My Current Favourite Hook: The Clover Soft Touch

Hello! For every crocheter, there's that one hook. You know, the one you reach for time and again, the one that feels like an extension of your hand. Today, I'm here to sing the praises of my own personal crochet bestie: the Clover Soft Touch. I should say that this is not an affiliated or sponsored post and that all opinions are my own. 

This little wonder isn't fancy or expensive, but it ticks all the boxes for me. Let's break down why it's become my go-to hook:

 

Comfort First:  

Crocheting can be hard on your hands, especially if you tend to grip your hook tightly. The Clover Soft Touch boasts a shaped plastic handle with a smooth, rubber thumb grip handle that's a dream to hold. I can crochet for hours without feeling any strain or cramping.

 

Glides Like a Dream:  

There's nothing worse than a hook that snags on your yarn, making every stitch a struggle. The Clover Soft Touch has a tapered point which glides effortlessly through the yarn, creating beautifully even stitches. 

 

Size Does Matter:

The Clover Soft Touch comes in a whopping 21 sizes, from 0.5mm hooks perfect for delicate threads to 6mm for working with chunkier yarns. Also, if you're just starting out, they offer handy sets of 9 hooks that cover the central range of yarn weights.

 

Kind to Your Wallet:  

Let's face it, crochet supplies can add up quickly! The beauty of the Clover Soft Touch is that it's very affordable. You won't break the bank adding it to your collection, which leaves more room for that gorgeous yarn you've been eyeing up!

 

Bonus Tips: 

If you're on the hunt for your own favourite crochet hook, I highly recommend checking out some reviews online or visiting your local craft store to see if they have any available for you to handle. I also made a YouTube video last year all about the different types of crochet hooks which might be of interest to you, you can watch it via the embedded link below.

Finding the perfect hook is definitely a personal journey, but trust me, the search is worth it! Have you found your own crochet soulmate? Share your favourite hook and why you love it in the comments, I'd love to know!

The Clover Soft Touch 4.5mm hook was my choice for this year's Lazy Days CAL kits. It's my current favourite hook and I want you to try it and see for yourself how lovely it is to use. Kits are still available, but are selling out fast! Click here to order yours today, not forgetting your 10% off discount code: LAZYDAYS

I hope this post has been useful for you. Do let me know in the comments what your favourite hook is!

Until next time, happy crocheting,

Marta xx

Lazy Days CAL Kit Launch!

Hello! I'm so, so pleased with how this year's Lazy Days CAL kits have come together! It has been a real pleasure to collaborate with Sophie at The Wool Shed to bring you a fresh new yarn for 2024. Also, you asked and I listened - this year it's an 8ply/ DK weight yarn instead of 4ply/ fingering weight.

The colourway is called Lazy Days, it's a 75% superwash merino/ 25% nylon base, 225m per 100g and it's exclusive to my kits. 

I reached out to Rachel at Sew Ray Me and I'm delighted to bring you a selection of her cute notions tins in the kits for the first time! I'm sure you're going to love these for popping stitch markers and other wee treasures in.

My lovely Instagram friend Ruth at Labours of Love Crochet is supplying me with summer themed stitch markers - lobster clasp ones - perfect for crochet.

This year I'm bringing you another of my favourite crochet hooks; the Clover Soft Touch. I love the feel of these hooks, particularly in the summer when my hands can be a bit hot and sticky! It's a 4.5mm hook, the recommended size for the pattern.

There will also be a postcard included, designed by Katie at Katie Birdie. It was Katie who drew the beautiful illustration for me which sparked this CAL back in 2021, you can read that story on my blog here.

Another change for 2024 is that I've had the pattern professionally printed as an A4 folded leaflet (these are so much better than me churning out slightly blurry copies on my printer as in previous years!!)

All of these things will come in a drawstring kit bag made from organic, Fairtrade cotton which is printed in the UK with the lovely foxglove & bee illustration by Katie.

 

My CAL kicks off in 2 weeks time, Friday 5th July, with pre-orders opening for kits today! Kits are £50 each but I'm offering you a discount code - 10% off - which makes them just £45.00!

