June round up - what have I been up to?

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well? It's been a while since my last post because I've been having issues with my laptop (technology, urgh!). Today I'd like to get back into it by sharing with you some of the things I've been up to this month. Let's dive in ...

At the start of the month my Sunshine Patch crochet competition came to a close and I am pleased to announce the winner was Jane Reid (@created.uniquely on Instagram). I was amazed by the variations and was blown away by some of the creativity on show! The collage above shows some of the entries and you can see Jane's winning coin purse in the bottom left. 

One project that I have returned to this month is my hexipuff blanket. This is a knitted blanket designed by Tiny Owl Knits which features hundreds of 3D knitted hexagons. It's been in hibernation since the end of 2020. Basically, I pull out, work like mad on it, get fed up with it and throw it back in a corner - this has been going on for nearly 2 years, it's definitely a slow craft! However, I can say that, as of this morning, I have kept up with one hexie a day for the whole of June! Whoop!

Another long term blanket I've been working on is my crocheted scrappy blanket. For this one I'm using all sorts of leftover odds and ends of sock weight yarn to create a wavy, bobbly blanket. It's progressing well, I add a few rows most days and I'm enjoying the way the colours are forming. My followers on Instagram are going mad for it too - it's one of my most popular projects! Many of you have asked if I'm publishing the pattern and due to its popularity the answer is a resounding YES! I just need time to finish it and then get lots of pretty photos ...

At the end of May I started a new crochet design for a pair of socks and I'm really pleased to have finished the design, written up the pattern and sent it off to testers! It's my 4th sock pattern and it was a real joy to work on, things went very smoothly. I used Rusty Ferret sock yarn for the design in a bright pink colourway called Concoction 52. The colourway is semi-solid creating lovely little hints of subtle colour change which I love! I'm half-way through crocheting my second pair, testing out the smallest size (it will be available in 4 adult sizes). I plan to release the pattern in July so, if you haven't already, please subscribe to my email list to be kept in the loop on this one. You can subscribe here.

And finally, I finished this cute little donkey! I absolutely love making amigurumi and I'm particularly fond of the designs by Pica Pau Yan. I've so far made about half a dozen of them and they never fail to disappoint me. I really appreciate the attention to detail in the designs and the fact that the animals all have clothing or accessories - it gives them so much character.

Well, looking back like this I can see it's been a busy month (there were a few things I didn't share in this post too) and I'm looking forward to seeing what the month of July brings! What about you? Did you have a productive month? Why not leave me a comment below, I'd love to hear from you,

Marta xx

Sunshine Patch crochet competition launch

 

Hello! Today I'm really excited to launch my Sunshine Patch crochet competition! This challenge is all about pushing your creativity and I've been in touch with some fabulous small businesses to bring you some amazing prizes!

I'm passionate about encouraging people to take a crochet design and put their own spin on it. Crochet is an especially good craft for allowing you to do this because the stitches are so quick & easy to build up and if they don't look how you hoped they're easy to unravel and start again. It's also simple to swap one stitch for another, for example double crochet stitches instead of trebles to make a segment smaller. Then there is yarn choice and colour which can vary a look dramatically! 

If you've ever worked up a crochet pattern, read the instructions and thought "I'm not going to do it like that, I'm going to do it my way!" then you've already given this a go - well done! But, perhaps making alterations in this way is something that you you really aren't confident about or hadn't even thought of doing - if so, I hope you find my competition encouraging!

So, here's the competition ...

1.  Firstly, you will need a copy of my Sunshine Patch crochet pattern: if you are signed up to recieve my newsletter, you will have a copy already; if not, simply sign up to my newsletter and the pattern will automatically be sent to you for FREE. Sign up here.
2.  I would like you to take my Sunshine Patch crochet pattern and add your own twist. There are some suggestions in the pattern to get you thinking, but there are endless possibities! The twist could be in the final use of the patch or it could be a dramatic transformation (or both!). I want you to be as creative as you can, now is your chance to SHINE!
3.  Once completed, you can either post your photo to Instagram with the hashtag #MMDSunshinePatch or you can simply reply to the pattern email, attaching your photo. 
4. The competition will run until midnight on Thursday 10th June (BST) and the prize will be awarded to the most creative interpretation of my Sunshine Patch crochet pattern. The prize includes 1x sunshine stitch marker from Labours of Love Crochet, 1x acrylic pin & 1x greetings card from Unicorn Puffs and Rainbows, 1x handmade crochet hook from Pedro's Plaques & Pretty Things and 1x online Blocking Masterclass from The Crochet Project. 
5. Competition open worldwide (however, if any import tax fees are charged, they will need to be paid for by the winner).

You can see the prizes in the photo below, it's an amazing bundle! All prizes have kindly been donated and I am so thankful for the support of the crochet community on Instagram. If you're not already following me, you can find me on Instagram here.

Crochet is a wonderful way to let your imagination run wild - be brave & experiment - whatever you make I'm sure it will be awesome! And ... if it doesn't work out as you hoped, it's only a small project, not the end of the world - try again! I can't wait to see what you make ...

Marta xx

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