Crochet Community Charity Blanket

 Would you like to win this fabulous blanket?

It is unique and made with love by 121 ladies in UK.

Sitting at home crocheting

 and enjoying the company of my Instagram friends on a daily basis

 is one of life's ultimate pleasures for me!

Last year we joined together and made a care blanket

 for one of our friends

 to support her through an illness.

So much good came out of our group

 and when it was over we all missed the community project.

So this winter I planned and launched the first 

Patchwork Heart Community Blanket.

Ladies in the UK

 were invited to make a 10cm square containing a flower,

 from a given colour palette of Stylecraft Special DK.

120 crocheters signed up

 and soon squares were flooding into Patchwork House.

I had the lovely pleasure 

of joining the squares into the blanket and making a border.

If you missed the original posts about the making

 you can read them HERE

The plan was to hold a draw of the makers names

 and the winner had the choice of keeping the blanket

 or using it to raise money for charity.

I am delighted to announce that the lovely Kathryn at

Crafternoon Treats

won the blanket and has decided to use it to raise money for 

Marie Curie Cancer Care.

You can take part in this draw to win the blanket

 by making a donation on her

 Just Giving Page

The draw closes at midnight on April 23rd

 and the winner will be drawn on April 25th.

For just £2 you can make a donation and have a chance to win!

This is open to anyone worldwide

 and postage will be very kindly paid by the lovely Kathryn.

As I write we are absolutely flabbergasted at the popularity of our blanket 

and thank all the lovely people who have made donations.

 In less than 3 days of the draw being open

 we have raised £2600 for Marie Curie Cancer Care!!!

If you have a blog or facebook page please share this post

 and help us make a difference!

Wishing you all a happy Sunday

Heather

X X X

Making Rainbows

Today I am really excited

 to be able to tell you about a competition

 to win £500 worth of yarn!!!

I have joined together with 5 other bloggers

 to help launch the

 Deramores Blog Competition 2015

Here's how you can take part!

Everyone loves a rainbow

red  orange  yellow  green  blue  indigo  violet.

Lately I've been playing with colours

 a lot

as a Mathematician

 order is very important to me

and

as an artist 

colour fills me with passion

so

 to create a rainbow

 is perfection

 in my little world!

A few months ago

 I made myself a set of shade squares

 for all my favourite Stylecraft Special DK shades.

I used a small 3 round solid granny square

you can find a pattern 

HERE

Hours of fun and playing

 ended up with this combination

 for my bright traditional rainbow

I tried it out on a star shaped baby blanket

using a free pattern by 

Celeste Young on Ravelry

and the result was amazing!

but the artist in me wants to play

and my brain is continually making new rainbows

a pastel rainbow was next on my hook

oh so pretty

then again more playing with my squares

resulted in 

bright versus vintage

rainbows

using my creative license

I next hooked a

vintage look rainbow baby blanket

and I really love these soft muted tones

So where did this rainbow trend begin?

I have to give thanks

 to my hooky friends over on

 Instagram

This winter there has been a craze inspired by

 a beautiful Cath Kidston blanket.

So many of my clever hooky friends

 have been making their own versions, 

beautiful granny striped blankets

 with a parchment background.

totally inspired by the lovely makes of

 @wooly_creations

@pandagourgh

@yarnandwhatnot

@thelittlegreencupboard

and many others

I finally gave in and tried it myself

adding the neutral background

 to my vintage rainbow

 resulted in this amazing 

Cath Kidston inspired

 granny square baby blanket

Rainbows have spread into my cotton creations too

I always begin with a traditional colour order

Mandala making

 is such a perfect way

 of trying out colour combinations

but I soon find myself thinking

 that rainbows don't have to include all 7 shades!

Before I know it I'm shading pinks and purples

and blending blues and greens

Working with colour is therapy to me

it excites me

and makes me come alive!

So what better rainbow celebration

than my latest creation of a dream catcher!

This pattern by ATERGcrochet is available to buy on Etsy

HERE

So are you inspired?

 Do you want to play with colour too?

Oh I do hope I've got you rushing for your hooks

 and diving into your stash!

Ladies I'm really excited to tell you

 about the fabulous new

 competition 

I'm helping launch

would you like to win

 £500 worth of yarn

? ? ?

All you have to do

 is play with colour and crochet something wonderful!

Blog about your makes and enter the competition.

You will find all you need to know here

HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

Go on you know you are itching to create

and who doesn't need more yarn!

You can enter many times

 and there are 5 other trends you can follow too!

This week I will be playing with a bright rainbow

 and a cream background! 

Come back next week to see what I made!

Do leave a comment to let me know what you are making

 and entering into the competition, 

I'd love to pop over and visit your blogs

 to see what you are making

Happy hookin

Heather

X X X

The Spring Flower Blanket

Pretty spring flowers

 to cheer up a gloomy grey Saturday morning

  

Happy Saturday to you all!

I hope you can enjoy lots of happy hooky yarn therapy today.

I have begun my day

 working on the Community Crochet blanket 

that I have been running on Instagram.

This has been made by over 100 ladies from UK on Instagram.

If you missed the original post about this you can read it

HERE

This blanket is so thick and heavy

 as many of the squares are 3D flowers

just look at the fabulous detail

 and clever crochet from so many ladies

Sitting under the blanket as I work on the border

 is providing me with hours of pleasure

the lucky winner is going to have years

  of fun and pleasure from all these unique flowers

I have used a flat braid join

 which adds a lovely lace texture

 and am now completing the blanket

 with a deep lace border!

Come back next week for the big reveal!

happy weekend friends

Heather

X X X

Pretties for Spring

Spring is on the way!

As I write  I'm enjoying open windows in the house

 the smell of fresh air and the sound of the birds singing.

This morning I've been cleaning and tidying

 Patchwork House

 and having much fun rearranging 

I love to see piles of prettiness

 and 

colour around my home

It was time to put away the valentines hearts

 and add some

 spring coloured flowers and baubles to my twigs

The last few weeks I've been busy stocking my

 Etsy shop

with pretty spring goodies

Ive really enjoyed these quick little makes

and the massive dose of colour therapy!

Rico Essentials Cotton DK

Rico essentials Cotton DK

 has a wonderful range of colours and a gorgeous rich sheen

pattern from Simply Crochet magazine issue 14

Mandalas are such fun to make

pattern from Simply Crochet Magazine issue 7

and are a glorious addition to any home

pattern from Made in K Town blog

being pretty and practical

pattern from Simply Crochet magazine issue 12

you will find them in plenty at Patchwork House!

DMC Natura Just Cotton

DMC Natura Just Cotton

 has a lovely natural texture and deep warm shades

pattern from Made in K Town blog

Sirdar Cotton DK

 has a luxurious feel

 and a very good twist which prevents splitting

Sirdar Cotton DK

I use a 3mm hook

 when making mandalas to achieve a firmer finish

pattern from Simply Crochet magazine issue 14

and for flowers too

pattern for rose from Attic 24

pattern from Katicrafts blog

Stylecraft Classique Cotton

 has 5 new shades and I'm loving this leaf green and fondant

pattern for rose from Attic 24

Patchwork House is ready for Spring

As a newbie to Etsy

 I'm amazed at how fast these pretties have sold!

I'm restocking every few days so do keep visiting!

Etsy Shop

Now my chores are done

 you will find me here for the rest of my weekend

 doing what I love!

Happy hookin friends

Heather

X X X