In today’s post I will be reviewing; Simply Crochet; Magazine Issue 5

Simply Crochet Hooked on Handmade. Magazine

• Title: Simply Crochet; Hooked on Handmade. Magazine Issue 5
• Publisher: Future Publishing.
• Issue 5

My Reason for Buying

I bought issue 4 as there was a free shawl pin on the cover (which I needed and liked) and liked the look of the projects. Enjoyed it so much I bought this issue without seeing much about it.

My challenge for this year was to try crochet, I bought a couple of issues of Knit n Stitch early on, but they were weekly and expensive, I bought a book but wasn’t over inspired. I like to see projects that inspire me to learn how to make them to encourage me to learn the techniques needed. I also fancied having a magazine to flick through with a cup of tea   I tell you this as often a review is based on how well the book lived up to the expectations of its reader, for their purpose

Contents

Patterns: Granny Square Ideas, Flower broach, Beret, Floral cushion, Cardigan, Lacy Mug hug, Amigurmi doll, Little mermaid, Mandala, Motif, Hexagons, tea pot cover, Tie, Earrings, Scarf, Dog scarf,

Good Reads: Hooked = ideas, websites. Notebook Jane Crowfoot tips and ideas. Broomstick lace. Profile. Crochet Then and Now. Yarn reviews. Coming Next Month. Vintage Treasure. How too. The Workshop, The Guide Diagrams and charts

Pros/Cons

Pros

• Wide range of projects for all ages, stuff for beginners, as well as more adventurous crochet artists
• Little projects as well as garments. LOVE the motif section, LOVE the mandala section
• The Workshop and The Guide, get you started with basic stitches and techniques
• Love the quality feel of the magazine
• A great way to find artists and books to inspire you
• A great way to find retailers if you are needing supplies

Cons

Bearing in mind I am a total newbie to crochet.

• It would be handy if they had some information about how to read patterns, in their guides at the back. Its the one thing I haven’t found in there and have got a bit lost.

Value for Money

Excellent

Would I buy it Again?

Yes, haven’t subscribed as funds are tight BUT will keep a close eye on the magazines blog and as soon as new issues come out if there are projects in there I like I would buy again without hesitation.

Summing up

This is the first magazine (on any topic) that I have really enjoyed for ages. It feels loved, it has thought about what people like and has even had questionnaire’s in the first few issues so people could feed back on what they did and didn’t like about it.

This magazine reminds me of Stampington publications. There is inspiration, a classy, classic feel rather than cheap and nasty look of some magazines which are very actually expensive. I like that the editions are un-sealed so you can see what you are getting for your fiver. Too many other publications are a blind date, you can’t see if there are things in there you would like to make as they are covered by free gifts or sealed so you have no idea what you are getting.

The projects are like the magazine classy, classic and if you are a ‘new age vintage chic’ kinda person you are going to love this. I’d highly recommend getting a how too book to get you started but if like me you are in the early stages of the hobby, there are lots here to get you inspired and want to create. I particularly enjoy the fact that the little projects, like the smaller motifs and mandals and so on are things you would like to make, to have in your home. Other magazines ‘smaller’ projects can seem cheesy or just for the kiddies or the other extreme very large and complex projects.

This looks like a keeper, some things I’ll be able to do now, and come back to the more involved things when my skills improve. Great job Future Publishing and thanks too for the blog which gives a heads up on the projects for the current and upcoming issue.

Links

• Simply Crochet Magazine Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pintrest
• Ravelry
• My Favorite magazine for back issues, single issues and subscriptions

The Blog also has a preview of the magazine to see if its your kind of thing

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Early this year I promised myself I’d give crochet a try. Recently I have been buying Simply crochet magazine, it has some lovely projects for all levels and I adore the mandala’s and granny squares, this month they had flowers.

Sadly though, my poor little brain couldn’t work out the meaning of the patterns, even the ones they said were simple, but I am VERY new to it all. So I headed off to You Tube as I’m a visual learner so I tried there instead. YEY

Here are the flowers I made

Crochet flowers

Now you see the one in the middle, it wasn’t meant to be like that it was meant to be the start of a circle but I kept getting those big chains over the top. They were trebles into the center of the ring, {sob} its driving me nuts but I can’t stop the big loops. I think its my tension that is off, but can’t sort it yet. I did so well with double crochet so can’t see why I’m having such problems with these.

I was trying for the pattern by Wink on page 58 of issue 5 of Simply Crochet Hooked on Handmade.

If anyone can shed any light on what I’m doing wrong shout up, I’d love to sort this out.

Links

Here is the video tutorial that I followed to make this flower, thanks to The Making Spot for such a clear easy to understand tutorial

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

***Update***

After watching this flower tutorial and another one and having a practice, I realised what I was doing wrong, the chain 3 was only meant to be at the start of the round, not for every repeat. DOH!!! Simple once you know eh!!! I’m now much further into the pattern and have definitely had a light bulb moment with the crochet. Hunting out more flower,motif tutorials on You Tube. Gimme a shout if you know of any

Today I would like to share a free download with you. A calendar page for June 2013.

