Crocheting – Page 44

Year of the Stitches – Week 19 Crossbill Stitch

Crossbill Stitch

Well hello everyone. Hope you have all had super weeks. Did anyone do anything special for Yarn Day? I didn’t manage to get to one of my local shops which is a shame. As I know Sitting Knitting had some yarn fun planned for the day. But I did get to go to the wonderful Wool@J13 festival!! Oh my!!! It was sooooo exciting.

This one was a family affair. So as we set off, I think my daughter had totally cottoned on to my excitement! she said “Now Mummy, is this just the best day of your life? I mean, there is just going to be so much wool!!” Haha! Oh she knows me so so well!! She kept telling me to calm down and not to worry, as there will be lots to buy!!! And there definitely was!!!

So on route I managed a little sneaky slipper sock crocheting. This is a double knit 2 strand mix of some West Yorkshire Spinners sock yarn. Can’t tell you how much I am loving the colour mix. I know it’s bad, but think I might have to keep these for me!!

So we rocked up to a tractor/trailer ride to the show ground from the car park. The kids were loving it. I do think my son would have liked to have driven the tractor though!!

There was one mahousive marquee, full of the most stunning yarns you can imagine. It was lovely to see individual businesses and their creations. Lots of sock yarns. I bought some that is ridiculously soft! It was the HeyJay company!! Two lovely ladies selling some mega hand dyed yarn. Can’t wait to buy some more from them.

I can’t describe how lovely everyone was!! They were so kind and helpful and letting you touch and feel all the yarn! At first I was telling my daughter not to touch anything, but the stall holders were telling her to! How wonderful. One lovely lady gave her a big bundle of wool fibres to have a go with for free. My daughter didn’t realise at first that she was being given it, but she carried her cloud of fluff around after that, with pride. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the ladies name or company! So if you ever read this, please get in contact so we can share with you what my daughter creates!! (It was the stand by the HeyJay company.) Heyho, hopefully we will find out who she was. She was so nice to my daughter. The one thing I think the festival really showed me, is what a wonderful collection of people are in the yarn world!! So chuffed that my crazy yarn and crocheting addiction lead me and my family there! It really made you feel so lovely to be surrounded by so many kind and caring people. (And obviously a serious amount of yarn scruminess!!!)

This stand was called Find Me Knitting and Luxury Yarns. Two lovely ladies that were ever so helpful. I bought a skein of the softest mulberry silk I’ve ever felt. Will definitely be looking up these guys again. Hoping to make a shawl/scarf with it one day.

There was even a sock fashion show, where the models not only sang but danced as well, modelling their lovely socks.

It all got a bit too much for a little man. Bless.

To my daughter’s delight, we also found one of the Staffordshire SmileStones and rehid it. Must paint ours one day.

So all in all a mega mega day! So pleased we went. Here’s what I came away with. I think I did rather well considering. The top right ball is actually made out of banana fibres – imagine that!!! What a fab idea. It was from the company La La with Love. There were all sorts of different yarns that she had created. Hoping to make a little bag for my phone with it soon. The bottom right pink yarn is from In The Wool Shed company. Again lots of super yarns and such a colour range. This one is for the Year of the Stitches blanket. The far left is a wonderful plum purple colour – it’s a mix of Bluefaced Leicester and silk!! Oh my!! It’s terribly soft. Again another fab shawl or scarf me thinks. It was from the company Cat and Sparrow from Bristol. She was so kind, as my son was in my arms at that point and he was demolishing some fruit, so he had a bit on his hands. I was desperately trying to keep him away from her lovely yarns whilst trying to pay at the same time!! Hmm, not my finest hour, but I managed it with no fruit smeared yarns in sight!!

I reckon my daughter did rather well too!! Can’t wait to have a go with the hand spinning from the Dizzy Sheep Spinner company. What a fab idea and great for children too. It will be great to see what my daughter makes up with it. I can see us all wanting to have a go. The lovely lady said it was rather a nice past time with a cuppa on the go!! Everyone loved talking to my daughter too. One of the stall ladies was quite shocked that she could crochet so young!!

So this week I have finally finished this shawl. So chuffed with it. It’s the first one I’ve finished. It was designed and made in 20 days. So not bad going. I’m hoping that I can publish the pattern on here soon, but think it needs a little work first.

I blocked it twice. Once halfway through, then when it was finished. It’s incredible how it helps and shapes the garment. It seems to help the yarn to relax into place! I would highly recommend it. And so easy to do as well. The only problem I have in our house, is keeping the pins out of reach of my little ones hands! Yikes!!

