Five Pointed Star, free pattern

I included a free sample in with the package I sent to my first real customer and decided it best to pop in some similar items but of different shapes so she can see what else I can make. Included was my attempt at a five pointed star.

a simple 5 pointed star

I included these 6 extra shapes, as well as the tiny butterfly I did yesterday. The circle simply has 12 dc in the 1st round and 24 in the second. The square is a 2 round granny square. The snowflake is the 1st 2 rounds of a snowflake I found at Attic 24, which you can choose to have 2 or 3 rounds. The star and 2 different kinds if triangles are my own patterns. I'm still working on writing the triangle patterns, but here is the star pattern.

6 assorted crochet shapes to use as embellishments

5 Pointed Star in US crochet (UK dc = trb, hdc = htrb)

round 1. 3 ch, work 1st round into 1st ch, 9 dc, sl st into 3rd ch

round 2. into next dc (2 hdc 2 ch 2 hdc), sl st into next dc, repeat 4 more times, sl st into 1st hdc

Flippy Floppy Scarecrow Sunhat

I've been meaning to make this hat for my son, who just loves the dingle dangle Scarecrow song, for which he required a flippy floppy hat like this one!

Flippy Floppy Sunhat by Teena Sutton Murphy

I took a break from the cabled spiral bunny rug I'm currently working on as it simply taking aaages, and decided to make this hat as I knew it wouldn't take long. It took me a couple of hours, the body made up quickly with my 4mm hook. I used yellow 8 ply cotton from Bendigo, its been sitting here for months and finally I got to take off the label. For the brim I switched to a 3.5mm hook and made tighter sc stitches so the brim would sit up a little, but still be floppy. The body is a simple beanie of dc with trb cables at the increases. I started the brim earlier than usual because the brim would hang down, and otherwise would cover the eyes too much.

20 month old Thomas wearing his flippy floppy hat for the Scarecrow song

After I sewed in the end, I popped it on my sons head and turned on his favourite video of the Scarecrow song by Justin Fletcher. The action shots were so action filled they were all blurry, but I managed to get this shot featuring the hat while he's watching his video and dancing along. Oh so cute!

The Poncho my Mother Made

Here is the poncho my mother made for me when I was a toddler. I remember wearing it until it no longer squeezed over my head! There's a photo of me when mum first put it on me and it reached down to my toes! I got a lot of wear out this, and 40 years later its still holding together.

The old cherished poncho my mother made for baby me, using Paton's Bluebell

Mum used the 5 ply Paton's Bluebell for this, which you can still buy from Lincraft. I have a few vintage balls, some with the old labels still on. The poncho has started to felt in places after many washes, mum says she just chucked it in the washing machine! A couple of clusters are unravelling, so if I get a chance I might repair it.

vintage balls of Paton's Bluebell, which is still available

This is a precious thing I remember from my childhood which my mother made especially for me. Its the special things that are handmade by someone you know that are the most treasured.

Red and Black Basket

I started this basket on Monday 16th July while I waited for the doctor. Taking along a crochet project to the doctor's waiting room has become a necessity, as invariably she will keep me waiting, sometimes up to 50 minutes.

red, black and grey basket I made for my husband

 I asked my husband if I could make him something and he said a basket for his desk would be useful, so I planned to make this for quite a while. His birthday is next month so I made a start on it, but it took a lot less time to finish than I thought, taking just a couple of hours. Using 7mm hook and red, black and grey acrylic, the base is a flat circle of sc. Before stopping to increase I did 2 rounds of cables at the increase, the other stitches in those rounds are bpdc to keep the height the same. It created an interesting corner at the base of the basket. Up the sides I spiralled instead of sl st then ch, so the starts are invisible. I then used a yarn needle to sew in each of the 3 yarns for a neat finish.

This is a gift for my husband's birthday, I hope he finds it useful.

The Tiniest Butterfly, free pattern

When I gave my mum a tiny flower made with variegated pink yarn she said it looked like a butterfly. That was because 4 of its 5 petals were pink and one was white, so it did look a butterfly, and that gave me an idea!

simple butterfly designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

Simple Butterfly by T.S. Murphy in UK crochet (US trb = dc, dc = sc)
Leave a short bit of yarn free at the start, don't weave it in, it is the 1st antennae.
3 ch, work all into 1st ch, 1 trb, 2 ch, sl st (2 ch, 1 trb, 2 ch, sl st) repeat 2 more times for 4 wings in total,
fasten off leaving a small bit yarn free at the top for the 2nd antennae.

