Well hello my lovely ones. How are we all? Is everyone enjoying the delights of Easter? I love this time of year. Particularly looking forward to the bluebells. They definitely are my favourite. Well that and daffodils too! And of course blossom! Well of it really!!
Has everyone had a good Easter break? We had a lovely time in Cornwall, slightly crazy weather though. One minute bright blue skies and the next crazy wind and rain.
We made the most of it though, it kept us on our toes. The little cottage has a rather wonderful log burner, which went down a treat with all of us, particularly the pup. I reckoned she would have stayed there all night, if I let her.
I managed some rather scrumptious knitting on holiday. Since being a member of Knit School, I seem to be doing more and more knitting. I have learnt so much from the wonderful Michelle. She is a wonderful teacher and Knit School really brings out the best in your knitting. I have been creating a 5 stitch blanket with my Geodes and Gem Club from For the Love of Yarn. It’s such a wonderful club. I opted for the DK Yak base. Yak is such a rich and indulgent base of yarn. As the base is quite dark before it is dyed, it really does give a sumptuous colour. Lisa’s colours are always so delightful, so this really is going to be a gorgeous project to create. As the yarn is from Lisa’s club, it comes as a surprise every month and is based on a gem or geode.
Love opening those parcels and finding out what colours are inside. Such a treat. Currently working on the green which is Amazonite. So far we have had Amethyst and Aquamarine. I wonder what April will be.
The blanket is based on 5 different knit stitches, which repeat for each month. A lovely lady has already asked for the pattern, so I will be adding it to the blog in due course. It will be a little KAL throughout the year which will be fun. Once you have the start and the first 5 stitches, you can just knit away.
Now don’t panic, all you lovely crocheters. I’ve have been working on a little spring crocheting as well. Now this little chap is very shy, so quite hard to find in house. He seems to find some great places to hide, particularly in the Easter egg pile.
Little pickle. I am hoping, if I can track him down, that I can bring you his little pattern by the end of the week. I was supposed to share it with you at easter, but the little tinker went walkabouts. Finally found him all snuggled up in a pile of cleaning washing. What a monkey. Anyways, I hope you like him.
Right, I had better get the washing done. It definitely wont get done by itself.
Happy hooking all, oh and a spot of happy stitching too!
In a blink of an eye it’s November!! How did that happen! Anyone else feeling the cold? It seems to have just switched all of a sudden. My advent shawl is well and truly out and about now and my wrist warmers are an absolute must! I find that if my wrists are warm, then my body seems to stay warmer. So it’s a no brainer for me.
I have been working on a few rather exciting projects recently. Can’t wait to share them with you. I do have a rather new labour of love though. I joined Knit School a few months ago and I seem to have been absorbed in the wonderful world of knitting jumpers at the moment. It is ever so fulfilling learning a new skill and being able to create different garments. The wonderful Michelle at Knit School is the most incredible teacher & provides you with so much information and encouragement. Really feel that I am learning so much at the moment. If you are ever interested in joining, then pop over to The Loveliest Yarn Company website where you will find a link to Knit School. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
https://theloveliestyarncompany.co.uk/
I love that I can switch now between crocheting and knitting. I am finding that they both seem to really compliment each other. So watch this space… Ekk!!
So as it is November, it’s about to be the time of year, when we remember. We remember those who have fought for us. Who have been to war for us and those you have lost their lives for us.
There aren’t really any words to describe the sheer sadness of all the lives that have been lost in wars and the brutality of the life that has been taken away from so many families. Even in times like these, when a pandemic surrounds us and lockdowns have been endured, we will still remember them…
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them. Not the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them. Lest we forget.
It always make me count my lucky stars and be so terribly grateful for all we have. A time when you hold your family that little bit closer to you.
So I thought I would share my crocheted poppy pattern again with you all. I know quite a few of you made them last year, so thought I would share it again for those of you who didn’t. They are ever so easy to make and you only need a little bit of yarn. If you are able to make some for others, don’t forget to ask them to pop some pennies in a Poppy donation box. I think last year I made about 15 for friends and family members, so there was a lot of poppy love going around.
Hope you enjoy the pattern.
