Two Finished Projects!

Hello! I am back this week with two finished projects to share with you! Firstly, my Skimming Stones Shawl and secondly, with the yarn leftover, my Malvern Cowl. As well as using the same yarn, both patterns were written by the same designer, Joanne Scrace!

finished Skimming Stones Scarf

finished Malvern Cowl

Kat Goldin and Joanne Scrace together form The Crochet Project and back in June they hosted a Mystery Crochet Along (MCAL) with the Skimming Stones pattern. Each week for 5 weeks a small part of the pattern was released without a single photo of what the finished shawl would look like! Hundreds of people joined in and there was a lovely community feel in their private Facebook Group and on Instagram.

detail of Skimming Stones Shawl

The recommended yarn for the MCAL was Carlisle Fingering by Eden Cottage Yarns and there were special kits available online. There was an alternative yarn suggestion, Milburn 4ply (85% blue faced leicister/ 15% silk), and I decided to go with this because I preferred the more solid looking colours. I bought the kit with 6 balls (2x main colour, 1x each of the 4 contrast colours) and also an extra ball of pale pink because I felt like mixing things up a little! This yarn was a joy to work with - it felt so soft and luxurious against my hands. I had a lot of fun following along with this project and enjoyed watching the unusual shape develop. I was a bit of a rebel and chose to ignore the set pattern of colours and introduced each colour in a random yet pleasing order.

edge detail

When I had finished my shawl I looked at how much yarn I had left, and together with the ball that came in the kit but didn't use, I reckoned I had enough to crochet a Malvern Cowl. I had had my eye on this pattern for a while and felt it would be a fantastic way to use up all of my yarn. The spike stitches give this pattern a real edgy look which I love and the stripes quickly built up to form the cowl. One change I made to the pattern was to twist the tube shape before sewing together to help to give it drape (I wasn't using the recommended yarn here and it was feeling slightly too rigid).

detail of Malvern Cowl

So, there you have it; two cosy items for winter crocheted out of 7 balls of yarn with next to nothing left over and I am really pleased with them both!

Marta xx

My creative January so far ...

Hello and Happy New Year! My first blog post of the year is all about my creative adventure so far this month and a look ahead at the ideas I have for the rest of the year. Firstly, I have renewed my commitment to bullet journaling with a shiny new notebook from Paperchase. So far, it's going really well and I have had lots of hand lettering and layout practice. The size of this notebook is 26cm x 20cm which is almost twice the size of my previous one and I am finding the extra space brilliant for jotting down more ideas and giving more room for my weekly Bible quotes. Of course it hasn't all gone smoothly - I spent an hour on some lovely lettering for my "January 2018" title page only to discover as I stood back to admire it that I had stupidly titled it 2017!! However, I fixed it in a creative way, allowing this to be the start of many errors because if I sought 100% perfection I would never put pen to paper in the first place!

going with the flow!

Here's another photo showing my weekly spread at the end of Week 1. I have also been sharing lots of photos over on Instagram and adding the ideas which work best to my Pinterest board. If you want to find out more about the bullet journaling craze, check out this video.

bullet journal, Week 1

I have been doing lots of crocheting too of course! I began the year by finishing a pair of socks that I began on Boxing Day. They were a stash busting project, following Joanne Scrace's Mamble Socks pattern. I found it a really relaxing pattern to follow, perfect to crochet along whilst watching family movies! I finished them last week and they fit my youngest son's fast growing feet (he's currently a UK 11 and they're not stopping there so I have allowed for some growth room).

my stripy Mamble Socks

My next crochet project was a continuation with many of the 4ply colours from the socks. I decided to make a doll from Kerry Lord's Edward's Crochet Doll Emporium book - a book I have had on my shelf since October but not made anything from. My first doll is for my very best friend Gwen and I am trying to make it look like her!

crochet work in progress (WIP)

The third crochet project of the year is a new design - a filet crochet shawl, crocheted in Koigu Mori a 50% merino/ 50% mulberry silk 4ply yarn. This yarn is one of the smoothest, softest yarns I have ever squished and I can't wait to share more of this project in a future email. If you haven't come across Koigu yarn before check out their website for an absoloute feast for the eyes!

new shawl design underway

So, after a good start to the year, I have lots of plans to continue my creative journey - a new crochet pattern to be released once a month, more bullet journaling - possibly with printables for downloading, maybe even crochet workshops and plenty of blog updates!

Until next time,

Marta xx

Using every scrap!

This week I noticed a common theme with all my current crochet WIPs - they are all scrap busting projects! I love this because apart from the economical use of yarn it is creative in using up every scrap from its source (whether plant, animal or man-made) to spinning then dying and finally retail.

The longest standing of these projects is my Virus Blanket. It is crocheted in 4ply and some of the scraps in this I have had for ages! The pattern is by Joanna Martinez and you can find it on Ravelry here.

Next up is this chunkier aran weight blanket. I hadven't made an aran weight blanket before, I always us double knitting thickness and this is working up so much faster, I love it! The pattern is Granny Shell Blanket and it's a twist on the traditional granny square, written by Remade By Sam. I have written my own final rounds to join the squares together, using the join-as-you-go method. Because of the weight I think I will keep this as more of a lap blanket, much smaller than usual. The colours are particularly clashy in this one, I'm not aiming for my usual colour harmony.

Something much smaller ... crocheted socks! This is only the second pair of crocheted socks I have ever made. The first were my own design (which I didn't write down, they never got past the experimental stage!) and now these by Joanne Scrace of The Crochet Project - you can find the pattern in the book, Crochet Yeah! or on Ravelry here.

