The WI Craft Day

 So, this week I was asked to help out at our local WI Craft Day fundraiser. Now, I'm don't belong to a WI, but I'm beginning to think that perhaps I should join!

We held an open day with all sorts of crafts on display that people could try their hand at. I was assigned the task of demonstrating the art of crochet.  Not sure where to start, (or even if I know enough to teach someone else!), I started where I always do. With a list. 

Things I love about crochet

• You can make gifts with little more than with love and time
• It’s quick, Once you get in the rhythm of making something, it’s easy to churn out a small project like a beanie in an evening or two.
• If you’re stuck, I guarantee someone on You Tube has made a video to show you how do it.
• It’s portable! I always have a ball of wool, a hook, and a project on the go in my handbag. You can easily take your crochet to coffee with a friend.  It helps you meet new friends!
• Even the most ambitious projects can be broken down into easily achievable chunks

I've been tagged in various
versions of this image at least
5 times in the last 2 months.
Thing is, it's right.

Things I don’t love about crochet

• My friends and family now tag me in any picture of outrageous 70’s crochet they find on Facebook. 
• The terms can get confusing. US and UK terms can use different names for the same stitches – they both have “Double Crochet” as a basic stitch, but they’re not the same! Look for confirmation of the terminology used before you start any new pattern.
• Traditional patterns published in NZ use UK terminology, however with the advent of the Internet to as a way to share patterns, the US terms are becoming more prevalent.  

And then I learnt that teaching isn't as easy as I thought....

I'd planned to show anyone interested how to make a simple crochet flower. Turns out, it's been a while since I was a complete crochet beginner, and I underestimated how difficult learning a new technique or stitch could be. Most of the ladies I talked to could knit, and found the hardest part of crochet was holding the yarn in their left hands rather than their right. 

I feel like I should be the one learning, not teaching! Rose is a master knitter, who learnt
to knit 80 years ago on 8 inch nails. And I'm showing her how to crochet.

The high light of my day, however, was a lovely lady called Rose, who spent about 2 hours with me, learning how to 'join as you go'. At 84, Rose is a master knitter, and was looking for ideas to use up the scrap wool left over from knitting projects. Granny square and granny circles blankets - like the one on the table - are a great way to use up little bits of scrap wool, otherwise known as "stash busting".

This big glass biscuit jar is home to all my scrap balls of yarn.

Other ways to use up scrap yarn - Flowers!

Stitches used Ch       Chain stitch SS        Slip Stitch SC       Single Crochet DC      Double Crochet

Terminology:   US Skill level:         Beginner/Easy Yarn Type:      Any scraps you have to hand Hook size:       Whatever takes your fancy.

Simple Six Petal Flower

Foundation Chain:     Chain 6, join in a ring with a slip stitch.

Round 1:                    Chain 1 then SC 12 in the ring, slip stitch.

Round 2:                    Work *3DC in the next stitch, then SS in the following stitch*. Repeat * to * until you have 6 petals, Join with a SS to cut yarn and weave in ends. 

Gerbera Daisy Flower

Foundation Chain:    Make a magic circle, join into a  circle with a slip stitch. Pull tail to draw in centre.

Round 1:                   Chain 1, then SC 8 times into the ring. Join with a SS. (8 SC stitches)

Round 2:                   Change Colour. *Chain 10. SS in 2nd Ch from hook.  1 SC in each of the next 3 ch spaces, 1 DC in each of the next 2 chain spaces, 1 SC in next, then SS into the centre ring, in the stitch your Ch10 starts from. SC into next stitch in centre ring.* (one petal finished). Repeat * to * until you have 8 petals. Join with a SS to the base of your first Ch10, weave in ends.

Upcycled Tractor Seats

My desk now has a seat, and it's AWESOME.

Primed and waiting for top coat

 See. Doesn't it look like they were made for each other?

These two stools have been hanging around our place for years. My dad found the old tractor seats over a decade ago, and mounted them onto the pedestal bases.  At the time, we painted them with roof paint as that was all we had to hand. Since then they've had a bit of a rough life outside, and were starting to get a bit rusty, when I decided to give them a new lease on life to join my new (old) sewing desk.

After sending them off to be sandblasted to clean off the rust and the paint, I primer coated them with a heavily zinc based primer called Zinc-It.

Next coat was a simple matt black to match the Singer framed table I've planned to use the stool at.

All that was left was to let them dry, then carry them upstairs to their new home at the sewing/laptop desk.


Pretty easy makeover, if you ask me.

Falling Autumn Leaves Beanie - Free Crochet Hat Pattern

The trees are changing colours in my neighbourhood, the evenings are cooling down, and I lit our first fire of the year last night.  

