I recently had the opportunity to test a new design from Pam Knighton-Haener / A Yarn of Serendipity: The Pinwheel Square.
The pattern was just released and is available on Ravelry. The skill level of the pattern is categorised as mid-intermediate. As always, the written instructions are very clear and accompanied by detailed photos for each round. Made with Aran / Worsted Weight yarn (#4) the final size of the square will be 11 or 12 inch / 28 or 30,5 cm – depending on the size of the crochet hook used. And of course, the final stitch count matches all the others from Pam’s squares.
My yarn and colours
As you may know, I often use a light weight (#2) cotton yarn for these tests. Something like Schachenmayr Catania or Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4. The reason is just that I have accumulated a lot of these yarns by crocheting amigurumi and can go with my stash. Besides they have a great colour range and a good stitch definition.
Somehow this time I decided to go with my stash of Stylecraft Special DK.
I have just used a similar colour combination for another test in overlay mosaic. Just all in neutrals. I loved the result and was curious how it would look in regular crochet.
Well, I am more than happy with the result!
I used a 4 mm hook and the final size of my square is 26 cm – about 10 1/4 inch. If you are interested in my colour way, here my notes.
No social media and only little crochet for something over a week … Therefore a lot of wind and long walks. We are just back from a lovely holiday in East Frisia.
East Frisia is located in north-west Germany, directly on the North Sea coast. It belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea and is one of my favorite spots here in Germany. Although now our temperatures at home are very spring-like, it was still relatively cold and stormy on the coast. But I love this harsh climate. And I love the changing tides. I find it particularly fascinating at low tide. It is a very special silence, you mostly only hear the wind and the seagulls.
Although it was cold and windy, we had long walks on the beach. Afterwards we had home-baked cake and a large pot of East Frisian tea in our favourite tea room. East Frisian tea is traditionally drunk with „kluntje“ and cream. „Kluntje“ is a rock candy sugar. You put it in the cup first, then the tea is poured over it and finally a dash of cream is added – and do NOT stir! Yummy! It’s a wonder I haven’t put on weight.
If you ever come to East Frisia you should visit Neuharlingersiel and the beach of Schillig. (Besides all the other lovely places there, of course. ) Schillig has a beautiful bathing beach (not to recommend in March) and also a long dog beach where you can walk right by the water (provided it is high tide and it is there). When the weather is good you can see some of the East Frisian islands off the coast. From there it is about 30 km to Neuharlingersiel. A small fishing village with many colorful boats in the harbor. The ferry to Spiekeroog – one of the East Frisian islands – also leaves from there.
I would have liked to show you photos of the many sheep that normally romp around on the dykes. Unfortunately it was still too cold and they were all still in their warm stables.
Some impressions of our holiday
Low tideSchilligHappy MeMe making a video of the floodHarbour of Neuharlingersiel
Sigh* – it was so relaxing! But, life has got me back and so has the crochet world! I’m currently translating Ana.‘s new Spring Cal pattern. Pam also has a new design that is currently being tested. And I am working and practicing on some Tunisian crochet things. And, oh, yes, Easter is just around the corner. So stay tuned!
Em … to be honest, I had no idea what kind of bird a snowbird is as we don’t have them in Europe. I had to ask Google and the answer was that nowadays many different birds in Canada are called snowbirds and indeed, Google showed me a lot of different pictures. But originally “Snowbird” was the name for a Junko. Do you know them?
However, I would like to introduce you to my new flatmate: little Snowbird.
This cute snowbird is part of the pattern Winter Birds 2 from @natura_crochet. I spotted it on Instagram last year. It was sometime before Christmas, so I got it myself as a present. The pdf is more like a booklet than a single pattern. It is beautifully designed and contains patterns for three different birds: Kingfisher, Waxwing and a Chickadee – plus the Snowbird as a bonus pattern. All birds are very colourful and wintery styled with hat and scarf.
I used Schachenmayr Catania and Wenco DIY (a German brand) with a 2,25 mm hook. Both are 100% Cotton sport weight (#2) yarn with a yardage of 125 m / 50 g.
