Winter and Summer Solstice Squares

I just had to squeeze in these rustic  Winter and Summer Solstice Squares before Christmas. There’s something very special about the longest night of the year and the shortest night of the year. And I didn't want to miss an opportunity to celebrate this, in my own way of course, as we do...with crochet! :)

In the Northern Hemisphere, this heralds the countdown to longer days and sunny skies, while here in the Southern Hemisphere we look forward to cooler days and sitting by the fireside with crochet in hand and a cup of hot chocolate close by. Although we still need to get through sweltering January and February! As you can see, or maybe "knot", I have sneaked in my second love, embroidery. :D  Just the French Knots ( this time ).

I've added a TUTORIAL HERE, for the French Knot.

My crochet definitely tends to lag off as the days heat up...somehow yarn and sweat do not make a great combination! As with all my squares, they are easy to do, and you can use your own colour palette too. The square can be used for anything decorative where you need a rustic looking pretty motif. Also, as usual, I veer towards the colourful, quirky, vintage, sort of bohemian, folksy artsy style. I wonder if this phase will pass? It’s so interesting how each crocheter seems to develop their own style, and like with any sort of creative outlet, when we do it long enough we go through various phases. Who knows, one day I might end up doing Freeform crochet! But today isn’t that day. Haha!

NOTE: THIS PATTERN HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REVISED!

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Take care,

Jen xox

Peace at Heart

Hello, Lovelies! Just to let you know that this pattern is being completely revised and will be re-released in my Ravelry Store in 2019! ❤

It has everything in a square that I love! With the Summer months creeping in I find my mood lifting to match the vibrant sunshiney colours outside. Also, I wanted to create a Heart design to reflect the amazing year it’s been for me in Crochetland and the lovely response I’ve had to my patterns! All this with a large cherry on my (crocheted ) cake when Nadia Fuad ( who I’m a huge fan of ) from YARNutopia asked if she could use one of my patterns in her 365 Granny Squares Youtube tutorials! Um, yaaaaaas, and thank you very much! What an honour and SO EXCITING!!!! My patterns have also appeared on Knit and Crochet dot com ( YAY! ). It’s a weird feeling, in a good way, to see one’s patterns on another website!

Although I have spent my entire life so far doing artsy stuff, my crochet work is the creative outlet that has given me 100% satisfaction. I used to cook for people when I had a Vegan eatery some years back and I thought THAT was my thing. But over time I found it highly unsatisfying that the hours put into preparing lovely looking ( and tasting ) food, your “ work” would disappear into someone’s tummy within minutes! With Crochet or any creative handwork, you know it’s going to last more than a few minutes! 

So far, I am thrilled to report, hundreds of yarny people have downloaded my patterns! THANK YOU SO MUCH! This means I had better get my bottom into gear and start upping my crochet-pattern-writing-skills! I’ve got software that draws out crochet charts and it’s my New Years wish to myself that I will finally buckle down and master this. Argh, it’s so complicated. But I guess everything is until you take the time to work through it, right?

So, on to this pattern which I am dedicating in thanks to all of you who have taken an interest in my work. THANK YOU! Here’s wishing you All … the love you deserve, the happiness that is your right, the health and prosperity you desire. May the crochet fairies always be in your neck of the woods!

Happy holidays, with lots of contented hooky-time.

Much love, take care and be of good cheer!

xxx

Snowdrops and Butterflies

Every Spring we have these sweet little flowers popping up everywhere. They remind me of Enid Blyton’s much-beloved book The Magic Faraway Tree because they flourish in the shade beneath the huge old Oak trees that are so much a part of Cape Town. I designed this square in Spring and now it’s almost Mid-Summer! Oh, the days are just too short even if the Sun sets in Summer at around 8:30pm! I’m always complaining that there are not enough hours in a day or days in a year! So much yarn so many ideas, so little time even if I lived 200 years!  :D

Nadia Fuad from YARNutopia has included this square in her video tutorial 365 Days of Granny Squares! 

May the crochet fairies always be close at hand!

xxx

The Darling Dahlia Square

Hello, Lovelies! Thank you for visiting this pattern! Just to let you know that I am completely revising this pattern and will re-release it in my Ravelry Store in 2019! ❤

I absolutely adore Dahlias and I’ve been wanting to design a pretty vintage style square using a Dahlia design. I think if I looked hard enough I might have found a pattern but I gave up the search and set about with my own design. I’m totally unoriginal in my love for flowery, lacy, vintage crochet! So here is yet another flowery, lacy, vintage design.

There are dozens of different Dahlias, some single-layer petaled, others  multiple layered like gorgeous ball gowns or tutus! I settled for a single-layer Dahlia and went about creating a richly textured Dahlia motif...then added a lot of other bits! In fact, I went so far as to design a really large  afghan square but that’s another story altogether!

This dainty, beautiful little square looks adorable in vibrant or muted colourways and the border is extremely easy to attach to its mates using a simple lacy join-as-you-go method. The square also works up quickly once you get past the first one.

Recommended for a baby blanket, or for the very patient and ambitious, a lovely Vintage-look bedspread! In my mind's eye, I see a cottage window curtain!

Btw, did I mention there is a teeny village in South Africa called Darling! I’ve been there for tea and scones a few times as it’s a short drive from Cape Town. There were Dahlias in the garden, in a riot of exquisite colours!

Wherever you are in the world I hope you are having plenty of hooky time!

xxx