Peppermint Pageant MAL | The Reveal & Pattern Release

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Howdy, how are you all today? I’m just popping on today to tell you of my first pattern release of 2023!

The 26th of January was the last ‘official’ day of the latest make along that has been hosted by The Yarn Whisperer and myself. From the 26 December 2022 until now, over a month later, we have enjoyed our winter make along project with a bunch of lovely mal’ers. And now I get the opportunity to share my finished Peppermint Pageant Stocking, and it’s pattern, with you!

Image of a green, white and red Peppermint Pageant crochet tapestry Christmas stocking

Inspired by Christmas colours of red, white and green and by hand made Scandinavian fairisle type patterns I really enjoyed coming up with my own tapestry crochet version of a tradition stocking.

As always it’s been an absolute delight to work with Kitey and his gorgeously coloured yarn, I love these collabs we do – it always provides me with an opportunity to work with gorgeous yarn which in turn makes the design process super enjoyable.

The Aran yarn in this case was such a beautiful yarn to crochet with and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the slight variations of the semi solid colours come through as I worked each stitch.

Image of a work in progress Peppermint Pageant crochet tapestry Christmas stocking

If this is the first you’ve heard about the The Peppermint Pageant MAL you can read more about it here but in a nutshell it’s the result of a wonderful collaboration between myself and Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, of a unique crocheted stocking designed with a special hand dyed yarn in mind.

It’s made us both incredibly happy to see the photos of folks sharing their progress with us on social media and I hope you will continue to do so as you finish your stockings if you haven’t had chance to make it yet.

Images of various works in progress and finished Peppermint Pageant crochet tapestry Christmas stockings

Although the official end date of the MAL has come to an end DO NOT feel any panic or worry that you didn’t keep up or haven’t even started yet. The deadline was there just for those people that like a deadline, for everyone else, enjoy it when you have the time to use the yarn and / or make the stocking – there is no rush to this crochet makealong! And sometime in the future you will have a beautiful finished object that you can gift for someone special or to enjoy yourself.

Image of the crocheted Peppermint Pageant stocking hanging up on a fireplace.

Now that the MAL is over, I have listed the pattern in my usual pattern stores for you to make your own version of the The Peppermint Pageant Stocking.

I would suggest three different colours work best, I used 100g / 166m of a main colour (e.g. White) and 50g / 83m in contract colours (e.g. Green and Red) and a 5mm (US size H/8) hook.

If you’d like to pick up this specific kit colourway then you can pick it up from Kitey and EXCITEDLY the Peppermint Pageant kits are getting an upgrade for 2023. This design and yarn combo are going to be the first make-along kit that will keep going this year. Kitey is coming up with some exciting new colourways as we speak that I can’t wait to see come together (I’m looking at you teal and silver – oooo!)

The pattern has a written version, a chart and comes with a bonus pattern to make your own mini hanging stocking decorations – Kitey and I always like to add a little extra something for those scraps of leftover yarn! The pattern comes with all explanation of stitches used and is available in either UK or US terminology.

We do hope that you’ve enjoyed this fun make-along, I know Kitey and I have thoroughly enjoyed it – in fact we’ve already got our plans in the works for our annual summer make-along! I’m already excited about it – we will be looking to release, as before, in July but details will be sent out before that to give folks plenty of time to sign up if they want to.

Make sure you are signed up to the blog (or my newsletter) and The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

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

20Sep2022

Dragonfly River MAL | The Reveal & Pattern Release

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

The 15th of September was the last ‘official’ day of the latest make along that has been hosted by The Yarn Whisperer and myself. From the 31 July until now, over a month later, we have enjoyed a relaxed summer make along project with lovely fellow crocheters. And now I get the opportunity to share my finished Dragonfly River Cowl with you in all it’s glory with you!

If this is the first you’ve heard about the Dragonfly River MAL you can read more about it here but in a nutshell it’s the result of a wonderful collaboration between myself and Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, of a unique crocheted cowl designed with a special hand dyed yarn in mind.

It’s made us both incredibly happy to see the photos of folks sharing their progress with us on social media and I hope you will continue to do so as you finish your cowls if you haven’t had chance to make it yet.

I’m really pleased with how the design for this cowl turned out and working with the yarn was such a delight! I’m a big fan of slub yarn, because I love the texture it automatically creates, and the lovely dragonfly colourway, with that sparkle, was just wonderful! I think I kept being slightly annoying to my husband as I kept asking him to look at it twinkling in various situations, and it really was a delight to see those beautiful tonal green and blue colours coming through in the stitches.

