Nia's patchwork blanket

For two years my daughter and lovely son in law have lived with me... plus their unsociable cat...well he's lovely, beautiful to look at but not a people or other cat person and I have two other cats so things have been a bit fraught at times!

Awww doesn't he look sweet! Do not be fooled! Anyway they are moving out this week so when I was first told I thought it would be nice to make them a blanket to snuggle under.
Off I went and delved into my yarn basket and decided on autumnal colours all muted and warm.

I added two extra colours to this... burgundy and khaki.
So this blanket uses Stylecraft Special DK in gold, khaki, meadow, grey, graphite, mocha, burgundy, parchment and copper.
For a while I have wanted to make a blanket using blocks from Jan Eatons 200 Crochet Blocks so chose 6 of my favourites

... though after I had taken this picture my daughter decided to use the parchment for the joining and not in a block!

The blocks chosen were:

Centred square no 55
Seville no74
Willow no189
Wisteria no113
Gothic square no 94
Criss Cross no 137

So 8 colours and 6 patterns made 48 6 inch (15cm) squares.

( Picture is missing the  graphite colour squares as I hadn't done them yet!)

With this project and the type of squares I was making I needed to block each one as I went to shape them and make it easier to join.

Now who would have thought that blocking would be such a topic of conversation... well it is!
Blocking is so satisfying for turning a wonky looking wiggly block into a professional looking handmade block!
It straightens out the stitches, sets the shape and helps lock in the ends.
I spray the blocks with water and pin them onto a Boyes crochet blocking board  with brass rustproof pins and leave about 24 hrs to dry.

The top one has been blocked.

This is the Gothic square mid block.

 This is one of the hardest parts... setting out the pattern so no two colours are next to each other and achieving a pleasant looking random pattern blanket...this took an hour with the help of my husband who kept spotting things I had missed! Once happy the joining can begin. Solid grannies are harder to join I think than granny squares and one of my favourite methods is the 3 or 5 chain flat braid. Bethinx1 has a great tutorial on Youtube about this. I used a 3 chain braid.

It is a very pretty join and quick too!

Half way... and loving it!

I always have to look at the blanket and then decide on the border. For this one I thought I would do a pattern of shells for 5 rows and then added a final row of  3 chain and double crochet.

Ta'Dah!

Finally after two weeks work I have the most amazing blanket I am so happy with... I love it!!( More importantly so does my daughter). It has a lovely 70s retro feel and the most fantastic drape from the Stylecraft yarn! Love, love, love!

Oh and the final size was approx 153x115 cms

xxx Eirawen

P.S. Made a reversible cushion to match.

Pricing your handmade crochet

Oh dear what a minefield pricing is! It is upsetting when someone raises their eyebrows at the price of your blanket/cushion/scarf etc and you feel you have to justify the price! Seriously!
It really is the hardest thing to put a price on your handmade, designed by you, crochet item when you first start selling. You may feel it is not good enough... or that it is better than others. You may research loads of similar items only to find such discrepancies in price from those that sell at such a low price that you wonder why they are bothering, but it also makes yours look over priced, to those selling blankets for hundreds of pounds!
When I started out I read that the formula was 2.5 x what it cost you to make plus your time... you need a sense of humour for this!

Well ok lets try it..... e.g lets price the 'Flower Garden Blanket'

I recently sold this and when I came to wrap it up I had one of those moments we all probably have of thinking 'Ooooh will they think its worth the money!' Slap my wrist... of course it is!

The yarn used was Stylecraft Special DK cream x 2, wisteria, meadow, violet, parchment and clematis.
The pattern for the square is Attic24's Summer Garden Granny square

48 granny squares... take approx 10 mins each to make that's including sewing in ends... 8 hours.

The joining and the border.