Level – Easy
Supplies –
For each poppy, you will need a 4mm crochet hook, a little bit of red, black and green double knit yarn. You will also need some scissors, a safety pin and blunt ended needle. And don’t forget a safety pin so that you can attach it. (If you did want to make them in a different weighted yarn, just make sure that you change the hook size accordingly. So I would use a 3mm hook for 4ply yarn and 5mm for Aran weight yarn.
PipsTips – If the poppy is for a child, you can always leave a little yarn tail to tie it to a coat. (I did this for my son. I can’t trust him with a safety pin!! Ekk!!)
Stitches –
Slip Stitch (ss) – This is where there is no height to the stitch. It’s usually used to join rounds. So insert the hook into the front of the stitch you are joining to. This is usually the first stitch you made in that round/row. So yarn over hook and pull through that first stitch then also through the loop on your hook.
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.
Magic Ring – Fold over the yarn to make the loop. Insert your hook through the loop and grab the working yarn (long piece) and pull through the loop. Hold the tail and the working yarn and pull so that the knot tightens, but you still have a loop. This has created a magic ring.
Half treble (htr) – A half treble crochet is basically one less movement than a treble. So yarn over hook, insert through space/stitch, yarn over hook, pull back through space/stitch. There should be 3 loops on your hook. Then yarn over hook and pull through all 3 loops.
Double Crochet (dc) – Insert the hook through the stitch, front to back, then yarn over hook and pull back through stitch. You will have two loops on your hook. Then yarn over your hook and pull through both loops.
Ok so here we go…
1 – Start with your black yarn and make a magic ring. Then chain 1 and work 6dc stitches into the ring. Finish by pulling the tail tight to create the ring. (6)
2 – Now work 2dc in each stitch in the round and finish by ss into the first stitch. Fasten off your black yarn. (12)
First Petal –
3 – Now change to your red yarn and attach into any of the dc stitches. Then ch1 and work 1dc in the next 6 stitches and then ss into the last stitch of your 6 stitches. This is the start of your first petal. (6)
4 – Turn your poppy and work *1dc, then 2dc in the next stitch.* Repeat this ** 3 times. Ss into the last stitch. (9)
5 – Turn your poppy and work *2tr, then 2tr in the next stitch.* Repeat this ** 3 times. Ss in the last stitch. (12)
6 – Turn your poppy and work 1dc in each stitch. Ss in last stitch. (12)
Second Petal –
7 – Now you are going to work the other petal. So ss into the first black stitch and work 1dc in the last 6 stitches. Ss in the next stitch, which is the bottom part of the first red stitch you made In the first petal. (6)
8 – Turn your poppy and work *1dc, then 2dc in the next stitch.* Repeat this ** 3 times. Ss into the last stitch. (9)
9 – Turn your poppy and work 1dc in each stitch. Ss in the last stitch. Now ss in the bottom of the first stitch on the other petal, then fasten off your red yarn. (9)
Now sew in your black ends in the centre of your poppy using your needle. Now with the red yarn ends, use these to first sew up the sides of the poppy petals back down to the centre of the petal, this will help to keep the petal shape. You can see in the photo below how I am picking the top stitch of the petal and then in the photo below that, sewing it back to the centre of the poppy.
Now use the two ends to sew on your safety pin to your poppy and then fasten off each end.
Leaf –
Start by chaining 10. Then work 1dc in the 2nd chain from the hook. Then work 1dc, 1htr, 1tr, 2tr in the next stitch, 1tr, 1htr, 1dc and then finally 1dc. That will take you to the end of the foundation chain.
Now you are going to work up the other side of the foundation chain. So in the second chain work 1dc, then 1dc, 1htr, 1tr, 2tr in the next stitch, 1tr, 1htr, 1dc, 1dc then finish by working a ss into the last stitch. Now fasten off leaving a tail to sew your leaf to the poppy. Sew your other little end into your leaf and the longer one you can use to sew your leaf on to your poppy.
And there we have it. Your little poppy. I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. Don’t forget to donate your pennies into a poppy box.
Anyways, happy hooking chaps!
Stay Safe.
🌈Xx
(Free pattern designed and brought to you by PipsRainbow. Thank you for not copying or recreating it. ☺️Xx)
