Craft

Isn’t it funny that although many people don’t work in academic years, the start of a new school/college term has a sense of new beginnings. It makes me want to get new stationary, buy new tights and think about wonderful autumn knitting.

So it was the on-set of the Autumn term that made me think of little fun autumn projects. I was also inspired by the blog of Emma Lamb to get involved in the Celebrate Color blog event. The idea is about celebrating all things autumnal through crafting. If you would like to get involved and share what you have made which has an autumn feel, please have a look at Emma Lamb’s blog or visit the really inspiring Celebrate Color page.

Now a couple for a couple of months I have been happily making some teacosies using the Ruth Cross design from Purls of Wisdom. All the time there has been a nagging feeling in my head, ‘this would make a fabulous…..’ Then it came to me, Pumpkin! So a few hours later, with some zesty orange and a little green I-cord, the Pumpkin Cosy appeared. The most fun is making those little tendrils on the top. They are easy to do with a crochet hook and they certainly make finish off the chubby vegetable. Yummy! Now I am thinking of pumpkin soup and evenings by the fire – Oh and something warm and snuggly cast on the needles.

So many of you ask me for the pattern for this cosy – but I am afraid I don’t feel able to write this one for you. The basic pattern is taken from the Book by Jenny Lord, Purls of Wisdom. As a designer myself I feel strongly that it is important that the originator of the design should get the credit. I just made an icord top in green and a crochet spiral which you can find easily how to make on the web – sorry to disappoint.

The really great thing about the new Inside Crochet Magazine blog is that you can view the patterns featured in the next month’s magazine, before it even hits the newsagents. As a designer this is doubly exciting. I get to see how my hookery will be featured way before I get my sticky mits on the paper copy. I was really excited to see this photo of my Granny Skirt which is featured in Issue 22.

When I designed Granny Skirt, Claire the Editor was kind enough to let me make it in black. You might have noticed that whilst most of us wear quite a lot of black or navy for both flattering and practical reasons, very few knitting and crochet magazines feature patterns in those colours. I think mostly it because the dark colours are fiendishly hard to photograph well, it is hard to get the definition of the stitch without washing the whole image in a flash. But I have to say that the photos in Inside Crochet are really very good. When I design something I have in mind the outfit  would put together with the garment. I try REALLY hard to design things that I actually want to wear and are practical. This does mean that sometimes I imagine myself to be taller and of a slimmer shape than I actually am, but generally I hope to be wearing the design myself.

So to cut a long story short, I really wanted to Granny Skirt to be in a practical black colour. The idea is that you would wear a contrasting colour slip underneath or perhaps a silky black slip for evening. I imagine it would be teamed with black boots and a denim jacket, an unfussy top (as in the magazine photo), so that the skirt did all the talking.

A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing a crochet skirt… but this season is crochet season and I can’t wait to pop it on. I have seen a number of designs which use an i-cord to gather the skirt at the waist. However I have put an elasticated waist in this design, to ensure I cover my modesty. Otherwise knowing me I would stand up and find that the  I-cord had worked loose to leave me standing in my underwear – you see practical and polite!

Anyway I hope you like it, x