I Like Crochet Magazine | August 2017 Edition

Posted in Crochet, Inspiration, Magazine by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, when you make a purchase through these links I do receive a small commission – thank you so much for supporting my blog! 💗

The new issue August 2017 edition of I Like Crochet Magazine is out now! And the summer issue is jam-packed full with fabulous warm-weather patterns (and even patterns so you can get a jump start on autumn).

If you haven’t heard of I Like Crochet magazine before it’s a US bi-monthly digital magazine which is published by the creators of AllFreeCrochet.com.

I was given the opportunity to view the August issue of the magazine and there are soooo many fresh and colourful designs that are bold, lightweight and perfect for the season.

Some of my favourites include the Boogie Woogie Pillow & Daisy Bloom Pillow by Maria O’Keefe…

Daisy Bloom Pillow

the Sydney Harbors Scarf & Tahiti Blanket by Carmen Heffernan…

Tahiti Blanket

and the Venice Vest by Olivia Kent…

Venice Vest

I keep coming back to the Venice Vest, it’s just gorgeous isn’t it! I think I need to add it to my (long) list of things to make for sure!

There are over 29 beautiful patterns in the August edition but if you enjoy crochet magazines you might want to consider a subscription. 1 year membership starts at as little as $19.97 / £15.87 – so if you subscribe you do save!

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

4Jan2017

2016 in a Nutshell

Posted in Blanket, Crochet, Family, For Adult, For Baby, For Child, Free Patterns, From the Stash, In A Nutshell, Inspiration, Life, Pattern Release, Patterns, Round Up, Stitches, Tah-Dah, Works in Progress, Yarn by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I thought I’d do a little review of my hooky year in pictures…

January saw the release of the biggest thing I worked on all year. It’s also the item and design which I am ultimately most proud of. The Everything Is Cool and Groovyghan 2016 Crochet-A-Long is definitely the most challenging thing I have designed and shared so far and the finished groovyghans made by other crafters have just blown me away (you lot are amazing!). Although the crochet-a-long has now finished you can still make a groovyghan of your very own by checking out the details on the blog here.

February and March I was busy growing a human which turned out to be quite hard work! So, aside from the groovyghan, there wasn’t a whole lot of crocheting going on…

Then in April my new shawl pattern, The Spring Blossom Wrap, was released in iLikeCrochet Magazine. Worked in a smooth 4ply cotton yarn and a 3.5mm hook I was really pleased with the floral look I eventually achieved on this shawl which I based on cherry blossoms.

In May and June baby had finally arrived so I got back to a little hooking by working up some quick little hats and a headband for my new arrival. I just chose some patterns on Ravelry that I liked the look of and they actually turned out to be all free patterns. The hats and tie back I made include the Sedge Stitch Newborn Beanie, the Bonnie Bell Bonnet, the TopKnot Baby Hat and the 15 Minute Tieback. The Bonnie Bell Bonnet was one of the first hats I hooked up. It’s such a cute design and as its worked in Aran (Worsted) weight yarn it’s very quick to work up.

In July I hooked up a little Amineko cat for Little G’s summer fayre, such a fun design and super cute!

In August and September I was working on some exciting patterns for October (more on that later) but I still found time to hook up a little Pumpkin hat for the baby and Baabara for this years Yarndale charity project…

and I finally finished a work in progress which had been started a year previously! The Corner to Corner Granny Stitch Throw was a great pattern to use up loads of odds and ends of double knit in my stash…

So October was a busy and exciting month; my RainBOW Clip Organiser was released in Issue 31 of Happily Hooked Magazine…and I was completely delighted to be asked to take part in the Stylecraft Blog Tour for 2016 for which I designed the Harmonious Hexagon Blanket (free pattern here).

In November and December I hooked up several Christmassy items for my girls including some cute Elfin baby boots and some fabulous elf hats. I also hooked up a fab little mouse baby hat for a Micky fan – unfortunately this particular pattern is no longer available, there are plenty of alternatives out there though if you are looking for this style.

I also hooked up my special animals from my TOFT yarn and some awesome little Princesses for some gorgeous little girls; but I’m going to blog about those later so I’ll save those ta-dah moments for 2017!

