blockmelvin-bag-kindaguide

Funny with such a male-ish name on this “very close to being frompy” –bag. Well, it was my son’s choice of name (his own that is, and not very surprising as that’s what he names everything at the moment). It almost looks like a teapotcozy and I can’t decide whether I hate it or love it. I do love the squares but they might have looked better on a cushion, but I had my mind so set up for a new bag that I just couldn’t stop the bag-thing. Oh, and as you might know, I literally have bigger plans for this square, I want it to grow and grow… We’ll see how far I’ll get… (I’m more of a planner than a doer.)

I have been asked for the bag-pattern, but I won’t give you that. Or not exactly at least. I’ll give you sort of instructions or more kind of like a guide. (But I do suggest that you’ll make a pillow of the squares instead, or to choose different colors, colors that aren’t so “rosy”.)

Ok, you don’t have to choose the exact color (in fact I recommend you don’t), but IF you do, you’ll need this colors of Scheepjes Catona (on my top five list of all favorite yarns, my winner amongst cottonyarn):

2 balls of brown, #162 (50 gram/ball)
1 ball of green, #205 (50 gram/ball)
1-2 balls of white, 106 (I had two already started balls so I’m not sure of how much I used, but you can always use white, right, and the yarn is not so expensive) (50 gram/ball)
And then every (I think) pink and red color that is available in Catona, one 50 gram/ball of each color (not much is used so you don’t have to use as many different colors if you don’t want to, and I think 25 gram/ball would be enough per color if you still want to use every color, some of the colors are very similar also) 114, 408, 251, 192, 128, 222, 256, 238, 413, 398, 258, 390 115

You can find the free pattern of the square in my previous blog-post.

You need to make 56 of those squares, with about the same number in each of the red/pink colors. Row 3 in green, row 4 in whit, and row 5 in brown.

Weave in all ends of all the squares and lay them out how you want them to be. I think it took forever to assemble, so lay them on a place where they can stay for a couple of days without having someone to mess with them, unless you’re one of those lucky people with a lot crochettime in one sitting. (nope, not jealous, no no.)

Here’s a pic of how my bag is pieced together. You can of course make yours bigger or smaller. My bag measures 32,5 cm across and 33 cm from bottom to the top of the “toppest” square. (I've written halfsquares in the picture, but I mean the ones that look like halfsquares are actually folded regular squares.)

I googled this kind of bag to understand it, and you’re welcome to do so as well. This guide leaves a lot to ask for, I know.

I used brown yarn and the “slip stitch join method” There are great tutotorials for this so I totally recommend you to google this if you haven’t tried this method before. I think other joins would look lovely as well, so look around and decide for one that suits you. I did have a plan to use “single crochet join method” with white yarn that would sort of “square the squares in” as they would be used from the front, but seriously, I just couldn’t figure out where to begin, continue and end, my head just couldn’t cope with it! If yours can, I totally recommend it, it would look lovely!

Well, it took a lot of brainwork to figure out a smooth way to assemble the squares without losing track of where I was, and this is how I did:

I started with the “top three-squares” and assembled all four. Then I continued with the next row of squares (the red on the picture indicates where the assembling actually happened). Note that I don’t do a front and a back, I assemble all around at the same time, both front and back.

When you get to the bottom you should have gotten the hang of it and can figure out how to piece the squares together.

Weave in all ends, and now it’s time for the handles.

I started with a row of brown, sc in back loops. When I got to the top of the square I made chain 70 (more if you want larger handles) and joined in the top of the square on the same side and continued with sc in back loops until the next top of the squares where I made another handle the same way.

Fasten brown yarn again inside the handle and make sc (back loops) along the squares (red markings in the picture) and up the handle.

Then I made one row of sc in back loops on each side of the handle with white and then green yarn. In the corners I made 3 sc together.

I made lining in red fabric, just drawing the outlines of the bag directly on to the fabric. I zigzagged the edges before I sewed the back and front together of the lining, and also folded the top edges and sewed these edges in. I then handsewed the lining on to the bag. Well, I’m a sloppy sewer and I recommend to be more careful than I, as I even can’t show you a photo of it because of the sloppy result (good enough to use, but NOT good enough for closups.

Tadah! That’s it! Hope you enjoyed it and I really would love to see pics if anyone of you actually finish this bag! (Or cushion or anything with this square.)

Block Melvin

This is the very first square I've designed!
My 4-year old chose the name, naming it after himself. So cute! I feel that this is just the beginning of this square, it will most likely continue to grow.

If you want the pattern in Swedish I can e-mail you a PDF to you.

This block will cup a bit, but will be perfectly fine after blocking.

Here we go!

Yarn: Scheepjes Catona
Color 1: Any pink or red
Color 2: Green # 205
Color 3: White # 106
Color 4: Brown # 162

Hooksize: 3 mm.

