Crochet Flower Motif Doily - how to read crochet charts

 

 

While searching for an interesting crochet chart for our reading sessions I came upon this lovely motif that looked gorgeous made out of crochet thread and much more beautiful than my crochet motif made with sport yarn. So if you are willing to try it with a lace thread, you'd get an incredible motif for a scarf or a tablecloth if you are feeling adventurous :)

 

 

The chart

 

 

 

The pattern

With desired yarn and hook (see recommendation above):

 

Chain 6 and join to make a ring.

Rnd 1: In the ring Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc +2 chains), dc1, ch2. Repeat this pattern 6 times. There should be 8 posts (dcs) in the round.

 

Rnd 2: sc over the dc and sc3 in the chains all around (a total of 32 scs).

 

Rnd 3: ch 5 and dtr1 in the (same) first st. Dtr1 in the next st, ch 5 and sc in the next st. This is only half of the petal done - it will be complete in the end. Next, ch 5, dtr1 in next st., dtr2 in the next st, dtr1 in next st, ch 5 and sc in the next st. The second petal is done. Repeat pattern 6 more times. To end the round and finish the very first petal, ch5 and make a dtr in the next st. Sl st in first made 5-ch to end round.

 

Rnd 4: ch 1 and sc over the 1st dtr of rnd below. Ch 12 and sc between the two dtrs (you made in the same st.) in the next petal. Repeat this pattern around.

 

Rnd 5: sc 12 in each chain. sl st 1 in the first two st of the next ch to start the next round.

 

Rnd 6: ch5, sk 1, dc1, ch3 and make a picot, ch 2, sk 1, dc1, ch2, dc1, ch 12, turn work and sl st on the chain next to the picot you made, next on the newly made chain, sc1, make a 3-ch picot. Repeat this 4 times (I will refer to this as the corner pattern). After the last (5th) picot, sc 2, ch1, sk 1 and dc1 in the next st, make a 3-ch picot,  ch2, sk1 and dc1 in the next st.  Start working the next chain from the 2nd st. Make a dc, ch2, sk1, dc1, 3-ch picot, ch2, sk1, dc1, 3-ch picot, dc1, 3-ch picot for the second time, ch2, sk1, dc1 +picot, ch2, sk1, dc1 (this is the side pattern). After this, repeat the corner pattern and so on until the end of the round. Sl st to the initial chain to end the round.

 

Note: I didn't make the corners in my doily and made picots over all dcs.

 

 

Enjoy this!

 

 

Monday Inspiration - mmmcrafts

There is a thing that I regret once in a while and that is not being able to indulge in felt. I use it here and there in some of my projects, but not as much as I wish.

To be honest, I would love to heavily fling myself into it - forget about crochet or any other craft for a while and wrap my whole heart in colorful felt. And whenever I have such urges overcoming my creative self, I simply search the internet for any felt news. And I pay attention not to miss Larissa's colorful felt world. I love to drop on her blog occasionally to see what magnificent creations she has come up with.

There is not much you can find about her except that she is a: "Follower of Christ, wife of my hero, mom to two crazy girlies, home school teacher, pattern designer, paper cutter, sewing junkie, and voracious reader. I'm addicted to all things artsy and craftsy. And coffee."

But I guess this says a lot  about the person she is if we read between the lines, doesn't it?

Her ornament patterns are one of a kind I am sure you'll agree. She pays great attention to the meticulously executed details on the ornaments that leave people mesmerized with their folkloric beauty.

She has an amazing shop and IG account if you want to follow her.

 My other felt inspiration:

Heather Potten
Eliza Inspiration
 Rosa's Felt Workshop
Olga Gulyaeva
 

Crochet Girls' Brooches

 

Gang, meet my girls' brooches. For starters, there are just 4 of them and I hope I'd be inspired to add more to this "girl tribe". They are for dreamers and believers because they are such and prove that we can all be whatever we want.

 

Learn a tiny bit about them:

 

 

This is Olivia.

She is a dreamer and an adventurer. She loves to explore the world and go on wild, exciting travels and adventures. Riding a camel in the African desert, turning the chimes in Bali or rafting on the Amazon, she has her journal and pen close by, carefully writing down her experiences.

 

This is Scarlett. She has a high sense of fashion. Always spruced up from head to toes, charmingly flaunting the latest fashion, one would often find her  in front of the mirror trying on new pieces or at her desk, drawing and designing clothes and accessories. She is going to be a fashion designer.

 



 

Sophie is a nature person. A bit of a tomboy really, but very kind and sweet. She loves being in the country and going on long walks through the flower strewn fields. She adores animals and wants to become a vet.

 

Lillian is a hopeless romantic.

Buried deep into books, she dreams of a better world, a world in which everyone will help and be kind  to one another. She hopes to become a writer one day.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed working on them, making up their characters as they were shaped by the hook, thinking about their wishes, interests, hopes....
They will be offered for sale in the kids' shop I am slowly filling up. More kids' stuff is underway.

Victorian Inspired Mixed Media Necklace

 

 

I don't know about you, but this whole week slipped away unnoticeably and smoothly and somehow I lost the thread of it all.

My full time job is keeping  me on my toes, tearing me away from my beloved hook, laughing out at my long term plans, tripping me every few steps. Hence progress in my creative world is slow but I am thankful for every single minute I can spare and create.