One of my favourite Autumn "jobs" coincides with the ending of daylight saving, when the night starts to fall a little earlier each evening, making me want to curl up on the couch and watch TV with a crochet hook in hand.
It's at this time of the year that I usually dig out my yarn and start planning projects to keep my busy over the winter.
I've got a few projects on the go at the moment - a knitted vest for my 3 year old, both kids could do with another hat for winter, and they could do with some nice warm slippers as well, and my sister's birthday is coming up next month.  There's certainly lots to keep me out of trouble!

Fresh of the hook is this the first of two winter beanies for my boys, so I thought I'd share the pattern with you. Enjoy!

Falling Autumn Leaves Beanie

I wish I knew the names and suppliers of the
yarns I used - they were all purchased from
Op Shops and Thrift Stores, and were
missing their original labels. Tan and Brown
are wool or wool blends, the multicoloured
is a cheap and cheerful acrylic.
Cost to make: next to nothing.

This pattern is written in US terms

4.5mm (US 7, UK 7)

Sized to fit 2-3 year old

Worsted weight wool in 3 colours - in this case: 

Main = Tan

Accent = Multicoloured browns and oranges

Spike = Dark Brown

Stitches

SS - slip stitch

SC - single crochet

DC - double crochet

HDC - half double crochet

HDC Spike Stitch - Yarn over, insert hook through base of previous round, draw up loop, pull through all three loops.  This YouTube tutorial from CrochetCabana explains how to work a single spike stitch. The only difference between the pattern and the video is that you wrap the yarn over the hook before inserting into the row below, creating one extra loop on the hook which you then draw the yarn through.

I carry the yarn on the inside of the hat, working with 3 live balls so when it comes to the end, there are less ends to weave in.

1. ACCENT colour: Chain 4, join with slip stitch. Ch2, (counts as 1 DC), then 11 DC into ring. Join with SS, (12 DC)
2. MAIN colour. Chain 2 (counts as 1 HDC), HDC in the same stitch. 2HDC in each of the next 11 stitches, join to Ch2 with SS. (24 HDC)
3. ACCENT colour. Chain 2 (counts as 1 HDC), work 2 HDC into next stitch, then 1HDC in the following. Repeat 2HD-1HDC until the end, join with a SS. (36 HDC)
4. MAIN colour. Chain 2, work 1DC into same stitch (counts as 2DC), 1DC into each of the next 2 stitches, then 2DC in the following stitch. Repeat 2DC-1DC-1DC until end, join with a SS. (48 DC)
5. ACCENT colour. Chain 2, work 1HDC into the same stitch (counts as 2HDC). Work 1 HDC in each of the next 3 stitches, then 2HDC in the following stitch. Repeat 2HDC-1HDC-1HDC-1HDC until end, join with SS (60HDC)
   **For larger sizes, work extra rounds from here, increasing the number of single stitches by one each round (IE the next increase round would have 2DC-1DC-1DC-1DC-1DC), alternating between the accent and main colours for each round**
6. MAIN colour. Ch2, 1DC in next stitch, and in each stitch until end. Join with SS.
7. ACCENT colour. Ch2, 1HDC in the next stitch and each of the following stitches until end. Join with SS.
8. MAIN colour, Ch2, 1DC in next stitch, and in each of the following stitches until end. Join with an SS. 
9. SPIKE colour. Ch 1, 1 HDC in each of the next 2 stitches. Work SPIKE STITCH into the base of the previous round, then 1HDC in each of the next 2 stitches. Continue until end, and you should finish with 20 Spike Stitches and 40 HDC stitches.
   **NOTE: the Spike Stitch counts as a stitch, but as it is worked into the base of the DC from the previous round, the top of the stitch is skipped.
10. Repeat rows 7, 8 & 9 three more times,
11. ACCENT colour. Ch2, 1 HDC in each of the next stitches until the end.
12. MAIN colour. Ch2, 1 HDC in each of the next stitches until the end.
13. SPIKE colour. Top Stitching.  Working in slip stitch, with the yarn on the inside of the beanie, work a row of slip stitch between the two loops of HDC that form the final round.
14. Cut yarn, weave in ends. 

The inside of hat. When working with colour, I like to keep the yarn connected and
carry it through  so that when you've finished there are less ends to weave in.

You don't have to spend a fortune on yarn if you shop around. All of the wool I used in this beanie  came from Op Shops and Thrift Stores, so it cost next to nothing to make. The downside of this is that I don't know the brands of the yarns as they were purchased without labels. The multi coloured yarn is a type of cheap acrylic, but when paired with the tan and brown yarns which are wool, or wool rich, it's created a lovely warm and durable preschooler hat.