Doodles & How to crochet a Granny Square.....

Crafting in the sunshine.. it doesn't get much better than that does it?! 

Last week it was tempting to spend every day outside but I had a website to build and a stack of other paperwork-y stuff to do so all the creative moments were a bit snatched or guilty because I knew I should be inside.

However, by Friday night the paperwork was done and the website launched which meant I did get to soak up a few rays & chill in the garden over the weekend  - total bliss - and play with a new blog project idea bubbling round in my head which was largely triggered by two things:

The first bit was inspired by accidentally hitting the I'm feeling lucky button on my browser when I was web building last week which took me to all the 'Google Doodles' (try it but be warned you can loose time real fast!) - it got me thinking about the colours of the word Google....

The second bit was having had a couple of friends bemoan the fact that they would love to crochet granny squares but couldn't quite get the hang of it....

Now you probably already know how much I ❤️ Granny Squares (any excuse will do!) so I just put the two thoughts together and came up with the idea of a Google inspired Granny Square tutorial!

So, if you are having trouble with your naughty Grannies I hope this will help you sort them out..(I've even added proper 'Step' number headings so you can keep track of where you are if you have to break in the middle of making one!)

Here goes....

Step 1
Gather your hook, scissors & Google colour yarns..

Step 2 (Round One)
Begin by attaching your blue wool to your crochet hook...

Step 3
Make 5 chain...

Step 4
Make a circle by joining the last chain back to the first chain with a slip stitch..

Step 5
Now make 3 new chain stitches - these will act as the first treble stitch...

Step 6
Now make 2 (real) treble stitches into the circle and then make 2 chain stitches....

Step 7
Now make a new 'cluster' of 3 treble stitches into the circle...

Step 8
Make 2 chain stitches and follow that with another 'cluster' of 3 x treble stitches...

Step 9
Make a further 2 chain stitches and follow that with another 'cluster' of 3 x treble stitches and 2 more chains...

Step 10
Now slip stitch to the 2nd chain in your first 'treble' and fasten off.   

Well done - that's the first round done!

Step 11 (Round Two)
Now connect your red yarn into one of the chain spaces & make 3 chain stitches as your first treble..

Step 12
Make 2 treble into the same space to make your first red cluster, followed by 2 chain...

Step 13
Now make another cluster of 3 trebles into the same space, followed by a single chain stitch...

Step 14
Now make a new cluster of 3 trebles into the next chain space, followed by 2 chain stitches, 3 more treble stitches and a single chain stitch...

Step 15
And repeat (Step 14) into the next chain space.. 

Step 16
And repeat (Step 14) again...ending with a slip stitch to the 2nd chain in your first 'treble' and fasten off. 

                        And that's the second round done!

Step 17 (Round Three)
Now hopefully you are getting the hang of this by the time you are connecting your yellow yarn?  

The basic trick is: 
Make 1 x treble cluster in the side spaces plus 2 x treble clusters in each corner space  (I make 2 x chains between the clusters on the corners but only 1 x chain between each cluster on the sides)...

Once you have mastered that idea you can happily add as many round as you want to your squares! To make it a 'Google' themed granny you need to add another round in blue....

The another round in green...

And finally, one more round in red...

Don't forget to tidy up your granny by sewing in all the loose ends!

 Ta-dah.... 

The Google(inspired )Granny Square!

I'm actually thinking this could make a fun blanket or retro style cushion cover for a boys room (I know it's not only my son who's addicted to all things electronic!)..


Happy Making :-)




All pictures & text (c) Addicted to Making 2014

The World Cup & Funky Neon Necklaces Part II (the clasp!).....

Well, the sun is still shining and even the football players in the World Cup seem to be embracing the trend for neon (their boots were so bright in that first game I could hardly watch the game!)  I shall have to think of a World Cup inspired make - especially with Fathers Day coming up!

In the meantime here is part II of the neon necklace project that I promised to post - and a great way of making your own cord 'clasp' which you will be able to adapt to use on all sorts of other necklaces.  

We pick up where we left off at the end of the last post  - i.e. where your necklace is pretty much complete with just a simple set of 'ties' at the back.   Here goes...

The first thing you will need is some fairly sturdy craft wire - I used 1.0mm gold plated. You will also need some cutters, round nose pliers & flat nose pliers. Oh - and a pencil... it's very useful for this project!

Working from your reel of wire, wrap the end around a pencil several times to make a nice coil  - not too tightly though or you won't be able to remove it!

Slide the wire off the pencil and use your round nose pliers to turn a loop on one end...