Recycled Project Bags

Over time I've worked out the kind of bags that are perfect for crochet projects. Its best to keep a project in its own bag so you can grab it and go when you need something to do while you wait for a doctor, etc. Clear plastic bags are the best, so you can see what's inside without having to rummage around. I used to use recycled paper bags, and although you can see into the top, if you have as many projects on the go as I do they don't work so well!

The absolutely perfect project bag is a clear plastic bag that secures at the top, with a zip or a drawstring like this shopping bag I've recycled from Coles. Its a special bag for their new line of clothes, which I scored last week when I bought a new singlet. Other perfect bags are the zippered clear bags you sometimes get when you buy new sheets for your bed. For a few years now I've kept all zippered and closable clear plastic bags, as well as some bags that aren't quite perfect like clear bags that don't close as well, for when I have too many projects in progress!

My first real customer

Up until now, my only customers have been people I know in real life. Yesterday I completed an order for my first 'real' customer, a person I don't know who found my page from a recommendation by a busy fellow crocheter.

my new stash of Cleckheaton 'Perfect day'

One lesson I've learned is that I need to insist on a deposit before beginning work. I have two packages here waiting to be posted to two different ladies who have promised to pay but haven't, and their work was finished months ago. These two ladies are people I know from Facebook. But two other orders have paid in advance, including this one. Rachel has a Facebook page called Babee Blocks where she sews handmade gifts for children and babies. She's paid in advance for these crochet embellishments to add to her work, I do hope she likes them!

6 pink flowers to use as embellishments using 8 ply acrylic yarn and a 4mm hook

One of Rachel's customers wants organic natural fibres on a baby's cloth book, so we decided to use Cleckheaton's 'perfect day', an 8 ply Australian wool and alpaca blend that uses no dyes. Its colours are based on the natural colours of the animals wool. It was beautiful to work with, I'm hoping to make something nice from the left overs when I get a chance. The other shapes are made from scraps of acrylic my mother gave me that she found in second op shops and flea markets.

6 red hearts using pattern at Suzei's Stuff

Acrylic yarn is not exactly "eco-friendly", although I have bought Australian made acrylic baby yarn for a bunny rug I've made. But I do think acrylic fits the 'eco' bill if its second-hand. Its a salvaged product that would otherwise go to waste. I did buy a bunch of Chinese acrylic when it was on special at Lincraft but I'm not using that in my work, only to make things for Thomas.

wool shapes drying flat on a towel, made with undyed Australian alpaca wool blend

The wool shapes didn't sit quite flat so I washed them in Earth Choice wool wash, squeeze them gently and eased them into shape to dry flat on a towel. These have come up beautifully and are very soft to touch. I think they're going to make a beautiful embellishment on Rachel's work.

How to be Happy #1 - grow your own herbs.

It has to be one of the simplest things you can do, its a simple joy in my life and so easy anyone can do it, even people who rent tiny places.

its so easy anyone can do it, and its one of life's simple joys

We just spent a lovely early Saturday morning in our potted garden, staking the newly fruiting cherry tomatoes, top dressing the capsicums and pruning the chillies. We watered the worm farm and fed the plants the worm tea, including this flowering lavender. I pruned it early in winter and suddenly its flushed with rosy colour!

Tom's Garden winter 2012, garlic, tomatoes and lettuc

I had planned to plant beetroot this winter into this planter box my father-in-law Brian made, but before I got around to it, some tomatoes and lettuce had sprouted! Then David planted a bunch of garlic, which has shot up and is looking great. Will we be able to grow a year's supply of garlic?

our latest attempt at growing tomatoes is currently fruiting

Here is our latest attempt at tomatoes, this time its a cherry tomato variety from Brian's garden in Stanthorpe. We hope it works this time, with plenty of worm tea along with some luck, it might do just that!

