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Hi guys!

Confess!!  Who stole January and February from me?  The last thing I remember is having a house full of family at Christmas and now March is marching on and it's almost April??  Boy 2 has just turned 8 and Boy 3 will soon be 6!!  And don't even ask me about Boy 1, who is 9 going on 18!!

I have missed chatting to you!

Initially, this was going to be a bullet-point newsletter... but I have NEVER been good at short-and-sweet.  I found myself adding just a line here and there until it got so long that I had to delete stuff.

Luckily, I do have patterns to share with you (including an at-the-moment-exclusive square).
 

1. Show and Tell


When I last left you, I had just shared the patterns for my Memory Lane Blanket and my Ammonite Crochet Hook Roll.  Thank you so much for sharing photos of your completed projects and please keep tagging so that I can find them!


 

2. Aunty Mary's Thing Pattern


Since then, I have shared the pattern for a nostalgic thimble and scissor keeper, affectionately dubbed Aunty Mary's Thing.  Aunty Mary made the original version of this thimble and scissor keeper in the sixties when she and her husband were living in Khartoum.   I loved deconstructing this pattern so that we could share it with you.  I even included a bit of braiding to keep you on your toes.  I think it is the perfect gift to make for a crafty friend.  I gifted both of the ones I made, and have been gifted with one in return :)


 

3. British Craft Awards


In February, I went to Manchester for the Stitches trade show and the British Craft Awards 2018.  I saw so many interesting things!  My favourite three had absolutely nothing to do with crochet (if you can believe that).  The first one was a tiny quiting iron that packs more power than my iron at home.  The second was just about every product on the spectrum noir stand - I was tempted to stop crocheting so that I could colour with the boys all day.  The last one was this dress by Tom and Linda Platt (for Vogue).  Despite never having heard of half the fabrics I would need to use, I am definitely going to be making one of those dresses! 

But the main event of the show (for me) was the awards ceremony.  I had the great fortune of sitting at the same table as Jane Crowfoot, Sarah Hazell (you can read more about her HERE), and Wool Warehouse.  I felt like I was sitting with Royalty as Jane and Wool Warehouse racked up a fair few wins between them :)

Jane won 'Best Crochet Designer of the Year' (First Runner-up:  Lucy from Attic 24; Second Runner-up:  Yours Truly!).  Lucy won 'Best Crochet Blog of the Year' (First Runner-up:  ME!!;  Second Runner-up:  Repeat Crafter Me).

Can I just tell you?  Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would get into the top 3 for anything crochet-related.  I feel incredibly blessed and so thankful for all your support and encouragement.  I smiled and laughed SO much (maybe too much)...

Wool Warehouse won 'Retailer of the Year' in both the crochet and the knitting categories, with Black Sheep Wools being First Runner-up for crochet and Second Runner-up for knitting.  Scheepjes was First Runner-up as 'Crochet Brand of the Year', and Scheepjes Whirl was First Runner-up as 'Crochet Product of the Year'.  The rest of the results will be available in Issue 69 of Simply Crochet, which will be hitting the shelves tomorrow.
 

4. Yarn Retreat (And Pattern)


After the exhilaration that was the awards, I spent a fun and relaxing weekend in Lyme Regis at another Devon Sun Yarns Retreat.  I can't believe I have been doing them for two and a half years already!  On some retreats, I don't know any of the attendees, but on this one, I knew all but one of the ladies.

This is one of my favourite photos from the retreat (btw, may I use this photo, Kay?  Thank you!).  This is my friend Kay, working on the Kay square I designed for the retreat (in honour of her birthday) and wearing her Namaqualand shawl whilst sitting under the Memory Lane blanket she worked up for me.  And I'm pretty sure the blue-grey crochet at the edge of the photo is Jo wearing her My Story poncho (which I am still convincing her to write a pattern for).



This is the Kay square in all its undyed glory.  There is something really freeing about making squares with undyed yarn and then dyeing them afterwards.  There is also something REALLY scary about it :)
If you would like to make this square, you can find the pattern HERE.  This is a newsletter special as I have not published the pattern yet.  You can use any hook and yarn combination you prefer.  As a guide, using worsted weight yarn and a 5.5mm crochet hook will give you a 12" square.
Please feel free to share photos if you decide to make it, using #kaycrochetsquare so that I can see them.


 

5. My Story Shawl


Two of the ladies who attended the retreat also started a My Story Shawl.  I am so pleased with the way they are turning out!  This one is all dappled rainbow...



...and this one is ALL unicorn!


 

6. Notacal #2


I almost forgot about this one!  Following on from the very successful Instagram #notacal, I have done another Instagram cal, #notacal2.  It's a simple crochet necklace with a bazillion chains and not much else :)  You can find the instructions on my Instagram feed.  Just scroll down to the photo that says #notAcal2 and work your way up from there.


 

7. Snow and Cat in the Hat


We've had quite a bit of snow in the UK.  More than I have ever experienced in March, for sure!!  On one of those snow days, we had to send the boys into school with costumes for World Book Day.  I heard some people actually expressed a wish for schools to be closed (due to snow) because making a costume is so stressful! 

School was NOT cancelled;  not on that day, at least, so I had to scamble to make costumes for the oldest two boys.  The youngest was fine, though, as I just sent him to school with the Cat in the Hat costume I made 5 years ago for Pieter.  Before you ask, I can't share the pattern for the costume.  I made this costume way before I even realized that trademark was a very enforceable thing.  If I can figure out who to ask so that I can get permission to share the pattern, I'll be right on it.  It remains one of my favourite makes to date.  This is Pieter in March 2013 and Xander a couple of weeks ago.  I am sad that this is probably the last time this costume can be used by one of my boys :(


 

8. Lyme Regis Tea Cosy Pattern


Last year, after another yarn retreat, I designed this Lyme Regis Tea Cosy for Issue 90 of Inside Crochet.  I have finally gotten around to posting the pattern on my website.  I hope you like it!  I know tea cosies aren't everyone's cup of tea (no pun intended), and they didn't used to be mine...but now I have started a mini collection!



And that is the majority of my news for the last 3 months covered.  Have a wonderful week!

Dedri

What Others Have Been Up To


I have this thing for knitted socks.  When my friend Carmen posted her latest design, I shared it on Facebook, along with photos of my one pair of knitted socks and my one own attempt at knitted socks.  I also put out a call out for makers who were willing to make me some socks, and I received my first gorgeous pair today (no photos yet).  They were made by Rebecca Milton from Knittastic Folkestone.

This is Carmen's design.  It is a paid pattern called Striped and Stranded Socks and you can find it HERE on Ravelry.



One of my other friends Nerissa has also shared a gorgeous paid shawl pattern called Our Tribe My Tribe.  It uses three colourways of Our Tribe yarn, one of which is mine!!  You can find the pattern HERE on Ravelry.
  ​

 

Feeling a Bit Nostalgic...

Mandala 21
Meimei Elephant
Joy's Journey

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