Handmade Monday 116 – Crocheted Bowls

Its been a couple of weeks since I’ve blogged – I’ve been sitting knitting and crocheting alot in between meeting some lovely new people and discussing a few new ideas for passing on my skills. I think I’ve needed the time to adjust to Dad moving into the care home and giving up his bungalow as it had much more of an emotional impact than I’d anticipated… but its good to get back to blogging again!

I’ve been having a think about how I use the blog as I want it to show all aspects of what I do……. making, selling and teaching and the inspiration behind it, so once I’ve really thought it out I’ll be aiming to post 3 times a week – with each day having a specific theme. I also hope I can have a guest blogger spot too so that I can share the work of other talented makers and teachers… I just need to work out the how’s now!

Anyway  enough ramblings from my addled mind – welcome to this week’s Handmade Monday – don’t forget to head over to Handmade Harbour and join in the fun!

I needed to develop a pattern for one of my beginners group that introduced crocheting circles,  increasing, pattern reading and a little bit of decorative work  and hit on the idea of a bowl…which would also serve well, reworked in another colour as a sample piece for a class coming up next month in a local library….

I crocheted the pink bowl in a DK cotton and the blue / lemon / green bowl in a ribbon yarn both using the same pattern but I used a smaller hook for the pink bowl. The bowls can be starched to give them a stronger structure.

Both bowls use half treble stitch and treble stitch, alongside slip stitches for joining the circle and are started with a magic loop. Half treble and magic loop were new to the group. I’m got an offer from a friend to photograph me crocheting soon so that I can do my own tutorials for the stitches and techniques needed to make one of these bowls. When that’s done I’ll post the tutorial on the blog in a downloadable format and make the pattern including a step by step tutorial plus yarn and hook available via my online shop.

If you are able to crochet, you can download the pattern here: Pink Round Bowl

I’d be interested to know what you think of the pattern and how it worked out for you. I will be looking for pattern testers in the not too distant future too!

4kcbwday7 Looking Forward

Sorry this is late but it turned out to be an emotional and exhausting weekend sorting out the bungalow with Dad, deciding what to keep, what to store and what to throw. And closing the front door for the last time was very  hard. As was coming back and knowing that Dad was staying in the care home permanently. I’ve no idea of the number of families I supported towards making the decision when I was nursing but what I do know is that I totally under estimated just how hard it is to do.

So I think my looking forward is not going to be as strictly skills based as I’d intended…

 

As regular readers know I’ve been on quite an artistic journey and have been working on more freeform crochet and knitting projects often inspired by Devon scenery.

 

 

This access to the natural world and the rugged beauty of Dartmoor is having some influence on my current thinking as I’m considering  a move back to Devon,   to be closer to Dad. Having done a bit of research and wandering around I’ve also discovered that along side this beautiful and inspiring back drop that there . is a vibrant creative community established in a nearby little town too….so in theory from a work point of view it would be a good move. But the overall pull is purely emotional, so I think it is wiser to sit with the decision and see how I feel in 6 weeks or so and not rush headlong into a move…

But to give you an idea of  why the village itself inspires me so much creatively this is virtually the same view Dad has from his window now.  And a a view I’ve always loved where ever we’ve lived in the village:

The hill in the background is called Ugborough Beacon and is something of a local weather station… if the “beacon has its hat on” – in other words the top is lost in cloud, we know we’re about to get very wet! Over the year it changes its clothes regulalry, currently its a sort of brackenish brown, but through the year is moves through  greens, gorse yellows and white… its especially pretty in winter!

So I hope that if  I feel my decision is the right on and all goes to plan I’ll be writing for the next Knitting and Crochet blog week from a kitchen table in sunny Devon, with views over Dartmoor and the tumbling River Avon in easy reach …. and my work will be increasingly freeform based and highly influenced by the natural world around me…

