Yarn Show 2022 | Wool@Jct13 – Get your tickets!

Posted in Outings, Yarn Show by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

Yarn shows are back, hooray! I think they have definitely been missed. And I for one am super excited to be going back to Wool@Jct13 on 14 – 15 May 2022!

But I’m not going as a visitor this time, I’m actually vending with my Dear Ewe, KCACOUK and Yarnybobs products. In November of last year, I had my first yarn show stand at Wool@Jct13, and I’m delighted to be going back this May (and at the time of year the show is normally held).

If you’ve not heard of Wool@Jct13 before it’s a two day yarn festival held on a family run farm in the pretty market town of Penkridge, South Staffordshire which is just off Junction 13 of the M6.

It’s a show which is just down the road from me and we have been every year (pre-Covid), with the whole family, and it’s been a wonderfully fun day out (you can read about previous visits here, here and here).

The festival is described as a celebration of all things woolly for anyone with an interest in wool and crafts – whether it be knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving or felting.

Over the two days you can expect to find food, drink and music alongside demonstrations, competitions and wool craft workshops – and of course lots yarn themed shopping opportunities!

Tickets are very reasonably priced at £7.50pp on the day or £12.50pp for the full weekend. Getting advanced tickets you can get a bit more of a discount and under 16’s and parking for the day are both free.

If you haven’t yet booked your place for the 2022 show, follow this link for more info and to save money on your advance bookings: https://wool-j13.uk/tickets/

From learning new skills and stocking up on supplies, visitors to Wool@Jct13 are in for a weekend of wool-filled loveliness!

I really hope you will come over and say hi to me (and my lovely mum who is helping me on the day), we’ll be on stand 6A.

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

18Dec2018

Free Crochet Pattern |Mini Tapestry Christmas Tree Decorations

Posted in Crochet, Designing, Free Patterns, Pattern Release, Yarn, Yarn Review by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I love making Christmas decorations so when I got to try some Creativa Fino from Anchor Crafts (review of which you can read here) and as it’s December that’s what I decided to make.

You can scroll down to the written patterns and the charts for the Christmas Wreath and Christmas Tree mini tapestry pillow tree decorations below, but if you are new to tapestry crochet you might want have a look at my mini tapestry crochet tutorial first.

Mini Tapestry Crochet Christmas Tree Decorations:

Materials:

Yarn: 4ply / yarn weight #2

1 x 10g Anchor Creativa

Blue (Shade 00269)
Green (Shade 00418)
Brown (Shade 00257)

Pattern will work in other hooks and yarns though finished size will be different.

Hook: 2.5mm (US size C/2)

You will also need:

1 x Anchor Grey Stranded Cotton (232)
A yarn needle
1 x Small red bow
8 x Small Red / 8 x Small Silver Beads
1 x Small Star or Snowflake button
Small amount of polyester toy filler

Gauge: 5dc = 2cm (0.78inches)

Finished Size: 7 x 7cm (2.75 x 2.75 inches)

Abbreviations:

st(s) = stitch(es)
sl st = slip stitch
ch(s) = chain
dc/sc = UK double crochet / US single crochet
cc = change colour (see guidance for details)

Stitch Guidance:

Slip Stitch (sl st): Insert hook in st indicated, yarn over and draw through all loops.
UK Double Crochet/US Single Crochet (dc/sc): Insert hook in st indicated and draw up a loop (two loops on hook), yarn over, draw through both loops on hook.

Pattern Notes:

Changing Colour:

When changing to a different colour, pull the new colour through the last two loops of the previous st to complete that st. Continue in the new colour, following the pattern. Change colours in this manner, whenever indicated on the pattern.

Tapestry Crochet:

When changing to and from a colour carry the unused coloured yarn along with you and crochet over the unused colour as they are carried along, when turning carry your yarn up the side of your work to use on the next row.

Surface Crochet:

Start by attaching a slip knot to the back of the crochet area then from the front of the work, insert your hook into the stitch nearby and start working chain stitches on the surface of your crocheted area, continue to work in this way according to the design.

Christmas Wreath (Make 2):

Row 1: With Blue; ch14; 1dc in the second ch from hook and in st along until end, turn. 13sts

Row 2: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 4sts, turn

Row 3: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 2sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 7sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 3sts, turn

Row 4: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next st, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 2sts, turn

Row 5: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining st, turn

Rowd 6-8: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 2sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the next 7sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 2sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining st, turn

Row 9: Repeat row 5

Row 10: Repeat row 4

Row 11: Repeat row 3

Row 12: Repeat row 2 – cut green yarn at the end of this row

Row 13: Ch1; 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the second ch from hook and in st along until end, turn. 13sts

Fasten off and weave in ends.
With Green surface crochet around the outside of the wreath shape.
On one side of the wreath shape sew a small red bow and eight red beads around the wreath – see photo above for more details.