On my desk: ready to assemble
My colours are:
429 – Anthrazit / Catania
434 -Nebel / Catania
258 – Erdbeere / Catania
206 – Honig / Catania
51, blau / DIY
Head – Anthrazit
Body – Nebel, Erdbeere
Wings – Blau, Nebel, Anthrazit
Tail – Blau, Nebel, Anthrazit
Legs – Anthrazit, Honig, Erdbeere
Beak – Anthrazit
Hat / Scarf – Honig
I made some small adjustments to the hat and the scarf. I made the scarf a little shorter and narrower and the hat a little wider – it just worked better with my yarn.
I have to confess, I was a little hesitant about sewing the parts together. I don’t have much experience in assembling such small parts. So they So they have been lying in my basket for days (weeks?). But the placement etc. is well explained in the pattern and all went well!
I am absolutely happy with the result. Just started the Waxwing …
A while ago I came across this pattern on Ravelry: Tunisian Crochet Heart by Joy Clements from Crochet Road. Cute little hearts made in a combination of Tunisian and regular crochet.
I lately rediscovered my love of Tunisian crochet and dug out my Tunisian hooks, so of course this pattern caught my eye… But to be honest, what really convinced me to try it was a picture I saw on Ravelry: these little hearts are not only a perfect Valentine’s gift, they are also perfect as a small pincushion. Plus, big bonus, you also can clip on a few stitch markers. Very handy for me! This way I can have one or two stitch markers with me – just in case I need them unexpectedly – without having to carry the whole box.
The pattern
In my opinion the pattern is absolutely beginner friendly. Everything is explained very well along with a lot of pictures and videos. You won‘t even need a Tunisian crochet hook, a normal hook is absolutely sufficient.
The pattern has instructions for the heart itself which you can use as gift hanger, bunting or whatever comes to your mind. There are also instructions for joining two hearts to give it -stuffed with some fiberfill – a three-dimensional look. Last but not least you can create a tiny heart-shaped bag.
My hearts
These hearts are quick and fun to make. So I made some in different yarn weights and qualities. I decided to stuff mine with fiberfill. I only could not decide whether I prefer them more or less stuffed. So they all look a bit different.
My small hearts are made with Cotton sport weight yarn and my 3,00 mm Clover Amour hook. They measure about 5 cm / 2 inch.
Yarn and colours are:
Schachenmayr Catania (100% Cotton – 125m / 50 g)
263 – Soft Apricot
408 – Altrosa (dusky pink)
258 – Erdbeere (strawberry / red)
205 – Apfel (apple / green)
Scheepjes Catona (100% Cotton – 125m / 50 g)
520 – Lavender
Wenco DIY (a German brand that I bought in a supermarket)
51 – blau (blue)
I probably will gift the red and pink ones for Valentine‘s Day. The green and blue one will definitely be used as pincushion.
With my left over yarn (DK yarn) from my Legacy blanket the hearts turned out about 7 cm / 2 3/4 inch. I made them with a 4,5 mm hook, but this time with a Tunisian hook. I guess it will also work with a normal crochet hook – personally I just found it more comfortable with a Tunisian hook..
Yarn and colours are:
Drops Lima (65 % Wool, 35% Alpaca – 100 m / 50 g)
100 – Off White
Drops Merino Extra Fine (100 % Wool – 105 m / 50 g)
15 – Light Sea Green
I am just thinking about making some bookmarks using just a single heart. Maybe decorated with some embroidery? I probably will have to try it …
In case I have inspired you, the pattern for this little cuties is available on Ravelry.
If you love to crochet hearts just like I do, you might want to have a look at the ones I did last year.
You may have already seen that Ana from One Skein of Love has published a new blanket pattern: Stellar.
Again, it is a pattern in Overlay Mosaic – this time she used Hobbii Portobello in two different colours. Of course you can use any other yarn as well and as many colours you like. A colour changing yarn would also look great!
Photocredit: Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love
The pattern is available on Ana’s Ravelry page and in all her other shops.
I had the pleasure of testing this pattern and translating it into German. However, I only had little time over Christmas and the turn of the year, so I only made a small square for testing. Originally I wanted to use it as a coaster, but when I finished it I thought it would be a good size for a potholder as well.
I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 and a 2,75 mm hook. Colours are 002 Natural White and 079 Dusty Blue Green.
With 170 m / 50 g Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 is rated as a Fingering weight yarn. So it’s actually too thin to make a potholder out of it. Therefore I made a second square in reversed colours and connected them both together – just to achieve a nice thickness.