4kcbwday6 A Tool To Covet

Hmmm today’s post is not easy as its hard to identify a physical crafting tool I prize above all others. Sorry for the lack of images but my tools collection and I are some 120 miles apart today. … Why? Well some have been given to me by lovely people who have passed on the story of the hooks or needles and their owners. One friend passed on her mum’s lace hooks shortly after she died for example and as I knew her mum I think of her each time I use them, even though they are not the best quality hooks out there. .. Other items I value because they’ve opened crafting up to those who appeared excluded due to physical impairment. Extra chunky needles that can be tucked into armpits or splints so someone with the use of one hand can have a go at knitting.  Knitting looms that have opened up all sorts of horizons for my headway group, discovered in a pound shop. Not my first choice of tool personally but they’ve changed lives. .. The huge bag of needles of all shapes and sizes I bought for £5 from a local charity is another plus.  I often give them to people who want to learn but lack the finances. Yes I do have the odd pair I won’t part company with as they’re perfect for my recycling projects but again no one glaring favourite I think the closest I come to a tool I love is within my crochet hook tub. I collect hooks from magazines, sales, charity shops and pound shops so that there is   always something to suit everyone In a taster class.  From basic 4mm hooks to chunky rubbery plastic kids hooks I usually have something for everyone.  But there is one hook I prefer to use if possible. … a pink, metallic, double ended 5 and 3.5 mm hook I picked up on a magazine somewhere.  Its weighted just right for me and is lovely and smooth to use. But as I write this I realise that the tool I most value is my ability to hunt down bargains and find tools that wuden access to crafting to all those who want to have a go….

4kcbwday5 A Magical History Tour

Today we’ve been challenged to do something a bit different. I drove down to Devon  yesterday to help sort my dad’s bungalow out as he’s moved into care. As a result I’m in my crafting cradle with access to lots of old photos

Dad has never knitted but bravely wore many of my early makes

4KCBWDAY4 Colours

Today’s challenge is posed as a series of questions so let’s pretend that my alter ego Marvellous Madge is an overnight yarn superstar and is being interviewed by the yarn crafters press!

Having been blinded by 100′s of popping flashes Madge’s vision clears to a vast room at the savoy packed with reporters firing questions about…. that most personal of knitter’s things….. her stash!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE COLOURS TO KNIT AND CROCHET WITH MADGE?

Judging by my attire you’d ve forgiven for thinking yellow and black but really I love greens and self patterning yarns.  Neutrals are a favourite of the human who buys my bananas… oh and I love combining teal /duck egg blues with cream and chocolate. …. but greens and riotus self patterning yarns remind me of my treetop home where I’d sit anther story as the human mainly works on commission so tends to make me work in the colours the customer wants. … but it’s good as I’ve found new colours I like…pinks purples and creams, a lovely deep red and a gorgeous brown and cream variegated yarn that knits up into cute monkey jackets for little humans. …but black is not my thing having just finished a man’s jumper for the human…but I had a marvellous revenge. .. She has done the neckline and sewing up…. I told her I left my bifocals in the

jungle when I left to take my place as a knitting superstar

 

WHAT COLOURS DO YOU USE MOST OFTEN?

Well that’s another story as the human works mainly to commission, so tends to make me work in the colours the customer wants…but

its good as I’ve discovered lots of lovely new colours to work with, from purples and pinks to creams, deep reds and a lovely variegated brown and cream yarn that looks just like a little monkey jacket when knitted up…. although as the human is rubbish at photo’s I’ll have to show you one of her previous makes in the same yarn…. >>>Madge rolls eyes!

But black…….. well lets just say I don’t like! The human has just made me knit a whole man’s jumper in black but I had my revenge… after all use monkeys are intelligent and got her to pick up the neckline and sew it together….. I just happened to ahem leave my bifocals in the jungle don’t you know!

AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR STASH MADGE. DOES IT CONTAIN ALL THESE COLOURS?

Well the human has weird rules about stash. .. when I knit for her customers we either use what’s in stock or buy enough for the project and…...If the customer supplies the yarn they get the spare back…even if they can’t knit! I was shocked I tell you! And all her oddments go into biscuit tins and get used for accessories and for her pupils to practice with…. at home mother monkeys are failing if they don’t teach their monklets to knit but apparently you humans have other ideas! But where she works with charities etc lots of people give her their leftover yarns so there is quite alot of stash. Then she goes hunting in yarn sales and charity shops too…. so its quite big…. her bedroom and lounge has dedicated storage areas…. I prefer hollow trees of course but again you human’s have some strange ideas ….
And the colour range and is vast from blacks and greys through baby pastels to riotously bright colours… ps this is just a small selection but its apparently a “health and safety breach” to open certain cupboards in this house, climb into the boxes under the dining table and……….. well you get the idea!!

SO DOES YOUR HUMAN’S STASH MATCH THE DESCRIPTION OF HER HOUSE MASCOT THE MONKEY?

You mean me of course, well yes as there’s plenty of variety and a definite need to be sensible intelligent and inventive… after all she often comes up with ideas for working with what she has…. this year its all about chevrons so she can use up odds and ends creatively… and then there’s the carrier’s and video tapes she makes me use for an extra challenge…. and of course she’s always making little flowers and things to appeal to her hidden bee…hence this ridiculous outfit! But at least she’s not making me wear this hat………..

