GrannySquareDay2015

it's hip to be square...

Here's a little heads up for all you happy hookers out there!

Saturday August 15th 2015 is Instagram's #grannysquareday15 - hosted by Susan @suregal27 this is a little fun for the wonderful Instagram crochet community.

Crochet a Granny Cushion Workshop for Absolute Beginners!

Would you love to learn how to crochet but don't really know where to start?

Well if you live in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire/Herefordshire border country you may be interested to hear that I have been invited to teach a crochet course at the lovely Sew Sew Studio in Newent!!

Situated just 15 mins drive from the city of Gloucester, The Newent Shambles Retail Village is a quaint courtyard populated by local artisans and independent shop keepers and is a project I have been involved in since it's conception (you can see more about The Shambles here)

Nic opened Sew Sew Studio at the end of 2014 and it has gone from strength to strength as her sewing classes for adults and children have proved extremely popular. Now she is offering the chance for yarn lovers to extend their skills too!

I have put together a three day workshop (running one morning a week over three weeks) aimed at absolute beginners where you can learn all the basic crochet stitches you need to know to get you going.

Starting with a basic granny square, with colour changes and tips on weaving in the ends, moving on to joining the squares together then creating a beautiful granny stripe back, the course includes everything you need to complete a fabulous cushion - all yarns, pattern and tip sheets, cushion inner and even a crochet hook are provided (along with a cuppa or two and some homemade cakes and cookies!)

Course Details

When:   3 x 3 hour sessions 10am- 1pm on 29th April, 6 May and 13th May 2015
Where:  Sew Sew Studio, Unit 19 , Newent Shambles Retail Village, Newent, Glos

Cost :  £90 for the course

What's included:  Everything! Yarn, cushion inner, time spent one-to-one if needed, pattern, tip sheets to take home, and even your very own crochet hook!

 And refreshments too - Tea and coffee will be available plus I will be baking muffins and cookies especially for my students!

Week one - we will focus on the granny squares - including how to add in new colours and weave in the ends (please note you won't have time to complete ALL 9 granny squares in this session - unless you take to crochet like a duck to water! - so please be prepared to do a little homework!)
Week two - we will be joining the squares together and hooking up a little border and then making a start on our granny stripe cushion back!
Week three - Finishing off the granny stripe back and then joining the front and back together around the cushion inner before patting ourselves on the back for completing a fabulous Granny Cushion!

Spaces are very limited so if you are interested please don't hesitate to get in touch with either Nic at Sew Sew Studio or myself (you can email me at forestflower@hotmail.com )

For more information and to book please visit Sew Sew Studio's website   www.sewsewstudio.bigcartel.com


I am so excited to be given this opportunity and I cannot wait to introduce some new people to this highly addictive and bang on trend skill!

Crochet Pattern Testing...

I like to do a little pattern testing for others now and again and this month I have been helping out the lovely Marta (mrsdaftspaniel@blogspot.co.uk) with her fab new pattern for a Child's Crochet Cowl.

October Round Up

What a lovely month October was! So full of wonderful colour, yummy food and lots of woolly makes.

I love Autumn!

How to... Crochet a made-to-measure plant pot cosy

I picked up a lovely pot of apricot coloured chrysanthemums from my local supermarket for a bargain price of 60p the other day. I do hate to see a good plant left to die so naturally it came home with me.
All it needed was a good water and a bit of dead heading to look as good as it's full-priced sisters.

Oh, and something HAD to be done about it's somewhat dowdy pot...

Crochet Baby Blankets - A ripple a day...

There are two new additions to our (extended) family this summer! My cousin is expecting her first baby and the Other Half's cousin is expecting her fifth (!!). I thought this was an ideal opportunity to take my crochet skills up a notch and tackle something slightly bigger than a jam jar cover or a little bowl!

Tuesday Tutorials - Handmade gift ideas

image credits:: clockwise from top left  thehappycreations.co.uk, madmadammel.com, hodgepodgecraft.com

Good morning all - it's Tuesday Tutorials time again!
This week I have picked out three little gift ideas from last week's linky.

Tshirt yarn projects - crochet bowl

So this month I am mainly obsessing over tshirt yarn!