We also seem to have had a rather yummy weekend! This was from our local Home and Garden Festival. I don’t think I even got a look in on these!! A certain little girl and her Daddy woofed one of these down!!

Right then, on to the blanket. So this week I have chosen the super Crossbill stitch. It’s a pretty cool stitch. It’s very similar to a crossed treble stitch, but slightly lacier – so fab for a shawl or scarf. It’s using a two row repeat method, but the trebles are crossed in every row, so this means the texture is quite open. It provides quite a nice diamond pattern, which is rather pretty. Hope you like it.

Supplies – So this week I have chosen a lovely may green coloured yarn. Couldn’t resist this colour, with the name and the time of the year. It such a calming, warm colour. When I was a child I was given a box of 72 Derwent water coloured crayons by my parents. It was my pride and joy. They were presented in a lovely wooden box with a little brass clip.

I used to love keeping them in rainbow coloured order. (See I reckon my love for everything rainbow started early!!) So my favourite green and most used was a may Green colour. It ended up being so much shorter than all the others, but it was by far my favourite green crayon. I definitely used it the most. So I dedicate this weeks colour to my little and rather short may green water coloured crayon!!

The yarn is from the wonderful Debbie Bliss Rialto range. (It’s from my little stash that my Mum got me from the incredible BlackSheepWool shop – thanks Mum) It’s a lovely merino wool which is beautifully soft, so perfect for the blanket. So you need about 30g of any Double Knit yarn you fancy and don’t forget your scissors, blunt ended tapestry needle and 4mm crochet hook.

Stitches –

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

Treble (tr) – To make a treble crochet, firstly yarn over your hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over your hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should now be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through the first two loops, yarn over hook and pull through the last two loops.

Two Crossed Trebles (2Ctr) – Miss two stitches, work 1tr in the next stitch, then chain 1 and work 1tr in the first of the 2 missed stitches. (Work this last stitch back over the last tr stitch made.)

Ok so here we go …

1 – So for this stitch we are working on the right side of the blanket. Start by chaining 3. Then *work 2Ctr over the next 3 stitches. Now 1 tr in the next stitch.*

A crossbill stitch is a combination of 2Ctr stitch and then 1tr stitch. This is repeated across the row. So a 2Ctr stitch is basically 2 crossed treble stitches with a chain stitch in the middle. So to start off, miss 2 stitches and work 1tr into the next stitch.

Now chain 1 and work 1tr in the first of the 2 missed stitches by working back over the last tr stitch made. You can see in the photo how the second treble is crossed back on itself.

Then work 1tr into the next stitch. This completes the first Crossbill stitch.

Repeat this ** across the row.

Work 1tr in the last stitch of the row. (200)

2 – Turn your blanket and chain 3. (This acts as 1tr) Then work 1tr in the same stitch.

Now miss 1tr, then insert your hook into the next chain 1 space.

*Work 1tr into this chain 1 space.

Now work 2Ctr over the next 3 stitches.*

Repeat ** to the last tr stitch.

Now work 1tr in the last chain 1 space, then miss the last stitch then work 2tr in the chain 3 from below.

3 – In the last row, chain 3. (This counts as 1tr) Then miss a stitch and work *2Ctr over the next 3 stitches. Now work 1tr in the next ch1sp.* You can see where to work the 1tr from the photo below.

The repeat this process ** across the row.

When you get to the end of the row, work 1tr in the top of the chain 3 stitches from the row below.

So this completes your Crossbill stitch. Hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks instalment of Year of the Stitches. Don’t forget to give me a shout if you are unsure of anything.

Happy hooking everyone!

🌈Xx

Year of the Stitches – Week 18 Grannie Stitch

Grannie Stitch

Well hello long weekend!! I definitely feel like we are all ready for this one. Still can’t quite believe it’s May though!! The blossom is out in full force around us. This beauty is on our door step! There’s something about tree blossom isn’t there that just makes you feel so good! Think it’s because it is so uplifting with such colour and new life after the long wintery months.

We are lucky to have another stunning blossom in our back garden. Amazingly, considering how big it is now, survived the trip from our old house a few years ago. The tree is quite happily snuggled up now in our garden. It was given to me by my dear dear Godmother for my 30th birthday. Such a wonderful present, as she knew how much I love my garden and the fact that it blossoms every year on my birthday. She sadly passed away a few years ago. So terribly sad. Such a wonderful lady.

