Month: May 2015

So sorry…..

On By agrarianartisan4 Comments

I’ve been a bit quiet on my blog recently.   I didn’t mean to neglect it, I’ve just been a little busy doing some tech editing and a few commissions for some of my favourite magazines – all secret but all enjoyable.

Did I ever mention how I love tech editing?   Sometimes it is frustrating when designers do not follow the style guides of the magazines and I end up styling as well as editing, but most of the time it is very enjoyable.  I get to see some beautiful designs and make new acquaintances whilst querying the technicalities of the designs.  I find everything that is new is also very inspiring.

Also, I’ve been preparing for my ‘Magic of mandalas’ workshop next weekend – a 3 hour workshop on crochet mandalas; how to make them, the maths, tips and tricks and how to design your own!    Still a few places left…….

And this new mandala design (the second ‘born in Buxton’ design) will feature:

Mary's Mandala
Mary’s Mandala

And, as always, I have been busy making things – so here’s something I made last week as a present.

Bunting
Bunting

This is gorgeous bunting which I found on this blog.   A joy to make and very pretty.

What have you been up to these last few weeks?  Please share your crochet journeys 🙂

Happy crocheting xxx

Meadow Cushion

On By agrarianartisan2 Comments

I have finished my first project using the Meadow Farm Wool project yarn.  It is a cushion:

Meadow farm cushion
Meadow farm cushion

I wanted to use both colours of yarn in the cushion but the cream was dk and the brown was 4ply, not easy to use in the same project.  So I improvised – as you can see the front is in cream DK and I joined 9 of the Meadow Farm motifs together, all made using a 4mm hook.  For the back I used a 3mm hook and the brown yarn  – I started with a Meadow Farm motif and then continued it as one large granny square.  Then I joined back to front and added a shell edging in cream, finally a row of shell buttons (bought at a The Harold Porter Botanical Gardens enroute to Hermanus in South Africa almost 5 years ago).

The back
The back

I do need to line this cushion with some fabric, probably in a light brown that will show off both sides properly.  But I was eager to share the finished project with you 🙂

I used 3 balls of yarn in this project – so I still have 7 balls left 🙂

There is still time to rent a sheep from the Meadow Farm Wool Project, and support 2 charities.  What will you make with yours?

Happy crocheting xxx

 

A new mandala

On By agrarianartisanLeave a comment

Do you remember this post when I promised to share more of my mandala designs when they had progressed further?

Here is the Buxton Mandala which I have just published.

Buxton Mandala
Buxton Mandala

This is the ‘prototype’ I made in Buxton.  It is made in Drops Muskat which is a mercerised cotton dk with a lovely sheen.  I didn’t have many colours of this yarn with me at the time so I used only 5 colours.

When I reworked the design I used Stylecraft Classique Cotton DK of which I had a much wider range of colours.  I loved the original design so much that the only thing I changed as I reworked it was the colours and I added one more colour.

Buxton number 2
Buxton number 2

There is quite a difference in the yarns – Stylecraft being softer with less of a sheen and giving less stitch definition.  This photo shows the difference a little more clearly:

2 Buxtons
2 Buxtons

Which do I like?  Well both – I love the colours of the Stylcecraft version and I love the sharp stitch definition of the Drops version.

Which do you like?

The pattern it is on special sale on Ravelry until midnight GMT Sunday 10th May 2015 – 50% off the original price if you use coupon code BUXTON at checkout (with apologies to EU purchasers where the coupon code will not work as EU sales are currently diverted to LoveKnitting – something that will be remedied in future).

Happy crocheting xxx

It’s arrived!

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Mr Postie delivered something very special this morning – my yarn from the sheep I have rented from The Meadow Farm Wool Project.

The yarn
The yarn

Two weights of yarn had been spun – the cream (which has lovely grey speckles in it) is a double knit and the dark brown is a thinner weight called 2ply but makes up like 4ply/fingering/sock yarn.  They both smell deliciously of newly spun fleece 🙂

So I wasted no time – my hook came out and I made a couple of motifs:

One of each
One of each

This motif is the one I designed especially for the project and is available to sheep renters only.   The cream one came out just the right size for a 9 motif square cushion – so that is what I am making.  The brown motif is a bit smaller but I will make a large granny square backing to the cushion using the brown, I may just add a few interesting stitches to it.

Here’s a photo of the cream motif which shows the design well.

Meadow Farm Motif
Meadow Farm Motif

There is still time for you to rent a sheep for this year and choose your selection of yarn – I opted for half and half.  In due course, once all renters have their yarn, you will be able to buy the yarn at £6.50 per ball.  And all rentals and purchases help go towards 2 fabulous charities – Teenage Cancer Trust and Headway.  This is quite a new project and one I hope will grow, so please support it if you can.

Meanwhile, I know which project I will be working on at knitgroup tomorrow!

Happy crocheting xxx

 

Support and accreditation

On By agrarianartisan2 Comments

May is Love Knitting’s and Love Crochet’s first indie designer month!    What does this mean?  Well, first I should explain that LKC (I hope you don’t mind my abbreviation!) are online websites that sell gorgeous yarn and all the accompaniments that any yarn obsessed knitter or crocheter could want, including a wide range of  patterns by independent designers.

It is relatively new for LKC and indie designers to link up in this way, but from my short experience (ALL GOOD) I think it is beneficial for both.  LKC think so too, so they have made May their first indie designer month, and will be promoting indie designers and their designs for the whole month.

As part of this promotion, anyone who buys an indie designer pattern on LKC during May will receive a 10% discount on yarn bought at the same time.   I think that’s a great offer, especially if your yarn ‘habit’ means you can never spend a small amount of money!

Love them both!
Love them both!

You can find my designs here: Love Knitting and Love Crochet

This support for indie designers has made me feel good but also made me reflective.    Ok, I am an indie designer myself, so maybe I am somewhat biased.   But I see so many wonderful colourful blogs and facebook pages with beautifully-made items using indie designs – some of them blow my mind away!  In fact there are some extremely popular blogs that have tens of thousands of followers (and more) who post beautiful photos of items they have made.  Sometimes they give the designer credit and some give the designer excellent credit …..but not everyone does and not all the time.

So I would like to start an accreditation campaign – if you share a photo of something you have made on ANY social media then please always give the designer credit, after all that designer made it possible.

Am I being fair?

Please let me know what you think.

Happy knitting and crocheting xxxxx