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

Back to blogging ...

Hello! I have been a bit quiet on here over the summer due to wonderful weather, school holidays, days out, running a holiday club at church, family visiting from London and all the little day to day things that pop up in the summer months! So, here I am, schools are back, the weather is just beginning to turn and I am refocussing on my blog and my business! In this blog post I would like to share some of the projects that I have completed over the summer and a few of my current WIPs.

3 little cakes

I made these little cakes from a DMC Natura amigurumi kit and they were such fun to crochet!

toddler size socks

These toddler size socks for my niece were super quick to crochet up! I used Paint Box Yarns sock wool and mostly followed a Kat Goldin pattern with a change of heel design to add in a gusset.

Skimming Stones Shawl

 I couldn't resist joining in with The Crochet Project's MCAL, it was amazing to feel part of a big group of like minded people via Instagram and the Facebook group. I used Milbury 4ply (85% BFL, 15% silk) from Eden Cottage Yarns

unicorn!

Another one for my niece - a unicorn that I designed as I went along using up cotton from my stash.

Malvern Cowl

After the MCAL I had some yarn left over so I crochet a Malvern Cowl following Joanne Scrace's pattern, one I have had my eye on for a while!

Mitred Square Blanket

Since early summer I have been working on this Mitred Square Blanket using up scraps from my 4ply stash.  I knit 1 or 2 squares every day and it is slowly growing - hoping to be finished to gift this at Christmas time!

Hoooked project

This jute Hoooked yarn is a recent WIP - it's a bowl/ basket type thing, creating as the feel of the project takes me so I am not sure how it will end up yet.

more socks!

We have taken quite a few train trips this summer and I have always taken my crochet or knitting with me! I have begun another pair of Fallen Leaves socks by Vicki Brown using Cascade Yarns Heritage Prints.

on the train

Here I am on the train to Aberdeen with my knitting (I was knitting a square for my Mitred Square Blanket).

outside Wool For Ewe

Once in Aberdeen we walked out to Rosemount to visit Wool For Ewe - one of my favourite yarn shops! Here is my hubby just before popped in to squish all the yarn!

current project

Well, that take me up to my current project, an aran weight granny square blanket! This one is a stash buster, using up lots of random balls of aran I had accumulated (and perhaps buying a few more along the way!).

Now that I am re-establishing my term time routine I will be back with more regular updates so stay tuned,

Marta xx

Not crochet, but still creative ...

Hello! Recently I have begun chalk board art and today I wanted to share some of my latest boards with you. It will mostly be a pictorial blog post because chalk boards are a visual thing!

drinks menu, Gather, Carnoustie
photo credit - Niall Mitchell

I beagn by doing a few boards for  Bethany in Gather in Carnoustie just before Christmas. they were seasonal boards and because they were my first venture into chalk board art there were lots of little things I wasn't quite happy with so I didn't take any photos of them! However, early in the new year the café opened at Gather and I did a couple of menu boards for the café which I was much happier with.

specials board, Gather, Carnoustie

Soon after that I was approached by Vicky at Millie's Pet Services in Carnoustie and asked to do their internal chalkboard around the walls and the sandwich board outside. By this time I felt much more confident and I had a lot of fun with these boards, which I feel reflect the personality of the pet shop very well.

sandwich board, Millie's Pet Services, Carnoustie

detail of sandwich board, Millie's Pet Services, Carnoustie

sandwich board, Millie's Pet Services, Carnoustie

internal walls, Millie's Pet Services, Carnoustie
photo credit - Vicky Gunn

Back at Gather I helped to create an information board to make it clear to everyone that Gather is a dog friendly café - a trend which I am pleased to see is catching on in many cafés!

information board, Gather, Carnoustie

Now that the warmer weather is with us, I drew the board below for Gather to advertise their new iced latte. I use Pinterest for most of my hand lettering inspiration - there is so much chalk board art on there, it's amazing! I work out my ideas on scaled down pieces of paper before beginning on the boards. This really helps me to plan out the layout and see what is going to work in the space I have.

sandwich board, Gather, Carnoustie

I am always keen to take on new chalk board work, if you are reading this and are local please do get in touch below to discuss your requirements, I would love to work with more local businesses to promote their brand. If you are not so local, I hope that my photos have inspired you in some way - perhaps to take up chalk board art yourself!

