I am always saying how surprised I am at the speed at which time passes by me. I am always saying things like 'Where did that week go?' or 'Is it really that time already?' and I invariably start our newsletters by saying that I can't believe that another week, month or season has flown past me yet again. I think as I get older the days and weeks are quicker - I suppose it has a lot to do with how busy we are and how much time we spend in another world with our crochet hooks, but nevertheless it still amazes me when time whizzes by!
So, unless you have been on a 2 week holiday or the joys of half term school break have meant youve been zoned out for the last 15 days, I would be really surprised if you didn't already know all about this year's amazing Stylecraft Blog Tour. Over the course of the last fortnight Stylecraft's incredibly talented Blogger team have been presenting you guys with their daily posts, not only talking you through their own yarny creations and musings, but also offering you all the chance to win an AMAZING yarn pack on a daily basis! With all the blogs to follow and exciting projects to feast my eyes on every day, I really cant believe that the 16 day blog tour is now coming to an end and that it is finally my time to write a blog post! Where did that time go?
The focus of this years Blogtour has been Stylecrafts fabulous new additions to the Batik yarn range - Batik Elements. Stylecraft put together 4 glorious colour palettes for Bloggers to pick from (shown above) and if, like me, you have been following the posts I am sure you will agree that there have been some mighty fine projects posted along the way.
It has been a real treat to have a daily invite into the world of one of Stylecraft's Blogstars, but if for some reason you have missed the posts, here is a list of them:
So today it is my turn to reveal what I have managed to do with my yarn pack, or rather what I haven't managed to do!
Well, after working in the region of 10,000 stitches and sitting for hours stitching I actually have nothing complete to show you! Ughh! But I must explain, because all is not quite lost........
When embarking on this project I wanted to show you just how far a pack of this yarn would go and therefore what an amazing prize a free pack would be for the winner, so I decided to set myself a challenge and design and make a garment using the Lagoon pack.
It all started so well!
I have been on the look out for a nice funnel neck sweater, but actually fancy one without sleeves. Below is an image from The White Company of the kind of thing I mean and a couple lower down from Gap which pretty much fit the bill.
I decided to start by making the garment back using the shade 'Krypton'. There are 4 ball of this in the yarn pack, so it was logical to use this shade for the main part. I made a fabric using treble crochet (US double crochet) on one row and double crochet (US single crochet) on the next row. I loved seeing how the colours worked whilst crocheting and I have to say the really bright green patches in this shade combination made me really happy every time I can to them!
I worked out that one ball of yarn would work almost 10 pattern repeats over 99sts, so I worked 26 repeats for the back. For the front I decided to use the same stitch combination, but used the remaining yarns in a stripe formation. The yarn works really nicely for stripes and I really enjoyed doing the colour changes and seeing how the stripes were working out.
I did a little bit of shaping for the front neck and all was going really well and I was on course - that is until I started adding the funnel neck……
The images possibly don't show just how much of a mess this neckline is! I think the problem is that I have used too many stitches and there is simply too much fabric at the base of the neck front. The 'funnel' leans forwards and creates a bagginess around the front.
The neck really needs to be redone, but I am now concerned that the neckline shaping that I worked when I made the front of the tunic is in fact wrong too and I am not sure if I can face working and reworking both the neckline and the front.
I have to say that the tunic looks far better on my studio dummy than it does on me, but I am still really disappointed not to have had this garment and the pattern ready for you today, especially as I had bought some really scrummy buttons from Maggie at The Textile Garden and that I have spent a ton of my spare time trying to get this garment done!
When things go wrong I tend to put them away somewhere and let them rest for a bit, so this almost complete tunic is heading into my cupboard for a while, but I haven't been put off designing my Funnel Necked Tunic, especially as it is my aim over the next year or so to add some crochet garments to my portfolio.
If I am lucky this post may have inspired you to use the fabulous new yarns from Stylecraft. Maybe not to attempt my incomplete tunic, but possibly to follow some of the projects that other Blogstars have presented over the last 2 weeks. I am amazed at how much knitting and crochet the bloggers have presented us with and I hope you might head over to a yarn pack stockist and grab yourself a hoard of lovely yarn. If you want to be in with the chance to win a 'Lagoon' pack you can follow the link below. Raffle starts at 10am this morning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
With many thanks to Stylecraft and the Blogstars team who are working hard to inspire knitters and crocheters across the globe!
So, unless you have been on a 2 week holiday or the joys of half term school break have meant youve been zoned out for the last 15 days, I would be really surprised if you didn't already know all about this year's amazing Stylecraft Blog Tour. Over the course of the last fortnight Stylecraft's incredibly talented Blogger team have been presenting you guys with their daily posts, not only talking you through their own yarny creations and musings, but also offering you all the chance to win an AMAZING yarn pack on a daily basis! With all the blogs to follow and exciting projects to feast my eyes on every day, I really cant believe that the 16 day blog tour is now coming to an end and that it is finally my time to write a blog post! Where did that time go?