Joining... approx half an hour each row of six squares x 8 rows (7 joining rows)... that's 3.5 hrs.
Border... approx 45 mins ish each row x 5 =2.25hrs

That's  13.75 hours to make... now the yarn was £1.65 x 7 balls = £11.55 plus postage at £2 95...  £14.50 let's have a laugh and pay myself £5/hr labour x 2.5 (the magic formula) =£106.25...umm!
I have seen it recommended on some forums that it should be x3  but I am still using the 2.5 at the moment.
I have never calculated a wage for me as it just makes the cost of the blankets too high. I know its wrong but I usually x the cost of the yarn by 2.5 (£36.25) and round it up to give me the retail price.
If I did pay myself a decent wage lets see...
Approx 14 hours labour
If I gave myself  the minimum wage which from October 1st 2014 will be £6.50 for over 21s ( I'm over 21!) that's £91 plus £14.50 x 2.5 = so my blanket could potentially now cost £127.25!
No one in their right mind would pay that for a 100x80 cms acrylic blanket unless it had been made out of the finest hand spun yarn by garden faeries riding on unicorns!

Crafts Calculator is a useful tool I have just discovered and that estimates my blanket should sell at £93.
That's approx £5.60 an hour ... but would anyone pay £93?
(£93- £14.50 divided by 14hrs)

I haven't taken into account Etsy, Folksy or Paypal fees.

Now I sell this blanket at £40 after researching similar in the market. That's about £20 a blanket profit without accounting for my time! £20 for a weeks' work...
Another minefield I have just discovered, recently when approached  by a shop to stock my blankets is the wholesale or consignment price. Wholesale price is usually 50% of your retail price or if the shop takes a percentage (consignment) the profit margins are non existent.

So we are earning  nothing on the actual time and skill it takes to make a unique handmade possibly heirloom blanket!  

I had a bit of an awakening writing this blog as I hadn't realised how much work was involved for so little money but I am addicted and need a release for the addiction!
Its a good job I'm not expecting to give up the day job and that I love designing and creating new crochet projects so I am grateful to be able to sell them or I would have no room left at home!
I would also like to apologise in advance for any discrepancies in the maths as I am absolute pants at anything mathematical and thank goodness for calculators!

xxx Eirawen

Crochet Poppy

Yesterday I went with my son and daughter to see the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy installation at the Tower of London.

This wonderful work by artist Paul Cummins is to remember the sacrifice made by British and Commonwealth soldiers in the First World War. It was a very poignant yet remarkable sight and I feel very lucky to have been able to see it.
Today whilst contemplating our visit yesterday I decided to have a go at making a crochet poppy. I have donated as usual to the British Legion Poppy Appeal but the little paper poppies don't tend to look good for long. I have looked at many poppy patterns over the years but never found one completely to my liking so  thought I would try and make my own!

To make this pattern you will need a knowledge of the following stitches:

Double crochet
Half Treble crochet
Treble crochet
Double Treble crochet

You will need a small amount of red and green yarn (I used Stylecraft lipstick and willow), 4mm crochet hook, scissors, a tapestry needle, black button and a brooch back.

First make a magic circle and do 10 dc, ss to join.
1ch 1dc into same space then 2dc into each stitch (20dc) ss to join

3ch 1dtc into same space, 1dtc, 2 dtc repeat x 4, 3 ch, ss into next stitch and ch 3.

That's your first petal shape and you continue the pattern for the second petal. So starting with the last chain 3 you will do a dtc in the same space then 1dtc, 2 dtc repeat x 4 and ch3.
Each petal has a ch3, 13 dtc, ch3,
Hope you can follow this as I am not a pattern writer!
Leave a good length of yarn for sewing up later.

Make a second one of these to form your poppy.
Now for the leaf.
Ch 10, 1dc into 1st stitch from hook then 1htc, 1tc, 3dtc, 1tc, 1htc, 1dc, 1ch then continue up the opposite side repeating this pattern and finish with a ss into first dc.

Sew on the button first then add one flower petal onto the other at different angles.

Sew on the leaf. Now traditionally the leaf should be in the 11 o clock position so you may want to keep this in mind when placing your leaf.

Add the brooch back


And there you have it!

Different buttons alter the look...