Wow, I enjoyed that stroll down memory lane! I find when it’s all written down like this that I have accomplished more than I realised! Crochet is such a big part of my life that sometimes I forget what I have been up to in the year as I’m concentrating on the next design or project. The most fantastic thing about crochet is that it continually brings me happiness, fun challenges, surprises, satisfaction at a job completed and most of all relaxation.

So what can you look forward to in 2017 from me?

I have so many plans for 2017! I’m extremely excited to be working with several crochet magazines this year on new designs, I’ve also got various exciting collaborations coming up, I’m going to be catching up with patterns that I didn’t finish due to being pregnant (and ill) and then having a newborn (for those waiting for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – this is at the top of the list!) AND we’ve got a brand new crochet-a-long to look forward to (starting in March) which is also in development behind the scenes as we speak.

Finally I’d like to say a mahoosive thank you to everyone who has followed me on the blog or on social media in 2016…

My thanks is to everyone who may have brought and/or made any of my patterns, who have read my musings following me here on the blog and for those who have offered / or continued to offer their hands in friendship. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your support, enthusiasm and your camaraderie and how much I love to see your finished work!

Well until next time, happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

14Sep2016

KCACOUK CAL 2016 | CAL Statistics and Groovyghans YOU’VE made!

Posted in Blanket, Crochet, Crochet-A-Long 2016, Free Patterns, From the Stash, Inspiration, Tah-Dah by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Our groovyghan crochet along journey is over boo hoo! But don’t worry if this is the first you are hearing about this CAL you can find the full schedule here and I promise to keep all the details on the blog FOREVER x

This week I thought I’d share some groovyghan facts with you and show you some of the amazing groovyghans made by others.

So first the statistics – in our CAL we have had;

nearly 5,000 people join the KCACO-UK Community Group over on Facebook – that’s potentially a lot of groovyghans!! & that’s not counting everyone else that has joined in the crochet-along following on the blog.
people globally join in the CAL (which has been so exciting) including folks from United Kingdom, Ireland, USA, Canada, Luxembourg, Australia, Sweden, France, Israel, South Africa, Norway, Denmark, Mexico, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Uruguay and Greece (I may have missed some – sorry if I have)!!!
worked through 17 new patterns – way to go everyone that had never read a pattern before!
learnt to be crochet bi-lingual by following both UK and US crochet terminology – just think how useful that will be in the future!
used a crochet chart (even if my drawings were a bit wobbly at times!)
used several techniques including granny squares, popcorn stitches & ripples to name a few – some seriously impressive skills to be proud of!

I’m sending a virtual pat on the back and well done cheer to everyone that finished up their groovyghan – thank you so much for crocheting along with me.

And now I want to share some of the amazing finished Groovyghan’s that I have had the kind permission of the owners to show photos of! All the colourways that were shared with me for this post were so fantastic and pretty but if I added them all it would be a really long blog post so I have selected a few that are different for inspiration purposes. So without further ado here are some unbelievably gorgeous Groovyghans to feast your eyes on!

Loving the bright colours of this groovyghan made by Kaffy Packer

Perfect purples made by Cara Jane Brameld

Love this neutral pallet made by Holly Volkman

The addition of the black makes the colours pop! Made by Tracey Ferguson

Pink to make the girls wink by Tess Jardine Clements

Wonderful rainbow by Shona Hill

Pretty Pastels by Sandie Reader

Such vibrant colours by Susan Hill

Real stashbusting beauty by Phillipa Shaw

Crochet me a rainbow by Suzy Davis

Aren’t they just all stunning! Thanks again to everyone that joined in the CAL with me this year and has shared their beautiful work with me! I loved seeing your finished Groovyghans 💕

Look out for details of our next crochet along in December (starting in January 2017).

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

22Mar2016

KCACO-UK Groovyghan CAL 2016 | Parts 1-5 inspiration

Posted in Crochet, Crochet-A-Long 2016, Inspiration by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So I just had to share some of the Part 1-5’s of my Groovyghan CAL people have been sharing in the Facebook group because they are all just so awesome!

Sooooo much inspiration (and envy) from these gorgeous colour schemes! Just feast your eyes on the beauty of this little selection that I kindly had permission to share with you.