The focus of this years Blogtour has been Stylecrafts fabulous new additions to the Batik yarn range - Batik Elements. Stylecraft put together 4 glorious colour palettes for Bloggers to pick from (shown above) and if, like me, you have been following the posts I am sure you will agree that there have been some mighty fine projects posted along the way.
It has been a real treat to have a daily invite into the world of one of Stylecraft's Blogstars, but if for some reason you have missed the posts, here is a list of them:
Date: Monday 16th October
Blog: Emma Varnham
Yarn Pack: Desert
Project: Maple Shrug
Date: Tuesday 17th October
Blog: Every Trick on the Hook
Yarn Pack: Country Garden
Project: Corner to Corner Moss Stitch
Date: Wednesday 18th October
Blog: Crochet Between Worlds
Yarn Pack: Rainforest
Project: Jewelled Pebbles Blanket
Date: Thursday 19th October
Blog: Cherry Heart
Yarn Pack: Desert
Project: Sophie Wrap
Date: Friday 20th October
Blog: Annaboo's House
Yarn Pack: Lagoon
Project: Learn to Knit Wrap
Date: Saturday 21st October
Blog: Lucia's Fig Tree
Yarn Pack: Lagoon
Project: Spanish Moss Scarf
Date: Sunday 22nd October
Blog: Zooty Owl
Yarn Pack: Desert
Project: Hibiscus Coast Granny
Date: Tuesday 24th October
Blog: The Twisted Yarn
Yarn Pack: Rain Forest
Project: October Cushion Cover
Date: Wednesday 25th October
Blog: Hand Knitted Things
Yarn Pack: Desert
Project: Ripply Scarf and mitts
Date: Thursday 26th October
Yarn Pack: Lagoon
Project: Ripply Lap Blanket
Date: Saturday 28th October
Yarn Pack: Country Garden
Project: Bee Cosy Slipper Socks
Date: Monday 30th October
Blog: The Patchwork Heart
Yarn Pack: Country Garden
Project: Granny Square Table Cloth
Please note that the yarn giveaways on all the blogs have now ended.
So today it is my turn to reveal what I have managed to do with my yarn pack, or rather what I haven't managed to do!
Well, after working in the region of 10,000 stitches and sitting for hours stitching I actually have nothing complete to show you! Ughh! But I must explain, because all is not quite lost........
When embarking on this project I wanted to show you just how far a pack of this yarn would go and therefore what an amazing prize a free pack would be for the winner, so I decided to set myself a challenge and design and make a garment using the Lagoon pack.
It all started so well!
I have been on the look out for a nice funnel neck sweater, but actually fancy one without sleeves. Below is an image from The White Company of the kind of thing I mean and a couple lower down from Gap which pretty much fit the bill.
I decided to start by making the garment back using the shade 'Krypton'. There are 4 ball of this in the yarn pack, so it was logical to use this shade for the main part. I made a fabric using treble crochet (US double crochet) on one row and double crochet (US single crochet) on the next row. I loved seeing how the colours worked whilst crocheting and I have to say the really bright green patches in this shade combination made me really happy every time I can to them!
I worked out that one ball of yarn would work almost 10 pattern repeats over 99sts, so I worked 26 repeats for the back. For the front I decided to use the same stitch combination, but used the remaining yarns in a stripe formation. The yarn works really nicely for stripes and I really enjoyed doing the colour changes and seeing how the stripes were working out.
I did a little bit of shaping for the front neck and all was going really well and I was on course - that is until I started adding the funnel neck……
The images possibly don't show just how much of a mess this neckline is! I think the problem is that I have used too many stitches and there is simply too much fabric at the base of the neck front. The 'funnel' leans forwards and creates a bagginess around the front.
When things go wrong I tend to put them away somewhere and let them rest for a bit, so this almost complete tunic is heading into my cupboard for a while, but I haven't been put off designing my Funnel Necked Tunic, especially as it is my aim over the next year or so to add some crochet garments to my portfolio.
If I am lucky this post may have inspired you to use the fabulous new yarns from Stylecraft. Maybe not to attempt my incomplete tunic, but possibly to follow some of the projects that other Blogstars have presented over the last 2 weeks. I am amazed at how much knitting and crochet the bloggers have presented us with and I hope you might head over to a yarn pack stockist and grab yourself a hoard of lovely yarn. If you want to be in with the chance to win a 'Lagoon' pack you can follow the link below. Raffle starts at 10am this morning.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
With many thanks to Stylecraft and the Blogstars team who are working hard to inspire knitters and crocheters across the globe!