(it was at this point Madge’s human stood up and shouted “That’s What You Think……….. I Created you!!!! ” and was dragged from the room by 2 very large men in white coats muttering about “that blooming monkey’s stealing my personality”…….. we do hope she recovers soon!

4kcbwday3 An Infographic

Today’s challenge is a trip down memory lane. In a past job I was a clinical auditor and had to learn to summarise and present data as simply as possible.  I was part of a team implementing an older people’s outreach service to acute medical and surgical wards in a major UK teaching hospital. It was my first job after my spinal issues meant I had to give up nursing and I did it alongside an Open University Health Promotion Course – which is what taught me the beauty of infographics!

The job and course together helped me realise  that despite being unable to do what I loved I was still useful. And of course craft was also there helping me with the transition.  It was during the 8 weeks I spent laid on the floor, waiting to get better that I taught myself cross stitch and blackwork. I made all our Christmas cards and some presents too that year. And on numerous transitions since its been craft that’s pulled me through the dips and deteriorations and has given me new openings and horizons.  One of the many reasons I love working with people who are experiencing difficult life circumstances is that I love to empower people to discover latent abilities and new horizons.

So my infographic can only be based on crafting as a life changing opportunity

Let’s imagine I asked 100 people who crafted 3 questions:

1. Do you craft when happy?

2. Do you craft when worried?

3. Has craft ever helped you get better from a serious illness / accident or deal with a big change to your life?

And of those the numbers who answered yes to each question were roughly split into 3 equal sized groups and I wanted to know about where those groups overlapped….  and show you in very clear and colourful terms I might use a Venn diagram to do this:

Without looking to loads of numbers you can see that:

A certain group of those who craft when happy also craft when worried

And a bigger group of those who craft when happy have also crafted to help them recover from a serious illness, but the group who have used craft when worried and to help them is even bigger

And a small number of  those who craft when happy, also craft when worried and have crafted to help them get over something major.

But if I presented this as a table of numbers you would probably spend ages ploughing through the tables and fiddling around with calculators – assuming you hadn’t lost the will to live of course – before you got the information you wanted.

4KCBW Day 2 – A Mascot Project

Here is the part of the brief I’ve chosen for today’s post:

Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house

Initially my mind went down the route of trying to pay “homage” to the “Monkey House” with a nod to the “Aviary” and as my design notebook would show were I not too shy to share, many of my quirkier projects start with some form of verse or creative writing exercise:

Am I a Monkey?

Am I a Bee?

I know I’m not a Peacock

Or sadly, a Manatee

I need to make a decision,

I need to make a choice

After all have you seen, a Monkey in bumble bee stripes?

Well………. as you can see from the sketch that’s exactly where I got to…. A sort of fairy monkey, called Madge! Once Madge is made she will have a  knitted puffball skirt – a nod to the 80′s, very lacy Irish crochet wings, knitting legs and arms on circulars – no seams please – and a crocheted head and body…

But I realised that making Madge was not going to be possible for a week or so and there are extra House Points for anyone who makes their creation so my actual mascot is “Pat’s Teacosy”… Pat is a lovely lady with learning difficulties who got a “proper teapot” for Christmas and is desperate for a teacosy for it…. she sometimes comes along to Knit and Natter with her sister and last week I showed her a picture of a teapot I found on Facebook and pinned over on Pinterest….

Pat has understandably fallen in love with it but affording it is beyond all of us, so I thought I might see if I could use it as inspiration for a tea cosy for her little teapot

The plan is to work a band for the top and bottom of the cosy inspired by the ring of small circles using navy blue, white and bright green in double and single (UK) crochet. I’m fiddling with working a row of circles of the moment and will post a photo once I’ve cracked it!

I’ve then decided I’m going to make a “double skirt” – bands of navy blue trebles , framed with red for the base. The top layer will be red chain stitch flowers with green middles, crocheted onto the base – so I’ll need to be doing some back and front loop trebles to create an edge I can attach the flowers to.

Once I’ve got the main body sorted I want to try and use some red to create the knob on the top of the teapot – more the shape as the colour scheme would be really tricky I think. If the cosy was bigger I could see this lending itself well to a less structured freeform piece….. definitely an idea for the future

I think this cosy will keep my “Monkey” happy with lots to think about, especially as I want to write the pattern up and publish it – this is a step I am committing to taking this year and I will be re working the design in a larger size with different colours and design elements for something I’m hoping to submit to….. But my bee will have lots of bits to flit with from making the “bead inspired” bands to working out the shapings for the “lid”……. watch this space as I’ll hopefully have some photo’s to show once for the week of the work progressing