Elizabeth's Scarf #2 - long & skinny

This is a simple long and skinny scarf I whipped up as the second of three for my sister in law, Elizabeth. This one was quicker to do than the first, I decided this one should be thin so it is slightly different.

simple long and skinny scarf

This is simply rows of 15 dc plus starting ch 2. I considered edging it in sc, and thought I'd allowed enough yarn, but 4 times the length of each side fell way short so I gave up on that idea, and just put the remainder of yarn into a few more rows of dc.

half the scarf has flecks of blue while the other half has flecks of purple instead

It wasn't until I was taking the photos after I'd finished that I realised the two balls of yarn Liz had given me were slightly different. They're both variegated brown, but one has flecks of blue while the other has flecks of purple instead. I posted some photos and we both decided it was ok for a simple scarf like this. Besides, some more wool from Bendigo has just arrived, and I have another project to get started on! Otherwise I might have had time to unravel it and crochet horizontally, but ... so much yarn, so little time ...

Heather's Rose with stamen

I had a thought that stamen could be added to the Heather's Rose before the first round. Here's an example, with the yellow stamen added before the first round of 6 dc.

Heather's Rose with optional stamen, designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

Before starting the first round, 7 ch then sl st back along the ch, 7 ch then sl st back along the ch,this forms two stamen. Then do the first 3 dc of the first round. Fold the stamen forward so you can do the other 3 dc on the other side of the stamen. This will make the stamen sit in the middle of the 3rd round of internal petals. Well, I think it looks pretty, if I do say so myself! I'm still working on how to explain the folded internal flowers, I hope to share the pattern with you very soon!

Flowers and Hearts for Scrapbooking

My mum asked me to make her some flowers and hearts for scrap-booking, so this is some of what I came up with, using a 4 ply white cotton.

white flowers and hearts made with 4 ply cotton and 2mm and 3 mm hooks, ideal for scrapbooking

Mum said she preferred if I just used white so that she can dye them any colour she wants to match her cards. I hope one day I can share pictures of the cards she makes with these flowers and hearts. For these I used a 2mm or 3mm hook. For the hearts, I followed my favourite heart pattern at Suzie's Stuff. The 3 larger 5 or 6 petal flowers are based on my flower pattern. The smallest flower of 5 petals is 4 ch, all st into 1st ch, 2 tr 2 ch sl st (2 ch 2 tr 2 ch sl st) repeat until you have desired number of petals.

tiniest 5 petal flower, using 1.5mm hook

Heather's Flower, free pattern

This is the 2D version of Heather's Rose, which has an extra round of internal petals that sit up. This one is flat and has just two rounds.

these Heather's flowers were made using 4 ply cotton and a 3mm hook

4 tiny Heather's Flowers made using fine crochet cotton and a 1.5mm hook

My mum asked me to make her some flowers and hearts for scrapbooking, and she needed them to be flat. So I tried the first two rounds of Heather's Rose and I think it turned out quite pretty. For the larger flowers I used 4 ply white cotton and 2mm and 3mm hooks, for the smaller ones I used finer crochet cottons and my 1.5mm hook. Working with the finer hook and thread is quite tricky I find. The most difficult part of the rose pattern is explaining how to do the internal petals, so I will share the easier first two rounds here.

Heather's Flowers using 4 ply cotton and 2mm and 3mm hooks, designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

Heather's Flower (1st 2 rounds of Heather's Rose) - UK version

1. 4 ch (counts as 1st tr and 1st ch), * 1 tr into 1st ch 1 ch,  repeat * 4 more times, sl st into 3rd ch 
(a wheel of 6 spokes)
2. * sl st into next spoke space, 3 ch 2 db tr 2 ch 2 db tr 3 ch sl st into same, repeat * 5 times 
(6 large petals)
* pinch petals to make them pointed

Heather's Flower - US version
1. 4 ch (counts as 1st dc and 1st ch), (into 1st ch, dc 1 ch) repeat 4 more times, sl st into 3rd ch (wheel of 6 spokes)
2. (sl st into next spoke space 3 ch 2 trb 2 ch 2 trb 3 ch sl st into same), repeat 5 times (6 large petals)
* pinch petals to make them pointed

