The Merryweather Crochet Blanket Pattern release

What happens when you take a Quilt design and dream up turning it into a Crochet Blanket pattern - well then Merryweather Blanket is born!

I have always crocheted since I was a young girl.  My Nanna taught me how to at around 6 years of age and I was instantly in love with it.  Many, many Granny Square Blankets later I just would use up any yarn I could find or was gifted.  Fast forward to about 6/7 years ago and after having not picked up a hook since I was about 15 or so (so yes that is a fairly long time ago) I decided I wanted to get back into crochet and went and enrolled myself in a class.  I was hooked again instantly.  At this time I think because Quilting was well and truly becoming my full time job - Crochet gave me a creative outlet at night to just stitch and a break from Quilting.  

Late last year I saw a Crochet Blanket that @insidethepaperbox was making and I immediately fell in love with this Christmas Stars Blanket Jessie was chrocheting.  I was just in awe of it and I thought about how I loved that this was such a mix of Quilting and Crochet.  I couldn't stop thinking about it and how I could try to turn one of my Quilt designs into a Crochet Blanket and how this would be such a great challenge for me to work on.  I looked through my catalogue of Quilt patterns and then as soon as I saw my Aurora Quilt - I knew that was the one. 

Aurora Quilt Pattern

So in deciding that a challenge was in order - I spoke with my great friend Bonnie at @greenletterday.  Bonnie is an amazing Yarn dyer from the US and I knew that I needed to work with her on this project.  So after chatting with her about what I wanted to do we talked about how we could use her yarn and come up with a custom colour way to make this Merryweather Blanket (more about how this name came to be later).  Bonnie and I chatted over a great number of DM's, emails and messages in working up this colour palette going back and forth and trust me - Bonnie had the patience of a Saint as I added in yarn skeins and took some away then put them back.  I just wished we didn't live oceans apart as I wouldd have just loved to have dropped over to work through this process in person - but Bonnie made it easy.  We came up with this palette - the Merryweather kit.  10 Skeins in total - 9 colours and 1 Background colour.

I knew that I need to come up with a great name for this Blanket.  The quilt design is called Aurora and as I didn't want to confuse anyone by calling it the Aurora Blanket I then started to look for names that had a connection to the word Aurora.  Bonnie is such an avid reader - most of here skeins are named after book titles, characters or book events.  This got me thinking about the story of Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.  Merryweather was one of Aurora's Fairy Godmothers.  This was the perfect name as this blanket was almost like a Fairy Godmother to the Quilt pattern (rather than the usual "sister quilt" title given to quilts from the same design family).  And so the perfect name for this design was given - the Merryweather Blanket. 

The Merryweather Blanket pattern with its Half Square Triangle Granny Squares are the star of this design.  This blanket can be made in so many colour combinations, colour order in a rainbow, use an Ombre effect, make it scrappy or even two toned.

It is suitable for the Confident Beginner - Magic ring, single crochet, double crochet, double crochet decrease, changing yarn colour, Mattress stitch join. Crab Stitch border. Written in US Terms (Crochet Stitch Terms Conversion info sheet included).  The pattern includes colour instructions and illustrations as well as a Colouring Page so you can work up your design on the page first.  The Finished size – 52in x 52in (132cm x 132cm) 

And because you have never have too much bling - here I have added tassels to each corner of this Blanket. 

The Merryweather Blanket is now available as a PDF Pattern in my store here.

Wholesale orders can be made through Creative Abundance.

I absolutely you hope enjoy making a Merryweather Blanket for yourself.  Please share it with me @tiedwitharibbon and using the hashtags - #merryweatherblanket, #tiedwitharibbonpatterns.

Happy Quilting - well in this case - crocheting!

Jemima x 

Hexie Love Actually Oceans Blanket

Back in March this year I started this Hexie Love Actually Blanket by Bonnie of Pink Stitches.  I had long been a fan of Bonnie's work over in Instagram and just amazed at the stunning blankets that she makes.  You should go over and check out her work - you will be blown away.  During my back surgery earlier this year, this crochet blanket was just what I needed to help relax and recover.  Little did I know just how addicted to these crochet hexagons I would become.

My young Godson will be gifted this blanket later this year for his birthday.  He has watched as I crochet and always asked if I would make him a blanket of his own so I knew that he would just love this mix of Blues and Greens.

