Welcome Spring with a wool afghan!

Welcome Spring with a wool afghan!

Spring has arrived. I know this because of the chorus of parrots and kookaburras that wake me each morning at 6 am. As if somehow nature knows that the calendar has turned over, it was 29 degrees here on the 1st of September. I did manage to crochet my way through winter and have a pile of finished objects to prove it.

My winter total is: 6 baby blankets, 1 woolen afghan, 1 hairpin shawl, 3 interesting other shawls, a and a plethora of hats and scarfs. I have also finalised a few new patterns which have been in development for sometime. I decided I would update the formatting as I now have a u beaut laptop with the latest version of word. While the documents do have a nice modern edge, the new word is counter intuitive which has slowed me down a bit. I have however added the following to my pattern collection:

Vintage style beanies, Tasmanian devils, cow rugalugs, spiral beanie, super slippers, and a few new tea cosy designs. I will add these to etsy over the next few weeks.

So welcome Spring, and what better way than with finishing an afghan - pure Australian wool of course.

The pattern is from the book 63 more squares which a kind person RAOKed me a few years back. It has been in my list of things to do for a while as I searched out the right yarn.

It is almost a year since our road trip and one of the holiday discoveries was the Bendigo woollen Mills. This was like a lolly shop to a fat kid with a sweet tooth as I came out with an enviable supply of top quality Australian Wool and bargain price's in a stunning array of colours. The other thing that Bendigo has lots of is pottery, and I also managed to have a rather large biscuit barrel fall into my handbag as well.

I have made my daughter several rugs over the years but these somehow always seem to turn up as decorating items, or being worn at Retro parties by the trendy Melbourne crowd.

Think Retro and the obvious thing is to drag out Mums crochet rugs! I know this cos they often feature on Facebook. I have no idea who the people below are, but I do know I crocheted the orange rug that they are sharing along with a beer and a few good times. And, this rug was made in the 90s, and not in the 70s!

She has also stated that it is the highlighter pen colours which assist in setting the mood.

So the challenge for me was to construct a tasteful (!) afghan with a contemporary edge(whatever that is).

I didn't do the full 63 blocks as wool is quite heavy and I wanted a couch throw rather than a full bedspread.

The colours are Navy and maroon with variegation's of creams and blues. All pure Australian wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mill. This is yarn to die for. My only regret is that we don't have a bigger boot as I would have loved to have bought more. I started the rug last November while on the trip and finished it this winter.

I love it to bits, and I haven't seen it as a backdrop on Facebook which is a good sign ( I think),

thanks for looking.

UncinettoTraduzione dello schema Segnalibro a Ventagli, (Fan Bookmark in Italian)

A nice lady recently contacted me and asked if she could translate my fan bookmark pattern into Italian. So here it is, many thanks to Kate. I dont speak or read Italian so I hope I have inserted the breaks in the correct places. Happy crocheting!


Traduzione dello schema Segnalibro a Ventagli by MadeByKate
Schema originale Fan Bookmarks by crochetroo

Occorrente:
• cotone da uncinetto 8
• uncinetto da 1,25 mm

Schema:
Per le abbreviazioni visita http://madebykate.wordpress.com/glossario/
Lasciando 8 cm di cotone, iniziare il lavoro con 8 ct, chiudere ad anello con 1 mbb.

1° Ventaglio:
1° GIRO: 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), nell'anello lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]

2° GIRO: 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), voltare il lavoro, in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]

3° GIRO: 1 ct, voltare il lavoro, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del primo ventaglio]

2° Ventaglio:

4° GIRO: 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), voltare il lavoro, nell'anello formato da 5 ct lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]
Saltare 1 pippolino del giro precedente, nel successivo pippolino lavorare 1 mb.

5° GIRO (uguale al 2° GIRO): 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]

6° GIRO (uguale al 3° GIRO): 1 ct, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del secondo ventaglio]

3° Ventaglio:

7° GIRO (uguale al 4° GIRO): 2 ct (contano come la 1° ma), voltare il lavoro, nell'anello formato da 5 ct lavorare 13 ma. [14 ma]
Saltare 1 pippolino del giro precedente, nel successivo pippolino lavorare 1 mb.

8° GIRO: 3 ct (contano come 1 ma, 1 ct), voltare il lavoro, in ogni maglia del giro precedente lavorare 1 ma, 1 ct. [14 ma, 13 spazi da 1 ct]
Prima di iniziare il 9° GIRO unire il 3° ventaglio con il 1°: puntare l'uncinetto nel 7° pippolino contando da sinistra del 1° ventaglio e lavorare 1 mb.

9° GIRO (uguale al 3° GIRO): 1 ct, voltare il lavoro, nei primi 10 spazi formati da 1 ct lavorare 1 mb, 2 ct, 1 mb (questo formerà dei pippolini).
Nel successivo spazio di 1 ct (l'11°) lavorare 1 mb, 5 ct, puntare l'uncinetto nella 2 ct con cui avete avviato il giro precedente e lavorare 1 mb. [fine del terzo ventaglio]
Continuare così fino a formare 8 ventagli.

ULTIMO GIRO: fare un pippolino in ogni spazio formato da 1 ct. Fermare il filo con 1 mb nel 7° pippolino contando da sinistra del 6° ventaglio.
Tagliare e fermare il filo.
Stirare ed inamidare per rendere il segnalibro rigido.
Per fare la nappa tagliare 5 pezzi di filo di circa 20 cm, piegarli a metà e inserirli nell'anello iniziale del primo ventaglio,fermarli con un nodo.

