762Horizontal Rainbow Rug (Afghan) Crochet Sampler Pattern

This Sampler is a bit different from the usual Sampler Pattern as it’s worked horizontally instead of in a collection of squares. The 17 different stitches that make up this sampler are worked in rows that are repeated as many times as you like, in colour combinations that you prefer & using the hook your comfortable with… therefore , although I’ve given yarn & hook requirements, this is your project – work with your own preferred yarns, colours & appropriate hook.

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~ Requirements for rainbow rug (afghan) as featured in photo: 200g (7.1 oz) of each: yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green. Chocolate Brown 50g (1.77oz)

Hook size: 4.50 (US: G)…I used Bendigo Classic yarn.

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~ Requirements for Beige/brown rug (afghan) as featured in photo: 270g (9.53oz) of each: siege, brown, cream, 23g (.9oz) orange

Hook size: 4.50 (US: G)…I used  economy yarns from my stash.

 

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I hope this is an enjoyable new project for you to try & create something that you will be proud to show off or gift to family or friends.

The pattern is available for sale on Ravelry & Etsy

CORRECTION: Textured Crochet Lace

Textured Crochet LaceCORRECTION: I have discovered  a major error in my book Textured Crochet Lace… the instructions for Edging Individual Squares  was omitted when published…

My sincere apologies  to everyone who has purchased the book & therefore been confused about the edging & may even have abandoned their project…

I’m mortified! How do these things happen, but they do… even after intense proof-reading & editors checking… goes to show that nothing is perfect….

Hopefully, this post will rectify this major mistake to some degree…

The instructions for edging individual squares are as follows:

Round 1: with right side facing & continuing with working colour, 1 ch, work 3 dc (US: sc) in same st [place marker in middle st, corner made], * work 29 dc (US: sc) evenly spaced to next corner st, dc (US: sc) in corner st, repeat around square, join with ss in first dc (US: sc), do not finish off – 128dc (US: sc)

Round 2: continuing with working colour, 1 ch, dc (US: sc) in same st and in each st across to next corner st, * dc (US: sc) in corner st, dc (US: sc) in each st across to next corner st, repeat from * around, join with ss in first dc (US: sc) , finish off – 136 dc (US: sc)

Please contact me if you have any questions… Renate

My re-purposed Freeform Crochet Coat…

Forest InspiredSo, continuing with my personal commitment to complete UFO’s & work on new projects that have been sitting on the back-burner for far too long, I took a good hard look at this Freeform Crochet Coat that I created in 2006 & is featured in my book ‘Freeform Crochet & Beyond.’

This piece has special meaning for me as the colours, textures & forms came alive for me in a forest reserve where I often visited for solace & inspiration. Having that said, & as much as I love it, I also know that it’s big, bulky & heavy, more over, not to everyone’s taste, & to sell it on the Net would cost a small fortune to ship…

It’s been in my mind to pull it apart & make other items, but… Oh my!…What a job that would be… so,… the idea was put in the ‘too hard basket’ time & time again… Then, this summer, an extremely hot one at that, so much so, that I found it difficult to move too far away from the air fans blowing at high speed, I decided that, seeing as I’m sitting here like a sweltering lump, I might as well be doing something useful… & so I began unravelling the freeform patches…. long story short… here are the items I came up with… I’m very happy.

Hood & scarf ComboDSCF1717Large Freeform ToteLarge Freeform ToteSmall Freeform bagSmall Freeform crochet bagFreeform Crochet Tcosy

Dreamcatchers ~ something new for me…

dreamcatchers

Dreamcatchers… something new & different from me that I’ve wanted to try for some time. I’ve created these Dreamcatchers, not as authentic representations but as my own personal artistic interpretations.

I’m an Aussie, so my interest in dreamcatchers isn’t cultural… I simply love them & more over, I love the idea of them.

Dreamcatchers originate in Native American tradition, believing both positive & negative dreams flow through the night & that a Dreamcatcher, hanging freely over or near a sleeping person, will allow the good dreams to pass through while capturing the bad dreams, which will perish & vanish with the rising sun…

I used patterns from this collection of 16 Crochet Motifs & embellished with wooden, glass & plastic beads & attached swivel cams so the dreamcatcher can rotate freely…

Dreamcatcher 1Dreamcatcher 7Dreamcatcher 6Dreamcatcher 2Dreamcatcher 3Dreamcatcher 4Dreamcatcher 5