Introduction to Needlefelting

bunny brooches - perfect for Spring time!

Hello! I have some very exciting news to share today - I am going to be teaching my first workshop! This is something that I have wanted to do for a long, long time but have never actually taken the time out to fully visualise, plan and organise ... until now!! 

pincushion in progress

So, what is needlefelting? Put simply, needlefelting is the transformation of wool into 3D objects using a very sharp, barbed needle. The wool fibres become tangled and then tighten causing them bond together into a solid shape. You can manipulate the wool in many different ways creating a huge variety of effects. It's a craft that I really enjoy because it very quickly develops from a smooshy handful of wool into a finished piece - it's very satisfying and addictive!

needlefelting in action!

My first workshop will be held on the morning of Saturday 7th March at Dalmore Croft, Barry near Carnoustie. Dalmore Croft is a 12 acre small holding owned and run as a small mixed farm by Rosemary and Dan Champion, and the workshop will take place in their wonderfully cosy, converted outhouse - complete with wood burning stove and comfy chairs.

the studio at Dalmoe Croft

bunny brooches with the cosy
wood burner in the background

Over the course of the morning I am going to teach my students to make a small pincushion with a vintage cotton reel base and a bunny brooch. There will be lots of colour options available in the Merino wool for the pincushion, playing with colour combinations will be fun! The brooch can be tailored to suit lots of different styles and made in natural Blue Faced Leicester wool or in the bolder colours of the dyed Merino fibre. By the end of the morning my students will have the skills and confidence to carry on with the craft at home - the possibilities are endless!

... and me!
 All photos taken by Niall Mitchell

As you can tell, I am really excited about the opportunity to start teaching - I hope this is the first of many! If you would like to join me on this course you can book here. If you have any questions, please get in touch via the comments below or directly with Dalmore Croft.

Until next time,

Marta xx

Winter Crochet Patterns

Hello, I am keeping up the blogging habit - returning this week with a selection of my crochet patterns which are ideal for making for the winter months. I have highlighted a pair of socks, a beanie, a baby cardigan and an adult jumper and I like to think there is something in this selection that will appeal to everyone and that there is something here for all abilities too.

fabulous socks!

First up, my Fabulous Socks! pattern. This is the most successful pattern in my Ravelry Store , customers who have bought and followed the pattern agree that it is a lovely pattern to follow. Claudia made a pair and left the following review "I enjoyed the pattern and really like that the socks fit me really well as this is the first ever completed pair of socks I have crocheted". The pattern is written for intermediate level but it is a straightforward design, ideal for a first pair of socks. 100g of sock weight yarn is required to make a pair, I used Paintbox Yarns Socks which is available in lots of fun colourways!

isla cosy polo

I released my Isla Cosy Polo design in time for autumn last year because it is so snuggly and warm to wear in the winter months! It's a top down design using Cascade Yarns  220 Superwash Wave in "Unicorn" which works up in amazing bands of colour - it's a definite "one more round" project! The pattern is available in 4 adult sizes and guidance is given for making adjustments to suit different figure shapes.

fields of lavander cardigan

If you are looking for a quick make then baby clothes are a fantastic option - within a few hours you can have a teenie garment! My Fields of Lavander Cardigan design is available in 2 sizes, 3-6 months and 6-12 months. I chose King Cole Merino Blend DK because it's a superwash wool which does wash brilliantly and because it feels so snug and cosy - perfect for a little one!

Geometric Beanie

Last but by no means least, my Geometric Beanie is a lovely pattern for making in the winter months. It's an intermediate level pattern that uses front post and back post stitches to create the geometric design. 100g - 150g of aran weight yarn is required, depending on the sze you make. I used Artesano Aran, which is sadly discontinued but a similar weight yarn would substitute in very well - I would recommend Drops Nepal.

All these patterns are available from my Ravelry Store so if you feel like starting a new winter project why not go check them out? Don't for get to share you makes on social media, I would love to see how you get on!

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

getting back to it ...

Hello and a belated Happy New Year to you all. It's been a while since I posted on here, hasn't it? Well, I am here today to put that right! Firstly, I want to take a moment to introduce myself to those of you who don't know me, or have just started following me.

me, at the beach on a windy day!