Yarn - Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece 

(DK 80% Cotton, 20% Wool)

Hook - Clover 4.5mm (7)

Diameter of each Hexie - 3.5in

Size - 41in x 52in (104cm x 132cm)

Total number - 217 Hexagons

Weight - 1.25kg (approx 13 balls)

I have long been a fan of this Cotton Fleece as for kids blankets it is nice and soft.  The cost is economical for a 100gm ball and the range of colours if great.  I love working with Cotton and although it can tend to split a bit - just as most cotton will - I actually really love the finished look and texture that it creates.

I was very quickly "hooked" on these hexes and could not get enough - making them in the car while I was waiting for kids to finish activities, in the doctors waiting rooms, on the couch, at the park - anywhere. While the blanket is Join-as-you-go it is actually quite a portable project as you make the rounds in the varying colours and then these can be joined later.

I absolutely enjoyed making this blanket and already have plans for the next one, and even the one after that!

Happy crocheting!

Jemima x x

Liberty and Crochet Blanket for a sweet Baby girl!

Liberty of London fabrics are certainly one of my favourites - so combine making a Liberty Quilt and Crochet and it is a quilt made in heaven. The pattern for the Crochet Trim blanket is available here.

I firstly made a simple squares quilt using Liberty fabric.  I cut large squares out of some of my favourites and then sew them together to make a quilt top. Because I wanted this quilt to be a light and soft quilt I chose "Quilt Lite" for the Batting as this is almost like a layer of flannel in the centre - rather than a regular Cotton Batting.

On the back I had bought this amazing piece of Liberty Gallymoggers which has all the custest drawings of all the Alice in Wonderland characters - just perfect to keep in one piece and then can be completely reversed for this Crochet Trim Blanket.

I used Aurifil 12wt #2021 to hand quilt the quilt outlining the squares and then finished off the binding just as normal.  Once the quilt was finished then the crochet Border was sewn.

Using Rowan - Siena 4ply (Mercerised Cotton) in an off white colour I started the trim using a Blanket stitch to have an anchor row for the crochet trim using a "Knitter's Needle".  Using a 2.75mm Clover hook I then crocheted a scallop around the foundation Blanket stitch.

You can get the pattern for the Crochet Trim Blanket Here

I feel that there will be lots more of this type of quilt to be made in the future.  I am so happy with how it looks and the drape is just so soft.  Perfect for a new baby and such a portable quilt.

Jemima x 

Bits and Pieces

Earlier this year in my travels to Melbourne I visited the Morris and Sons store.  So full of yarns, wool and so many patterns and inspiration - it was a great stop especially if you love all things Crochet, Knitting, Embroidery and Cross Stitch.  I  chose these two balls of yarn for a Coco Cowl that I had in mind to make for a special friend.  I used Morris "Paddington" 6ply in Ink Blue and the amazing variegated yarn is the most amazing Debbie Bliss "Luxury Silk Dk" col 48041.

I have used Silks before but never ones like this - it was so beautiful to crochet and the colours are so vibrant and it has the softest feel to it.  I made this cowl from the Coco Cowl pattern by Tangled Yarns.  It is a fairly quick project and I have made a few of these before as I just love to crochet these.

I am participating in the #craftybirthdaybash1.  There are 12 of us in this group and each Month we send the Birthday person a sweet handmade gift.  It is an amazing group of very talented sewers and stitchers.  

I made this Kaleidescope Mini Quilt for Sarah who celebrated her birthday in May.  I made it all from Liberty fabrics from my stash and then Hand quilted the Linen.  This is such a fun and creative group to be a part of and - well it is my  Birthday Month next so I am truly excited.

Many of you know that I am a big Jen Kingwell fan and spent hours visiting Amitie Textiles as well when I was in Melbourne.  Jen's book - Quilt Lovely had just been released and all the quilts and cushions were actually in the shop when I visited.  There were so many amazing Quilts and Cushions in this book.  I fell in love with this one - "Small Wonders" and have made my own.  I just love it and no one is allowed near it on the couch.  I have plans for quite a few other projects also from the book.

Jemima x

Rainbow CAL (Crochet A Long) Finished!

A little while ago I started my Rainbow Cal.  I crocheted and crocheted squares upon squares till now - it is all done!  There is even a Hash tag #RainbowCal  over on Instagram where lots of other joined in with the fun.

All together there are 336 - 2in squares (16 x 21) making it 32in x 42in or 81.5cm x 108cm.  

The yarn I used was Rico Essentials Cotton DK.  Is is so soft and drapey and is beautiful to work with.  I used a size 4mm hook.

The Pom Pom Trim came from the Tutorial here.  Although a little tricky to get it right - I was Pom Pomming in no time!

All the squares were joined together as I went.  Which for someone who finds random colouring hard - this did make it a little difficult to just pick a colour that would go next.  But I admit to a bit of planing with the yarn as I went.  