Christmas Tree (Make 2):

Row 1: With Blue; ch14; 1dc in the second ch from hook and in st along until end, turn. 13sts

Rows 2-3: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 4sts, cc to Brown, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 5sts, turn

Row 4: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Brown, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 4sts, turn

Row 5: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Brown, 1dc in the next st, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 6sts, turn

Row 6: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next st, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 9sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 2sts, turn

Rows 7 – 8: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 2sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 7sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 3sts, turn

Rows 9 – 10: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 4sts, turn

Row 11: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 4sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next 3sts, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 5sts, turn

Row 11: Ch1, 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the next 5sts, cc to Green, 1dc in the next st, cc to Blue, 1dc in the remaining 6sts, turn – cut green yarn at the end of this row

Row 13: Ch1; 1dc in the same st as the beginning ch1, 1dc in the second ch from hook and in st along until end, turn. 13sts. Fasten off and weave in ends.

With Green / Brown surface crochet around the outside of the tree shape.
On one side of the tree shape sew small star or snowflake button at the top and eight silver beads for baubles on the tree – see photo for more details.

Finishing:

Place both wreaths / Christmas tree pieces together, attach blue yarn through both pieces and neatly work 1dc/sc along each edge with 5dc/sc in each corner. Stuff as you go. Fasten off and weave in ends
With Anchor Grey Stranded Cotton Ch30, fasten off but leave long yarn tail.
Attach to the top centre of each pillow decoration as the hanging loop.

Charts:

I hope you will join me in hooking up some little pillow decorations, they are really fun to make! I hope you’ll tag me on social media or link any projects to Ravelry so I can see – I love to see what you make.

Many thanks to Anchor Crafts for supplying the yarn so I could make this pattern for you.

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

18Dec2018

Tapestry Crochet: Step-by-step mini tutorial

Posted in Crochet, Designing, Free Patterns, Pattern Release, Tutorial, Yarn, Yarn Review by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So yesterday if you were here on the blog you will have seen my review of Anchor Creativa Fino yarn that Anchor crafts kindly sent me to try. I also shared with you a little sneeky peep of the free patterns I’m sharing with you today.

I thought I’d do a bit of a double post today, in this post I’m going to first talk about how I do tapestry crochet working in rows to make it easier, for folks that haven’t tried it before, to go onto the patterns for both decorations next.

Tapestry crochet is one of those that might seem a little intimidating because it can involve a lot of different yarn colour changes, but I’m going to show you below how easy it is – and how to weave most of your ends as you go!

The main thing you need to know is that you will be working normal UK double crochet (US single crochet) stitches. The only difference is that you will carry additional yarn along with you and working over it as you crochet the row.

Step 1:

Work your rows and stitches as the pattern indicates as normal…

Step 2:

Then on the next row where you have to change colour, lay your second colour along your row and work over the top of it until it’s time for you to actually change colour…

Step 3:

When changing to a different colour, pull the new colour through the last two loops of the previous stitch to complete that stitch…

Step 4:

Continue in the new colour, following the pattern. Change colours in this manner, whenever indicated on the pattern…

Step 5:

When you get to the end of the row carry your yarn up the side of your work…

Step 6:

Then carry the unused coloured yarn along and crochet over the unused colour to work the next row…

And that’s pretty much it! Keep working the steps above until you have finished the tapestry part of your work as indicated in the pattern.

There are often two types of instructions available for tapestry crochet patterns; a written pattern and a pictorial chart. For a pictorial chart you usually work one UK double crochet (US single crochet) per square indicated.

In the pattern coming shortly I’ve included both the written pattern and a pictorial chart for both the Christmas tree and the Christmas wreath crochet decoration so you can decided which you prefer.

Many thanks to Anchor Crafts for supplying the yarn so I could make this pattern for you.

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

17Dec2018

Anchor | Creativa Fino Yarn Review

Posted in Crochet, Designing, Free Patterns, Pattern Release, Yarn, Yarn Review by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

I had a lovely email recently from Anchor Yarns to see if I would like to review some of their yarn. I’d heard of Anchor crafts through their embroidery threads but I must confess that I hadn’t realised that they also had a range of cottons suitable for crochet.

I enjoy doing the research into yarn companies because they often come from such a rich heritage! And Anchor crafts are no different; the brand can trace back it’s history all the way to 1866 originating in Scotland. As years passed the manufacture of Anchor threads moved from Scotland then to Germany and today, the Anchor brand in Europe is manufactured by Mezcrafts in Hungary.

As well as supply yarn they also seem to have a great ethos as a company; they mention on their website that they are continuously building and improving their ecological footprint by looking to reduce CO2 emissions, have minimal textile waste and through low water consumption. All good stuff!

Anchor offer a wide variety of yarns of different thicknesses and compositions suitable for many craft techniques but for crochet they sent me some of their Anchor Creativa to play with.