I'm Marta and I enjoy writing crochet patterns. I have been designing for around 4 years and I feel confident that I have reached a level in my pattern writing skills to know that they are going to be easy for others to read and enjoyable for them to follow. All my patterns are tested by at least 3 crocheters and often I send them to be tech edited too. I particularly like using natural fibres in my designs because I enjoy the feel of wool, cotton, linen, bamboo etc on my hands. I do like to knit as well as crochet but crochet will always be my first love!

finished Advent Socks

Of course I follow other designers patterns and want to share a few projects with you which I completed at the end of last year. I challenged myself to knit a pair of socks following Natalie Sheldon's Advent Socks pattern. These were a real joy to knit, I absolutely loved watching each new stripe appear!

Beekeepers' Quilt, a work in progress

close up, aren't they cute?

The Beekeepers Quilt is a long term project that I began in April 2019 with the intention of knitting one hexagon a day for a year! At the moment I have exactly the same number of hexies a s days but I hit pause for 2 months (December - Christmas prep & January - Fun a Day) with the intention of starting again in February. The hexagons are knitted on double pointed needles using scrap 4ply yarn from my stash of leftovers from crocheting socks.

sketchbook work & my chosen yarns

My current WIP is an amigurumi doll that I am crocheting as part of the Fun a Day Dundee project. It's a doll that I am designing myself, crocheting a little everyday and writing up the pattern as I go. I began with some simple sketches and ideas of the direction I wanted to go in - quickly discovering that it should be a boy doll! I am finding real inspiration in following the hashtag #FADD2020 on Instagram and seeing what everyone else is doing every day - we can be a real encouragement to each other in what can sometimes be a long and bleak month.

beginning to look like a little person

So, let's hope this is the first blog post of many! I have certainly scheduled future posts in my diary and have a list of potential post titles. Is there anything specific you would like me to blog on? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Until next time,

Marta xx

So many design ideas, so little time!

At the moment I have so many design ideas and not enough time to work through them all! I am fanalising the sizing details on a jumper, I have a cowl that's half way made and written up, almost a complete baby/toddler jumper all plotted out in my head and the beginnings of another sock design mulling over. However, I will slow down for a moment and share what I have been up to so far this year with you all. 

slow down and draw a daffodil!

I was pleased to release my Daffodil Shawl just in time for the daffoldils popping up! This is a pattern that I designed in Spring 2018 but then struggled with the chart and abondoned realising I had missed the daffodil season. This January I picked it up again, ironed out the chart issues, did the photo shoot and added the finalised pattern to my Ravelry store. Please share your photos on social media if you follow this pattern, I absolutely love seeing what you get up to!

Daffodil Shawl

In February I began designing my second adult size garment - a polo neck. The pattern is top down, beginning with the super cosy fold down neck before working down the body. I chose Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Wave for this project because I fell in love with the Unicorn colourway and just had to design something in it! You can see the full colour range here and with the recent addition of even more colourways it's even more exciting!

Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Wave - Unicorn

The Isla Cosy Polo

I stuggled with a name for this jumper so I opened it up to suggestions as an Instagram competion. I combined two differnt ideas "Isla" (Melissa's favourite scottish name) and "cosy polo" (Jane described it very well!) to make The Isla Cosy Polo which is a name I am really happy with. At the moment I have just finished adding XS, S, L and XL sizes to the range and I am testing out the XS size, just to double check everything is ok. The pattern will then be tested and tech edited before being released in the early autumn.

working on the XS jumper with my dog Jazz for company

My portable crochet project at the moment is a pair of socks (yes, still addicted!). I am following Vicki Brown's Fallen Leaves pattern but adding a twist that my fellow sock addict friend Tamara tried - swapping the half treble stitches (uk) for extended double crochet stitches. Like Tamara, I found that it makes a wonderfully stretchy stitch and I love the texture!

stitch detail

Working on this stitch combination in the socks has given me an idea for crocheting a baby/toddler jumper - it will be nice and stretchy for ease of dressing, allow plenty of movement when it's being worn and be lovely and cosy! I have had a waistband idea for a jumper in my head for ages so I will combine the two and see where it takes me.

