Lots of crochet and my first pattern!

I made one of these lovely wee jar covers for my very first crochet project last year. I haven't made any since, but today I had a bit of free time while the rest of the family were at the local pool. I decided to make another one with some lovely wool I have been using recently. It is quite a firm wool so feels more like a cotton in some ways, and it is perfect for this little cover. When my little ones got home, they both agreed that these stripes would be really nice as a hat. So they have put in their requests for what colours and styles they want!

Lovely rainbow-y stripes!

Just a quick cushion update .... I started joining them yesterday but forgot to take a pic of it all joined. So here is one after joining the horizontal rows. I have joined these squares with a raised join as I wanted a bit more texture to this one. I love the result! I'm sure there is a perfectly good crochet term for this but I don't have a clue what the stitch would be called!!! I am still on the hunt for either some merino fabric or a jersey to use on the back. Fingers crossed I find something this week as I'm bursting to get it finished. Tomorrow my small folk are going to help choose the buttons from our big button jar. These woolly cushions are so warm to snuggle up against! I adore them.

I am loving this long Easter weekend! I have been able to grab a bit of extra time to crochet which has been fab. The weather hasn't been so great so it's a good excuse to stay inside with my hooks, oh and lots of chocolate too! I think next week I will have to have a bit of vege fest to feel healthy again.

As we head into winter, it's so lovely to find monarch butterflies still in the garden. This gorgeous butterfly sat and posed quite happily for me. They really are the most stunning creatures aren't they?

And now, here's my first pattern! It's not exactly a tricky one, but something that gets lots of compliments whenever I wear mine.

I have been meaning to pop this on my blog for a while but kept forgetting to take pictures while I was making one. So this weekend I finally did it. It's a little pattern I have done to make a fab necklace. It's a fairly simple thing to make but to people who don't crochet, it looks difficult. I have given quite a few of these to friends to 'road test' and they all really like them. They look great over a plain t-shirt. You can make it any length you like, so you can wear it doubled or tripled around your neck. The possibilities are endless - colour, length, yarn etc. I have gone for just a single strand here to show you.

I have never written a pattern before so fingers crossed this makes sense!!! I have tried to take pics of each step. I'd love to hear what you think of it. So here goes ...

I have used thin crochet cotton and a 1.3mm hook for this example - and I am using US terms.

Firstly, chain 25. Try and keep your chain fairly tight.

Insert hook into the 5th chain from hook and sl st to form a small ring.

The ring will be fairly tiny so you might need to give it a wiggle to gently find the centre.

Make 8dc into ring. At this point your original chain length will be coming out of the bottom of your work (see below).

You now need to move your chain in a clockwise direction so it is now at the top of your work (see pic below). This will ensure that you have a nice even entry/exit chain coming out of the circle/round that you have created.Make another 8dc into ring. Join with a sl st into the top of your first dc. You have now completed your first 'circle'!

Now you chain 25 again ...... and repeat the above instructions until you have reached your desired length. Join your last 'circle' to your initial chain and fasten off.And there you go, a cute wee necklace! You can go as crazy as you like with colour, or even add some small beads or buttons to the centre of the circles perhaps? And if you want the circles to be smaller, just use a smaller stitch, an hdc works well too.

I hope that all made sense!

Have a fab week.

Leah