Although the official end date of the MAL has come to an end DO NOT feel any panic or worry that you didn’t keep up, haven’t got it done, didn’t start it or whatever! The deadline was there just for those people that like a deadline, for everyone else, enjoy it when you have the time to use the yarn and / or make the cowl – there is no rush to this crochet make along! And sometime in the future you will have a beautiful finished object that you can gift for someone special or to enjoy wearing yourself.

Now that the MAL is over, I have listed the pattern in my usual pattern stores for you to make your own version of the The Dragonfly River Cowl.

Use two of your favourite skeins of handdyed yarn with a 3.5mm (US size E/4) hook – I can’t wait to see what colourways you use for your own unique projects. Or if you’d like to pick up this specific kit colourway, although the original version was sold out, it will be available again from Kitey from November as a dye to order.

The pattern has a written version, a chart and comes with a bonus pattern to make your own Dragonfly brooch – Kitey and I always like to add a little extra something for those scraps of leftover yarn! The pattern comes with all explanation of stitches used and is available in either UK or US terminology.

We do hope that you’ve enjoyed this fun make-along, I know Kitey and I have thoroughly enjoyed it – in fact we’ve already made our plans for our Christmas-time make-along! All I’m going to say is that I’m already excited for it, it’s something completely different and it’s going to be a blast!

Make sure you are signed up to the blog (or my newsletter) and The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

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

9May2022

Pattern Release | Whisperers of the Sea Wrap

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So today is the official launch of the BRAND NEW summer crochet make-along (Dragonfly River which you can read about here), and so I thought I needed to get my act together and finally list the pattern for last years make-along, the Whisperers of the Sea Wrap, for anyone who just wants the pattern to make their own keepsake wrap.

The product of the wonderful collaboration between myself and The Yarn Whisperer the Whispers of the Sea Wrap is a crocheted shawl featuring light and airy stitches that give it beautiful drape and flow. Perfect for warmer weather as a cover up on the beach, for strolls along the shore, or maybe a beach wedding!

I’m really pleased with how the design turned out, I absolutely LOVED working with the slub yarn! The texture and the softness and the colours that Kitey had worked his magic with were just an absolute delight with every stitch I made. If you love the yarn I created my wrap you can still pick up the custom dyed yarn directly as a pre-order from The Yarn Whisperer on his website.

Or if you’d prefer to use yarn from your stash, the pattern is now available from my usual pattern stores for you to make your own version of the Whispers of the Sea Wrap – I can’t wait to see what colourways you use for your own unique shawls.

It’s made us both incredibly happy to see photos of folks sharing their progress and finished wraps with us on social media, and I hope you will continue to do so as you finish your wraps if you haven’t had chance to make it yet – you can still tag us with the hashtag #WOTSMAL.

To celebrate the launch of our BRAND NEW collaboration I’m running a sale all three of our previous collaboration patterns. Use the code: COLLAB25 until 16 May 2022 to get 25% discount off Whisperers of the Sea Wrap, Mellow Mallow Scarf and the Solstice Garden Wrap

As I mentioned in my last post, Kitey and I just may have already planned more projects into 2024 – we do get a bit over excited when we start talking!) You may wish to sign up to the blog (or my newsletter) and / or The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

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

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14Feb2022

Pattern Release | Hearts in a Whirl Wrap

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I’ve got something new for you today – surround yourself in love with the Hearts in a Whirl wrap!

With Valentine’s Day nearly upon us it seemed the perfect time to finally sort out this pattern! It’s been a work in progress for ever such a long time, though it’s been nothing more than being down to me to find the time to pull everything together – so I’m so pleased to finally be able to share it with you today.

The Hearts in a Whirl wrap is a lightweight shawl which features a fun filet design with a puff stitch twist – perfect for adventurous beginners that would like to try something new.

The general shape of the wrap is a rectangle with a cute heart shaped stitch for borders on either end, if you were using a single colour, or stash busting it would be fairly easy to make it longer by adding a repeat or extending the border.

It’s a perfect pattern to use with your favourite gradient yarn cake; for this version I used Scheepjes Whirl Tasty Nom Nom (Shade 789) and a Scheepjes Whirlette in Grappa (Shade 855), both of which had been in my stash for a very long time, with a 3.25mm (US D/3) hook.

If you are not familiar with Scheepjes Whirls, they are a 4ply (Fingering / Sock Weight) yarn with a high twist making them perfect for crochet. The cakes are 215g (1000m) each with a blend of 60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic. I used pretty much all of the 215g (1000m) for the main part of the wrap, and approximately 45g (182m) of the Whirlette for the border at each end.

I’m really pleased with how the design for this wrap turned out, The nature of this puff stitch means that it should show on the right side and the wrong side of your work (leaving it practically reversible with no right or wrong side).

In fact my mum, who loves things with hearts on in general, and really loved the colour of the yarn (they really are her kind of colours dark purples and reds) has already laid claim to this wrap now that it’s all finished up, and it seems only appropriate I gift it too her as she kindly wore it for a few of these modelled photos.

