Three Bears Yarn, Part 1

Hi Everyone!
You may have noticed that I've not been about on the blog recently. Well, not so long ago I moved house, so there was the packing, unpacking, tidying and sorting to be done. Finally all of that was complete! I even have my very own craft room now! Whoopee! But unfortunately we have had some problems being connected to the internet and after a month of living there I still have no connection! It's like living in the Dark Ages! (A little dramatic maybe?) So to share my makes and goings-on, on my social media sites, I have to pop to Mum's or spend a long time in a Cafe with free wi-fi. I'm writing this post whilst staying with my sister! So now you know what's been going on with me I can finally share this amazing review on some amazing new yarn, here goes....

So, Three Bear's Yarn.You may think, who are they? Well, they are a relatively new company producing some beautiful yarns up in their mill in Lancashire. If you'd like to know more about this great company then check out their website here.

I was very lucky to get my 'paws' on some of Three Bear's Yarn 'Affection' DK 100% cotton yarn.
My initial thoughts on the yarn were how soft and lightweight it was. Previous cotton yarns I have used have felt a lot heavier. Because of the weight of the yarn I think it would be perfect for a summer shawl or blanket.

The colours I chose to work with first were a group of pastels, they are called;

• Cuddles and Cream
• Purple Passion
• Baby Pink
• Baby Blue
• Gentle Green
• Mellow Yellow

As I had such a range of colours and wanted to try the yarn out quickly I decided upon a mandala. 

You can find the pattern that I have used here.

The pattern I followed used chain, double crochet and treble crochet stitches, so I was able to put the yarn through it's paces.

The colours of yarn worked beautifully together, even though I decided to put them in colour order I'm sure they would have worked together in any combination.

I used a metal hook and the yarn slid and moved easily and effortlessly on the hook.

Cotton is made up of several strands woven together and because of this it can sometimes be 'splitty' when used. This cotton yarn however was wonderfully behaved. No splitting throughout the entire project!

The finished mandala is quite large, roughly 20 inches in diameter, but weighs next to nothing and because each 50g ball has 169m (185 yards) there is still lots of yarn left for more projects.

I have LOVED working with this yarn and I'm really looking forward to using it again in future projects. As the title of this post suggests there is more to come. A lot of you know how much I love amigurumi, so I'm planning a follow up post about using this yarn to make a little critter of some kind. 

I would like to say a MAHOOSIVE Thank You to Three Bear's Yarn for introducing me to this wonderful new yarn and having the chance to review it.

If you are interested in purchasing some yarn to try yourself then check out My Favourite Stockists page.

And to everyone else, thanks for being patient, fingers crossed I'll be connected to my own internet soon and the blog will be busy once more!

Colour, Colour, Colour!

A lot of you fellow crocheters will be aware of the amazing idea of 'yarn pegs'. I first saw them on the Attic 24 blog. I see so many people using this system on Instagram and I love to see what colour combinations you all come up with.

My yarn pegs are made using Stylecraft Special DK, there are so many colours it's great to have a little bit of each colour to play around with.

I don't quite have a complete collection, but here are my yarn pegs. 

I know I won't be the only one, but there is something so satisfying about seeing all these colours lined up in order.

Sometimes you know exactly what sort of colours you want to use for a project and the yarn pegs are a great way of checking they all go and what order you want to use them in. But sometimes I just like to play around and make notes of combinations I like, ready for future projects. 

Here are a few I've come up with recently,

From left to right,

Parchment, Pistachio, Aspen, Plum and Pomegranate 

From left to right,

Cream, Wisteria, Sherbert, Turquiose and Candyfloss

Clockwise from the left,

Parchment, Mocha, Walnut, Denim, Cloud Blue and Duck Egg

From top to bottom, 

Citron, Sunshine, Cloud Blue, Turquoise, Lime and Meadow 

Vintage style rainbow, from left to right,

Claret, Tomato, Gold, Meadow, Storm Blue, Violet, Plum and Mocha

Bright rainbow, from top to bottom,

Lipstick, Spice, Sunshine, Kelly Green, Turquiose, Violet, Magenta and Cream

From top to bottom, 

Mustard, Gold, Fushia Purple, Plum, Empire, Petrol, Pistachio, Lime, Mocha and Walnut. 

I'd love to know what colour combinations you have come up with and what projects you have used them for.

If you want to know where you can buy Stylecraft yarn have a look on my Favourite Stockists page. 

Have fun!

Moody Hexies 2016

The Mood Blanket, it was pretty popular last year, so I realise I'm a little bit behind. Also it's supposed to be a year blanket and we're halfway through January! Whoops! I never was one for good time keeping!

Anyway, Donna, the owner at my local yarn store has started a mood blanket this year and is trying to get customers and friends involved with the project. There are no rules, any colours, any shapes, just keep it up through out the year and most importantly share with others.
You can have a look at their website here or follow Donna's progress over on her Facebook page, click here to see.

The shop is a stockist for Bergere de France yarns and they have a beautiful range of yarns and colours. I've decided to use Ideal. A DK weight yarn, 40% wool, 30% acrylic and 30% polymide. It's a super soft yarn and comes in loads of stunning colours.

These are the colours I have chosen,

From left to right,
Parot, Vitamine, Girolle, Citronnier, Emeraude, Calanque, Purple, Hortensia and Elephant.