She made the most incredible chocolate cake. It was kept in a large Tupperware box under the counter in the kitchen. Soon as you walked in the door you would check if the box was full or not and if it was, you were in for a treat!! It was always washed down with a glass of milk!! So in true PipsRainbow style, here’s one I made in tribute to my dear Godmother Sue!!

Don’t you just love this time of year!! I think the best time is in the evenings when you’re walking home. Everyone is relaxed and happy!! The sun is still out and the birds are chirping!! Roll on the summer!!

So I hope everyone’s blanket is going well. Mine seems be being used as a bandage here!! It definitely gets a lot of use in our household and not always as a blanket!!

So last week, I had a little mishap with a ball of wool. It did used to resemble a skein! Hmm! I think I might need my Dad’s help on this one!! He is my wool sorter extraordinaire!!

I did manage to wind some of the wool up into a ball. My poor husband is always on hand with my precious wool winder. See, crocheting is just the best! It brings people together!! Haha! I’m sure my husband would much rather sit and chill of an evening. The one thing I do love about crocheting is how versatile it is and the ability to be able to crochet literally anywhere in the world! I reckon we should start that on instagram! Photos of crocheting in random/interesting places!! Let’s do it! Hashtag #icancrochetanywhere. This photo was taken in a waiting room. It was hiding in my bag, but as soon as I sat down out it came!! I did manage to stop and look around the waiting room, slightly shockingly I was the only one not on my phone! I wonder – is that what the world is coming to? No one looked up until their name was called! No one spoke to anyone! Heyho! I think that’s why I love crocheting so much! #icancr ochetanywhere. Maybe, the more we talk about it and crochet in public, the more people will pick up a hook and go for it!! I wonder if we could have a National Crochet Day! How mega would that be!! Right I think I might be rambling now!! Hmmm ok, on to the blanket!

Supplies –

Ok, so the colour. This week I’ve decided we had better have a sunshine colour!! It’s been a beautiful weekend for sun, so here’s hoping that it stays!! This is a ball of Sublime yarn that my mother brought me from the wonderful Blacksheep Wool shop. I think I have spoken about it before, but it is on my ‘to go to’ list!!! Mum absolutely loves it there, so totally needs a visit from a little old me!! It’s in Warrington, so not a crazy distance. This one is a lovely rich yellow, it’s almost golden to be honest! Looks mega next to the plum from last week. So as always you need about 30g of double knit yarn, a 4mm crochet hook and a blunt ended tapestry needle. Ooo and don’t forget the scissors.

Stitches –

Chain stitch (ch) – To make a chain, place the yarn over the hook then pull it through the loop on your hook.

So this week I have decided to use the one and only Grannie Stitch. Now I know that this will be old news to a lot of you, but some it might not be. It’s such an easy and well known stitch. So I felt it needed to go in! I do have a lot of love for the Grannie stitch, as it was the very first stitch I really knew and used to make my very first crocheted item!! Well, kind of an item – it was a Grannie square coaster, but by golly I was proud of it!!

So without further ado, I give you the Grannie Stitch in all its glory!! Year of the Stitches Week 18 off we go!!

Ok so here we go …

1 – Right, so first things first, attach your yarn onto the right side of your blanket. So chain 3 (acts as 1tr), then work 1tr in the same stitch. Now miss 2 stitches and work 3tr in the next stitch. Right so now *miss 2 stitches and work 3tr in the next stitch.* Repeat ** across the row.

When you come to the last 2 stitches in the row, work 2tr and then 1tr in the last stitch. (200)

2 – Right so turn your blanket and chain 3 (This acts as 1tr.) So miss this first stitch and second stitch, then work 3tr inbetween the Grannie stitches below.

Now work *3tr in between the next Grannie stitches below and repeat ** across the row.

Ok so at the end of the row work 3tr in the last space inbetween the Grannie stitches and then work 1 tr in the top of the chain 3 stitch from the row below. (200)

3 – For the final row, turn your blanket and chain 3 (acts as 1tr.) Work 1tr in the same stitch.

Now work 3tr stitches inbetween each of the Grannie stitches in the row below.

Now work the last Grannie stitch, so 3tr stitches inbetween the last Grannie stitch and the chain 3 stitches. (200)

And there you have it! The Grannie Stitch. It just had to be added to the blanket!! Well hope you all enjoy your long weekend and have some lovely calming moments for crocheting!!

Happy hooking everyone!!

🌈Xx

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