So it seems I’m still not totally done with filet crochet yet – it’s just such a versatile crochet technique! Though in truth I started this pattern when I was working on Filet Fantastic so it is a couple of years old – so it really was about time I got it released!

If you are new to filet, you might find my post Top Tips for Filet Crochet useful to look at first, but this wrap has a lovely repetition of stitches that you can enjoy as a perfect mindful make!

The pattern is now available from my usual pattern stores for you to make your own version:

With some many wonderful gradient yarn cakes to choose from these days I’m really excited to see what you come up with!

If you make up the Hearts in a Whirl wrap I hope you’ll share any finished photos with me on social media (facebook, twitter or instagram) or as a project on Ravelry – I love to see what you make! And finally you may wish to make sure you are signed up to blog (below) and / or my mailing list to get a reminder when new blog posts, discounts or new pattern releases are available.

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

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27Jan2022

Mellow Mallow MAL | The Reveal & Pattern Release

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit, Independent Design, Pattern Release by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So yesterday was the last ‘official’ day of the latest make along that has been hosted by The Yarn Whisperer and myself. From Boxing Day 2021 until today, a month later, we have delighted in seeing your Mellow Mallow scarves grow! And now I get the opportunity to share my finished scarf in all it’s glory!

If this is the first you’ve heard about the Mellow Mallow MAL you can read more about it here but in a nutshell it’s the result of a wonderful collaboration between myself and Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, of a unique crocheted triangle scarf designed with a special hand dyed yarn in mind.

It’s made us both incredibly happy to see the photos of folks sharing their progress with us on social media and I hope you will continue to do so as you finish your scarves if you haven’t had chance to make it.

I’m really pleased with how the design for this scarf turned out. I’m not sure what it is about working with Kitey, but working with his yarn always pushes me, as a designer, to try new challenges – and this scarf was definitely no exception! With no natural pattern repeat the final pattern ended up as 17 pages!! That’s quite long for a scarf pattern, but it does include charts and schematics.

But don’t let that put you off, whilst it doesn’t have a natural repeat, there is a rhythm to the stitches it which means you can pretty much work it without looking, just by checking the stitches at the end of each row.

Although the official end date of the MAL has now passed, it doesn’t really end because you can still make the pattern later. Kitey has a few of the Mellow Mallow kits left, then the colourway will be available as a pre-order.

Or if you’d prefer to use yarn from your stash, the pattern is now available from my usual pattern stores for you to make your own version of the Mellow Mallow Scarf – I can’t wait to see what colourways you use for your own unique scarves.

We do hope that you’ve enjoyed this fun make-along, I know Kitey and I have thoroughly enjoyed it – in fact we’ve already made our plans for our next summer make-along! All I’m going to say is that I’m already excited for this summer design – you are not going to want to miss it! Make sure you are signed up to the blog (or my newsletter) and / or The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

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

21Dec2020

Solstice Garden MAL 2020 | The Reveal

Posted in Collaboration, Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Crochet Kit by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Happy Solstice everyone! Today is the last day of the make along that has been hosted by The Yarn Whisperer and myself – though I know there are still plenty of people around the world who are just starting, or are continuing to make the Solstice Garden Wrap.

If this is the first you’ve heard about the Solstice Garden MAL you can read more about it here, but it’s the result of a wonderful collaboration between myself and Kitey, aka The Yarn Whisperer, on a unique crocheted wrap design called Solstice Garden.

It’s made us both incredibly happy to see the photos of folks sharing their progress with us on social media and I hope you will continue to do so as you finish your shawls.

I thought I’d just share some photos of my finished shawl so you can see the final design if you haven’t already. I’m really pleased with how this wrap turned out, it is one of those designs where the yarn really knew what it wanted to be.

I think I mentioned that for this design I looked into some of the traditions of solstice time. The wrap features circles, which the pagan’s used to represent the year and stylised wreaths or blooms to symbolise the turning of the seasons. There are also symbols of protection, unity and balance with enclosing borders and repeating stitch patterns.

With everything that has happened this year this MAL and design has definitely been a highlight, and as always a lovely part of any MAL, (or CAL), has been the wonderful joining of the crafty community, the taking part, chatting about the design and making friends!

In fact there’s a Solstice Zoom catch up TONIGHT at 8pm for a final MAL meet up – doesn’t matter if you are just starting or finishing off it would just be lovely to see you. You can find the full details over on the Yarn Whisperers instagram grid.

