Emma Varnam’s blog – Page 3 – Knitting, nattering, crochet and craft

Bailey Bear – a teddy to hug

It is a plain fact – I make things that I love. With toys, I’m often inspired by the children I know – I look at their soft toys and observe how they carry them – how big they are. Are they held by the paw, the ear?…frequently by the foot.

You might have thought that I have made enough bears and bunnies. But there is always a new yarn, a new size, a new child that inspires me and so I have to make a new design.

Bailey Bear is a good ‘best friend’ size. Not a baby bear – but a traditional ‘this is my very special soft toy’ size. I have made the feet in a way that I really like. I have thought about the length and width of his arms. This bear also has a tail. Being specific the bear is approx 35cm tall (excluding the ears) and 20cm at the widest part.

You know that the face matters a lot to me. A kind smiley face is very important. In the majority of my designs I like to work from the nose out, as this enables me to place the ears exactly where I want them. I have gone for a larger eye, because this adds to the friendly appearance.

If we want to go all technical I have used a nice tweed DK yarn. I’m loving tweed yarns at the moment. The little flecks in the fibre gives a little life to the finished crochet fabric.

Because winter is around the corner, I occurred to me, wouldn’t it be fun to add in a little cardigan, perhaps even a bobble hat and a key hole scarf. Let’s be honest I have been making key hole scarves for me – why not Bailey?

The bobble had is striped – but you could very easily make it plain. The cardigan is a new pattern. I made the sleeves first and then worked on whole strip for the body of the cardigan and added in the sleeves as I got towards the yoke. All you need to do when you finish is to sew up the sleeves under the arm and sew on a little button.

I have made the first clothes in my festive favourite of Duck Egg Blue with Red and Cream. But you choose what you have in the stash.

In my imagination, this is the sort of bear that would look just gorgeous peeking out of a stocking on Christmas morning. All smiles and cheers of joy. Immediately the ted would be tucked under the arm and new adventures would be planned.

I think I could add to the wardrobe – what do you think? But for winter I think Bailey will be just warm enough. I have placed a PDF pattern in my blog shop for just Bailey and if you want to make the clothes there is an additional pattern. Just to be safe you will need 100g of DK yarn for Bailey.

Well I hope you like my new bear. I really rather fond. Do tell me about new clothes ideas and I will add them to a list. Have a happy hooky week.

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A Gingerbread House…for a mouse

The past few weeks have been busy work weeks, long days and full of the traditional plate spinning. The crochet making has been very much at the end of the day. A couple of rows here and there.

But…but…I have had a yearning for a new (old) idea. A little gingerbread house. A gingerbread house just right for a mouse. These are the sort of projects that help me drift off to sleep in the night. What kind of base shall I use ? A plastic…no…I have loads of cardboard. What yarn shall I use? Cotton? No… The correct answer was staring at me. It had to be Stylecraft Special DK in Gingerbread. Sometimes I wonder what my yarn shop must think of me. I go in and buy a ball of brown, cream and pink…what on earth are you making!

When I began designing for the Houseplants book I strode to the till of Black Sheep Wools with 17 balls of green. All different. They know now not to bat an eyelid.

‘What are you making now Emma?’

‘Oh a book of Houseplants’.

‘Of course you are…. (an eye brow is raised by the customer behind…overheard at the yarn shop).

So when I return home with my random balls of wool, I begin to stitch as soon as I can. I had already worked out the size of the house panels. Years ago, 2015 to be exact, I designed a little dolls house for the fabulous Inside Crochet Magazine. I loved this house. The original was given to a little girl who I adore and she had many hours of fun play with it. I haven’t made a second since. But I have always known I would improve it. Coincidently it is one of my most pinned images on Pinterest. That has always put a bookmark in my mind that I should return to it.

I finished my gingerbread house yesterday and had fun decorating it with some surface slip stitch and some buttons. This Christmas I see that huge bows are making a come-back to I thought it would be fun to make a huge bow for this little door.

At this stage I haven’t finished the interior. I will do that hopefully this week. But me being me….I have made a little inhabitant. Peep-bo…

So there you go, midnight imaginings of a crocheter. Old ideas revisited to create new seasonal decorations. The little girl is still inside the head of this much older crafter.

