More hexies

Hello! I am still on holiday so this will be a quick one. I've been doing more hexagons and loving working with this new shape. I also took the opportunity to make my first African flower. Have a gander below!

Seriously in love with those colours! Although I am definitely not enamoured with the prospect of the end-weaving process... Oh boy is it going to be fun.

Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget Jijihook's website for more granny square love: http://www.jijihook.fr/groovyghan-termine/ (can't seem to find the embed link button on the blogger app!)

Take care, guys!

Trying Hexies

Hello! A quick post before I'm off on holiday. Lately I have felt an urge to work with pastel colours reminiscent of spring and have decided to try a new shape. Believe it or not, I had never made hexagons before, so this is a first for me!

Here goes!

Absolutely no idea what this will become, but I sure love working on it! :)

Don't forget: more granny squares this way!

A Little Owl - Free Pattern

Hello everyone! Today I would like to share with you the pattern for a tiny piece of work I recently made, a teeny-weensy little amigurumi owl I crocheted for a friend.

I am telling you, this was good fun to make, as well as super easy, as I only used one type of variegated yarn for the body. The eyes are two minute circles of white felt and some black cotton thread for the closed eyelids. The beak is a little bit of DK yarn. And that's it! My very first crochet owl!

Would you like to make your own? Here's a pattern in UK terminology (dc = US sc, htr = US hdc, tr = US dc): 

You will need:

3mm crochet hook

Any DK yarn. The one I used was Sirdar Snuggly Smiley Stripes, which I think may have been discontinued

White felt

White sewing thread

Black crochet thread

Yellow/orange DK yarn

Sewing needle

Yarn needle

The pattern is worked amigurumi-style, which means you do NOT join to the beginning of a row with a slip stitch, but directly work the first stitch of the next row into the first stitch of the previous row. You may want to use stitch markers to keep track of where you are.

BODY

Row 1: Make a magic ring, ch1, 6dc (6 stitches)

Row 2: 2 dc in each 6 dc from previous row (12 st)

Row 3: 1 dc in next dc, 2 dc in next dc, repeat 5 times (18 st)

Row 4: 1 dc in next two dc, 2 dc in next dc, repeat 5 times (24 st)

Rows 5-12: 1 dc in next 24 stitches

Row 13: 1 dc in next dc, dc2tog in the front loop of the next two stitches (this is to make the decrease invisible) (18 st), do not fasten off

EARS

Row 14: 1 dc in next st, 2 htr in next 2 stitches, 2 tr in next 2 stitches, 2 htr in next 2 stitches, 2 dc in next 2 stitches, 2 htr in next 2 stitches, 2 tr in next 2 stitches, 1 dc in next stitch, slip stitch to first dc, do not fasten off. Stuff the body roughly up to 2/3 of its height, making sure the bottom is generously filled.

HANGING STRING

Pinch together opening at the top, each 2 dc-group in the centre facing each other, and trebles forming pointed ends (use pictures as a guide), using working loop from final row, slip stitch between the dc-group opposite, ch25, slip stitch to final slip stitch from row 14. Fasten off and weave ends in.

EYES

Cut two circles in white felt. Pin them into position on top half of body, using pictures as a guide. Stich them on with sewing needle and matching sewing thread. With yarn needle, around 30-40 cm of black crochet thread, and using drawing below as a guide, insert needle at back of body,  pulling it out at 1. Make sure you keep loose tension on the thread throughout all steps. Insert it into 2, pulling out at 3. Insert it into 4, pulling it out at 5. Insert it into 6, pulling it out at 7 and finally insert it into 8, pulling it out anywhere in the body. Cut all loose thread ends.

BEAK

With 30-40 cm of yellow DK yarn on a yarn needle, and using drawing below as a guide, insert needle at back of body, pulling it out at 1. Insert it into 2, pulling it out in 3. Insert it in 4 (same place as 2), pulling it out in 5. Insert it in 6 (same place as 2 and 4), pulling it out in 7. Insert in 8, pulling it out anywhere in the body. Cut all loose threads.

And you're done! I hope you enjoy making this little fella. Please send me photos of your work if you do, I would love to see tour take on this pattern :)

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Mandala Bag - Flip Side

Hello! Oh my, I hope you've had the same amazing weather as in London today! It felt truly summery!

This week, as it's Granny Square Challenge day again, I would like to give you an update on the Square Jewelled Mandala bag. I have started crocheting the flip side in coloured stripes, roughly following the colour sequence of the Mandala itself.

Let's have a look:

As you can see, it's plain and fool-proof, just a series of UK htrs. But I think it should counterbalance the mandala side nicely, as the latter is quite busy. Let me know what you think :)

Don't forget to go admire more granny squares on Jijihook's website and see you very soon! :)

Granny Wednesday - Square 'Jewelled' Mandala

Hello! Two weeks ago, I introduced you to the 'Jewelled' Mandala, a fun project that came to me as a challenge to hook up an intricate mandala. As I was then in the process of finishing my 'Blanket' Bag, I naturally decided I would make a bag out of this one as well, and have since proceeded to square it off.

Shall we have a look?

Next step will be a flip side, most likely plain stripes in matching colours. See you next week! :)

And don't forget to head over to Jijkook's for more granny square love, as usual.

Granny Wednesday - One Finished 'Blanket' Bag

Hello, everyone! Well last week, I promised I would reveal my finished bag, so-called 'Blanket Bag' because I made it out of the square that resulted from my Blanket tutorials. I started crocheting another square for the reverse side, joined them together, added a crocheted strap, and lined the lot with cotton and felt sewn together.

Let's have a look:

Here's the front of the bag...

And the flip side...

A close-up of the strap, literally just rows of UK double crochets, edged with a row of slip stitches and crabstitch... I crocheted the strap directly onto the bag, starting with a row of dcs distributed evenly around each corner and then slip stitched both strips together to form the top of the strap (I hope this makes sense!)

Here's a closer view of the zip, the first one I have ever sewn into, well, anything, really, like ever ever ever. Oh yes, I am mighty proud of this one! :D

A view of the lining... To avoid the wrong side of the fabric showing through the gaps of the granny squares, I constructed the lining with one layer of black felt and one layer of printed cotton fabric (remnants from this other granny square bag), and sandwiched the zip in between the two, before hand-sewing the lining into the bag.

It has a little pocket big enough to hold two thirds of your mobile phone (obviously, that's an accident, it was meant to hold a whole one!), but on the plus side, I tried my hand at pattern matching with a reasonable amount of success (although you'll have to take my word for it, as it's not very obvious in the photo).

And here I am, trying not look awkward as I'm waiting for the timer to get to ten seconds (that time I did remember to press the button).

That's pretty much it for this week, folks. As always, head over to Jijihook's for more granny square love, and come back next week for more!

Thanks for reading! :)