Simply Crochet Issue 20

Some time ago I did an interview with Judy from Simply Crochet magazine which appears in the latest issue, number 20, which is out now.

I was delighted to chat with her about what I do and why and I'm so grateful that they have published the article which includes a mention for the lovely people at deramores who have given me tremendous support over the last couple of years. Thanks everyone.

Although I haven't received my printed copy of the magazine I've seen a preview of the piece and was delighted to see that Happy the Hippo made top of the page! I sent loads of photos of crocheted items and it's interesting to see which things they chose:

Happy the Hippo who has appeared on my blog here and here

The chair-back hanging I made using motifs from Jane Crowfoot's crochet club 2013 which I wrote about here and here

The beautiful mandala I made using Carola Herbst's pattern which I wrote about here and here

In the photo of the mandala you can see that the red colour has bled into the others when it got damp which ruined it so it now lives underneath a plant pot in the dining room with just the edges sticking out! Lovely pattern though.

I'm thinking of having a go at making an overlay mandala of my own to send to Lucy at Attic 24 for her wonderful Yarndale project - have you seen all those beautiful mandalas that people have sent from all over the world? Just beautiful and all so different.

And then this photo taken before the London marathon back in April. You can read all about my adventures on London marathon day here.

In the end I managed to make 2 blankets out of the chains I completed during the race (read about them here) with some yarn left over to make 2 cushions for our gazebo (see here and here)!

Lastly there was a photo of me in the garden with my crochet. It was taken the evening of The Three Forts Challenge which was my 4th marathon of this year and I was enjoying a nice glass of red wine to celebrate!

It's funny seeing yourself in print and I often cringe at some of the photos of me that appear all over the place, especially when I'm running - lycra does nobody any favours I can tell you!

I'm off out into garden now to enjoy a bit of hooky time with some more African flower motifs (see my previous post about that little project).

Beautiful crochet mandala

I've finished the mandala and I absolutely adore it!

Finished mandala - front

It was completely absorbing from start to finish and fascinating watching the pattern develop.

Finished mandala - back

The weaving-in of ends wasn't too daunting as I'd done a lot of it as I went along.

It still needs blocking just to finish it off completely but I was so pleased with the end result I just wanted to show it now!

Close up of toning shades

Mandala, cushion and curtains

I'm going to stiffen the back, probably using iron-on interfacing and hang it behind the chair to brighten up the corner.

Details:

Pattern: By Carola Herbst at Etsy.  A very well written and detailed pattern full of step by step instructions, photos and charts.
Yarn: Rowan Summer Tweed, aran weight, in colours to match my dining room curtains and crochet cushion.
Hook: 3.5mm
Technique: Overlay Crochet.
Finished dimensions: 30cm diameter.  I wanted a much larger mandala than in the pattern, hence my choice of yarn.

I can't wait to investigate this technique further!

Asthma update

After weeks of feeling grotty and struggling through 2 marathons in the process, I went back to the doctor.  Thankfully it was my favourite doctor who listened to all the problems I've been having (sore throat, night cramps in both legs, running nose, headaches, generally feeling grotty) and changed my medications on a trial basis.

After 2 days of trying them I am starting to feel a bit better so I'm hopeful that they might be more successful.  As one of them is in a purple container, which is my favourite colour, they must be efficacious!

New meds!

Crochet mandala

Tinker and I settled down to a bit of crochet using this beautiful mandala design by Carola Herbst.  The pattern is very detailed and well  written.  I just had to remember that it used American crochet terms so I had to pay attention and change sc to dc etc etc.

In her design she used dk cotton but I wanted to use Rowan Summer Tweed, an aran weight as I wanted it to be bigger and more bulky.

There were a few false starts on the colour choices as I wanted it to co-ordinate with my curtains and cushion.

But eventually I settled on a good combo and I was off!

I'd never tried overlay crochet before and it is fascinating and very absorbing.  It's really interesting seeing the layers develop.  After an hour of hooky fun, this is what I'd done.

There are lots more rounds to crochet and I'm looking forward to watching the pattern develop.  Carola's instructions are really clear and very detailed.

I recently bought this book - Crochet Masterclass in which there is another beautiful pattern by Melody MacDuffee using overlay crochet (part of it is shown on the front cover).  Her piece uses embroidery cottons which sounds great fun as I have a large collection of many colours.

I'm looking forward to trying some new and more challenging techniques such as Clones Lace (using a .75mm hook, yikes!) and revisiting old friends such as hairpin lace - I don't think I've done that since the 1970s when I made shawls!