I think there is another blog post in there somewhere but today I am going to show you how to make this cute little tshirt yarn crochet bowl. These bowls make great dressing table tidies - fill em up with hair bands or cotton wool balls.  Or sweeties (it is ok to have sweeties on your dressing table, isn't it?) or, as I have done, with hazelnuts Roo collected from Nonny's garden...

The original pattern I used for this bowl on can be found here - I have just converted it into UK crochet terms.

You will need

One large tshirt made into tshirt yarn
10mm crochet hook

crochet terms - ch = chain    htr = half treble  ss = slip stitch

R1  ch3, join to make a ring. ch2 (this counts as first htr) 9htr into ring, ss to 2nd ch to join
R2  ch2, htr into same stitch, 2htr into each stitch, ss join to 2nd ch (20 stitches)
R3  ch2 *htr in next stitch, 2htr in following stitch* repeat to end, ss join to 2nd ch (30 stitches)
R4  ch2, htr into each stitch to end, ss join to 2nd ch

repeat round 4 as many times as you like until you reach the desired depth of your bowl. The bowl illustrated has 4 repeats.

And there you have it.

Use narrower strips of tshirt yarn and a smaller hook to make a smaller bowl.
Or double up the yarn and use a HUGE hook for a super chunky bowl that could serve as a toy tidy.
Make a set in toning colours or even dye plain white shirts before cutting them up to perfectly co-ordinate with your decor.


The best thing is you are turning something old into something lovely and new...and useful too! 

Like this project? Keep your eyes peeled (or better still follow this blog via bloglovin ) for more tshirt yarn projects coming soon!

Happy Crafting x

DIY T-Shirt Yarn - joining short pieces

I have some exciting news! I have been asked to participate in a crafty workshop at this year's Forest Showcase!

Lydney Dial-a-Ride - a local charity I have close connections with - have an entire marquee at the show with the aim of educating people about what charity shops actually do! What happens to the items you donate and where the money raised from sales is spent. The manager, Louise, has asked a few of us crafty types to come along and show people that you can do so much more with your charity shop purchases than just wear them off the rail...

My demo will be on recycling old clothes and turning them into beautiful things for your home.

And where better to start than with how to make Tshirt yarn!

The concept of recycling tshirts into a yarn to make something new with has been around for a while. There are lots and lots of tutorials out there showing you how to create a continuous length of yarn from a tshirt (here's a very simple tutorial from Mollie Makes  )

But these tutorials assume that your tshirts are essentially a tube with no side seams. This method of tshirt construction is more commonly seen in men's tshirts as women's tend to be shaped to accommodate (or accentuate) our curves so unless you are lucky enough to have a fella who doesn't mind you shredding his trusty tees finding the right shirt for this method can be tricky.

I have been scouring local charity shops for this project and so far have found only one shirt with no side seams so I really needed to find a way of joining the strips together securely but not too bulky. Machine stitching them together is time consuming so why not try this method...

First you will need to cut your tshirt into panels - cut across the body, just under the armpits. Cut the hemmed piece off the bottom and cut the two side seams out. This should leave two rough squares of fabric.

 Cut these into strips across the width of the fabric. You can cut the strips as wide or as narrow as you want - it depends on the project you have in mind. Just remember that the wider the strip, the chunkier the finished yarn will be (and the less you will get from each shirt!).  I wouldn't recommend cutting any narrower than about 1/2" or 12mm...

 Take two strips and lay them end to end - don't worry too much if they are not exactly the same width... 

Cut a small slit in the ends of your fabric strips

Take one fabric strip (1) and pass it through the slit in the other fabric strip (2)  ...

...then take the other end of strip 1 and pass that through the slit you cut in it...

... and pull!

This creates a good firm join. Once you have joined all the strips you can then pull the strip as for the continuous lengths to create the yarn.

Now you have no excuse not to recycle all those old tshirts whether they have side seams or not!

the start of a t-shirt yarn crochet rug using 10mm hook

I have really enjoyed turning old tshirts into yarn and it is intensely satisfying then turning that yarn into something completely different.  I hope to show off a few finished articles very soon and am planning a couple of simple tutorials - including the crochet rug pictured above!