 

The kit includes:

• 100g of exclusive colourway: ' Lazy Days', DK weight yarn (75% superwash merino/ 25% nylon)
• 4.5mm Clover Soft Touch Hook
• stitch markers from Labours of Love Crochet
• notions tin from Sew Ray Me
• postcard from Katie Birdie
• printed A4 pattern leaflet
• pdf of the pattern with video tutorial links
• organic, Fairtrade cotton drawstring bag with the illustration from Katie Birdie on the front, perfect to keep everything in!

 

This year I'm introducing a budget friendly option too: pattern & project bag combo for £9, but with your 10% discount code, that's just £8.10!

Combo includes:

• printed A4 pattern leaflet
• pdf of the pattern
• organic, Fairtrade cotton drawstring bag with the illustration from Katie Birdie on the front

Both kits and combos will be posted at the end of next week.

 

The code for all offers is LAZYDAYS

I've listed the pattern on Ravelry and on my website and of course you can join the CAL using any DK weight yarn - although I'd recommend a superwash merino with nylon for best results. The links below take you to the pattern and the LAZYDAYS code will give you 10% off on both sites.

For my 2024 Lazy Days CAL there will be an Instagram chat group where we can discuss all things sock related, ask questions, share progress photos, cheer each other on; there will be a an opening Zoom meet up (new for this year!), with a prize draw for everyone attending; and there will be various prizes for taking part.

 

Sound good? Join my CAL today for a summer of crochet community fun!

Happy crocheting,

Marta xx

Pre-orders Now Open for my Lazy Days Kits

Hello! Looking for a relaxing way to spend your free time this summer? Pre-orders are now open for my most relaxing crochet kit ever! 

This kit includes everything you need to enjoy crocheting a beautiful wrap, including:

• 2 full skeins of high-quality yarn from The Wool Shed

• An ergonomic crochet hook

• Detailed, printed instructions for crocheting your wrap

• 4 little extras, including stitch markers from Labours of Love Crochet and a vinyl sticker from Qwerty Cat Shop!

• Plus an organic cotton drawstring bag to keep it all together with the illustration from Katie Birdie on it.

This wrap begins in the centre, one half is crocheted and then the foundation row is worked into for the second half, which is a repeat of the first half. The pattern repeat is super easy to remember which makes it an excellent choice for those lazy summer days.

I'm running this as a CAL (Crochet A-Long) and you have the option of buying the kit or buying the pattern and using your own yarn. The CAL launches on the 23rd of June and I'll give you more info on the yarn requirements in a future blog post.

Whether you're a confident beginner or a seasoned crocheter, the Lazy Days Kit is perfect for you with its easy-to-follow instructions and carefully curated contents. You can be sitting back and creating a gorgeous wrap this summer. You can have 10% off the pre-order price with the code LAZYDAYS10

So, what are you waiting for? Pre-order your Lazy Days Kit today!

Until next time, happy crocheting,

Marta xx

 

Lazy Days Socks pattern release

Hello! I had a really good weekend catching up with friends & family and now I feel refreshed and ready for the final week of prep before my CAL starts on the 6th of September! On Saturday we celebrated my Uncle Bruce's 70th birthday with a barbecue by the beach and multiple games of rounders - great fun, you can imagine the friendly rivalry! On Sunday, a much quieter affair, my eldest and his girlfriend were round for tea and board games, a lovely way to end the weekend.

So, I did all the tech stuff yesterday (Monday), with multiple uploadings (a big tick off my list!), and my Lazy Days Socks crochet pattern is now available to download from my website, Ravelry and LoveCrafts!

I've added the option to buy the pattern as a pdf together with the project bag. Please note, this is not the full kit, it's simply the bag, which, I must say, is a lovely, organic & Fairtrade drawstring bag with Katie Gammie's illustration for the CAL printed on the front.

The CAL starts on the, Tuesday 6th of September and you can join in with your kit or with your own choice of sock yarn. I'll be opening up a chat group on Instagram, please send me a DM if you'd like to be part of that. We'll cheer each other on, answer any questions that pop up and share photos there.Tag your posts on social with #lazydayssockcal so I can see them and repost to my stories and share a few of my favourites here. 

You can have 10% off the Lazy Days range with the code LAZYDAYS10 - the same code is valid for the pattern, the project bag & pdf and the full kit, only on my website.

Whichever way you choose to join in (even if it's cheering from the sidelines this time round), I look forward to crocheting socks with you soon, 

Marta xx

Are you ready for a crochet sock challenge?