 

 

 

I started with the idea of a collection that would be entirely inspired by the Victorian era - you might remember my Victoriana brooches I made back in 2016. I am still hooked up on the idea for the collection and several pieces are already in progress, but this one got finished first and it was the easiest piece I have ever tackled.

 

 

 

It literally got finished in 15 minutes because I used flowers that had already been made and to top it I also added a pin given to me by a dear colleague which wasn't worn much but now I will flaunt it happily. 

 

 

 

After I took the photos I realized it could bear more bling so I am all set to adding some more of my pastel pearl beads. My motto of late has been if you think less is more, think twice. Because it has proven that the more I add the better it gets. So less is never more when it comes to my creations and that is it. Before I ramble some more, I wave you goodbye, but please come tomorrow - I have some girl brooches to show you.

 

Insta love - Inspiration Mondays

Happy Monday all! 

I've been a little lazy posting our traditional Monday instagram inspiration in the new year, trying to break the routine and keep a clean slate for a while. It did feel good to change some things around here, though not radically, because I would really like to keep the inspiration Mondays in our schedule and focus on sharing some interesting artists and craftsmen. 

Today I am showing off a board I made with my "liked" posts on instagram in an eye-pleasing color palette. 

hubs_united, abeautifulmess,  bohemiandecor, lesley_lau, dottieangel,bobbimac, boka_smoka, alley_real, mobiusgirl, misha_and_puff, arnhem_clothing, keepingwiththetimes

.

Repurposed Wooden Boxes Idea

 

 

For Christmas I bought some stars and Santas that were packed in these small and cute plywood boxes. The minute I saw them I knew they were up to a change.

 

What I did. I chose beautiful fabric and a decorative velvet ribbon.

 

I measured the little squares and cut the fabric accordingly.

 

 

Glued the bottoms with white glue and applied the fabric pieces.

 

 

 

Applied glue on the sides of the box and glued the ribbon too.

 

 \

 

When it was finished drying I added the birdies.

 

 

I could think of tons of ways to use these: trinket, jewelry / office supplies holders, fun to keep sewing supplies in; especially cute if you are a miniature fan so you can add some toys here.





 

Dreaming of a White Winter

 

 

 

I can smell it in the air.

Faint whiffs of snow. They come in wafts from the near-by mountains. I inhale deeply  and close  my eyes. I see it in my mind's eye. Flakes softly falling from the sky down, whirling and dancing, steadily weaving a flawless white carpet. I can hear it under my booted feet, crunching under each step and love the silence it creates around me when I stop. It is the perfect music to my ears.

 

I open my eyes and I face a dull grey day greeting me. The noise strikes again robbing me of the snow induced silence, but there is nothing, nothing that can rob my memories of a beautiful snow-falling day. 

 

 

Images taken from pinterest via the winter search.

Bohemian Shawls

 

 

 

 

 

Finally. Here they are. I made these shawls more than 2 months ago while I was shaking with the larksfoot fever. All three have been started with different sizes of yarn and finished with the gradient yarn I am currently obsessed with.

And with these I am really going to retire the larksfoot for a while and focus on some other patterns.

 

Signing off for the weekend! May it be wonderful for you!

 

 

Carnival

 

 

 Winter Wonderland

 

 

Autumnal Rhapsody 



Free Larksfoot Warmers Pattern

 

 

Officially, the Larksfoot crochet pattern is the most used pattern this past fall / winter in my work. It is addictive and combined with this Nako yarn it is impressively attractive.

 

I used it to make these fingerless warmers (or cuffs). They are (almost) one size fits all because they are worked lengthwise and being long, one can adjust the closure according to own's measurements.

 

 

 

These measure 22 cm / 8.7" in length and 10.5cm / 4.1" in width crocheted with sport yarn (Nako's Vals) and a 1.9 steel hook.

 

Pattern: ch 49 and work the Larksfoot pattern until desired width is achieved. To make the upper edge, ch 4 to make a picot, sk 1 and sl st in the next st across.

 

Add decorative buttons so that you can wear them with the buttons up or at the sides.

 

 

 

 



Crochet Flower Inspiration

 

Via Pinterest

 

Whenever I need to air my head and relax, I search for ideas of how to use my enormous crochet flower collection. In moments like those I let my brain graze on pinterest's feed.

 

Luckily I found some immensely captivating images that urge me to get hold of my hook and recreate them. Now, this is not something that is going to really happen in reality like right now, this minute, but it feels good to enlarge and widen the "what I might to with my flowers" perspective. I have had my eyes on the above blanket for a long time but my flowers are different in sizes so that means I will have to work on the hexagon background or foundation to fit all, so that's what has been putting me off. Because I have THREE BLANKETS as UFOs - not planning to add this to the pile.

 

What seems feasible is to use them in making scarves. Look at these gorgeous scarves I found.

 

Via Attic 24

 

Via Pinterest

 

Free pattern for this one

 

 

Most of the flowers I make are used to become necklaces. But I made lots of other things. Here's just a glimpse:

 

 Brooches & Rings

 

 

 

 

Sold some as kits

 

Made Art

 

So, you see. We keep things interesting here. One never knows what those flowers are to become next.