Textured Ripple Cowl Scarf - Basic Pattern

Hello! I have been meaning to share this finished project with you for a while now, so am delighted that I'm finally getting round to it.

It started with a few balls of Noro Silk Garden found on offer at my local John Lewis:

If you've read my blog before, you'll know I'm a huge fan of variegated yarn in general and of Noro yarn especially. And what's not to like? It's so lusciously beautiful...

Anyway, although I knew straight away I wanted to make a wearable out of it, I wracked my brains for a while, looking for a pattern that would bring out the magnificent colours of this yarn. Then I thought "ripples". But not any ripple pattern. It wanted it to have texture, so I adapted Attic 24 Lucy's Neat Ripple Pattern by basically adding a row of double crochet (US single crochet) stitches between each row of trebles (US double crochets). The main thing about this in-between row is that it was worked in the back loops of the trebles from the previous row (with the wrong side of the scarf facing me). Once the row was finished, I would turn and start a new row of ripples, working in the back loops of the double crochets (US scs) of the previous row AND in the back loops of the trebles from the row before that one. This double loop trick helped to make the scarf a lot denser and warmer. I know it sounds confusing... It's one of those that would definitely need a photo or video tutorial (note to self).

Anyway, here's how it looks in the flesh fibre:

And worn by yours truly:

So, to sum up...

Note: I have just realised I haven't exactly followed Lucy's pattern in the sense that I made tr3tog instead of tr2tog, and 3 tr in one stitch instead of 2. This makes for a slightly more pronounced ripple, but the principle is the same.

Abbreviations: ch (chain), dc (UK double crochet = US sc/single crochet), tr (UK treble = US dc/double crochet), tr3tog (3 UK trebles together), bl (in back loop), blx2 (in back loop of dc of previous row AND in back loop of 3rd ch/tr from row before)

Beginning: Chain a multiple of 14+3 (I did 45), turn.

Row 1: 2 tr in 4th loop from hook, 1 tr in next 3 ch stitches, *[tr3tog in next 3 ch stitches] twice, 1 tr in next 3 ch stitches, [3tr in next ch stitch] twice, 1 tr in next 3 ch stitches*, repeat from *to* until you have one ch stitch left and work 2 tr in that one, ch1, turn.

Row 2: 1 dc bl in each tr/tr3tog to end, ch3, turn.

Row 3: 2 tr blx2 in last dc, 1 tr blx2 in next 3 dc, *[3trtog blx2 in next 3 dc] twice, 1 tr blx2 in next 3 dc, [3tr blx2 in next dc] twice, 1 tr blx2 in next 3 dc*, repeat from *to* until you have one ch stitch left and work 2 tr blx2 in that one, ch1, turn.

Row 4 - x: repeat row 2 and 3 to desired length.

To make up into cowl scarf: fold both ends with right sides together and join with a row of dc in back loops of both rows. Fasten off and weave ends in.

Let me know how you get on and if you spot any mistakes in the above pattern.

Thanks for reading! :)

Noro Granny Square Handbag - Sneaky Peek

Hello! Well, I've been crocheting like crazy this week, and some of it was dedicated to the Noro Handbag I've been blogging on about for the past few weeks. Last weekend, I decided it was high time to get a move on with this project, and started connecting up the squares. It wasn't easy and I had to make a few structural changes as well as start again a couple of times. As a consequence, I am not done :-(

However, the bulk of the work is pretty much behind me, which means I have the pleasure of sharing a few sneak peeks with you tonight. Oooh, don't we just love a bit of suspense, eh?

So, here goes:

Side A...

Side B...

Base...

Even if the construction has been a bit of a pain, I do love how it's coming together, especially that mix of super rich colours, and the contrast with the black yarn.

For more Granny Love, as always, head over to Jijihook's.

Thanks for reading, folks!

Granny Close-Ups

Hello! There hasn't been much granny square action around my part of the world since last week, so I thought I'd share a few close-ups of some of the granny squares for my future Noro bag.

Noro colours are simply breath-taking, and I can't get enough of them! :)

Don't forget your weekly granny fix at Jijihook's ;)

Noro Granny Square Bag - Another Update

Hello! Oh my word, it has been ages! Three weeks! And actually the last post was scheduled, so for me it has really been four weeks since I actually wrote something on this blog. The main reason is I was on holiday for the first two weeks of September, and since coming back I have mainly focused on finding a place to move to. The move is set to happen early October and though a place has now been found, the move needs to be organised, which means less time for crafty stuff, unfortunately.