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Quick – quick- slow projects

You might think that after completing 40 knitted squares for my latest blanket…I would have had enough of garter stitch. But, Oh no this simplest of stitches is not out of my system yet. If you learnt to knit at all, you will have knitted garter stitch, the bumpy ridges created by making a plain knit stitch on every row.

Your memories of childhood garter stitch might mean that you are haunted by limp stretchy knitting and can’t ever imagine to returning to this basic pleasure.

The simple can really be beautiful. I find that a thicker yarn and larger needles really brings out the texture of this stitch. For my recent blanket I have knitted the squares in an aran weight yarn with a 5mm hook. Looking at this photo, if you are not a knitter – you will say…’hang on a minute, what have you done there. its on the squiff?’ Yes, you are right it is knitted diagonally and doing so makes it both more interesting but also a more stable square.

It is also possible to elevate garter stitch even further by slipping the first stitch of every row, which provides a nice neat edge and really well defined places to sew the squares together.

So at the beginning of this week I attached all my blanket squares together and completed my edge. I’m hoping that I will be able to release it as a pattern soon for those who are interested.

Before I embark on my next project – or indeed return to an abandoned project, I have cast on a few accessories.

I have used the left over Stylecraft Grace to make a few quick and easy beanie hats for friends. This yarn appears very light and airy but is pleasingly an aran thickness and so knits up quickly. I work a seamless pattern in the round. As the weather cools quick and easy beanie is invaluable as an emergency hat. Small enough to pop in a handbag or workbag – just in case.

On Friday I made a version in the sumptuous claret tones of ‘Hip’ and then thought…’Wouldn’t it be fun if I made a neckerchief scarf to compliment the scarf’. The pattern I use is a classic design. You can find photos of the design from the 1930’s and it has also been reproduced as a costume staple for Miss Marple. There are reasons why some things become classics – usually because they just work. I always return to the same pattern which is available on Martha Stewart’s website. It is a great pattern because you can adjust the instructions to match the yarn you have available.

In order to ring in the changes and avoid being too matchy-matchy, I worked two strands together. I combined the Grace ‘Hip‘ with Stylecraft Special DK in Lipstick. (I had this left in my stash). The combination of the two yarns creates a satisfyingly robust fabric. The mohair ‘Grace’ adds softness and the Special DK provides a pop of colour. The shape of the neckerchief is effortlessly chic at the neck – plus very cosy without dangly scarf ends.

A couple of observations – I think I should always combine two yarns together to make this scarf, it creates the ‘just right’ texture. Secondly…oh my word I was playing ‘yarn chicken’ at the end of this project. This is all the ‘Grace’ I had left. That is too close a call. Finally, you know you are pleased with a project when you contemplate not giving a gift away and start making convincing arguments in your head that the recipient might not even like it…is it their colour anyway? There is only one thing for it. Cast on another and see if you can satisfy that garter stitch knitting bug with one more project.

Yarn Chicken is when you risk finishing a project with the yarn you have left…there is that sense of impending jeopardy. Will you be able to finish without having to buy another ball of yarn!

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Autumnal Grace

Is there a phrase for crafters who have finished a project and they can’t wait to wear it or use it? A WIP fashion-dash? A quick knit flit? Crochet crush race? I don’t know but if there is one will you tell me?

In the past few weeks I have been finishing off old projects and started dwelling on new ones. Let’s start with the finishing. When I got my sticky mitts on the new aran mohair from Stylecraft ‘Grace’, I knew I just had to make something. The colours are scrumptious. Soft but with a depth that creates brilliant combinations. My order arrived in the late Spring and other projects and quite frankly higher temperatures persuaded me not to start my project.

I even began to noodle around with ideas at the end of August, but the humidity was still a little high for mohair making. Honestly this yarn is so beautiful, but it is very suited to cooler weathers. The patterns for the yarn are incredibly tempting and very very ‘NOW’ in terms of what is currently on the high street.

I have opted to make a scarf which I know will be great for the Autumn and goes nicely with my blush pink coat.

I will now infuriate the crocheters by saying the dreaded words….’I just went with the flow, and made up the pattern as I went along.’ Sorry – but sometimes I don’t want to rigour of pattern writing and just want to stitch. But the idea is based on the ‘Zesty Scarf’ which I designed for Inside Crochet Magazine Issue 121 in 2019 and this pattern would work for this yarn.

I have chosen the colours: Oyster, Petals, Hibiscus, Hip, Long Grass and Storm. I have just one ball of each and there was loads left over and I have used the rest to knit a few cute beanie hats for friends.