Note: rounds 2-5 finishes with "needle join". Google it if you're not familiar with this join. So much worth it! Makes a neat ending, and it's supereasy!

You crochet in back loops unless stated otherwise.

Round 1
Color 1: make magic loop, 2 chains (counts as first dc), 11 dc, sl.st. in 2nd chain = 12 dc. Don't cut the yarn

Round 2
Continue with color 1. 2 chains (counts as first dc), 1 c in same st, *2 dc in next (inc)*reapeat 11 times = 24 sts. Cut and fasten yarn with needle join.

Round 3

With color 2, attach yarn to first dc of any inc.

*1 sc (first will be a chain), 1 tr in the front loop of the dc of round 1 lying right below, don't skip any st of round 2, 5 sc.* Repeat totally 4 times. Fasten yarn with needle join.

Round 4

Change to color 3. Attach yarn to second dc to the right of any tr of round 3.

*1 sc (first will be a chain), 2 sc in the next st, tr2tog (attacht the first in the front loop of the dc on round 2 to the right of where you attached the tr from round 3, and you'll attach the second to the fl of the dc of round 2 to the left of the tr of round 3), skip 1 st of round 3, 2 sc in next st, 3 sc. * repeat a total of 4 times. Cut and attach yarn with needle join.

Round 5

change to color 4. Attach yarn in the third sc on the right of any tr2tog of round 4. *1 sc (first will be a chain), 1 hdc, 1 dc, (1 dc, chain 3, 1 dc) in the same st (it will be on tr2tog of previous round), 1 hdc, 3 sc* repeat a total of 4 times. Cut yarn and attach with needle join.

Block the square to approximately 6 x 6 cm.

All done!

Mandala!

I just have to write a post about the most fun project ever! I had seen beautiful Mandalas on the internet but never understood the point in making them. I really want my work to be of some kind of use, not be put away in a drawer. It was when I saw the beautiful Instagram-account "yarn_house" (go check her account out right now!) I got my Mandala inspiration deluxe. She mounts her mandalas beautifully and they were large too!

A bit over a year ago we moved in to our house and since we're a bit slow we have barely started renovating eventhough we must fix the walls in nearly every room. (My man works shifts and we are not off work so often at the same time.) Finally I knew how to decorate the big wall in our livingroom. First put one-colored wallpaper up, and then fill the wall with huge mandalas... My man isn't really totally convinced yet... 

Well, Yarn_house also wrote where she finds the pattern. The largest ones were bought on Etsy.com by the seller CAROcreated. (Lillabjorncrochet also have some beautful ones and Yarn_house have started designing her own.) I wanted mine to be large so I chose the largest one which was Mandala no. 7.  The pattern is very instructive with photos, and suits everyone with basic crochetskills and is able to follow English instructions. Oh, and you need not to rush when reading the pattern.

The yarn I chose was Scheepjes Catona. A glossy cottonyarn, easy to work with (doesn't split very easily) and the most important of all: It comes in 81 colors, which will suit my wallproject perfectly! I bought it from the webshop: Favoritgarner.se (great service and quick delivery. Catona has a great price, just 26 kronor/ 50 g. ball.)

The start!

It's also a cool coincidence that the yarn comes in 81 colors and this mandala consists of 81 rounds!

It's also amazing how the mandala looks completely different with every round!

 

When I made mistakes it was usually because I missed either "skip 1 st" or "skip no st", so my tip is to look carefully on this particular instruction if it doesn't add up!

The pattern calls for 6 colors but I used 7 and I totally went with feeling rather than followingt the yarnchanges the pattern said. 

I used following yarnnumbers and amount: (you can see the color on the photo above)

114      1 ball of yarn

393      2 balls of yarn

106      2 balls of yarn

251      1 ball of yarn

222      2 balls of yarn

128      2 balls of yarn (exactly, would recommend 3 balls in case you crochet a bit looser than I do)

205      1 ball of yarn

I used the 50 grams balls, and I have leftovers from every color, except number 128.

The finished mandala!

And here's my colororder in case you want to make the exact same. (But you have to buy the pattern yourself, well worth the money!)

Rounds          Colornumber

1                     106

2                     222

3                     106

4                     106

5                     222 

6                     114

7                     222

8                     106

9                     128

10                   205

11                   205

12                   128

13                   106

14                   114

15                   106

16                   128  

17                   222

18                   106

19                   128

20                   393 

21                   222 

22                   106

23                   939

24                   114

25                   205

26                   393

27                   114

28                   205

29                   393

30                   106

31                   393  

32                   128

33                   251

34                   106

35                   222 

36                   128

37                   251

38                   106

39                   128

40                   222

41                   114

42                   106

43                   128

44                   205

45                   393

46                   205

47                   128

48                   106

49                   222

50                   114

51                   128

52                   106

53                   222

54                   114  

55                   128 

56                   106 

57                   222

58                   114

59                   128

60                   106

61                   222

62                   114

63                   128

64                   251 

65                   106

66                   393

67                   222  

68                   128

69                   393

70                   128

71                   205

72                   393

73                   128

74                   205 

75                   393

76                   251

77                   106

78                   251

79                   393 

80                   222  

81                   251

I'm already planning my next mandala, no. 8 in different shades of green. Just have to wait for my new printer to be installed before I can buy the pattern. Also designed mini squares in the overlay technique, I'll post the pattern here when I assembled the first actual piece with them.

