LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine |Spring Lambs and Bonny Bonnets

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

I know it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, but it’s because I’ve been frantically working on some fun projects behind the scenes that have just taken up my time. That does mean lots to show you soon though!

However I’ve got a couple of new patterns that have just been released in the latest issue of LGC Knitting & Crochet Magazine. And if you are longing for sunshine and Spring, like I am, then these might just be the ticket!

© Let’s Get Crafting Magazine – Issue 119

How about a little pocket sized sheep! This little lamb is such a cute little project and is a quick and fun springtime project. If you decorate for Easter or for the changing of the seasons Mandy the Lamb would look great sitting on a shelf or your mantlepiece.

SAVE MANDY LAMB ON RAVELRY HERE

I also had fun creating a sweet little bunny bonnet which was modelled amazingly by baby Dylan, that gummy smile!! I used felt that I cut out and sewed onto a crochet ear shape, it seemed to work really well and helped give the ears a little more structure.

SAVE EASTER BONNET ON RAVELRY HERE

There are lots of other fab things in this month’s edition too – the patterns I particularly love are the Decorative Eggs by Sarah Shrimpton, because eggs are always and ‘eggsellent’ idea to hook up for Easter, and I also love the Root Veg by Sarah Louise Read!

You can pick up the Root Veg patterns for FREE right now over on topcrochetpatterns.com. And whilst you are there you might want to pick up some patterns of mine for FREE here.

And although I can’t personally knit I absolutely Eloise Doll the (on the front cover) by Sachiyo Ishii because she’s just so darned cute!

There are 61 Spring patterns in this months edition along with news, articles and tips. It also comes with a six yarn pack a hook and knitting needles.

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

If you hook up either the Easter Bonnet or Mandy Lamb 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

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6Dec2018

Sheep on the Shelf Competition and New Crochet Kits

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Crochet Kit, Dear Ewe, For Adult, For Baby, For Child, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I just had to pop on here and tell you about a couple of crochet things that are happening with Dear Ewe. Now you may remember that I designed the Little Ewe amigurumi pattern as our mascot for Dear Ewe. She’s proven to be quite popular with lovely crocheters out in the world so this year, for a bit of fun, we decided to hold the inaugural Sheep on the Shelf Competition.

You can read all about the competition rules on the Dear Ewe blog but in a nutshell for anyone that sends in a festive photo of Little Ewe they will be added to a prize draw to win their choice of a Dear Ewe character mug worth £16!

The competition runs from 1st until 12th December so you have plenty of time to hook up a Little Ewe if you want to join in. Entry’s will then be put up for a public vote with a winner drawn on Sunday 16th December. The winner gets to pick their choice from one of our Dear Ewe character mugs featuring Crafty Ewe.

You can also pick up a free Little Ewe accessory pattern on the blog get EWE in an elvish mood! I think it also makes a cute little ornament even if you didn’t make Little Ewe.

The other very exciting news is that Little Ewe is now available in a complete crochet kit! The kits include everything EWE need for your project, from gorgeously soft Scheepjes yarn, a premium Addi bamboo hook (optional if you’d prefer to use your own tools) all in a handy drawstring cotton project bag.

I hope that some of you will join in the Sheep on the Shelf fun – can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Until next time! Keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

30May2018

Pattern Release & Sale | Little Ewe Amigurumi

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

So launching DearEwe.com has all been extremely exciting and part of the set up has included me designing some brand new exclusive designs for the store.

When we started discussing what we were going to call our new online shop for some reason we kept coming back to ‘sheep’. And why not! Sheep are wonderful! They give us wool and lambs are super cute…which leads me quite nicely into the oh so cuddly Little Ewe amigurumi pattern (ta-dah!).

Based on our lovable Dear Ewe illustrated character, that features on some of our products, Little Ewe is in the makers part of the website where crafters can choose to ‘make’ a variety of patterns from different designers using a diverse range of yarns.

For our first range of patterns we have used Scheepjes Stone Washed which is a cotton yarn with a tough name but a soft, woolly feel. And I really loved the aged washed out look of the yarn – it was exactly what I was looking for to create my little lamb.

Little Ewe is a sweet little lamb who loves the quiet life. She likes to spend her time in the country exploring the hills and dales. Spring is her favorite season, when the grass becomes green, when their are many butterflies and bees over the flowers and even with quiet April rainfall our Little Ewe just sits and waits for the rainbows.