Free download Calendar page June 2013

How to Use

• Click on the image to open the calendar picture to full size.
• Click on File, then choose landscape option for paper orientation.
• Click Print

To Change the size of the calendar

• Click on the image to open the calendar picture to full size.
• Right Click and choose ‘Save As’ from the list of options.
• You can print it as, is or open a Word Processing program and insert the image. (Once it is on your machine.) This will give you more control of the final size of the calendar page.

Feel free to tell your friends about this offer and forward them a link to this site. If you missed this month’s calendar page you can find it on the Calendar Downloads page.

Let me know what you think, of these calendar pages. If comments suggest this is popular…it just might become a regular feature.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Got a bit behind with posting, the pollen count has gone mad here, so much so that you could write your name in the pollen on the cars! Fogging my brain big time.

Time for a quick round up of whats been happening at Billie’s Craft Room

• The Craft Room Clear up

Over the last month I’ve been having a real blitz on the craft room. It has needed doing for a couple of years, now the weather has warmed up and I can move at bit, I’ve been tackling a small amount at a time and have been getting on very well. Went through boxes and anything in the wrong place got pulled out. Had a life laundry where only kept stuff I loved, or needed. From that selection it got separated into Materials, Tools, Surfaces, Finished objects. Now I’m in the last stage of sorting through those boxes to re-home ie-put back where they should be, anything in those boxes.

It has taken ages, you do need the space to make more mess before it gets better but it has been so worth it. I found my BELLS!!!! Having decided to put bells on my Cable keys for interchangeable needles I promptly lost said bells! Irony eh! but they are back in the room and back in the drawer where they live.

• Art

Ok between sorting out, so I know where stuff is and hay-fever I haven’t had the energy or brain power to actually create anything arty at the mo. I’m hoping that once I’ve finished the clear out, I’ll have surfaces and know where things are so I’ll want to get painty again. Found some ATC sized card I cut ages ago, so that sounds like a good place to start when I get going.

• Yarn

Have new pattern, the last one I gave up on. Being newish to knitting and with the dyslexia I find it hard to work out what the instructions are asking me to do. So when I get a pattern I write it out in longhand, each new instruction seperated so I recognise it and know what I’m doing. People say its nuts but it works for me, so its worth it to me. Well on this occasion I’m even more glad I do this, as a third of the way through the instructions had error in them that I couldn’t work out. A pain after all that writing but far better than discovering this after months of knitting!

So started with a new pattern, no more details I don’t wanna hex it. Will give you the full story when its done {tease much!}

Got very excited with a new crochet magazine called Simply Crochet. Bought issue 4 as it had some nice projects and I needed a shawl pin after creating all those shawls. Its really good, home stuff, mandalas, garments/accessories, toys so something for everyone and at the back there are how to tutorials so you can get started right away.

Issue 5 of Simply crochet has features on Granny Square, ohhh love them, love mandalas. The good thing about crochet is as long as you know where you are in the pattern you can stop anytime Probably not the ideal way to do it, but when your hands lock up, at least it means you don’t have to battle on to the end of a long row

I’m very boggled by the instructions in the magazine tho, its the brackets that are throwing me. Anyone else got this magazine? Followed the link to one of the designers blogs OMG such pretty things!!!

• Textiles

After getting very excited watching the Great British Sewing Bee, I bought some patterns when Simplicity had a half price offer. Hoping to make a skirt! Another one I can’t say too much about for fear of jinxing it, but will shout when I get stuck

Invested in a small amount of pattern drafting paper so I can either trace the pattern I have so I can make alterations to it without wrecking the original, since I don’t know what I’m doing yet. Also hope to have a go at finally drafting my own pattern. I love my book Sew What skirts and have fabric, thread and elastic good to go, just needed paper big enough to create a pattern onto. WISH ME LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spent yesterday going through some books with the Brother (BM2600) in front of me. Made button holes, a casing for elastic (which I’ll need for on of  my skirts).

Talking of The Great British Sewing Bee, after a good look at the book IRL, I bought the sewing bee book from Amazon for £10, I’m happy with it for that price but there are a lot of very valid issues readers have brought up on Amazon about the book, which I agree with. Will review it, once I’ve had a better look through.

Ohh eck! Its a bit of an essay without pictures isn’t it. I have pictures but none that were sorted for the blog, so thought it best to just let you know whats happening.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Is it just me or has the long winter left you with little mojo? I haven’t felt very creative in AGES. This month’s challenge;

Make something

In my case that can come under the heading of make anything! Preferably with ink or paint in it somewhere!!! I need to remember how much fun paint and inks can be, after all the dark weather I’ve kinda got stuck with the digital crafting with Serif and with knitting but no inky painty fun.