The Joining
At first I thought about joining the two squares in one step with the slip stich round. Like I did for my Wooly Friends Bag . What I didn’t like about this method was the patience I needed. It cost me a lot of concentration to catch the corresponding stitches of both parts. All yarn tails were constantly in my way and it took me ages to get it done. I have therefore discarded this idea and tried something else:
I prepared each of the squares with a slip stich round. This gave me the opportunity to work a separate border (front layer) on each square and to use the back of the slip stitches to join the squares.
The layers are joined with simple stitches through the back of every second slip stitch.
When you do a normal double border, it can sometimes be hard to work in the back of the slip stitches in case your stitches are too tight or you started with the front layer first. That’s why I wondered if it would make a difference whether you connect the squares first or work the borders first. I just gave it a try and initially made the border on one square, then joined it to the other one without a border. As the join is worked with a needle and not with a crochet hook, it is not difficult to work in the back of the slip stitches either way. So, in my opinion, it will not make a difference.
I worked the border on each side of the potholder like I would have done with the front layer of a double border: 4 rounds of single crochet worked in back loops only. Then both layers were joined with a slip stitch round. For the hanger, I made a thin (2 chains) I-cord from both colours and pulled it through one of the corners. That’s it!
The finished size of my potholder is 21 x 24 cm (about. 8 X 9,5 inch).
I hope you all had a great start in 2024 and are doing well!
I’d like to start the new year by showing an ‘old’ project: My Legacy Blanket.
If you’ve read my posts about this last year, you’ll know that it is a design by Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity. She designed this blanket as a legacy for her grandchildren. You can read her story here.
The blanket is made up of 12 different squares and a wide border. When Pam completed the pattern for the border last year, she also revised the instructions for the 12 squares, and I had the opportunity to test some of them.
So I started this project somewhere in July or August last year. You might remember that I had a hard time choosing yarn and colours. And also some tries and errors with my colour placement. In the end I did more than one square twice as I was not happy with my colour arrangement. To be honest, I still had doubts when I joined the squares …
BUT – surprisingly- once it was finished, everything fitted perfectly. I think it turned out pretty well and I LOVE the result!
My blanket was finished by the middle of December, but unfortunately I had no chance to take some nice pictures. We had a VERY long period with lots of rain, dark clouds, a bit of snow, fog, lots of rain again, well, you get the picture …
But now, here’s a short summary and some pictures:
My Yarn and Colours
My final choice were
Drops Lima – 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca (100 m / 50 g)
colour 100 – Off White
Drops Merino Extra Fine – 100% Wool (105 m / 50g)
colour 07 – Light Taupe
colour 15 – Light Sea Green
Both are DK yarns (#3, Light Worsted). The fact that I mixed both qualities was simply a question of the colour shades. The colour 100 – Off White looks a little softer with Lima than with Merino, probably due to the structure of the yarn. And I liked that better!
My Layout and Colour Placement
I used Drops Lima in Off White as main colour and only added a few accents with Light Taupe and Light Sea Green. So, in my notes below, I just listed the rounds with the accent colours – all other rounds are worked in Off White.
If you are interested in my colour scheme you can also download it here
My squares and the border are worked with a 4 mm hook throughout. Only for the Zipper Join and the last round of the border I went up to a 5 mm hook.
Each of my squares measures about 25 cm (about 10”). The final size of the blanket is about 90 x 115 cm ( 35,5 x 45 inch).
I am sorry, but with all my changes and redoings I did not pay attention on how much yarn I used. In total I needed a bit over 900 g of yarn. As a very rough estimation I‘d say you will need almost 50 g of Off White for each of the squares and another 100 g or 150 g for the border. Additional 2 or 3 balls of each, Light Taupe and Light Sea Green. But that’s without any guarantee.
The patterns for all these lovely squares and the border are available in Pam’s Ravelry store.
In case you missed my previous posts about this project, you will find them here
Are you celebrating Christmas and still looking for a little something to give as a gift or decorate? These two patterns are really quick to crochet and look – as I think – fantastic. I’ve had a lot of fun crocheting them over the last few day and found them a bit addictive. And they don’t necessarily have to look Christmassy. Depending on the yarn you use, they will look very different – it just depends on you.
Both patterns require very little yarn, so they are great for using up any leftovers.
