Hello and welcome to Patchwork House . . . . .
my little corner of the world in England, where you will find me addicted to colour and playing with yarn!


17 June 2016

A busy week


Hello my friends happy Friday to you all!
Today has begun with an hour working on a batch of these mini grannies. Oh they are so labour intensive at this stage and I must admit I don't like the fiddle of the ends . . . but as we all know if we want colour we have to put up with ends! As always, I'm working in a production line fashion and will do all of the round 2s in stone, then sew all their ends in.


One of the most frequent questions I get asked is how I deal with ends. Unfortunately in the traditional granny square you cant just crochet over them, as the work is not close enough to hide the ends or hold them securely, so they must be sewn in with a needle at the end. I will be writing a tutorial soon about this very topic to help the many of you who have asked.


This pretty pastel granny square blanket
 began this week and is to be a gift for a new baby.
 I have designed this colour recipe to be neutral
 and so suitable for boy or girl.

I am using


 in
cream soft peach apricot
 stone parchment lemon pistachio
 spring green duck egg and cloud blue


Its been a busy week here at Patchwork House
 with Mandala making having been an exciting task in between blanket making.
 The arrival of a gorgeous new book


has been such a delight!


I highly recommend it!
Beautifully written with clear instructions, 
photos and charts and using UK terms!
you can find a link to it on my recommended book list
 on the sidebar to the right.
I have used


It has a fine twist which prevents splitting and a lovely sheen.
 I chose to use a 3mm hook to produce a firm texture for the mat.



The new designs I've made have been so popular
 and have flown out of my 


with great speed.
 But there are still a few others remaining if you are quick!



Finally I promised to show you the final views of the
 Juicy Fruits blanket
 which has now reached its new home.


This blanket was a special commission for a
 new yarn shop 
opening soon in Holmfirth, W Yorkshire.



For the border I chose 27 from the book


This is a great book with a fantastic choice of edgings.
 It has clear instructions written in US terms and also charts.
You can find it in my list of recommended books again on the sidebar.



It was sad to see this go as it had been a pleasure to make,
 but it really wasn't my colours,
 so I will be happy to see it soon in its new home at
yarn shop in Holmfirth.


Coming next
 you will see me working on some
Ombre Crochet
using again the



I have been plotting and planning
 lots of yummy colour blends from the wonderful colour palette of


and I think you'll agree its amazing
 how different the square looks in these colours!


so here I'll leave you
 with a little snippet of what is to come!


Have a very happy hooky evening my friends
Heather
X X X






10 June 2016

Juicy Fruits

The last few weeks have been very colourful
 here at Patchwork House,
as I have worked on another order
 for the popular Circle of Friends blanket.
I have been using the pattern written in US terms by Priscilla Hewitt
which you can find


has the most wonderful colour palette
and it is always such a joy to work with a new recipe.
This one which I have named
 Juicy Fruits
 was put together by my customer
 and I'm sure you will agree it is delicious!



To make this blanket you will need

1 each of Stylecraft Special DK in
 pale rose
fondant
fuschia purple
tomato
spice
mustard
pistachio
sage
duck egg
bluebell
and
violet

to be joined with 
4 denim.

You can but this yarn

Stylecraft Special DK
Working in my production line mode again for speed
 there have been frequent lines and piles on my coffee table


many cups of tea and dishes of sweets


and tons of photo opportunities at every stage.


The most frequent question I am asked
 is how do I plan colours to avoid any repeats


If you missed my popular post a few weeks
 ago written about this very thing you can read it
 HERE


Planning is key
 but it's not hard
 and becomes second nature.


The colours in this lovely blanket
 have given me many exciting photo opportunities to
satisfy my love of crochet mug matches!


Another question I am often asked is about my hooks.
I use Clover Amour hooks
 which have a coated, shaped handle. 
These have stopped the hand pain that I used to get 
and enable me to be very productive, despite health issues.


Storage and organisation of projects in baskets
 helps me to keep my work area (living room) tidy
and makes the squares easily portable
 to another room (bed) or going out (car).


This is a big blanket which is a special commission.
Laying out the squares in Sudoku fashion
 helps me ensure an even distribution of colours.


To join I have used denim
 which has nicely balanced out the hot shades
 of orange and pink.


Once again I have used the flat braid join
 and adapted it to do in the continuous join as you go method.
You can read a tutorial in US terms by Baby Love Brand


I've been tempted by the vibrant colours
 to eat sweets at every stage!
Now the blanket is in 1 piece and ready for its border.
Come back next week or watch out on
 and
for the final tadaa!


I wish you all a happy hooky weekend
and as always thank you for your support and encouragement.
This year has been difficult learning to cope with a chronic illness
 and making the decision to leave my job as a teacher.
You can look forward to more regular blog posts
 and many improvements here,
 as I seek to work out my role as a full time crochet artist.



Heather

X X X









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