Tag: Ravelry

The Granny Square Blog Tour

On By agrarianartisan5 Comments

If you have ever attended one of my workshops you will have heard me say ‘granny squares are like marmite’ because you either love ‘em or loathe ‘em. But whatever your views it seems granny squares are firmly embedded in the crochet world. Some people have very strong feelings about them, and some could not care less. So which are you?

I confess I used to hate them and I mean really hate them. Why? Well I think squares can be quite boring and I think the repetition of the design is, frankly, unexciting. And I had this view for many years.

In my teens I made a granny square blanket, it went to university with me part finished and I finished it in my first year. It came in very useful! But then I moved right on. And, I’m sorry to say, so did the blanket.

When formulating this blog I decided to have a look at what granny squares I had made recently and I was a little surprised. It seems in the last few months I have been making quite a few grannies:

Flower power cushion:

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Pin cushion:

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Granny purse:

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Perhaps age has mellowed my views, but now I can see they have their uses and to me their primary use is, to put it simply, colour! Perhaps it is the regularity of the design, but they certainly enable everyone to experiment with colour and somehow bring out the rainbow in all of us. My current experimenting with colour is via Bohemian Rhapsody, perhaps not a true granny but lots of granny elements:

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Now you can experiment with colour in lots of way with crochet, and I absolutely adore the beautiful motif designs by Amanda Perkins – I think they enable more alluring colour experimentation and her blankets are just exquisite, to me so much more pleasing to my eyes than any granny square could be. Have a look at her blog here: http://amandascrochetblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/granny-squares.html she shows how beautiful crochet motifs can be.

The secondary use of granny squares is that they are simple, and thus they enable beginner crocheters to experiment with colour and make useful items with confidence. No-one is a beginner forever, so in time most crocheters do move on from grannies. However, I recognise that some do not – they love grannies so much they just keep making them! So be it – the world is big enough for everyone.

So I no longer hate grannies, I see they have their place in the crochet world. So this blog is part of a celebration of them – the ‘granny square blog tour’, which enables crocheting bloggers the world over to join in and have their say. If you have a blog and want to join in, then please comment on this discussion thread on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/agrarian-artisan-designs/2646102/1-25#11

Next on the tour is the talented Tracey Todhunter, look out for her blog early next week: http://bakingandmaking.com/

Happy knitting and crocheting xxx

Glamorous………

On By agrarianartisanLeave a comment

There are some yarns I just love so much….kidsilk is one.   So when I spotted the new Rowan Kidsilk Haze Glamour yarn in John Lewis I just had to buy some.   It has tiny sparkley sequins threaded on the yarn – gorgeous!   This is what I made with it:

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The pattern is called Glamour Wrap and is now for sale on Ravelry here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/glamour-wrap, and will soon be added to Etsy and Craftsy.   Like most of my patterns, it is deceptively easier than it looks!  I love it and just wish it would cool down a little in the evenings so I can wrap it around my shoulders!

Happy knitting and crocheting

xx

 

The joy of knitgroup

On By agrarianartisanLeave a comment

I consider myself to be privileged and lucky to be a member of a fabulous knitgroup called Knitsford.  I could write pages on how fabulous it is! 

Although called a knitgroup, it is for any craft – we have knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, embroiderers and sewers who attend regularly, and many are multi-crafters.  They are a wonderful group of people and we have a laugh, share experiences, help each other with any knit/crochet/sewing problems, give each other moral support and generally just have a great time over a coffee, sometimes cake, sometimes bacon butties and sometimes lunch, depending on the time of day. 

We meet in 3 venues on different days/times of the week – a pub, a bar/restaurant and a garden centre café, and people come when they like.  Anything from 4 to 24 people can attend any of them.

Today we were at the garden centre, and I found myself swapping stitch markers, showing the delights of Ravelry, sharing ways of joining crochet motifs, doing a ‘show and tell’ on some recent completed projects such as this:

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And this:

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Yes, only sneaky previews as these are a couple of designs that I plan on publishing (you must be patient!).

I also shared progress on bohemian rhapsody, found out who is coming on our coach trip to Yarndale in September and I worked out how to do a pretty crochet flower for Maxie, who is visiting from South Africa.  

There was an abundance of laughter today and I came away refreshed!

So tell me are you a member of a knitgroup? And, if so, what do you enjoy the most about it?

The Hexagon Project 2013

On By agrarianartisanLeave a comment

Hot news – I have just published Motif no 4 from the Hexagon Project 2013

Do you want to know more about it?  Well here goes………

What is the hexagon project? A collection of 7 hexagon motif designs (afghan designs)published from April to October. On 1st April the first design was published, the other 6 are published at monthly intervals.  So today design number 4 was published.

Why hexagons? I have a thing about hexagons, there is something more organic about them compared to squares and I love the way they sit together.

Where are the patterns?  They are published on Ravelry.com   So look under my designs there.  Here’s a link http://www.ravelry.com/designers/agrarian-artisan

Are they free?  Only to ‘hexagon club’ members.  The first design was free for the month of April and people were invited to join the club to receive the next designs free.

How do you become a member? All it takes is a few simple steps. 

1. Join my forum on Ravelry, Agrarian Artisan Designs.  Here’s a link: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/agrarian-artisan-designs

2. Establish a project on Ravelry for your hexagons

3. Tag the project 2013hexagon

4. Link the project to one of the The Hexagon Project 2013 designs.

If you are a member on the day I publish each design, then you will receive that design.

Are they easy to make?  The motifs are suitable for those fairly new to crochet who can crochet in the round, there are no complex stitches used.

Can I get help?  Of course!   There is a discussion group on my forum on Ravelry and everyone in the club shares progress and questions there.  And of course you can always ask me!

There’ll be more on the project as I publish the next designs, meanwhile here’s some photos of the first 4 hexagons.

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Happy knitting and crocheting

xx

 

A happy accident

On By agrarianartisan2 Comments

I have been asked many times if I blog and, until now, the answer has been ‘no’.  Today I took a huge leap into the world of blogging.  I recognise that those who appreciate my designs want to read a little more than discussions on Ravelry, they want a deeper insight into the whys and wherefores of what I do.

So today it begins.   And it begins with a promise – that I will write this blog at least twice a month.  I aim to keep that promise, but please bear with me, it may take a while for me to get into the swing of the blog!

Happy knitting and crocheting

xx