In the meantime - why not pop along to the Forest Showcase on Sunday 6th October at Speech House, Forest of Dean, join me on the hay bales and learn how to turn rags into rugs! 

#WIPsLinky No 2 - Sharing our Work-in-Progress

First of all I would like to say THANK YOU to those of you who joined the linky last month, and those who tweeted and shared. I realise these things take time to grow - it's a work-in-progress in it's own right! Your support is much appreciated.


Now Summer is nearing it's end (boo!) my crafting mind is turning to the Forest Flower Designs Christmas range. The first batch of festive fabric (from the fab Fabric Rehab) arrived a couple of weeks back and the first 'Merry Christmas' embroidered hearts stuffed with gorgeous Christmas spice scented aroma beads have gone into production and should be heading into my Folksy store soon.



This doesn't leave much time for other projects but I am pleased to report that I have nearly used up all the green 'Galaxy' yarn and have a small pile of granny squares ready to create something with. I now have four balls of white chunky yarn to use too (courtesy, once again of my lovely MIL's wool stash!) but I am still not sure what this finished project is going to be... Any ideas readers?

granny squares galore!

 The cable throw is also coming along quite nicely. I completed three panels - including the first of four Celtic Knot panels - whilst on holiday.
However I have already nearly finished the first ball of yarn and the blanket still has a long way to go so I now I am starting to worry that I won't have enough to finish it!






 So - are there any NEW projects for September?

Well I had a lovely surprise this Bank Holiday Weekend when my subscription copy of Mollie Makes arrived a full week before it is available in the shops. I always find Mollie Makes so inspirational, and this month's issue is no exception. In fact I think I actually DO want to make everything in it! I may even put the granny squares to one side for a while to have a go at the fab crocheted High-tops... and I'm not just talking about one pair - these will make perfect Xmas pressies!

What projects do you have planned for the next few weeks? Are you starting to think about winter woollies or Christmas pressie makes yet?
If you blog and would like to join in, please add your post to the linky widget below.  Alternatively share your #WIPsLinky pictures with me on Twitter or Facebook or you can email them to me at forestflower@hotmail.com.  I will add them to the #WIPsLinky Pinterest board and maybe feature some on next month's post too!

Happy Crafting! 

Works-in-Progress Linky - I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours...

Welcome to the very first works in progress linky post - aka WIPsLinky!

I am really excited to get this idea up and running - I really hope that now you are here and reading you'll want to join in too.  If this is your first visit to my blog here is the post I wrote last week as an introduction to the WIPsLinky idea. Go have a read if you like. I'll still be here when you get back...

Hello again!

So I am going to show you a couple of projects I am working on right now - both of them seem a little incongruous given the warm weather we have been having of late but, as most crafters (particularly those who knit or crochet) know there is no point in waiting until it's cold to create things to keep you warm...

crochet in the park...

First up - I have had some Hayfield Bonus Galaxy yarn floating around for some years. I think I bought it with the intention of making something cute and snuggly for Roo when he was tiny but didn't get around to it. It's been discontinued so I am unlikely to be able to get any more and I only have 2 balls each of blue and green. So I am using a 5mm crochet hook and making a pile of basic closed granny squares - I have absolutely no idea how many my yarn will make or what I'll do with them when they are done ( Lap blanket? Cushions?) but it feels kind of good to finally be using something that has been stashed away for best part of 5 years!  When I have used up all the yarn I will make the decision.

I love that granny square projects are so portable, all you need is your hook and some yarn. Even if you are bit rusty, like me, you only need to make a couple with a pattern in front of you before you can whip them up without the pattern wherever you are!




Next up is one of those projects I have been waiting to start for a long time. The pattern came from my mum's collection of 'The Knitter' magazines. We love 'The Knitter' because it is aimed at more experienced knitters than most mainstream knitting mags and has some wonderfully challenging projects.

This one is a cabled blanket made up in panels of different sizes with lovely, intricate cable patterns on each panel. I adore cable knits - there is something inherently snuggly about a chunky cable knit don't you think? I love them so much I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to them!