As with the majority of my amigurumi crochet patterns Little Ewe is aimed at intermediate crocheters although I think advanced beginners could also probably handle it without problems. There are no tricky stitches are used in the pattern just a UK double crochet / US single crochets and a Puff stitch; but you will find full written instructions for both of these at the start of the pattern.

Little Ewe is made with a 3mm crochet hook (US D/3 will do) or any other size which allows you to obtain desired gauge. Gauge itself is not critical for this pattern but it is a pattern you want to crochet fairly tightly so that stuffing can not seen through the stitches.

It’s an exciting time for me as a designer and a partner of Dear Ewe! As well as a range of quality products for crafters were are in the process of developing a pattern house so crafters can choose to ‘make’ a variety of patterns from different designers using a diverse range of yarns. All our patterns (and products) are carefully designed and made with our crafting customers in mind and our designs will include homeware, fashion led-accessory items, amigurumi and other patterns in both crochet and knit – so watch this space.

Pattern Links 🎉

All of the Dear Ewe patterns are now available to add to your favourites on Ravelry and you can get 10% discount off the pattern price on the website (with coupon code: KCACOUK4EWE) until 30 June 2018 after that time the pattern will revert to full price.

Remember to share any Little Ewe project’s to be in with a chance to win a free pattern if you are featured in my monthly newsletter.

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

11May2018

Dear Ewe | Behind the Scenes

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Dear Ewe, Designing, Life by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Squeek! The launch day for Dear Ewe is getting ever closer…only 16 days and 17 hours to go and probably even less by the time I’ve finished writing this up and posted it! I seriously feel that all of a sudden the days have started speeding forward to the deadline date and just where on earth did April go?!

If this is the first time you are hearing about Dear Ewe it’s the online company and shop that I have formed with my friend, and now business partner Becky, that’s launching at the end of this month on Monday 28th May. The shop will sell a variety of products including bone china mugs, bags, crochet patterns, prints and cards that all celebrate creativity and the world of handmade.

We know that there are shops out there (not including the small handmade product providers) that have products for crafters but it’s often either only a small part of what they do or it’s a cheap import that’s not that great. So we wanted to change that. Dear Ewe’s sole purpose is to create good quality products inspired by crafts designed exclusively for crafters.

With launch date growing ever closer I thought it might be nice if I shared a little behind the scenes look at how we’ve been preparing for the big day and a bit more of a peep at some of the products that are going to be on offer – including some of my person favourites!

As you can imagine we’ve been planning and working incredibly hard behind the scenes to design and source our products. Sourcing our products close to home and supporting local business owners and our local community was something we were both very keen to do. We’re proud to live in Stoke-on-Trent, which is officially recognised as the World Capital of Ceramics, so it made sense that we should be able to find locally produced fine bone china – and we did with the fabulous and supportive Heraldic Pottery.

One of my favourite days so far was when we were invited to go behind the scenes at the factory to see some of our first mugs being created. You can watch a little video that we took here, but I’ll pop a couple of photos below too…

I can’t quite explain that feeling of having seen something that was 2-D for so long and then how it felt actually seeing it as a real product – it was so exciting!

Every single one of our mugs is hand decorated by skilled lithographers, and when we got the opportunity to watch them, well it’s unbelievable how skillful they are! I love the fact that our mugs have that ‘handmade’ touch because we’re all about celebrating that aren’t we!

Another of my favourite days so far was a fantastic photo shoot at the stunning venue of The Upper House with Clara Lou Photography. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, there were flowers everywhere, it was just such a lovely place to be – and it provided so many wonderful backdrops for some of our products shoots.

You can just see one of our bags in shot there. I LOVE our bags…shall I tell you a little secret…I’ve already bought several for myself (there’s definitely perks to being a business owner). But they are just so nice and handy and sturdy if you know what I mean!! I did a little bit of a yarn stash tidying exercise recently and oh my were the draw string bags great for that. But I digress…as well as (two different sizes) of draw string bags we also have our fabulous tote bags…

And I think I’m going to leave it there…that’s enough sneaky peeks for now, but I will just quickly mention again that as well as our mugs and bags in store we also have our fantastic photo prop postcards, some beautiful framed print designs for your craft space, greetings cards and of course a couple of exclusive crochet patterns (designed by moi).

Our official launch is 28 May 2018 but you can stay in the loop with details by signing up to our newsletter, or following us on social media (all links on the website).

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