This week in crochet.

Tunisian crochet has been on the hook this week. It was my first time trying this technique and it is a part of the International Diploma in Crochet. Initially I found the hook quite cumbersome as it is considerably longer than a normal crochet hook. However I really liked the texture the simple stitch creates and loved the look of the woven simple stitch in two colours.

 The only real issue I had was the edge. I tried going thrpough just one loop and it looked two holely. I then looked online and many sites suggest the end loop and the back loop. I tried this and it looked neater but I'm still not really happy with it.

One of these samples need to be edged in crab stitch. I tried it but I think opting to go through two loops at the end of the row made it difficult so it looks like I'll be making them again! 

My textured sample using 4 stitches is now finished. I used a repeat of trebles, doubles and double and triple trebles. This created a lovely bumpy texture. 

And finally I have to produce a two colour sample with no texture. I'm trying a checkboard pattern and carrying the yarn across. It's a bit fiddly as the yarns keep twisting. 

I'm awaiting my parcel of samples back. I've promised myself I won't open them until I've finished lots of the wips I' ve got.... a pair of socks for Mr. BL. and the Butterscotch bolero from WYS. It only needs sewing up but I keep procastinating..... watch this space!

Second submission time....

Well it's almost time to submit my next load of samples. Some of these have proved rather challenging and I'm not really sure why. It might be that I'm desperate to get it right first time. I'm ending up quite tense and my upper back is beginning to ache. This will have affected tension so I need to keep my fingers crossed. 
I had to resubmit my quadruple trebles. I was given a how to sheet but no specific comments were made about my sample. I think it was because the wraps were too loose. This time I've tightened them up...probably too much so. 

Here we have raised double rib and double crochet rib. I love the stretchiness of the raised rib.

A piece of double crochet using a wide range of hook sizes.  It's interesting what a simple change of hook can do. This piece ranged from a 3mm to a 15mm.

Triangle of trebles working to a point.

Double crochet triangle starting at the point.

I feel that all of these pieces would look better if blocked but when I mentioned that on my last sumission Pauline has said she was happy that I hadn't as the texture of the stitches was enhanced by leaving them alone. So we shall see. 

Probably my favourite so far, ripples or chevron. Love the simplicity of the trebles and the DK essentials by Rico is smooth, not at all splitty and gives great stitch definition. Watch out for the last 2 trebles that need to go into the turning chain. I thought I was adding too many stitches but it keeps the edges straight.

 Sample 13. Open or lace using only trebles. 4mm hook. Rico essentials DK acrylic anti-pilling. I used the turning chain as a treble to give balance to each side. 

I'm now working on a pattern of heavily textured trebles. I've chosed a Blackberry Stitch found in Crochet Basics by NIcki Trench. It's a pretty good book if you are beginner wanting to improve your skills. 

It's made with the lovely Scheepjes Eliza. A 100% polyester DK yarn that feels like velvet or velour. It's lovely to work with and super soft. I'm using Turquioise Gem and it's fitting into my blues and purples palette perfectly. 

Feedback time

I've been away for several weeks on holiday walking the Pennine Bridleway. We started from home and extended the walk to Great Langdale in the Lakes so we could stay with our friends for a few days. It took 12 days and covered 300k. It was a real challenge, some days taking 9 hours to reach our destination but it was worth it for the wide open spaces, the beautiful views and the kick start it has given my fitness.

This didn't leave me much time for crochet as I was back packing and just didn't have the space for all the yarn I'd need. I did manage to get some knitting done and am now the proud owner of several new pairs of socks. I used the Winwick mum pattern found in the Super Socks book. It's easy to follow even if you have never made socks before. I have now made over 20 pairs and it's my go to whenever I'm travelling and I need a small project. I find a pair takes me about 20 hours to make so is ideal when travelling as not only is it small but I get lots of yarn time out of one project.

So on my return what should be waiting for me but my samples. I had been a little worried about them and so did not open them immediately. However, I was pleasantly surprised and it was not as grim as I had anticipated. Only one sample needs to be resubmitted and my square of double trebles actually got a very good.  (Happy dance starts here!) Now I need to go back through the feedback, which was very thorough, and see where I was making mistakes. Some items are not square so need me to remove a row or two and I need to check how to do quadruple trebles as this was the sample that let me down. The most pleasing comment was that Pauline described my work as of a high standard. I'm self taught and have never been very confident about the items I produce, hopefully this is the first step along the road to increasing my faith in myself, and my abilities. 