Anyway, the biggest hold up has always been getting the yarn - this throw uses a lot of yarn - as is the way with all these patterns the specified yarn, although beautiful (50% wool/50% lama!) is WAAAAYYYY out of my budget! Luckily for me my mother-in-law had some rather nice wool mix arran yarn from Stylecraft in a beautiful charcoal grey colour - enough to knit this whole blanket in the same colour instead of a rainbow patchwork (although that would be nice too!).

I have started on the first panel - a long, thin strip of cabling that basically an 8 row repeat. It's not too complicated and doesn't require much concentration so it's good to do while watching tv. I have a feeling the large Celtic knot panels might require a bit more focus though!

We're off on holiday tomorrow so I will be taking this one with me, just in case the weather does it's worst. After all what is a holiday but an excuse to knit for hours on end without feeling remotely guilty?

So there you have my current Works-in-Progress - now show me yours!

Link up your #WIPsLinky blog post below. If you want you can add a link to this post at the end of your post (I am working on a 'grab my button' code. Honest!)

Please use the #WIPsLinky hash tag on Twitter/Google+/Facebook if you want to shout about this linky to your friends too! I will also be setting up a WIPsLinky pinboard on Pinterest.

I am looking forward to seeing what you are up to!

ps: the Linky will be posted on the last Tuesday of each month, the current one will stay open until the day before new one comes up so you have plenty of time to link up and join in!

I really am rubbish at not doing anything...

Sunday. The day of rest.

Yeah, right!

Usually Sunday is pretty much like every other day, except I have the Other Half under my feet as well as the Little Man and the cat! Today I decided that I was going to... take it easy *gasp*   I wasn't going to rush out of bed. I wasn't going to try and do any washing/ironing/tidying/gardening/cleaning or any other housework related duties. I was going to 'chill'.

In reality I have discovered that I am crap at doing nothing. I had planned on chicken pie and roasties for tea so made a batch of pastry before 10am, swiftly followed by a batch of chocolate cookies (coz I had the mixer out and I fancied some...) Then, because it seemed sensible and would save rushing around and doing it later, I made the pie filling. And prepared the spuds. And then, as I had made a bit of a mess, I cleaned the kitchen. Like I said, crap at doing nothing.

When I finally sat down at around midday (after making several rounds of toast/coffee/banana milk) I managed to hold off doing anything at all for, ooooo, about 10 mins. Then I got twitchy fingers so I grabbed a crochet hook, some lovely dark red merino wool I had in my stash box and made a lovely heart from The Crafty Seller magazine I picked up the other day. If you haven't come across this one, it's worth a look. Most of the designs are pretty basic and I would be wary of outright copying them (even though they are allegedly copyright free and the intention of the magazine is that you should make and sell these items yourself...) but perfect as inspiration and ripe for adding your own twist to.

As you all know, I am fairly new to crochet so I am always looking for little projects to have a go at and the little hearts in this months issue are just perfect for me. I tweaked the pattern slightly, adding a pretty scalloped edge, and a crochet chain loop to hang it with. I also added some dried lavender to the stuffing and a lovely vintage button from the bundle I was sent by my Button Swap partner, Michelle at My Handmade Haven . I love the finished heart. I may even make some for my next craft fair...

So, by planning on doing nothing, I actually managed to start something AND finish it the same day. Now that doesn't happen often. Maybe a should plan on doing nothing more often...

Wonder Wool Wales

This weekend I was treated to a child free day out to the fabulous WonderWoolWales - a festival dedicated to all things woolly! Situated at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells and with an emphasis on natural fibres in all their glory this is a great day out for the crafty!

There was plenty to see. I loved watching the spinners and weavers practising their craft with skill that made it all look so easy...

A little something spotty for me!

I spend an awful lot of time making things for other people - either as sales from my website, stock for shops or presents for friends and family. This weekend though, I decided it was time I made something for me!

So I did...

Can you guess what it is?

Maybe a little more...?

Busy...

Presents. I love presents. I love wrapping presents. I love giving presents. And I would be a liar if I said I didn't like receiving presents too!