Hello! Last week I cycled 123 miles, which, if you'd asked me if this was possible at the start of the summer, the answer would definitely have been NO! No way! On days 1 and 2, I did two short cycles (about 6 miles) then did 28 miles on day 3! The rest of the week was a mix of shorter ones and longer ones, finishing with 33.5 miles on the final day - my longest cycle ever! I did it all with my husband David, who had the week off work, and we had a fantastic time exploring the area we live in! 

Now, I wouldn't consider myself a super fit person and whilst I do go out on my bike every couple of weeks, it's certainly not for anything like 30+ miles! At the start of last week when we'd seen the weather was perfect for cycling (I do not like cycling in the wind!), we challenged ourselves to cycle 100km.

David uses the Strava app which tracks your journey and gives you stats including distance, elevation, speed etc - this is what we used to keep a note of our distances. However, pretty soon we realised we were going to beat the target of 100km and set our sights on 100 miles instead - which we also smashed!

I'm so glad we challenged ourselves likes this; we spent a lot of time together, breathed in much needed fresh air, met hundreds of lovely people, got fitter (our stats on the last day were amazing!) and we had so much fun in the process! I'm so chuffed with myself for achieving my goal!

When was the last time you pushed yourself to do something? Why not take on the challenge of crocheting socks? If you've never done it before it may feel a little daunting, but like me on my bike journey, as you go throught he process, you'll feel more confident and you'll be so pleased with your results at the end.

I've written several blog posts all about crocheted socks (they're a bit of an obsession of mine!), they might help persuade you to give them a go!

• Crochet sock terms demystified

• Socks, socks, socks, socks and socks!

• How to design socks that fit! 

• My 5 tips for crocheting socks

If you're still sitting on the fence, I've put together a kit with everything you need to crochet a pair of socks (plus a few surprise extras!). It's available for pre-order now and will be ready to ship at the end of the month. Take a look at the kits on my website and consider challenging yourself!

There's 10% off the kit with the code LAZYDAYS10

The Lazy Days Sock pattern comes with links to over half an hour of video tutorials to keep you right because I'm passionate about helping you succeed with socks! You can do it and I'll be there to help - you can get in touch if you come across any issues.

Got any burning questions? Leave me a comment and I'll happily get back to you.

Until next time, happy crocheting,

Marta xx

PS. If you want a bigger discount on these kits, sign up to my mailing list here.

 

Pre-orders for my super-special crochet kits are now open!

 

Hello! Launch day is here at last and I'm so glad I can finally share these super-special kits with you! They are now open for pre-order on my website and they will be shipped to you at the end of August, ready to start the CAL on the 6th September!

Each kit includes - 

• Fairtrade, organic cotton drawstring bag with the CAL image printed on the front
• 100g skein of exclusive hand dyed yarn from The Wool Shed (75% superwash merino/ 25%nylon, 4ply, 400m/ 100g)
• 4mm crochet hook
• 2 metal stitch markers
• printed copy of the Lazy Days Sock pattern
• 3 surprise extras!

NOTE: This kit is only available for shipping within the UK
You can save 10% off the kit price when you use the code LAZYDAYS10). The kits are available from my website at the pre-order price of £55 and with your 10% discount they are only £49.50!

HURRY though, I'm only producing 100 of these special kits - when they are gone, they're gone!

The pre-order news went to my mailing list first thing this morning and they've been selling fast which is brilliant!

These kits are a collaboration between illustrator Katie Gammie (Katie Birdie) and hand dyed yarn business owner Liv Spencer (The Wool Shed). Recently I've brought Ruth Pedlow (Labours of Love Crochet) on board too, asking Ruth to produce all the stitch markers for me. You can read more about this collaboration in this previous blog post.

I'd like to thank Katie, Liv, Ruth, all my testers (Angela, Carina, Clare, Sara, Sarah & Ulrika), my tech editor Catherine and to Alexander for the model photography. Thanks to you to for all your encouragement on this journey - leaving comments on my blog, sending me emails, comments and DMs on Instagram (and now TikTok too!), it's helped me so much. 

© The Wool Shed

If you have any questions about the kits, please ask! 

Until next time, happy crocheting,

Marta xx