Stylecraft Blog Tour 2016 | Harmonious Hexagons Quilt Free Pattern Release

Posted in Blanket, Blogging, Crochet, Free Patterns, Pattern Release, Patterns, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

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So following on from my last post about this I must say again how chuffed to bits I am to be one of the bloggers for this years Stylecraft Blog Tour to celebrate the winning colours, from the recent poll they conducted, for their Special Aran and Special Chunky yarns.

Monday the tour visited Emma Varnam’s blog and we got to see her beautiful Blencathra Blanket, yesterday we popped round to Janie Crow’s blog and drooled over her gorgeous Diego’s Flowers motif (make sure you check them out if you haven’t already) and today the tour is with me!

First off if you are new to my blog WELCOME one and all! So pleased you could join me, I have a brand new pattern, using Stylecraft Special Chunky, to share with you and later there will also be a chance to win your very OWN Stylecraft colour pack so stay tuned for that.

Right lets quickly recap about the colours which I reviewed here. The wonderful public chose 6 colours…

♥ Pale Rose ♥ Empire ♥ Storm Blue ♥ Sage ♥ Pistachio ♥ Saffron

but for my new pattern a couple more colours have been added for a nice balanced palette.

♥ Parchment ♥ Pomegranate ♥ Spice ♥ Gold

Although I played around with different shapes and designs on paper and in my head the thing I was certain about was that I wanted to use all ten colours in my pattern. Shape wise I’ve worked with so many squares / rectangles recently that I also knew that I wanted to do a different shape. But what to make…that was the quandary! In the end I decided I wanted to make a nice thick lapghan to keep me warm as our British nights grow ever cooler.

I have always had a fascination with patchwork and, as someone that can’t sew for toffee, love to see this medium re-created in crochet. There are some fabulous patterns out in the crochet-verse already inspired by quilts (like the gorgeous Sunny Log Cabin blanket by Attic24 or the Jewelled Star Blanket by Janie Crow) and this definitely motivated me to try and create my own patchwork inspired design.

I have to confess when I got my yarn to play with I kept on returning to the idea of a rainbow with chunks of solid colour (because who doesn’t love a rainbow) and there is just something so satisfyingly delicious I’ve discovered about pure colour chunky hexagons!

My finished pattern embraces a contemporary look that allows bold pops of rainbow colours to illuminate a classic patchwork design. So without further ado let me introduce you to the Harmonious Hexagon Quilt…

I had so much fun making these hexagons and playing with the colours that I didn’t want it to stop!

As the yarn is super nice and chunky the pattern works up quickly, and as it’s made in pieces it’s a great project to take out and about with you if you want to hook on the go.

The finished blanket measures 118 cm x 98cm (46.5 x 38.5 inches) so the perfect size to throw over your lap to ward off a chill.

The hexagon motifs do not require advanced skills to execute and, as always with my patterns, terminology is written in both UK and US terms. I have included explanations of all stitches and abbreviations and also added some photos in the pattern to hopefully help with any tricky parts!

Click the link below to add the Harmonious Hexagon Quilt to your Favourites and Ravelry Queue.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ HARMONIOUS HEXAGON QUILT ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

If you’re not on Ravelry and you’d like a copy of the pattern, you can get in touch with me via email at kcacouk at gmail dot com and I’ll send you a pdf version.

If you would like to win a pack of Stylecraft Special Chunky in the colour pack I have used follow the link below to enter the competition.

♥ COMPETITION now closed, congratulations to Beverley Lotz ♥

And the exciting news is that the Stylecraft blogtour has only just begun! Make sure you check out Stylecraft’s Facebook page for details over the next couple of weeks to find out the blogger of the day, get their fabulous free pattern and to be in with a chance to win a yarn pack! Still to come at some point are the following bloggers:

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

14Oct2014

September in a Nutshell

Posted in Crochet, For Adult, Magazine, Patterns by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Gosh I can’t believe how long it is since I last blogged!!! Almost a month! Well things have been pretty hectic and as my broken fingers are not mended I have been trying to catch up with all things crochet. So I released a pattern this month, my ‘Midnight Bloom’ Handbag. My very first handbag and made with zpagetti t-shirt yarn so two firsts. I had great fun designing this one!

As featured in Too Yarn Cute Crochet e-Magazine this bag is the perfect fashion accessory for an evening out or a stroll in the park! Designed in black for a stylish result but why not mix and match your colours to suit any mood or outfit!

You can make this versatile bag either by using Zpagetti yarn (as shown), with homemade up cycled t-shirt yarn or with bulky or super bulky yarn for different effects. As it’s made in ‘bulky’ yarn its super quick to make -perfect for that last minute gift! Instructions are also included for the stylish motifs for that personal touch. The pattern is now available from my stores on both Ravelry and Craftsy.

This month I also finished off a special gift for my mum and Dad’s 40th Wedding Anniversary. It took me ages to find the perfect heart and then I remembered a pattern designed by Heritage Heartcraft called ‘Build-a-heart’ which was exactly what I was looking for. The graphic design and framing were done for me by the fabulous Keepsakes by Rebecca if you’ve not checked out the things she does yet make sure you get yourself over there now!

Have a month of happy hooking!

17Mar2014

What comes first, the yarn or the crochet?

Posted in For Baby, From the Stash, Patterns by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

What comes first, the yarn or the crochet? What an interesting question and I have to say with me it’s definitely a bit of both. Mainly I would say I have an idea and then I find my yarn but there are certainly times when the yarn picks me. I end up buying some yarn just because it ‘speaks to me’ and although I don’t have a particular project in mind at the time I will add it to my (ever-growing) stash for the future.

There are some balls lingering in ‘The Stash’ (it deserves the capital letters!) that have been there for a fair while now but I still just haven’t found out what they were meant to be (their time will come), however I did find the perfect use for a 100g ball of James Brett ‘Flutterby’ Chunky, which is a chenille type of yarn, which I had picked up some time ago due to its super softness and squishability (that is a word!). What came out of the yarn was ‘Nanuk’ the Polar Bear lovey designed with the yarn in mind to create the most snuggly lovey ever…

I love how this little guy turned out! But I’m not going to lie to you, this yarn can be tricky to work with to ‘count’ stitches. That said all my testers agree; you can’t beat how cuddlesome this lovey is made with a yarn like this.

The Nanuk pattern is currently with my lovely tester group with a release date of 21st March 2014 when the pattern will be available on Craftsy and Ravelry – as always I will also do a pattern giveaway to celebrate the release over on my Facebook page.

Now I just need to pop this Nanuk in the post for a new baby girl (welcome to the world baby Edith).

And for anyone that has never heard of James Brett Flutterby or you are in the US/Canada/Australia and have trouble getting hold of that yarn, here are some alternatives that you could try:

If you make up the pattern with a different soft and chunky yarn I would love to hear so I can add it to the list above.