If you are worried about shedding with this scarf (fibres coming off onto other clothes) I haven’t noticed much at all and I have worn it this week many times into the office. There is nothing nicer than finishing a piece of clothing, realising that it doesn’t disappoint and then wearing it almost immediately. That my friends is the adrenalin rush of craft – the WIP Fashion Dash – if you will.

So I have a couple of other projects on the hook. My ‘Croknit’ blanket, which I am just joining together. It’s an evening comfort project. You know, snuggled under the squares in front of the telly. Then I have a yearning to make another teddy. A new size and pattern, just in time for the festive season. If I am going to get this ready for you I had better hurry up. But I will concentrate on this one in the next week. I really am enjoying chatting on Instagram and Facebook with followers about names and colour choices. The best ideas come from you. So while the bear in nearly finished, I need to make a mini cardigan and a bobble hat. Hopefully he will be a fun addition to the festive makes.

So there you go a bit of an up date. My new book launched this week on Create and Craft TV and you can get signed copies there – and in my next post I promise I will give you a bit of an update. Have a lovely week!

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Mists and Mellow garter stitch

I have definitely seen the change in the season? This morning I think I felt it more crisp outside and the light was low and golden. There are a few trees starting to turn… and guess what? I have found a gleaming conker on the pavement. I hope I never get too old to feel the thrill of this annual treasure.

How many projects do you have lined up in your head? None? One? Or perhaps 3-4 like me. These last few weeks I have had a yearning for simple stitches. Simple patterns with lovely thick aran yarn. We had a few days away before the new term started and I grabbed 2 balls of aran weight yarn I had in my stash (Stylecraft Highland Heathers).

But even in the last week of the summer holidays, my mind had turned to autumn projects. I had just finished my Stargazer Blanket and it was edged and folded. I placed it next to me, a constant companion as I wrote up the pattern. But pattern writing does not preclude the beginning of a new project.

Perhaps my favourite two stitches to knit in aran are moss stitch and garter stitch. I went for the pure simplicity of garter stitch. Every row a happy knit row. There is something firm, weighty and textural about a simple garter stitch knitted square. It shows off subtle tones of a tweed yarn beautifully. I used Highland Heathers DK quite a bit in my last toy book ‘Cute Crocheted Woodland Animals’. The natural fleck in the yarn suited the homely character of the animals. I really like the weight and the finish of the same yarn in Aran.

So here I am throughout September making square upon square in cosy yarn. When I travel I do love to grab a short double pointed needle as it is economical on space and I have carried on using one as my pile of squares have increased.

What will it be? Well I have an idea to combine both my yarn crafts together in one project. I’m not a slow knitter, some would say quite fast – not Shetland fast – but quite fast. But to be fair my crochet is the speediest craft. My plan is the create a blanket for collaboration – the love of the crocheter and knitter together. We will see. I am half way through and will need to make all the squares before I know it will work.

What is your favourite stitch and does it change with the seasons?

Thank you to all of you who have loved my Stargazer Blanket I am so encouraged by your support. Please do send photos if you have success with the pattern. I love to see them.

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The Stargazer Blanket

There are some projects that you know will be very special even before you start them. This blanket belongs in that category.

I have always loved patchwork quilts and I was browsing some beautiful designs on Pinterest and thought, ‘If only I had more time to sew and make a beautiful traditional quilt’. I am realistic – this is never going to happen. But then it occurred to me that I can create a similar effect in crochet. For me, this is a much faster goal.

I definitely chose a joyful colour palette to be cheery. I love using Stylecraft Bellissima and Bambino (its the same yarn). The yarn has a lovely soft quality and the hues are clear but slightly muted. As I played around with the colour I adapted my design. As you can see from one of the earlier images, I mixed up the colours. But then I felt it would be lovely to create a muted rainbow… and the more I played, the more I enjoyed the combination.

Honestly this was just going to be a ‘me’ project. No plan for at written up pattern, just crochet for the love of crochet. But I was so encouraged by how so many of you messaged me with your love for the pattern.

stargazer-crochet-blanket-patchwork-emma-varnam

I have made a large ‘kingsize’ square. It has 9 stars. I have designed 2 motifs – one way of combining the colours is used 5 times and the other motif is used 4 times. I think it would be easy to make a lovely baby blanket just using one star – or a lap blanket using 4. I have given the yarn quantities in the pattern for all three sizes.

