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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb
Psalm 139:13

Monday 18 January 2016

it's a gift: crochet



Now that all the stitches have been stitched and the gifts gifted, I can share my Christmas makes with you! About time, right? These are the crochet makes, then there are some knitty ones to follow, too. 



Cashmere mitts for mum, with unintentional foldy-down bit. I used Lotus Yarns 100% Cashmere (ooh, so fancy!) and a fab free pattern by HanJan Crochet. I'd use this pattern again and the yarn was very luxurious, but the poor stitch definition and dark colour made it a bit tricky and the stitches don't shine as well as they could. I always seem to have a problem with making two things the same, so ended up folding down the top of these to disguise their wonky-ness. It's all part of the handmade charm, you see.  






The standout winner of this year's crochet gifts was definitely the Your Mileage May Vary shawl. 
It's a Joanne Scrace design from The Shawl Project: Book One. I made it for Mr P's mum and chose it because it's one of the more scarf-like makes in the collection. Plus that edging

The yarn is Patons 100% Cotton 4ply. To be honest, I wasn't sure about this colour until the whole thing was finished. I actually plumped for this one because it was the only 100g ball of 4ply in my stash in an okay shade. As I worked with it, I was really impressed with the quality and think the colour is a good match for the final FO. 



Get a load of that gorgeous edging though! The design was so satisfying to hook and to be honest, the real work lies in the blocking. I used absolutely every pin I own to give this a stern blocking, but boy did it pay off. I was really reluctant to give this away in the end, as it came out so divine, but Mother-in-Law #1 LOVED it so it was all totally worth it. 





Yep, I made a crochet hexie dingly-dangler – a dreamcatcher/wallhangingy type thing. Complete with twig (so rustic right now). This was for an arty friend who doesn't do yarny stuff. I thought she needed something colourful and bit too cool for school. 

It was another simple, speedy but fun-to-hook project. The pattern's from Simply Crochet issue 34 and I used some Cascade Ultra Pima from my stash. I want one now, too! 

How did your handmade gifts go down this year? What did you make? 


10 comments:

  1. That is a gorgeous shawl! Glad you enjoyed the pattern.

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    1. Hi Joanne, thank you!! Really loved making it :)

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  2. Wow, the shawl is stunning! Your gifts look great - I hope they were well-received.

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    1. Hi Leah, thank you - it was hard to part with it! I have it on good authority that it's being worn lots, though. :) x

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  3. I am loving the edging of the shawl as well! I could imagine adding it to a knitted shawl as a lovely finishing touch. I don't usually like the look of crochet at all so this is saying something.

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    1. Hi Nadia, yes! Join us on the dark side (of crochet!). Definitely recommend this pattern - fairly simple and fun to make. :)

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  4. The shawl is stunning! You've certainly spoiled some people with these beautiful gifts :)

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    1. Hi Tahnee, the shawl was my favourite make. Think I'm scaling back the gift making a bit this year though! :)

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  5. I was trying to avoid the insane rush job Christmas making that I've done other years and in the end only one Christmas present was actually handmade. It went down well though. Your shawl's edging is definitely italic worthy. Absolutely stunning.

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    1. Urgh, I know what you mean about last minute making - so not fun. I tried to start extra early to get everything done this time, but think I will scale back the making this Christmas, and be selective about what I make. Am mega chuffed with how the shawl turned out though - thank you! :) x

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penny for your thoughts . . .

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