3 white Heather's Flowers and an Australian 50 cent piece

"Olives & Wine" Two Way Tea Cosy

I finally finished this two way tea cosy on my birthday, it was fairly simple to do. I've started writing the pattern down so I can hopefully get it pattern tested very soon.

the main side of two way tea cosy, "Olives & Wine"

I chose these colours mainly because this is what I mostly have left of the classic wool from Bendigo. My mum gave me the wine coloured wool called 'cognac', but it wasn't soft enough to make the beanie and scarf set she thought it would be good for. So some of it has now been made into this tea cosy! I purposefully made this one plain with stripes instead of flowers, in case a tea drinker I know of would prefer a cosy that's not too pretty!

in case you don't like stripes, turn it inside out for a deep red cosy

One side of the tea cosy is stripes of maroon, purple and green. Turn the cosy inside out and its all maroon. Nice and easy!

Our Potted Garden, Winter Update 2012

Last weekend was a rare one of fine weather and no illness, so it was a perfect opportunity to get into the garden and do some work. We're both really pleased with how well our potted garden is doing now, after about 3 years of persistence which is now paying off. There's wasn't a lot to do this time, just some maintenance and harvesting!

some of this winter's harvest from our potted garden, limes, turmeric, capsicums and chillies

BASIL
I have 3 large bushes that are still going strong of the all-year-round variety. David keeps persisting with the sweet basil because he likes to cook with it, but I couldn't be bothered fussing over something that will probably die every year. One of my mature basil bushes has a case of scales so when I see some I scrap them off which is the most organic way of removing the, but there are quite a few there. I have a new basil plant that has shooted from a cutting that I might give as a gift to someone.

CAPSICUM
We now have 4 pots of capsicums that produce very small fruit infrequently. We must remember to keep up with the fertiliser better! This winter, these pots all received a top dressing of new compost.  These plants prefer conditions similar to chillies, so nice and easy to grow as we have lots of chillies!

CHILLIES & CHIVES
These two herbs grow very easily in our sub-tropical potted garden and didn't require any extra work at the moment. We harvest more chillies than we can possibly use, so we hope to dry and grind them to give as gifts to those we know like the hot spice. We often use the chives in our cooking, snipping of a bunch with scissors whenever we need to.

CORIANDER
I was so very disappointed when my first attempt at growing coriander failed during the first summer we started our potted garden. I just love fresh coriander on my food! A couple of months ago I bought a bunch of fresh coriander for a curry, and it still had roots on it. We didn't use all the herb and the leaves started perking up in the fridge. So I planted it and since then its been in my 'nursery hospital', where I can take special care of it while it sits on my outdoor table. So far we've even been able to trim off a few sprigs, yum!

my second attempt at growing coriander, wish me luck please!

GARLIC
We're giving garlic a try this winter, planting some sprouting bunches into Tom's planter box. Already the couple David planted a month ago have started growing strongly, so the rest were put in alongside them. I wonder how much garlic we will get?

LAVENDER & ROSEMARY
I just love lavender, unfortunately its proven to be quite fussy to propagate. I finally managed to get two more young plants and repotted them this weekend after nurturing them carefully over the last few months. These are the results of a heavy pruning I gave my mature bush in the summer. Now my mature lavender plant is flowering and looking lovely! Rosemary prefers similar conditions to lavender, currently my two handsome plants are flowering prettily.

two new lavender plants with top dressed pots of capsicum in the background

LIME TREE
Advice is to remove the potted tree and prune the root ball, something that strikes fear into my heart so I refuse to do it! What if I kill my beloved lime tree? So this winter we did what we did last winter, we gently scraped the top layer of soil away from the roots then replaced it with a new layer of soil. It seemed rather happy when we did that last year, and it still doesn't look too sad, so that will do again for now! We just pulled off 5 good sized limes, with lots still more on the tree. And the tree is covered with a new flush of flowers, more limes to come!

MINT, OREGANO & MARJORAM
These herbs are still going well now they have communicated to us their desired conditions. The mint is doing fine in part shade in a moist pot, and the oregano and marjoram sit side by side in full sun. I gave them a prune and selected the choicest cuttings to dry in our dehydrator.

PARSLEY
I was worried about how poorly the parsely was doing. Since then we moved it all into three very large pots, and they have become more bushy and looking happier, although they still do not seem to be reproducing or seeding yet.