Glittery Christmas Baubles
This is a pattern from Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love. As the name of the pattern suggests, Ana actually used yarn with glitter in some of the rounds. I did not have anything with glitter on hand – so mine are made with some leftover yarn from my Legacy Blanket. Side note: Yes, my Legacy Blanket is finished! In fact, it has been finished for about a fortnight. So far, I just haven’t managed to take some nice pictures. The weather here is mostly pretty grey at the moment – clouds, rain or fog … I hope it gets better in the next few days!
But back to my baubles: I think mine show quite clearly what I meant at the beginning – they look more rustic rather than glittery and Christmassy. I am totally in love with this look!
I used
Drops Lima (100 m / 50 g) – colour 100, Off White
Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 07, Light Brown
Drops Merino Extra Fine (105 m / 50 g) – colour 15, Light Greyish Green
with a 3,5 mm hook.
The bauble itself consists of 2 halves that are sewn together. So you first crochet the two halves and then join them together while inserting a bauble. Ana inserted a Christmas bauble in hers. I didn’t have a suitable size, so I used a styrofoam ball in mine. It is a 7 cm (2 3/4 inch) ball (which has a circumference of about 22 cm / something over 8,5 inches)and fits perfectly. Of course, you can use all kinds of decorative stitches to join the two halves. If you don’t want to stitch them together, a crochet join – for instance, a simple zipper join – also works very well.
I tried different joins and the one shown on the left is my favorite It is made with slip stitches worked through the back loops. On each half I inserted the hook top down – from outside to inside. I started with a slip stitch through the back loop of a stitch on the lower half, then slip stitched through the corresponding stitch on the upper half. And so on … It creates a nice kind of braided effect.
Sparkly Stars
Sparkly Stars is a pattern by Joy Clements / Crochet Road that I spotted on Ravelry. These five-pointed stars are as quick to make and as addictive as Ana’s baubles. And really great as a wintry decoration.
Here, too, the final look can be influenced by the yarn and colours used.
The pattern offers two different sizes, contains detailed pictures and also a link to a video tutorial.
I used the same yarn and colours as for the baubles but this time with a 4 mm hook. So again, no sparkle or glitter. My small stars are about 9 cm and the tall ones about 14 cm.
Both patterns, the Glittery Christmas Baubles and the Sparkly Stars are available on Ravelry.
Glittery Christmas Baubles on Ravelry Sparkly Stars on Ravelry
I will definitely make some more baubles and stars using different yarns.
Last week, I was looking for some easy-to-make Christmas decorations. My Christmas decorations are usually rather nostalgic, even though our house is more clear and straightforwardly furnished. I was searching for something like a Candy Cane, Christmas Wreath or Gingerbread Man. I found a very cute Gingerbread Man (I am still working on it) and somehow came up with the idea of making a Christmas Wreath myself. So, I grabbed some yarn and got started… I actually really like the result. That’s why I thought I might as well write down the pattern and share it with you. Maybe you like it too…
My wreaths are made with Schachenmayr Catania and a 2,75 mm hook. The finished size is about 6 cm (something between 21/4 and 21/2 inch) in diameter.
Any other yarn and matching hook size should work as well. It only might affect the size of the finished wreath. For example, I also tried one with Stylecraft Special DK and a 3.5 mm hook. It has a diameter of about 7 cm (2 3/4 inch). I prefer the smaller size though and also the structure of the cotton yarn, but that’s just a personal thing.
The colours I used are 00212 Khaki for the wreath and 00192 Weinrot and 00105 Natur for decoration. But of course you can use any other colour you like and decorate them with whatever comes to your mind.
Some ideas for decoration
For decorating the little Christmas Wreaths, you can simply sew on a few beads or stars, for example. Or cut out small shapes from felt and stick them on …
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of these to hand, so I concentrated on what you can do with yarn. For instance embroider some French Knots like shown in the picture below (bottom right). Or make some ribbons and bows.
Simple red Ribbon
Somehow this one is my favorite and the one I started with. In my first version, I had only made a round of slip stitches – in the stitches of round 1 – and had simply tied the ends of the threads in a bow. However, the bow could have done with a little more volume, so I thought about making kind of a little ribbon, made of chains.
I used a 1,75 mm hook for the ribbons – just to make the chains as small as possible. And a 3,5 mm hook for the slip stitches – just to make them not too tight. Since the working yarn for the slip stitches has to be at the back, but is needed in the front for the chains, you first have to prepare your yarn.