What will you make this month? Would love to see

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Today I’d like to share a picture of my latest project, this is my third shawl and I just love it.

Healing hugs shawl, my third shawl.

The yarn is Sirdar, Connemara and the colour way is Wayfarer. Sadly this colourway has now been discontinued and it was thanks to a friend on Pheonix Knitting forum, who told me about Hejhog that I was able to get some to make this shawl. I fell in love with this colour-way when I saw it on a garment but the shop had already sold out of it.

Sirdar: Connemara; Chunky. Colour way Wayfarer

The pattern was a freebie from Lion Brand Yarns. Its called Simple Triangle shawl. If you haven’t knitted for long its a great step up project. The new techniques I learnt with this pattern were yarn overs, which is what creates the holes. Its everso simple to create and the finished result makes it look so much harder and more complex than it is. There was only one row that was one to keep a very close eye on, the rest were either knit, pearl and a few knit two together’s along the way.

Links

• Splendid Triangle Shawl (smaller) by Lion Brand
• Sirdar; Connemrara Chunky yarn colour ways

Three separate links to Sirdar there, the first will take you to Sirdar website’s home page, the next to details about the Connemara yarn and the last to the colourways available in the yarn.

I see they have also discontinued Horn Pipe which is the lovely natural tones I made my long slipper socks with

Have my eye on the next project, but more about that another time.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Today I’d like to share the results of some recent experiments with a selection of water soluble media and acrylic products. They make superb backgrounds for art journals, ATC’s, cards and the like, just add you favorite stamps, masks and think what you could create. If you would like to try the experiments yourself;

Mixed media experiments with water-soluble media.

You Will Need

• Water-soluble: pencils, crayons, blocks of your choice
• Gesso
• Golden: Acrylic glazing liquid
• Water colour card or try lighter card if gesso has been applied before continuing
• Car sponge scraps or cotton rag or brush if prefered
• Acrylic paint in your choice of colour.
• Non stick craft mat for easy clean up

Method

If you want the option of using these techniques in your journals or other art projects its a good idea to label your experiments as you go. Then if you find one you like, you will know what you used to create it

Label your card stock and scribble your chosen water-soluble medium onto it. Create a 1″ wide block of colour, the height wants to be about 1-2″ so you can leave some pencil/crayon un-coloured for comparison.

This picture shows Derwent Inktense blocks as the water soluble crayon and then the following acrylic mediums applied;

Mixed media experiments with water-soluble media. Water soluble product blended with gesso on the left and with Golden Acryic glazing liquid on the right.

• Gesso:You can apply the gesso directly over the crayon but as it is so opaque you may find that it hides the colour, for a softer effect water the gesso down a little. The result will be a pastel tone of the original colour. This works best with dark or jewel coloured pencils/crayons.
• Golden; Acrylic glazing liquid. You can apply this with a brush and then blend out with a rag, but it works just as well if applied with a scrap of car sponge. The more you work the surface, you will blend away your colouring lines. Work lightly if you want to keep your drawn lines.

Here is a picture of my experiments using first Lyra water soluble crayons with gesso. The second panel on the card, was created using Derwent Graphitint pencils.

Mixed media experiments with water-soluble media. Gesso + Lyra water colour crayons. Gesso + Graphitint pencils

Options/Added Extras

In the examples show I have used the colour & mediums onto SAA practice paper for watercolours. Try these techniques and see how you get on, perhaps trying them over cardstock that has had a layer of gesso first. Compare the difference between how the colour goes onto the page and does or doesn’t move as you apply other mediums to it.

Links

Products used;

• Derwent: Inktense blocks
• Daler Rowney: Gesso Primer in white
• Golden: Acrylic Glazing Liquid
• Winsor & Newton: Galeria; Acrylic paint.

These are really fun techniques to experiment with, you can make your most vivid colours now look vintage and pastel, almost like chalks. Enjoy playing and I’d love to see your results. This is just a starting point, add in masks and sprayed inks, acrylic paint and metallics over the top with some stamping. Great for art journalling and more.

Best wishes and thanks for reading see you soon

Billie

Today I’d like to share a picture of my second attempt with knitting cables. This time The Braid Cable.

Braid Cable

The instructions for how to knit this, were found in The Knitting Guide for Dummies page 169.

Spring cleaning the studio is going amazingly well, the good weather has made a big difference to my ability to move so I’m making the most of it. After over 3 years of being injured one way or another and every move causing so much pain, everything kinda just got dumped in there, rather than going to its ‘home’.

