Pattern Re-Release | Relaxing Ralph

Posted in Crochet, Designing, Getting Crafty, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Well it’s only taken me a couple of years…but I’ve finally got around to sorting out my Relaxing Ralph pattern. And what prompted me is today (1 Sept) is Ginger Cat Appreciation Day, a fun holiday that honours the gingers of the feline world.

It put me in mind of little Ralph; who you may recognise as a pattern I designed in September 2018 for The Crochet Sanctuary (read about it here). He’s a sleepy little ginger kitty who loves nothing more than kicking back for a nap in his hammock (details on how to make his hammock is also included in the pattern).

Well at the time I was sure I’d released the pattern in my usual format, in UK and US terms, and with availability in each of my pattern stores – but it turns out that I’ hadn’t! However I’m now delighted to announce that I’ve rectified that situation, and you can now pick up the PDF pattern via the links below.

The pattern is 5 pages long and I’d suggest it’s a patterns suitable for anyone with a bit of experience of working in the round and in making amigurumi.

For my kitty I used 1 ball of Scheepjes Stonewashed XL (Aran/ Worsted Weight) in Jasper (Shade 849), 1 ball of Scheepjes Stonewashed (Sport Weight) in Moon Stone (Shade 801 and 1 ball of Scheepjes Catona (4ply / Fingering Weight) in Powder Pink (Shade 238) with a 4.5mm (US size 7) and a 3mm (Closest US size D/3 or C/2).

🐈 Add the pattern to your favourites on Ravelry 🐈

” Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.” ~ James Herriot

If you do make up a Relaxing Ralph I hope you will share pictures of your cat’s on socials using the hashtag #kcacouk so I can see and share your wonderful work.

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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3Jul2019

Deramores | Amigurumi Deracats

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Deramores Designer Shop, Designing, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I’m extremely excited to announce that there’s some brand new patterns in my Deramores Designer Shop! May I present to you the feline trio which are the Deracats!

With the choice of a Siamese Cat, a Black Cat and a ginger Tabby Cat, these cute crocheted cats are made from the same wonderfully soft Deramores Studio DK which I used for the Deradogs (really love that yarn!).

When I was younger I really wanted either a grey tabby cat or a black cat pretty much because characters in a couple of my favourite books had them in (The Worst Witch and Gobbolino the Witches Cat – yes I had a thing about witches too when I was 8 or 9 years old!).

But the sad fact is that my Dad is allergic to cats (or so he says…) and so we always had dogs when we were growing up. But living vicariously through crochet I’ve been able to create both a black cat (who we shall call Gobbolino, though he also kind of looks like a Jess to me) and a Tabby cat (who we shall, appropriately enough, call Tabby) and of course a Siamese too (who we shall call Zeus – because I think it’s a cool name for a cat!).

Although I suppose I shouldn’t have a favourite out of the cats – I kind of do! I love the colours of the tabby cat! And even with all the stripes the Tabby Cat (and all the cat patterns) are easy to make. I’d say they are the perfect patterns to start with if you are a beginner looking to try an amigurumi for the first time. Though they are still a fun and enjoyable project for a more accomplished crocheter too.

In fact I’m not sure you’ll be able to stop at one kitty! Which is why it’s a good thing that the Deracats are sold as a set of all three patterns available directly from Deramores. And the great thing about getting them from Deramores is that you can either just get the pattern, for just the cats, or there is an option to pick up the yarn you need to make all three cats too! To make the cats you will also require from your craft stash a 3.5mm Crochet Hook, Toy Stuffing, Darning Needle and 6 x 12mm Toy Safety Cat Eyes.

Deramores have shops for the US and Australia as well as the UK which you can check out and add to your favourites at the links below:

If you want to you can also add the Deracats to your favourites or save them for later on Ravelry too as they are all linked up.

SAVE DERACATS ON RAVELRY HERE

If you hook up any of the Deracats I hope you’ll tag kcaco.uk on Instagram or share your projects in my Facebook group as I love to see your finished work!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

30Jan2019

LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine | Marmalade the Cat and Kangaroo Cuties

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Magazine, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Issue 108 of LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine is on sale now and I’ve got two new patterns inside for you.

The first is Marmalade the Cat who has a big ole grin like a Cheshire cat as he’s pleased as punch to be in the magazine. Ever so dapper in his bow tie and dungarees he’s ready to go on an adventure to Timbuktu (didn’t all adventures go there at some point? They always seemed to when I was little!).

SAVE CAT PATTERN ON RAVELRY HERE

I also designed some Kangaroo Cuties – who I named Karla and Karl. Baby Karl can pop out of mum’s pouch if he wants to roam around a bit in the Australia outback. I tell you what we could do with a bit of the Auzzie summer right now – it’s been so cold here in the UK the last few days, we even had some snow!

SAVE KANGAROO PATTERNS ON RAVELRY HERE

There are lots of fab patterns in this month’s edition including an amazing budgie from the fab looking book Crocheted Birds by Vanessa Mooncie and I really love the Lampshade Covers by Sarah Shrimpton and the Teeny Tortoises by Hannah Cooper – which you can pick up for free!