My forurth WIP is one I have blogged about twice now, my 100 Days Project blanket. Progress is still going strong on this one - I have just passed the 50 square milestone! Below is a photo to show you some of the many, many coulours involved in this blanket. 

Finally, not a stash busting project but an exciting pattern release announcement! My Lavender Cardigan is at the final photo editing stage and is very, very nearly for release! I have been working on this project since the spring and I can not wait to share it with you! It will be available next week to download from Ravelry and Etsy.

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

What have I been up to this April?

April has been a busy month for me! I have mostly been crocheting, gardening, school holiday day tripping, pattern writing, enjoying family birthdays, taking photos, celebrating Easter, cooking, baking and a bit of DIYing (if that's a word!). I haven't had time to sit down and blog properly so here is a quick, mostly visual, summary of what I've been up to.

I crocheted 2 baby cardigans!

This is the Callander Cardigan by Joanne Scrace 

The weather has been fab so we have been outdoors most days.

This would be an excellent photo shoot location.

2nd crocheted cardigan, Wolf by Kat Goldin

(only my version is a monkey!)

Easter Sunday was also my birthday!

I made this Easter cake with swiss meringue buttercream icing!

Our homemade Easter tree

... and Easter Monday was my youngest son's birthday!

We planted out this old sink with flower seeds.

I celebrated 1 year with my crochet companion Jazz!

Cake and coffee with my boys at the Two Sister's Cafe, 

Carnoustie

A mystery collaboration I am currently working on.

More details coming very soon!

I have fresh ideas for future blog posts and I will be back soon with more updates, but until then, happy crafting!

Marta xx

Yarn Review: Ginger's Hand Dyed Bleating Velvet 4ply

I have only been crocheting with Ginger's Hand Dyed Bleating Velvet 4ply for a week and it has shot into 1st place in my top yarn list! Dyed on a base of 80% superwash merino/ 10% cashmere/ 10% nylon it has a soft texture that feels wonderful to work with. But the main appeal for me is the stunning colourways available!

Last Saturday my husband and I had a child free day in Edinburgh. We took an early train through and spent the day exploring the city of my birth with no real fixed plan or agenda ... except a visit to Ginger Twist Studio! I had visited Ginger Twist Studio's stall at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March and although I didn't buy anything, knew I had to go and visit the shop and see all the gorgeous yarn together.

So, after leaving Waverley train station we wandered down to Edinburgh's east side and found the pretty shop with a little help from Google maps (how did we cope before all this technology?). The shop really is like it says on its website description - "a sweetie shop for knitters, crocheters, spinners and weavers"! There were so many colours to take in, I had a hard job choosing just one or two colour palettes for future projects!

There is an extensive choice of the shop's own hand dyed range called Ginger's Hand Dyed. The above photo shows the 2 skeins of Bleating Velvet 4ply I chose. They were hanging side by side from the shelf and I thought the vibrant orangey red was perfect beside the cooler blue grey. I had a shawl in mind from The Shawl Project: Book Two by Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin which required 2 different coloured skeins of 4ply and thought these two would do very nicely.

The colours I chose have descriptive names - they are "Grey Gardens" and "Girl on Fire" and the pattern, by Joanne Scrace, is called "Missed Kingfisher". The subtle shifts and changes in the colour of the wool make each row unique and compelling to crochet. 

I'm using a 5mm crochet hook, slightly narrower than the recommended 6mm but I'm particularly loose with my tension. The large hook helps the shawl flow and takes away any rigidity a finer hook would produce. Ginger's Hand Dyed Bleating Velvet 4ply drapes beautifully and feels so soft against my skin, I can't wait to wear it around my shoulders (oh yes! This one is for me!!).

My new-to-me vintage basket holds this project perfectly, I just had to take a photo or two for my Instagram gallery ...

If you are in or around Edinburgh I would highly recommend a visit to Ginger Twist Studio, if you're further afield you can buy online at www.gingertwiststudios.com. 

At the moment I am only a few rows away from finishing this shawl, then I will give it a light blocking before I can wear it. I can't wait!

Crocheting at Loch Tay

Last week I was fortunate to head into the heart of Scotland to Ardeonaig, Loch Tay. I was a parent helper on my middle son's Primary 7 adventure week; a residential holiday with lots of outdoor based activities. Of course, I brought along a new crochet project!

Loch Tay, viewed from our house 

on the evening of our arrival

Last month I had received "The Shawl Project: Book One" by Joanne Scrace for The Crochet Project as a birthday present, so this seemed the ideal inspiration for a new WIP to take with me! I chose some random, no label yarn which had been passed on to me and decided on the "Transposition" pattern. 

Crochet, tea and a beautiful view!

The children had a fair amount of free time to explore the grounds so I had some time to sit down, take in the view and crochet! The pattern is easy to understand and written in 4 sections which are very easy to memorise - an ideal project if you are going to be distracted.

I crouched down in the grass for

this atmospheric shot of Ben Lawers

in the clouds

I accompanied the children on a hike one day. We climbed up into the hills which gave us fantastic views of the loch and surrounding mountains. Ben Lawers, across the loch from us, is the 10th highest peak in the UK and I remember climbing it when I was 17! On our final full day we sailed across Loch Tay and back in a gig, a substantial sized sailing boat. 

The "Dawn Treader", our trusty boat

shawl progress

Back home now, I am about two thirds of the way through the shawl and it is working out beautifully. I shall enjoy finishing it and remember my special time away as I do so.