Finding things in charity shops

Hello! Today I was really happy to be able to get back to the charity shops hunting for yarn related bargains! Here in Scotland, lockdown restrictions eased on Monday, allowing non-essential shops to re-open. and I have really missed having a rummage in my local charity shops. There are currently 4 in my town and whilst one focuses on baby & childrens items, the rest are an all round excellent source of second hand items. Charity shops, also known as op shops or thrift shops, are one of my favourite places to look for yarn, fabric, thread, needles, hooks and other haberdashery items. 

Today I was searching for some buttons and I knew exactly which shop had them all sorted into colours (see pic above). I was sucesful in finding just the ones I needed! In another shop I stumbled across 4 unopened bags of wool tops -  I bought the White Dorset Horn, Wensleydale and the White Perndale but left the purple one with sparkles but I may well go back for it! In another shop I found a 50g ball of Louisa Harding Grace - silk & wool and an unlabelled ball of yarn which I'm pretty sure is Rowan felted tweed. The top photo shows my purchases, all this for £4, score! 

A few years ago, I was on a bus and I overheard someone behind me saying to her friend "don't make it obvious you're looking, but see that woman sitting diagnally in front of us - she's a bit of a charity shopper, I often see her going in and out of them". They could only have been talking about me as the bus was practically empty - I decided to take it as a compliment and couldn't stop smirking!

I just love how you never know what you might find, one person's trash really is another's treasure! My local shops all donate to local causes too, which gives me the added satisfaction of knowing that my spare change is being used locally (and it means the shops are not half full of their own brand merchandise). What about you? Do you like charity shopping for craft items? What's the best thing you've found?

Playing about with adding Liberty fabric to crochet

Hello! This week I've been playing about with adding pretty Liberty fabric to one of my crochet projects and I've been having a lot of fun with it! I love the way that fabric totally changes the way a crocheted item looks and how the different texture & surface pattern brings the whole thing to life.

The project I've been working on is an amigurumi wolf pattern. She is called Iris and she is the follow up to Agnes the bunny pattern that I created in 2017. The Agnes pattern includes a photo of the bunny wearing a Liberty Tana Lawn dress with the caption "Feeling creative? Why not make your bunny a dress!" - I certainly wasn't feeling creative or experienced enough at the time to write up the instructions for the dress I had cobbled together!

Fast forward 4 years and I decided to create another amigurumi pattern in a similar style to Agnes. I decided on a wolf because I knew the proportions would work out similarly and because wolves have large enough ears to embelish with fabric. Don't worry, she's definitely a friendly wolf!

I used Agnes the bunny as a template for the main body parts which gave me the opportunity to refresh her pattern at the same time (as I've mentioned here before, my pattern writing style has changed in the last few years and it's much more consistent now). Obviously the ears, snout and tail are very different and I had fun designing those elements. I used the same yarn as I had for the bunny, but a different colourway - Juniper Moon Farm extra fine baby alpaca in Travertine. Agnes is free to download from Lovecrafts here and from Ravelry here (please note that Ravelry may cause issues for people with visual disturbances, proceed with caution).

For Iris' ears I used Liberty Tana Lawn in Ffion because I had a little scrap left over from an english paper piecing project which was the right size. When it came to the dress I couldn't choose between Betsy (the grey pattern) and Poppy and Daisy (the brighter red, yellow & blue pattern) so I popped a poll in my Instagram stories to see what my follwers liked best. The vote was a near 50/ 50 split so I decided to make 2 dresses, one in each fabric! Which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.

I used my sewing machine to make the prototype dress in Poppy and Daisy and besides a few minor adjustments I was happy with how it went. For the Betsy dress I wanted to make it entirely by hand, firstly to check it was possible and secondly because it's easier to stop and start for taking photos. The dress pattern will be accompanied with step-by-step photos because I want it to be as clear as possible to follow.

The good news is that the dress pattern will fit Agnes the bunny and Iris the wolf which I am really chuffed about! At the moment the entire pattern is with my testing team and when I have their feedback and once I've done the official photo shoot the pattern will be ready to release - hopefully in the next couple of weeks. 