Happy crocheting! 

I ordered yarn from Wool and the Gang!

 

 

I'm the knitter who loves buying yarn at second hand stores, the older (almost) the better. The yarn have a history and a feeling of uniqueness to it and I love letting the yarn decide the project, rather than looking for the right yarn for the planned project.

It's also perfect as I have a lot of old knitting- and crochetbooks (I buy everyone I find in second hand-stores. I once studied to become a librarian and what's left of that dream is the secret mission of having the largest craft-library in Sweden. My man is hoping I'm joking everytime I'm talking about it) and it's lovely to actually have the yarn suggested in the 30 year old pattern.

A few of my craftbookshelves...

Well, a week ago I really stepped out of my comfort zone, ordering yarn (YES, NEW yarn) online, and from another country!

Wool and the Gang! Just the NAME! Could the name be any cooler?

Happy yarn delivery!!!

I ordered a few balls of the merino/alpaca yarn "Sheepaca Yarn", which eventually will become a brown top-down sweater with pink details. The yarn is so soft and nicely textures, so I'm thinking some kind of cables... not sure yet, so this project has to mature a bit more.

I also ordered 5 different colors of "Shiny happy cotton", two different shades of pink, two shades of grey and a ball of White. Had some ideas of smaller projects, but spontanously started "Sophie's garden", and really don't want to stop, but  I'll have to order more yarn if I want to expand it to Sophies Universe...



It will probably come out in a weird size, too small for a blanket, too big for a pillowcase and too bulky for a tablecloth... Oh well! I'll probalbly hang it on the wall in my craftroom waiting to place my next Wool and the Gang-order... Because I definitely will order more!

I placed my order on Saturday, and I had the yarn in my hand on Tuesday! For real! To me, it almost seems impossibly Quick. The website was really great and placing the order was very easy! The prices is just a bit higher than my normal yarnbudget, but the yarn does feel expensive and lovely so it's well worth it! I expect the finished projects to feel more luxurios than what I'm normally used to.

I loved how it said "Hello Maria!" on the box!

Here's the linkt to Wool and the Gang. Please go and check them out!
https://www.woolandthegang.com/

And the link to the pattern of Sophie's garden and Sophie's universe:
http://www.lookatwhatimade.net/crafts/yarn/crochet/sophies-universe-cal-2015/sophies-universe-cal-2015-information/

Earflaphat

This is a basic pattern or an earflaphat. The yarn is lovely with a nice texture and I wanted a plain pattern, so that the yarn could speak for itself. I got Three balls for my birthday and it was enough for a hat both for me and my almost 4 year-old son, Melvin. The hat I made for myself is actually a bit too big for me and fits better on my boyfriend's head, and the one for Melvin fits my head as well. He is a big-header and I'm a small-header so at the moment we have the same hatsize.

This is the first pattern I've written in English so I apologize for any incorrect Words, but I hope you still can read the pattern as it's such an easy hat... Feel free to ask me if you have questions and if you'd prefer the instructions in Swedish I'll be happy to e-mail you the pdf. It might be a bit more clear.

Yarn: New York by Mondial, 50 % wool, 25 % alpaca, 20 % polyamid, 5 % viscose. Color 0925. You'll need 2 balls.
Gauge: 16 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cm on 5 mm needles.
Things: 40 cm circular needles 5 mm., and doublepointed needles 5 mm. Crochethook 4 m. One stitchmarker (or scrapyarn). Tapestry needle.
Size: circumference 61 cm/52 cm (adult/kid)

Adult (fits circumference 61 cm):

Earflaps:

·       Cast on 3 stitches. I knitted both at the same time on the circular needles. The earflaps are knitted in garterstitch.

·       Knit one row.

·       From round two: Increase one stitch every row by picking up one stitch between first and second stitch and knit in back loop (to avoid a gap). Feel free to use a different increasing-method if you prefer.

·       Make an increase every row until you have 27 stitches on each earflap.

·       Knit 2 rows without increases. Cut threads. Earflaps are done!

The hat:

·       Put the earflaps on two doublepointed knitting needles.

·       Cast on 5 stitches on the circular needles, knit one earflap, (make sure you do it from the side with the thread), cast on 20 stitches, knit one earflap, cast on 5 stitches.

