Cath Kidston Inspired Crochet Scarf

I am a self confessed Cath Kidston addict. I love the whole concept of the brand, the patterns, homewares, clothing...everything! The basic colour palette is usually a vintage inspired combination of red, pink, blue, yellow and green; colours that I love individually as well as when put together.

A while back a saw a tutorial from the lovely Kath's blog, Inverleith for a CK inspired cowl/scarf which I adored straight away. Unfortunately this was near the beginning of my crochet journey and I wasn't sure about how to make such a wonderful thing. So it was stored in the 'To Do' projects and put to the back of my mind...until now.

I've found brilliant supplier on Instagram, mentioned in a previous post and purchased her CK style colour pack which comes in 6 or 12 balls of wool. I went for 6 was plenty to make a scarf and I have lots left over.

I'm really please with how it turned out - you can wrap it around three times so its cosy and snuggly! It is meant to be a Christmas present for my sister-in-law but I'm tempted to keep it for myself!

I also made a slightly smaller version for the other sister-in-law in more neutral colours. I love this combination of nature neutrals with a splash of pink. For this I used Stylecraft Special DK in Brown, Cream and Clemantis with the green from the CK pack. I did a starting chain of 130 + 3 for turning and followed the same granny strip method as before. With this snood it can be turned twice but in hindsight I should have maybe gone up to 150 +3 so there is a bit more room to get your head in on the second turn! I might keep this one for me and make another for the SIL!

Betty xXx

Crochet Christmas Wreath

Following on from my previous post updating you on recent events you may have seen the Autumn wreath that I made, inspired by the brilliant blog Repeat Crafter Me. When I showed my mum she loved it and asked if I could make a Christmas version for a family friend in Ireland.

After planning the details with her about the design and what decorations she wanted I got cracking and after a few days ended up with this:

As you can see I've stuck to the traditional Christmas colours of red, green and white, (using Stylecraft Special DK in Green, Lipstick and White) adding some white sparkly snowflakes (yarn came free with Simply Crochet this month), holly and berries and a big red bow to add to it. The base is a simple single crochet changing colours after 12 rows, adding 3 rows of white in between. The snowflake pattern is from Simply Crochet Issue 11, the holly is from Attic 24, berries are my own creation, and the bow, again, is a simple single crochet, making it as big or small as you want it by adjusting your foundation chain. I also added a small bobble edging in white to add a bit of contrast.

Overall I'm really pleased with it and will make myself one for our flat as this will be our first Christmas in our own place and as a married couple :)

Betty xXx

WIP Wednesday: The Hat That Turned Into a Snood

This week in the UK we have seen gale force winds sweep across the country. Thankfully where I live in South East London, we were not massively effected; just a few branches and lots of leaves on the roads. Going to work has meant that I've had to scrap all my hair up into a rather sorry mess and by the time I actually get to work it looks like a birds nest, so I thought a new hat would do the trick to keep my mane at bay.

After thumbing the latest copy of Simply Crochet this month (Issue 11) there was a lovely pattern for a bobble/pom pom hat which looked super cute and cosy.


I attempted the first 5 or so rounds and realised that I was getting a bit stuck and confused so I frogged back to round three and have decided to change it to a snood/cowl instead. I always love something warm around my neck especially as the temperature here seems to be dropping. The initial foundation chain of the hat pattern would have been too big for my head anyway (it would have been very slouchy if you like that kind of style) so fits perfectly over my head and around my neck.

I have opted to use Stylecraft Special Aran in Aspen with a 5mm hook. I managed to complete it last night so it was a super quick and easy make. I probably could have done it in a day if I'd had the time but I'm really pleased with the result and it was lovely and warm on the way to work this morning! I have used a mixture of stitches - single, double and half double (US terms) with some shells and a row of bobbles!

Excuse the dodgy expression and my bathroom!

Betty xXx

Update

It's been a while since I've sat down to write something, mainly because I've been so busy with either work or finishing off little projects I just haven't had to energy to sit and type (especially when I'm in front of a computer all day).

I've been a busy bee though on the crochet front. With Christmas fast approaching (okay, I know we still have about 8 weeks!) I have a list as long as my arm of projects I either need to finish off or start. I also keep getting distracted with other little makes that might only take an evening to finish but I need to be stricter with my time if I want to get it all completed before December 25th! So, here is a little compilation of what I've been up to...

We went down to the New Forest for a couple of days in September which was absolutely wonderful. It was so pleasant and peaceful down there; everyone was really friendly and it was nice to see new things, especially the horse but alas I struggled to get a descent picture of them!

We bought ticked to Wicked which is a show I have seen before but the Other Half had never been to the theatre so I decided that was a brilliant show to see. It was 'wicked'! I love all the songs and the stage production and how everything moves so seamlessly never fails to impress me.

The weather has most certainly changed over the last couple of months and it is officially Autumn. I love this season; everything gets a little more cosy, the leaves turn to that lovely auburn/orange colour and there is a crispness in the air. I had seen an autumn/fall wreath on the blog Repeat Crafter Me and I thought I would give it a go. I got the polystyrene wreath from Hobbycraft and bought a selection of autumnal colours from Deramores. The pattern can be found here as well as patterns for the tiny pumpkin and leaves.I really enjoyed making it and it only took a few days to complete.

I also decided to make a slightly larger pumpkin using the same pattern featured in RCM's blog post, just increasing the initial chain stitches to give a bigger version. I'm really pleased with this too and added a pom pom wreath made using Clover Pom-Pom Makers, which was super quick and easy!

These are a couple of little projects I have on the go. A possible Christmas present in the form of a Cath Kidston inspired cowl scarf and a cutie teddy bear for a new baby arrival :)

I hope you have all been well and enjoying the change in the seasons.

Betty xXx