Here is what to do:
bring your yarn from back to front between two hdc of round 1
with the smaller hook: make a slip knot and chain 22 (my chain was about 7 cm / 2 3/4 inch long)
change to the bigger hook and slip stitch in all the stitches of round 1, starting in the stitch to the left of the chain
after finishing the round of slip stitches change to the smaller hook again and make another 22 chains
fasten off and secure the ends – either with some knots or just sew them away on the back side
the bow is not tied or knotted, so just lay it in shape and fix it with a thread as described below (two-coloured bow).
Two-coloured Bow
This bow is made with an approximately 15 or 16 cm (about 6 inch) long chain. I used two different colours and again a 1,75 mm hook. The colours are changed with every stitch. Simple but quite effective in my opinion. However, you have to work a little more slowly and tighten the previous stitch slightly with each colour change. In my final version I secured the ends of the chain with a knot and carefully sewed the threads on the back.
As said before, the bow is not tied or knotted. I simply laid it in shape and fixed it with a matching double thread. I brought the thread with a needle from back to front, around the middle of the bow and to back again. Before you knot the thread on the back side of the wreath, you can slip the bow a little so that it lies nicely.
Two-coloured Ribbon
For this two-coloured ribbon, I again brought the yarn from the back to the front. Again between two stitches of round 1, but this time two threads at once. I left them about 20 cm long, made a slip knot in one of them and slip stitched around the stitch of round 1, directly to the left of the thread. For the second slip stich I changed the colour, bringing in the other thread to the front – and so on.
As with the two-colored chain, you will probably have to tighten the previous stitch a bit after the color change. At the end of the round, cut the yarn, leaving a long tail again. Bring the ends to the front and tie a bow, then shorten them just as you like.
If you like to hang your little wreaths, just attach a thread, ribbon, or cord on the back side. Take care that it is approximately in line with the middle of the bow (if you have one).
If you like my little Christmas Wreath and would like to make one too, you can download the free pattern here
The pattern is not tested yet. So, if you spot any errors or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. And please, feel free to add your projects to my Ravelry page.
You probably have seen my previous post about my test of Ana’s Magic Winter Cal when I was still working on the border. Well…
… after 840 slipstitches, 2.616 double crochets, 5.208 single crochets and another 888 slipstitches and 12 single crochets (chains not counted) the border is finished. YAY!
I opted for a two-coloured double border – all in Vintage Peach for the back layer and a combination of Silver and Vintage Peach for the front side.
In total I needed 12 balls of Stylecraft Special DK – you’ll find the detailed yarn amounts below. Made with a 4 mm hook my blanket measures about 121 x 146 cm (48 x 57 inch).
In the end, my color placement turned out to be slightly different from what I originally had in mind. But I think I got the Sunrise-on-a-frozen-winter-morning look I wanted. And – I know, I already said that last week – I am totally happy with the result!
As promised, here some detailed information about my yarn amounts.
And, if you are interested, you can download a row-by-row guide of my colour placement here.
The Magic Winter CAL started last Friday and will continue until 15th December. So, there is still time to join in.
I found that most parts of the pattern worked up quite quickly. Only the tapestry parts took me a little longer. Tapestry in Overlay Mosaic needs a bit of practice. You will have to get the hang of how to carry the yarn, especially with the double crochets. However, you only need it in a few rows. In addition, you can of course also decide to omit the tapestry technique and only work the normal overlay mosaic. All up to you!
Have you seen Ana‘s new Cal? Magic Winter will start on Friday, 17. November 2023. The Introduction File with all relevant information is already available on Ravelry.
I had the pleasure of testing this wonderful pattern and also do the translations into German.
The Magic Winter blanket is made in Overlay Mosaic technique and also has a small section of Tapestry Mosaic. Of course, the pattern explains how to do both.
When Ana showed me her new design for the first time, I immediately thought about a clear, cold and frozen winter morning when the sun rises with a rosy shine. On these days, my grandma used to say: ›look, the angels are baking biscuits in heaven‹. So I immediately knew how I wanted my blanket to look like: a cold and clear winter morning with a beautiful sunrise …
I used Stylecraft Special DK in White, Silver and Vintage Peach and I am very happy with the result. At the moment I‘m still working on the border and can‘t show you a finished blanket. But I can give you some impressions.
If you are interested in my colour placements, I have already listed them here for part 1 of the Cal. The rest, including my yarn amounts, will follow next week when I am hopefully finished with the blanket.
Hooked on Häkelmaschen 