Crazy Quilting

I was thinking I really need to do some more ribbon embroidery. It was so long ago that I'd done some

I decided to look around on the internet for inspiration, and stumbled across some online courses for crazy quilting

I'd never heard of this before. It involves sewing pieces of fabrics together, thread embroidery on the seams, then ribbon embroidery added, and so much more

I was ready to play

Each time we finish a task, we will be given another

Task 1, 2, and 3 was a bit of reading and learning, and choosing supplies. Then at task 4 we got to cut and sew the pieces of fabric together.

It took me a bit to figure out what was required. But then it clicked

It wasn't too even at first, so I un-picked the edges and straightened it out a bit




The next task was to show off some of the beads i had in my stash







Then I could start a bit of embroidery on some of the seams on my straightened out crazy quilt piece

Probably my favorite part was the french knot flowers (I think they're hyacinths)

Here's the link to the classes if anyone wants to do the other ones:  https://shawkl-classes.blogspot.com/

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

Let's please do something





On Friday 16 March 2018, Australian schools will stand united in their communities to celebrate the eighth National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA)


https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/NationalDay



https://www.facebook.com/TheProjectTV/videos/10155390571273441/

Which hook for the perfect circle

Above is the perfect flat circle. You can find the formula for it in the previous posts.

I've covered several things that can go wrong with the flat circle in previous posts.


This time I will talk about hook size

Sometimes the wrong sized hook can also have an effect of the flatness of the circle.

The above image shows the perfect flat circle worked with 8 ply yarn, and a 4 mm hook. It sits perfectly flat, and after 5 rows of  tr (dc US) it measures approximately 11 mm

In general, a too small hook will make the circle smaller.   Here the same yarn is used with a 2 mm hook. This time the circle measures 8.5 mm

And a too large hook will make it larger. Here a 6 mm hook was used. It now measures 13.5 mm

But the wrong sized hook can have a slight effect on waving or curling as well.

The above image shows a slight bit of curling. This was the circle made with the 2 mm hook

Here is the circle made with the 6 mm hook. There is only a tiny bit of waving

If for any reason the circle is wavy, the general way to fix it is to make LESS increases, but if that is not possible, or too difficult, a SMALLER hook can be used.

On the other hand, if the circle is curling up, you need to use MORE increases, and again, if that is not possible, or too difficult, you could try a LARGER hook

Here is a chart of the most common recommended hooks to yarn weight

Australia	UK	USA	Hook Size (mm)
2 ply	2 ply	Lace	0.75 – 3.0 mm
3 ply	3 ply	Sock/ Fingering	2.25 – 3.5 mm
4 ply	4 ply	Fingering/Sports	2.5 – 3.5 mm
8 ply	Double Knitting	Light Worsted	3.5 – 4.5 mm
10 ply	Aran	Worsted	5.5 mm – 6.5 mm
16 ply	Bulky	Chunky	6.5 mm – 9.0 mm
20 ply	Chunky	Bulky	9.0 mm & above

More posts on making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html



When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html

Hexes Against Bullies

A couple of weeks ago I heard a terrible thing in the news.

An Australian girl committed suicide due to relentless online bullying.

I was shocked and horrified. So sad.


http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/police-investigation-under-way-ahead-of-dollys-funeral/news-story/ebcbee59a67306acf292ed05a150577e

Sticks and stones can break my bones

But names can never hurt me

This is so not true. I've always known this personally. Words CAN hurt!  And VERY much



Then I was asked to join a facebook group of crocheters to create a hexagon, and have it joined to many other people's hexagons to create a lovely blanket to give to their family.

I thought it was such a lovely gesture. I was honoured to help



Then there was another story that shocked me to the core.


A teenage girl was assaulted viciously, she was tortured for 2 and a half hours while it was filmed.


http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/disabled-teenager-bashed-and-tortured-by-three-girls-after-being-lured-into-a-park-20180117-p4yyl0.html



This affected me so much because, while I know what it's like to be bullied, it was never physical.

This beaten girl was disabled. I know many disabled people, and used to work with them

This happened at Moe, a town in Victoria, Australia. The same town where I grew up

The girls doing the attack were 12 and 15!


I know these things have been happening since time began. But usually they happen when no-one else is around, and we don't get to see it.  We see the poor kid who was beaten up at school, he is black and blue with bruises. And we think, "poor boy, that is terrible"  Or they get told "Just ignore them"

This time it was there for us to see. And it was awful!



I decided I wanted to do something.

I decided I would also create a facebook group, where many people would come together and make hexagons. The hexagons would then be sent to me, where I would join them together into the blanket. Hexagons are a great shape to join together. And so much nicer than squares

The group started as Crochet for Kim. Then we made another blanket, with squares, for her sister. After that we decided to keep the group open to all crafters. It's now called Crochet and Crafts

Then I decided I may as well create the pattern for it too.

Of course I get carried away with patterns, and made it pretty fancy. So I decided I need to make an easier version too.




This worked perfectly. It would balance the fancy version, and the beginners can make it easily

And then I think I better create a chart too, for the visual learners. I find these tricky, but I did it. Then for lots of photos.

I have never created a pattern so quickly before. And I have never organised anything like this before.

A little overwhelming, but I have got a few helpers now. So far, so good

I can't wait to see it finished and Kim snuggled up in it. I hope it gives her comfort

Finally she received the blanket, and loved it

You can find the patterns here

When a circle is not a circle

One of the main ways of creating a corner is by working 2 sts (or more) in the same stitch, with 1 or 2 chains between.

This is why a circle can start to look like a 8 pointed shape or octagon. Each of the increase stitches can become like a corner. This seems to be especially true for sc.

To avoid this you can stagger the increases.

Eg: Do the first 3 rows as a normal circle. In the next row, work half the single sts first, work as normal, then work the other half

Row 1: Magic circle, 8 sc in circle. (8 stitches)

Row 2: 2 sc in each stitch around (16 stitches)

Row 3: *1 sc in next st, 2 sc in next st. Repeat from * to end (24 stitches)

Row 4: 1 sc in 1^st st, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to last st , 1 sc in last st (32 stitches)

Row 5: *1 sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end (40 stitches)

Row 6: 1 sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 4 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to second last st, 1 sc in each of last 2 sts (48 stitches)

Row 7: *1 sc in each of next 5 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to end (56 stitches)

Row 8: 1 sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st, *1 sc in each of next 6 sts, 2 sc in next stitch. Repeat from * to second last st, 1 sc in each of last 3 sts (64 stitches)

The next image shows the improvement when working the stitches staggered

More on posts making circles

Making a Flat Circle
http://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/making-flat-circle.html

When The Flat Circle Goes Wrong

https://craftcove.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/when-flat-circle-goes-wrong.html

Which Hook For the Perfect Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/which-hook-for-perfect-circle.html


When a Circle is Not a Circle
https://craftcove.blogspot.com/2018/01/when-circle-is-not-circle.html