The other pattern that is kind of on the back burner right now is a cowl I am designing in Di Gilpin Lalland. It's a 4 colour design and it's all going well I just need to go back and finish it/ write it up. As an artist I find it hard to settle on one project at a time and do tend to flit between them! My plan is to finish the socks (nearly there), pick up the cowl again, complete the XS jumper and THEN start the baby/ toddler jumper whilst firming up another sock design that's in my head. That's the plan anyway ... 

cowl design in progress

Until next time, happy hooking,

Marta xx

Working with technical editor Tamara Gooderham

Hello! I have been a bit quiet across all my social media platforms lately and on this blog. I have been working away on various crochet projects (I'll share these in a future post) and I have been finalising my fabulous socks! pattern for release.

finished socks

After the testing stage and after making the necessary changes that were brought up I sent the pattern to Tamara Gooderham who many of you may know as craftyescapism, the well known crocheter, knitter,  podcaster, certified crochet teacher, blogger and vlogger! I have known Tamara for a few years now, having successfully worked with her on the Back to School Sweater blog hop in 2017 and this October on the Sock Along 2018 blog hop and I had heard that she had recently done her technical editing training and was looking for some experience so I got in touch with her.

toe and cuff detail

Tamara was excellent at keeping me informed of when she would be working on my pattern and how long the process would be likely to take. Within the agreed time frame she had emailed me with a draft of the pattern with lots of colour coded notes of changes to consider. There were suggestions for clarification, formating and grammar - all with their own colour of "marker pen" and cute little arrows as you can see in the screenshots below ...

screenshot of technical edit

screenshot of technical edit

Looking through now, I realise there were no grammar errors pointed out in pink and I am pretty chuffed with that! If you go ahead and purchase the pattern from Ravelry you will see that I followed through with most of Tamara's suggestions - they really did make the document flow better and look more professionally finished. This is the third time I have sent a pattern to a technical editor and I think the small fee is invaluable for making the pattern stand out from the crowd. It's a final step beyond sending it out to testers - yes, some of them may point out little formatting issues but generally the tester's job is checking the pattern for errors.

detail of heel

I would thoroughly recommend getting in touch with Tamara at the link above if you have a pattern for tech editing. I am sure, like me,  you will be very pleased with Tamara's attention to detail and excellent communication throughout the process.

My fabulous socks! pattern is now available as a pdf download from Ravelry.com, I hope you like it!

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

Some knitting for a change ...

Hello! Today I would like to break from my usual topic of crochet to share 2 knitting projects that I am working on. The first is an ongoing scrappy blanket and the second is a coat for my dog, Jazz.

my Mitred Square Blanket

I began the Sock Yarn Blanket AKA Mitred Square Blanket way back in April this year! By my calculations I am now about 85% of the way there as I embark on square 169 of 200! My progress has been fairly regular, working on approximately 1 square a day and now that the end is in sight I tend to fit in 2 squares a day, eager to finish this beauty!

reinforcements from Vicki Brown Designs

Almost all the yarn in this blanket is left over odds and ends from all the socks I have been crocheting (see previous posts if you want to know more about that!). Now and again I have added some mini skeins as seen in the photo above from Vicki Brown Designs and my husband has kindly chosen me a few from one of our local yarn shops, Fluph in Dundee, as seen in the photo below ...

Rusty Ferret mini skeins from Fluph in Dundee

Each square takes me about 25 minutes to complete and once I have 2 or more, the stitches are picked up from these previous squares meaning this is pretty much a no-sew blanket! I am forming a square by creating 4 triangles formed of 45/55 squares and the sides of these large triangles will need to be sewn together. The photo below should give you some idea of the construction technique, with all the mitred squares pointing towards the centre.

work in progress

The other knitted project, which I started on Tuesday this week, is a cosy coat for my working cocker spaniel Jazz. I am following Nikki Trench's pattern and knitting using Jenny Watson merino DK. So far I have completed the ribbed neck and have started increasing for the body.

progress on a coat for Jazz

Since this is a knitting post I would like to include a few photos here of a shawl which my mum knitted for me. She was looking for a knitting challenge and I suggested she try brioche knitting and together we chose this pattern by Stephen West. I am super happy with the finished shawl and worked ina merino/ silk blend it is so soft and warm. My eldest son Niall took the following photos for me, I hope you like them!

back of the Meandering Shawl

Me!

detail of the shawl

Until next time!

Marta xx

Colour and Colour Patterns in Crocheted Socks

Hello! I am here today as part of the Sock Along 2018 Blog Hop! Have you been following the blog hop? Last week's post by Jo Jo Twinkletoes was all about toe up vs cuff down sock designs and next week you can head to Crafternoon Treats for lots of helpful info on how to customise your own socks. Want to catch up on all the posts? I will put links to all the contributors at the end of this post!

Crocheted socks are an amazing way to be expressive with colour! They are a lovely size and shape for being creative and trying new combinations. What if the colours don't work out the way you imagined? Well, you still have a cosy pair of socks to wear around the house or in your wellies! 