Then use flat nose pliers to 'straighten' the loop so it sort of sits on top the coil of wire...

Now turn the coil over and do the same on the other end.  If the wire end is a little long simply trim it. 

Use flat nose pliers to sit the loops nicely on either end of the coil....

Now all you have to do is thread the cords through the coil clasp and gently give the top & bottom wires of the coil a tiny squish with your flat nose pliers - just enough so that you can still slide the clasp up & down the cords but also enough that it won't slip off them easily...

And there you have it... simple, cheap and useable for many other things too :-)

(don't forget you could plait the cords too if you wanted too....)

Happy Making!





All text & pictures (c) Addicted to Making 2014

Neon fingertips & funky necklaces...Part I

It's been a long time since I painted my nails but this week I thought I'd try out one of the fab neon colours around this summer - everywhere you go there is fuchsia pink, bright yellow, lime, aqua clothes, accessories & jewellery.  I don't think my nail painting is as neat as it could be but it's certainly eye-catching!


Anyway, as I still have a stash of bright acrylic beads from the bead shop days, I thought I'd make my own neon necklace to funk up my look and, of course, I will also share the steps with you on the blog..

To begin with... you would need to gather up some colourful thick cord, a selection of beads, tiger tail, crimps, ribbon clamps and jewellery pliers.

Cut 6 x lengths of cord that each measure around 40cm.  Then, holding three of the ends together, lie them on a piece of sticky tape and fold over the top.  This is a great way of keeping them together for the next step....

Sit the taped ends in a ribbon clamp...

Then use flat nose pliers to close the ribbon clamp securely... 

You should now be able to rip the rest of the  sticky tape off the cords, leaving the ribbon clamp in place...

Now you need to cut a short length of tiger tail for the beaded mid-section.  Slip one end through the loop in the ribbon clamp and then crimp it in place, right underneath.

Thread on a selection of mixed size beads  - don't worry about having everything completely symmetrical - it actually better with a bit of randomness! Remember to slip the end of tiger tail through the beads too so it doesn't stick out.

I beaded approx. 15cm of tiger tail but you can make it longer if you want too. When you are happy with it, slide on a crimp, thread the end of the tiger tail through the other ribbon clamp loop, back down through the crimp and the first few beads -  pull it tight and crimp, then trim the end to neaten up if it is poking out between the beads.

At this stage, you could either simply tie the necklace on via the laces (and let the ends dangle prettily down the back, perhaps with an extra bead knotted on to each end?) OR... I have another idea how to finish this off with a pretty natty hand made clasp (will post later in 'Part II'...so do check back)

This necklace would look great worn with a vest at a summer festival or add a shock of rebellious colour to a plain white work shirt.  

***   Part II coming soon....


Happy Making!



All Pictures & Text (c) Addicted to Making 2014

Needles, wool and the blue duck...

Time has once again whizzed by with one thing and another and for the last week or so I've been getting absorbed in a new craft. Do you remember I posted a teaser pic of some wool fiber I bought... well I thought I'd update you on how I've been getting on with it!

A visit to a lovely local craft shop had reminded me about a wet felting kit I bought a while back but hadn't been very interested in but, I had been wondering about needle felting so when I saw all the accessories in the shop I couldn't resist!

I bought a few more colours of wool that I didn't have in the kit...

and a few of the special needles you need...

I also tried out a couple of different types of needle felting 'mats' to see what the difference was;  one is soft like a sponge and one is more like polystyrene (to be honest I tend to swop about between both with no real preference at the moment)

  
One of my first experiments was a simple little felt heart. I know some people use cookie cutters to help with the shaping but I just did this one by eye.... I also learnt very quickly that you have to be careful with those needles.. they are very sharp!

I feel it needs a bit more embellishment to really finish it off but, eager to try something else,  I then made the little blue 'duck' pictured at the top (it started out with the intention of being a bird but decided to take on its own life form!)

As I began to get the hang of it,  I wanted to try something larger so made four huge individual poppy petals that were then joined together to make large flower. I'm thinking I'll add a clip to the back and a large vintage button for the centre to finish it off...

I do love the brightness of poppies so I also made this little poppy fields picture brooch which was embellished with some simple black stitches...

and finally, with today being the 70th anniversary of D-Day, I was inspired to make a smaller lapel poppy that has been embellished with jet black crystals and seed beads.

It's actually quite addictive and it's great to have something different to play with - I can't wait to experiment more :)



Happy Making!




All pictures & text (c) Addicted to Making 2014