I have written the pattern in UK crochet terms and there is a colour diagram showing how the colour squares fit together for both motifs. There is also a stitch diagram for the solid square and for the half and half square. This diagram shows you how to work the stitches up to row 3, it gives you the idea of the pattern. But each square has 5 rows. The photographs provide a suggestion of how you can fit the stars together. But don’t feel restrained by my design, place each star on the floor and see how you like them to fit together. For the edging I used a very simple double crochet stripe. When the blanket is this colourful. You don’t need to have a fussy border.

My top tips for making this blanket are:

Have fun and enjoy making it.
Make up enough squares to make a star, then block those squares so they are nice and neat. I would sew or crochet those square together so you have the wonderful sense of the blanket growing.
You might find you solid squares are much looser than your half and half squares. If this is the case, try working your solid squares in a small hook – perhaps a 3.25mm or a 3mm.
Make sure you are economical with your tails. A large blanket uses a lot of yarn. I make sure I fasten off my yarn with enough to weave in the ends 3 times. But I am economical with my yarn
I have enjoyed used this yarn – but if you have yarn in your stash please use my design as a guide and whittle down your yarn collection

For me this design flew off my hook. I began it in June and finished it in mid-August. But right from the beginning I knew it would be a perfect Autumn project. As the blanket grows you can snuggle under it with your hook and yarn in hand.

If you make up this blanket (big or small) I would love to see how you get on. It is such a brilliant feeling to see us all working together to create something special. Finally, thank you for your encouragement and enthusiasm. It makes the world of difference and motivates me to keep on making.

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Late summer making

I am not sure if this is true for you, but the season seems to have sped up. The very hot weather has made plants and trees believe it is early autumn. Blackberries and plums appear to have ripened almost a month ahead of time. I’ve had a few days off this week and have used the time to do bit of experimentation with autumnal crochet and to enjoy one of the my favourite activities…jam making.

Some friends of mine have a beautiful old plum tree in the garden and kindly offered me their crop to make some jam. Usually at this time I make raspberry jam, but having some fresh fruit straight from the tree couldn’t be missed. All the better because I could spend some time preparing the fruit and standing over the pan. Making any kind of marmalade or jam is a bit like alchemy. You are creating a preserved pot of captured flavour. But I can never guarantee how it will end up. The acidity of the fruit, the colour, the depth of flavour… or the distractions of the door bell…taking my eye off the boil. These are all factors that change the end result.

In all of the preserving books they suggest that for plum jam, you take a nut-cracker and open up the plum stone to release the kernel inside. This is about the size of a pine nut. You then cover about 2-3 of these in some boiling water and leave them for a couple of minutes. After a while you remove the outer skin. These pure white nuts are then added to the boiling jam. I had never appreciated that they smell exactly like almonds. A beautiful strong smell of marzipan. Incredible.

On the hook, I have been inspired by the soft tones of the flowers in our garden pots. I have some balls of Stylecraft Grace which I have been playing about with. This is a mohair aran yarn. It has beautiful subtle tones and I know it will make a lovely scarf for late autumn. I have begun my making… but on hotter days this project is set aside for other less sticky pursuits.

In the midst of pattern writing and checking of the Stargazer blanket, I have two new ideas of blankets in my mind. One has knitted squares another is new crochet patchwork pattern. My mind flicks between the two.

So there you go at least 3 projects on the go and other pattern checking and preparing for pattern releases in the Autumn. I wonder if this is my favourite part of the yarn year. We seem to be on the cusp of the next season and my mind turns to cosy plans. What have you got on your hook or needle? Has the next season begun for you too?

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Stargazing – getting yarn ready

I love it when I really enjoy a project so much that I almost don’t want to finish it. Last year I made two blankets that I totally adored. The Soft Summer Blanket and my Hexagon Blanket. They were slow makes that were a joy. This year I saw a patchwork quilt colour scheme and thought; ‘Wouldn’t that be beautiful in crochet?’.

I love patchwork so much, it has such a nostalgic place in my heart. But I cannot stretch time enough to properly work on sewing quilts. When I see an attractive patchwork pattern I wonder if it would work as a crochet blanket. For me it is a much faster make.