TOMATOES
We've not had a lot of success with tomatoes, but after visiting Brian and Freya in Stanthorpe at Easter, we saw all their cherry tomatoes growing like weeds so we wanted to give them another go. We collected all the seeds from a large box of cherry tomatoes and put them into the planter box that had rocket in it last year. They've shot up and now look decidedly bushy! A few are even starting to flower! Its going to be really important for us to remember to keep the fertiliser up if we're going to get any fruit.

will this attempt at growing cherry tomatoes prove fruitful?

TURMERIC
This winter's surprise has been the tumeric plant that David's dad Brian gave us. It quietly bubbled along all summer, and the leaves died off at the start of winter. When we pulled out the roots we were both very surprised at what we found. The pot was almost full of freshly grown turmeric, so much so that we now guess we have a year's supply! We're going to put the roots in a cool, dark place until they sprout before choosing the root to start next year's supply. We're so buoyed by this success, we're ready to give ginger a try too!

a surprise awaited us inside the pot of turmeric!

TOM'S GARDEN
I had earmarked this planter box to grow beetroot in this winter, and prepared the soil with blood and bone. But before I got around to soaking the beetroot seeds overnight in water, some tomato plants had popped up. Since then, lettuce has appeared and David planted some garlic in the space left. I guess I'll have to wait until next winter to plant some beetroot in this box, or find another pot to put them in!

Tom's Garden Winter 2012 with our top dressed lime tree for company

Black & White Birthday Card

Today is my birthday so here is a photo of the beautiful card my mother sent me and I just got out of the mailbox!

Black & White Birthday Card by Feather's Nest

 On the front it has a cute pocket, inside is this quote you can pull out. Its so sweet! Thanks Mum <3

Winston Churchill quote

Elizabeth's Scarf #1 - thick & warm

This is the first of three scarves that I will hopefully get to make for my sister in law, Elizabeth. I was having trouble deciding which yarn to use, so she chose her own and ended up giving me enough yarn for three scarves.

detail of Elizabeth's Scarf #1

Several false starts which then had to be unravelled resulted in this being more time consuming than I had planned. Unravelling this particular kind of acrylic yarn is difficult because the fibre snags often, which slows the process further. I was having trouble determining the width of the scarf, because I only had 200g of this colour. Normally 200g would be plenty for a generously sized scarf, but the ply of this is quite thick, possibly a 10 to 12 ply. This made the stitches thick and the scarf shorter than if an 8 ply had been used. This shiny acrylic has a beautiful sheen and is soft and silky to work with, its a lovely variegated colour that in the end results in a nice thick, soft scarf perfect for the cooler months. This scarf ended up being 8 inches thick and 36 inches long, or 20cm by 140cm.

Elizabeth's Scarf #1 modelled by ... me.

Elizabeth asked the scarf be thick and warm, but we also both thought a shell stitch would be pretty. For this scarf I decided to alternate a shell pattern with thick sections of sc and dc. I began with 3 rows of sc, then 5 rows of shell stitch 2 ch, sk 1, dc, sk 1 (dc 1 ch dc, sk 2) repeat for a total of 7 times, sk 1, dc, dc, turn (next row cont. except (dc 1 ch dc) into ch sp). For the next thick section I did (3 rows of sc, 1 row of dc) repeat for a total of 2 times, then 3 rows of sc. Then I repeated the shell section and the thick section. For the middle part of the scarf I did a long shell section of 22 rows. Then I mirror imaged the first end of the scarf for the other. Finally, I had an extra bit of yarn left at the end, so I did 5 rows of sc instead of 3 like at the beginning. All this with a 7mm hook makes this a very thick scarf just long enough to fold the way Elizabeth likes. I do hope she likes this scarf, it took me several hours to make!

Sea Green Beanie Ear Flaps

The weather is getting decidedly chilly so I've been trying to convince my toddling son to wear a beanie on his head, at least when he is outside. Of course, no sooner do I have it on his head does he rip it back off again! The solution? Ear flaps added at my earliest convenience!

ear flaps added to a sea green beanie

I made this sea green beanie over a year ago, yet it still fits Thomas. It's rather a nice colour of sea green, an acrylic from the Wangaratta Mill. It was a simple matter to add these ear flaps, like I did for a purple monster beanie a few months ago.