Until next time,

Marta xx

Pretty yarn & pretty pattern

Hello! Yesterday I finished working with some really pretty yarn working from a really pretty pattern. The yarn was gifted to me by my family for Mother's Day - it was a mystery box from The Wool Shed (which I had given BIG hints on, but of course didn't know the colours I would receive, keeping it a surprise!). I should probably add at this point that this is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

I was delighted with my surprise bundle; there was a 100g skein of speckled sock yarn in 'Tulip', a 20g mini to go with it, a little bee enamel stitch marker, a tea bag from Bird & Blend and a packet of wild seed mix - it certainly put a smile on my face! 

With the Marathon Sock KAL starting in a few weeks time on April 1st, I chose to keep the yarn aside for this special occasion. This KAL (or knit along) is a community project, hosted by Vikki Bird Designs and the idea is for everyone to knit pairs of socks and calculate how much yarn they have used. Vikki has an online form you can fill in as each pair is completed and once 26.2 miles of yarn have been used that's the project complete. I thought it was a wonderful concept for a KAL and couldn't wait to get stuck in! I should also add that crocheted socks are very welcome too! 

If you're interested, you can find all the details on the KAL on Vikki's website www.vikkibirddesigns.com and of course you can follow Vikki on Instagram here for lots of gorgeous sock patterns.

Since Vikki was hosting the KAL I thought it was about time I gave one of her designs a go. I had Siren Song Socks in my queue, waiting for just the right skein of yarn to knit them up, now seemed like my chance. Week one of the challenge was a sprint - knit (or crochet) a pair of socks in a week! I tried my best but gardening, crochet projects and life in general got in the way - I didn't quite manage 7 days but I did complete them in 8 days - for a UK9 pair I was chuffed with that!

The speckled yarn from The Wool Shed worked up beautifully with the little spodges of colour breaking up the solid colour perfectly. There are lots of lovely colourways to choose from, you can find a link to The Wool Shed's Etsy shop here.

After a few initial mistakes (which was really just me plunging in without reading properly) I found the Siren Song Socks pattern very easy to memorise and was quickly able to knit without referring to my laptop. The pattern is a cuff down design and has a variation for left and right feet which looks stunning. It's the first time I have worked a toe in this way - no need for Kitchener stitch on these socks! Here's a link to the pattern on Payhip, I'd thoroughly recommend it!

Yesterday Vikki announced that the challenge is 26% complete, giving me the chance to cast on a 2nd pair, anyone else fancy joining in?

Marta xx

 

Name change! (formerly mrsdaftspaniel)

Hello! Hopping on here to let you know about my recent decision to change my username both here on the blog and on Instagram. It's something that I've been considering for a while now but I've been slightly aprehensive about doing it; 1) in case my following totally drops in the confusion and 2) mrsdaftspaniel is very much a part of me, I feel a sense of betrayal almost. Weird, it's only a name!

I joined Instagram back in 2012 when I got my first smart phone! I remember the excitement of downloading the app because I had been watching it vicariously over my hubby's shoulder (he's daftspaniel). When it came to choosing a username I just plumped for mrsdaftspaniel, not realising how involved I would become with the crafting community on Instagram and how much my account would grow.  The photo below is my very first Instagram post, I look so different!

When I set up my Ravelry store and later my Lovecrafts store I chose the slightly more professional name of Marta Mitchell Designs - more of a "does what it says on the tin" type name. It's clean, it includes my name, it doesn't have the word crochet in it because I may branch into knitting design, who knows?

My aim is that by streamlining my name across all platforms it should make it easier for all my lovely followers to find me and not be confused by two different names (perhaps you're even reading this and hadn't realised they were both created by the same person?). So, I tested the waters by changing it on Pinterest a few weeks ago and that went smoothly, phew! (Not following me on Pinterest? You can find me here).

I hope that explains it all. Writing it all out has certainly helped me, it does feel like the end of an era letting go of mrsdaftspaniel but I'm feeling confident that it's the right step forward - I have exciting plans for my business, more on this later ...

Marta xx

2 shawls to crochet for Sping!

Hello! Today I would like to highlight two of my shawl patterns which are perfect for Spring! The weather is starting to get warmer here in the northern hemisphere and it's time to think about replacing hats, gloves & thick scarves for something lighter.

First up is my Crocheted Alpaca Wrap - a warm yet light wrap which would look pretty worn over a blouse or dress. It's worked up in one of the neutral King Cole baby alpaca shades. 

The Crocheted Alpaca Wrap is available on LoveCrafts here on Ravelry here (please note Ravelry may cause issues for people with photosensitivity).