It’s looking like an episode from; The Horder Next door out there at the moment, but its a work in progress so I’m ok with that. I’ve emptied boxes n things out so items are stored together and only in boxes of a required size. Tools are at last together so I’ll be able to find things again. The pile of un-identified stuff on the left hand side, has been categorised into Tools, materials and Surfaces. Anything in cupboards that was in the ‘wrong’ place or had no box in the cupboard also went into those boxes.

Sorting like this creates space to better organize what I have in the cupboards and keeps related things together. The cupboards then end up with a little space which I hope will be enough for when I do the final sort through of the boxes on the left. Now they are in Tools, materials and surfaces they will be quicker to sort through and just go to their related homes. (gotta have a dream )

My biggest issue with creating has been that because things were so all over the place it mean so much searching to get things together to create I didn’t have the energy to actually make things. Hoping now I’ve got it a bit more organized, when the weather and my body can behave that I’ll be more motivated to paint n create again. Have missed painting but its been so dark here.

No you don’t want to see a picture, it ain’t pretty! That said, I have been very disciplined so that I have left at least one surface at the chair out there, clear so I have a space that I could use. I hate the sinking feeling that I got in there, when opening the door and just seeing a whole pile of stuff that needs sorting, instead of the haven of peace and creativity that it once was.

De cluttering is very good, its calming. Now I’m getting the space to make the things I want and need to use easy to get at, rather than a fight. A way to go yet, but a great start. What have you all been up too?

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

Today I would like to share a free download with you. A calendar page for May 2013.

Free download: Calendar page for May 2013

How to Use

• Click on the image to open the calendar picture to full size.
• Click on File, then choose landscape option for paper orientation.
• Click Print

To Change the size of the calendar

• Click on the image to open the calendar picture to full size.
• Right Click and choose ‘Save As’ from the list of options.
• You can print it as, is or open a Word Processing programme and insert the image. (Once it is on your machine.) This will give you more control of the final size of the calendar page.

Feel free to tell your friends about this offer and forward them a link to this site. If you missed this month’s calendar page you can find it on the Calendar Downloads page.

Let me know what you think, of these calendar pages. If comments suggest this is popular…it just might become a regular feature.

Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon

Billie

This is a post of two halves, first I’d like to share a picture of my first attempt with cable knitting, and then on to other news.

Rope Cable, my first attempt!

Earlier in the year I posted about New Years resolutions. One of the things I wanted to try this year was cable knitting. I checked out the instructions in my faithful Dummies Guide to Knitting and found the instructions for a Standard Rope cable on page 163. I repeated the cable and added a few rows of rib at the end, just in case I want to turn this in to some kind of bracelet/wrist warmer kind of hybrid

Now on to the other stuff. Has anyone else been following the BBC series ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’? I’ve been hooked from the first episode but would have liked a longer series like with the baking version, it all seems a bit quick at only 4 episodes.

My favorite sewer on there is Lauren, but I love them all for different reasons. Although I don’t share her skills I could have been a ‘Lauren’ if I’d listened when my dear mother tried to teach me to sew. My Mum was ace at sewing, (and knitting and cooking) she made all my clothes till I was a stroppy teenager and rebelled. Mum tried to teach me but I got board and went off to draw or get muddy in the garden instead. If I’d listened to my Mum, I could have been like Lauren.

Thanks to my Mum always making clothes and my Dad’s excellent woodworking skills I have tended to be one of those people who thinks couldn’t we just make that, rather than buy it already made, its also spoilt me for expecting things custom built, which once my parents passed away and their skills with them of course was no longer possible.

I bought an excellent book Sew What skirts, which is full of skirt designs that I love and a nifty way of drafting your own patterns to fit you. This was very tempting as I’ve no idea how to read a proper pattern. I was very lucky a couple of years ago to receive a sewing machine for my birthday and although I’ve made some nice bags in an assortment of sizes, the one thing I’ve always wanted to make was a skirt. I’m only 5 foot 3 and a lot of skirts are way too long on me, I keep seeing styles I like but they are all in linen, what is it with linen? How about a nice cotton? After another trawl through online version of stores only to find options in linen or lary patterns I decided to take the plunge and try making my own.

Simplicity had an offer on their patterns and I ended up buying 4 so I hope at least one I can make seance of. This started out worse than clothes shopping, once again I felt like a freek! My hips are larger than my waist but by the pattern sizing charts they were a smaller size than my waist? I was worried that not only couldn’t I read a pattern if I had to alter it loads before I start it was even worse. I’m still clueless about how to lay out a pattern, how to cut fabric etc never mind getting to altering the pattern as well!

The reason I battled on trying to get a commercial pattern rather than trying to make my own is because I didn’t know what to search for to create a blank pattern onto. I need that tissue stuff, although preferably that nicer fibery kind that Tilly used. Anyone know what it is and where I can get it?

Wish me luck for this project, I fear I’m going to need it.

Billie

PS. Still no arty stuff at the mo, between low light and RSI its not been happening of late. I’m still into it, and will get back to it asap.