I don’t know if you remember this one, but last november I wrote a cute peg pattern for Inside Crochet magazine’s December issue, I thought it’s time I added it on here too. So, meet Handy Helpers…
All you need is some very very thin yarn (I used Artesano Alpaca 4-ply) and a peg. The retro plastic ones that look more like a ‘V’ shape work best, but any ordinary peg should do, as long as the yarn you use is thin. These would look nice holding up your cards, clipped to tree branches or holding together gift bags – lots and lots of possibilities! Little Helpers are quick to make, and only need basic stitches. I bet they’d look nice in green too, just like real elves!
Let the countdown to the festive season begin…
Now I don’t know if you know this, but lately I have become absolutely obsessed with macaroons. I simply cannot resist these delicious bites, with their crunchy shells and chewy soft centres, not to mention the varieties!.. This obsession got to the point where I bought several macaroon-making cook books, in the secret hope of whipping up the perfect batch in our kitchen.
And of course my first few attempts turned out to be macaroon disasters… So to find out how it’s really done I booked 2 places on L’atelier des Chefs‘s Marvelous Macaroons cooking class. And in just 2 hours, we made these…
Lime and ginger cream, with orange flavour shells…
Peanut butter and jam – delicious!
Salted caramel, vanilla shells and lavender sprinkled on top.
And some with orange cream centre, these were gone pretty fast.
Mmm, tasty!.. Will have to try making some at home next!
I just came across these adorable baby toys by miga de Pan - how cute! I love their simple fun shapes and muted colours…
What a brilliant idea from John Arbon yarns, a multitude of shades and colours for a perfect combination! I couldn’t resist these muted greys and apricots at KnitNation a few month back, and been mulling over what to make with them ever since. For some reason a preppy diamond-pattern cardigan keeps popping into my head.
Lots of grey with a splash of apricot here and there would look quite nice, I think. The yarn is 100% Merino, and very soft – perfect for wearables. Check out the full range of colours here, so many to choose from!
One of my friends visited her family in Japan a few month back, and brought back two lovely crochet books for me to explore. Now I can’t read Japanese (I wish I could….), but luckily with the detailed charts they use in all the books there’s no need for any reading!
I started one of the scarf motifs using 2.75mm and 3.75mm hooks, and I quite like both, though with the laceweight it might be nicer to have 2 rows of these ‘flowers’ in a zig-zag pattern.
I really want to make one of these too, it’d be a great addition to the autumn wardrobe…
Noodle The Elephant is the first pattern I made with Granny Square technique mixed in with amigurumi. This summer, he makes an appearance in The Crochet Collection, published by All Crafts Media.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t room to include all the drawings that go with Noodle (I do like to write rather wordy patterns, don’t I?..) so if you find yourself a bit stuck when it comes to making the legs and trunk, drop me an email and I’ll send the missing diagrams to you!
You can contact me on support [at] irenestrange.co.uk, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Happy crafting!
Topsy-Turvy Wolf by Maijo.
Two Dreamy Giraffes by Monique.
Noodle The Elephant by Helen.
Elsewhere
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