Questo schema è una traduzione autorizzata di “Fan Bookmarks” by crochetroo. L'autrice è lieta di condividere questo schema, se verrà utilizzato per uso personale, per creare regali o donazioni a fondazioni benefiche, ma non oggetti che verranno venduti. Tutti i diritti sono riservati, né lo schema, né parti di esso possono essere riprodotti. La traduzione è di proprietà dell’autrice del blog madebykate.wordpress.com


Links to other Languages
Fan Bookmark in English

Fan Book Mark in French: Marque-page Eventail

Charmed Prayer Shawl Crochet Pattern

I have been asked by many people to write out the pattern for the prayer shawl above. While I have been away from my blog over the Christmas period, I am finally back into crochet mode. We had a fabulous trip and I certainly finished off a number of UFOs which I will share with you all over the coming weeks. My first task though was to write up the green prayer shawl.

Remember I am an Aussie, so I use Australian/ UK terms in this pattern.

Charmed Prayer Shawl

This stitch is called Diamond Lattice. I found it in an old crochet stitch library and I am unsure of its origin. There are 4 rows to the pattern and it works up quite quickly. I added little metal charms at each end. I found these at the craft shop; however make sure that the holes are large enough for your yarn to thread through. I ended up with some ever so cute dragon flies which I couldn’t use as the holes were too narrow!

My green shawl was made of some angora and goat hair yarn that was made in Turkey. From memory I used about 4 - 5balls (100 gms balls). I like the tension on these to be quite loose so I used a 6mm hook.

You need a multiple of 10st plus 5, and then add 3 for the foundation row. I used 58ch and worked the shawl until it was 150cm or 59in long. The width was about 80cm or 30inches. I didn’t think to measure the tension however make your start ch and measure it unstretched to get an idea of the final shawl width. Fortunately these aren’t an exact science as long as the pattern multiples work out. This pattern has quite a bit a stretch and makes a lovely snugly shawl that feels like a warm hug.

I haven’t tested this so I hope it works out. THIS IS IN AUSTRALIAN / UK TERMS.

Our tr = USA dc

Our dc = USA sc

Our dtr = USA tr

Our lollie = USA candy!

Row 1. 4tr into 5^th ch from hook, *9ch, miss 9ch, 4tr into next ch, repeat from *till last 2st, miss 1ch, 1tr last st, turn.

Row 2. 3ch start, miss 2tr, make 4tr between 2^nd and 3^rd tr of prev row, *9ch miss 9ch, 4tr between 2^nd and 3^rd tr of next group of 4tr. Repeat from * across row, 1tr in top of turning ch

Row 3. This row requires some concentration but once you get the hang of it is easy.

3ch start, 4tr between centre 2^nd and 3^rd tr of 4tr group.

*4ch, miss 4ch working over previous chain (so as to trap them) work 1dc into 5^th ch of the first row, TURN and work back along the 4ch thus: 3ch start, 6dtr over the 4ch loop, now TURN, 3ch start missing first dtr, 1tr into each of next 5dtr, 1tr into top of 3ch (this is the diamond in the pattern), miss 4ch, 4tr between the 2^nd and 3^rd tr of the next 4ch group, repeat from *across , 1tr into top of start ch, turn.

Row 4. 3ch start, 4tr between centre 2^nd and 3^rd tr of 4tr group, *9ch, miss diamond, 4tr between centre 2^nd and 3^rd tr of 4tr group, rep from * across, 1tr in top of start ch.

This will look a bit odd as the chains will appear quite loopy.

Row 5. Work as for row 2.

Row 6. Work as for row 2.

Row 7. This is a repeat of row 3 however make 1dc into the top corner of the Diamond, working over the 3 rows of 9ch so as to catch them.

The pattern repeat is from rows 4 – 7. When your shawl is long enough, work till row 6 of the repeat - you will have 2 rows of 9ch loops.

Edging

3ch start, miss 2tr, make 2tr between 2^nd and 3^rd tr of prev row, *9ch add a charm by pulling the loop through the charm hole, make another 9ch then slst into top of tr, 2tr between 2^nd and 3^rd tr, 4ch, 1dc into tip of previous diamond, 4ch repeat from * across, 1tr top of start ch, finish off.

The bottom edge is worked in the same as the top edge. Join yarn at start edge and repeat as above. Because the pattern is upside down you will need to align the dc with the bottom corner of each diamond, and work the tr into the ch at the base of the 4tr in row 1.

This is an addit to my post late last year:

When I gave the shawl to my friend wrapped up as a gift, she asked me would it make her cry? I said maybe, but not for long as it will keep you warm. The next day she sent me this email, which brought a tear to my eye.

“ Dear Susan,

The answer is yes, I did cry and yes it will keep me warm.

What a beautiful gift. I am very touched and will treasure the shawl forever, particularly in light of the beautiful words you have written. It will indeed be a hug from (my daughter).

It has been a very very difficult journey and to be honest it was far more difficult and emotionally draining before (my daughter) passed away. Now there seems to be an emotional tearful period every day, albeit reducing in size. I will keep the shawl close by so I can have a 'hug' when I need it most.

You cannot begin to understand how much I appreciate such thoughtfulness and support. I think the tangible support of friends does reinforce that you are not alone and people are thinking about you - that in itself provides enormous strength, so thank you very much.

Losing a child as about the worst thing that could ever happen but I feel very privileged to have shared such a journey so intimately and to have developed such a wonderful relationship with my daughter. I saw her mature in a way that I think many people strive for all their lives and never succeed. I also witnessed her strength and courage and I sincerely pray that when confronted with my own mortality I am able to be as faithful, gracious and brave.

Thank you so much.”

If you have any difficulties following the pattern please leave me a message.