The Daffodil Shawl is gorgeously soft and drapes gracefully around your shoulders. It's crocheted in Koigu Mori (50% merino wool/ 50% mulberry silk) giving it such a delicate, light feeling. The filet crochet design creates staggered rows of daffodil motifs.

You can find the pattern on LoveCrafts here and on Ravelry here (please note Ravelry may cause issues for people with photosensitivity).

I hope you like these shawl patterns, as always, let me know if you follow one!

Marta xx

Inspiration for a Mother's Day card

Hello! It's Mother's Day here in the UK this Sunday and if you're still looking to make a card I have some crochet card inspiration for you here!

I was wondering what kind of card to make my own mum when I remembered a pattern I had written for a simple crocheted flower. I thought it might look quite cute stuck on a card and began playing around with different ideas, with and without the added pen lines.

When I looked up the pattern, written back in 2016, I found it looked totally alien to my current way of writing so I gave it a makeover! This design includes both UK & US terms, a chart AND a photo tutorial! It's rated beginner level and I'm confident that even if you're new to crochet you will manage to make a cute flower.

I used DMC Natura Just Cotton (310m/100g, 100% cotton) in Cerise, Giroflee and Passion for these cards. For the smaller pink (Cerise) flowers I used a 2.5mm hook and pulled the centres in really tightly. For the larger flowers I used a 3mm hook and left the centres open slightly. My plain white cards are square 12.5mmx12.5mm (I think I bought these in Hobbycraft but they're widely available or you could fold a sheet of card in half). I used PVA glue for sticking - a glue gun would work too, especially if you're in a real hurry!

The beauty of this pattern is that it will work with ANY yarn and the appropriate size hook. Of course, the finished flower can be used for all sorts of decorative purposes, it can be sewn on to items as well as glued.

You can find the FREE pdf download for the Simple Flower on Lovecrafts here and on Ravelry here (please note that the Ravelry website can cause issues for people with photosensitivity).

I hope this inspires you if you're making a last minute card - please tag me on Instagram if you make one, or leave a comment below, I'd love to know how you get on!

3 tips to help you choose colours for your projects

Hello again! Have you ever struggled with choosing colours for a crochet or knitting project? I'm frequently asked how I go about choosing my colour schemes and so in this blog post I am going to share 3 practical tips to help you make the most of colour.

Tip no. 1.  Play with colour! 

Start by keeping things simple with just 3 colours at a time. Choose balls of yarn from your stash to help you with this or perhaps you have yarn wound round pegs or you could even use paint swatch cards from the DIY store. Look at your 3 colours and ask yourself "Do they go together?  Are they working in harmony?" If you like them, take a quick photo, if not substitute just one colour and try again. 

The more you play around with colours and experiment with what works for you, the easier it will become. Back in June 2017 I wrote an extensive blog post about choosing colours with a little bit of colour theory thrown in too. If you'd like to read that blog post, you can find it here.

Tip no. 2.  Create a mood board

Pinterest is an amazing resource to use when planning projects. You can create a board that saves colour schemes you like and can refer back to (f you like, you can make it a secret board). Try not to overthink it, simply save pins with colour schemes that appeal to you. Once you've saved a few pins have a look and see what they have in common. Ask yourself "Which colours work well together? What colours am I drawn to?" If you haven't used Pinterest before it's a wonderful resource - think of it as a big search engine for looking for creative ideas. Warning: pinning can become addictive! 

If Pinterest isn't your thing, you can always create scrap book pages with colour combinations you find pleasing. Rip out colour schemes you like from the interiors section of magazines, add in strands of yarn, buttons, bits of food packaging, ribbons, photos, paint swatch cards, feathers and other found items. Keep adding new pages with new colour combinations to look back on. (These torn pages were taken from Mollie Makes magazine).

Tip no. 3.  Look to the natural world

Go for a walk outside and bring your camera with you! Take time to notice colours that sit side by side in nature and look good together. If you spot a pleasing colour combination, take a photo! You can even print it and add it to your mood board, helping to build a bigger picture. 

Think of seasonal colours that work in harmony: oranges, rich browns, burgundays in the autumn; pale blues, lilacs and fresh green in the spring. Or consider the colours of the landscape: blues, sandy oranges and yellow at the seaside; a range of greens and browns in the forest. Nature has an amazing colour range - copy it!

I hope you have found these 3 tips helpful. Leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram if you have any questions or want to share your recent colour combinations, I'd love to see them!

Marta xx