Until next time,

Marta xx

Help! I'm a sock addict!

Help! I seem to have become a sock addict! I am currently on my 8th pair since starting in September last year! I am going to share my sock making journey here, mainly through photographs because as you know I take lots of photos as I am going along, mostly to post on Instagram.

current pair!

I began by making a pair of socks for myself simply as a way of using up all the scraps of 4ply yarn I had kicking about. I followed a pattern by Joanne Scrace called Evesham Socks and I quickly fell in love with the sock making technique!

1st pair - for me!

I realised that socks would make a lovely Christmas present for my sister's fiance, Mat, so I made him a pair of Everyone (Needs) Socks by Kat Goldin. He loved them but my sister, Aimee, loved them more so I made her a pair of self coloured ones.

2nd pair - for Mat

finished!

3rd pair - for Aimée

After Christmas I found myself in need of inspiration for a project so I asked my youngest son, Alex, if there was anything he would like me to make for him - he replied "socks please!". His pair use up lots of scraps like mine - he chose the order he wanted them in. The pattern is another of Joanne Scrace's called Mamble Socks.

4th pair - for Alex

a good fit!

Time for another pair for myself! I asked my husband to pick out a ball of West Yorkshire Spinners sock wool from our local yarn shop, Fluph, and he picked me a lovely soft pink colour - I love it! This pattern is Hop Socks by Vicki Brown.

5th pair - for me!

cosy!

Onto another family member - my eldest son this time. His feet are on the large size - UK size14 - so this was definitely a labour of love! I chose another Vicki Brown pattern - Fallen Leaves.

6th pair - for Niall

long socks!!

Pair no.7 were soon underway! I stumbled across 4 balls of vintage sock wool in our local charity shop and decided to use them to try another Vicki Brown pattern Winter Wonder. Of all the designs I have tried, this one is definitely the fastest! It's worked in tramline stitch which was a new stitch for me and I absolutely love the results. I made them with no real recipient in mind but then found out it was my friend Moira's birthday and I knew she would appreciate them.

7th pair - for Moira

curled up

Of all the sock patterns I have tried so far, I felt that Fallen Leaves had the best squishy texture so I decided to make a pair for myself. We are heading into much warmer weather now, so will need to wait a while to wear them but I am looking forward to autumn already!

8th pair - for me!

What about you? Do you have a favourite sock pattern? Please share them with me in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Marta xx

Book Review: Edward's Crochet Doll Emporium by Kerry Lord

Hello! It's gone all windy and chilly outside today, making me want to snuggle up with my crochet and mug of hot chocolate, but first I have a book review to share! I bought Edward's Doll Emporium by Kerry Lord in Waterstone's when I was on a day trip to Aberdeen in October. It had recently been released and I had seen lots of hype about it on social media so I was keen to have my own copy! I love the concept of this book; you flip through and match heads with outfits to create the pattern for the look you are going for. The corresponding pattern is presented on the opposite page making it very clear and easy to use.

Oooooh, shiny new book!

Because my WIP list was so long it wasn't until January this year that I began to make my first doll and I was so excited to start! After looking through lots of different options I decided to make a doll in the likeness of my dear friend Gwen so Head 1 and Costume 1 were the best fit for her. 

making a start

The dress was one of the most time consuming pieces to make, it seamed to take forever to be long enough but I loved how it quickly injected some colour into the project and my photos! I like the fact that all the clothes are interchangeable, allowing more than one outfit to be made - something a young child will really enjoy to play with.

2 arms now!

One thing I did find fiddly was making the hands! I went for the advanced body options and trying to create 2 sets of fingers that matched was quite tricky! I was mostly crocheteing whilst watching family films (it was still the Christmas holidays) with a stash of chocolates and a cup of tea at my side so all this kept me going!

time to think about the hair

Gwen has beautiful, thick auburn hair so lots of woolly hair was needed! I had an odd ball of leftover sock yarn and reckoned it would be big enough but it wasn't until I began pulling the strands through that I realised just how much yarn this task consumed. I started spacing the strands further and further apart in an effort to cover the scalp, but I wasn't convinced this approach had worked very well and was still considering pulling it out and starting with different yarn when I spotted a very similar colour yarn in a charity shop, hooray! It worked perfectly in harmony with the initial hair colour and the gaps were filled and blended very neatly. 

initial hair coverage

It was arround this stage that I stopped taking and posting photos online because although Gwen knew that I was making it for her and she had helped to choose colours for her dress, I wanted to keep some elements a surprise. It was also around this time that I began to think about glasses. Gwen wears glasses all the time so this doll had to have glasses! Working with metal has never really been my thing so I turned to someone else to help, local artist Alan MacDonald. Alan had fun recreating Gwen's glasses in miniature form using thin wire and I was really pleased with how they turned out!

eeeeek! I have glasses!