Jemima x 

A sweet Baby Blanket and some shopping.

I have been working on this Bobble Flower Granny Square Blanket for some time now.  I started it last year and then as I got busy with other projects it got pushed to the side.  Late last year I decided that it was time to make time to get this blanket finished.

I used this Pattern - Bobble Flower Granny Square Blanket and Cascade Ultra Pima Yarn.  The main colours were the white and taupe and then I chose 5 colours for the flowers. This yarn is divine to work with - so soft and beautifully textured.

One evening after having completed all the granny squares I asked Miss 12 if she could give me a hand to arrange them.  I gave her the bundle of squares and asked her to lay out the colours so that each of the flowers were arranged randomly and mixed up.  Well I was amazed.

I came back to this beautifully laid out design - I was in awe as she said to me "Can you see it Mum".  This quilt is to be gifted to someone special so the Heart was just perfect.  We had just the right amount of coloured flowers and even the heart being this beautiful Coral colour was just right.  She just melted my heart at her design and foresight to arrange them this way.

And of course it just called for a sweet Scallop border to finish in the white.

Last week I was so lucky to have a few days away in Melbourne.  Of course fabric shopping was a must.  These spoils came home with me from Amitie Textiles.  I spent almost 3.5 hours pouring over the beautiful fabrics and found it so hard not to take it all home.  I settled on making this quilt "Smitten" and choose the fabrics to make it - oh so Amitie.  

Another stop I made was at L'uccello of Melbourne.  This little shop is filled with treasured vintage finds, fabrics as well as modern and new treasures.  This was my loot from this stop.

Jemima x x

Rainbow Crochet-A-Long

Crochet is a big love of mine and getting to team up with the lovely Jodie from @jellywares for a project is super exciting - so much so we would for you to join us in a Rainbow Blanket Crochet-A-Long.   We will be using the hashtag - #rainbowCAL to record our progress, post updates, answer questions and share what we are all creating together.  So come and join us over on Instagram (@tiedwitharibbon) for some inspiration and great fun.  

Inspired by Matt's Rainbow Granny Square Blanket we are aiming for a blanket along these lines.  We will be joining the squares as we go and then putting this beautiful Pom Pom Trim by Once Upon a Pink Moon, on for the border.

Jodie and I will be each using the same patterns but will each do a different variation so that you can choose which way you would like to make it for yourself.

Jodie will be using 18 shades of an 8ply Cotton/Acrylic blend to make her Rainbow Granny Squares and is aiming to make 540 squares with 3 rounds (of the same colour) in each Granny Square. Jodie recognises this is ambitious but those up for a challenge and great fun then this amount is achievable.

I will be using a smaller amount of colours - 9 shades of Rico Cotton Essentials to make my Rainbow Granny Square and aiming for 270 squares with 3 rounds (of the same colour) in each Granny Square.  Mine will be a smaller blanket for those who have a stash of fewer colours or maybe you are only just starting out and want the pace to move a little slower

We are kicking off this Friday - February 13th with an 8 week work time to finish our Rainbow Granny Squares Blanket on April 5th.  

If you need some help with patterns here are some helpful Tutorials

Attic 24 - Joining Granny Squares as you go

Once Upon a Pink Moon - Pom Pom Trim Border 

Looking forward to seeing what you all create.

Jemima x 

School holidays over - sewing full steam ahead!

The custom Koala quilt I had been working has now made its way to its new home over in Canada!  This is for a new arrival expected in February.  I know it was widely received and hope it become a treasure for a little bundle of joy.

I used free motion quilting over the squares using a random loop pattern and could not go past this pink and white stripy binding for the final touch.

Sitting in my sewing room for a little while now has been this bundle of Lecien Flower Sugar.  I had started to make many months ago some Economy blocks but it had been put to the side with other deadlines and projects to complete.  Funnily enough over the school holidays when I pulled it out again I saw that there was an Economy Quilt-Along happening just by chance.  

So time to get on with making some more blocks.

With several of these Economy block piles made it was time to sew it all together.

Now time to quilt it.  Not sure yet how I will do this but I am sure as I start to sandwich and pin I will be inspired.

One project that was completed was this crochet Market Bag.  Over Christmas I had ordered some yarn for Tangled Yarns and whilst not having made a bag before decided to get one of these Kits to give it a go!  Well since making it I have now bought another 6 colours to make some more as gifts.  I was thrilled with how it turned out.  The Willmark Candy Pop yarn was quite different to work with as it is very textured and course - like string.  

And here are some of the flowers I have made for my Bobble Flower Blanket.

Jemima x