18 month old Thomas wearing sea green beanie with ear flaps

I put the beanie on Thomas when he woke from his nap, and he's still wearing it 10 minutes later. Sesame Street helps as a distraction! He wore the beanie for nearly 15 minutes, its a record!

Small Red Heather's Rose

Here's the second Heather's Rose I've made, this time using some shiny red yarn and a 2mm hook. I pinched the inside petals to make them sit up more, and the bottom petals curl, so this is a 3D flower.  Next time I will make one of these in two colours.

small red Heather's Rose designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

I'll give this to my mum, as well as the first Heather's Rose I made. She likes to make jewellery, maybe she can turn this little red one into something nice? I'm still working on the pattern, and hope to share it with you soon <3

Rings-on-a-Tree Jacket

Like rings on a tree, this jacket will grow with the child. This is my idea to extend hexagon jackets, to increase the amount of wear you get out of this valuable garment, and to reduce the pile of small baby jackets that would otherwise accumulate if I made him a new jacket every winter. Perhaps one day it will get to be an adult sized cardigan?

18 month old Thomas wearing his extended jacket

The most time consuming part of this first extension was trying to unravel the original light blue jacket because when I made that I hadn't thought of the life-time jacket idea yet, so had not planned to unravel it. Next time it will be quicker! When I made the first blue jacket, I did the seams continuously from making the fabric of the garment, then continued to make some further extensions. Those extensions had to be unravelled before I could undo the seams for this dark blue extension. I then added the original extensions back onto the hexagons, leaving the seams undone. Then I changed to dark blue for a contrast. Like rings on a tree, you can see how the jacket grows with the child.

Thomas riding his musical rocker

I added the new dark blue extensions, also leaving the three seams undone, then sewed in all the ends with a yarn needle. Lastly, using a 3rd contrasting colour, I starting edging and joining the jacket. This way, if the contrasting trim is removed, the hexagons will come free and will be able to accept more extensions very easily. I started the white trim at one wrist then sewed one shoulder seam, I tied that with one simple knot and left the end to be woven in later. I then edged the other wrist and did the other shoulder seam the same way, using an invisible stitch with a yarn needle. The 3rd part of the white trim starts at the bottom middle of the back, edging the jacket in sc, working its way all around the inside and up to the collar. There I weave in the shoulder seam ends. I end up back at the middle of the bottom, so then I can cut enough to do the final invisible seam. The end is tied with a simple knot and woven in with a crochet hook so it can be found more easily when it comes time to undo it for the next extension. It is for this reason the contrasting yarn can be seen joining the seams.

contrasting white yarn can be seen in the seams, to make the next extension easier

I also made two ties from left over light blue wool, with 40 ch and sl st back and a 3 ch loop at the end. When I edged the inside of the jacket in white, I added these two ties the same length down the jacket as is allowed for the neck. This way, when the white trim is removed, the blue ties will come free and will be reused in the next extension. With infrequent gentle hand washes, it should wear quite well.

So that is how I make my Rings-on-a-Tree jacket! I hope to make many more extensions on this woollen garment as my son grows. I think that's far better than making a new jacket every winter, what will I do with all those too small baby jackets worn for just one season? Best to up-cycle it and keep on wearing it, I say! Especially if I look after this woollen hand-made jacket as well as I plan to. Better for the environment, better for my stash of wool ;)

Yellow Draft Stopper

It must be about 7 or 8 years ago now that I made this yellow draft stopper! This was before I could read patterns so I just made this up as I went along.

an old draft stopper I made years ago when I was learning to crochet

The apartment I used to live on the north side of Brisbane over 5 years ago would get a nasty draft in winter from under the back door so I made this draft stopper. Its simply granny clusters, I remember I had to really rack my brain to remember what to do back then. Its basically a long skinny bag stuffed with old t-shirts and socks. This is one of the first things I made after returning to crochet as an adult, because my mum taught me how to crochet when I was a child. When I was a kid I used to make blankets and tiny rounds to use as handbags for my dolls. I also sewed clothes, which my mum also taught me how to do (thanks again, mum!).