And although I can’t knit I really love Little Zebedee the Zebra by Sachiyo Ishii and the Kitty Doorstop by Aine Marriott – if you are a knitter you can pick up the doorstep pattern for free now too!

There are 53 exclusive patterns in this months edition and you get your yarn and 3.75mm hook and 3.75mm knitting needles included with your 68 page magazine.

LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine is available in major supermarkets and newsagents across the UK.

If you hook up either Marmalade the Cat or the Kangaroo Cuties I hope you’ll share your photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make!

Until next time folks! Happy hooking, keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

27Sep2018

Pattern Release & Giveway| Relaxing Ralph Cat Amigurumi

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, For Adult, For Baby, For Child, Independent Design, Pattern Release, Sale / Special Offer, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Woo hooooo! I’m really excited to say that my Relaxing Ralph pattern, that I designed for the Crochet Sanctuary (read about that here), is now finally LIVE!

I’m chuffed to bits be able to finally release him into the wild because I really love how he turned out! I seriously just want to climb into his hammock with him and have a little snooze – don’t you?

If you have ever watched a cat sleeping you’ll know that they sleep like they don’t have a care in the world. Now you can take a leaf out of the life of a cat and relax like Ralph!

The pattern is 5 pages long and it’s written, as usual, in both UK and US terms. It was nice to see the folks at the crochet sanctuary who were both intermediate and beginners to amigurumi enjoying the pattern. Though if you are a beginner and would like to give this pattern a go you might want to familiarise yourself with working in rounds in the amigurumi style before you start.

Pattern Links 🎉

The Relaxing Ralph pattern is now available in my pattern stores on both Ravelry and on Lovecrochet.com – however if you’d like to be in with a chance to win a copy then keep reading…

Exclusive Giveaway 🎉

🚫 GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED – CONGRATULATIONS TO

Catsmom6 & CrochetRoxx 🚫

If you’d like to be entered into the giveaway to win a copy of Relaxing Ralph simply head on over to Ravelry and/or LoveCrochet.com and add it to your favourites. Please then comment below this post with either your Ravelry username or email address for your chance to win a copy.

Your Ravelry username and email address will only be used to send you your prize, if you enter the information onto a comment it is understood that you are granting me your permission for me to use your information as advised.

Bonus Entry: Re-pin any of the images above. Copy & paste the URL of your re-pin in the blog comments below.

TWO winners will be randomly chosen on Tuesday 2 October 2018 evening around 7pm GMT

Finally I hope you will share any Relaxing Ralph project’s, on social media or as a Ravelry or LoveCrochet.com project, to be in with a chance to win a different pattern of mine if you are featured in my monthly newsletter.

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

4May2018

Yarn Shop Day 2018 | Milo the Cat

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Days Out, Designing, Free Patterns, From the Stash, Getting Crafty, Inspiration, Life, Pattern Release, Tah-Dah, Yarn by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I have the most exciting news to share with you! Some of you may have already seen me mention it on Instagram but now I can tell you all properly.

Last year I was approached by the editor of Let’s Knit Magazine to see if I would like to design the mascot for Yarn Shop Day. Me!?! Design the mascot for Yarn Shop Day! I couldn’t believe it! What an honour to design the mascot for such a big day celebrated all over the United Kingdom! Of course I said yes and I quickly donned my (crocheted) designers cap and started planning.

If you aren’t familiar with Yarn Shop Day, it’s an annual annual event that celebrates bricks-and-mortar yarn shops. Part of the wider Love Your Yarn Shop campaign, this year’s event takes place on Saturday 12 May 2018. Each participating store will host its own special event, with all sorts of fun activities taking place.

I was asked to come up with a design for a cat and so in my excitement I drew about eleventy billion cat sketches and even tried playing with some designs to see what developed, but we finally settled on developing the cat sketch (below) using the Yarn Shop day colours.

I made him from bits of double knit yarn I had in my stash, that I had bought from various yarn store visits, and this is how he turned out…Meet Milo the Cat 🐱

And as I had to send that Milo away to the Let’s Knit Magazine team I’m currently making myself another little Milo in Scheepjes Catona yarn which I bought from Black Sheeps Wool last year – because he has to be made with shop bought yarn naturally.

Milo the Cat and Dixie the Llama are the crocheted and knitted mascots for 2018 and are exclusively available (for free) in participating stores, along with specially produced knitted and crocheted blanket patterns. If you’re a keen crocheter or knitter, be sure to pop down to your local yarn shop for a day of fibre-tastic fun. Click on the banner below to find participating stores near you.

I never need an excuse to visit a yarn shop and this year I hope to pop down to Abakhan in Hanley to join in the fun. I hope you will be out too supporting your local yarn shop! I feel it’s so important to be an advocate for any small shop owner, they are often the people who are experts in their field, love what they do and are just trying to live their dream.

And if you hook up Milo the Cat, I hope you will share your project on your favourite social media sites, Facebook page or Facebookgroup, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram as I love to see your finished work! Also if you are featured in my newsletter, as the customer spotlight, you could win a pattern of your choice – so don’t forget to tag me when you share.

Until next time; keep calm and crochet on my friends xx