Although there is an end date to the make along, it doesn’t really end because you can still make the pattern later. Kitey is currently taking a short break for the holidays though he’ll be re-opening on 26th December (for stock items). His dyed to order yarn, like the Solstice Garden colourway kits will be available again from January 4th 2021. The bead kits to go along with the yarn will still be included but the extra special kit exclusive ‘freebies’ will no longer be available. Kits cost £37 + postage.

If you’d prefer to use yarn from your stash then you can do the pattern alone will be available from my usual stores from 1st February 2021 onwards.

We do hope that you’ve enjoyed this fun make-along, I know Kitey and I have thoroughly enjoyed it – in fact we might just have some secret plans to work together again in the future! All I’m going to say is that I might just have in my possession THE MOST BEAUTIFUL yarn for a summer design that you are not going to want to miss out on! Make sure you are signed up to the blog (or my newsletter) and / or The Yarn Whisperer newsletter to make sure you are the first to know when the new collaboration project is revealed!

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

29May2019

Yarn Shows 2019 | Wool@Jct13

Posted in Blogging, Crochet, Days Out, Getting Crafty, Inspiration, Life, Outings, Yarn, Yarn Show by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Wool@J13 is the most local yarn show to me so I’ve started to mark it on the calendar each year. This year was the third time the show has run and subsequently my third visit to Lower Drayton farm where the show is held in May each year.

For an avid crocheter a day out to a yarn festival is great for your sense of well-being and feelings of harmony with like minded souls. If you’ve not been to a yarn show before you probably need to prepare yourself for so much yarn (all of which you will probably want) and lots of people talking about yarn and knitting and crochet!

As yarn shows go Wool@Jct13 runs over two days (a Saturday and a Sunday) but it isn’t massive, and this year it was smaller than the year before. The stalls for the event are all held in a big structured tent with rows of stalls at each edge and along the centre which you get to walk around in a big sort of loop.

The last two previous years have been blessed with tremendous weather for the shows. This year it was a grey and cloudy so it was great to see lots of people still turn out for the show. Luckily the weather was still warm enough to sit outside and listen to the outdoor music by various artists.

Food-wise there are picnic tables available but most people seemed to just be buying lunch as there were quite a few food stalls at reasonable prices – we all enjoyed sampling pizza and tea and cake over the course of the afternoon.

My girls loved the bands and we were able to sit around and chill as they danced along to each track which was nice. That’s one thing I really love about Wool@Jct13, it’s extremely family friendly – you can just see my two girls (below) walking hand in hand through the stalls and even my husband was quite taken with the colours of the yarns available and by the artistry of some of the felt pictures we saw.

My girls also loved all the animals and the play-park that they have on site. In fact my husband played with them on the play-park whilst I got to have a first leisurely look at stalls then we all went round the stalls again together later. The kids also loved the fact that they got a tractor-trailer ride (there and back) to the show! My three year old was very impressed by the big wheels!

On offer at the show was mainly hand dyed yarn, things for spinners and needle felters, and products celebrating ‘wool’. Actually it is a very WOOLLY show, which based on a farm I think it was bound to be, there are sheep around and also fleece shearing demonstrations which are really interesting to watch. You certainly get a sense of where the yarn is coming from!

In the main tent there was just so much yarn prettiness to drool over that if I had all the money in the world I could have gone crazy – because I pretty much wanted everything I saw!

And I did buy yarn, I can’t lie, I felt it would be rude not to when at a yarn show! I just fell in love with the colourways of five skeins of yarn that had to come home with me. The first two are from Siobhan Crafts and the last three are from Bellica Yarns.

I just loved the speckles and flecks on the first two which are 75% SW Merino and 25% Nylon Double Knit. Together they make 200g and the colourways are OOAK – Prism and Mermaid Scales which I think will go beautifully together in an, as yet unknown, future project.

The gorgeous yellow toned yarns I had to have because I just envisioned them in a summer shawl. I’m going on holiday next week so I’m thinking of caking it up and taking it with me. The vivid block yellow is 100g and the smaller two lovely speckled variegated yarn are 50g each so I have 200g in total which should make a fair sized shawl. There were no colourway names on the labels but both are 4ply 75% SW Merino and 25% Nylon – perfect for a light and airy design I was thinking!

So all in all we enjoyed our visit to this years show and I’m sure you will find us back at Wool@J13 next year! If you are in The Midlands you might want to check it out. But actually if you love yarn then I hope you’ll go along and support any local yarn show, they’ll only be able to keep going if we help keep them running – if that’s not a good excuse for having to buy yarn I don’t know what is!

If you are looking for a yarn show near you I’ve found this comprehensive blog post, by the Travel Knitter, which seems to list all Yarn Shows for 2019 which is just fab (thanks to her for doing that!).

Are you visiting any yarn shows this year? I’d love to hear which ones you are going to and why you’ve chosen that particular one… feel free to drop a comment below.

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