I just found this old draft stopper after sorting out a box that's been sitting under my kitchen sink for 5 years! Isn't it amazing what you find when you're not looking??

Dark Purple Divine Hat

This is the 3rd divine hat I've made following the free pattern at Rheatheylia.

dark purple divine hat

The dark green divine hat I made like this was quite large, I used the recommended 6mm and 5mm hooks. But for this dark purple beanie I wanted one that would fit me better than it fit my husband, so I used a 5mm hook for the main part and a 4.5mm hook for the brim. I also added an extra 3 rounds of 4 dc shells because the smaller hook made it too short.

are you flushed with rosy colour?

I know a couple of people that might like this hat, purple is a popular favourite colour! But if no one wants it I can always use it myself, it matches my purple trench coat perfectly!

Heather's Rose

With the tiny amount of yarn left over from my simple shell shrug, I made up this flower pattern. I wanted something three dimensional to compliment the fluffy yarn. I turned this specimen into a brooch to give to my mother, who's name is Heather.

Heather's Rose designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

I first learned how to crochet when I was a child, maybe aged 7 or 8. My mum taught me, who learned how to crochet from her grandma Elizabeth. Elizabeth Jackson's parents owned a tailor shop, and she was very skilled in crochet, as well as sewing, which my mum also taught me. I'm lucky enough to have some specimens of my great-grandmother's exceptional crochet doily work. My son's middle name is Jackson, after this maiden name in my mother's family. We also live near Jackson Road, another reason why we chose this name.

I hope to write down the pattern for this flower I've designed and named for my mother. If I can get some friends to pattern test it, I'll share it with you as soon as I can!

Blue Long Drop Earrings

I really like these blue long drop earrings my mother made and gave to me, I just had to share them with you! I don't usually wear a lot of jewellery, and these ones are quite fancy, but for some reason I do like them. I wore them for last week's photo shoot! Do you like them, too?

earrings by Feather's Nest

Beautifully Simple Shell Shrug

For months, I've been meaning to make a shrug with this lovely white wool acrylic blend with lovely flecks of pink and blue in it, from New Zealand which my mother gave me. It's the perfect colour to go with the dress I wore when I got married, but there were only 4 small balls of it. The design of the shrug would have to make economical use of the small amount of yarn, because I knew I needed something with sleeves down to my elbows so I could wear the dress in cooler months.

beautifully simple shell shrug designed by Teena Sutton Murphy

I put a lot of thought into the design of this shrug. Like I said, I didn't have much yarn to throw around. The amount of yarn I had would determined the length of the sleeves. So I started at the middle of the back, starting in the direction of one sleeve. I started with a chain and a row of sc, then straight into the shell stitch, which is a pretty common stitch, but I was inspired by this photo of a scarf on pinterest.  Using a 5mm hook complimented the yarn and this stitch quite nicely. I also started with the seam at the middle of the back so that the shell stitch would be symmetrical. In the first shrug I made, which followed a pattern I purchased from Lincraft, the lace stitch went in one direction, starting at one wrist and ending at the other, so it wasn't symmetrical. I didn't quite like that, although it was easy to make.

starting at the centre of the back creates symmetrical sleeves

I used up the first two balls of yarn making the section that covers the back from shoulder to shoulder, starting at that middle seam. Then I considered the collar. I knew I wanted a collar, but wasn't sure what a few rows would look like, as I haven't made a shrug like this with a collar before. I couldn't spend too much yarn on the collar though, so opted for just one round of the same shell stitch as the main part, which I think looks quite tidy. I used the 4th ball for one sleeve, and the rest of the 3rd ball for the other, and fooled around with the cuffs for quite a while. In the end, I decided on a slight flair at the cuff, although I did consider a tighter cuff of simple rows of dc. I joined the left over 4th ball to the shorter 3rd. The cuffs are simply three rounds of (3 dc 1 ch 3 dc, dc), when the main shell pattern was (2 dc 1 ch 2 dc, dc). I did try wider flairs but I thought they just looked silly.

collar detail

I used almost all of the yarn, with the tiny bit left I made a new flower and put it on a brooch. I think I'll give it to my mother, she might like it. After all, she did give me the yarn!