So let’s check out the yarn’s vital statistics we:

Weight: 4ply / Fingering Weight (2)
Blend: 100% Cotton
Yarn Ball Weight: 50g
Yarn Ball Length: 125m
Wash instructions: Machine Wash 40°C
Price: £1.90 (at the time of this post)

It’s available in a whopping 72 solid shades in 4ply (and in 8ply) but I was sent a nice selection of six different colours to play with.

It’s really nice yarn to use, it’s very smooth, not rough to work with and as a cotton is great for home decor items and wearables as it’s machine washable – ideal for easy care! The recommended hook size is 2.5mm (US size C/2) which I found to be spot on for me, and I had fun trying out a couple of ideas, but I’ll share a little sneaky peek of the first idea I came up with now…

As it’s Christmas and I love making Christmas decorations I had the idea to make some little Christmas pillow decorations for the tree. They are a great beginners project to tapestry crochet (of which I’ll share a bit of a photo tutorial), they are quick to make (easily finished in an evening) and so make a fabulous little project for either you or as a seasonal gift for a friend.

Check back tomorrow for the pattern and tapestry charts for both the Christmas tree and the wreath Christmas crochet decorations.

Many thanks to Anchor Crafts for supplying the yarn so I could make this pattern for you.

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

12Dec2018

Three Bears Yarn | The Great British Textile Box Product Review

Posted in Crochet, Crochet Accessories, Pattern Review, Product Review, Yarn, Yarn Review by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

So recently I was approached by Three Bears Yarns to see if I would like to review their Great British Textile Box. Review a box full of delicious quality British wool…oh go on then I said…you’ve twisted my arm – if you’d like to send me one over, I said, that would be very kind of you…(cue me dancing with glee).

Not long after a fabulously designed box was delivered by my nice postman (all postman are nice that deliver yarn aren’t they!)…

But before I get to the unveiling of the inside of the box maybe you want to know who Three Bears Yarns are and what the Great British Textile Box is?

Three Bears Yarns are a company that originates from the heritage of Blackburn Yarn Dyers founded in 1915. I first became aware of Three Bears Yarns earlier this year and have been following them with interest since then. I love the fact that they are passionate about what they are producing and are keen to put Lancashire (British) textiles back on the map.

I would say Three Bears Yarns are probably best known for their delicious range of 100% cotton yarn on Aran (Worsted), DK (Sport) and 3ply (Fingering) weights which comes in over 70 shades across the weights…

I’ve used some of their cottons for a few projects now for Dear Ewe (the Lime Crush Baskets and Fat Bottomed Rustic Basket) and really liked it and have some more projects coming up in 2019 (so watch this space).

Three Bears Yarns also now offer a range of British Blue Faced Leicester Aran wool (available in eleven stunning shades) and are branching out into filling the Great British Textile Box with other yarn spun in Yorkshire and dyed in Lancashire.

The Great British Textile Box is a monthly crochet subscription box filled with 200g of beautiful yarn that comes complete with a crochet pattern available in both UK and US terms. Each month you’ll receive:

200g of quality British Wool
A unique crochet design to craft
Accessories included

So back to the box…nestled in some turquoise tissue paper were two beautiful skeins of the finest Falkland Merino DK yarn.

It’s unfortunate that this blog isn’t equipped with squidge-o-vision because it’s the kind of yarn that begs to be squished a bit! When I got it out I was delighted by how soft it felt.

Aren’t you always a bit worried when you hear wool – and think scratchy? Not a jot with this Falklands Merino, it’s soft as a cloud! The two skeins were cream and taupe coloured and the pattern design that accompanied the yarn was for the Hannah Hat and Gauntlets designed by Jacinta Bowie.

Now unfortunately I can’t tell you about the pattern booklet as they had run out so I only had an emailed copy of the pattern to work from. But the pattern I had (in UK terminology) was clearly set out and included a chart; there was also a link to a useful video tutorial on how to do the crocodile stitch. However I would say the hat design would perhaps be a bit tricky for a beginner and would be more suitable for an intermediate crocheter.

I decided to make the hat because I fell in love with it! Crocodile stitch is such a fun stitch to do and it makes an amazing texture! The recommended hook size for the hat is a 4mm (US size G) but I really wanted to make the hat for my 2 year old so after a bit of calculating I went down to a 3.5mm (US size E-4).

And the finished hat came out beautifully, just the right size for her head, though if you make the pattern as written it will fit an average size adult head.

Now my toddler, even with bribery, didn’t want to play mummy take photos so I had to improvise to show you the finished hat…yes it is just possible that I have a gin glass as large as a toddlers head…

The pattern does come with instructions on how to make and add twisted cord to add to the bottom of the ear-flaps which I didn’t add just because it was for my little one.