My parents don't celebrate Christmas or Birthdays (religious reasons) so they kind of compensate by making a big fuss of their wedding anniversary and turning into a celebratory family day when we all get together, have a nice meal and exchange gifts - and why not? After all the day they got married was the day they began their own family and 41 (41!!!) years later, with five children and three grandchildren, they have something worth celebrating, don't you think?

Calling all yarn lovers!

Today I visited a beautiful wool shop in Abergavenny, The Wool Croft. Stuffed full of beautiful yarns including Rowan, Noro and Debbie Bliss plus Organic Welsh wool and some unusual skeins of beaded or hand painted yarns.
I was in a mood to treat myself and left with some new bamboo needles, some cute heart shaped wooden buttons and this...

Isn't it gorgeous?  It's a hand dyed, silk/merino wool mix yarn by Louisa Harding. It is smooth and soft with a fabulous sheen. Hand painted by artisans in Chile - every hank is unique.

This one is a blend of blues ranging from pale aqua to dark navy called 'Coastal' and I absolutely fell in love with it and just had to bring it home!

Only problem is I have no idea what I will make with it!

So I am looking for some suggestions.

Knit or crochet - I don't mind.

 The yarn weight is somewhere between DK and aran weight with a recommended needle size 4mm or hook size 5.5mm - 6.5mm. The hank is 110yds in length so there is only enough for a small project.

Please help! I would hate for this sublime yarn to end up in my stash box, taken out occasionally to be stroked and 'oooooed' over...

Crochet... I'm hooked!

I know, I know - I am probably one of the last to jump on this particular bandwagon but a week or so ago I picked up a crochet hook and learned how to crochet. It's something I have been meaning to do for a while. I mean I have been knitting for years (well decades actually...) and I have had a go at pretty much everything - cabling, fancy stitches, colour, patterns, jumpers, jackets, socks, baby clothes...quite a lot of baby clothes come to think of it, more socks, bags etc etc. But for some reason the lure of the crochet hook has never attracted me that much.

Until now.

I blame this...

This - if you haven't seen it before - is a brand new magazine dedicated to handmade living. It's chocca full of wonderful ideas, inspiration, interviews, makes and general handmade loveliness. It is right up my alley and so refreshingly gorgeous it surely must be almost illegal.... (I am assured it isn't)

So, yes, I am absolutely in love with Mollie Makes. I dream that one day me or one of my makes might feature within it's beautiful matt paper covers. In the meantime I lust after dinky felties and crocheted flowers, scrummy interiors and to-die-for studio spaces (imagine a space totally dedicated to crafting...no toys, no teetering piles of bike magazines, no spending half an hour tidying up before I can get anything out and then having to put it all away again so the Little Man can do Play Doh... oh, a girl can dream),

You see it was the flowers that did it.My Other Half suffers really badly from hay fever so real flowers in the house are pretty much a no-no (I do manage to slip some in when he's not paying attention on very rare occasions...) I'm really not a fan of chintzy, floral fabrics, preferring more stylised designs. But when I saw that gorgeous cover and knew that I could have a house full of flowers I loved without making his nose twitch!

So I had to learn how to crochet!  With the help of this tutorial I got the basics together fairly quickly (although I feed the yarn like I knit, with my right hand not my left. I'm sure I will work it out eventually!) and this was my first flower attempt...

Not bad but far from perfect. So I kept at it. Last night I felt confident enough to try an ACTUAL PROJECT. Coincidentally (not that I believe in coincidence mind you!) one of my fave reads the Angel Eden blog posted a tutorial a few days ago that was absolutely perfect - a Crochet Jar Cover - I could make something pretty with my new found skill and find another use for an old jam jar!

Wanna see? Of course you do...

Now it's pretty safe to say I am hooked - I love it! The simplicity. The speed at which projects grow. Most of all I love the way crochet lends itself to itty bitty projects so much more than knitting! It is much easier to pick up and put down when the Little Man demands attention and SOOOO much easier to pick up the single stitch if the hook falls out. If you have ever tried picking up an entire row of knitting when the needle gets pulled out you'll know what I mean...

So thank you Mollie Makes for inspiring me where all others have failed, and Abi at Angel Eden for the great tutorial :)