Blog
Crochet to look after your mental health
When circumstances change in our lives, it’s important to come up with new ways to look after our mental health.
One of these possible self-care practices is crafting. And of course, the craft I recommend is crochet!
The crochet trends of 2020
2020 was an interesting year in many ways, to say the least…
Some crochet trends were pretty standard, i.e. centered on a fashion item. Others were more unexpected, and closely related to a time of pandemic. Here are the 4 crochet trends that stood out the most in my eyes.
The Ravelry fiasco
Do you follow what happens in “the fibre community”? Have you heard of this summer’s Ravelry debacle?
This popular, almost inescapable pattern repository has done the unthinkable and alienated many regular users.
How?
Testing the Sophie Twirl Raglan pattern
When was the last time you did something for the first time ever? This summer I volunteered to join the testing team for Amber Zumbrun’s latest crochet design. It was actually a double first for me: I had never done pattern testing for a designer, AND I had never made crocheted clothes where fit...
A day out at CHSI Stitches in Birmingham
Ruth and Jenny kindly let me tag along to their annual trip to CHSI Stitches. I didn’t know what to expect from a craft show only open to professionals…
Delicious Crochet Shawls, by Lisa Cook – a review
I hadn’t planned on buying a book about crochet shawls but while browsing I flicked through a few crochet books, but none caught my attention until I got to Delicious Crochet Shawls. It was a winner for me because… it contained charts!
Who needs a yarn diet?
Some people decide to go on a “yarn diet” in the New Year. I find it such a dreadful term! Yarn brings such joy to people like us, whereas diets… well, they are rather ghastly for everyone, aren’t they?
Knitters can’t crochet – a myth
Stephanie is a keen knitter, but stated categorically at the start of our first session “I can’t crochet!” Fast forward an hour: it turns out Stephanie can crochet, enjoys it and is even really good at it – she is now bistitchual!
Crochet Home, by Emma Lamb – a review
Like any good crochet book, this one starts with a section about how to go about using it and I love the fact that the very first information given is that Emma uses UK crochet terms throughout.
Don’t make a scarf!
The other day, I was chatting with fellow yarn lovers and we discussed the fact that the first thing most beginners want to do (whether they have a go at knitting or crochet) is to make a scarf, and that’s often a big mistake.
Raising money for Mind with a Crafternoon
Over the summer I saw a post somewhere on social media about the mental health charity Mind encouraging people to organise a Crafternoon to raise money for the cause and I thought, why not? So I ordered a fundraising pack!
Crochet in art: Joana Vasconcelos
Today I wanted to talk to you about an artist who uses crochet a lot in her work: Joana Vasconcelos. I discovered this French-born Portuguese artist back in 2012, when I went to visit the palace of Versailles with my aunt and my cousin.
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