Anyway, enough of boring life facts. On to more interesting things like crochet. I crocheted a lot on holiday. None of it involved granny squares, which is why I haven't been taking part in the latest Granny Square challenges over at Jijihook's. But today I have found time to take pics of my recent granny square progress, more specifically on the Noro bag I blogged about last time.

And here we go:

Top of the picture above, you can see the collection of grannies I presented you three weeks ago. The design of my bag also requires triangles, as well as black pieces both square and triangular. At this stage I still need one more colour triangle and four other black ones. I haven't yet decided whether I'll join them with a contrasting row of dcs.

Here's a closer look at one of the triangles:

Let me tell you, though, that it wasn't easy to take the above pictures...

Someone has been extremely clingy since I came back from holiday, and keeping him out of the frame, which he's usually never that bothered with, was a real challenge! Bless his little white cotton socks...

Thanks for reading, guys, and see you soon! :)

Noro Granny Square Bag - An Update

Hello, everyone! Just a quick one today, as I'm on holiday and feeling very lazy indeed! :D I've carried on with the Noro granny squares from last week, using three different balls of Noro Silk Garden, and here's what I have so far:

And a few close-ups...

That's it for this week, folks. Don't forget Jijihook's Granny Love Challenge!

Thanks for reading! :)

New Granny Square Project!

Hello everyone! It's been longer than usual since I last blogged, due to a few days' trip in lovely Dorset, preparation for a holiday in France, and building up towards a move out of London. That said, I haven't been idle craftwise, doing lots of crochet and sewing, and I can't wait to show you what I've been up to.

For today, since it's Granny Square Wednesday at Jijihook's, and since I recently managed to complete one of my WIPs, I am very pleased to share with you... what else... a new WIP!

This one will be another bag (is it me, or am I slowly specialising into the bag branch?), and a luxury one at that, since it will be made with Noro Silk Garden. I absolutely adore Noro yarns, but they can be very expensive, so I will always think twice before I embark on a project with them. However, my local yarn store recently had massive sales, and after rummaging a bit, I was very pleased to come across quite a few balls of Noro Silk Garden at a less eye-watering price.

With some of them, I decided to make a boho granny square bag, very much inspired by the sorely missed Wink's Noro Boho Bag.

The squares were going to be made out of three different balls of Noro Silk Garden, with highly contrasting colourways, but this was exactly what I sought. The more colours the better. Here are the three balls or yarn:

Amazing colours, aren't they? They're so delicious! Anyway, here's what the first six squares out of the reddish ball looked like:

Can you believe these come from the same ball? I find this absolutely fascinating. If you look closely at the centers, you can spot the continuation of the colour from the previous square. The progression starts from the top right corner towards the left.

And here's a closer look at one of the squares, a firm favourite of mine:

So vibrant! A true visual feast.

I shall be back next week with more squares, I am pretty sure :)

Thanks for reading!

The Final Christmas Gift - Crochet Wall Art

Hello, my dear readers! This post is the final installment of the Christmas Gifts Showcase Series. This particular gift started with one single ball of Noro yarn, out of which I made circles of varying sizes and colours. 

When I made the circles almost a year and half ago, my original idea was to sew them onto a big crochet bag. But time went by, and the circles remained tucked away in their tin box, as no crochet bag ever materialised.

Recently, I thought about the project again and realised that a bag might not be the best way to showcase the layout I had come up with, and from then on I knew that the circles would become part of a wall art piece. Then I decided I would make a Christmas gift out of it.

So let's have a look:

I sewed all circles on a large piece of cream felt with invisible thread. I had a little bit of a nightmare using the invisible thread because it is, well, invisible, and therefore very easy to lose sight of, especially when you belong to the blind-as-a-bat species... Anyway, I managed to do it in the end, and put the finishing touch to the project by adding a row of blanket stitches and slip stitches all around the felt rectangle. Ideally I should have waited to take pictures until AFTER I'd blocked the piece, but daylight was fast dwindling unfortunately. So, sorry about those wrinkles!

Here are some pictures of details:

 

And this concludes the Christmas Gifts Series! About time as well, since this is nearly the end of January :D

Thank you for reading anyway, and see you soon for more crafty adventures!