At the start of this week I handed mini-Gwen over to Gwen and she was delighted with how it had turned out - all those tiny stitches in 4ply yarn were definitely worth it! I will be making more dolls from this book for sure - there are so many different options to choose from which I love! 

both Gwens together at last!

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crocheting. The instructions are very clear, the photos are excellent and there is all sorts of extra information at the back on skin tone, sizing, etc. This is a fun book that you will keep reaching for when you need to make a personalised present for a special friend or relative.

Until next time, happy hooking,

Marta xx

PS. All views expressed in this blog post are my own, this post has not been sponsored in any way.

a post about my local stitching group: Twisted Stitchers

Hello! Today I wanted to share a little with you about my local stitching group. It's a lovely group that  meet in the Two Sisters Cafe, one of the local cafés, in my home town of Carnoustie. Just over a year ago the owners Libby and Laura-May approached me about starting up a knitting group and would I be interested in helping - my answer of course was a great, big "YES!".

photo credit: Steven Whittaker

The above photo shows some of us working on our various needlecrafts, possibly with more chattering than stitching going on! Steven Whittaker, an amateur photographer, dropped in one evening to take a few photos for his portfolio and I think he did a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere of our crafty evenings.

photo credit: Steven Whittaker

As you can see the group is not restricted to knitting - we have many crochet, embroidery, sewing, loom knitting and even tapestry lovers. When Libby states "We are a diverse group of wool/ thread craft enthusiasts of mixed ability. We share skills, knowledge, books, wool, life experiences and lots of cake and laughs!" she make a couple of very good points. Firstly - "mixed ability" - it doesn't matter if you have never picked up a needle in your life or if you have been crafting all your life, you are very welcome to join us. There are many experienced crafters who are keen to pass on their knowledge and enthusiasm. 

photo credit: Steven Whittaker

Secondly - "lots of cake and laughs" - we meet in a cafe selling amazing, freshly baked cakes so of course we can't let the opprtunity to sample some pass us by! Alongside our stitching and munching we chat constantly shareing the stories of our lives, our ups and downs. I interviewed Gwen from the group and she said " I absolutely love coming along to Twisted Stitchers. As an incredibly busy person it gives me the chance to have a break, get support with any tricky crochet stitches and eat cakes! I have made some great friends and see the group as the perfect tonic for a stressful day."

photo credit: Steven Whittaker

Twisted Stitchers meet every Thursday evening, 7pm - 9pm in the Two Sisters Cafe, Carnoustie. Each session costs £4.00 which includes cake and a cuppa. Please feel free to drop in, no booking necessary.  

Updated Pattern: Easy Wrist Warmers

Hello! Today I would like to share an updated version of one of my first free crochet patterns - Easy Wrist Warmers. I wrote this pattern back in 2015 and after pattern testing for a friend of mine last week - also wrist warmers - I went back and had a look at this pattern. I hadn't realised how much my pattern writing stye had matured in such a short time; this pattern was not only clumsily written but had a few small errors in it too! Oooops!

Easy Wrist Warmers, adult small with fluted edge

Over the last couple of days I have tweaked the pattern, worked the first rounds of the original pattern (written only in 1 size), added a small and a large size to the range, included a measurements and yarn quantities table, added a second option for the finish around the knuckles and taken more up to date photos in keeping with my current style.

original wrist warmers in pale lilac with the shell edging

My up to date pattern is still free to download from Ravelry, you can find it together with all my other patterns here. These wrist warmers are the perfect project for a beginner or a speedy make for the more advanced crocheter. The adult small size requires only 1x 50g ball of Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK, the adult medium and adult large sizes will require 2x 50g balls of the same yarn.

detail of the seed stitch pattern

If you follow my pattern please share your progress and finished phtos on social media, I would love to see your makes!

Marta xx