·       Now you should have a total of 84 stitches. If you want to make the hat smaller or larger, mind that the number has to be divisable by 6, otherwise the decreases won’t work.

·       Knit back and forth 12 rounds, garter stitch.

·       Time to knit in the round and stockinette stitches. Place a knitmarker or a piece of wasteyarn to mark the start of the round.

·       Knit in the round until the hat measures 14 cm.

·       Decreasing of the top (switch to doublepointed needles when necessary):

o   *Knit 4 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 2 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 3 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *. 

o   Knit 2 normal rounds without decreases

o   *Knit 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 3 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 1 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 5 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 2 together, repeat from *.

·       Cut thread, long enough to pull through the remaining stitches, pull tight and weave in end.

·       Sew the hat together at the garter stitch edge and weave in all loose ends.

·       Single crochet along the entire edge of the hat.

·       Cut 24 threads, 84 cm long, and pull 12 of each through the bottom tip of eachearflap, and make to braids on each earflap.

·       Done!

 

Child (fits circumference 52 cm)

Earflaps:

·       Cast on 3 stitches. I knitted both at the same time on the circular needles. The earflaps are knitted in garterstitch.

·       Knit one row.

·       From round two: Increase one stitch every row by picking up one stitch between first and second stitch and knit in back loop (to avoid a gap). Feel free to use a different increasing-method if you prefer.

·       Make an increase every row until you have 18 stitches on each earflap.

·       Knit back and forth without increases until the earflap measures 6,5 cm. Cut threads. Earflaps are done!

The hat:

·       Put the earflaps on two doublepointed knitting needles, for the moment.

·       Cast on 4 stitches on the circular needles, knit one earflap, (make sure you do it from the side with the thread), cast on 22 stitches, knit one earflap, cast on 4 stitches.

·       Now you should have a total of 66 stitches on circular needles. If you want to make the hat smaller or larger, mind that the number has to be divisable by 6, otherwise the decreases won’t work.

·       Knit back and forth 10 rounds, garter stitch.

·       Time to knit in the round and stockinette stitches. Place a knitmarker or a piece of wasteyarn to mark the start of the round.

·       Knit in the round until the hat measures 13 cm.  

·       Decreasing of the top (switch to doublepointed needles when necessary):

o   *Knit 4 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 2 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 3 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 3 normal rounds without decreases

o   *Knit 2 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 3 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 1 stitches, knit 2 stitches together, repeat from *.

o   Knit 4 normal rounds without decreases.

o   *Knit 2 together, repeat from *.

 

·       Cut thread, long enough to pull through the remaining stitches, pull tight and weave in end.

·       Sew the hat together at the garter stitch edge and weave in all loose ends.

·       Single crochet along the entire edge of the hat.

·       Cut 24 threads, 84 cm long, and pull 12 of each through the bottom tip of eachearflap, and make to braids on each earflap.

·       Done!

 



Summerhappiness

There are always things in life that can get better, but for now it’s as good as it gets! Can you believe that this is OUR porch in OUR house??!! Honestly, I can just barely grasp it. I’ve lived in appartmentflats all my life, it’s ok, this is Sweden, a most people do when living in the cities. The last one didn’t have a balcony even, but did have a spectacular view, and selling it was just the perfect timing so the prize we paid for the house suddenly was reasonable instead of a bit too much…

The bad thing is that the ceramicstudio is too far away considering I have a fulltimejob as a son, For now, I just have accepted the fact that I can’t do everything and just made the once unthinkable decision to put my potterystuff on pause. AND IT FEELS WONDERFUL! Who would know. Martin and Melvin has been away for some days leaving me home alone, and I’ve been finishing up in the studio, using up my last bits of clay and at the same time coming to terms with this. It’s almost been like a farewellweekend. I have a lot of cleaning, sorting and finishing to do until I can leave it, not to mention finding someone willing to take over the contract, but still. I have a lot of pieces on sale now, so if you’re in Göteborg it’s well worth a visit. (No red items or items with skulls.)

It’s in Swedish, but here are the prices during my clearence…

This will give me more time for the yarn- and textileprojects. Lovely! And along with new computer (in our big house we can finally fit two computers – or ten for that matters. I now have my own) and new smartphone with better camera I can finally update this blog more easily, and start with my patternwriting. I sold a lot of knitted and crochet stuff a few years ago, and have kept the patterndrafts of everything, just need to make them more easy to read for everyone and with yarns that actually exists in shops today… 

My latest projects are amigurumis, with a three-yearold I suddenly realized that he has friends who needs birthdaypresents, so I’m stocking up. Here’s the latest cutie:

 

 

It’s from this amazing book:

This is my absolutely favorite amigurumibook ever. Easy instructions but still a lot of details and supercute projects! Also perfect for the beginner as the projects starts as very easy and becomes more and more difficult with each project, ending with the girl to the right.