Don't forget to still donate to the British Legion while wearing your super handmade poppy!

xxx Eirawen

The Big Bang Theory Blanket Part 2

Ok so having chosen the colours which I think I can see in the blanket and ordered more black for joining I am ready to begin. If you haven't seen part1 it is here.  Just a recap on the colours:

I am going to use Stylecraft willow, parchment, lemon, aster, pale rose, gold, wisteria, lipstick, plum and black.

Looking at  my pattern I worked out that I needed 18 squares in plum and lipstick and 18 squares in  lipstick and plum for the triangle patterns on the blanket and 8 squares in parchment and black for the corners. They are the definite elements you see in the picture of the blanket.

143 granny squares later...

This was not as difficult as I anticipated as once I started laying the squares the pattern seemed to form by itself... I did not in the end follow my grid pattern to the letter.

After all the squares were carefully picked up in the order they would be joined the fun begins!
( The 'post it's' have the number of the rows on.)

I used the join as you go method and it took an hour for each row of 11 squares!

Half way!

Approx 40 hours of work and 12 balls of Stylecraft later I had a blanket 110x130cms which I am very pleased with.

The border is 5 rows of tr (granny stitch), 3 rows of tr (granny stitch) in black, 1 row in lemon and last row in black.

This blanket is as close as I could get to the original. I have tried to incorporate the pattern elements, style and colours I could see but it could never be identical. I also made it smaller in size as that size blanket Sheldon is under was quite a daunting prospect on top of trying to replicate something that did not have clear pictures.







 xxx Eirawen

Big Bang Theory Crochet Blanket Part 1

We love the TV show Big Bang Theory in our house. Now I started watching it a few years ago on late night TV then it became  tea time TV and the Beloved became hooked so we could watch it loads!!
Who doesn't love Amy Farrar Fowler's crochet blanket and of course Sheldon x

I have literally spent hours and hours looking at the few pictures out there trying to work out a pattern to make the blanket.

It will be by no means an identical replica of the blanket, that I think is impossible, but the most important bit I think is to have the red triangle shapes on the four sides.
Hopefully it will look similar  and be recognisable as a homage to the original blanket.
This will be one of my biggest projects to date! Approx 143 squares!!! Or more.
I have ordered some extra yarn for the colours I was missing... mainly red and we are good to go!

Thinking at the moment black, lemon, parchment, willow, aster, pale rose, gold, wisteria, plum and lipstick in Stylecraft Special DK and a 4mm hook.

Classic granny square design.

Apologies for the quality of the picture!

Wish me luck and hopefully not too long to the next instalment!

xxx Eirawen

Frozen Stars

I love the flowers in the snow pattern by Solstrikke. It is simple yet very effective and can look very different depending upon whether you use few or many colours.
Its a while since I made anything with this pattern so decided it was time for a revisit!
I decided on a cool colour palette.

Stylecraft Special DK in white, bluebell, silver, graphite and sherbet and a 4mm hook.

This is the finished circle to square. I will be omitting the final round of turning the circle to square as I will join as I go. The flowers in the snow pattern by Solstrikke is here.

48 circles later...

I used three different pattern colour ways:
Top-2nd and 3rd row same colour.
Middle- 3 different colours
Bottom-2 diffent colours

I went for a random pattern... always so difficult as it doesn't matter how much you scan the rows you are bound to find one in the wrong place after joining! I am also a symmetrical girl and this made my eye twitch but I persevered!

Ok all ready to join. Join as you go here we come... Attic24 has a good tutorial on this.

 It is just so neat!

I did a block stitch border of 11 rows and then a 3 chain braid to finish. Simples!

This was going to be a very exciting blocking moment as my new blocking boards had arrived. I had ordered 12 as they are sold individually and at a cost of £4 a block not a cheap investment but they did not disappoint! These are Boye Crochet Dude blocking boards.They have a grid and are 12x12" square. I got mine from http://www.carolescraftsuk.co.uk/  with free shipping.

Sooo much easier than running round the table with a tape measure and it seemed to dry much quicker too... result!!

Ta'Dah!

Blanket size 100x80cms. I wanted to give this blanket a 'cool' name and toyed with arctic sea, winter's night, snow queen etc then it was suggested on Instagram to call it Frozen Stars... I liked that :)

xxx Eirawen