Playing with colour has been a fascination of mine for a long time, probably all my life in fact! Back in June 2017 I wrote a blog post all about choosing colours in response to repeatedly being asked how I come up with my colour combinations. If you are interested in finding out more about colour theory and my personal colour choices head over to that post for an in depth read!

my La Becque Socks by Rohn Strong

The simplest form of colour in socks is a solid colour or almost solid colour like the pair of lilac socks above. The yarn is Sparkle (superwash merino, nylon and stellina blend) by Vicki Brown Designs and it has very subtle variations in hue together with a sparkly strand running through it - very pretty! So, grab your favourite colour (or your recipient's favourite colour!) and you can't go wrong with a single colour!

my Hop Socks by Vicki Brown

The sock yarn above is subtly mottled - it appears solid from a distance but close up has a good deal of variation going on. I liked how this ball worked up in the round, lovely swirls were created. The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply, one of my favourite big brand sock yarns.

WIP - my Magdalen Socks by Vicki Brown 

Another fab way to introduce colour is by using speckled yarns! There's a huge range of indie yarn out there created this way and it works up brilliantly in socks. The yarn above is from Vicki Brown Designs and it creates a wonderful dappled effect once it's crocheted up.

my Sweetheart Socks by Vicki Brown

This of course leads to a fourth way of playing with colour when crocheting socks - contrast details! This is perhaps one of the most fun elements of crocheting socks, choosing different coloured yarns for the toes, heels and cuffs. You could have as many as 4 colours going on or keep it simple with just 2 colours.

my Everyone (Needs) Socks by Kat Goldin

Then, there is a whole world of self striping yarns out there! Sock yarn, like the West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply above, comes in a huge range of stripy colours, created with sock knitters and crocheters in mind. No need to change colour, simply stitch away and the stripes appear. WARNING! Working with these yarns can be addictive as the yearn to create "just one more row and see the next colour" is very strong!

my own design, Fabulous Socks, coming soon!

Something I love playing around with when using self striping yarns, such as the Paintbox Yarns Socks above, is the position of the stripes. You can simply start crocheting and leave it to chance or you can be a bit more strategic. One way of doing this is to start with the same point in the stripe sequence for each sock, making them matchy-matchy, which always looks very neat and professional. I often have a little fun and start sock 1 from the inside of the ball and sock 2 from the outside of the ball, creating a pair of socks that are almost the same, but not quite. 

my Fallen Leaves Socks by Vicki Brown

Once or twice I have cut the yarn after the heel turn so that the stripes mirror themselves on the second half of the sock. In the socks above the effect was quite subtle but with a stripy yarn with more pop it could be quite striking. This leads on to the field of colour manipulation, where you carefully calculate the way the colours are positioned, round by round in your socks. I would have to admit that this isn't something I have tried but search "colour pooling" and you should find some excellent examples online. Sometimes this colour pooling happens as a complete fluke, a bit like in my third photo where the pinks swirled together, and these happy accidents put a real smile on your face. Occasionally the colours line up in a way you really dislike and then it's a case of frog them or make them as welly socks!

One final point to consider - if your pattern is plain then stripes work really well, but if your pattern is more of a lacy design it generally looks best in a solid/ semi solid or lightly speckled yarn.

me, proudly wearing my crocheted socks!

I hope this insight has been inspiring for you! Why not leave me a comment on your experience of colour and colour patterns in crocheted socks?

Happy hooking,

Marta xx

#1 Sat 15th Sep - Sock Making Tips - Tamara (http://www.craftyescapism.com/)

#2 Sat 22nd Sep - Yarn Choice - Fay (https://www.knitit-hookit-craftit.com/)

#3 Sat 29th Sep - Knit vs Crochet Socks - Caroline (https://www.mindandmusecrafts.com/)

#4 Sat 29th Sep - Topic to be decided - Deanne (http://www.addydae.com/)

#5 Sat 6 Oct - Toe up vs Cuff down Socks - Jo (http://jojotwinkletoes.blogspot.com/)

#6 Sat 13th Oct - Topic to be decided - Marta (http://mrsdaftspaniel.blogspot.com/)

#7 Sat 20th Oct - Customising socks - Kathryn (http://crafternoontreats.com/)

#8 Sat 27th Oct - Crochet Sock Heels are not Scary - Karen (https://www.karenwhooley.com/)