So, how does the mood blanket work? Well, each colour is linked to a mood, emotion or feeling. Each day, or when you feel up to it, you make a motif that represents your mood, simple.

These are my colours and their represented mood.
Parot - annoyed/angry
Vitamine - worried
Girolle - excited/looking forward to...
Citronnier - happy
Emeraude - normal
Calanque - low
Purple - creative
Hortensia - Super Dooper!
Elephant - exhausted

So that's the colours chosen, the moods sorted, now just to choose a pattern.

I knew I wanted to try something new, not just your regular granny square. I wanted something a little more solid, but decorative and not too big.

I tried out four different styles,

Top left, a solid granny square, three rounds.
Top right, a granny hexagon, three rounds
Bottom left, a flower hexagon, three rounds and
Bottom right, a vintage flower granny square, four rounds.

I was pretty pleased with them all. The vintage flower granny square was a little too big for this project, but I thought several joined together would make a nice cushion. (I'll keep that in mind for the future.)
The solid granny square was good too, but not as decorative as I was looking for.
I loved the shape of the granny hexagon. This was the first time I'd made a hexagon and I was impressed, but was it too similar to a granny square?
Then there was the flower hexagon. Yep, this was the one. Interesting shape, decorative, easy to make and just the right size.

So all decisions made, Bergere de France Ideal yarn in chosen colours, moods picked and matched to a colour and pattern tried and tested, the flower hexagon. Now time to put it all in the Crochet Project Bible.

Right, all sorted, now time to start. How am I feeling today?

I'll keep you up to date each month with how this project is going. I would love to know if anyone else is doing a mood blanket this year or a different type of year long blanket.
Happy crocheting everyone
x

Little Box of Crochet

Hello there lovely people,
today I thought I'd share my new found love, Little Box of Crochet. Some of you may already be aware of this lovely lady, Amanda Bloom, and follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
If you haven't you can read her amazing story HERE

Little Box of Crochet is a monthly subscription to a boxful of wonderful crochet-ness! The company has been up and running for a few months now and I've been following their journey closely over at Instagram (and drooling over the lovely photos!)

This month I finally gave in and took up a subscription. I waited excitedly for my parcel to arrive...then one gloomy January morning my Postie bought me a parcel with this sticker on,

"Are you excited?" Ummm? Yes!

As you can imagine I opened it pretty quickly and was amazed with what I found.

The packaging alone is absolutely beautiful and professional looking. (If the box is this good, then what's inside?!)

I slowly opened the box to reveal this,

It was like Christmas all over again!

Inside I found a pattern for a beautiful ear warmer by designer Kate Eastwood of Just Pootling. You can see her amazing blog HERE
There was also all the yarn I needed, which included Scheepjes Stone Washed XL in Smokey Quartz.
It was fate! I had been coveting this scrummy yarn for months and one of the projects I really wanted to make this year was an ear warmer!
As well as the yarn, I had everything else I needed to complete the project. A Knitpro hook, a sewing needle, a stitch marker and even a label from Just Pootling, for that designer finish.

First thing, make a cup of tea. Next, get comfy, now time to crochet!

The pattern was amazing! So straight forward and really easy to follow, with both written and pictorial instructions.
The pattern called for bobble stitch details all along the ear warmer. I was a little bit nervous of these, but the instructions for this part were brilliant. Lots of step-by-step words and pictures.

So, I followed all the instructions for the crochet parts,

then it was time to sew it all together.

Wow! I love it! I love the colour, I love the bobbles, I love the bow, I love the yarn...I just LOVE it! And now I have the pattern I can make as many as I like. Oh, and now a good excuse to buy some more Scheepjes Stone Washed XL. They have so many beautiful colours. I'll be heading over to Wool Warehouse soon to make a purchase. Why not have a look yourself, http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/

This project took me just under four hours from start to finish and I enjoyed every minute.
So, if you love crochet and want to try something new every month then I highly recommend you head straight over to http://www.littleboxofcrochet.co.uk/ and sign up now, you won't be disappointed!

Now, hurry up February, I'm ready for my next crochet fix!

It's All In the Planning!

So, I've recently come across a book. A book that has had a LOT of interest on both my Instagram page and FaceBook page.

"What is it?" I hear you cry. Well here it is,

As well as a crochet addict, I'm also pretty partial to a little bit of stationery. I found this company, Stationery Geek, over on Facebook. www.facebook.com/StationeryGeek

This book was exactly what I needed. This year I hope to be little more organised with my projects. Last year I had a tendency to start lots of different WIPs (works in progress) and not keep track! Whoops!
So first project of the year went straight into the book.

Last year I bought a limited edition pack of Stylecraft yarns, (along with an awful of you fellow crafters!) These colours are now available as permanent colours in the Special DK range.
You can see all the Stylecraft range here http://www.stylecraft-yarns.co.uk/

So now the colours were chosen it was time to pick a project. Something simple, to the show the colours at their best. I headed over to one of my favourite blogs, Attic 24 and chose her Cosy Stripe Blanket pattern. http://www.attic24.typepad.com/

Decisions made, time to put it in the book.
Here's how I use mine.

Now all the planning was complete it was time to start the crochet!

On to the border.

One blanket completed and being enjoyed!

Now time to plan another project!