I’m a big fan of Stylecraft’s Bellissima and Bambino yarn. I love the softness of the yarn and the tones worked well for the design. For the large blanket you only use 1 ball of each of the colours for the star motif. It is the background cream which you need to adjust for different sizes.

By my calculations you could make a very sweet baby blanket with just one star in the centre – approximately 60cm x 60cm (24in x 24 in) square. A very useful lap blanket could be made using four motifs – 115cm x 115cm (45in x 45in). I have made a larger blanket with nicely covers two thirds of a kingsize bed which is approximately 165cm x 165cm (65in x 65in).

I have drafted the pattern and will be asking my gorgeous tech-editing friend to help me spot all the mistakes, typos and where my ramblings don’t make sense. I plan then to release the pattern for a introductory small amount to cover the costs and those of you who want to can start your making. Many veteran crocheters will probably be able to make the pattern up themselves.

So if you are planning to make a Stargazer blanket – here are the yarn quantities:

For the Large Blanket – Stylecraft Bellissima DK – 7 x 100g ball: Single Cream 3921 (A)

1 x 100g of the following: Rio Red 3932 (B), Papaya Punch 3977 (C), Mellow Yellow 3925 (D), Sugar Snap 3926 (E), Denim Dungarees 7219 (F) Orchid Haze 7217 (G)

Stylecraft Bambino DK – 1 x 100g of the following Soft Pink 7113 (H) Little Boy Blue 7118 (I)

For a Baby Blanket you will only need 1 x 100g of yarn A and all the contrasting colours.

For a Lap Blanket you will need 4 x 100g of yarn A and 1 x 100g balls of each of the contrasting colours.

Honestly I think this blanket is going to be a huge favourite in our house and I know Stanley has already adopted it. The colours are bright and cheerful and it will bring cosy comfort in the Autumn and Winter. If you are thinking of making it I would love to hear. My plan would be to do a few short videos on how the work a half square and attach the second colour. I also want to show you how to sew squares together using mattress stitch.

Please do subscribe to my newsletter as I will post news of the pattern to my followers first. I do hope you have a lovely weekend. Here’s to planning new crochet adventures.

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Hello Beauty – late summer joy

I have waited and waited…and finally she has bloomed in her full glory. They do say that it take faith to garden. I think that is correct. Isn’t she beautiful.

So last year I wanted to grow a huge Cafe au Lait dahlia because the size and the colours of the petals were so beautiful. I absolutely love dahlias as a cut flower but it is so hard (and expensive) to buy them. The only thing for it was to try and grow our own. I was really worried about slugs. Isn’t it strange the a small fear of something going wrong can stop us going on the bigger adventure? Last summer I bought the original dahlia as a plant and we got one flower, quite late on in the season.

Encouraged by reading Sarah Raven’s book A Year full of Flowers and Arthur Parkinson’s book The Flower Yard I overwintered the dahlia tubers in the garage and then brought them to life in the spring. Please believe me when I say. I had no confidence in what I was doing.

We do have a garden with a pond, grass and borders and if you have been following me for a while you will know that I do love my roses, hydrangeas and shrubs. But it has seems to me that in order to grow dahlias successfully I am better off planting them in pots. In the spring I turfed out the tulip bulbs and began placing the sprouting dahlias and weeny cosmos into the pots. I put in some plants supports, and yes they look a bit ugly to start with but now it is impossible to see them.

I do love following Anne Marie Powell’s instagram feed – My real garden. Her weekly updates are like a very quick reminder of what you can be doing in the garden. She has reminded me each week to feed the pots and honestly this has made a difference.

This week everything looks very green, and I am waiting for the full blush of the cosmos. It makes me wonder if I have fed too much. But I know that for September at least we will still have cut flowers inside the house. That is the dream.

Listen…what would I know about gardening…but something occurred to me this week. Many of my most exciting ‘hobby adventures’ have started with me going…’I love that. I wonder how you could make it?’ This is true for crochet, marmalade….cut flowers. Honestly I could fail at all of these and I make so many mistake. But for every slug eaten leaf, there are many more flowers that give me so much joy.

I’m a big fan of Libraries. Few people realise that they have the most up to date books stocked and if they don’t have the book you want they will borrow them from other libraries. Ask you local library for the Sarah Raven and Arthur Parkinson book. They are fabulous and if you like them then buy them for your own reference. I am so pleased I have them to encourage my cut flower journey.

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