Crochet Extra – August 2021

Did you catch the opening of the Olympics?  It was a magnificant show. And after alI of the uncertainty surrounding it, it was nice to see it happen.  For those participating in the Crochet Tournament, I hope this has helped get you into the olympic spirit.  If the tournament continues to expand we may one day see Crochet as an olympic sport!! Ha Ha.  The tournament is now complete – and what an amazing job everyone did.  You did yourselves proud.  I will have some photos added to the gallery in the coming weeks.

We are currently having difficulty sourcing the Clover hooks again.  It seems there is a world wide shortage of their hooks with the increase in the demand and the decline in production with plant closures and reduced shifts.  We continue to keep our ear to the ground to source these as soon as we can.

On the good news – there are 10 new colours in Finch 10 ply cotton coming later this month.  This is a great cotton to use and has a soft finish.  I have had some issues reported with multiple knots in the balls.  This has been reported to the manufactures to be improved.  If you do come across this in future purchases, please let me know and send photos that i can forward these on.

This is the last chance to book for the Seaside Crochet Retreat, as all numbers need to be finalised by Friday 6 August.  We’ve got 31 booked in to attend – it is unfortunate that many of you aren’t able to attend it due to the COVID outbreak, and we hope future years you will be able to come.

Have you booked in for any of our workshops?

In August we will be making the Calin Shirt using a whirl – a great top for summer or winter.   With the current restrictions in place attendance at the in store workshops is limited to 10 and advanced bookings are required.

Or do these from the comfort of your home – interactive online workshops on Monday evenings 7pm to 9pm.

We also have an additional online workshop Thursday 19th August 7pm – 9pm to learn tunisian crochet.  This is preparation for our September workshop to learn tunisian in the round.

See all upcoming workshops here

Until next time

Lynda

Theme—Motifs

A motif is a recurring shape or form in a picture or design.  For us crocheters motifs have become synonymous with squares, circles, hexagons or other small designs that are then joined together to form a larger design.  The granny square is the most well known, but motifs encompass many designs and shapes.   Any motif can also be used on its own without being made into a larger design.

So what can you make with motifs? Anything at all – as a single design they can make fantastic coasters, hot pads, wash cloths, embellishments, or items of jewellery.  By joining motifs together though you can make clothing, shawls, blankets, hats, bags, scarves…the list is endless.

Motifs are one of the most versatile things to crochet.   They are great for beginners to master their skills, and great for more advanced  crocheters to practice new techniques or experiment with colour.  With larger projects where the motifs are repeated it is a great way to relax with the repetitive pattern.

Motifs are generally small and each one can be completed relatively quickly thereby giving a great sense of satisfaction – rather than larger projects which take a while to finish.

Motifs help make crochet portable as it is like lots of mini projects that can be joined later.  Or you can join-as-you-go to see your final project coming together as you crochet.  There are so many methods of joining motifs together – choosing the method for your project is almost as hard as selecting the motifs and colours.  Many of the motif books cover different ways of joining them.

Any yarn can be used to make motifs – from the bulky and chunky to fine thread – your choice being driven by the final project you have in mind.  I love the books that are just a collection of motifs as it allows you to be creative with the end result and gives you the flexibility of using different yarns.

In the following sections we feature many of the pattern books to give you inspiration for making motifs and items you can make with motifs.  Why not try this free pattern to make an afghan – the Fall Romance Throw by Jessie Rayot- while we still have the cooler weather around.  Or challenge yourself with other items you can make with this motif.

Look What We Found