And we are off!

Well today my first seven samples for the IDC were sent off and are now hopefully winging their way north. It's been quite an interesting journey. After initially thinking it would be easy, ( well I could do the basic stitches ), I've actually found it a challenge. I think it's the thought that someone is going to examine my work in detail and notice all the rookie errors. 

I'm very good at fudging. It's much easier to do that in crochet than in knitting but now someone is going to actually look and notice..... eek!

Sample 1 was horrid. A square made of chains and slip stitches, surely this should have been easy. I felt I should use cotton and had some Catona Schjeepes kicking around. I attempted this three times but struggled keeping the edges straight. I have sent it despite not being particularly happy in the hope that feedback will help me improve. 

Yarn. Catona 100% Cotton

Hook 3mm 

Well sample 2 had to be better surely. A square of double crochet with sides suitable for seaming. Sounds really easy but my edges curled  really badly. The only advice I could find was crochet loosely and use a larger sized hook at the start. I did all of this but it still curled really badly. I kepy going and it did improve but it would still not lay flat. 

I was unsure if I was allowed to block it so chose not to and placed a heavy basket on top and crossed my fingers. It did get better than the picture shows in the end but as you can see I was doing something wrong.

Yarn. Rico Essentials Soft Merino. Aran. 

Hook. 6mm cast on . Main body 5mm.

The yarn worked up beautifully; no splitting and wonderful stitch definition. Unfortunately I'm sure this piece of work will not reach the required 80%.

I was more pleased with sample 3. A square of trebles. I had never turned my work different ways for different stitches though and am not sure if I am going through the turning chain correctly.

I used a yarn called Raggi that I had bought at the yarn market in Istanbul last year. It had no weight on the label but suggested a 4.5 mm hook was used. I guessed it was an aran.

Yarn Raggi  70% wool 30% polyamide

Hook . Cast on 5mm. Main body 4.5mm

I liked the way the colours worked on this sample. I recently discovered it was from Sweden.

Sample 4 was a square of trebles between stitches. This was fine until it came to turning and I'm not sure if my count was correct. I used Raggi for this one too. The course asks you use complementary colours as all the work is displayed as one at the end. I've chosen Cressbrook Blues. I thought I could work around the blues in the river and mill race that surround my garden and the local beauty spot at Water-Cum-Jolly.

Yarn. Raggi 70% wool 30% polyamide

Hook Cast on 6mm. Main body 5mm

The larger hook gave it better drape.

Sample 5. A square of double trebles. 

This finally felt like tings were beginning to go better. However I'm sill unsure of the turning chain.

Yarn. Rico Creative Melange 53% virgin wool. 47% acrylic. DK

Hook. 4.5mm cast on.  4mm main body.

The yarn is quite fluffy but had nice drape. My square was rather large!

Sample 6 was very similar. A square of triple trebles. I used the same yarn and was pleased with the result.

Yarn. Rico Creative Melange 53% virgin wool. 47% acrylic. DK

Hook. 4.5mm cast on. Main body 4mm

I return to the cotton for my final sample. I thought the cotton would give the stitch more definition and strength as it was a quadruple treble. It took quite a long time to make this square. getting the tension right was a challenge and making sure the cotton did not split was tricky too. 

So then finally they all got labelled up and packed into a large envelope. Fingers crossed I don't have to repeat them all. 

Well as I've now sent these I decided to do something different until the work gets returned with feedback. I am having a go at the Pina Colada Shawl from the Scheepjes Yarn bookazine. This is the Tropical edition and is full of gorgeous makes in a variety of Scheepjes yarn. The Pina Colada shawl is made using Scheepjes Secret Garden. The yarn is a cotton, silk and polyester mix. It got a beautiful slub to it and therefore varies slightly in its thickness. It's super soft and very easy to work with. Mmmmmm....yummy!

The yarn fades into a variety of shades and this makes the crochet come alive; each stitch being slightly different from the last. The short rows had me flumuxed for a while but I think I've worked it out now. There are quite a few errors in the pattern so if you use it make sure you check the Scheepjes website for the corrections.