The yarn is just perfect for the design and is a delight to work with; as it was so easy on the fingers it meant I really enjoyed making up this hat and the texture of the finished hat – augh! Isn’t is just awesome!

And one final picture because you just have to see the top of the hat…so clever!

I don’t know if any of the patterns included in the boxes will be available after the subscription boxes at any point (in case you were wondering) but I do have a feeling that all future designs are going to be a match for the yarn so super lovely!

By the time of this post I believe that the December Great British Textile Box, this time with 200g of a Bluefaced Leicester and Masham blend of yarn, will be sent to subscribers soon with another beautiful pattern (also by Jacinta Bowie) of a stunning cushion. So I think there will be accessories, house decor items and other items, for a bit of variety, to crochet with each box.

I think it’s obvious that I loved the yarn and enjoyed the pattern but what I also like about the Great British Textile Box, as far as subscription boxes go, is that the contents are very luxurious, the patterns so far seem gorgeous, and it’s all at a very reasonably priced £21.95 (roughly $31.57) per month. It’s also a great way to learn more about wool yarn blends if that’s something you might be interested in.

For someone who is also a bit unsure of subscription boxes it’s free to cancel any time and Three Bears Yarns also offer free UK postage on all boxes (and also free delivery to other selected countries – see their website for more details)

Many thanks to Three Bears Yarns for supplying me with a box free of charge so I could tell you all about it.

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

2Oct2018

Marriner Yarns | 100% Mercerised Cotton Review

Posted in Amigurumi, Crochet, Yarn, Yarn Review by Keep Calm and Crochet On UK

A few months ago I was approached by the company Marriner Yarns to see if I would like to review some of their products. They weren’t a brand that I was familiar with so I said sure – if you’d like to pop over a sample for me I’ll have a look at it.

I was expecting maybe one or two balls of yarn – what I wasn’t expecting was a huge parcel full of cotton, double knit, chunky, super chunky and variegated yarn! Just look at this lot…

For this post I did a little research into Marriner Yarns and was surprised to discover that they are one of Britain’s oldest suppliers of knitting yarns and accessories (dating back to 1784). I love the fact that they use British Wool in their wool range and I fell in love reading about their own special flock which they are currently growing; you can read more about that on their blog – those little lambs are just darling!

As well as wool blends they are also big suppliers of different acrylic yarns. Now I know acrylic yarn isn’t everyone’s favourite but I use a lot for my design work, I like it and think there is a definite place for it – and I certainly don’t think it means, as a rule, that just because it’s acrylic that it’s lacking in quality. They are some beautiful acrylic yarns out there which is usually available in an array of different colours. If you are just learning crochet for instance using acrylic yarns can actually be a really cost-effective way to get started and find your favourites.

If you are looking for a large range of different yarn types and weights then Marriner Yarns definitely have the variety – and at prices that won’t break the bank. And they have some very pretty colourways like this Heritage Double Knit…

And I also like the hues of the Empress Chunky…

What a lot of stuff to play with! Being a crochet blogger certainly comes with it’s perks!

As I work a lot with cotton I decided to give some of that a try first. I love cotton for amigurumi though it’s also great for garments (as the natural fibres mean it’s breathable) or for house decor items.

The cotton I selected from my package was mercerised, which means that the cotton fibre has been treated in a way to make it stronger, it reduces fabric shrinkage (which you obviously want for garments) and the process gives the yarn a silky shiny lustre – which I quite like for ami’s.

Marriners 100% mercerised cotton range is classed as a double knit (8ply) comes in 9 different colours: Berry, Cream, Oatmeal, Violet, White, Azure, Cyclamen, Asparagus and Poppy and it’s suitable to be used with any DK pattern.

So let’s check out the yarn’s vital statistics we:

Weight: Double Knit (3)
Blend: 100% Mercerised Cotton
Yarn Ball Weight: 50g
Yarn Ball Length: 201m
Wash instructions: Machine Wash / Wool Wash 30°C
Price: £2.95 (at the time of this post)

I actually had a little amigurumi project in mind that I wanted to work out so I chose the Violet and the Cyclamen which I planned to mix with some of the White. Incidentally the recommended hook and needle size for this yarn is 3.25mm – 4mm (US size D/3 – G) but I chose my trusty favourite 3mm (C/2) for a tighter amigurumi stitch.

I was very pleased with the vibrancy of the colours and I really like the hues of the purples. When crocheting the mercerised-ness of the cotton (I’m claiming that as a word!) allows the yarn to slide through your fingers which means I also found it very easy on the hands to work with.

I can’t comment on any of the other yarn I received yet, as I’ve not had time to play with them, but I will say that the Marriner cotton is comparable to other mercerised cottons I’ve used and good value for money. I’d use it again for another project – though I’d love to see more colours made available!

So do you want to see a little sneaky peek of the pattern I came up with?