Well hello my lovely ones. how are we all? Gosh, it has been far too long since I have said hello to you. I have no idea where the time goes. It vanishes. Before we know it, it will be the summer holidays. Crazy. How are we all? Hope you are all ready for the Jubilee. There seems to be quite a lot going on in our area, which is nice. So good to see our community getting together and spending time together.
Time. It’s one thing that I never seem to have enough of. It seems to slip through my hands, as if it is slippery soap that I can’t quite hold on to.
I am currently sitting in a soft play area after taking my little boy swimming. And as he is old enough now not to need me in the soft play with him. So I find myself sitting outside just with a cuppa & no WIP in my hand. Now I know that usually, this would be absolutely fine for the majority of people, but why do I feel like I have a part of me missing! Does anyone else feel like that? I have a moment to myself & I weirdly feel a little lost. I think it’s due to that the fact that I have so much to do at home & can’t do while I am sitting here. Or is it that if I am not doing a job, while my kids are playing happily, I could be crocheting or knitting! Hmm, it seems to be a case of mummy house guilt or yarn guilt. Is that a thing? I swear it is! Well, I have a funny feeling that I need to keep a few mini WIP’s in most of my bags & it turns out, even my swimming bag!! Haha! Worrying I know, but that’s just how it is!! Maybe a sock knit… hmmm or a crochet wrist warmer….. ooo the possibilities. I really should have had one of the beauties with me. It’s my advent yarn from the wonderful Yarn Badger and it is knitting up a storm. Can’t wait to wear these in the autumn!!
I do have quite a few projects on the go at the moment. They seem to be coming out of my ears at the minute! Sometimes I think I need to shut my eyes & ears to all things yarny in the outside world & concentrate on what I need & want to do. But the thing is, these extremely clever hand dyers just keep pulling me back in! The colours are just incredible at the minute and so hard to resist. I think the main problem is that I see so many possibilities in each and every one of them. So it’s hard to not just buy them all. Heyho, sure it is a predicament that most yarny lovers find themselves in.
Well, I am going to sign off now, as my little man is ready for home. Hope you all have a lovely day. i may have some exciting news to share this week, so watch this space… Ekk!!
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)
